Kanye West - Complex Magazine by SWAY
Kanye West is one of today’s most recognizable artists. Complex Magazine is a leader in urban culture and fashion. SWAY Studio, frontrunner in the CG world teamed with them to create the CG imagery for the cover and feature article of Complex Magazine’s April/May 2009 issue.
When the opportunity came to us, it wasn’t a difficult decision to greenlight. Kanye West, a fun concept, creative freedom, a virtually non-existent budget, it had it all… Well, almost everything. 3 out of 4 isn’t bad.
The project called for a two part process. Before starting on the look, we brought Kanye over to Icon Studios in LA where we had his actual body, face and clothing digitally scanned. He arrived in a great mood, having just wrapped a music video with Spike Jonze. Scanning isn’t a complicated process, but entertaining a happy entertainer makes the process all the more pleasurable. We went the scanning route because modeling can be tedious and our schedule didn’t allow for the extended time necessary. Also, 3D scanning can be so detailed that every minuscule feature from eyelashes down to individual threads holding the Nike swish to his Air Yeezys is captured. The scans provided SWAY with the elements necessary to knock it out of the park.
To those familiar with VFX, the look of the photos may appear ‘raw’, and for good reason. These ‘dough boy’ renders, as they’re called in the business, are what the pros look at to check lighting and other technical details before completing the beautiful final renders seen on TV and film. However for this project, we wanted to take a different approach and thought bringing these visuals usually only seen behind-the-scenes to the forefront would have a vibrant impact.
We hope you enjoy the spread. We knew going in this project was to be a labor of love and it didn’t disappoint. With a little help from our good friend ‘Overtime’ SWAY made it happen. We’re happy, Kanye’s happy, the world may never be the same.
