If you have been lucky enough to catch the Titans series on DC Universe, you may have had a nice surprise on a recent episode. Episode 6 called ‘Jason Todd’ was the most Batman-esque episode of the series and included more backstory for Grayson, the introduction of Jason Todd and our first glimpse of the Batmobile.
Even though it was only a glimpse, a lot of work went into the design of the Batmobile. John Gallagher, the concept artist, recently took to Facebook to show a few of his 30 plus designs.
He said:
Minor Spoilers: So awhile back I was asked to design the Batmobile for the Titans series. It debuted last episode so the secret’s out and I kept my mouth shut this whole time lol. But seriously, who wouldn’t want to get a call like that? Bucket List! Encore VFX gave me wide open freedom to explore so that’s always a good lane to start in. So I set about, as is standard operating procedure with funnel shaped design, with broad strokes on the landscape of the vehicle while embracing all eras, iterations and media variants – real world, toys, animation, comics, features wherever I could find one and narrow the focus going forward. But getting the bones right is the only goal after that it’s all window dressing. Then of course toward the end it gets cut and pasted to final form and all stakeholders sign off on the cool ass winner usually a mix of elements from the final four or five. To say the Batmobile since May 1939 has been designed to death is no understatement. So, a core design that honours the traditions of the past and design legacy while also being forward looking, contemporary and distinctively Titans. I think fans of the show will appreciate the nods to some subtle final colour choices, profile and form language to a couple classics in the ’66 and the ’89. I worked through over thirty complete ideations and a couple dozen abandoned relics borrowing inspirations from our shared real world automotive history and full spectrum media. Here’s just a few of many explorations that got the dialogue started. The final you’ll just have to watch the show and see how the army of geniuses who took up the cause after me did with it.
It’s obvious Gallagher’s done his research and pulled ideas from all throughout Batman’s history. I, for one, would love to see his remaining designs. Which is your favorite design?
