Exclusive Interview: Andy Park Talks About Working on THOR: THE DARK WORLD Concept Art and Marvel Films

Thor: The Dark World (2013) concept art by Andy Park

Check out Thor: The Dark World concept art by Andy Park!

When talking about Thor 2 Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said, "Thor will go off into a new adventure." He did and Thor: The Dark World continues that adventure across the Nine Realms. The film is a blockbuster hit and the Blu-Ray for the film is on sale on Februray 25th. Part of the success of the films is the breathtaking visuals that meld classic comic book style and modern movie looks. One of the many talented artists working on the film is Andy Park.

Park is a professional concept artist who's worked on Hollywood films like Iron Man 3 (2013), Marvel's the Avengers (2012) and the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).

Read on to find out how a former Marvel comic book artist became a Marvel comic book movie artist.

Maurice Mitchell: Thanks for your time Andy. So, what's it like working on Marvel films?
Andy Park: It's a dream job for me. I'm an '80s kid that grew up on comic books, specifically Marvel Comics. I got hooked on Iron Man when he built his new suit back in Iron Man #200. And I got to design the film version of that suit in Iron Man 3. It's crazy! And I never thought we'd ever get to see a live-action Avengers movie during my lifetime. So to actually work on the film is beyond my childhood dreams.

Marvel Studios is experiencing a golden age of film right now. With the initial success of Iron Man, the subsequent success of the following films- Hulk, Iron Man 2, Captain America, and Thor, and then the mega-success in The Avengers, it has changed everything when it comes to movies.

The studios in Hollywood are all copying the Marvel model now, or at least scrambling to. I'm honored to be working with such passionate and talented people.

MM: It is an honor Andy. Right up there with Star Wars. How did your comic book work influence your film work?
AP: Before I became a concept artist for film and video games I was a comic book artist for about 10 years. I worked mainly for Image Comics and Marvel Comics. Those years definitely influence the work I do now on these films. Because I'm a fan of these characters I want to respect their source material.

My job is to honor their origins but to make it work in the current Marvel Cinematic Universe look and feel. Sometimes the translation is pretty easy and other times (probably most of the times) it's a tall task. But the beauty of Marvel's Visual Development Department (headed by Ryan Meinerding and Charlie Wen) is that we all come from different backgrounds and therefore bring something new and fresh to the table. I look at my role as one of the "fanboys" creating concepts for these movies. So my designs will reflect that more often than not.

MM: It's great to have another "fanboy" in there! So, what was the biggest challenge working on Thor 2 versus Thor?
AP: I actually didn't do much work on the first Thor. I came in on the tail end of that movie as well as Captain America: The First Avenger, and I was mainly brought on to start work on The Avengers (and the movies to follow).

Out of the eight films I've worked on at Marvel Studios thus far, Thor: The Dark World was definitely the most challenging. The main reason was because of the Dark Elves. It took forever to land a final look for this race. That task was given to myself, Charlie Wen, and Justin Sweet. Between the 3 of us we did hundreds of concept paintings exploring the gamut of ideas available to us.

But sometimes no matter how beautiful a painting is or how creative an idea may be, at the end of the day it's the vision of the director and producers that must be satisfied.  And as any experienced concept artist knows, that is not always an easy task. The good thing is that I have so many paintings that I'm so proud of- rejected or not.

Thanks for your time Andy and we're looking forward to the next adventure.

See more of Andy Park's brilliant portfolio at http://www.andyparkart.com and follow his Facebook page, on Twitter @andyparkart and Instagram instagram.com/andyparkart.

Click on the links if you want to see more of Andy Park's work or Thor: The Dark World on my blog.

Images from Andy Park's Facebook page via Comic Book Movie (Nailbiter111)

What do you think of the concept art? If you've seen Thor: The Dark World what did you think?

Official Thor: The Dark World Summary
Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano and Jaimie Alexander with Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Thor: The Dark World is directed by Alan Taylor, produced by Kevin Feige, from a story by Don Payne (credit not final) and screenplay by Christopher Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (credit not final) and is based on Marvel’s classic Super Hero Thor, who first appeared in the comic book Journey into Mystery“ #83 in August, 1962.
Thor: The Dark World is presented by Marvel Studios. The executive producers are Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Victoria Alonso, Craig Kyle and Nigel Gostelow. The film releases November 8, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Directed by Alan Taylor
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, Anthony Hopkins
Release date: November 8, 2013 (USA)
Official Site: http://marvel.com/thor
© Copyright 2013 Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. All rights reserved


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