Read the BIONICLE artist Christian Faber's Faber Files Blog at http://faberfiles.blogspot.ca/

April 5, 2012

B4 Bionicle and how it came to be

Image: B4 logo fv.jpg

It's safe to say that Bionicle and the philosophy behind it has been a big part of my life for over 10 years. This logo concept was done before the concept was named. It plays on the word B4 or "before" which was one of the name ideas for the concept. The shape of the B later became Half of the Bionicle "Ying/Yang" icon. I wanted the design to be both organic and high-tech so it would fit both the primitive island and the robot beneath. "Bionic Recur Unit" refers to the canisters carrying the Toa, the recur system that would fight the virus and resurrect the giant robot.
I know that a lot has been said and written about how Bionicle came to be and who were involved. Many people have worked and given their talent to bringing this intellectual property to life but that said I also think that it is time to clear up the mistakes and get the facts right. I believe I’m able to do that as objectively as possible. I put the first sketches on the paper, named the property Bionicle and worked on it all the way from 1999 to 2011 and for me the journey started already in 1995 but I will get back to that later.

April 7, 2012

Doo Heads logo

Image: Early bionicle_Doo Heads logo.jpg

When the name woo doo heads was abandoned we did a version called Doo Heads which luckily also tested badly. The icon of the facial shaped island is in the logo and as you probably know we kept that part.

The first Bionicle canister was a seed

Image: Early bionicle_amphi seed.jpg

This is the first sketch I did back in 99 of the canister in the open sea. The design was originally seed shaped. The coconut was used as inspiration where the nut floats from island to island in the south pacific to colonize new land. In the same way the canister (originally named the “Amphi Seed”) would settle on the beach and at one point it would burst open to release the “bionicle bones”.  The Toa would later assembly itself on the beach.

On the beach of Mata Nui

Image: Early bionicle_stranded amphi seed.jpg+Early bionicle_open amphi seed.jpg

These 2 sketches depict the Amphi Seed or canister landed on the beach. In the early concept phase the seed would be raised into a vertical position by a back leg so it could open the hatch towards land. If you watch to the right in the distance you can see the 3-finger island that was first intended to break the surface indicating the robot lying beneath. Oh yes, the robot was there from the very beginning back in 99.

First view of Mata Nui

Image: Early bionicle_map.jpg

The first colored view of Mata Nui sketched in ’99. A bit cartoony and compressed but if you look close it has the shape of a face with the mouth as the volcano the snowcapped mountain as the nose and the lake as the eye. It even has a vortex indicating that the robot underneath is taking in water.

What lies beneath

Image: Early bionicle_Mata Nui beneath.jpg

One of the first sketches of “The big secret” as it was called for many years. It shows the location of the 3-finger island and the vortex leading into the arm of the giant. The side view shows the sloping seabed where Mata Nui rests.

Biomechanical villagers

Image: Early bionicle_islander robots2.jpg

This is a sketch of the faces and name ideas of some of the villagers on Mata Nui. I tried to combine robotic design with organic shapes and primitive native masks. The idea was that all the islanders were different in design and character shaped by their age and the tough life on the island.

2 Early Bionicle villages on Mata Nui

Image: Early bionicle_south village.jpg+Early bionicle_north village.jpg

In the early concept stages two main villages were planed on the island. One village to the south and one to the north. The southern village was in a jungle setting close to the volcano. The villagers carried the canister to the village and used it as their main building. The inhabitants of this village were superstitious and frightened of the towering volcano. They were convinced that an evil monster lived in the volcano and decided their bad fate. The northern tribe and their village where in a more rocky and rough setting further from the volcano. This tribe was more practical and at a higher technical state. They were not afraid of the volcano.

The underwater temple of Gali

Image: Early bionicle_temple of Gali.jpg

It was my original thought that Gali’s temple should sit underwater on a ledge with a phosphorous torch burning in its centre.

April 8, 2012

The first Map

Image: Early bionicle_first Mata Nui color map.jpg

 This was the first map of Mata Nui where the different elements had been placed. Lava for Tahu, jungle (air) for Lewa, Water for Gali, Ice for Kopaka, desert for Pohatu and rock for Onua.

The shape of the face had to be obscured so it wouldn't give away the secret but you can still recognize the volcano mouth, chin with jungle, forehead with desert, nose as mountains and one of the eyes as Gali's bay.

Tahu, Lewa, and Gali habitat

Image: Early bionicle_Tahu habitat.jpg+Early bionicle_Lewa habitat.jpg+Early bionicle_Gali habitat.jpg

Colour scheme and mood illustration for 3 of the heroes. These illustrations were made to brief the first animations at Ghost and the first packaging illustrations at Advance.

Vitruvian robot

Image: Early bionicle_Vitruvian robot.jpg

Inspired by Da Vinci’s famous vitruvian man. Bionicle is the story of biomechanical heroes so it was fun to replicate the illustration in a futuristic version.

The awakening

Image: Early bionicle_The Awakening.jpg

This is a teaser poster made to depict the iconic moment where the first robot opens its eyes on the beach. The scene was made into an animation “full day” by Martin Cohen. He is the 3D artist responsible for all the early 3D concepts on Bionicle. He has been delivering great 3D to the property ever since.

Tahu logo

Image: Early bionicle_Tahu logo.jpg

Tahu was described as a "cool" lava surfer type so it was natural to try to make his logo in an urban style. The letters of his name could be cut in rock with a fire sword almost like Zoro.

The beginning. Birth of a ball joint

Image: CYBOTS_The underground mine.jpg+CYBOTS_manifest.jpg+CYBOT_1.jpg+CYBOTS_2.jpg

It is very exciting to get to share these files. This is where it all began to my account. It was the summer of 1995 where I finally got time to try out an idea. I gathered some LEGO Technic elements and some sculpting clay and mashed together some characters with moulded arms, legs and heads and the rest build out of LEGO. I wanted to test if it was possible to build an action figure. We agreed to take the concept further and I worked together with Jan Kjær, my former assistant to nail the concept. It was named CYBOTS and we presented to the development department at LEGO. They liked it. This resulted in a short project setup where I worked together with a designer (sadly I can’t remember his name, please write if you are out there. I would love to get your name into this blog) to try to turn my clay into actual useable LEGO elements. There was one major design issue and that was the joints connecting the body parts. We needed something flexible and easy and the closest solution was to look at nature: The ball joint. This invention is still to this day the most important to this whole category.
We did a full concept description and a universe where the CYBOTS was robots sent deep below the surface of the earth to areas where humans couldn’t enter to hunt for energy crystals. Some CYBOTS had malfunctioned and rebelled against their human inventors and had claimed the depths of the planet as their own.
This project and the ball joint disappeared for some years in the development department at LEGO but it was great to see the first prototypes of the Slizer robots with full functional ball joints that were brought to Advance in 1998 when we got briefed on this new project.
The CYBOTS underground setting also appeared later both in Rock Raiders (1999) and Power Miners (2009). 
It is great that stuff that works always seems to surface at some point in time, so there is only one rule when working with LEGO: “It’s an amazing brand so you better do amazing things, nothing less is acceptable”.

April 9, 2012

The birth of a Toa

Image: Early bionicle_the birth of a Toa.jpg

These thumbnails were done early in 2000 and represent my vision of how the first Toa would come to life on the beach of Mata Nui. Imagine it on the big screen in the cinema. The canister drifts in the endless ocean, full of seaweed from its long journey. Washes up on the shore. Small mechanical part registers the location and automatically shoots of the hatch and all the parts of the Toa into the sand. The parts start assembling themselves ending up with the head being put into place. This newly build hero is like a baby at first, unsecure on his feet and aimless in his behaviour. He tries to pick up the sword but his joints are weak and snap off. Finally he finds the first mask lying in the sand. He puts it on and it gives him his first character information. He becomes strong and secure in his moves and picks up the sword again. The sword flames up. Now he knows he is a Toa of fire and he looks towards the volcano and begins his journey.

April 10, 2012

Villages of Mata Nui

Image: Faber File_Tahu ville.jpg+Faber File_Kopaka ville.jpg+Faber File_Pohatu ville.jpg+Faber Files_Gali ville.jpg+Faber Files_Lewa ville.jpg+Faber File_Onua ville.jpg

Here are 6 sketches from 2000 of the villages of Mata Nui. Trying to depict how the Matoran are living in the different areas of the island. Ta-koro is lying under the crust of the lava by a river of floating lava, the huts have shape like small volcanoes. Po-koro has rounded cell shaped huts made out of sandstone. Ko-koro lies by a cliff splitting a giant glacier. Le-koro has giant hanging plant structures attached to a tall cliff. Onu-koro has giant sphere shaped caves. Ga-koro is a floating village in the northern bay.

Water is for wimps

Image: Faber Files_Tahu surf.jpg

Tahu surfing on a flow of lava has always been a favourite idea so I wanted to capture the feel and the attitude of this confident hero as he looks up at a rip curl of lava.

April 11, 2012

Tribute to all Bionicle fans and BZPower

Image: Faber Files_2001-2008.jpg

 I have only one word, WOW! Over 20000 views in less than a week and I’m just getting started and have only put up 20 posts. This post is a tribute to all the Bionicle fans that have visited my blog. Especially to the BZPower community. You at BZP have all through the years been the simply the best. Your interest and energy has been an endless source of info and inspiration. I want you to know that BZPower always was the place where the property really came alive and the place to go when I needed reference and talkback on campaigns and ideas. For many years I wanted to join and add content and give you as much info as possible but I had to focus on the job and quietly follow your activities. It its great to finally be able to show the artwork now that all the big secrets have been revealed. It has been a fantastic journey thanks to LEGO and all the fans and it has shaped the way I work and think. It is a constant inspiration for the future and who knows what will appear on the horizon…
The illustration in this post gives the full overview of the Bionicle universe 2001-2008 (the names on the map are not final). For your eyes only:)

April 12, 2012

Image: Faber files_Vulcanus Arena.jpg

Vulcanus Arena Concept

Some of you asked for some newer stuff so here is a concept drawing from 2008 of the Glatorian arena close to Vulcanus village in the Iron Canyon. Giant lava plates have shifted and twisted into a surreal landscape. Everything is hot and sizzling and metallic fumes are in the air. A dusk training session is taking place at the arena and there are no spectators now but for a real match the different plateaus will be filled with villagers from Vulcanus.

April 19, 2012

Image: Faber1999_Fauna.jpg+Faber1999_Fauna2.jpg

It’s been a while since the last post but here are some concept drawings showing the life forms on Mata Nui. It was the original intention that everything would have a bio-mec original design so no ordinary palm trees but only strange new species with new features.

April 26, 2012

Bionicle Sunglasses Concept

Image: Faber files_Bionicle shades.jpg

Back in 2002 Bionicle was booming and all kinds of merchandise was possible so I did a sketch for some special Bionicle shades. Could have been cool to wear the "B".

Hatching Bohrok

Image: Faber files_Hatching Bohrok.jpg

This is one of my favourite visuals of the whole legend. It is the moment when the first Bohrok hatches in the cave beneath Mata Nui. This moment holds all the mystery and epic action of Bionicle in one frame. It is biotech at its best in the middle between organic life and mechanic reflex. It also had one of the best taglines of the 9 years: “If you wake one – you wake them all”.

April 28, 2012

Karda Nui Concept

Image: Christian Faber Files_Karda Nui concept.jpg

This is probably the tallest concept drawing I have ever done. It depicts the entire year of 2008 in side view. It shows one of the many stalactites with the Matoran villages on top and the great swamp at the bottom where the Codrex would later be found. I know that a stalactite is supposed to hang from the ceiling and that was also the case with this piece of rock but it broke off from the ceiling and got stuck vertically in the deep swamp.
I had a 2-meter tall print of this drawing hanging behind me in the office for years.

April 29, 2012

Bionicle Planet System Concept

Image: Christian Faber files_Planet concept2.jpg+Christian Faber files_planet concept.jpg

 These 2 sketches try to explain the planet system and evolution of the Bionicle universe at an early stage. It also shows the way the characteristic shape of the BB logo reflects the shape of the planet system. The rotation results in the symmetric shape that can also be seen in the shape of the island Mata Nui and the city of Metru Nui. The idea was that the reassembled Spherus Magna would have a compressed logo where the 2 “B”s were joined together.

Mask Of Life Concept 

Image: Christian Faber Files_MOL concept.jpg+Christian Faber Files_MOL early sketches+Christian Faber Files_MOL early design

Taking part in designing the mask of life was one of the coolest assignments in the many years of working with Bionicle. It is fantastic to work with the LEGO designers to actually bring real plastic elements to life. Especially when it is an element with that epic importance to the whole legend. It was great to be able to take the early Vitruvian robot logo and incorporate the idea into this mask. So the secret idea of resurrecting the giant robot Mata Nui was moulded straight into the plastic.

May 2, 2012

Barraki Teaser Poster

Image: Christian Faber Files_Barraki teaser.jpg

Taking Bionicle underwater in 2007 was a treat. I simply love the environments and variety of life forms and mystery sub surface. So this teaser was a little taste of what was to come in 2007. It was the intention that the tagline “Creeps from the deep” would give a 50ies horror movie feel.

May 3, 2012

Metru Nui Concept Directions

Image: Christian Faber files_Metru Nui concept1.jpg+Christian Faber files_Metru Nui concept2.jpg+Christian Faber files_Metru Nui concept3.jpg

When we decided to go back in time to tell the story of the Toa Metru in Metru Nui we had to create an urban version of the Bionicle universe. These 3 early sketches were done to determine how the city should look. We had to test how the kids saw urban environments and it quickly became evident that it was much more difficult to create an exciting urban environment than a natural environment such as a forest. A city was simply seen as more boring and restricted. I tried out different themes such as “Geo” “Bio” and “Tech”.

May 5, 2012

One sketch that made a difference

Image: Christian Faber files_The secret.jpg

This is probably the most important sketch I did in those nine years of development. This one sketch was actually enough to convince LEGO that the secret was a good idea. It is a very quick side view sketch of a giant robot (at that point called “Core 2”) lying underneath an island with the mouth under a volcano and a canyon called “Brain Canyon” above its forehead. For many years this was the only visual showing the secret and it was kept in a deep drawer at my desk. We in the team figured that if we were to keep the secret it was a good idea not to make to many pictures of this. We knew that just one “leakage” would ruin many years of good story. We used the phrase “The big story engine” as a code when mentioning the dormant robot.

Designing a giant

Image: Christian Faber files_Size and design.jpg

Since the first concept idea about the giant robot was presented back in 1999 I had been trying to visualize what Mata Nui would look like if we were ever going to see him awaken. There were many ideas about size and design and in this sketch you see the final Mata Nui and his size relation to the Bara Magna robot. There are 2 suggestions with 2 different story directions.

Directing a legend

Video: Bionicle Mistika 2008 - The Rise of Mata Nui.mp4

2008 was in many ways the highpoint of the Bionicle legend. This was when the big secret was disclosed and when the destiny of the Toa was finally fulfilled. They restarted Mata Nui but Makuta had been ahead all the time and turned their victory into defeat by taking over Mata Nui right at the reboot. Making a film that depicted this was one of the biggest challenges in creating Bionicle. For many years I doubted that we would ever get to make this sequence. One task was to design the giant Mata Nui himself. Another challenge was to make the whole sequence epic enough to contain 8 years of legend. As always the crew at Ghost VFX http://ghost.dk/ and sound designers at Mainstream http://www.mainstream.dk/ did a great job and made the vision come to life.

May 6, 2012

Cryoshell

Image: Christian Faber Files_cryoshell logo.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Cryoshell sketch.jpg

I could fill a whole blog alone with Cryoshell and all the great times I have had with the band and the music that was a big part of the Bionicle package. I have always been mad about music and the way it can tell stories and convey emotions without words so it was natural to try to incorporate music into Bionicle. So a big thanks to Eddie Simonsen from Mainstream and Mikkel Maltha, Kasper Søderlund and Christine Lorentzen from Cryoshell for making the music of Bionicle a legend on its own.

In this post you see the sketch of the Cryoshell logo and the final version.

May 9, 2012

Takanuva vs Makuta logo and nametag

Image: Christian Faber Files_TakaNuva-Makuta logos.jpg

When light clashed with darkness in 2003 in the caves beneath Mata Nui it was marked by these logos and nametags. They had a hint to the bigger story. The fact that they fit together is very in line with Bionicle mythology like the jing-jang logo. Takanuva had to merge with Makuta to defeat him. Light and darkness are connected and Makuta actually did god by securing that only the right heroes reentered the giant robot to restart it. Just like the body actually grows stronger and more immune after a virus.

Mask of Light teaser poster

Image: Christian Faber Files_Light vs darkness teaser.jpg

This is a never used movie teaser poster from 2003. It shows how Takanuva and Makuta, light and darkness are bound by fate in this epic battle.

Mask of Life lost in the pit

Image: Christian Faber Files_Lost MOL.jpg

This is another teaser poster for the 2007 storyline where the Mask of life sinks to the bottom and ends up in Mahri Nui. All the strangest creatures of the deep are drawn towards it and its life giving power

Barraki 2007 – Creeping in my soul

Video: Bionicle Barraki 2007 - Creeping in my soul.mp4

This was another highpoint in the Bionicle legend. Everything seemed to come together. Great mystery, great danger, great characters, great location and great music. As said earlier underwater is magic to me and probably the closest we will get to visiting an alien world in our lifetime. So getting to direct a legend in this location was epic. And thanks to Cryoshell for putting unforgettable music to this fantastic year.

May 11, 2012

Bionicle Logo

Image: Christian Faber Files_Bionicle logo.jpg

Back in 1999 a lot of different name suggestions were on my table but there was something special about the combination of biological chronicle, Bio-nicle.
The acceptance and approval of the name went incredible fast and then it was just the matte of giving it a graphic form. It had to look epic and timeless so I chose the classic typography Trajan that originates from the Trajan column in Rome and reworked it a bit and gave it a 3D stone carved effect in Photoshop. 

Bionicle protodermis logo and BB icon

Image: Christian Faber Files_Bionicle protodermis logo.jpg

 Along with the very classic Bionicle logo I wanted to create a logo version that had the biomechanical style as its inspiration so with that in mind and the early “B4” logo I drew a yin yang like symbol and an almost symmetrical lettering for the name. The rounded metallic 3D feel makes it resemble protodermis or “living metal” that was the secret and magic substance running through the whole Bionicle legend.
The lettering of this logo was never used but the BB icon became the iconic symbol of the whole legend.

May 12, 2012

Rahkshi teaser poster 

Image: Christian Faber Files_Rahkshi teaser.jpg

 In 2003 the Rahkshi were unleashed by Makuta and they had to have the creepiest logo. I tried to capture their alien design with this icon. It looks like something bad is unfolding hanging from the ceiling in a cave somewhere.
“Brighter light” refers to the Toa of light and the Rahkshi are the darker shadows.

Cryoshell – Creeping in my soul

Video: Cryoshell - Creeping In My Soul (Official music video).mp4

 The song "Creeping in my soul" from 2007 really set the direction for the band. It has a spooky fragile tone and the lyric will creep into your ear. The video was shot on a scary mansion south of Copenhagen on a cold foggy day. I art directed the video and shot a lot of still pictures on set and some of these pictures became the cover of the EP and the album.

A canister that inspired a legend

Images: Christian Faber Files_Canister afloat.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Canister on the beach.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Canister open.jpg+Christian Faber files_Beach concept.jpg

This post shows redrawn concept art from 2000
A lot of elements went into forming the idea of Bionicle but one of the most important one was the canister the heroes came in. The design of the packaging had to be changed from a seed to a canister to make it feasible to produce but the whole idea that became Bionicle had a lot to do with a thing as simple as the packaging. Based on the previous launches of Slizer/Throwbots and Roboriders it was natural to put these products in some kind of canister. I was determined that the canister should play a role in the story so it was not only a plastic tube you threw away after purchase because this was the ancient pod that delivered the parts of the hero. That sparked the idea that the un-build hero was going to arrive floating in a canister. This led straight into the idea that he had been in the canister for a long time and that he had a very important purpose. The seed/canister resembled a big pill or ampoule so that led to the thought that maybe this was the “medicine” that had to cure a very big patient. When pouring the parts out of the canister you were actually already playing out the story and bringing a hero to life, the legend had begun ...the rest is history.

May 14, 2012

The 3-finger island and The big Earthquake

Image: Christian Faber Files_The 3 finger island.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Makoki stones.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Cave Map.jpg


The story about the 3-finger island and the big quake that made it rise to the surface was suggested late 2000 but never used as direction. The Toa had completed the first part of their quest on Mata Nui. The Toa were going underground and found the giant “start engine” for Mata Nui. A giant schematic layout of Mata Nui carved in stone. When the Makoki stone was inserted by Gali the robot would come to life. Sadly the system had been breached and the virus was too strong so it was only the hand that moved and 3 fingers of Mata Nui’s hand were lifted to appear as a strange island on the horizon. The idea also included how a swarm of creatures (later known as the Bohrok) would be released by the quake and how they would attack the island to start the clean off. 

The hibernating Bohrok in the caves that gets awaken by the Toa was chosen as the direction to take, first of all because it was much easier to communicate and held the face to face encounter between Toa and Bohrok.

May 18, 2012

Karda Nui. The heart of the legend

Image: Christian Faber Files_Karda Nui cross section.jpg

The Ignition trilogy that started out in 2006 on Voya Nui and continued in 2007 in Mahri Nui was ending up with the grand finale in 2008 at the heart of the legend inside the heart of Mata Nui. This is an early sketch of the concept for 2008. The heart had been blown open eons ago when the giant collapsed and had slowly been filled with saltwater. The incoming water had mixed with protodermis and in 2008 the fluid level had reached half full. This placed the ignition core (the Codrex) right at the centre where it had to be to restart the giant. The missing part of the heart that was blown out and became the island Voya Nui now returned and sealed the heart for the restart. With the heroes inside the stage was set for the final battle between Makuta and the Toa.

The inner Sun of Karda Nui

Image: Christian Faber Files_Sun of Karda Nui.jpg

 The saltwater that comes into the heart creates a giant waterfall dropping out of the dome and as it hits the surface of silver protodermis strong light is emitted creating an inner sun. This is the light source of Karda Nui.
On this early concept drawing you can see the big fall, the inner sun and the fires of the Av-Matoran trying to survive on the ledges of the stalactites that are impaled in the swamp.

The Codrex Concept

Image: Christian Faber Files_Codrex in Karda Nui.jpg

 I drew this color sketch in 2007 to cross section the swamp of Karda Nui.

The core of the Bionicle universe is inside this massive sphere of protodermis. When the heart is running this sphere is hanging in cero gravity in the centre of the heart firing ignition energy in all direction like a sparkplug in an engine. Now it is stuck in the swamp. But when ignited all matter around it in the heart will vaporise into pure energy. Matoro wearing the Ignika finally did the ultimate heroic deed and restarted the heart in 2008 sacrificing himself in the process.

The Key to the Codrex

Image: Christian Faber Files_Keystone concept.jpg

I designed the different parts of the keystone so they formed the shape of the iconic Ignika character also referencing the old Vitruvian robot. This was the key to the ignition. An early idea was that the different keys should have been found in the part of the body they resembled.

Thanks to Adam Alaleh from Advance it was put into 3D and later used in the animation sequence.

Swamp of Karda Nui concept

Image: Christian Faber Files_Karda Nui swamp concept.jpg

 This is a guidance illustration I made for Ghost to look at when they were creating the 3D swamp scene where the battle vehicles race through the swamp. You can glimpse the Codrex in the back and the Axalara T9 speeding around the enormous roots.

Opening the Codrex

Image: Christian Faber Files_Codrex opening1.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Codrex opening2.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Codrex opening3.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Codrex cross section.jpg

When the Toa insert the keystone the Codrex will spring into life and the multiple layers of solid protodermis perfectly held in place by magnetism will glide into position creating a perfect tunnel to the core. This is where the Toa get their power boost: the battle vehicles and this is where Matoro later on will impact with the core and ignite Mata Nui.

Bionicle Full Circle

Image: Christian Faber Files_Codrex center layout.jpg

This 3D concept shows the layout of the core. I did this together with Adam Alaleh from Advance and it holds the ignition spot in the center. The columns around the center bare a striking resemblance to the stone temples that were build on Mata Nui. The Toa would probably have a strange feeling that they had been here before and they would be right. If you look closely there are 6 columns and 6 holes behind them. This is where the 6 original Toa were launched in their canisters when the heart exploded. They flew out of the heart, through the chest and landed in the water where they would later, much later! Return to follow their destiny. The light that hits the columns draws the mask of each of the original Toa on their individual sphere. The sphere holds their Battle vehicles. The vehicles could have been used by the original Toa if disaster had struck in a different way but now luckily they were left behind for later use. Thanks to Adam Alaleh from Advance for the 3D work

The perfect hero Ride

Image: Christian Faber Files_Codrex center concept.jpg

 Another 3D concept for production reference showing a Toa in front of the ultimate power up. The Codrex core in the back fully lit and the battle vehicles ready for action. Thanks again to Adam Alaleh from Advance for 3D.

June 2, 2012

The final showdown

Image: Christian Faber Files_The Final Showdown.jpg

 This concept poster was done in 2006 trying to envision what the battle in Karda Nui between the Toa and the brotherhood of Makuta would look like. 
At that point I had no idea what the actual product would look like, only that this would be a battle in mid air so here you see a Toa riding some kind of glider. He is being chased by an evil looking craft or creature looking like a blend between an “M” for Makuta and a manta ray. It shoots energy blasts and hits the wing of the Toa craft. The fight takes place just next to the “great fall” the water pouring into Karda Nui and Av-Matoran are watching from the fragile suspension bridges between their villages.

June 3, 2012

Bionicle Heroes cover concepts

Image: Christian Faber Files_Bionicle Heroes cover sketch.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Bionicle Heroes cover sketch2.jpg

At Advance we did a lot of different cover suggestions for the Bionicle Heroes game and the face off between an Inika and a Piraka was chosen for the final cover but here are two of the other suggestions. 

This cover concept uses a very graphic style with a silhouetted hero seen from the back facing a horde of redeye villains symbolizing the impossible task the Inika are facing.

The other cover concept shows Hahli Inika coming ashore on the very hostile coast of Voya Nui. The rocky coast resembles the face of a Piraka

Bionicle Heroes Logo

Image: Christian Faber Files_Bionicle Heroes logo.jpg

Early in 2006 I designed the logo for the Bionicle Heroes game. It had to contain the original Bionicle logo as well as the word Heroes so I chose to use a symmetrical shape and make “Heroes” into a spiky arch that could work as a baseline for Bionicle. At the same time Bionicle was made bright orange to differentiate it from all pervious launches.

June 8, 2012

The design of Voya Nui

Image: Christian Faber Files_Voya Nui map.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Voya Nui sub surface.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Voya Nui cross-section.jpg

The Ignition trilogy that kicked off in 2006 was all about getting the Toa on a great quest. This was an adventure that would send the heroes into fantastic unknown location to meet amazing opponents, all in the chase to restart the heart of Mata Nui.
The next 3 years of story would take the heroes from a floating island to the bottom of the sea ending up at the heart of the universe for the final showdown in the air. So all tree environments would come in play ensuring diversity from year to year until 2008.

The floating island of Voya Nui, which actually was the missing piece of the heart, was now in the ocean anchored to the seabed by a chain of molten protodermis. The anchor point was the pit of Mahri Nui that at an early stage broke off and sunk to the bottom capturing a population of Matoran in the deep. The hunt for the mask of life led the heroes to discover the lost Matoran in the deep. So they could be saved and get inside before Mata Nui was revived.

The Voya Nui icon

Image: Christian Faber Files_Voya Nui icon.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Voya Nui icon2.jpg

The shape of Voya Nui was designed to look evil and mysterious inhospitable. Almost resembling an evil eye. This was the home of the Piraka the infamous smiling villains

The design of Mahri Nui

Image: Christian Faber Files_Mahri Nui map.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Mahri Nui location.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Mahri Nui cross-section.jpg

This was a dream come true to design. I love the underwater setting so getting to create something from scratch was great. The broken off piece that make up Mahri Nui was impaled into the sea bed and the Matoran that were captured down her build a village for themselves. They lived inside bobbles of air which the harvested from the giant sealants growing down here. Air was their most valuable treasure because it kept them safe and kept them away from the corrosive saltwater and the monsters of the pit.

Mahri Nui concept

Image: Christian Faber Files_Mahri Nui concept.jpg

This concept drawing of Mahri Nui was done to depict the mood and feel of this surreal underwater location. It is a “snapshot” seen from one of the rocky gorges up towards the Matoran villages under their air bubbles. The air is kept in place by a web of special super strong seaweed. In front on the right you can see the plant that the Matoran harvest for air. Some red molten protodermis has made its way all the way from Voya Nui and is flowing over the ledge. The small craft on the left is an early design for a vessel that the Toa would use to descent to Mahri Nui in the hunt for the Mask of Life. Later that craft would be designed and shaped very differently and it would travel inside the hollow cord that held Voya Nui anchored. But more about that in a later post.

June 16, 2012

Mahri transport vehicle design

Image: Christian Faber Files_Mahri transport ext 3D.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Mahri transport vehicle.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Mahri transport int 3D.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Mahri transport int.jpg

When the Toa Mahri chased the MOL and had to get to the bottom of the sea in the second half of 2007 we took the opportunity to change the style of the equipment and the tone of voice of the campaign. The Toa Mahri goes into action “special ops style” in a very high-tech underwater transport vehicle and their equipment includes all kind of diving gear and the gatling inspired Cordak blaster. All the equipment the Toa had found in the bottom compartment of the island core. They traveled inside the cord that ran from Voya Nui to the Mahri Nui plateau. Ghost VFX helped rebuild the Toa Terrain Crawler and we designed a full inner cabin for the Intro scenes of the Mahri trailer. The design includes pressure chamber and valve room with exit hatch. It has a Cordak rag that folds away in the roof and automated dive helmet lowering device. The tentacles at the end of the vehicle points at the idea that this was a biomechanical craft. It was a blend of machine and sea creature, maybe a giant squid.

Diving deep with the Toa

Video: Bionicle Mahri 2007 - Face Me.mp4

2007 was a fantastic year in the Bionicle legend. We got to go underwater for an entire year and for the second half of the story I directed the trailer teasing the adventure of the Toa Mahri as they chased the Mask Of Life. "Face Me" was specially composed by (what later would be known as) Cryoshell to support the story of the Toa Mahri.

June 27, 2012

Bara Magna Map

Image: Christian Faber files_Bara Magna map.jpg

When the Bionicle legend continued into 2009 the story moved to an entirely new location. I drew this map to give the full overview of this rough and traitorous world. Danger and mystery lurks everywhere.

Aug 10, 2012

Earliest Toa location sketches

Image: 
Christian Faber Files_Gali location sketch.jpg
Christian Faber Files_Gali sketch.jpg
Christian Faber Files_Lewa location sketch.jpg
Christian Faber Files_Onua location sketch.jpg
Christian Faber Files_Pohatu sketch.jpg
Christian Faber Files_Tahu lava sketch.jpg

Hi all, Back to work and back to the blog. This post contains the earliest sketches I could find of the environments on Mata Nui. It is actually the sketches that were the foundation for the Toa key visuals that were used in the original campaign at launch in 2001. The environments can also be seen in the Toa presentation spots that went on the CD-ROM. 

2009 Teaser poster

Image: Christian Faber Files_2009 teaser poster.jpg

This poster depicts the early concept for the mask of life that had created a body for itself after landing in Bara Magna. Now he is standing looking at this new strange place where giant bonelike structures are sticking out of the sand and where he will have to find friends as soon as possible to stay alive. In the foreground one of his most important allies crawls to welcome him (home).

Sept 1, 2012

Ignition trilogy team T-shirt

Image: Christian Faber Files_Ignition trilogy team T-shirt.jpg

Through the years we at ADVANCE have done several exclusive crew t-shirts for the production team and here is one of them from 2006 when the Ignition trilogy kicked off.

The Piraka Revolution

Image: Christian Faber Files_Piraka robot.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Piraka logo.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Piraka fly and camera.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Piraka stronghold.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Piraka bullride.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Piraka sofa.jpg

Back in 2006 the story of Bionicle took a mayor shift. We needed some fresh adventure so the Toa were sent on the Ignition trilogy to ignite the legend.
We also needed to refresh the campaign and the look and feel. The Piraka were cast as “the gang on the loose” and the style was urban and graffiti inspired. To really make a change we set the scene in a strange surreal stronghold that was quite modern with clear references to human technology but with a twist. This was steam punk meets Bionicle and the Piraka had their own rodeo bull, an industrial robot for getting dressed and a sliding gun rag. A beat up sofa and TV set and small tech creatures running around including a fly and a camera. Here you see some of the first sketches and 3D models of the Piraka location.

I directed the music video style commercial about the gang of Piraka in their hangout and we even did a Piraka rap to take the campaign totally out of the epic story mode and into the street. Some loved it and some hated it but it defenitely was something different.

Oct 16, 2012

The Bionicle legend told in stone and sand

Image: Christian Faber Files_Bionicle_stonelegend.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Turaga temple1.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Turaga temple2.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Turaga temple pics.jpg+Christian Faber Files_Bionicle_CDROM_screens.jpg

Back in 2000 when not much Bionicle material was produced I was faced with a difficult task. On the CD-rom that would be included in some of the launch canisters we were to explain the Bionicle legend visually. How could I show the foundation of the legend without destroying the epic vision?. I would be impossible to produce the 3D scenes that would do the idea justice with giants rising above the clouds. At the same time explaining the foundation would give away the secret of the great robot beneath the seabed. The answer was &#8220;keep it simple&#8221;. I decided to tell the story in simple shapes of sand and stone. A circle filled with sand where the Turaga would tell the legend and keep the score of good and evil by moving the symbolic stones around. That became the stone legend and it was staged in an ancient temple in the jungle. This temple also worked as the navigation of the CD-Rom produced by Advance with 3D assets from our own 3D department and Ghost. This CD-Rom also included the small movie clips that introduced the original Toa and their environment.