As Avatar: Fire and Ash continues to top the box office, Ringling College of Art and Design is celebrating the film’s success—made even more meaningful by the involvement of a member of our Computer Animation faculty in shaping the film’s characters.
As Lead Character Designer, Computer Animation Faculty Joseph Pepe began creating the iconic Ash Na’vi (Mangkwan) Clan in 2013. Pepe’s work involved meetings with Academy Award-winning writer/producer/director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau, as well as an extensive collaboration process with production designers, effects and animation teams, makeup artists, and costume designers.
Over nearly 30 years in the entertainment and effects industry, Pepe has worked in a wide range of creative roles, including visual effects artist, concept artist, and character makeup designer. His extensive film credits span numerous major productions, including Alien vs. Predator, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus, The Cabin in the Woods, and all of the Avatar films—bringing a depth of industry expertise that continues to inform his work and teaching at Ringling College.
“My role as Lead Character Designer entailed designing and managing many aspects of the character design process,” Pepe said in an Instagram post. “From faces and bodies to strip patterns, bioluminescence patterns, and makeup, plus many other minutiae involving character details.”
After the generic Ash female and male characters were designed, along with concepts for the Tlalim (Windtraders) Clan, the Sully Family, and the Recoms, Pepe began working out the specific details of evil sorceress Varang, played by Oona Chaplin. That design process stretched into 2017, including another meeting with Cameron and Landau to review screenshots from auditions.
“I had been creating initial concepts of Varang using various female faces from my selected references,” Pepe said. “I had already established the feathered headpiece, tight-bound breast ropes, and a loincloth. In the middle of 2017, Legacy Effects began their ZBrush and digital scan design process as Varang began to take shape.”
Pepe was also a key character designer for the original 2009 Avatar film. More details about his contribution to Avatar: Fire and Ash can be found in a new hardcover book, The Making of Avatar: Avatar | Avatar: The Way of Water | Avatar: Fire and Ash, available now. A book of artwork from the film will be released this summer.
“As each one of the sequels are released, I am honored to have been part of this team of incredible artists and people,” Pepe said.
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