The Marketing Art of Borderlands 2

SYNOPSIS

Borderlands 2 was a terrific experience in the world of Marketing Art.  Previously, I had created art assets for other products in a marketing capacity, but this was the first time I got to work on a AAA title.  Motion graphics trailers, live action commercial edits, box art, collector’s edition illustrative swag, soundtrack cover design, video documentaries, a novel cover, PAX promotional T-shirts, wallscapes, and a Borderlands style Trumps card game kept me very busy up to the launch of the game.  A shout out goes to Kelly Romeo, who was my very talented creative partner in crime on this endeavor.

 

BORDERLANDS 2

COLLECTOR & REGULAR

BOX ART

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The first task I received when I came on board for the project was to create the box art for the highly anticipated Borderlands 2 game.  Prior to my involvement, the art department had conjured up a vast array of approaches, all of which contained cool ideas, but fell short of what Randy and Brian were looking for.  I too went through multiple design iterations before arriving at the final piece.  It was decided that the box art should be a clever update to the original Borderlands box art created by Kelly Romeo, this time using two “finger guns” instead of one to signify that this was in fact, a sequel.  Luckily, Kelly was available for support and provided some valuable input / contributions to help make what you see today.  This was the first box art I had done for the Xbox 360 and was blown away to find out that it had won top honors as one of the top 12 box arts of 2012 by IGN, which was a huge deal to me because of the other box art heavy hitters that were in the mix such as Halo 4 and Diablo 3.  I was also tapped to create the box art for the Collector’s Edition “Steel Book”.  The art department had a wealth of terrific art, so a decision was made to use it for the inside portion of the steel book.

BORDERLANDS 2

LIVE ACTION COMMERCIAL

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For the launch of Borderlands 2, Gearbox Software and 2K Games wanted to update the live action commercial to include ratings and accolades from critics, so I was asked to create a version that resembled what you would see when a movie has a successful opening.  I was very excited to manipulate the commercial spot, adding my own personal touch to the piece by integrating a freeze frame technique that you see in a lot of classic Grindhouse films.  The copy was emblazoned with the same style as the Borderlands 2 title and colorful splatter animations were created round out the freeze frame compositions.  A few sound FX were added to help give the accolades more punch when they flew on screen.

BORDERLANDS 2

ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

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BORDERLANDS 2

TORGUE WEAPONS TRAILER

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For the launch of Borderlands 2, Gearbox Software and 2K Games wanted to update the live action commercial to include ratings and accolades from critics, so I was asked to create a version that resembled what you would see when a movie has a successful opening.  I was very excited to manipulate the commercial spot, adding my own personal touch to the piece by integrating a freeze frame technique that you see in a lot of classic Grindhouse films.  The copy was emblazoned with the same style as the Borderlands 2 title and colorful splatter animations were created round out the freeze frame compositions.  A few sound FX were added to help give the accolades more punch when they flew on screen.

BORDERLANDS 2

PROMOTIONAL PAX T-SHIRTS

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BORDERLANDS 2

JAKOBS WEAPONS TRAILER

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If Torgue was testosterone on overdrive, Jakobs was the polar opposite with its easy going, “home on the range” vibe.  Listening to the VO inspired me to use music that you typically hear when watching a bank commercial.  For the visuals, I decided to take a macro approach so the viewer could appreciate the guns from a craftsmanship perspective.

BORDERLANDS 2

“UNCONQUERED” NOVEL COVER

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BORDERLANDS 2

TOP TRUMPS CARD SET

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BORDERLANDS 2 DLC

CAPTAIN SCARLETT AND HER PRIRATE BOOTY CINEMATIC

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I co-created the motion graphics for the cinematic intro to the first DLC for Borderlands 2, specifically the treasure map sequence. I’ve always been a big fan of the Borderlands 2.5D storytelling cinematics, so it was awesome to finally get to collaborate with Brian Thomas at Gearbox Software.

BORDERLANDS 2

CREATURE SIZE CHART

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 For the Collector’s Edition of the game, Brian Martel requested that we do a creature size chart to show off the vast amount of memorable characters from the game.  This gauntlet was thrown at my feet and I was more than happy to oblige.  The next several weeks, I was knee deep in the Unreal Engine, snagging orthographic views of every class of character and arranging them mainly from smallest to biggest.  The final boss is so huge – only the lower portion is visible.

Web Design

Motion Graphics

Illustration

Video Production

Product Design

3D / Unreal Engine

I had the privilege of working with Russ for half a year on a number of tight deadline projects for a marketing campaign. During that time he showed himself to be a gifted designer, motion graphic artist and photographer, who was always willing to take on as much as we could offer, and did it with ease and professionalism. Russ is an all around great guy whom any team would be lucky to have working with them. He's a dedicated worker who clearly has a passion for what he does and a talent to back it up. I count myself fortunate to have worked with Russ and would gladly do it again given the chance.

KELLY ROMEO, SENIOR MARKETING ARTIST AT GEARBOX SOFTWARELinkedIn Recommendation

Russell is an amazing graphic artist and photographer. Specifically, his layout and design of the Borderlands 2 soundtrack and the Borderlands novel "Unconquered" was top-notch. In addition, Russell was able to quickly fit in and demonstrate his ability to be a valuable member of the team.

DAVID EDDINGS, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AT GEARBOX SOFTWARELinkedIn Recommendation

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