With the release of Legendary Pictures' version of "Godzilla" in less than 5 weeks, I thought I'd start a thread in which members can discuss any and all things Godzilla related.  well, maybe not "all" things.  I don't think hardcore "rule 34 slash-fic" would be permitted on this board.  (Hey, don't fool yourself into denying it exists.  I've seen things you people wouldn't believe...to quote Roy Batty from "Blade Runner".)  But short of that, this thread can serve as a general "round robin" discussion of the "Big G" and a spot to post and/or link Godzilla and other kaiju or giant monster based art.

There are several resources for Poser/DAz Studio compatible Godzilla and generic giant monster based material, both free and for purchase.  English Bob hosts several figures sculpted and rigged by Scott Ayers upon his Morphography site.  They include 4 different versions of Godzilla himself, the last being a conceptual design declined for the (in)famous 1998 movie.  There's also a King Ghidorah, a Gabera and a collection of real dinosaurs that can be readily adapted as B-movie monsters.

http://www.morphography.uk.vu/dlscott.html

I hope this does not come across as bragging, but I humbly offer a custom .CR2 "figure" that can be used with Scott's "Final Wars" Godzilla that reshapes the head and gives the skin a "displaced" bark-like appearance.  (Because it uses Poser based "Material Room" nodes, that feature is useless to DAZ Studio, but it should be able to use the .CR2 that modifies the skull.)  It can be found here...

http://www.sharecg.com/v/64864/gallery/11/Poser/Godzilla-FW-X-treme

Scott Ayers also modeled the creature from the 1998 movie some fans endearingly call "G.I.N.O." (Godzilla In Name Only).  Little Dragon took the base mesh and rigged it.  The figure can be found here...

http://littledragon.francemi.net/misc_01.htm

Then, there's this Japanese site that offers a variety of monsters, some from the Gamera (a giant rocket propelled flying turtle) movies and others associated with the vintage UltraMan television series.  There's also a more robust King Ghidorah that uses ERC for the three necks and two tails and two versions of Gigan.

http://h5n.jp/posernyan/monsters.html

MightyLady offers several versions of UltraMan and UltraWoman along with some of the monsters they defeated.

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/freestuff/?search=mightylady&expression=artist_name

Then there are some figures for purchase, most notably, Valandar's "Kaiju", a purposely "generic" looking  theropod with a stout frame that can be morphed into some different forms.  Valandar also offers an "add-on" set of fins and spikes to add even more variety.  These can be found at DAZ.

Speaking of "add-ons", Gareee sells a package of morphs and conforming spinal plates that are for use with Digital I's T-Rex, turning a realistic tyranosaurus figure into a movie monster.  Again, these items are sold at DAZ.

I'm sure there are other resources available, but these are the ones I readily remember.

Anyway, let's share our renders and anecdotes about the "King of the Monsters".

Sincerely,

Bill

Great idea!

I just wish they'd release Godzilla 1985 (Godzilla's Revenge) on DVD.

BTW, here's the newest clip on youtube.

It certainly appears as though this latest adaptation will be strong on personal drama and emotional turmoil, elements that made the original movie the classic it is.

Alas, my initial exposure to Godzilla did not leave me very impressed.  You see, the first Godzilla film I saw, which happened to be in the theaters rather than television was..."Godzilla vs. Megalon", a film a sizeable percentage of fans consider one of the lowest points in the series.

In the United States, the lobby poster used most depicted the titular monsters atop the World Trade Center Towers as they faced off each other.  In my ignorance of the franchise, I honestly expected the setting to be New York.  But no such sequence took place.  In fact, most of the combat took place in the wilderness, away from dense population centers.  True, the beetle inspired Megalon blasted a few buildings and factory centers, but for the most part the creatures fought in a region of rolling hills devoid of human habitation.  Thus, there was little sense of impending peril.

Also, being a kid "raised" upon films featuring the the otherworldly quality of "stop motion" puppet animation as used in "King Kong" and the Charles Schneer/Ray Harryhausen "Sinbad" series, I expected something akin to that.  Instead, I witnessed what were obviously performers in elastic costumes "wrasslin'" upon a soundstage festooned with railroading type models.  Godzilla did not arrive until the final quarter of the film and his visage was almost puggishly "cute"!  What on earth?!  I found "Land of the Lost" more frightening!

Needless to say, that moviegoing experience "put me off" the Godzilla concept for several years.

Fast forward five, maybe six years and I found myself thumbing through the TV listing in the paper.  I noticed that a local UHF channel was going to broadcast the "original" Godzilla one evening.  Now, when I say "original", I actually mean the version with the inserted scenes featuring Raymond Burr.  I was doubtful, but I had read some retrospectives about the franchise since my Megalon disappointment.  Various articles claimed the original movie was a very different, ahem beast from the material produced during the 70s.  So I decided to give it a chance.

I'm glad I did!  Given the subject matter, it was very serious.  It exuded a definite sense of impending menace as this "force of nature" first threatened and later destroyed Japan's largest city, Tokyo.  This creature did not look like some wide eyed "foo dog".  Instead it posseesed a very crocodilian face, coldly reptilian.  And while its initial reveal happened during the day, the devestation was depicted at night, so the costume was considerably in shadow and "spotlit" from below, giving a better sense of implied scale.  Plus, unlike many US produced monster  films in which the featured city usually experiences at most relatively little damage, Tokyo was razed to the ground, consumed in a city wide firestorm.  The scenes of the aftermath, survivors stacked like firewood in the few intact buildings was a bit more graphic than most American made popcorn cinema would dare depict.  And yet, I read this was partially edited from the Japanese original.

I suspect what some of you may be thinking.  "Bill, as impressed as you seem to be with the "Raymond Burr cut", you would probably enjoy the the "original Japanese "Gojira" even better.  Well, thanks to Turner Classic Movies, I've had that opportunity, and yes, I enjoyed it more that the 1956 American cut.  About two years ago, TCM broadcast the original "Gojira" (no Raymond Burr inserted footage), subtitled rather than dubbed.  That pleasantly surprised me as it allowed me to watch it without being distracted by awkward voiceovers that didn't quite sync with the mouth movements.  I was smart enough to record it upon my DVR and still retain that "feed".

Yeah, we may joke about the later Godzilla films that became more "kid friendly" with more, say we say, "frugal" budgets.  But the creators took the original film very seriously and that earnest approach comes across in the final production.  I think (okay, hope) that the upcoming Legendary Pictures release will recapture some of that original atmosphere.

Sincerely,

Bill

Still, I hope you forgive me for presenting a lil' render.  It's Scoatt Ayers' "Final Wars" Godzilla with my custom morph and procedural material set listed in the opening post.  The "water" is ond of the "toppers" from AntFarm's display stands.  I doubled the "Y" scale and plugged the watery "foam" into the displacement channel.  The threatening sky is from AntFarm's "Twister".

Sincerely,

Bill

Nice render Bill :-)

I do like what I think is the almost "stop motion" / "claymation" model look you've achieved... very authentic I think.

I always thought Godzilla was a she... so Queen of the Monsters.

But this looks interesting, I must check out some of the links you posted.

Quite nice.  I think the Godzilla movies with Godzookie were just terrible.  "Celebretiy Death Match: Monster Island" was just not good.  Always liked the tiny princesses from the Mothra movie, however.

I understand what you mean, but forgive me for being a pedantic schmuck if you will.

Godzooky was the name of the infantile creature with armpit wings from the Hanna-Babera animated series.  In the movies, the humonculus looking "thing" was called Minilla (sometimes spelled Minya) in the original Japanese cuts of films like "Son of Godzilla".  The character was heavily redesigned for the films of the 80s, finally looking like something reptilian rather than an aborted gorilla fetus.

Strangely enough, the original Minilla deign was brought back for "Final Wars", the last Godzilla film Toho has produced.  The scenes appear rather "tagged on", as though it was footage made for another movie and just awkwardly spliced into the larger narrative.

of course, by the time Minilla was introduced, Toho was targeting ever younger audiences, as the "Gamera" films produced by a rival studio were doing.

Thankfully, it looks like the Legendary Pictures film will be trying to recapture the "uncertainty" and "dread" of the original Japanese cut of "Gojira", so I think there is very little chance we'll see a "baby" Godzilla comic relief character.

Sincerely,

Bill

I created a "partial masking" texture I plugged into the ambient channel, thus making only the outer edge of the spines glow.  Finally, I plugged a "gather" node into the alternate diffuse channel for the skin so that it would capture a bit of the ambient blue as though it were a true light casting source.

The final effect (all done "in render" rather than "post") creates the distinctive sequence of Godzilla "charging" himself to unleash his infamous "atomic breath".

Sincerely,

Bill

You may notice how the “gather” node I used upon the skin to capture the ambient glow of the spinal plates in the other image is capturing a bit of the glow from the vapor effect, enhancing the illusion it is a true light source.

Sincerely,

Bill

Sincerely,

Bill

After looking at those renders I think Vicki is going to need a bigger sword!:scared:

Here is the first review of the new movie that makes it sound like it is going to be a blockbuster...we shall see...

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/05/16/godzilla-review-emotional-adventure-dont-want-to-miss/?intcmp=features

word on the street: gojira battles "Mutos", which are spawning in order to take over frisco bay area.

Headed to San Mateo for the Maker Faire for the weekend...thanks for the warning. I will be extra careful now. :scared:

Great post Bill! What fun I've missed. I saw the badly dubbed original Japanese movies as a kid-on Black and White TV (scary) And as Teen saw some badly dubbed Japanese movies that made me laugh out loud. Not sure which movie it was-but it involved Godzilla and a Giant Moth (Mothra?)- and I remember laughing about the dialog "Calling Monster Island-come in Monster Island!" I have some vague memories of Japanese women singing (to summon Godzilla?). Bear in mind this was all more than 30 years ago-so my memories are a bit vague. Anyway-good you've posted links to GodZilla!

Eric

Quote - It certainly appears as though this latest adaptation will be strong on personal drama and emotional turmoil, elements that made the original movie the classic it is.

Alas, my initial exposure to Godzilla did not leave me very impressed.  You see, the first Godzilla film I saw, which happened to be in the theaters rather than television was..."Godzilla vs. Megalon", a film a sizeable percentage of fans consider one of the lowest points in the series.

In the United States, the lobby poster used most depicted the titular monsters atop the World Trade Center Towers as they faced off each other.  In my ignorance of the franchise, I honestly expected the setting to be New York.  But no such sequence took place.  In fact, most of the combat took place in the wilderness, away from dense population centers.  True, the beetle inspired Megalon blasted a few buildings and factory centers, but for the most part the creatures fought in a region of rolling hills devoid of human habitation.  Thus, there was little sense of impending peril.

Also, being a kid "raised" upon films featuring the the otherworldly quality of "stop motion" puppet animation as used in "King Kong" and the Charles Schneer/Ray Harryhausen "Sinbad" series, I expected something akin to that.  Instead, I witnessed what were obviously performers in elastic costumes "wrasslin'" upon a soundstage festooned with railroading type models.  Godzilla did not arrive until the final quarter of the film and his visage was almost puggishly "cute"!  What on earth?!  I found "Land of the Lost" more frightening!

Needless to say, that moviegoing experience "put me off" the Godzilla concept for several years.

 

Fast forward five, maybe six years and I found myself thumbing through the TV listing in the paper.  I noticed that a local UHF channel was going to broadcast the "original" Godzilla one evening.  Now, when I say "original", I actually mean the version with the inserted scenes featuring Raymond Burr.  I was doubtful, but I had read some retrospectives about the franchise since my Megalon disappointment.  Various articles claimed the original movie was a very different, ahem beast from the material produced during the 70s.  So I decided to give it a chance.

I'm glad I did!  Given the subject matter, it was very serious.  It exuded a definite sense of impending menace as this "force of nature" first threatened and later destroyed Japan's largest city, Tokyo.  This creature did not look like some wide eyed "foo dog".  Instead it posseesed a very crocodilian face, coldly reptilian.  And while its initial reveal happened during the day, the devestation was depicted at night, so the costume was considerably in shadow and "spotlit" from below, giving a better sense of implied scale.  Plus, unlike many US produced monster  films in which the featured city usually experiences at most relatively little damage, Tokyo was razed to the ground, consumed in a city wide firestorm.  The scenes of the aftermath, survivors stacked like firewood in the few intact buildings was a bit more graphic than most American made popcorn cinema would dare depict.  And yet, I read this was partially edited from the Japanese original.

I suspect what some of you may be thinking.  "Bill, as impressed as you seem to be with the "Raymond Burr cut", you would probably enjoy the the "original Japanese "Gojira" even better.  Well, thanks to Turner Classic Movies, I've had that opportunity, and yes, I enjoyed it more that the 1956 American cut.  About two years ago, TCM broadcast the original "Gojira" (no Raymond Burr inserted footage), subtitled rather than dubbed.  That pleasantly surprised me as it allowed me to watch it without being distracted by awkward voiceovers that didn't quite sync with the mouth movements.  I was smart enough to record it upon my DVR and still retain that "feed".

Yeah, we may joke about the later Godzilla films that became more "kid friendly" with more, say we say, "frugal" budgets.  But the creators took the original film very seriously and that earnest approach comes across in the final production.  I think (okay, hope) that the upcoming Legendary Pictures release will recapture some of that original atmosphere.

Sincerely,

Bill

Miss Nancy! HAHAHA!!

Quote - this one uses scott A's gojira IIRC.  but never fear - it saves frisco and silicon heaven.  it would only try to destroy some den of iniquity (L.A.  or n'yok) :lol:

Cool!

Quote - Same arrangement as before, just using different lighting.  This time I positioned limited range point lights just above each lamp post and a much stronger one just off camera whee the breath weapon prop meets the ground, suggesting something exploded.  I also added "gather" nodes for the inner mouth parts, capturing the glow from the "atomic breath".

Sincerely,

Bill

Ah, Eric, you must be recalling the Shobijin fairies.  They are associated with Mothra (Mosura in Japanese) and can summon the giant moth through a prayer in song titled "Mosura No Uta", usually played in the original Japanese even if the rest of the movie is a dubbed version.  (Okay, I dug up that from Wikipedia to sound more impressive.)

Unlike Godzilla, Mothra has almost always been depicted as a "protector" of the world (not necessarily people or human civilization).  The only time it seemed destructive was in its debut film because greedy people kidnapped the fairy twins and the giant larval form came searching for them.  Otherwise, it has helped fight off other daikaiju though those allignments have changed from movie to movie.

Sincerely,

Bill

Although, the latest incantation had an overall serious tone to it, I was rather disappointed that Godzilla was, once again, depicted as the savior of mankind, not a vengeful force of nature.  The effects were excellent, destruction and battles well directed and believable.  However, a supernatural creature which mankind tries to destroy and yet not harbor any illwell is a little too farfetched.

BTW, look for Mothra in this movie, appears very quickly in one scene.

it was joke by merry pransters.  they rent one of those signs, then later they reprog others (e.g. lastweek it said "too hot - city is closed").  but gojira didn't attack frisco during bay-to-breakers; only accidentally hit some stuff with its tail.

It's official, sequel on the way.

I saw the new Godzilla movie yesterday.  My husband had a very valid complaint about the movie--not enough of Godzilla in it.  After seeing the movie, I'm left wondering when Godzilla got so old and world-weary.  I swear his body language at one point where is he walking into the sea is screaming, "I'm too old for this stuff anymore."  Maybe he was just tired from the battle.  I also didn't like his beady-little eyes and flat head.  I guess I'm just a sucker for the old rubber-suit version.  I think the first Godzilla movie I saw was against Ghidra the 3-headed monster/dragon at the theater when I was a kid.    I'm old :(

I reworked my earlier render to make it look like an “often played” vintage print.  I also added some “layered” explosion effects and for the “cherry on top”, I have the gang from the Satellite of Love “riffing” the scene.

You can provide your own clever “zingers”.

Sincerely,

Bill

Quote -

You can provide your own clever “zingers”.

Sincerely,

Bill

Great pic. Looks fantastic. I assume that is you in the audience jumping up and

either

1.) cheering on Godzilla over another flamming hot deal he is forcing Renderosity to create for the market place!

or

2.) cheering on Godzilla becuase he blasted Renderosity with his flames as a pay back because the last Renderosity sale burnt a hole in your wallet and delayed your seeing his new movive until your finances recovered!

either way, you captured the original look perfectly. Congrats and thanks for sharing.

Gary

Attached Link: "Too Old" by RavenFire5

Others got that vibe as well as this lil' cartoon RavenFire5 drew and posted upon DeviantArt can attest.

Sincerely,

Bill