Case study

Metro Boomin

Designing a concept vehicle for the "Heroes & Villains" short film

Concept Design
2022

Roles
Sketching
3D Modeling
Rendering

Team
Gibson Hazard (Director)

Overview

Metro Boomin is a highly acclaimed and influential music producer and songwriter. He has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry, producing chart-topping hits for artists like Drake, The Weeknd, Future, and 21 Savage, among others.

In 2022, I was invited by Gibson Hazard to work on the short film that released Metro’s second studio album “Heroes & Villains”. Gibson, who has directed films for acclaimed artists such as Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, Lil Nas X, and Drake, among others, asked me to design a brutalist batmobile-inspired vehicle that Metro would drive in the end-sequence of the film.

The film starred actors such as Morgan Freeman and LaKeith Stanfield.

What I did

Explored and ideated initial exterior design directions for the vehicle through sketches
Created concept vehicle design ideas through quick 3D models and renderings
Refined the final 3D model used in the VFX production
Created final renderings showcasing the CMF look and feel of the vehicle

Ideation

At the beginning of the process, Gibson shared with me multiple references and ideas he had in mind for the car. He envisioned a batmobile-inspired vehicle with triangle-shaped elements that connected to Metro Boomin’s record label Boominati Worldwide logo, which inspired key elements throughout the entire film. The film's aesthetic drew influence from the brutalist look and feel seen in movies like Dune and the intense chaotic environment from The Dark Knight.

With this initial direction, I started collecting new references as inspirations and sketching out many design possibilities. In this phase, I usually combine simple thumbnail pen sketches, rough 3D models, and quick Photoshop paint-overs to explore ideas that I feel would resonate with the overall direction.

Final design

After several iterations and feedback sessions, we landed on the final design.

The goal was to create a vehicle that felt brutalist and tough, with hard shapes and surfaces. Triangle elements are scattered throughout the entire car, including the pointed silhouette, making it iconic and connecting to the other key elements presented throughout the film, from Metro’s diamond chain to the architecture of the building.

The Tumblr from Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” and Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” batmobile were huge references for this car. The final design combines elements of both vehicles, from Tumblr’s tank-like look and feel to the open engine at the rear inspired by the batmobile from “The Batman”.