Out of the ashes

It's been a while since I posted, reason being I've been in an isolation of sorts. 
When I last posted I was still in school at the Art Institute of Colorado. As i was nearing the last year of getting my degree in Visual Effects in 2010, I got a call from a guy I had made some retro sci-fi props for in 2009. He asked if I was interested doing post production work on a fantasy film, my response was something, "Does a chicken have a pecker?"

The next day I learned there was a film production studio called Asgard Entertainment only two miles down the street from my apartment, though you would have never seen it.

Nestled in a shopping center across from Target on Sheridan near Evans was a full production house, in addition to a joined martial dojo called Warrior Quest, the mastermind of filmmaker/ninja master/stunt coordinator Mark Grove, that taught the Ninjitsu arts as well as movie/TV stunt training.
I was amazed that Asgard had everything from full computer terminals installed with the latest movie making software, a full greenscreen room, and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment including Red and EPIC cameras.

Immediately I was put to work on their first feature film created entirely in house known as Gathering of Heroes doing post visual effects work, and thus began my career in the film industry.

Over the last few years I've created hundreds of visual effects shots for several feature films, produced multiple costumes and props, and even did some stunt work. Other films I've worked on in addition to Gathering of Heroes include Minds Eye with Malcom Mcdowell and Dean Cain  and  Legacy of the Tengu with James Lew to name a couple.

All of this finally got me on IMDB as well. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4601134/

So in a nutshell, I've been pretty busy, finally getting a hang on time management as I'm usually doing film work 10 to 16 hours a day 6 to 7 days a week. Many people have asked when I would start working on my own films again and the answer is SOON. The above mention titles are nearly in the shipping stage, and though new films to work on are already popping up, I've been taking the steps to get my latest sci fi piece known as G-X off the ground.
I'll be posting regularly again, both on my own work and on the movies I've been working on for other people, so stay tuned.
best
Patrick
 

My 2010 demo reel as of today

The Fly 1958 replica mask in the works!!

This is my latest mask I'm working. My goal is the be the first ever to accurately replicate the mask created by Ben Nye in the 1958 version of The Fly. It will even use real turkey feathers for the "feelers" like Ben did back in the good 'ole days. And what Fly mask would be complete without a claw to go with it? This is an initial sculpt and will change as I get closer to accuracy.

Patrick de Leon interview at TOYSREVILs I Like Toys!!

My good friend Andy from TOYSREVIL in Singapore was kind enough to post about World at Atomic War on his amazing blog that covers all kinds of cool stuff involving pop culture.
He made me do an interview as well that was quite fun. Check it out HERE to get more insight on the movie and what to expect in the future.
Thanks Andy, you rock!!

Worlds at Atomic War part 1 finished(for now)

After six weeks of slaving over a hot computer screen, part one of this B movie epic is finished in time for the deadline. A revised version will be completed by the time part 2 comes out, but this one was under a school deadline. the others will be created during free time. I actually destroyed a 3 month old laptop making this with all the animation, CGI, compositing and other graphic accelerating stuff I utilized to make this. Kudos to Brice Bloxom for allowing me to torture him in front of the camera for a few weeks, and for offering his input in regards to shot placement. He was also instrumental during the editing and sound design.
Click on the movie below and go straight to youtube in case it's cut off in your browser.







I also used a mask I had created for another short that was never produced due to other reasons. It is based off the Ikar alien from The Outer Limits.

'Worlds at Atomic War' VFX test sequence.

This my first VFX test shot for my latest short film. Effects and compositing are all done in Adobe After Effects with help from Action Essentials. The film details the account of an alien invasion in Denver, Colorado.

Worlds at Atomic War short film in the works.

I've recently completed my first VFX test shot of the Martian War Machines to be used in my latest short film. See if you can spot nods.
More info to come.

Detective Genaro Ortiz in Dark Knight suit.

A year ago I was contacted by a police detective in Newark New Jersey who is what you would call a celebrity Batman there in town who was interested in a suit upgrade. This guy suits up 5 days a week to entertain children for charity and to inspire them to lead a drug free life. He is the first Batman to work directly with a police department like the real Batman and even has his own Batmobile and trading cards! I've met a lot of guys who want to be a real Batman, and this guy is the closest I've ever seen! I was asked to upgrade his appearance with a Dark Knight suit as seen in the 2008 film. Here's some pics Detective Ortiz sent me of his first outing in the suit last weekend. This guy is truly an amazing piece of work, thanks Detective for all the work you are doing for the community under the mantle of the bat.

Batman and the Robot of Doom film in the works

Preproduction on a new retro style Batman short is in the works. This will feature my 1939 version of the Batman cowl as well as authentically style batsuit with short purple gloves. As from the title you can guess what his adversary will be, but the robot will be under control by a certain clownish villain also done up in retro golden age style. This film will allow to explore the advances I've made recently in digital compositing, animation and 3d tracking software.

Snake Eyes Replica Armor V2

Latex body armor with cold cast aluminum accessories. The visor attaches to the cowl magnetically.

Custom Star Trek Vulcan ear tips.

I made these in 48 hours just barley in time for October 31st.
These were made of latex, so they were more TOS style. Next time around in the 2009 uniform I'll be making them out of silicon for a more fleshy look. Possibly for Starfest 2010.

"Gimme Three" sci fi short. The "proto" Buck Rogers flick.

Very few people know of my short film Gimme Three that I produced to see if the stuff I wanted to do for Buck Rogers and The World of Tomorrow was possible. Some remark I made Buck Rogers in four weeks from start to finish, but how about five days?
This film was a project where we had to create a short based on the lyrics of a list of songs given to us. I choose Lynyrd Skynrds "Gimme Three Steps" since it provided me with a means to quickly film something where it would only be me interacting with digital characters.
This is personally my favorite short I've done so far due to the comedic aspects, and the fact it was done in only 5 days from star to finish. It showed me that if I could do this in 5 days, I could put together Buck Rogers in four weeks.
Enjoy!

Lucasfilm/Turner promo event.

Recently Turner broadcasting, under the watchful eye of lucasfilm flew some of my clone buddies and I to D.C. for a Clone Wars promo event. This is the second year in a row I've worked with Lucasfilm directly in organizing these events.



Me in my Rex armor:

A vendor there was nice enough to make a pic of Bill and I in 3D!

First Snake Eyes replica body armor pull!

This is my first Snake Eyes armor cast. This is going to a lucky guy in Germany named Guido. I'll be building up a V2 in the coming weeks complete with accessories.

Batman the Dark Knight replica prop armor costume V2

My V2 TDK armor with plexiglass parts exposing real gunmetal Kevlar weave. Modeled by Marshall Wood.

Snake Eyes body armor sculpt close to completion

Dark Knight armored mesh suit.

This is the latest version of my Dark Knight armored mesh suit I am making for my friend Keith in Singapore. This version features a nylon mesh suit that has actually been coated with a layer of latex rubber. This makes it more durable, more accurate and easier to bond to the latex armor pieces.

GI Joe Snake Eyes Mask with magnetic visor

My latest creation is a Snake Eyes cowl based on how he appears in the new 2009 film. Features a visor that attaches via rare earth magnets.

Star Wars Clonetrooper Commander Faie helmet

This is a clone class that has yet to make it into the 501st Legion.
I've been steadily working on this helmet between projects since 2007.
Klean Klay on a foam armature bust.
This is Commander Fai/ Clone Engineer helmet seen in the concept art from Star Wars Revenge of the Sith.

Weird Science test composite- Aliens cooking minature humans in a frying pan.

This is a test composite I did for my VFX Field Production at the Art Institute of Colorado. Under the supervision of Mr.Debreceni,we filmed several members of the class in the greenscreen studio separately.
Using the digital living room built in 3dsmax and a composite shot of a frying pan, everyone is thrown together to be cooked alive for hungry evil aliens!
I used Adobe After Effects for the compositing, smoke is 3dmax particle effects.

"Weird Science"(working title) test composite

This is the first test composite for a scene from a new film I'm helping out withat the Art Institute of Colorado for my VFX Field Production class. Old people makeup was done by Todd Debreceni and myself using the classic method of latex and tissue paper.

Batman The Dark Knight replica armor prop.

This is the latest version of my DK style armor. It is all latex with acrylic lenses in the pecs lined with Kevlar. The bicept armor is also lined with KEvlar that is visible through clear plastic.

"Weird Science" 1950's Transformer Test animation

I posted the first test animation of the 1950's Carbot seen in a school project at the Art Institute of Colorado for VFX Field Production. Model and animation performed in 3d Studio Max.

Alien prosthetics created for short film "Weird Science".

Alien mask created for short film
I spent a total of one week making two masks to be used in my VFX Field Production class at Art Institute of Colorado.
The masks were worn by fellow classmates John Rupe and John Franks. Latex provided by my teacher Todd Debreceni

Car-bot created for AIC film project.-"Weird Science".

I created this in 3d Max earlier this week. It's currently being rigged to hopefully be able to transform on screen.

Buck Rogers and the World of Tomorrow Battlecruiser.

Did some renders tonight of the low poly Buck Rogers Battlecruiser model created for the Buck short.