I'm Out of Control Again! "The Maxx" Concept Animation
An unofficial animated proof of concept film for The Maxx
Animation, etc. by Tim Fox
Sound Design by Thomas Fox
So in the 90s I was into this animated show on MTV called The Maxx (Yeah that's how old I am) which was an even better comic book series than animation, which pretty much influenced everything I do now. It was dark, weird, layered with meaning, featured a messed up anti-hero - Maxx - and the art was so cool. For me it was what the 90s was all about and why people are re-discovering the era. Culture was far less manufactured and sanitized, it was organic and if you dug deep you would find stuff like this.
Animation, etc. by Tim Fox
Sound Design by Thomas Fox
So in the 90s I was into this animated show on MTV called The Maxx (Yeah that's how old I am) which was an even better comic book series than animation, which pretty much influenced everything I do now. It was dark, weird, layered with meaning, featured a messed up anti-hero - Maxx - and the art was so cool. For me it was what the 90s was all about and why people are re-discovering the era. Culture was far less manufactured and sanitized, it was organic and if you dug deep you would find stuff like this.
Anyway it's been an age since anyone mentioned The Maxx or remade it and I'm scared someone will pretty soon and it will suck. The rights have been thrown around Hollywood and Sam Kieth the creator got so screwed over by the industry he's fallen off the planet.
The Maxx has always been sacred to me and I don't think I could ever do it justice, but if I WERE to remake it, well, here it is. My take on The Maxx.
The Maxx has always been sacred to me and I don't think I could ever do it justice, but if I WERE to remake it, well, here it is. My take on The Maxx.
Character modelling, rigging, Texture, Look Dev by Tim Fox
Art direction, environments, 2D FX, comp by Tim Fox
Animation, layout by Tim Fox
Sound Design by Thomas Fox
Maxx voice by Tim Fox
Original The Maxx concept by Sam Kieth and William Messner-Loebs
This is an unofficial fan-made piece of work.
No gen-AI used here.
Screenshots
Character Design
The Maxx is a well established character but always existed in 2D in the comics. Sam Kieth would exaggerate proportions and The Maxx would often fill the page. There are plenty of decent zBrush sculpts out there but nothing animation friendly. So this character was put together using an Incredible Hulk mesh and arms, feet and claws from a zBrush mesh of The Maxx (Remeshed in C4D).
Rigging was tough, his arms are incredibly chunky with various muscle bulges. The texturing was a combination of toon shaders in Redshift and hand painting and texturing in Substance Painter.
Rigging was tough, his arms are incredibly chunky with various muscle bulges. The texturing was a combination of toon shaders in Redshift and hand painting and texturing in Substance Painter.
Concept Art
The Maxx comics have an overall inky aesthetic which I wanted to bring into the film texturally. The source material is some of the most incredible stylistic art I've seen in comics, so a comic book, illustrated style was important to get also without limiting the ability to animate him in 3D.
I hope you enjoyed watching this film, whether you are a die hard fan or just discovering the purple freak.
