Title: Driftwave 2095
Brand: Driftworks
Studio: Outrun Films
My role: 3D artist
All though I’ve done a fair bit of design for print work since, when I worked on this in 2018 making something this elaborate for something that would just be a still image seemed crazy but they were really keen to invest the time in what became the hero shot behind a whole campaign themed off the emerging synthwave scene and 80s nostalgia that was coming back in when this was made.
The most important bit to get right was the car - a one of a kind custom creation called the DW86. The client was Driftworks, a brand famous in the car drifting scene and this car was the closest you could get if they had appointed a spokesperson who was also a car. It’s a very well known car.
Despite being heavily into photogrammetry at the time, the shiny surfaces and lack of laser scanner meant serious focus on getting each of the unique components that made that car what it is today. It had been built on the body of a Toyota Trueno but the intakes, mudguards and other aspects of the bodywork had been sculpted into exactly what its driver Phil Morrison wanted. It took lots of reference. These are my photos from that period…it’s just a sea of orange!
Once the car was nailed down, a few different angles were tried out. The original scene was going to be a low angle but it didn’t show off the key features of the car well enough, so rightly Al Clark, my director at Outrun, prompted me to try the aerial view you see now - allowing us to incorporate a car park overlooking the futuristic city. Although it won’t show up on the web images of this (and I can’t show a high quality version here, as they literally print this for sale) there is a robot in a hoodie holding a removable steering wheel (one of the products Drifworks sells). The kanji actually read “Car Idiot” as it was the translation the company bit suited their vibe. I popped in the flying cars and Al added the final flourishes in photoshop.
This went on to be banners and TV shirts as well as being the image behind their Driftwave campaign (which has a hilarious supporting video by Al if you have time). They still sell stickers here to this day.