In 2011 I spent almost a year working as part of Guillermo del Toro’s concept team on PACIFIC RIM! Along with designing some of the film’s kaiju (including Otachi and Slattern) and helping out with storyboards, I also got to design some props and set pieces. One of the first props I designed was the “welding backpack” that Raleigh wears while working on the construction of the Anti-Kaiju Wall.

I sketched the initial design as a place holder when I storyboarded that scene, Guillermo liked the shapes in the drawings and asked me to refine it. I did a more detailed version of the front / back which was then sent out to be worked up for construction.

Below is the final hero prop from the film (photo from the Prop Store Pacific Rim auction).

Later on I was asked to design some of the various maintenance vehicles for the Shatterdome scenes. One concept that made it into the film was the “Tool Train”~ which was a series of driverless carts that carried different Jaeger repair tools and were directed by a technician using control wands. 

A few months later I was thrilled to be told it was sitting outside in the studio parking lot (not my photo)! Check back for more Pacific Rim concepts in a future post!