VFX expert and concept artist Aaron Sims' latest work can be seen in The Day the Earth Stood Still. He was also involved with the designs of Gort, the robot, the alien suit and the spaceship. ™ & © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.

When it comes to science-fiction movies, there are some films -- such as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and Clash of the Titans (1981) -- that are so iconic and memorable that it could prove daunting for some to participate in their remaking. For vfx expert and artist Aaron Sims, the chance to work on the new versions of these classic movies was a challenge he could not resist.

"With today's vfx capability, there are no limits to what we can create," Sims says.

Within the industry, Sims is regarded as one of the most versatile concept artists working in films. Sims' multi-faceted approach to creature development and design has resulted in work on memorable movie monsters, including the re-imagined robot Gort from the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Sims was brought on board by the film's director, Scott Derrickson, and Sims was delighted to see modern digital techniques applied to update the influential classic film.

"There were issues with the classic," Sims says. "There were limitations to the suit and ship. With digital assets and tools, you can design anything you can think of. Gort won't be a guy in a suit; it will be totally digital."

Gort is the robot guard that protects the alien Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still. Sims was also involved with the designs of the alien suit and spaceship for the new movie.

"Designing digitally and in 3D allows me to do many different ideas," Sims says. "There can be many, many iterations." Sims' has found that his background in vfx does help when working with -- and advising -- his clients, who ultimately make the final decision.

"I can help them with those choices because I have a background doing both make-up effects and digital work," Sims notes. "Because I do work in 3D, I can allow for the production company to use my 3D model to do the moving storyboards or give that to an effects house to start doing some early R&D. I still work out the designs."

The upcoming Green Lantern won't be the first time Sims has designed green heroes. On The Incredible Hulk he created over 100 different Hulk designs. Courtesy of Aaron Sims. © 2008 Marvel Ent. Courtesy of Rhythm & Hues.

Indeed, according to Jeff Okun, the overall visual effects supervisor on The Day the Earth Stood Still, "Gort proved quite challenging. He "was originally conceived as an alien creature that walked on four legs and then folded up into a kind of totem pole or idol." But it was decided that this was too far removed from the iconic, monolithic robot, so they reverted closer to the original Gort in a more modernistic way. The Aaron Sims Co. was one of several groups that contributed to the new Gort, which is entirely CG and which fires a destructive swarm instead of laser beams.

Sims is working on more alien and suit designs for the forthcoming Green Lantern movie, based on the DC Comics superhero. "We're starting from the ground up on this one, and we're trying to be as contemporary as possible," he says. Sims would not confirm which aliens he is designing, but those familiar with the comic book know that Earth's Green Lantern is just one of an intergalactic corps of heroes who each possess a power ring to fight evil on their home worlds and in outer space. "The suits for the aliens are all different," Sims says, "but they're all green. They're overwhelmingly green. Defining the uniform green -- the proper shade -- is part of the process."

Sims is already familiar with designing green heroes. "On The Incredible Hulk, we looked at all different shades of green," he says. "We even looked at gray. I think we did over 100 different Hulk designs to provide options."

The Aaron Sims Co. provides character designs for film, TV and videogames. Those designs may range from concept sketches of a character (including good, old-fashioned pencil sketches) to fully rendered images or 3D models that can be integrated into a scene, or utilized for previs. Sims notes that fully-textured 3D models can save vfx from rebuilding designs while protecting the filmmaker's vision by utilizing approved designs for the actual animation and previs, a process used recently on The Incredible Hulk and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.