SATURDAY SIX Artist Spotlight: The Theme Park Artwork of Brian Gweon

This week’s SATURDAY SIX proudly presents a new entrant into our Artist Spotlight Series: Brian Gweon. I was first drawn to Brian’s work on social media when I saw a piece he did featuring Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. The drawing stood out to me because while I have seen a million pieces of art based on Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios Florida, and Volcano Bay, I couldn’t think of anyone who used CityWalk as an artistic inspiration. We featured that piece of art in our in-depth look at Toothsome, and today we’re getting a behind-the-scenes look at how Brian creates his artwork.

One thing I admire about Brian is that he takes his artistic ideas to the next level. Many of us “arm chair Imagineers” have plenty of ideas for rides, shows, and hotels that we’d like Disney and Universal to make, but Brian goes through the entire process of what is needed to pitch an idea to management. This article gives a fascinating look into the nuts-and-bolts of what goes into the things we take for granted inside the parks.

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What’s Up! My name is Gyuhyuk Brian Gweon (I go by Brian), and I am extremely excited to be part of the Artist Spotlight Series. I’ve been following Derek Burgan and his series for a while and have seen many talented artists. I’m honored to be part of it under my freelance brand, Brian Park Studios.

I’m a multidisciplinary artist in Themed Entertainment, and I’ve done projects with JRA (Part of RWS Global), SeaWorld/United Parks & Entertainment, Insane Haunt Productions, Slice Creative Network, and more!

My love of theme parks started with my first trip to Disneyland during their 50th Anniversary celebration. The Disneyland version of it’s a small world was (and, as my friends know, still is) my favorite ride. I drew scribbles of the façade in elementary school and created my own Disneyland maps before hanging them on my bedroom wall. I used to collect park maps and read travel guides, then even illustrated my comics in my fifth-grade yearbook (I was a big fan of Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, Big Nate, and Garfield).

Another big motivator was that in third grade, I was diagnosed with epilepsy, and it had many impacts on my childhood experience at the theme parks I love. As I am now a professional field as freelance designer, I do my best to advocate for others with disabilities in the themed entertainment industry.

For all grade school, it was strictly Disney, and my neighborhood theme park in California was called the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It was only when I left home for Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida that I went to Universal Orlando for the first time during the pandemic, and I immediately upgraded my ticket to an annual pass. With Epic Universe on the way, there is no better time to be a theme park fan!

# 6 – Fan Art (and Friends)

Before I get into my original works, I must dedicate a section to the fan art I create along with the friends who motivate me to make it. It’s lovely getting to know many Universal, Disney, and SeaWorld performers, and they inspire me to create art for their attractions. It’s good drawing practice that doubles as a thank you to the community that I love.

One form of fan art is making parade floats for existing parades. Ideas I have had include an Alice in Wonderland float for the Magic Happens Parade at Disneyland and a Celebration Garden float for Universal’s Mardi Gras parade.

Anyone else enjoy the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion as much as I do?

However, most of my fanart fits into the comic-book aesthetic. I wanted to be a comic strip illustrator, so working in this style helped me hone my craft. I am currently trying to steer away from fan art and vending, but these pieces inspired by Mega Movie Parade, Disney Parks, and Halloween Horror Nights will always have a place in my heart.

I’d also like to thank the close friends who make me smile daily. They’ve supported me when I needed them and called me out when I’ve done something wrong. I met them all, whether at college or online, through our shared love of theme parks, and we grew from silly art kids with one common interest to friends for life. A group of pals reading this will know this message is for them; if not, I’ll probably text them to ensure that they understand. I love making post graphics to support their businesses, make fan art of our favorite shows, or doodle us together being silly.

# 5 – Twisters: Chase It!

I was a natural disaster kid. At one point, I wanted to be either a storm chaser or a volcanologist, so movies like Twister were my favorite. Imagine my joy when I went to college in Florida and realized there was, in fact, a theme park attraction based on the movie! Sadly, Twister…Ride It Out is long closed, but right after I watched the new Twisters film this summer, I had an epiphany. Why not design my Twisters ride to take over the enormous Fast & Furious Supercharged show building?

First, I thought, how could the ride fit in visually? So, I illustrated a concept where we retheme the plaza area of San Francisco to Midwest Circle, pairing perfectly with a new façade for the attraction on top of the existing show building.

I proudly would love to share my concept for Twisters: Chase It! It is a fully developed, fan-made written treatment for a ride based on the beloved IP. I went through six different names, two different locations, and multiple sketches before settling on a final plot and ride system. (The full treatment of my Twisters: Chase It! is available by CLICKING HERE.)

As Derek himself likes to say, Rumors & Innuendo suggest that Springfield USA might be on the chopping block at Universal Studios Florida once the rights to The Simpsons expire in the near future. So, I went back to the drawing board and created another fan concept, this time replacing The Simpsons Ride area with an attraction themed to Pokemon: World of Soloria!

 

 

# 4 – The Millenia Star Resort

In school, most of my projects are much more 3D and technical, so for this project, I wanted to focus on my love for 2D Illustration. It features the Millenia Star Hotel, based in a fictional Mediterranean seaside town. The entire city and its culture circulate a folk tale about a village that pirates destroyed. Together, the survivors rebuilt the community with the god’s help, creating a culture based on a galaxy motif and a strong belief in hope, courage, and motivation. It features a central hotel, spa, shops, quick service dining, fine dining, a walkthrough experience, a water park, and stores. The main attraction is the nightly water show, which combines tech and live performances to tell the story of the woman who believed her village could thrive once again.

To fit with the theme, the waterpark is where a shooting star fell. The meteor released a mass of magical energy of bright colors to create the beautiful canyon where the water attractions occur.

Another niche of themed entertainment I love is lagoon shows. I especially like the fantastic new Cinesational: a Symphonic Orchestra, World of Color, and Marathon of Mayhem. So, I wanted to include some art for a water show at the resort!

While I’m much more of an environment illustrator, I also wanted to try some character designs for this project. The figure isn’t my strongest suit, but I’m thrilled with how it turned out!

# 3 – Death Tower: Unleashed

So, I love HHN. There is no doubt about it: I love haunted houses, and Universal Orlando nails the spooky season every year. They’ve done a lovely job touching almost every horror niche possible, but I realized they haven’t ventured that much into the fantastic collection of terrifying folk tales from East Asia. As I began researching to bring some Eastern representation to American haunted houses, I realized there were far too many excellent folk tales to choose from. After this, I reduced the scope to Japanese tales specifically and made a narrative where multiple tales come together so that every monster and spirit has a chance to shine.

I also used this concept to practice Unreal Engine 4 for the façade design and lighting. This is my favorite project regarding layout design, which I did as part of my treatment. It’s my longest and most in-depth treatment at almost 30 pages, with an entire 3D textured layout in SketchUp, complete with diagrams for Scareactors, props, and equipment placement for each scene. (Full treatment is available by CLICKING HERE.)

You may also enjoy my pitch for a haunt experience based on Five Nights at Freddys. You can check my full treatment out by CLICKING HERE.

# 2 – Lisa Frankenstein: Love Wins Again

So recently, I finally watched Lisa Frankenstein after months of my friends urging me to watch it. The aesthetic and basic plot looked perfect for a haunted house! However, I didn’t think the movie overall was strong enough to be an appealing attraction. The solution? I write a treatment for a haunted house that is not a direct replica of the film’s plot but is more inspired by it. I changed some characters, plot, and setting to create an “inspired by” narrative with more kills and horror. Themed after a gothic horror novel rather than a 90s film, this interpretation of the source material is meant to be more appealing and less dependent on the IP so that guests can understand the plot.

To celebrate its source material and support its uniqueness as its plot, I named it Lisa Frankenstein: Love Lives Again rather than just Lisa Frankenstein.

In the treatment, I also included a specific section specifying changes to the original plot to make it more straightforward to potential readers. Since it’s meant to be as if you’re walking into a novel, I also wrote an original narration script to make the narrative more fluent throughout the experience.
(Full treatment is available at https://brianparkstudios.com)

# 1 – Dimension 5 (Thesis)

For my final topic, I want to share a project that is currently in progress, like a time capsule. It is for my thesis, and is titled Dimension 5: Experiential Cinematic Journeys. My current pitch is as follows: “Step into the diverse and thrilling world of the Dimension 5 Theater entertainment complex. With four immersive mini–-Poseidon’s Fury-style or haunt walkthrough experiences, a grand retro-themed lobby with character interactions, a luxurious waiting retro bar/lounge area, and a unique PARALLEL PLATES dining option, it offers a range of entertainment options across a variety of genres. Guests can use their “film festival tickets” with designated “showtimes” to experience multiple unique and walk-through original stories made with movie-quality sets and live performers. Like the upcoming Horror Unleashed and Netflix House Live Experiences mixed with Area 15’s mysterious humor but not constrained by niche genres, the complex features four operating temporary experiences with five soundstages (or “cinemas”), ensuring there’s always something new for guests to enjoy as at least one new attraction is constantly developing.”

I’m still not completely set on this concept, so it could change as I start my senior year this fall. Who knows, I might replace it entirely! For now, here are the sketches.

If you want more of my portfolio, please check out https://brianparkstudios.com. Thank you again to Derek for this opportunity, and happy creating, everyone!!

Connect with Brian Gweon on Twitter – Instagram

So there you have it: SATURDAY SIX Artist Spotlight – The Theme Park Artwork of Brian Gweon! See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out the THEME PARK ENJOYMENT INDEX, giving a monthly recap of all the theme park news you need to know (and a lot more you don’t need to know, but we’re gonna tell you anyway). You can also follow Your Humble Author on Twitter (@derekburgan).

If you enjoyed this article, you will surely like the following: 

Artist Spotlight Class of 2021: SonderQuest | Sam Carter | Brian Cooper | Sterling Denham

Artist Spotlight Class of 2022: Rob Yeo | Ava Buric | Jess Siswick | Hayden Evans

Artist Spotlight Class of 2023: Marie Catano | Savannah Hamilton | Bunny Wars

Artist Spotlight Class of 2024: Jaime S. | Jess Feldman | Bryan Bindman

Artist Spotlight – Phillip Weatherford (AKA The Horizoneer)

SATURDAY SIX Presents: Artists Inspired by Universal’s VELOCICOASTER

SATURDAY SIX Presents: Artists Inspired by Universal’s HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS

SATURDAY SIX Artists Inspired by HHN Series: Declan O’mara (AKA Deadskull)