Steven Messing

Steven Messing is a concept illustrator and visual effects matte artist who worked on. Among his concept work for this film was the creation of the surface of the Ketha Province on Qo'noS and the red forest on Nibiru. 

In 1998, Messing worked as intern during the production of the mystery film Frog and Wombat which featured Ronny Cox. In the 2000s, he started to receive credit as digital matte artist while working for the companies Matte World Digital and Digital Backlot on projects such as the sport drama Invincible (2006), the science fiction film The Last Mimzy (2007), the crime drama Zodiac (2007, art direction by Keith P. Cunningham), the superhero sequel Spider-Man 3 (2007, starring Kirsten Dunst and James Cromwell), the fantasy adventure The Golden Compass (2007), the sport drama The Express (2008), the action drama Body of Lies (2008), the television drama Grey Gardens (2009), and the television series John Adams (2008).

In 2009, Messing worked as digital matte artist for CIS Hollywood on the comic adaptation G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra with Rachel Nichols and as matte artist on the science fiction film 2012 and the drama The Road. For his work on the science fiction blockbuster Avatar, Messing received his first Excellence in Production Design Award in the category Fantasy Film from the Art Director's Guild in 2010.

Further credits as concept illustrator and digital matte artist, mostly for the company Crazy Horse Effects, include the fantasy film Alice in Wonderland (2010) for which he received another Excellence in Production Design Award nomination in the category Fantasy Film in 2011, the fantasy film Clash of the Titans (2010), the sequel Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), the science fiction prequel Prometheus (2012) for which he earned another Excellence in Production Design Award nomination in 2013, the fantasy adventure Life of Pi (2012), the fantasy films Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) and Jack the Giant Slayer (2013), and the science fiction film Ender's Game (2013).

Following his work on Star Trek: Into Darkness, Messing worked for Pixomondo on the science fiction film After Earth (2013), as visual effects art director on the remake Godzilla (2014), and as concept designer on the superhero sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014, directed by Bryan Singer and starring Patrick Stewart) and on the sequel Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014). He was senior illustrator on the fantasy drama Exodis: Gods and Kings (2014) and matte artist on the Disney production Maleficent (2014).

Between 2010 and 2014, he worked first as digital matte artist and later as visual effects art director on the crime drama series Boardwalk Empire and between 2014 and 2015 as visual effects art director on the television series Black Sails. His work on Black Sails earned him a Primetime Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Special and Visual Effects in a Supporting Role in 2014. Messing also worked as visual effects artist on the fifth season of the television fantasy series Game of Thrones in 2015.

Further projects he worked on include the television series True Detective (2015), the fantasy sequel The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015), and the science fiction film The Martian (2015) for which Messing won an Excellence in Production Design Award in the category Contemporary Film in 2016.

More recent projects as visual effects concept designer include the science fiction television series Westworld (2016), the superhero sequel X-Men: Apocalypse (2016, also directed by Bryan Singer), and the science fiction sequel Alien: Covenant (2017, written by John Logan).

ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards nomination
Messing received an ADG Excellence in Production Design Award nomination as Set Designer in the category Fantasy Film
 * for, shared with Scott Chambliss, Ramsey Avery, James Clyne, Lauren Polizzi, Kasra Farahani, Michael E. Goldman, Harry E. Otto, Andrew E.W. Murdock, Jason Baldwin Stewart, Natasha Gerasimova, Steve Christensen, Andrea Dopaso, John Eaves, Nathan Schroeder, Ryan Church, Christopher Ross, Victor Martinez, Anne Porter, Karl Strahlendorf, John Chichester, Tex Kadonaga, Kevin Cross, Andrew Reeder, Jane Wuu, Richard F. Mays, Allen Coulter, Karl Martin, Scott Schneider, Lorrie Campbell, Easton Smith, Tammy Lee, Tim Croshaw, Clint Schultz, and Karen Manthey