Permanent Collection

Alt Western: Buck Opens Bass X Machina on Netflix

Posted on Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Bass X Machina, the six-episode animated steampunk Western premiered on Netflix Nov 3 with this gritty title sequence, created by the motion crew at BUCK and powered by a track from singer/songwriter Janelle Monáe.

Created by LeSean Thomas and animated by South Korea’s Studio Mir, the show reimagines the story of real-life African American U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves as a bionic bounty hunter fighting outlaws, giant mechs, and supernatural threats in an alternate timeline.

From BUCK: Working closely with EP Brian Tyree Henry and the show’s creative team, we crafted a sequence that explores the many sides of Bass: hero, outlaw, former slave, lawman, and machine.

“The visual style paired propaganda poster art with bold graphic silhouettes. A restricted red, white, and blue palette captured symbols of America and Bass’ fractured sense of belonging.”

We took a trip inside Bass’s mind, imagining the sequence as a fever dream where history coexists with something a little more nightmarish, giving audiences a peek into the moral murkiness of Reeves’ world.

The visual style paired propaganda poster art with bold graphic silhouettes. A restricted red, white, and blue palette captured symbols of America and Bass’ fractured sense of belonging.

In addition to the opening titles, we also designed the Bass X Machina logo, building on the visual language of the title sequence and carrying the tension between Western mythology and the show’s volatility into the mark.

Images

Skeletal figures huddle around a glowing campfire in the dark, stylized in the aesthetic of the Bass X Machina title sequence. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

A dark, robotic arm from Bass X Machina reaches toward multiple glowing red hands against a black background. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

A figure in a coat and hat stands in the center of a red background, surrounded by long, star-shaped shadows in this shot from Bass X Machina. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

Close-up of a Bass X Machina anime-style eye with a bright blue iris, surrounded by stylized lightning bolts against a red background. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

The text BASS X MACHINA in white, distressed block letters, with a large, red, spray-painted X behind the first word of the Buck design. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

Credits

Client: Netflix

Prodution: BUCK
GCD: Thomas Schmid
CD: Kenesha Sneed
EP: Andrew Gladstone
Producer: Rebecca Park
Associate Producer: Matthew Santoyo Padua
Lead Designer: Gunnar Pettersson, Manddy Wyckens
Designer: Alex Kiesling, Ben Nichols, Fernando Utreras, Jamiel Law, João Lavieri, Jong Lee, Joshua Harvey, Peilin Li, Pierre-Nicolas Riou, Rodney Lambright, Tuo Kan
Logo Design Director: Max Vogel
Logo Designer: Matthew Tapia
2D Animation Lead: Juan Ric Hernandez, Matty Deans
2D Animator: Juan Ric Hernandez, Junyi Xiao, Kyle Snider, Matty Deans, Ryoko Kondo
Post: Dave Conte
ARG: Daniel Pernikoff, Michelle Higa Fox, Nathan Shipley

Music: Janelle Monáe

Stephen Price

Stephen is the co-founder/CD of Stash Media Inc. and the executive editor of Stash Magazine and the Stash Permanent Collection.
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Category: Animation, Broadcast Design, Featured, Illustration, Motion Design, Titles · Tags: buck, Kenesha Sneed, Netflix, Thomas Schmid