Tag Archives: film

Studies from ‘The Stranger’

I recently watched Orson Welles’ 1946 film ‘The Stranger’, about an investigator from the War Crimes Commission trying to track down a Nazi in Harper, Connecticut. Early on there is a scene where a character is being followed. When watching it I immediately wanted to draw studies of the shots, but I’ve found it hardContinue reading “Studies from ‘The Stranger’”

‘Klaus’ Clean Up, Part II

Part I A brief note about some of the terms I use: keys, breakdowns, and inbetweens are names for different drawings in animation. Keys are ‘extreme’ poses that tell the story. Breakdowns show how (slowly, angrily, passionately) the character moves from one key to the next. Inbetweens are ‘in between’ all the others, usually halfwayContinue reading “‘Klaus’ Clean Up, Part II”

‘Klaus’ Clean Up, Part I

Last year I worked as a clean up artist on the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning Klaus. SellOut Animation, based in Edinburgh, worked on scenes outsourced from the main studio, SPA, in Madrid. From May until August I joined the team, cleaning up a variety of shots and characters from throughout the film. It was a steepContinue reading “‘Klaus’ Clean Up, Part I”

Studies from Jaws

A couple of weeks ago I watched Jaws for the first time. I’m not a fan of horror, which is one of the reasons I avoided the film for so long, but I found it to be much more of a thriller (with a couple of bloodthirsty scenes). One of the things I really likedContinue reading “Studies from Jaws”

Tutorial: Storyboarding in Photoshop

I’ve realised that the way I use Photoshop to storyboard isn’t that well known. This way of working uses Frame Animation within the Timeline panel. It takes a short while to organise new shortcuts and change a few settings, but once that’s done it’s easy to add new frames and scroll through the storyboard. MostContinue reading “Tutorial: Storyboarding in Photoshop”

Working on The Gaelic King

The Gaelic King is now available through Amazon, iTunes, HMV and Zoom in the UK! It’s exciting to know the film is out there, and people are watching this story for the first time. I thought I’d share some of the work I’ve done on the film from the last two years. There are someContinue reading “Working on The Gaelic King”

The Gaelic King Trailer

Scots warrior-king, Alpin, must fight to rescue his brother and regain the kingdom of Dalriata. The Gaelic King is an independent feature I was a story and concept artist on. Truffle Pictures has closed distribution deals for the film across North America, the UK, Japan, Italy and the Middle East. It’s releasing in the UK on theContinue reading “The Gaelic King Trailer”

Sketches from The Sound of Music

I love this movie. I’ve seen lots of sketches from other people who’ve doodled through films, and I’ve always wondered how they can do that. Well, now I’ve tried it I see the appeal! I loved capturing the lighting in the central drawing, and trying to catch likeness while the shot remained on screen (withContinue reading “Sketches from The Sound of Music”