Gnomon Tutorial

For my Gnomon Tutorial I wanted to do something that would be of the most use to the students of design most likely to watch it, so rather than demonstrate how I achieve my personal style (which relies on access to an extensive sculpting studio, moulding department, wood working shop, clean up extraction area, paint shop, costume department and photography studio) I thought it best to demonstrate the style I adopt on quick and accessible old Photoshop when working as a Conceptual Designer at Weta Workshop. In my time there I have designed creatures, characters, costumes, makeup's, props, environments and art installations for Directors/clients like Guillermo DelToro, Stephen Spielberg, Andrew Adamson, Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor, among others. all of which have a completely different approach to not only design itself, but dealing with the designer, some work though producers, art director and production assistants and more often than not there are up to several people with their own opinions of which your design will have to run the gauntlet of. Getting through to the other side of this can be difficult and stressful work, as such I have learned quickly to not get precious with a design or its creative process, as well as adopting more efficient ways to build up layers of design in preparation for the inevitable changes that it will have to go through, while still maintaining a level of detail that will aid the manufacturing of it on the workshop floor.
To keep by brief relevant and somewhat exciting, I asked Sir Richard Taylor, best known for his Oscar winning involvement of the creation of Middle Earth and its occupants in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, to art direct a costume he needs me to design to wear as the host of the biannual charity burlesque show we put on for the Neo Natal Trust to raise money for the equipment needed for premature born babies, the show is called Project Born and is always a lot of fun. In this tutorial there is a 30 minute segment to which Richard shares his wisdom of over 25 years in the industry to push the design further and to an unexpected place. I hope its fun and informative, im very proud to join the ranks of many fine (and better) artists of Gnomons educational library.

keep pushing those pixels!
Johnny Fraser-Allen

you can purchase this at:

http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/product/1127/#.VUqzsvmeDRY