Loading ...Please Note: John Dickenson said filming had begun according to the original film schedule. Filming has been confirmed to NOT have begun yet.
1. So, were you asked to be a part of the concept artist group, or did you have to do something to acquire the position?
“I’m good friends with Justin Sweet, he and my other good friend Vance Kovacs had done work on the Lion Witch and the Wardrobe film. So when Prince Caspian was starting to go into pre-production, they mentioned me to Andrew Adamson, and their Production Designer Roger Ford. Roger called me in for an interview within a week. They liked my portfolio and hired me to be a part of the concept art team. I worked on it for about 4 months.”
2. How did you like working among the other concept artists?
“It was my first movie, so I was pretty nervous. All the people that I met and created with there were great. It is a pretty small community of people that do concept work for the film industry. Of course my 2 best friends (Justin & Vance) were a part of it as well. That made it really special for me.”
3. How was it, working with the production team for the Narnia movies?
“Again, it was a blast! To work on these films was one of the highlights of my professional career. Plus I love the writings of C.S. Lewis.”
4. What would you say was your favorite drawing/painting/concept that you made for Prince Caspian?
“My favorite drawing…that’s hard to single out. I had a few I was really happy with. My favorite images that I created for Caspian were the Army of Trees, or maybe the image of Lucy standing in the middle of the trees as they come to life and swirl around her.”
5. How goes work on the Dawn Treader?
“It’s been over a year since I worked on it up in L.A. They are now shooting it down in Australia. It was my highlight so far in my career to be a part of. The 3 of us(Justin, Vance), got to work with Director Michael Apted, who was amazing to work for. We really liked the way he went about making a movie. And we also got to work with an amazingly talented Production Designer named Jan Roelfs. He had some great takes on the way this film should look and feel. We also met with Wetta’s Richard Taylor for an afternoon. He was a great inspiration. We hope to get the chance to work with him in the future. He left when we did, so I have no idea how the new PD will do on it. But the work we created was some of our best I feel. Once the movies out, I’ll post all my art on my website.”
6. Is Dawn Treader still in the Previs state (scriptwriting, storyboards) or has filming begun?
“It’s being filmed right now.”
7. Is there anything you’d like to say to any artist wannabe’s out there?
“Learn to draw and become a solid draughtsman first. Always be studying the Masters of old, and find the best contemporary talent to take in and absorb as well. Let them inspire you. Try and enjoy the process of learning how to create, because it can be a struggle at times learning the fundamentals of any skill that requires discipline Loving what you do will get you through any and all of the hard work that will be needed to create at a high level. Keep a sketchbook(s) going all the time, try and find other artists to talk to about creating and showing your work with. Enjoy!”
Thanks again! This has been so awesome! I’m looking forward to seeing your work on Dawn Treader!