This week's Big Heads interview was with storyboarder, graphic novel artist and costume designer Glyn Dillon. I'll admit that I didn't expect to enjoy his work. I was initially uncomfortable with the knowledge that he had previously produced pornographic cartoons and just didn't think that his graphic approach to illustration was my cup of tea.
I'm actually quite disappointed in myself for assuming like that and not even giving his work a chance, because when I did see and hear more about it, I saw how well composed and highly crafted the images he makes are. I'm so glad I attended this week's big heads because Dillon was such a fantastic artist and human being to speak to!
I've never really got into graphic novels, only some manga books when I was a little younger, I thought that comics were for kids and nerds. I have to stop shutting myself off to new things because I am missing out on so much. I have to study these different approaches to illustration in order to understand what illustration is. I was surprised to discover how much I liked his comics and the quiet, mundane subjects he discusses because I expected them to be jam-packed with action and super heroes. Shows what I know. I must read 'The Nao of Brown'.
I am interested in costume/concept design, so hearing about his recent designs for Star Wars was pretty impressive. Although I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, I can appreciate the immense fan base that it curtails and the Sci-Fi legendary status it holds. Dillon is gaining notoriety in his work for this job and he told us how it had always been his dream.
How did he get there? He said it took a lot of pestering and confidence! You know what you want to do? Go and show them who you are, don't wait for them to find you.
I was mostly interested in how he worked at the Jim Henson Creature Shop in Camden. He mentioned this just briefly and I couldn't resist but ask him about this at the end. I love Jim Henson and I have heard very little about the Camden Creature Shop which shut down in 2005.
Me: "I love Jim Henson and I would really like to hear more about your experience there. What was it like? What did you work on?"
Dillon explained how he had worked there under Hallmark entertainment and contributed to the creature effects on Arabian Nights and Sinbad. I'd not heard of these TV-films before, so came home to find out what they were.
Though not the Hollywood blockbuster scale of Labyrinth, these films have impressive special effects and I found it really interesting to hear Dillon talking about the studio atmosphere.
G D: "It's such a shame that it's no longer there. It was a great place to work and was filled with movie props."
G D: "I even saw the throne that David Bowie sat on as the Goblin King!"
I would have loved to visit the Camden Creature shop and I am really disheartened that I can't. Maybe one day I'll visit the Los Angeles studios, but for now Dillon's stories about it and the work that came out of it will do!
While talking about the Creature Shop, Dillon discussed the introduction of digital software at the time and how it was perceived as a huge threat to the puppetry department.
I don't think it's a threat, because it's a totally different process to sculpting. It can be used as a tool to enhance and improve sculpted effects, but I think these digital tools have made some designers lazy!
Designing costume is really different to making comics because you are then dealing with storytelling, acting and movement.
Me: "I love Jim Henson and I would really like to hear more about your experience there. What was it like? What did you work on?"
Dillon explained how he had worked there under Hallmark entertainment and contributed to the creature effects on Arabian Nights and Sinbad. I'd not heard of these TV-films before, so came home to find out what they were.
Though not the Hollywood blockbuster scale of Labyrinth, these films have impressive special effects and I found it really interesting to hear Dillon talking about the studio atmosphere.
G D: "It's such a shame that it's no longer there. It was a great place to work and was filled with movie props."
G D: "I even saw the throne that David Bowie sat on as the Goblin King!"
I would have loved to visit the Camden Creature shop and I am really disheartened that I can't. Maybe one day I'll visit the Los Angeles studios, but for now Dillon's stories about it and the work that came out of it will do!
While talking about the Creature Shop, Dillon discussed the introduction of digital software at the time and how it was perceived as a huge threat to the puppetry department.
I don't think it's a threat, because it's a totally different process to sculpting. It can be used as a tool to enhance and improve sculpted effects, but I think these digital tools have made some designers lazy!
Maybe it's just for the nostalgic element or my own personal taste, but I much prefer Henson's work pre-digital creature designs. It was used in Labyrinth to remove backgrounds (basic green screening on the Firey scene), but the rest of the creatures were all real, tactile models. Glyn Dillon uses 'ZBrush' in his digital design process - a digital sculpting tool that I don't know anything about. I'll revisit this later once I find out what it does and how it can be used.
Designing costume is really different to making comics because you are then dealing with storytelling, acting and movement.
No comments:
Post a Comment