10 Good Questions With Storyboard Artist Warren Drummond

Jackie Chan (left) and Warren Drummond (right)

Bruce Lee said, "Absorb what is useful, discard what is not. Add what is essentially your own." Warren Drummond is a martial arts expert. He's also a storyboard artist. Put the two together and you get a Kung-Fu concept artist. Drummond has made storyboarding his own.

I first saw his storyboards from Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but he's been working in the industry since 1994 on everything from A Beautiful Mind to X-Men: First Class.

He agreed to an exclusive interview to answer ten important questions. He names his favorite artists, the movie that didn't give him credit and the connection that helped him meet his wife.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Q. When you began your journey as a designer you probably had a few role models, would you name two of your favorite artists?
My favorite artists were my older brother, John Drummond Jr, as well the great John Romita Sr. I saw my brother's work all the time. His work was astounding. Professionals thought he should have gotten into comics, though John preferred fine art. Romita Sr's balance of anatomy and storytelling was only second to John Buscema (a LOT of "John's, eh?). Romita Sr was a better inker than Buscema, who was often inked by others. Buscema though drew the human body better than anyone.

Q. What has been your greatest artistic achievement in your life so far?
(Image: Nash chase - A Beautiful Mind)
Just getting FINALLY  into the movie business almost 20 years ago and STAYING in it. I believe my work on A BEAUTIFUL MIND was a high point as I worked with Ron Howard and the movie won Best Picture. I was on it seven weeks. My friend, storyboard artist (and current 2nd Unit director as well) Brick Mason brought me on to help him. last fall, I got to do over a month on reshoots for THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. I hope it rocks.

I got to work a week on STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES, thanks to being buds with the stunt coordinator, Nick Gillard. I spent a blissful, geek-laden week at Skywalker Ranch.

Q. How has your martial arts training influenced your storyboard designs?
(Image: Martial Arts study - personal)
Martial arts has given me discipline and has kept me in shape to work those long hours. There are many martial artists I admire, Benny Urquidez, Anderson Silva, all of my previous instructors (who are all still in my life), and of course my hero, Bruce Lee.

Lee had an open mind to new things, as well as to keep trying to get better, and I have tried to hold on to that. There were also MANY unheralded black martial artists like Moses Powell, Steve Sanders, Carl Scott, etc whom I am sure I got something from if only through the ethers.

Q. What's it like seeing your storyboards come to life on screen?
On a movie like SHAFT (2000) it was unreal as John Singleton often sticks close to his boards when they are needed. It also does not hurt the ego to see your name in the credits.

It does SUCK, however, when you work hard and they DON'T credit you. Hello, "ANALYZE THIS"!!!!

Q. What was your favorite memory during your time on Rise of the Planet of the Apes?
Working with the director, Rupert Wyatt, a great guy, who's also so smart. I just loved the whole "process".

Q. What is your favorite movie and how many times have you seen it?
JAWS. I can't count how many times I've seen it. Perfect film. SUPERMAN and STAR WARS made me want to get into the business. I STILL have yet to meet Spielberg!!!

ENTER THE DRAGON is in the top ten. Waahhh!!!

Q. What was your most surprising inspiration for a storyboard?
(Image: Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift)
Music certainly brings out different attributes, but many artists listen to some form of music while working. I listen to John Williams scores, The Beatles, or a Tribe Called Quest (Jamaica Queens in the house!!!).

Q. You said in an interview that your first love is writing. Is there a pet project you have in mind you can talk about?
Nothing I can mention now, but my "coverage" on my current script went quite well. Let's talk in a year.

Q. In your line of work networking is key. What's the most amazing connection that networking has brought you?
Well, I met my wife through director Carl Franklin and his wife, producer Jesse Beaton. Knowing Brick Mason landed me Ron Howard. John Singleton got me work with Denzel Washington when Denzel directed ANTWONE FISHER. Working with on that movie introduced me to the wonderful producer Todd Black. Years later, Todd optioned a script from my wife.

Q. What’s next for you? What other projects can we look forward to seeing?
A just landed a few days helping out on a movie called THE TOMB (2013). I get to finally draw Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. No, I can't talk about it (LOL), but I really like the script.

See more of Warren Drummond's body of work at WarrenDrummond.com and check out the list of other artists I've interviewed here.

What do you think of the illustrations?

Pete Von Sholly On Working in Over 100 Films And Why Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' Is Not Impressive

When I first heard about Pete Von Sholly it was when his artwork was featured as being concept designs for the Tim Burton film Superman Lives. But, he's worked on over 100 feature films include Mars Attacks!, Disney's James and the Giant Peach, Darkman, The Mask, The Shawshank Redemption, The Blob, Nightmare on Elm Street III and IV, The Waterdance, The Green Mile, Click, The Mist and more. His political satire Capitol Hell Political Monsters Postcard Book has been talked about all over the Internet.

Sholly is talented, outspoken and a ton of fun, so I'm really glad he agreed to do this interview for my blog. You'll find fascinating insights and and exclusive artwork after the jump.

Pete Von Sholly Mars Attacks concept art

Q. You have been in concept art and storyboarding for many years. What led you to work in this industry?
(Image: The Mist storyboard)
First, THANK YOU, for all the kind words. Much appreciated. Movie work is so "behind the scenes" one seldom gets to hear from anybody outside any given production, which is why your blog is so great. So "the guys" get to show what they can do, you know? (Yes, yes, "the girls" too!)

Anyway, I always loved comics and the movies and my first professional work was in animation (television mainly) where I found out there was a field where you could actually get paid real money to draw! What a concept! Then I saw storyboards and thought they looked kind of like comics and thought maybe I could learn how to do them. Some great guys helped me learn the ropes (Art Vitello and Larry Houston while we were at Marvel Productions) and they taught me the key differences between the print and film media. Mainly when you draw for film you have to honor "screen direction" and think about how your shots will cut together, quite different from laying out a comic book page.

Persistence and some networking helped me get a toe-hold in movies. The first two I did (of any note) were VAMP and A NIGHTMARE OF ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS. This led to other work for New Line Cinema and I met Frank Darabont while there- who later hired me to board THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE GREEN MILE, and THE MIST.

Q. One of your first storyboarding jobs was on Nightmare on Elm Street. How did you get involved in that and what was it like?

Oops! Already kind of covered that. But that film (the third one, not the original Wes Craven one) led me to meet Chuck Russell who I liked and had fun with. He later hired me to do THE BLOB remake and THE MASK. Had a ton of fun with Chuck and with all the New Line crowd. It was a small company then.

Q. You've done a lot of comic book and cartooning work. How does this art style help you in your movie and television work?
(Image: The Shawshank Redemption (1994) storyboard)

I think comics and cartooning are great because apart from the basics like anatomy and perspective and composition, you learn to make your characters emote. This is helpful for storyboards. Brain Yuzna once told me he liked my boards because you could always tell not just what the characters were doing but how they FELT about it! Simplicity and clarity are my goals.


Q. Was there anything in particular that inspired you to take that direction or was it all natural and pure brilliance on your end?
Oh, all natural and pure brilliance, absolutely. (Sorry, that was TOO good to pass up!)

I think I want to see certain things in comics and movies (and we all do) and so we become "the guys we always wanted to be" as my old pal Dave Merritt says. Dave runs the model shop at Legacy (and did the same for Stan Winston for years). I think we make the stuff we always wished somebody would make. Or try to anyway.

Q. You seem drawn back to the original King Kong film time and time again. How many times have you seen it?
Dunno. A BUNCH though! Love Skull Island. I'm always sad when they leave for NY! It had the feeling of a place where giant prehistoric things could actually live and seemed like it could go on forever even though it was just an island! Of course, it was chock full of DINOSAURS which put me in cinema heaven right away. I went to a show at the Academy theatre V a few years ago (or whatever it was called) where some of the WETA guys were touting their effects work on Pete Jackson's King Kong. They were boasting about how their wonderful animators were able to bring tears to audience's eyes with the way they brought Kong to life and made you feel his tragedy when he died... I so wanted to stand up and mention, yes all very well and good, but don't forget how Willis O'Brien ALSO did that with a f***ing rubber and metal PUPPET along with Max Steiner's wonderful music back in 1933! A bit more impressive an accomplishment than what you can do with tons of CG and virtually unlimited money nowadays.

Q. Do you prefer digital or traditional art tools?
Both. Love to draw and ink on paper! Love pencil and paper. But I also love what I can do once I have the drawing down by getting it into Photoshop and going to town. I like the luxury of having "thinking time" as Alex Toth called it... and the ability to revise and change the work later on if I get a better idea, which I can sometimes only do when I'm not too close to it.


Q. When you began your journey as a designer you probably had a few role models, would you name two of your favorite artists?
(Image: Jack Kirby Captain America comic panel restoration study)
Only two?? Jack Kirby and Jack Kirby. No, I loved Frazetta too.

Q. How does it feel to have your designs come to life?
It’s fun, of course, but I have to tell you something. When you work on a movie it's hard to ever SEE that movie as a normal audience member; you KNOW too much. I have had more work come to life from storyboards than designs.

Q. What advice would you give to newbie designers?
Find your own thing by working at it a lot. Watch King Kong (1933) and other "old movies" too. For storyboarding, watch a lot of good films (like anything by Hitchcock) with the SOUND turned off so you can really notice the cutting. Find what excites you. And remember, nothing pays off more than pure persistence. Don't give up and don't forget how much you WANT to do your art.

Q. Lastly, what can we expect to see from you in the future?
I have a giant HISTORY OF MONSTERS mural book in the works (2013), a two volume PETE VON SHOLLY'S MONSTERBOOK from TwoMorrows (sooner!), a ZOMBIE POP-UP BOOK in the works, some secret personal projects- one of which could be epic! What else? Writers Blocks. I don't know. A lot of stuff which may or may not see the light of day. You might like SPINECRAWLER, a graphic novel I adapted from a script I wrote. IDW published that last summer. I do stuff because I want to and feel it NEEDS doing, not because somebody promised to publish or produce it. WORK is for making money. Art is for your soul.

Check my blog once in a while, maybe. I will post stuff on there as it comes forth.

Thanks for asking all of the above and I hope there is some modicum of info or entertainment or something to be found in the answers.

And keep your OWN stuff coming too, MM- your blog is wonderful!

Thanks Pete!

See more of Pete Von Sholly's portfolio and commentary at VonsHollywood.com and http://vonshollywood.blogspot.com.

To read more of my exclusive interviews with talented artists go here.

What do you think of Pete Von Sholly's work? Did you learn anything you didn't know?





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Cesar Lemus Talks About Astonishing 'Heroes' and 'Wonder Woman' Storyboards

Here's another exclusive interview with my first storyboard artist and he draws on his experience to give us an inside look of the storyboarding industry and the unique chalenges of television.

Cesar Lemus is best known for his work on the television show Heroes, but he recently worked on another superhero show: Wonder Woman. He did storyboards for the pilot and when the Internet found out it exploded.

The industry has been struggling lately and many fine artists find themselves out of work or work is hard to come by. Cesar does a good job of expressing the challenges of being an artist in the film and television industry.

His work is prolific. He's done art for shows like Heroes, House M.D., Hawthorne, Mercy Reef/Aquaman (Pilot) Love Bites, Pretty Little Liars, No Ordinary Family, Melrose Place, Wonder Woman (Pilot) Smallville and Pushing Daises.

Q: When someone asks you "what's a storyboard artist" what do you say?

We help previsualize the action and tone for scenes. Animation and Live action share some of the same things but are two different animals.

Q: How did you get the job story boarding for David E. Kelly's Wonder Woman pilot?

I got a call from someone on the show, I believe it was the UPM (Unit Production Manager). I was also familiar with the director, he was a ex-producer on The Event, which I also worked on.

Q: What was your reaction when you found that the pilot wasn't picked up by NBC?

Very bummed. Sad.... it would have been a great series to work on, great crew. I hate being out of work... I am actually looking for work now.

Q: The costume was highly controversial, but your storyboards show her dressed in the new costume. How late in the design process did the new costume remain?

I actually used the concept [art] as reference in the boards, but I did tweak the design a bit in the cconceptual art I did... I switched the boots color back to red.

Q: You worked on the superhero show Heroes, what was the best part of the job? Did anything you learned there help with Wonder Woman?

Basically getting to do a show about superheros.

I love comics and grew up on them. I've never gotten to work for DC or Marvel, so it was bittersweet.

That show helped me to get faster at boards, turnaround was [always] fast, also getting to work with a different directors... it's intimidating at first, getting to work with guys that have been in the business WAYYYY longer than me...it makes you step up your game.

The top guys that do boards, have been doing it twice or three times as long as me. I was VERY fortunate to work on that show. I worked on all 4 seasons in some way. Seasons 2, 3 and 4 ... 3 & 4 were the most busy.

Q: What did you use for inspiration for the look of the Amazon world of Themyscira and your art in general?
A lot was influenced by Alex Ross...and Adam Hughes.

Q: What was it like story boarding the action for such an iconic superhero?
Very cool, I never got to see it filmed... I had to work on another show. I still would love to watch the pilot.

Q: You do conceptual art, storyboarding and sculpting. Is there one you enjoy more than another?

Boarding is harder... and Conceptual is hard too but you have a lot less stress, I guess sculpting is the most relaxing. But it don't think I can pick one... Also I have yet to do sculpting for work.

Q: Having worked on video games, what's the biggest difference between working on games versus television?
TV is crazy... very tight turn arounds. When I worked in games, it seemed pretty chill. Schedule was more 9-5, when I board stuff my schedule is all over the place. ...Long nights, crazy hours.


Q: You've worked many art mediums from markers to 3-D software. Is there a favorite tool that you like to use?

Traditional... it's so easy to pick a pen, pencil or marker and just draw!

The only drawback is scanning your work to email to clients or any show you might be working on.... I want to switch to more digital boards, but a lot of TV directors need you to you be able to draw on the spot.

There is no time to set up a laptop...I wish Apple would get on the Ipad and make it so you can plug in another hard drive for more space or install a program like "Painter" or "Photoshop."

Q: You're known for building scale models. What's the most surprising way this helps with your other artistic efforts?

Well, it just helps in using it as reference, helps with scale and proportions.

Q: What's the next project from you we can look forward to?

I am working on a comic book for a friend, doing pencils, hopefully it will be done by Dec.

But as far as Storyboards? I wish I knew...I am actually waiting for my agent to tell me if a got a gig or not. Work has been slow, so I cant wait for a nice long gig!

If you're reading this and need a storyboard artist, hire this guy! His talents have just begun

Check out more of his work on his blog and read more about him on HeroesWiki.

To see a list of all the exclusive interviews with other great artists on my blog go here.

What do you think of Cesar Lemus' work?

Profile Image: Huy (Wee) Dinh

Artist Profile: Richard James Bennett Lamas

Richard James Bennett Lamas, credited simply as Richard Bennett, is a former comic book artist and current freelance film concept and storyboard artist from Uruguay. He was a storyboard editor on the 2009 film Star Trek. [1] He previously worked on the Star Trek comic book crossover title, Divided We Fall for WildStorm Comics.

Bennett broke into the comic book industry in 1990, penciling and inking the Cyberrad series for Continuity Comics. Not long after, he began freelancing for Marvel Comics on various X-Men titles and then had a brief stint at Image Comics before joining WildStorm Comics in the mid-1990s, where he worked on a wide variety of titles.

In 1993, Bennett joined HBO where, before departing in 1997, he did background and character design work for the first season of the animated Spawn series. From 1998 through 2003, Bennett attended the Art Center College of Design in Padadena, California, graduating with a BFA in Illustration. He also studied in Film Transportation and Product Design.

While attending college, Bennett continued providing artwork for a number of comics, video games, and films. He did keyframe sketches for the 2002 HBO movie Live from Baghdad (starring Bruce McGill) and worked on designs for the character of “Happy” (played by Anthony Edwards) for the 2003 independent film Northfork.

Since then, Bennett has been a storyboard artist on such films as AVP: Alien vs. Predator, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, 300, Zodiac, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. He also did conceptual art for the CBS series Numb3rs. More recently, he was a conceptual illustrator on the upcoming Paramount Pictures release, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Official Site: http://www.richardbennettart.com/richard.htm