LAIKA • FEATURE FILM • 2026
WILDWOOD
CONCEPT ARTIST • VFX ART DIRECTOR • MATTE PAINTING SUPERVISOR
The Art of Wildwood
The Art of Wildwood is a beautiful collection of artwork that offers a glimpse into the years of creativity and imagination that went into bringing this film to life.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have been part of that journey from the very beginning, helping explore and shape the look of Wildwood through my early concept work. It's especially meaningful to see so many of those pieces featured throughout the book, including my artwork on the cover!
I'm so proud to have contributed to this collection alongside so many incredibly talented artists.
THE CREATIVE JOURNEY / WILDWOOD
From the first idea to the final image.
Concept Art
Concept Art explores the imagination, mood, and visual language that bring a world to life. Through composition, color, lighting, and atmosphere, the work establishes a sense of place, emotion, and storytelling — pushing ideas beyond the familiar to discover something unique and compelling. It’s about finding the visual identity of a film, creating imagery that inspires, communicates a vision, and lays the creative foundation for everything that follows.
The gallery below is a visual archive of my early concept paintings, environment explorations, and studies that helped shape the look and feel of Wildwood.
Art Direction
Art Direction on Wildwood involved translating early creative ideas into highly detailed, photorealistic imagery that helped define the final look of the film. Working from storyboards, concept art, stage photography, and CG renders, I developed production artwork that established lighting, atmosphere, depth, and visual continuity. Each piece helped bring the director’s vision into focus while providing artists with a clear, approved visual target to guide their work through final production.
The examples below show three of the main paths for Art Direction on Wildwood.
Production Art bridges early visual development and the final images seen on screen. There were three primary paths for Production Art on Wildwood all with the singular goal of creating high-fidelity, photorealistic imagery that established a clear visual direction for the Visual Effects team. These images gave the director a vision to approve and production artists a definitive target for their work.
STORYBOARDS
PRODUCTION ART
CONCEPT ART
PRODUCTION ART
RAW ELEMENTS
PRODUCTION ART
PRODUCTION ART
1. Storyboard-Based
Starting with storyboards and limited Art Department references, the challenge is developing a fully realized visual direction from the ground up. Lighting, atmosphere, depth, and environmental detail are established to create a realistic representation of the intended final frame.
PRODUCTION ART
2. Concept-Based
Building on concept artwork, storyboards, and Art Department references, the challenge is preserving the original artistic vision while translating it into photographic realism. Lighting, atmosphere, materials, and depth bring the concept closer to its intended final appearance on screen.
PRODUCTION ART
3. CG Pantover
Combining stage photography, CG renders, and 2D elements, the challenge is bringing different visual sources together into a cohesive image. Refining lighting, atmosphere, and composition transforms existing production imagery into a realistic representation of the final frame.
THE CREATIVE JOURNEY / WILDWOOD
Art Direction Build-Ups
In production as the VFX Art Director, my focus shifted to translating the film's visual language established through concept art into the final imagery seen on screen. These production art selects are designed to tell the story behind the art direction.
Production Art
Production Art shows believable lighting, atmospheric effects like haze, fog, or volumes, and have a strong sense of depth, scale, and lens-driven realism. The work should feel like it could’ve been shot through one of our cameras out on stage — puling from set/stage photography, film lighting, and environmental physics to make sure the storytelling feels immersive and believable.
The gallery below is a visual archive of my production artwork and Art Direction on Wildwood.
