Dancing with the Dead

Here is some more artwork from The Amazing World of Gumball—specifically from the Necroprancer episode. In the final design and animation stages, we had to remove the cross—a choice I didn't fully realize the repercussions of at the time. However, I thoroughly enjoyed incorporating references to my favourite horror films, since opportunities to channel those dark, eerie atmospheres don't come around often in animation. We see that same feeling again in The Amadain providing another fun moment for dark humour.

And even more Emerald

Finding that elusive family-friendly humour felt like panning for river gold—and more often than not, I turned up empty-handed. But when time was tight and second-guessing wasn’t an option, any idea that got a laugh or a spark went onto the board.

More Emerald Boards

I pitched several playful title sequence options that integrated dynamic character motion and graphic shapes. Although the client chose an alternative concept, the exploration was a great exercise. We drew inspiration from the iconic, mid-century graphic styling of Catch Me If You Can and The Thomas Crown Affair. Like the opening of The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, we incorporated animated, flat graphic shapes that our characters directly interact with.

Some Emerald Boards

To achieve a more dynamic feel than Isadora Moon, I varied how characters entered and left the shot by utilizing the Y-axis. While 2D-rigged characters walking toward or away from the camera can be tricky and time-consuming to animate—our characters' tails and fins allowed for far more flexibility. I deliberately used depth throughout the episodes to create a more immersive, three-dimensional world.

High-Speed Pursuits and Playground Classics

Some early storyboards of LEGO City No Limits were a bit rough on my part—like the messy dodgeball episode which I supervised through the boarding process and turned out great in the end—with storyboard artists Rebecca Hughes and Prawta Annez holding down the PanelForge fort. But the police chase episode was a breeze to board—super fun! I loved when Ben and I used the cops as stepping stones from Duke DeTain's car. Come to think of it, I might have a few more Duke jokes from other episodes saved somewhere. Will have to dig them out! 

Pony Boards

It's been several years since I worked on this series, but I still hold a lot of affection for its sharp writing and visual humour. Perhaps if Nick had granted us one more season, we could have fleshed out the characters a little further. I felt the supporting characters lacked dimensionality and needed more diverse storylines for the artists to fully develop their personalities. That being said, I am still very glad to have had the opportunity to do it, and felt the chaotic humour and delightful character dynamics made for a fun show!

The Score

Working at Hanna Barbera Europe on The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball was an interesting experience. It’s undeniably a fantastic show with brilliantly conceived gags and incredibly sharp writing. However, I’m an artist who thrives on collaborative, in-the-room brainstorming and riffing. The production's shift toward asynchronous video notes—where the showrunners simply commented over storyboards rather than engaging in a creative dialogue—just didn't vibe with my preferred way of working.

However, given the immense talent on board the production, every day felt like a new learning experience. We constantly collaborated on each other’s boards to push the humour and prepare a seamless production document for the handover to Studio Soi. Featured below is a sequence I revised from The Score - I've hit my Gumball acting zenith right here.

Astro-antics

Sharing some stellar space escapades from LEGO City No Limits! Supervising the storyboards and experimenting with wild ideas for the space episodes was a total blast. Huge shoutout to Ben Steer and the writing team for their comedy superpowers, and to the crew at Blue Zoo Animation Studio for animation that rivals the theatrical films!

Rejected

These storyboards are from an unreleased AppleTV preschool series. Sadly, a growing industry trend of shelving completed projects has become all too common—often driven by corporate restructuring, tax write-offs, or shifting content strategies. For the artists and crew who dedicate years of their lives to a project, it is heart-breaking to see their hard work vanish into the corporate vault, never to be seen by an audience. But honestly, the entire studio and the crew were a complete joy to work with —hopefully one day it’ll be released.

Heart-Stopping Highs

Here are my quick sketch boards over the 3D models. We had a tight deadline, so I kept my brush strokes thicker so I could cover more ground quickly. After chatting with the director, we locked a rough animatic that week so the storyboard crew—Prawta Annez and Rebecca Hughes—could build the sequence in PanelForge and add extra humor and action—sometimes revising whole action sequences with the support of a pre-vis team. Since everything was done in-house, we could change the story on the fly—mostly just Ben and me trading funny gags for different endings, like Jason stumbling on Duke DeTain's missing doughnut.

The Best of Both Worlds

Blue Zoo and Lego wanted to use a hybrid pipeline, taking cues from hits like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and The Mitchells vs. the Machines. The 3D-meets-2D style is executed brilliantly, though a few 2D transitions felt slightly shoehorned to maintain the aesthetic. Thankfully, it successfully avoids the visual fatigue common with this technique. While it occasionally feels more like a trendy stylistic flex than an organic storytelling choice, the hybrid aesthetic is a triumph and a testament to Blue Zoo’s commitment to premium animation. Also, gotta love that beard!

WeFlip

I sketched the storyboards for these commercials a while back. I rarely take on projects like this, but I wanted the challenge of blending a realistic digital character with live-action footage, even just for the boards. It was tougher than expected, especially matching a style inspired by Roy Andersson—the filmmaker known for dry, theatrical, and meticulously framed shots. I am not sure we fully nailed that exact look for the WeFlip campaign, but it definitely guided our composition. Teaming up with Merlin Crossingham again, who co-directed Vengeance Most Fowl, was fantastic as always.