Three by Spooner

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A special thanks to Natalie Lombard and Cathy Strokosch for hosting two separate “Get to Know Br. Thomas” evenings in the Chicago area.  Besides the great food and warm company I was able to pitch the story-so-far to two groups of people who’s insight on art, film, and faith I highly respect.  I came away [...]

Storyboards-Inside the Scriptorim (Part 2)

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Here’s the second part of the Scriptorium sequence, which means I’m done with the first act!!…for now anyways.  It will be a relief to get Thomas outside and focus more on story than atmosphere.

In the second half of the sequence Brother Thomas watches the dragonfly escape through a crack in the window.   His curiosity outweighs [...]

Storyboards-Inside the Scriptorim (Part 1)

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Boarding the first act in the Scriptorium has been much more involved than I first anticipated.  Mostly because the story slows down to take in a richness of atmosphere, introduce the characters and showcase certain details in the space.  I’ve spent a lot of time working out lighting issues, exploring a graphic quality for the [...]

Short Sequence

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This is another short sequence of panels that gives you a pretty good idea of how things pace out.  This sequence is at the center of the scene where the dragonfly invades the sacred space of the scriptorium and toys with each of the glass characters.  It seems that the infant Christ-child is the [...]

Unexpected Visitor

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This is one of the storyboard panels that I got a little carried away with.  I can’t help playing with foreground and background elements…and then there’s those light shafts that make everything look better.

Click on the detail below to see the full image.

To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the [...]

Stained Glass Apostles

One by One-THUMBNAIL

Here’s a sequence of images that I’ve been working on.  I find I’m doing more character design than actual storyboarding lately but I guess it all needs to get done at some point.  These are the Apostles that flank the right side of the Madonna and Child.  Eventually they will represent the specific apostles. They [...]

Silhouette

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Here’s a short storyboard sequence that I like a lot.  Michael Spooner suggested we go for a silhouette on this shot and it really stands out.  It gives a nice break from the otherwise thick atmosphere of the room.

Click on the detail below to see the full image.

To see more go to the Br. Thomas [...]

Scriptorium

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I’m still working through the boards in the first scriptorium sequence but I keep getting drawn into some of the more involved tonal sketches to get a better feeling for the space.   While it’s seriously slowing down my progress on the boards I’m finding all sorts of visual possibilities within the space (lighting, composition, etc.).  [...]

Madonna and Child-Tonal Study

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As I’m trying to work out the space for the scriptorium I had to work up some tonal studies to establish the mood in the room.  While this is probably a far cry from what the finished design of the stained glass will look like I thought the tonal study was quite striking….back to the [...]

More Storyboards-Entering the Cathedral

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So this is the space Br. Thomas walks through every day on his way to work.  If you can’t tell from the images (but I hope you can) he feels a little out of place in such a beautiful and austere environment.

The challenge for me in these boards has been to establish a somber tone [...]