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Terminator 2, Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We could stop there and have your rapt attention, right?
We won't.
Iain McCaig is one of the most lauded and respected artists working in film today. He's virtually on every artist's list as, not only an influence, but a hero. Those that have met him in person all say the same thing, "He's like the most positive teacher or professor you've ever had in your life!" That's a quote, by the way.
Iain has worked as either a concept or storyboard artist on all of the movies mentioned above—beginning with T2 in the early '90s when he was employed at Industrial Light & Magic. Today, he's often hired as a consultant, as well as a designer, by studios like ILM, Disney, Pixar and etc.
His own studio, Ninth Ray, a collective of the artists he met while working on the Star Wars properties, has been behind things like Outlander and the highly anticipated John Carter of Mars, due out in 2012.
While he makes his home in Canada, we caught up with McCaig on the job in California and it truly was a dream come true. He was one of the names at the top of Dwight's personal pursuit list for SiDEBAR, and man...did he deliver. Tons about his background, filmwork, process and upcoming personal projects.
Listen in for the game we played with Iain after the interview called 'Either Or, Choose One—No More'. Twas mad fun. Not only was he down to play the game, but he turned it back on us near the end. Awesome, right?
And we have to mention here that the road to this interview was paved with the help of some very good friends. Guys like comic artist Leland Purvis, concept artist Dermot Power and new buddy J.J. Torres were instrumental in helping us get in contact with McCaig. We thank them sincerely and profusely.
And of course, BIG OL' GIANT THANKS to Iain himself for hanging out. What an incredible guest and a terrific person.
**Yes, the title is a reference to Guns N' Roses third studio album. It looked cool enough when we typed it in.
Thanks for Iain McCaig - another outstanding episode in your podcast series. Bravo!
(RE: Thank you, CDW. He was terrific.)
Posted by: ConceptDesignWorkshop | July 05, 2010 at 10:24
Thank you thank you thank you!
Iain was great, you guys were great.
Loved it!
Posted by: Daniel.Z | July 05, 2010 at 18:33
fantastic interview, iain is an inspiring individual and it was great to kick back, listen, and learn, and to also get an interesting insight into the man himself. Loving what you do guys.
Cheers
Posted by: matt | July 05, 2010 at 20:01
Been waiting on this one for a looong time. Another excellent interview, with all the right questions being asked. It's as inspiring listening to the man talk, as it is watching him draw. Highlight of my day. Thanks guys.
Posted by: Douglas Carrel | July 06, 2010 at 03:17
visionary storyteller is a perfect description of Iain. There's obviously more to it than that but anyway.
wonderful interview, i was laughing and i listened to it twice haha! If i could just achieve a drop of iain's ocean of skill and vision i would be satisfied. his visual storytelling dvd's completely changed my whole perspective on my own art process and i am so grateful!
well thats enough gushing now...and thankyou to the great hosts!
Posted by: Artofrodrigo.blogspot.com | July 07, 2010 at 07:31
A-W-E-S-O-M-E Interview gents!!! It is so cool to have the veil lifted for a few minutes to see what it's really like behind the scenes. Great job guys and many thanks to Iain!
Posted by: shawn | July 07, 2010 at 13:08
Great interview! Iain's attitude is so infectious that I find myself wanting to drop everything and start drawing, painting, and dreaming.
Posted by: Jared Shear | July 08, 2010 at 13:12
Iain is an absolute genius! Really looking forward to his upcoming film projects. Thank you so much for this interview!
Posted by: Mia | July 08, 2010 at 14:48
Exciting Interview. Oh and to answer your guys question at the beginning of the show excelsior means "even higher" or something like that in Latin. Stan Lee explains this in the Interviews he did with Kevin Smith. Just thought I'd key you in on it.
(RE: Thanks as always for posting, Rob. And that definition comes up in a very interesting way on a coming episode. Stay tuned, True Believer! - S)
Posted by: Robert Johnson | July 12, 2010 at 13:23
Regarding Iain's animation experience, I have great respect for all professionals working under pressures of all sorts, but animators in particular. Grueling and demanding, it's the trickiest imagery work I can imagine. Unfortunately and as we know, they must work more 'simply' (less embellishments etc) than illustrators. But for an animator to return to illustration, even (or especially?) concept illo work, and retain, even evolve, his embellished rendering chops is way awesome. I don't know of anyone else who did that. (I'm certain there's a bunch, for sure.)
Posted by: Zuma | July 13, 2010 at 03:14
Loved the interview! Can't wait for Brad Rigneys as well :)
(RE: Thanks, Dave. Iain and Brad both rocked these microphones!)
Posted by: Dave Rapoza | July 13, 2010 at 17:37
LOVED this one. I had the honor of meeting him last year at comic con and he was everything you described.
Posted by: Daniel Araya | July 19, 2010 at 20:32
Thanks for this guys. Downloading it now. Expecting it to be tremendeous and inspiring.
Posted by: Mark Waikien | July 22, 2010 at 19:54