Leah O'Donnell
Specialising in prop design with elements of fantasy and horror, with a special interest in production management.
About
I love to explore the fantastical and the macabre in my digital illustrations. Macabre iconography and a dark colour palette are always my go-to and are my favourite elements to work with. My biggest influences include Mark Ryden, Nick Cross and American McGhee, who like me often look for the beauty in what others find unnerving. As a young teen, I fell fast and hard in love with gothic music, and explored this new love via drawings in my sketchbook and consuming as much weird and surreal animation as I could. To this day my favourites remain 'Over The Garden Wall', 'Coraline' and 'Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids'. With all my work I set out with a clear idea of what I want to do, but during the process, I will research, study and observe extensively. This flexibility allows me to incorporate unique or unexpected elements into my design that elevate it beyond my initial idea, while still keeping the original spirit of the concept. There is a clear line of thought through my work, which when seen allows the viewer to follow along on my artistic journey. With my art, I achieve the same feeling these cartoons evoked in me; an exciting fear, and a desire to explore the unknown. The vivid colours and round linework I employ to aid in drawing you in, then the hint of something unusual, like a skull or a knife in a child's hand sends you reeling with uncertainty. There's no fun in predictability, hence why I enjoy using colour and style to subvert expectations.
This is a turnaround sheet for the main prop of my thesis film “Sickly Sweet”. It is a book the Plague Doctor character uses to keep track of all his remedies and potions. The sheet also features screenshots of when the book is seen in the film.
This is a turnaround sheet for the lantern the Plague Doctor uses at the beginning of the film. It is used as a strong source of light in the dark and eerie atmosphere we created in the film.
An additional prop used by the Plague Doctor in the thesis film “Sickly Sweet”.
An additional prop used by the Plague Doctor in the thesis film “Sickly Sweet”. His bag is where he keeps his books and his various potions.
My prop design concept for a school bus, inspired by the Melanie Martinez album K-12. I used this project as a way to re-imagine the K-12 universe as a videogame. This bus would be used as a long range weapon by the main character.
My parasol prop design concept for the K-12 project. The umbrella would be used as a shield by the main character.
My switchblade prop design concept for the K-12 project. The switchblade would be used as a short range weapon by the main character.
This is the character design I created to support my K-12 project. Her name is Crybaby and she is the re-imagining of singer Melanie Martinez's persona. She wears many costumes and hairstyles, so I narrowed it down to her iconic split dye pigtails and redesigned the official K-12 album's uniform.
A turnaround showing a prop design I did for a fellow classmate's storyboarding project, set in Neolithic Scotland. The prop is a large serving spoon made out of stone, with ceremonial patterns carved into it.
A turnaround showing an additional prop design for my classmate's storyboarding project. This figure is a Brodgar Boy, a stone doll carved in Neolithic times that young children would play with. This Brodgar Boy is carved from the same stone used to carve the spoon.
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