Outstanding Contribution To The Art Department – 2021

In the early 90s, after completing 6 years of further education in various art fields I spent some time lost in the world of illustration doing book and video covers but also numerous private art commissions including a large oil painting of a champion chicken (long story) and the occasional painted leather jacket. But my first love in art was to visualise the unknown. Create worlds and those that inhabited them. So in the early 90s, spurred on by the influence of great artists like Syd Mead, H R Giger and Ron Cobb and not knowing at all what I was doing, I decided to pursue a career in the movies.

It took me a number of years to finally get my well trodden foot through the Art Department door but in early 1995, whilst showing some work at Creature FX I was told a big French Sci Fi film had moved into Pinewood. I showed Dan Weil, the production designer my work and bingo! I was given my first real concept art role. That film was The Fifth Element and I have not stopped since.

In the years that have followed I have been so lucky to work with so many amazing Production designers, directors, producers and crew on projects both large and small, live action and animation. Many of these crew members went on to become good friends.

Even on the most challenging of productions it’s the crew that will pull it through. As dear Peter Lamont said to me one day “The team is everything!”
Thank you Guild for honouring this humbled, scruffy artist who dared to do something different all those years ago.

It seems like I always knew I wanted to work in the Art Department. I used to sneak out of bed in the middle of the night to watch films in secret, entranced by behind-the-scenes documentaries. My Dad was a cabinet maker. He had an old drawing board in his workshop, so he was my first teacher. He often let me fiddle around on the board while he was working.

When it came to getting a job in the film industry though, I had absolutely no clue. Every careers advisor I’ve ever had looked at me as if I’d started speaking in tongues when I announced I was going to work in the Art Department. It’s not the sort of thing people did.
I did courses at the City Lit, I worked in a shop while using my holidays to work for free on TV shoots and furiously practised my drawing skills on that same old drawing board of my Dad’s, now installed in my flat. The now defunct FT2 scheme proved to be the boost I needed to finally make inroads.

One of the things I’ve loved the most about my time in the Art Department, is the sense of community and support I’ve always felt. People have been generous in giving their time and expertise to help the development of others, and I have had many amazing teachers.
I believe passionately that our strength is in that community, and our ability to foster and develop our skills and talent pool.

In my work with BECTU, I have fought to level the playing field, to make it possible to retain our talent, and attract those who may not have the resources to work for low pay. I am so delighted that the art department now has a strong and dedicated committee to represent us.

As a mentor I have tried to encourage the enthusiasm of my mentees, while passing on some of the wisdom I learned from my own mentors, with a heavy bias towards pencil draughting, obviously!

I felt such a sense of pride the day I stood at a junior’s drawing board and said, like my mentors said to me: ‘have you got a bit of trace?’ I plan to continue to work on my skills as a teacher, and develop my role as a senior draughtsperson to include mentoring within the Art Departments I work in.

Thank you all,

Dorrie Young