Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Hargreaves.
Hi Sean, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Blackpool,UK. and moved to the U.S. when I was young. I came to Pasadena, California in 1986 to attend the Art Center College of Design to study car design, known as Transportation Design. I graduated in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree and was hired by General Motors Advanced Concepts Center to design concept cars. In 1991 I left GM to go into the film business with help from a friend, and have worked in many positions in the art department, Concept Design being the position I’m known for. Concept Design is basically a job where you design sets, props, vehicles, creatures, characters, environments, etc. These are then approved and built in reality or are built digitally. Its a job I never knew I would have but dreamt of having.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Common to everyone starting out, I had struggles in the beginning finding work, as my portfolio was mainly cars, and I had to completely re-do my portfolio from the ground up to represent the jobs I was interviewing because I wasn’t getting hired. It took me about 4-6 weeks to re-tool my work, which in this day and age is lightning fast considering there are 3-4 year schools on the subject of Concept Design, and when I went back out I got a job pretty quickly. But it was tough at the beginning, mainly not having many connections, plus even if your work is good you don’t have experience. People who hire like to know you’re dependable and like referrals, or some kind of reputation so they feel comfortable you can do the job.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in creating environments, both interior and exterior, as well as vehicles as well as props. The term being thrown around is World Building, although that seems a bit much in my view, but thats essentially what I do for lack of a better term.
Of all the work I’ve done I think I’m most proud of the house I designed in the film 13 Ghosts, as well as Yorktown space station and the Franklin starship in the film Star Trek Beyond. I’ve done so many designs over 34 years in this business it’s hard to pick just one. I work really hard on every design.
I think what sets me apart is I have a solid grounding in design, and I can illustrate those ideas pretty well, therefore my illustrations are clear to my bosses. I feel confident I can design anything, as this business really puts you through some serious challenges and you have to come up with ideas very fast, so that ‘training’ has given me confidence to tackle any design problem.
Any big plans?
Well, the film business has gone through some major changes in the last few years, the main one being their migration from not only Los Angeles, but the U.S. to Europe for savings on labor, so a lot are struggling here, and we’re all trying to navigate our next steps. Most of us don’t know what we’ll be doing 6 months from now, it’s all in flux.
In the future I would like to sell prints of my personal work, commissioned or otherwise, and I’d like to continue teaching which I do now remotely part time at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artstation.com/seanhargreaves
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sean.hargreaves.design/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sean.hargreaves.design
Image Credits
All images are copyright Sean Hargreaves and their respective studios.
