HMS TEMERESI I built the front part of the HMS Temeresi in 3D to include the physical set we were building at the studio. I worked with the art director to enable Stuart Craig and supervising art director James Hambidge to show what you would see as Newt approached New York for the first time. TW

AERIAL SHOT OF NEW YORK This shot was to help establish where MACUSA would appear in the skyline. The art department went to great lengths to decipher from reference images which buildings existed at the time of the story. TW

NEW YORK SKYLINE The skyline of 1920s New York is strikingly modern, with buildings we still recognize today, whereas most ships of the period are either sunk or scrapped. Luckily enough, we were able to reconstruct a typical ocean liner from a model ship and antique drawings pulled from archives. PPOP

CUSTOMS HALL This is my favourite illustration and it shows how a warehouse in Bedford UK could be transformed into a bustling New York dock with a ‘little help’ courtesy of set dressing and green screen allowing digital extensions. PPOP

NEWT’S CASE LOCK FIXTURE/MS

NEW YORK STREET SCENE Stuart and senior art director Dave Alday laid out the plan for these looming structures as symbols of the establishment and obstacles to Jacob as he embarks on his journey. Partly built on the backlot of Leavesden Studios, they were later combined with digital backgrounds. Darker painted clouds in the sky foreshadow events to come… PPOP

THE BANK The lower half of the bank was to be a practical set with the upper half extended digitally. Using reference images of Tweed Courthouse in Manhattan I built a 3D model and then painted a concept to show how this should look. HES

EXTERIOR OF JACOB’S APARTMENT The first stage of a digital set extension design is to create a 3D model and set up a potential shot like this. The grey shows the physical set build and the green represents the VFX set extension; this gives a clear guide so everyone knows exactly what will be achieved ‘in camera’.

The next stage of the process is to paint the 3D model and lock down the design of the VFX set extension. The street in which Jacob’s apartment is located was based on the tenement streets of the Lower East Side in Manhattan, small shops, low cost apartments and run-down architecture – in stark contrast to the more prestigious city streets by Shaw Tower, the Bank and City Hall. HES

EXTERIOR OF JACOB’S APARTMENT After the scene outside Jacob’s apartment had been shot I was given still frames from the rushes.

Using a combination of 3D model and 2D background I then painted over the green-screen area to show exactly what the VFX set extension should look like. The VFX team could then follow this design when they completed their work.

The architecture for the tenement buildings was based on Manhattan’s Lower East Side: Orchard Street and the surrounding area. The elevated railway was based on a historic building at 238th Street, and the warehouse was taken from a street by Manhattan Bridge. I went to NYC with Stuart Craig to look at the architecture and photograph key buildings. Using a combination of the photographs I took and also historic reference I created the look of the extended street. HES

‘THIS ILLUSTRATION WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE AMOUNT OF SERIOUS DAMAGE THAT A STAMPEDE OF ESCAPING CREATURES MIGHT CAUSE TO JACOB’S APARTMENT. AT THE SAME TIME, STUART WAS KEEN TO REFERENCE EVERYDAY LIFE IN THE TENEMENT BUILDINGS AND SURROUNDINGS AS DOCUMENTED IN CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY.’

INTERIOR OF JACOB’S APARTMENT/PPOP

DESIGN IDEA FOR SHAW TOWER This is an idea for the main entrance to the Shaw Tower. The spikes on the outer ring of the logo remained from an earlier version when ‘Shaw’ was then called ‘Thorne’. PPOP

EARLY DESIGN OF SHAW TOWER This was when we were using the Radiator building (Bryant Park hotel) as inspiration. TW

SHAW TOWER This is the final design for the Shaw Tower. I worked with Stuart Craig to develop his vision. Stuart wanted to fine tune the design over time. I attempted to show the building in a gloomy atmospheric light. TW

SHAW TOWER INTERIOR A slick design for Shaw’s office space situated in lower Manhattan high above Trinity Square. Art Deco was the latest fashion and represented the luxury and glamour of a millionaire’s lifestyle. PPOP

SHAW TOWER INTERIOR I assumed that the office of a millionaire like Shaw would contain furniture from all over the world. Further, he would celebrate the Art Deco style that represented modernity and progress in the early 1920s. Chinese designs, particularly from Shanghai, were very fashionable then and added a touch of exoticism to the interior. PPOP

SHAW SR.’S OFFICE We imagined Shaw Tower to be situated in lower Manhattan, so he could have that stunning view from his office to Trinity Place. PPOP

VIEW FROM SHAW TOWER In this view Stuart wanted to make sure we saw through to Brooklyn Bridge but also keep the tall, impressive city buildings very visible. We look past digital extensions of the Department Store and City Hall sets, with the iconic Manhattan Municipal, Thurgood Courthouse, Emigrants Bank, Surrogates Court and Park Row architecture in the street beyond. HES

IDEA FOR THE NSPS CHURCH This was the very first concept I did working for Stuart. It was a great honour to be a part of the team and working for some of the most talented people in the industry. I worked under Stuart’s guidance to establish an early idea of the NSPS church and its setting. TW

VIEW FROM SHAW TOWER This view was based on the architecture that would have been visible from Trinity Place in Manhattan: we see across the roof of Trinity Church to the buildings on Broadway. I built a 3D model of the area and then used a combination of photographs I had taken along with historic reference books to piece together the buildings that would have been visible in the 1920s. HES

GOLDSTEIN APARTMENT EXTERIOR This is the first pass of a painted 3D concept to show how a potential shot of the Goldstein apartment might look, and the architecture we would see in the streets beyond. The brownstone buildings were based on a residential street in Harlem with the iconic Met Life Tower and 1920s Madison Square Garden building (now demolished) in the background. HES

NEW YORK STREET SCENE Stuart had collected an extensive amount of research when scouting in NYC. Based on this we recreated our own New York street sets to best suit the story and production needs. Whilst Hayley was working on the 3D models, I was illustrating extended cityscapes. PPOP

NEW YORK STREET SCENE The opposite view of the above image. PPOP

NEW YORK STREET SCENE This is one of many studies we did for the New York street sets. Since we were building all exterior sets in London we eventually got exactly what we needed to tell the story. The challenge was to combine the buildings in such a way that we’d achieve a variety of angles that suggest different locations. PPOP

CITY HALL EXTERIOR Using the same process described on p. 44, but taking architecture from surrounding streets in Manhattan, I extended the street beyond City Hall. HES

CITY HALL EXTERIOR Using a combination of architecture from our location in Liverpool, and also Chambers Street in Manhattan, I created this concept to show what the final VFX set extension would look like for City Hall. The buildings of Chambers Street were chosen to complement the imposing architecture of City Hall. I used a combination of a basic 3D model that I built, along with my own photographs and historic images, to extend the street. HES

NEW YORK STREET SCENE I’ve never before done so much research for my illustrations as I’ve done for Fantastic Beasts. The attention to detail and accuracy of architecture was immense. I sometimes felt like I had to build a whole city from scratch and then populate it with people, shops, vehicles, signs, ads, and so on. An endless task in defiance of any deadline. PPOP

NEW YORK It was the attention to detail that turned our film set into a typical New York street scene. PPOP

NEW YORK STREET SCENE This is a revamp of a set used earlier in the film and turned into a derelict building. Stuart noted that a skyscraper under construction seemed a nice metaphor for a rising metropolis of that period. PPOP

NEW YORK STREET VIEW One of the processes that Stuart Craig brought with him from Harry Potter was that the design of each set would early on involve the construction of a cardboard model, to help everyone visualize the scale and geometry of the location and help the director plan his shots. This concept was adapted from one of those cardboard models, with the addition of lighting, composition, mood and narrative. PPOP

THE DERELICT SCHOOL An establishing view of the school. TW

THE DERELICT SCHOOL This was part of the sequence of Graves giving chase through the abandoned school. I worked for Stuart and the art director and built the set in 3D, conceptualizing the shot to show the destruction of Graves’ enchantment as it tore through the wall. TW

CONCEPT OF A STREET SCENE I like this concept because it covers all aspects of production design: a set build with architectural detail, prop design, costumes, graphics and digital set extension. PPOP

JACOB’S BAKERY WINDOW In amongst the standard loaves in the window, on a special display shelf are baked versions of the fantastic beasts that Jacob encountered. There is an Erumpent loaf, a paczki-style Niffler, a pretzel Occamy and an iced Demiguise like a Polish Babka. It was a fun challenge to find a cake style that would embody each creature. MS