UWE Animation graduate storyboarding for new Wes Anderson feature

Following his graduation in 2019, Joe Thad Deahl has been working on Asteroid City, a new feature film by acclaimed director Wes Anderson. Joe said ‘I’m very excited to see my drawings come to life and to be working on a film featuring actors that I’m such a big fan of. It’s a dream project.’  

Asteroid City features Bill Murray, and is likely to be released in 2022. Joe has moved on straight from this to work on another upcoming Wes Anderson project.  

Joe got the job through his work with storyboard artist Jay Clarke, who’d previously been invited to come in and speak to UWE animation students about his career and the art of storyboarding. Joe began working with Jay after meeting him at one of the talks and then interviewing him as part of a Professional Practice module in his second year, and began interning for him alongside his final year studies. He had given Jay an unusual wooden business card he’d made in the fabrication studios at Bower Ashton, which had a handy box with a 16×9 aspect ratio, to help quickly sketch out boxes for storyboards – a lovely example of cross disciplinary work and networking! 

Joe said, ‘One of the most useful things about UWE’s animation course was having ex-students, now industry professionals, coming in to talk about their careers and to give feedback on our own work. I gained so much knowledge from speaking to storyboard artists, as well as learning from others on my course who wanted to work in the same area.’  

‘The course is really important for helping to develop your style, but it really helped me in thinking about plans post-uni and taking advantage of opportunities to work as a professional in the industry while studying.’ Joe also offered some advice to prospective storyboard artists and animation students; ‘Practise drawing as much as you can. The only cheat to get better quicker is to make friends who want to do the same thing you want to do, to share tips with each other along the way.’  

You can take a look at some more of Joe’s work here: https://www.thad.work/