Almu Redondo

Flexible jungle Whenever she’s travelling with her portable art studio, this Spanish storyboarder and concept artist likes to surround herself with plants. Lots of plants…

My work desk is a reflection of the world today: a fast-paced environment in which creative minds travel around the globe from project to project and company to company. It’s a small satellite station that sails with me through my nomadic career, which has brought me from Pamplona to Kilkenny, via Beijing and London.

When I’m not required to be based in-house, I work for companies all around the world from this studio setup in the middle of the rolling hills surrounding the medieval city of Kilkenny, Ireland. It’s situated in a neighbourhood full of Cartoon Saloon artists, and is part of a crazy international community of exceptional artists that have come together to create animated stories. It’s our 21st century version of the historic Parisian district of Montmartre, slap bang in the middle of Ireland!

I always try to be creative in this den, where time stops and it’s like I’m back at my grandma’s house spending afternoons drawing with my sisters. It’s the space where I can explore, push, break and then stitch worlds together, amid plants and my childhood’s favourite smell: oil paintings!

The portable and versatile nature of the setup gives me the ability to work anywhere where the job takes me. It includes a laptop with a Cintiq, an extremely lightweight aluminium easel, and a useful board that can serve as reference area or as a secondary table! Multifunction is key, because sometimes I’ll be designing an storyboard or creating digital concept art in the morning, and working on an oil painting in the afternoon.

To balance this ever-changing environment and workload, I’ve established a daily routine that enables me to manage all my tools and to remain focused while staying connected to the remote teams I’m part of. This ensures that I’m ready to tackle any incoming project.

My day starts with a workout at the gym to clear my mind and to prepare myself for the day ahead. I start working at 8am to take advantage of the best hours of the morning. Around midday I talk to the team, receive feedback, go to meetings and then have lunch. After a day’s work I try to spend some time with my friends to reset my brain and have a good laugh! Almu is a storyboarder, concept artist and illustrator who’s worked for companies such as Disney, Universal and LucasArts, on upcoming films including Aladdin and The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle. She’s currently at the Oscar-nominated studio Cartoon Saloon, developing the animated film Wolfwalkers.

This setup gives me the ability to work anywhere where the job takes me

Above: When she’s not busy working in her portable studio, Almu can enjoy the sights and sounds of the city of Kilkenny.

My forest and tropical plants are the only objects that change in my studio, because I have to buy new ones everywhere I go. My Dell XPS 13 laptop is teamed with a Wacom Cintiq 13HD. Together they have enough processing power to handle storyboard, animation and 3D software, and the biggest Photoshop files. They’re lightweight, too – perfect art companions! Audio is crucial for me to get into the emotional state necessary to develop my characters. I usually listen to classical music, alpha noise, podcasts or soundtracks.

I use my iPad to display references, play music and for checking emails. Often this is the only device connected to the internet, to minimise distractions. I usually need to have multiples desks ready for a project, so this side table with a watercolour setup already in place is a real time-saver. This Walimex aluminium workshop easel holds canvases up to 122cm in height. I can customise the stand with different modules, depending on how much paint I need or the size of the canvases that I’m using.

This reference board helps me to create the visual map for different projects. Sometimes I even use both sides of the board for concurrent projects.