Let me tell you about this talented artist I worked with at Blue Sky Studios, Kyle MacNaughton.

He is another one of those crazy talents who many of you may not know because he has no blog or website. He is responsible for the beautiful jungle design of Horton Hears A Who. Of course, with Blue Sky Studios not interested in publishing Art of ~ books to showcase their incredible talents, we may never get to see beautiful drawings Kyle did for Horton Hears A Who. I remember when we were struggling to get the look of Dr.Seuss’s jungle in 3D, he came up with such a wonderful solution. It was my honor to be able to have a brief time together with him on the production.

I don’t need to say any further! His idea for Totoro was very similar to mine where you glance where this world is heading. And what a beautiful pencil rendering this is. I am so glad he was able to show the world what he’s got. Thank you Kyle!

“This opportunity was impossible to pass up… collaborate with like minded people, get inspired and initiate some thought and momentum towards a great cause.

Although the overall theme of my piece is fairly ominous, I hope the spirit of it comes across more optimistically. In the piece I included animals that are native to Japan, like the Sika deer, Japanese crane and Macaques monkeys to represent the struggle of the Sayama forest to co-exit with its demanding neighbor – us! . The intent was to illustrate a story of one place, but the overall theme and message could be applied to many places.

I am grateful to Dice and the Totoro forest crew for inspiring the opportunity to make a small contribution to a much larger issue.” ———Kyle McNaughton