📢GUYS!
Since we first started working on The Quinta's Ghost we knew it was paramount that the film found the right audience. We dreamed of showing it at a place where audiences come hungry for wild, imaginative films… A place like SITGES! I AM OVER THE F%^&ING MOON

One of the most unexpected assignments for The Smurfs was designing the different magic systems that were going to appear in the film. We wanted to connect the Smurfs to water, so we designed a ripple like effect that would react with light the way a surface of water would.

Keeping it with the evil wizards, here is a follow up to the previous assignment, refining some of the ideas and starting to develop their personalities and options a bit more. Support the film in cinemas! Its a wild ride.

Apart from the Snooterpoots, this film introduces a group of interdimensional evil wizards, that I had the pleasure of trying to bring to life. These are some of the very first sketches I did, just trying to be loose and having a good time.

In this film we got the privilege of introducing a whole new set of characters to the Smurfs universe; the Snooterpoots! I got the call to start exploring how their underground dwellings could look, as well as how we could present it in a fun way
High res versions: www.jamesacastillo.com/smurfs

Early explorations on how to represent the world of the Smurfs. We wanted to make sure it looked cinematic and grounded, so we explored different ways in which their houses could be integrated into nature, as well as looking for ways in which to use negative space to enhance the feeling of scale.

Guys! August 9th,10th and 16th you have a date with me! Ill be sharing my process, tips and looking at your assignments to help you push your work to the next level. Contact us at helloguikenschool@gmail.com

❗GUYS📣 After a long hiatus from teaching, I am happy to share that I am doing a character design workshop! I will go over my process, how I handle assignments, offer career advise and my personal tricks when designing characters. If this is your jam, contact us at helloguikenschool@gmail.com !

The Smurfs is out! Here is an early piece of concept art I did for Paramount a couple of years ago to find the style of the show. I will be posting some of the work I did over here, but if you are interested in seeing it all in high res, jump to my website! ⭐

There is something magical about seeing people reacting to our little film and connecting to the story. It is, by far, my favorite part of the journey.

I am incredibly proud to share with all of you the taser for my latest film; The Quintas Ghost! It was made by an army of artists and mavericks. More news coming soon!

www.thequintasghost.com

FINALLY after four long years of sweat, tears and a lot of joy THE QUINTA's GHOST has a WORLD Premiere!! I can't think of a better stage to showcase our beautiful film than TRIBECA. Thank you to anyone that has worked on it, I am nobody without you.
tribecafilm.com/films/quinta...

am very, VERY excited to show you my first collaboration with a comic book publisher ever. A cover for the las issue on the recently announced SOLOMON KANE's solo series at
Titan Books

More news regarding this collaboration coming soon... 😉

Last year I had the chance and privilege to work with my buddies at ILLUSORIUM on a couple of episodes of Secret Level. My favorite was PacMan's, I helped design some of the shots and do a first pass at color to help visualize the mood of the piece. If you haven't, you can watch it on Prime!

The idea of a Solomon Kane animated project has been in my mind for ages. These are some of the sketches that really sold me on the idea that it could be done.

I am directing a horror short film about Goya, the famous Spanish painter at Illusorium. If you like horror, genre and want to follow the process, feel free to join our newsletter.
mailchi.mp/bb526d9d233d...

We will be releasing news about its release pretty soon! Support indie projects!

Hey everyone!