28: WGE MAG
MAN OF GADGETS
YORKSHIRE’S ANSWER TO LUCIAS FOX
B
ruce Wayne owes a great debt to one canny Englishman and we’re not talking Michael Caine. Whilst on screen it’s Morgan Freeman’s Lucias Fox taking all the credit for Batman’s gadget-wizardry, a former Teesside University student is the real brains behind one of Wayne Enterprises’ most iconic inventions – The Batmobile.
Yorkshireman Dan Walker got his big break when, after a grounding in automotive design, he was offered the opportunity to take the role of concept artist on the Batman Begins movie, kitting out the famous Batmobile, quite possibly the best episode of Pimp My Ride we’ve never seen.
Since then, Walker has gone on to work on some of Hollywood’s biggest titles and closer to home was the man responsible for breathing life back into Doctor Who’s Tardis. He’s gone on to work on huge hits such as Prince of Persia, The Golden Compass, Captain America and his designs will soon be seen in the eagerly anticipated Expendables sequel. If gadgets need designing then Dan Walker is certainly your go-to-guy.
“...I’ve never considered myself to be a concept artist in the purist sense. By that, I mean I’m a product designer foremost, not an illustrator...”
“That seems fair enough as I’ve never considered myself to be a concept artist in the purist sense. By that, I mean I’m a product designer foremost, not an illustrator,” Walker told WGE:MAG when we spoke with him recently.
“I’ve perhaps become somewhat pigeonholed and given my background, that’s understandable. When I’m not engaged in the film, television and gaming industries, I work in industrial and automotive design. Whereas these industries differ considerably with film and games, particularly in regards to their deliverables, they do share a similar creative process. So, I suppose I have a natural leaning towards the tangible, such as props and gadgets.
“I studied Industrial Design Engineering at Teesside University back in the early 90s, followed by a masters in Transportation at the Royal College of Art in London.
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