Neil Gittins

Visual Development & Art Direction — Game · Film · Moving Image

I help directors and teams find the visual heart of a story — atmosphere, tone, and a coherent world audiences can feel.

I’m an animator, designer, and director with 15+ years across animation, motion design, and storytelling. My work sits at the intersection of visual direction and worldbuilding: look-development, styleframes, key art, colour scripts, storyboards, and mood films that align story, design language, and audience emotion. I lead when needed, collaborate deeply with directors and writers, and deliver images that move a project from idea to living world.

What I Do

Visual Development & Direction

  • Worldbuilding & design language (shape, colour, scale, rhythm)

  • Look-dev, styleframes, key art, colour scripts

  • Keyshots & sequences to define atmosphere and tone

  • Storyboards & cinematic previz

  • Title design/motion sequences

  • Pitch bibles/decks for IP and series development

  • Art leadership & mentorship; team workflows from brief to delivery

How I Work (Process)

  • Story First — clarify theme, emotional objective, and audience reaction.

  • Visual Language — establish shape grammar, palette, scale, light, texture.

  • Exploration — iterate in 2D/3D; test readability, rhythm, and contrast.

  • Keyframes & Sequences — lock the world’s feeling through decisive images.

  • World Bible — document rules, references.

  • Deliver — tailored packs for directors, art teams, and production.

Capabilities & Tools

  • 2D/3D: Drawing, digital painting, concept art, styleframes, motion design

  • Software: Adobe CC (After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere), Cinema 4D, Redshift, Arnold, Procreate / Procreate Dreams, Unreal Engine (as appropriate for look-dev/previz)

  • Collab: Clear communication, strong presentation, mentoring juniors, end-to-end leadership from brief to final

Capabilities & Tools

Core Principles (for Visual Development)

  • Emotion leads every decision; design serves story.

  • Design is language — shape, colour, value, rhythm communicates meaning.

  • Show less, say more — clarity over noise.

  • Contrast guides attention — choose where the eye lands.

  • World logic matters — culture, physics, and light must cohere.

  • Compose for the subconscious — images should feel inevitable.

  • Iterate with intent — stages build toward a finish.

  • Everything is a tool — every element reinforces the focal idea.

  • Nature teaches structure — form, pattern, and scale inform design.

  • Collaborate generously — honest feedback, steady pace, shared ownership.

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