Artist Spotlight: Niles McDonald

Written by Mae Masek

Niles McDonald is a senior at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD),
majoring in Animation with a minor in Concept Design for Arts and Games. He
specializes in creating animations with a painterly background, and a strong sense
of emphasis on subjects through lighting. He has often been a part of horror
animation projects, but has also been a part of a project in a western setting.

All throughout his life, Niles has been inspired by animated media from creators like
SAD-ist, WolfyTheWitch, and particularly the film The Grave of the Fireflies created
by Studio Ghibli. But before enrolling at SCAD, he was considering studying
Forensics Science or Illustration. Niles decided to enroll in Illustration at SCAD, but
quickly found his place in the Animation department and switched his major his
freshman year.

Since then, Niles has been working on numerous animation projects at SCAD. He
worked on the animated short The Duel, which features animals in a western scene
that duel over a conflict. The animation is very energetic, the body language is vivid,
and the story clearly shows itself to the viewer without the use of dialogue. Another
project he has worked on is called Hunting Grounds, which is an animation that
features horror elements that Niles enjoyed working on. This was another project
that helped Niles solidify his art style and passion for working on horror projects.

Niles is currently working on his capstone project called The Scenic Route, which has
been his favorite project to date. There are 10 people on the team that are creating
this horror film, and in addition various voice actors and sound mixers. Most of the
work on this project has been animating the scenes, but his illustration skills are
able to come out when needed. In order to set the scene of the film, Niles illustrated
environments with strong lighting angles in order to draw the attention of the
viewer to the scene. Keep an eye out for The Scenic Route at the end of the year!

To explore more of Niles’ work or connect with him, visit his portfolio website or
LinkedIn.