Lauren Montgomery

Lauren Montgomery
Born	Lauren Eve Montgomery
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Artist, Animation, Director
Notable works	Legion of Super Heroes, Justice League: The New Frontier, Superman: Doomsday, Wonder Woman film.

Lauren Montgomery is a film animation director and storyboard artist. She is perhaps most noted for her work on DC Comics animated properties for Warner Bros. Animation. She has directed the Wonder Woman animated film of the same name, the first official Wonder Woman feature film to be made.^[1]

Early Years

Montgomery became interested in drawing as a youngster and developed an interest in animation.^[2] In 1998 she enrolled in the animation program at Loyola Marymount University's School of Film and Television where she graduated in 2002.^[3]

Career

Animation

Storyboards

She got her start on the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002 TV series) ^[3] animated by Mike Young Productions. Montgomery has done Storyboards for animated television series' such as Ben 10 from Cartoon Network Studios as well as storyboard work for the critically acclaimed television series Justice League Unlimited, for which producer Bruce Timm praised her work as being quite versatile. ^[4]

Lauren has also done storyboard work for the second DC Universe film production, Justice League: The New Frontier, based on the Eisner Award winning graphic novel by Darwyn Cooke, DC: The New Frontier. She also worked on the Next_Avengers and Hulk_Vs animated features, Marvel Comics properties by Lions Gate Entertainment. Moreover, she worked on the G.I. Joe features for Reel FX Creative Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. She has also worked on the Emmy-winning series Avatar: The Last Airbender for Nicktoons Network.

Directing

She made her directorial debut by directing several episodes of the Legion of Super Heroes series, and was one of the three directors for the direct-to-video feature film Superman: Doomsday, directing the second act of the movie.

In March, 2008, it was announced that she is the director for the direct-to-video Wonder Woman film from Warner Premiere. The animated feature has a March 3rd, 2009 release date.^[1]

Furthermore, she is the director of Green Lantern: First Flight which has a July 28, 2009 release date. ^[5]

Illustration

Montgomery has released a sketchbook with comic book/animation artist Eric Canete entitled 'Beauty and the Beast' published by Black Velvet Studios. She has also done various freelance illustration work such as illustrating a cover for Nickleodeon Magazine ^[6] and a press release illustation for the Avatar series.^[7]

Style

According to Montgomery : ...I was definitely influenced by the Disney films. Those were the drawings I was tracing and sketching during my early years. I would study each and every one of the princesses and draw them until I had them all down by heart. My facial features are still influenced somewhat by Disney characters. As I got older, I was definitely influenced by Bruce's style in Batman (referring to Bruce Timm and Batman: The Animated Series) , and I started getting into anime, and some of the more subtle styles in anime drawing. The clothing is a little more detailed than the typical American animation – it's more believable, yet still simplified. It's the way they draw bodies and cloth that I kind of incorporate into my drawings, as well as certain aspects of how they would draw hair. So I'd say I have a few different influences in my art style.'^[2]

References

External links

• Lauren Montgomery at the Internet Movie Database
• Artist art site Retrieved 15-12-2008
• Interview on Superman:Doomsday Retrieved 15-12-2008
• Interview on Wonder Woman Retrieved 15-12-2008
• Talking to Lauren Montgomery Retrieved 14-02-09
• Blast Magazine Interview Retrieved 28-02-09
• Green Lantern Interview Retrieved 10-04-09