Approached by the National Galleries of Scotland following the success of the Monarch of the Glen campaign, I was invited to create immersive content for a major exhibition celebrating the life and work of legendary stop-motion animator and visual effects pioneer, Ray Harryhausen.

The exhibition featured original sketches, models, armatures and iconic creatures from films including Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans. To help bring Harryhausen’s work to life, we 3D scanned original models and reimagined them as animated creatures projected throughout the gallery. We also animated his sketches, showcased his pioneering Dynamation technique, and created interactive green-screen and AR experiences that allowed visitors to step into his fantastical worlds.

The exhibition proved hugely popular, attracting visitors from around the world and ultimately being extended by an additional year due to its success.

From a creative perspective, my focus was on understanding what made Harryhausen’s work feel so special and ensuring that authenticity carried through every stage of the experience. Rather than simply recreating the creatures, I wanted to capture the character, timing and personality that existed within the original performances. Working alongside a talented team of artists and animators, we developed a workflow that allowed us to honour the handcrafted qualities of the source material while adapting it for a contemporary audience. The challenge was finding the right balance between preservation and interpretation, ensuring visitors felt they were experiencing Harryhausen’s imagination as vividly today as audiences did when his films first premiered.

The project demonstrated how contemporary technology could be used to celebrate and preserve traditional craft rather than replace it. By combining photogrammetry, digital reconstruction, character animation and simulation techniques, we were able to reimagine Harryhausen’s creatures in ways that had never been seen before. This included developing entirely new interactions between characters from across his body of work, creating moments and encounters that were impossible within the constraints of the original films. The concept was embraced by The Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation and received the approval of Ray’s daughter, Vanessa Harryhausen, providing a meaningful endorsement from those closest to his legacy.

Alongside the 3D experiences, I wanted to celebrate another side of Harryhausen’s creative process — his remarkable sketch work. We developed a bespoke hand-drawn animation that imagined a battle between creatures drawn from across his catalogue, bringing together characters that had never previously shared the screen. Projected onto canvases positioned across a tabletop installation, visitors could explore the scene from multiple viewpoints as it unfolded around them. Every frame was illustrated by hand, drawing inspiration from Harryhausen’s original drawings and the distinctive personalities of creatures such as the Dioskilos, Skeleton Warriors, Bubo the Owl and even a Martian concept originally designed for War of the Worlds that was never realised on screen. The result offered a unique glimpse into Harryhausen’s imagination, connecting his sketchbooks, films and unrealised ideas within a single experience.

To create a sense of discovery throughout the exhibition, we designed a series of large-scale environmental projections that transformed static displays into living exhibits. Each creature was carefully staged within its own atmospheric setting, allowing visitors to encounter them almost as if they were observing rare specimens in motion. Particular attention was paid to scale, silhouette and behaviour, ensuring that the towering presence of Talos felt imposing, the Hydra conveyed a sense of menace and unpredictability, the Skeleton Warriors retained their iconic rhythm and precision, and the Harpy moved with an unsettling elegance. By treating each projection as a character study rather than a simple animation loop, we were able to give visitors a renewed appreciation for the personality and craftsmanship embedded within Harryhausen’s creations.

To encourage deeper engagement, we developed a series of interactive experiences that invited visitors to become active participants rather than passive observers. Through a bespoke green-screen installation, guests could step directly into fantastical scenarios inspired by Harryhausen’s films, creating memorable moments that blended performance, storytelling and technology. This extended into an augmented reality experience that revealed hidden layers throughout the exhibition, rewarding exploration and creating unexpected encounters. Together, these installations helped transform the exhibition into a playful, hands-on experience that appealed to audiences of all ages while demonstrating how emerging technologies can be used to enhance cultural storytelling.