Foundation
Twenty years of craft
From Emmy-winning title design and illustration to pitch-winning visual development and AI-assisted ideation.
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Bio · 2007–2026
Nathan
Mckenna
Concept artist · Digital matte painter · Character designer
Emmy-winning and twice BAFTA-nominated, with twenty years creating concept art, digital matte paintings and character designs for film, commercials and brands.
Available for selected projectsCareer in numbers
0120years in production
021Emmy Award
032BAFTA nominations
0442026 AICP shortlists
052×2026 VES Awards · BMW
Emmy Award · 2013
Outstanding Main
Title Design.
Da Vinci’s Demons · Starz
Selected highlights
Fueled by state of the art digital tools.
Grounded in 20 years of craft.
Character Design
BMW & Disney
Character work for BMW’s Heart of Joy and Disney’s Taika Waititi-directed Best Christmas Ever.
Read moreConcept and Matte Painting
Scorsese to Waititi
Concept art and DMP for Martin Scorsese’s Squarespace film, Taika Waititi's 'Seal' as a literal seal, and other major global campaigns.
Read moreAI-Assisted Ideation
Explore fast. Refine with craft.
AI-assisted ideation opens visual possibilities quickly. Judgement and craft refine the strongest routes into purposeful directions.
Read moreDisciplines
A broad visual toolkit, with craft at its centre.
- Concept art & visual developmentCore
- Digital matte paintingCore
- Character designCore
- AI-assisted ideationCore
- Pitch & presentation artCore
- Illustration
- Storyboards
- Motion graphics & After Effects
- Video editing, graphic design, photography
Awards & nominations
Recognition across title design, character work and visual effects.
- 2026VES Awards — two winsOutstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial; Outstanding Compositing & Lighting. BMW Heart of Joy, on which Nathan designed Okto.
- 2026AICP Post Awards — shortlistCharacter Design. Disney Best Christmas Ever.
- 2026AICP Show — shortlistAnimation. Disney Best Christmas Ever.
- 2026AICP Show — shortlistCharacter Design. BMW Heart of Joy.
- 2016BAFTA — nominationTelevision Craft, Titles & Graphic Identity. The Last Kingdom.
- 2015BAFTA — nominationTelevision Craft, Titles. Da Vinci’s Demons.
- 2013Emmy Award — winnerOutstanding Main Title Design. Da Vinci’s Demons, Starz.
- 2012Special Edi for Visual EffectsSwiss prize for advertising, industrial and corporate films.
Selected credits
Recent work and career landmarks.
Selected projects across commercials, film, television and pitch development.
| Year | Project | Role | Studio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Extra Gum — “Total Overthink of The Head” | Digital matte painting | JAMM | dir. Brian Billow |
| 2026 | Lay's — “Bandwagon” — FIFA World Cup | Digital matte painting | JAMM | dir. Jake Szymanski |
| 2025 | A Disney Holiday Short — Best Christmas Ever | Character design | Untold Studios | dir. Taika Waititi |
| 2025 | BMW “Heart of Joy” — Octowaltz | Character design | Untold Studios / Parasol Island | dir. Diarmid Harrison-Murray |
| 2025 | Mountain Dew — “Kiss From A Lime” | VFX & concept | Untold Studios | dir. Taika Waititi |
| 2025 | Blue Bunny — Blu mascot redesign (pitch) | Character design & visual development | Untold Studios | |
| 2025 | Publix — “Best Friends” (pitch) | Character design & visual development | Untold Studios | released film dir. Mark Molloy |
| 2025 | Corcept Therapeutics — “Cortisol In Control” (2 films) | Character, environment & prop design; DMP | Untold Studios | dir. Left Shoe Lost |
| 2025 | Uber Eats — “Get Almost Anything” (4 films) | VFX & concept | Untold Studios | dir. Nick Ball |
| 2025 | Amazon Prime — “Delivering Feels” | VFX & concept | Untold Studios | dir. Brandt Lewis |
| 2025 | Center Parcs — “Bubbles” | VFX & concept | Untold Studios | dir. Fred Scott |
| 2024 | Squarespace “Hello Down There” | Concept art & digital matte painting | House of Parliament | dir. Martin Scorsese |
| 2024 | Tiffany & Co. — With Love, Since 1837 | Digital matte painting & concept art | House of Parliament | dir. Jonas Lindstroem |
| 2024 | Hoka — Bird’s Eye | Concept art | House of Parliament | dir. Jonas Lindstroem |
| 2024 | Virgin Voyages — pitch | Concept art, AI-assisted | The Mill | |
| 2024 | Mountain Dew — Having a Blast! | Digital matte painting & concept art | House of Parliament | dir. Jim Jenkins |
| 2024 | Paramount+ Mountain | Digital matte painting | House of Parliament | dir. David Shane |
| 2023 | Honda Prologue — Dream in Motion | Concept art | House of Parliament | |
| 2022 | Nike — Megan Thee Stallion, New Hotties | Digital matte painting | The Mill | |
| 2021 | John Lewis & Partners — Christmas 2021 | Concept art | Nineteen Twenty | |
| 2021 | Apple TV+ — Schmigadoon! | Digital matte painting | Buck | |
| 2021 | Highland Park — Flavour Experience | Digital matte painting | Buck | |
| 2020 | Nissan — Thrill Driver | Digital matte painting | MPC | |
| 2019 | Apple — AirPods Pro, Snap | Digital matte painting | Framestore | |
| 2019 | Mountain Dew — Game Fuel, Underdog | Digital matte painting & motion graphics | Jamm Visual | |
| 2019 | Amazon Alexa — Not Everything Makes the Cut | Concept art | The Mill | |
| 2017 | JAY-Z — The Story of O.J. | Character design | The Mill | |
| 2016 | The Chemical Brothers ft. Beck — Wide Open | Concept art | The Mill | |
| 2016 | Purdey’s — Hummingbird | Pitch art | ETC / Framestore | |
| 2015 | Blue Man Group — Blue Man World | Illustration | Blue Man World | |
| 2015 | The Last Kingdom | Illustration | Huge Designs | |
| 2013 | Da Vinci’s Demons — title sequence | Illustration | Huge Designs | Starz |
Directors
Taika Waititi · Martin Scorsese · Jonas Lindstroem · Jim Jenkins · David Shane · Diarmid Harrison-Murray · Brian Billow · Jake Szymanski · Dael Oates · Stephen Beck · Nick Ball · Brandt Lewis · Fred Scott · Mark Molloy · Craig Gillespie · Mike Carson · Paul McDonnell · DOM&NIC
Agencies
72andSunny Los Angeles · adam&eve\TBWA · Jung von Matt · Patients & Purpose / Link 9 · Goodby, Silverstein & Partners · FIG · Anomaly · Droga5 · TBWA\Chiat\Day New York · adam&eveDDB
Brands
BMW · Disney · Apple · Nike · Tiffany & Co. · Squarespace · Paramount+ · Honda · Nissan · Amazon · Mountain Dew · John Lewis · Hoka · Virgin Voyages · JAY-Z · Apple TV+ · Highland Park · Starz · Blue Bunny · Corcept Therapeutics · Publix · Lay's · Extra Gum · Uber Eats · Center Parcs · Purdey’s · Blue Man Group
Studios
Untold Studios · The Mill · Framestore · MPC · Buck · House of Parliament · Nineteen Twenty · Jamm Visual · Huge Designs · Parasol Island · ETC · Blue Man World · Banquet VFX · ARC Creative · Scholar · STRAY · Nathan Love · Family Office Los Angeles
Beyond the screen
An artist’s practice, shared.
Alongside screen work, Nathan is an active figurative painter and the founder and facilitator of Art Jam, a participatory art project now based in Mexico City.
Figurative painting
Nathan
Aardvark
Expressive work in pastel, oil, charcoal and mixed media, made from the living figure.
View the painting practice ↗
Participatory art · Mexico City
Art
Jam
Collaborative painting sessions that loosen authorship, bring people together and make art a shared experience.
Discover Art Jam ↗Exhibitions
- 2016The Art of Ice & Fire — A Tribute to Game of ThronesPop Secret Gallery, Los Angeles
- 2016Sneaker PostersMuseum of Arts and Crafts, Hamburg — Nike Hypervenom illustrations
- 2015Illustrated 2015The Old Truman Brewery, London