Pencil and charcoal on paper, mounted on illustration board

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Harryhausen considered Willis O’Brien a very accomplished artist. This preparatory drawing for One Million Years B.C. (1966) shows the influence of O’Brien’s drawing on Harryhausen’s work.

O’Brien emphasised to Harryhausen the importance of drawings in the filmmaking process. When presenting a concept to a producer, the drawings must be able to convey instantly the essence of the scene in an exciting, but practical way. It was important to clearly show the way creatures in a scene would look once realised through model-making and animation.

© The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation. Photography by Andy Johnson.