Daniel Falconer

Designer

Daniel Falconer is one of a group of designers who joined Weta Workshop in 1996, working on projects such as Hercules and Xena. He was instrumental in the conceptual design and created many of the iconic costumes, weapons, props and characters seen in The Lord of the Rings.

With a degree in graphic design, majoring in illustration, Daniel has an enthusiasm for world design and the development of imaginary cultures and creatures as a means to tell stories. He also has a deep knowledge of Tolkien's Middle-earth, thanks to an avid interest in the books and associated materials, which frequently proved useful on the project.

This led to Daniel also being involved in writing copy for Weta's licensed collectible product from The Lord of the Rings, a role that has continued and expanded alongside his design responsibilities and now includes shared art direction of Weta's Middle-earth themed collectibles lines. In this capacity Daniel was eminently suited to writing the Weta Collector's Guide, containing all collectible pieces Weta has ever made.

Since The Lord of the Rings, Daniel has contributed design work for various projects including King Kong, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the short lived Halo movie adaptation, Avatar and more recently has returned to Middle-earth to work on The Hobbit trilogy.

Taking a leading role in Weta's publishing endeavours, Daniel has written and collated a number of books including The Art of District 9, The World of Kong, The Crafting of Narnia, showcasing the illustrative work of the entire design department on King Kong and the two Chronicles of Narnia movies, and now The Hobbit: Chronicles, a comprehensive multi-part series of books covering the art and making of Peter Jackson's three-film adaptation.