The Art Directors Guild has tapped Emmy-nominated Yvette Nicole Brown to host this year’s ADG Awards, which will see Concept Illustrator and Storyboard Artist Donna Cline receive the guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illustrators and Matte Artists (IMA).
Brown, who currently stars opposite John Stamos on the Disney+ series Big Shot, previously starred in Community, Boston Legal, and the award-winning BET miniseries The New Edition Story. Brown’s feature credits include Dreamgirls, Tropic Thunder, and Disney’s live-action remake of Lady and the Tramp. Brown is also a writer and singer who has an extensive voiceover career.
As for Cline, the ADG’s release celebrates her as an artist “who brings a unique plethora of art and technical experience to feature films and television series,” with credits that include Outbreak, Tombstone, Hocus Pocus, The X-Files, and Bones, whose star Tamara Taylor will present the award to Cline.
“Donna brings so much to the table on any project that she works on. In addition to being an amazing storyboard and concept illustration artist, she holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, was a forensic artist for major law enforcement agencies, and a Reserve Deputy for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for 20 years. It is unusual to offer that breadth of experience and creative talent to entertainment projects,” said Tim Wilcox, ADG Illustrators & Matte Artist Council Chair.
“This multi-faceted career has allowed Donna to provide many forms of art and research to the film and television projects as the technical advisor on productions,” added Wilcox. “She often assists the cast with gaining proficiency in roles that necessitate accurate knowledge in medicine, forensics, science and psychology and collaborates with writers and other Department Heads to assist with technical accuracy. We want to make sure that we recognized and honor Donna’s career with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Areas of expertise included in Cline’s professional background are Medical Illustration, Suspect Composites, Facial Reconstruction on skulls of the unknown deceased, designs for VFX and Make-up EFX, and Moulage for terrorist drill training for Law Enforcement agencies.
As previously announced, Oscar-winning filmmaker Jane Campion (The Piano) will receive the esteemed Cinematic Imagery Award, while French Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners) will be the recipient of the William Cameron Menzies Award.
The ADG Awards will be held on Saturday, March 5, 2022, and the ceremony is slated to return live to the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown Hotel.
