He draws storyboards based on the logic of the camera

WHITE Walkers, direwolves, godswood trees and three-eyed raven. If any of these ring a bell, you must be a fan of Game of Thrones. Other than being part of the hit TV show that drew record viewers when it premiered in 2011, these four were also partially conceptualised by acclaimed comics artist William Simpson.

While he used to work for big names such as DC and Marvel Comics, and contributed to titles such as Batman, Transformers and Judge Dredd, Simpson is now the lead storyboard artist for Game of Thrones. Over the last four seasons, he has played a crucial role in translating the script and the director's vision onto paper, to give everyone visuals to work with before they actually began to shoot.

"The thing I've learnt about storyboarding is it has to follow a clear logic - the logic of camera. Where you place cameras on screen is very important for an audience to understand the show," says Simpson, who hails from Northern Ireland. "I work with five different directors on most days, and every director has a different approach to shooting. Some need very precise storyboards that they stick to absolutely, while others just use it as a guide to what they're going to shoot."