Production designer is a complex profession. You have to be very versatile, a jack of all trades.
Head of department, and sometimes artistic director, you have to be a designer, constructor, painter, carpenter, mason, sculptor, accountant, manager, and a little bit of a producer in a certain way. Art department is a production within a production. It’s a bit of an enterprise in its own right in the big business of making a film. We must manage the artistic direction, of course, to meet the expectations of the director and the production as closely as possible. But also respect a budget, establish fair quotes and organize implementation precisely. We must understand, master and use all decoration techniques. Painting, patinas, construction, carpentry, welding, assembly, upholstery, lighting, accessorizing, computer graphics, SFX (etc.) are all necessary skills in a decoration team.
Over the years, I have been able to acquire and perfect these skills. Firstly from my past in construction, which taught me a lot, but then in the field on filming, since my retraining more than 12 years ago.
So I developed my artistic skills: I am able to think and create a real strong A.D. By working mainly in drawing (traditional and digital), as well as a lot in 3D, sometimes more suited to certain projects than drawn concept arts.
Then, a good sense of organization and strong accounting skills, essential for managing the decoration department.