iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

It's finally been announced that my buddy Enrique Duenas and I will be part of the next issue of Savage Sword of Conan #13! It will include this cover plus a short, 12 page original story drawn by me! Thanks a lot to @heroicsignatures.bsky.social for the trust!

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

The Quintas Ghost made it to the Academy's shortlist! I cant believe that, among more than 100 films, ours managed to find an audience and float to the top.We want to thank the @theacademyusa.bsky.social and all its members for selecting our film.

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

We are making a behind the scenes to honor the incredible work done by an incredible team of artists and researchers. Here is a sneak peek at what it took to get us where we are today!

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Incredibly proud of the work done by Illusorium for The Quinta's Ghost. This shots would have been nothing without their expertise on lighting and layout.

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

In the 6 months since our film premiered at Tribeca, our film has screened in 25+ international film festivals, winning a whopping 16 awards. We made a risky movie but the level of love we are receiving is making me thing that it was all worth it. Thank you to everyone who has made it possible!

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

What an incredibly humbling moment. Thanks @mexopolis.bsky.social You are the best, thanks for the constant support of my work and career <3

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

📢GUYS! Since we first started working on The Quinta's Ghost we knew it was paramount that the film found the right audience. We dreamed of showing it at a place where audiences come hungry for wild, imaginative films… A place like SITGES! I AM OVER THE F%^&ING MOON

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

One of the most unexpected assignments for The Smurfs was designing the different magic systems that were going to appear in the film. We wanted to connect the Smurfs to water, so we designed a ripple like effect that would react with light the way a surface of water would.

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

Keeping it with the evil wizards, here is a follow up to the previous assignment, refining some of the ideas and starting to develop their personalities and options a bit more. Support the film in cinemas! Its a wild ride.

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Apart from the Snooterpoots, this film introduces a group of interdimensional evil wizards, that I had the pleasure of trying to bring to life. These are some of the very first sketches I did, just trying to be loose and having a good time.

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

In this film we got the privilege of introducing a whole new set of characters to the Smurfs universe; the Snooterpoots! I got the call to start exploring how their underground dwellings could look, as well as how we could present it in a fun way High res versions: www.jamesacastillo.com/smurfs

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Early explorations on how to represent the world of the Smurfs. We wanted to make sure it looked cinematic and grounded, so we explored different ways in which their houses could be integrated into nature, as well as looking for ways in which to use negative space to enhance the feeling of scale.

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Guys! August 9th,10th and 16th you have a date with me! Ill be sharing my process, tips and looking at your assignments to help you push your work to the next level. Contact us at helloguikenschool@gmail.com

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

❗GUYS📣 After a long hiatus from teaching, I am happy to share that I am doing a character design workshop! I will go over my process, how I handle assignments, offer career advise and my personal tricks when designing characters. If this is your jam, contact us at helloguikenschool@gmail.com !

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

The Smurfs is out! Here is an early piece of concept art I did for Paramount a couple of years ago to find the style of the show. I will be posting some of the work I did over here, but if you are interested in seeing it all in high res, jump to my website! ⭐

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

There is something magical about seeing people reacting to our little film and connecting to the story. It is, by far, my favorite part of the journey.

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

I am incredibly proud to share with all of you the taser for my latest film; The Quintas Ghost! It was made by an army of artists and mavericks. More news coming soon! www.thequintasghost.com

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

FINALLY after four long years of sweat, tears and a lot of joy THE QUINTA's GHOST has a WORLD Premiere!! I can't think of a better stage to showcase our beautiful film than TRIBECA. Thank you to anyone that has worked on it, I am nobody without you. tribecafilm.com/films/quinta...

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

am very, VERY excited to show you my first collaboration with a comic book publisher ever. A cover for the las issue on the recently announced SOLOMON KANE's solo series at Titan Books More news regarding this collaboration coming soon... 😉

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Last year I had the chance and privilege to work with my buddies at ILLUSORIUM on a couple of episodes of Secret Level. My favorite was PacMan's, I helped design some of the shots and do a first pass at color to help visualize the mood of the piece. If you haven't, you can watch it on Prime!

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

The idea of a Solomon Kane animated project has been in my mind for ages. These are some of the sketches that really sold me on the idea that it could be done.

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James A. Castillo @murfish.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

I am directing a horror short film about Goya, the famous Spanish painter at Illusorium. If you like horror, genre and want to follow the process, feel free to join our newsletter. mailchi.mp/bb526d9d233d... We will be releasing news about its release pretty soon! Support indie projects!

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