The call came a few days after I'd made the trip up to see him. Donovan read out a figure that was, politely put, more than I'd budgeted for. I sat with it for about as long as it takes to remember every other quote I'd had for this project, and how none of those people had his credits behind them.
I said yes anyway. I knew from the work he'd done before that he was the man for the job, and that's not something you talk yourself out of over a number on a phone call. If he was right for it — and everything I'd seen pointed to exactly that — then the price was just the cost of not settling.
His studio-mates got roped in too. The clothing for the character fell to the two of them, working alongside Donovan rather than around him. Watching three specialists split a job like that without stepping on each other's toes was an education in itself.
I went back up there with everything I'd collated — every part, every reference, every scrap I'd hoarded for this thing over the years. Handed it all over and, for the most part, stepped back.
Progress came in bursts after that. A photo here, a video there, sometimes weeks apart. Every update showed someone doing the job properly.