Buchanan met Harryhausen as a youth while the master was at work on the original Clash of the Titans, and eventually became a set of extra hands and eyes on that set and subsequent projects. This tutelage sped along a career in 2D & 3D animation, special effects, armature construction, production design, storyboarding, sculpting, miniatures and TV/film production crews in the UK & Wales.
Buchanan's homage to this iconic art form is reflected in his own short films & series, Omni Force, The Ultra Guardians, and his online digital content. His projects profess his own space opera leanings, with grotesque creatures and heroic black, female, hybrid and cyborg characters driving the story—arrayed against conglomerates epitomizing villainy. Use of hands-on miniature detail and expressive puppet nuances also figure in his work.
He has been the subject of numerous interviews in animation journals and publications and is considered part of an exclusive tier of premier animators in his field. He was given reign by Clive Barker to design and fabricate a quadruped creature with rider for the film Nightbreed. Buchanan's work can also be seen in the BBC series Space Odyssey: Voyage To The Planets.
Openshaw, Dave; Reccia, Mike;(editors); (photos: Bell, David); Sci Fi & Fantasy Models #4 January/February 1995; Puppets For Omni Force; pp.27–29, (interview)(back cover image)
Openshaw, Dave; Reccia, Mike; (editors); (photos: Bell, David); Sci Fi & Fantasy Models #5 March/April 1995; Models For Omni Force pp-43-45 (interview)(front cover image)
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