The Mysterious Traveller

Yes, Christmas does come early for some and for me it wasn't soon enough. I have been struggling with inspiration and/or motivation (as some might know) for the past month and have therefore put a few things on hold. The lack of finances got the better of me and I pursued the only option I had at the time (again, some might know this) which was the role of a caterer in Princethorpe College; i.e. a dinner man. Yes, you heard correctly. However, the reason I mentioned an early Christmas was because of the new Canon 600D camera I have recently bought due to PAY DAY and also a birthday/Christmas money combo from my Father. So it was basically down to him that I can now really crack on with animating with this amazing HD quality camera. I should be able to afford animating software (namely Stop Motion Pro 7.5) and in the new year I will soon get some home made animations out there. Watch this space! Here is my newborn. She came with a macro lens and a handy strap-on. Filthy slut t...

A strange blog title I have to admit, and yet those who know me won't be surprised at all. I recently went to visit my father in Germany with my brother; a hefty road trip through five countries with a lot of red bull and many psychological challenges along the wrong side of road. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was walking along a street and saw this old German woman getting rid of some ragtag junk. I spotted a pink and green Barbie castle/house thing and the cogs in my head started to turn. You see, with the animation I do (and many will understand this) you will find yourself picking up so much random stuff wherever you may be; whether this is a car boot sale, a rubbish tip, the park or even on a night out (I swindled some nice beer mats that could make nice paintings for a model lounge). Basically it is a habit that us stop motion animators get in to. It took me a while to figure out how the damn thing opens up. So here it is in all its glory: the Barbie house in the ...

So I have returned, my fellow bloggers, from a galaxy far, far away... GRAN CANARIA !!! Oh it was a fantastic holiday. I went with a couple of mates and we just mashed up with week beginning with a vodka induced flight from Birmingham, resulting in the loss of my digital camera and my passport. Luckily the latter was found after I stormed the plane as this drunken lunatic and demanded to retrieve it. Unfortunately my camera was no where to be seen. The rest of the week was very similar in the sense of alcoholic antics and clumsy behaviour that made us look like sunburnt chumps really. I managed to dig myself a nice hole; most productive result of the holiday. My friend Lee was clumsy enough to spill 6 drinks, 2 of which were upon nice looking girls, and also fall over countless times. I fancied my chances at a bit of pole dancing, lost 80 Euros and went streaking around the hotel only to return to my room and answer the inevitable phone call from front desk. 'Excuse sir?...

I have entitled this entry 'freelancing' as it seems to sum up the situation I seem to be in at the moment. As well as adding to my show reel and generally polishing up the CV, I have taken on random projects to keep me busy; some of which I have mentioned on here before. My most recent one is for a friend, Taylor, who needed some illustrations for her book. I don't think I will be getting paid for this but I still like the idea that my work will still be somewhere out there....besides, I can't be picky! Maybe she'll buy me some new paintbrushes. I haven't managed to scan in the drawings but only photographed them, so the quality it a little lax. The basic storyline (as far as I understand) revolves around a school girl named Angela and her rebellious friends as they go about their daily life in an American college.     The bottom left image shows the chosen design for Angela. My client Taylor (as well as my mother actually) really liked this girl and th...

Over the past week I have tried to knuckle down and really go for it with Zabrina the Zebra. I have now finished her sculpey body (which will be stationary compared to the rest of her body) and painted her in classic stripe form. I wanted to keep the legs and body as a solid because it would be a strong base to animate from, but also from listening to the voice over for Zabrina you'll notice, as I have, that there is no extreme movements from the animal as it's just a 'creature comforts' style interview.  some assembly required... This is what motivates me in the morning... a messy desk! If everything  is out then the game is on... I have just finished sticking the body and legs together and now will concentrate on the 'arms' and head. The neck will also be an important body part as it can really help accentuate the movements that mirror Zabrina's snooty personality. Another reason why I have limited the moving parts is because I can now pay more a...

It has been a ridiculous amount of time since my last entry. Something which I am not proud of because I know for a fact that it proves my lack of motivation - in other words being bloody lazy. But this doesn't involve me sitting around at home and playing with myself as I have been rather productive within many aspects of my post University life. My first priority was of course the CV. It took me a while to adjust to the fact that I may have to work in some real shitty jobs so as to earn my keep, but I have now perfected two types of curriculum vitae. One for the likes of Asda or a random pub and one for the animation world. When I say the animation world, I basically mean anything involving what I've been doing over the past few years; model making, film editing, Foley sound effect work, set construction or, of course, pure animating! Cover layout for the DVD case. Re-named CVD I initially didn't know how to present my CV. There is a previous blog post where I ha...

From left to right: Ashley Lightfoot, Sam Ware, myself, Steven Cummings and Katie Bruce There is no denying the end now. Graduation has come and gone and it all seems inevitable that I actually do need to grow up and gain some responsibilities about 'real life', not to mention the issue of financial stability. I have to admit that I have not been very pro-active on the job hunting front but I just had to spend the last few weeks in Stoke-on-Trent being a full-time student and tear the place apart! Graduation itself was a pretty grand day out. Barry Purves took the stage for a terrific and inspiring speech for the next step in a students career once this day is over. Everyone looked very smart in their Hogwarts-esque robes and it was generally such a great feeling to stand up and get cheered on by faculty, friends and family. Barry also recieved his Doctrine and posed with us all for some great photos. Well done to all..!!! The Stop Motion and Animation group fronted by...

Yes... so it's time to return to the drawing board and crack on with some more projects. The most recent one being a 'creature comforts' style animation for the radio station here in Stoke-on-Trent, Signal Radio, who are setting up a charity to save the local Zoo "Blackbrook". They had recorded interviews with the 'animals' which include a penguin, peacock, stork and a zebra. I was very pleased to take control of the zebra although it was a quick decision from us all (the group behind the Money Tree film) and we have no begun the production stages of making puppets and sets once again. I really do like to keep busy, and this new project has definately kept me on my toes and will be great practice so as to maintain skills and the mental attitude to freelance work. After getting my final results I have had a few days of doing just nothing (which I felt I quite deserved with a First Class Honours!!) but now it's back into the animating zone. These ...

The finale of the year has now been and gone with the success of the Degree Show. This took place last week after the opening show with talks from the faculty and the prestigious Barry Purves. After the speeches everyone looked around the show and took full advantage of the free wine and beer. These were located in to prime areas... photography and graphics. So the show continued with many guests and family members arriving to see the work put up. The Money Tree Project was put on display in the centre of the animation room. We had to disassemble from the studio and remake sections as we put it back together on a couple of tables. We managed to recreate the lighting effect similar to that from the studio  I was lucky enough to get involved with the show all week and help out by taking school children around as part of a tour through each department. It gave me a chance to see peoples work more closely and talk to the students behind it all. We also included models m...