Order 66 'Animating Princethorpe College'

Phew! I always knew that August and September would be incredibly busy months for me, but this is outrageous! I have been actually turning down projects to pursue studio experience and the like. But regardless of the bigger picture, I still think projects like a music video can be far-fetched (with the exception of 55 BPM When the Transient Happens) simply because of my limited home studio. Nonetheless, I am forever grateful, and flattered, that people have asked if I wanted to front an animated campaign. In fact, my good friend David Ward asked if I could animate a short 'fitness' clip to help promote the social media side of a leisure centre. I think I might get Barney involved with that one, he's been doing sod all for months...

Finding a free day to actually animate is the problem at the moment as I usually have to catch up with paper work, finish sculpting, illustrating and also rearranging my Star Wars figurines (I'm totally joking)...(but not really). I will hopefully make some 'fitness' props soon and get Barney to pump up the jam because he's gained quite a cotton wool belly upon him. So these might include some weights to sculpt the guns and a treadmill branded THE TRAVELATOR (mwuhahaha). 

So I've had time to relax, but not really to regain my strength. The weekends that I've had free have been spent in a tent and drinking copious volumes of cider. This is what Beacons Festival in Leeds consisted of and took me a good few days to fully recover. But seeing bands like Bonobo and Django Django made it absolutely worth it. 

This is me catching Ant Man as he parachutes from
the S.H.I.E.L.D Helipad. Nice

There was a fine Jazz festival in the Brecon Beacons back in July and it was bloody amazing. I hadn't been to this festival since I was about yay high, so it was nice to visit this part of Wales and get my jazzy groove on once more. One band in particular caught my attention, not only because of their fully orchestrated toe-tapping jazzathon, but because of the array of characters in this 25 piece ensemble. Wonderbrass play a huge variety of instruments but each member of the band also brings their own personality, look and style to the table. This got my creative juices tingling, so I have emailed the band and proposed a few ideas.

In these early stages I have only managed to get as far as illustrating some caricatures of the members, but have informed them that I am (no pun intended) a one man band so an animated episode or music video might be something for the new year. 

I'm sculpting and painting
a Minion. Couldn't resist

I have always been a fan of the character found in the Roald Dahl books. I remember being just as excited to see 'illustrated by Quentin Blake' and would even skip the pages in search of the next drawing (but of course, Mr Dahl, I returned to read it from the beginning). One of my favourite stories is The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me where a young boy stumbles across an old sweet shop occupied by a giraffe, pelican and a monkey who are the jovial proprietors of the 'ladderless window cleaning company'.

I have taken it upon myself to build a diorama of one of the scenes (which is actually the scene I described above). I have had to improvise with the design of the roof but I do think it's in-keeping with the style of Blake. So all the shop needs now is a set of windows, a drain pipe and some extensive dry brushing. Then I can begin sculpting the characters! Clearly Quentin Blake's illustrative style is unique and looks marvellous on page, but by creating 3D miniatures of these drawings will undoubtedly be quite a task. It was a very delicate process to recreate the three animals on my wall as a mural, and that was in 2D. But I am up for the challenge. 

Contrary to popular belief, I do not work as a dinner man (any more!). I am a hospitality 'agent', which means that I am the James Bond of pouring tea and coffee. But now, I feel like I've been promoted within the ranks of Princethorpe College and have become a contracted extra-curriculum activities worker. I don't think I can say teacher, but I do teach an animation workshop... and I am allowed in the staff room now... fuck it I'm a teacher!

I can use these characters right?!

He's up for sale if you want him...?!