The Mysterious Traveller

It has been quite a long time since I have posted a blog entry; even longer for an exclusively animation based post. But this year has subjected me to a whole new level of animation from around the world and I couldn't possibly let it slip by without writing down a few. I would very much like to continue my story of how I ended up at a particular studio here in Lisbon, but perhaps I could ramble upon this tale another time. For now, I would like to look through some of these wonderful and interesting animations and creative ventures that have caught my eye over the past year.  The studio I am currently working at is called Sardinha em Lata  (this has now totally ruined the big reveal in my next chapter of the 'road trip' BUT DO NOT WORRY READER... there are surprises galore in my adventures). The studio is home to a whole bunch of talented and creative folk, of whom I am very lucky to be working alongside. The current project that I am working on has combined the in-house S...

It has recently sprung to the general public's attention that an upcoming show called Newzoids will soon be exploding onto our screens. This is the new satirical puppet show that I have been working on for the past six weeks; an ongoing production for a further six. In my previous post I mentioned a few brief titbits but, understandably, I couldn't reveal too much or else you may begin to read blog posts with a far more depressing and jobless content. But the cat is out of the bag folks! Over the past two weeks the studio has hosted several afternoons where journalists and writers from the likes of Radio Times and Daily Prophet have visited to take photographs and interview the team behind this new television programme.  This can only mean that the marketing campaign is one hundred percent under way. And luckily for me and my outrageously lazy attitude this fine and sunny afternoon; I can copy and paste to my hearts content. I will, of course, comment a little further when...

George the Knight episode one is on the brink of achievement. It is only a short animation but will hopefully capture the style and attitude of the character so that you guys can empathise with him. It is worth mentioning at this point that George is rather a bitter chap, true at heart but also lazy in nature. He really doesn't like the fact that I have to animate him, and that he cannot move by his own accord. And this is the reality of being a stop motion animator; when the puppets do not cooperate it can jeopardise the entire production. Luckily for me, George held together until the very end (apart from one hand snapping from the wire 'wrist'; one of the most annoying re-occurrence in animating history). I have released a promotional poster of George the Knight  which is just something to set the mood before I upload the final film. As soon as my camera has recharged I can complete this last sequence and thus give George his pilot episode.  Coming soon to a sta...

I recall a promise I made to you folks, or perhaps more of an incentive, so that you might keep reading my blog posts. I  was originally going to begin each post with a description of the dream I had the night before. Or a culmination of dream state highlights. It was also seen as a source of story telling fodder because my dreams are so fucked up and imaginative that some sort of tale could be taken from it. For example: the opening scene (or creature) from my dream last night. Spider moth ( biggus-dickus-arachniphobus) I mean, COME ON!!! Look at the size of this thing! This was flying towards my face at a frightful pace. So much so that when it reached impact I awoke in one of those 'jumping' fits as if I had fallen from a great height. And I hate spiders. So, of course, it took a considerable amount of bravery on my behalf to turn the light off again.  I don't even have the heart to divulge into the rest of the dream. It involves too much from my past (al...

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 ...