The Mysterious Traveller

Lets get right into it, shall we? I've been lucky enough to learn more about ball and socket armatures since working with the Twirlywoo puppets for MacKinnon and Saunders. And when I rejoined the team at Scream Street back in January, I was stationed in the puppet maintanence department, which gave me the perfect opportunity to continue learning about these armatures and begin work on my very own*. I could finally combine my soldering skills with my character design in a very raw creation that would eventually become Old Man Prickles (TBC - however, as I did not revise this choice over the subsequent months, I soon became rather fond if it).  * if you ever get the chance to work for a different department (be it rigging, puppet maintenance or costumes etc) then it's really worth taking. Working in a studio environment, where there is a certain amount of added pressure, will be the best place to learn a new skill, even if you're a complete newb. Scream ...

   This is a very belated Star Wars related (accidentally rhyming with excellent timing) piece of writing. I'm not going to delve into my own review, because I'm not a film critic and I'm certainly not capable of writing anything mildy serious. Instead, I'm going to write a few words as a Star Wars fan, a cinema goer and a twenty nine year old child. I ******* loved it. I loved the film. I love Star Wars. I bloody love you. I went to the midnight viewing, opening night, with my good friend Daniel James after an evening of blue milk (courtesy of Aunt Beru), the Christmas Special (courtesy of bad taste) and watching the loveable BB-8 patrol the room (simply a courtesy). I was very nervous; I could feel my heart pounding the closer I got to screen 7. I honestly don't think I have ever felt so excited, scared and emotionally drained in such a hypnotic way.  I have since watched it two more times, bringing the total to thrice. And if the Odeon cinema p...

Something to start us off with... Although I never went to any of the Manchester Animation Festival (hashtagMAF), I still place myself in a position to say that it was an utter success (hashtagFreeloader). I really should have booked a couple of days off from work as the whole thing sounded tremendous but, alas, I did not. Perhaps it was just another event that passed me by; I hate that. I seem to be doing it more often, which is possibly why I feel so distant from animation, regardless of working alongside it on a daily basis. What I mean (to save confusion) is that I haven't animated for well over two years and I'm not happy about that one bit.  Needless to say, after meeting up with my old University tutors Laura Weston and Daryl Marsh, amongst many more animation folk, it sounds like this newly titled animation festival will most definitely be an annual event. And when surrounded by such prestigiousness (ha! it's actually a word. I thought I'd get a squ...

Sometimes the call of duty may surpass your average daily routine, where enjoying those strange, random, albeit hilarious, YouTube videos is simply not enough. Sometimes you need to become the fool and create a rather special video with a good ol' chum of yours. Welcome to TommyRob Shimuu . We're not quite sure of the whys or hows of the situation; more so the why nots and how the bloody hell shall we film that eh? What I'm trying to say is; I am a fool. And so is Rob Millard. So please watch how we've used this to our advantage... But tomfoolery aside, I have actually been doing some productive and creative work to advocate my place in the art world; in the fine medium of sculpting. Now, unfinished they may be, once painted these models will hopefully play a role in the bigger project of which I shall one day pursue. Stoppit and Tidyup was a children's animated television show from the late eighties, and something that I was always enthralled with when I ...

So it's finally within our grasp folks; Star Wars episode VII is now on the horizon of 2015 and from what we've seen and heard, it has great potential. I mentioned a while ago about the plethora of films coming out this year, urging myself to set some money aside for the many cinema trips. Well that money has in fact gone. But on a new flat in Manchester! However, the cinemas up north seem to be falling for my permament marker smothered student card trick, expertly hiding the 2011 expiry date, which means I'm already saving money! And a £1.30 discount each time is nothing to be shunned. Although, I have been shunned once by the wise guy behind the Odeon desk in Wrexham, to which I responded, 'oh! How strange, I hadn't noticed that before.' I later commandeered a BoxTrolls cardboard cut out to balance out the injustice.  It was really nice to see the BoxTrolls nominated for best animation of 2014. Always a victory when  a stop motion film ...

In the words of Samwise Gamgee, well, I'm back Yes, and a very jovial greetings to all bloggers and bloggees. I have returned from the continent of South America with many tales from afar, all of which shall be generously condensed into a collection of photographs and 'witty' one liners. Please don't think that I am hoodwinking you folks with an abrupt album - I am only showing you a small portion because, after all, this is an animation blog. And boy do I have news on the animation front.  But it has indeed been a long while since my last blog post, and for that I apologize. Even with the surprisingly regular access to WiFi, more so than places in Europe, (not to give South America a stereo-typically third world slap in the face, but, you know) it didn't feel quite right to write a blog when Machu Picchu was over there. So I shall use this post to get back into the swing of writing things. Unfortunately, there were a few floaters. This was actuall...