The Mysterious Traveller

Not so long ago, in a studio far,  far away.... Yes, it's all bloomin' Star Wars at the moment. A parsec away from fatigue? Perhaps. But regardless of what you think of the new film (Rise of Skywalker) the toy industry shall never suffer. Every high street shop has a section dedicated to Star Wars. Whether for toys, costumes, stationary, books, collectables, magazines and stuff; everywhere from Woolworths to Toy"R"Us will have a Star Wars logo slapped onto something.     My appreciation, however, for some of the newer Hasbro Star Wars range has suffered. You may call them pet peeves, I call them sloppy engineering especially when it comes to things like limited poseable parts or shoddy face sculpts. Coming from an animated background does scupper my expectations, I admit, as all the characters I encounter are fully poseable puppets that would make splendid toys (but they are not, they are absolutely not toys).     The Black Series (6 inch) is a q...

   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...

Good day to you all. I am very rushed to get this blog post out, as I am departing for South America very soon. I have been winding down with work and the studio. I've practically ended my rein at the College, which means, alas, no more animation club for the students. But more importantly, I am free of the catering side of things (although, just wait and see... I'll most likely end up working there again!).  So I think the Yamination Studio and all of its members have pummelled out the new Cravendale advert as much as possible, however, there is more! With Drew filming as much of the production process as possible, it was all compiled together to create a very nice 'making of' video. So take a look see above. Getting some lovely publicity here... For the full article please click  HERE Two new characters I've painted, for some short and rather sarcastic adventures.  I may have mentioned the Coca Cola advert some time ago, bu...

  Good evening guys and girls. So this is the new Cravendale advert that the Yamination team helped make, of which I was honoured to be a part of. Our involvement was the construction of the house interior (Barry's room and the kitchen), the house exterior (with the water-wheel attached on the side), the bridge and the post box.   This was our first project as a team that has hit the television, and I think the learning curve has been tremendous. Even though Barry rushes through the house, zipping past our hard work, you can still pause and see the detail (regardless of it not being in focus). We are incredibly proud of this and hopefully is will be a springboard for Yamination Studios and future projects.   A few little facts about this advert; that is real milk in the lake and flowing underneath the bridge. Barry is actually a puppet on strings on the close ups I used to have a hair cut just like Barry's new one at the end my fav...

It's a little strange for the people of my generation to witness the rebooting of our childhood cartoons for a modern time. In a way, much of the nostalgia can be lost because of how our beloved characters are now portrayed (simply to attract a different audience) in not only the animation style, but within the storyline and aesthetics also. I bring this topic up because of the recent, and upcoming, surge of movies that are based on some of the most beloved cartoon shows from the sixties right up through to the nineties. We've already seen the likes of Scooby Doo and Thunderbirds become live-action films, but because of the reoccurring success of many 'fully' CGI animated films over the last decade studios are not afraid to remain within this creative medium (hmmm but Top Cat flopped?!). So one of the favoured trends has been to take the cartoon character and place him or her in a live action film as a CGI protagonist. This has been done with Yogi Bear, the ...

 I am incredibly sorry for such a late post. I have neglected you once again, so for those who read this and live relatively near Birmingham; find me, and I will buy you a chocolate bar. Although, these longer periods in between posts might be considered a good thing because it means I'm actually working . 2014 has already given me one heck of a project to work on and the feedback that our team received upon delivery was delightful. Myself, Drew and Yossel drove down to Clapham Road Studios in London to drop off the sets, which we had built and dressed up here in Birmingham, ready for the animators to do their thing. So now we play the waiting game. The animation workshop that I've been running has taken an exciting new turn, as they're actually beginning to animate! Unfortunately I've recently bailed on them due to a studio opportunity up in Manchester (I shall divulge in a few paragraphs time) so I am willing to accept the grief fro...