Tag Archives: animation

Kinsey’s Sword Sneak Peek

A young queen falls ill at the beginning of her reign. Initially unable to leave her bedroom, she fights against fear and hopelessness in her dreams. But as Kinsey grows strong she remains in the dream world, avoiding the kingdom she left behind … Take a peek inside: I’ve shared bits and pieces from Kinsey’sContinue reading “Kinsey’s Sword Sneak Peek”

Toad & Friends

Over the last year I’ve been storyboarding on Toad & Friends, a new CG children’s series based on Kenneth Grahame’s classic novel The Wind in the Willows. It’s just been announced (you can find out more about it here) so it’s very exciting to finally be able to share it with you all!

The Brilliant World of Tom Gates

For the last six months I’ve been a storyboard artist on The Brilliant World of Tom Gates, working for Wild Child as part of an amazing team. The series is based on Liz Pichon’s bestselling Tom Gates books. The first episodes are now on Sky Kids in the UK, either as part of a SkyContinue reading “The Brilliant World of Tom Gates”

Jonah Music Video

Over the last few months I’ve been working on something really special – something a bit different from anything I’ve made before. Rachel Zylstra, a singer-songwriter based in Edinburgh, asked me to create a music video for one of the tracks on her new album On Faith. You can watch the result below!

CTN Live – It All Began Five Years Ago

Five years ago I was in LA attending the CTN expo as part of an animation industry group from Scotland. Today, as part of CTN Live (sign up now if you haven’t already – it’s free!) we’re having a reunion to discuss the trip and where we are now. It All Began 5 Years Ago:Continue reading “CTN Live – It All Began Five Years Ago”

Morna and Alistair

Morna and Alistair are from a story I’ve been working at over the last few months. As they both get older in it I’ve been trying to find characters that work at different ages. These quick doodles I did after work are the first ones I feel capture their characters.

Kinsey’s Sword Thumbnails

A few years ago I posted some images from a short story I’d written and illustrated. You can view them here if you didn’t see them the first time around! The story follows Kinsey, a young Queen who battles her fears in order to reclaim her sword, her family, and her purpose. Since then I’veContinue reading “Kinsey’s Sword Thumbnails”

Character Sketching – Alameda Slim

Last week’s CTN On Model sketching session featured Jonnathon as Alameda Slim, the villain from Home on the Range. I’ve only seen the film once so I don’t know the character very well. At first I really struggled to figure out how his head connects to his neck! By the end of the event IContinue reading “Character Sketching – Alameda Slim”

Hand Studies

Recently I’ve spoken to a few people about their life drawing, and one thing that’s kept coming up is hands, feet, and faces. It’s really clear when I look at work that has these things missing. They’re tough to draw – don’t I know it! Sadly, they will still be difficult to draw if youContinue reading “Hand Studies”

‘Klaus’ Clean Up, Part II

Part I A brief note about some of the terms I use: keys, breakdowns, and inbetweens are names for different drawings in animation. Keys are ‘extreme’ poses that tell the story. Breakdowns show how (slowly, angrily, passionately) the character moves from one key to the next. Inbetweens are ‘in between’ all the others, usually halfwayContinue reading “‘Klaus’ Clean Up, Part II”

‘Klaus’ Clean Up, Part I

Last year I worked as a clean up artist on the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning Klaus. SellOut Animation, based in Edinburgh, worked on scenes outsourced from the main studio, SPA, in Madrid. From May until August I joined the team, cleaning up a variety of shots and characters from throughout the film. It was a steepContinue reading “‘Klaus’ Clean Up, Part I”

Animation Workshops, Summer 2019

For the third year running I’ve taught animation workshops at a creative arts holiday (ages 12-18) over the summer. The last two years I’ve focused on morphing workshops, but I decided to try something a little different this time. I introduced the idea of emotions in characters and how to translate that clearly to anContinue reading “Animation Workshops, Summer 2019”

Move Summit 2019

Move Summit is an industry-focused animation conference in Edinburgh now in its third year. In 2017 and 2018 I was a volunteer, but this time I was able to attend. This year it was a three day event jam-packed with speakers from Pixar, Axis, Aardman Animations, Blue Zoo, and many many more. The first day,Continue reading “Move Summit 2019”

Inktober 2018 #06 – Harry

These next characters come from Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword, a fantasy novel I adore. As it’s set in the desert land of Damar I took inspiration from The Prince of Egypt for design. Harry (full name Angharad) is the heroine, and I show her here near the beginning of the story when she hasContinue reading “Inktober 2018 #06 – Harry”

Morphing Workshops

I led more high school-age animation workshops this year, expanding on the morphing workshop from last year. This time everyone who took part was in complete control of their own piece of animation between their character and the next person’s. Whether the character melts, explodes, shatters, or morphs, this was planned out in thumbnails beforeContinue reading “Morphing Workshops”