Tag Archives: design

Sidhe

The Fae Elders are desperate to restore the magic of the Sidhe. They think Owain and Eilidh can help … whether they want to or not. Click through the panels below, or scroll down to view the animatic (no sound). I’ve been working on Sidhe (Shee) as a portfolio piece. There’s lots more of theContinue reading “Sidhe”

Simple Character Design Exercise

Next week I’m running a Traditional Animation Workshop in Hawick, so I thought I’d share a little preview from the class. I’ve always found creating characters to be challenging. Where do I start? And I often find they all end up looking the same. Why is that? This exercise helps you to think about whyContinue reading “Simple Character Design Exercise”

Storyboard Planning

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working on a short storyboard sequence for my portfolio. It’s still a work in progress, but I’d thought I’d share some of the early planning from it. I don’t often share thumbnail storyboards because they’re usually pretty illegible! I love this part of the process, as thisContinue reading “Storyboard Planning”

Costume Design

I’ve been working on a mini graphic novel project for a while (you may remember this, this and this) and recently I’ve been doing a lot of research into clothing. It’s set around 1300 but much of it falls into ‘vaguely medieval’. There are very few source materials for clothing in Scotland at that time.Continue reading “Costume Design”

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.

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”

Thatched Cottage Studies

At the moment I’m gathering reference for a personal project, and I’m learning a lot! The way medieval houses were constructed depended so much on where they were built – stone or wood? Heather or straw for the thatch? There are the well-constructed houses, some of which are still standing today, and then the onesContinue reading “Thatched Cottage Studies”

Wedding Invite

Last year I had the pleasure of designing the wedding invite for friends of mine. I’m really pleased with how it turned out, so I thought I’d share a little bit of the process of making it. To start with I was given the theme of succulents and hexagons. It was fun trying out differentContinue reading “Wedding Invite”

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 #23 – Erle

Erle is Kinsey’s husband. In writing the script his character has been developed beyond his role in the short story. I like the exploration of their relationship. And that’s it for Inktober!

Inktober 2018 #21 – Hermux

Hermux Tantamoq is a watchmaker who is pulled into all sorts of adventures in Michael Hoeye’s books. My drawing is from Hermux in Time Stops for No Mouse, the first in the series, but my favourite is The Sands of Time. 

Inktober 2018 #19 & #20 – Trennte & Jeffrey

A double update! Both characters are from The Princess of Nowhere, the first novel I ever finished writing. Trennte is the manservant of Prince Jespar, and is the prince’s friend and mentor. Jeffrey is a tie. For some reason I cut Jeffrey out of the later drafts, something I regret as he was one ofContinue reading “Inktober 2018 #19 & #20 – Trennte & Jeffrey”

Inktober 2018 #16 – Miss Minton

Miss Minton is a severe but wonderful woman in Eva Ibbotson’s Journey to the River Sea, a beautiful book set in the early twentieth century about a young girl discovering the Amazon and the people who live there. I’ll be drawing a couple more of the characters over the next few days.

Inktober 2018 #14 – Sarah

Back in 2009 I wrote The Dance for NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, which takes place every November. Sarah is a maidservant in the court of the king when a magnificent ball takes place. Though she is cleaning, Sarah is asked to dance … For Sarah’s clothes I took directly from this Crows EyeContinue reading “Inktober 2018 #14 – Sarah”

Inktober 2018 #13 – Manaus

Manaus is Rudy’s son and as such has been through many of the trials she has. There is something very interesting about the ‘relationship’ between a writer or artist and their characters. It’s possible to be very cruel to them to serve a story. I don’t remember thinking much of it at the time, butContinue reading “Inktober 2018 #13 – Manaus”