Preston Design Project.. .

I was thinking about having a tattoo, so I started on designs based on characters that I have worked on in previous films. I'm not going to ink myself with this one, but it got me interested in design and I really enjoyed working in 2D again. I reproduced this in a metal plate for a print project that Nif Hodgson was working on and above you can see the final print. You can see the other prints in the project here.

This is where I started.. .Kind of rubbish, and inspired a little by the work of UK tattoo artist Tanane Whitfield (but his work is really good!) From here I set out to find my own style. I felt like the first two were a bit week in their spines so I tried to find something with a stronger back so to speak, and explored the robot motif at the same time. Then I went really angular to see what I would get and the final design was a mix prety much everything, and some how managed to work.

Man Attacks Bird with Fork.. .

 
I was working on some self portrait designs when I came up with a character that I was interested in putting in a scene. Whilst I was developing these images Priscilla Wong (my awesome 2D mentor) helped me draw them in a more 3 dimensional way. Drawing through, and choosing the eye line etc.. . It's by no means 'great art', but I did take a few small steps forward working on the project. :)

I started with these Self portraits. I don't know if any of them really look like me, but the point was to play with design and simplification. Graphic shapes and interesting proportions. I did a lot more iterations than shown here.

Then I did this sketch, which really isn't me, but I liked it and wanted to use it as a test piece and take it into something feeling a little more 3D.

. ..then the bird. I wanted to keep the shape really simple, and that worked out well as a I was able to make them 3D quite easily. Simple and fun. Again, I did many more iterations than this.

Mr White.. .

'Mr_White'

Here is me looking very rough in a short film that I helped make with some friends. I spent a lot of time on my hands and knees eating corn syrup and crying. Highlights of the shoot included myself spitting in the other guys face from a distance of one and a half meters (sorry Nelson), and one of my legs falling asleep when I tried to stand. Also, I was able to steal other peoples beers with ease as my bloody appearance seemed put them off sharing a brew... .SCORE!

Great fun to be working in front of a camera for a change. :)

Multiple Sclerosis Fella.. .

My dad asked me to produce a character that illustrates a condition called 'Drop Foot' for the 'MS Society', a national UK organization that provides help to people suffering with MS.

MS is a disease of the myelin sheaf (the covering of a nerve) and is primarily caused by lesions laid down  by our immune response in the event of a MS attack, which then stops the transition of nerve impulses to corresponding muscles. This means that those impulses cannot move the muscles in for example the leg or foot (being prime candidate of muscles which fail to operate); which in a nut shell is 'Drop Foot' - a condition where the foot is said to feel like a flipper.

This character will be used in the creation of a poster to help iscrease awareness of 'Drop Foot', and will be displayed in hospitals and departments which specifically deal with MS.