I made my god-daughter a gardening tool bag for Christmas – I’d never made a bag before so it was a fairly improvised affair, guided by this excellent tutorial on Bijou Lovely. I got her some mini tools as well, so cute. Then realised at three she was possibly too young for them, but maybe she can put toys in the bag instead.
A page from the storyboard for the Branston Pickle ad that went out just before Christmas, directed by Si&Ad at Academy. It’s about a dad who’s generally rubbish at most things, but one skill he does have is the ability to make an amazing sandwich.
You can see the rest of the pages here and the ad here.
Some sketches from the last fortnight.
The view from near the cottage we stayed at in Northumberland. This is no. 2 out of three attempts to draw it. I wasn’t feeling very patient that day, rockpools are a pain in the ass to be honest.
Elsie was permanently asleep, must be the sea air.
Some marble sculptures in the V&A; trying to take the burn off my London re-entry.
A big yellow cowl I knitted. Largely based on this pattern but with a few alterations. I used Rowan Big Wool, which is lovely and soft and FAT, and of course you make something like this so quickly. It is one cosy scarf.
We spent the weekend in Oxford seeing Cabaret and wandering about the city, trying to devise ways we could move there. We did a walking tour on Sunday on a perfect autumn afternoon.. chiselled shadows cutting across gentle yellow brickwork and a glowing blue sky, set against the tones of our softly-spoken guide who seemed as in awe of the place as we were.
I finished this commission a few weeks ago – it’s a similar idea to the picture of Ringmer Park. I’ve put my illustration work on hold for the moment while I concentrate on storyboarding, but I wanted to stick it up anyway. It’s a watercolour with the odd bit of gouache – the space is where the name of the house was (I’ve removed it for privacy reasons).
Click to view larger!
Here’s a couple of storyboard pages for the Talk Talk ‘Date Night’ ad that’s out right now. It’s about a character in a child’s wallpaper who comes to life and has to traverse the dangers of the house in order to get to his date (the princess) on time. They then race together to the sofa to watch their movie. You can watch the ad here (still can’t work out how to embed). The spaceman design was obviously changed a bit from the one I worked from, and the Leo/Kate scene is new (I like that bit). This was the first time I’d shaded with markers, as opposed to Photoshop. I much prefer it – it’s faster and I like the effect.
You can see the rest of the storyboard here.
In 2011 I storyboarded a short film for Si&Ad, who are a directing duo I regularly work with. Actually it was the first thing I did for them. The film’s not on release yet, but it’s been selected/awarded at several film festivals, which is pretty awesome. I can’t put all the frames up yet but here are a few that back up what’s in the trailer (on youtube here). It was filmed in Jaywick, a caravan park on the Essex coast that over the years became a full-time settlement. But the caravans weren’t designed for such prolonged use and the place has become very run-down and desolate. I love the film/town’s spaciousness, I got quite immersed in the atmosphere storyboarding it. You can see another couple of pages here.
