An 8 week project undertaken while studying on the NFTS diploma in Model Making for Animation.

Keen to learn the basics in creating animatable puppets, I began an online Domestika course by London based model maker, Adeena Grubb.

The following images show my finished ‘mini me’ puppet and some images of the process.

Some off-shoot ideas and explorations which arose while working on the Sushi Restaurant project.

Explorations of sushi and sea life through collage and paint, and little sushi roll characters made from felt, fabric, and balsa wood.

After creating an illustration of an underwater sushi restaurant and imagining the characters who might work there, I was keen to design and make the restaurant in 3D. The project was a fun escape from the realities of building regulations.

Over 20 years, 26,400 tonnes of net has been lost within the Baltic Sea; a volume which would span the sea 18 times. This lost ‘ghost net’ haunts the sea floor, capturing 10% of sea life which becomes tangled within it.

In this project, the proposed design for an artificial reef is a hub for the protection of sea life and the cleaning of the Baltic Sea.

Situated in the heart of Helsinki, the project aims to recycle ghost net gathered by fishermen, while below the water’s surface the architectural form creates places of shelter for sea life.

From September to December 2021, I enrolled in the Aardman Academy Stop Motion 1 online course. An intensive 3 month course which taught the principles of stop motion animation with a metal armature puppet.

Fascinated by the fungi and micro ecosystems found on the forest floor, I wanted to try and capture a snapshot of this in a model. With tiny mushrooms made from fimo clay and pins, and flowers made from crepe paper and wire, the bugs which landed on the log while photographing seemed momentarily convinced by my efforts!

I was never somebody who kept a sketchbook, always attempting to store things in my head...

During the pandemic, I joined many online drawing groups and discovered that sketchbooks are a great place to store ideas, figure things out, develop characters and compositions, test materials and colour pallets, and of course, practise drawing!

In September 2018, the London based House of Illustration launched the John Vernon Lord challenge, challenging the illustration community to create 30 miniature artworks.

Inspired by the tiny landscape paintings created for Felicity in Wes Anderson’s adaptation of Fantastic Mr. Fox, I attempted 30 tiny landscapes.

Some off-shoot ideas and explorations which arose while working on the Sushi Restaurant project.

Explorations of sushi and sea life through collage and paint, and little sushi roll characters made from felt, fabric, and balsa wood.

A self initiated challenge to draw a house each day for a year.

While difficult, the project was a great way to improve my skill in drawing and painting as well as practising discipline and time management.

On completion of the 365 houses, I enjoyed illustrating street scenes and creating patterns based on blocks of flats.

I even began imagining and writing little stories about the people who might live in some of the houses I had drawn...