Second Update

This post won't be as detailed as I would usually like, the reason being that I already typed the post up and there was an issue with cut and paste which resulted in me losing everything. Lesson learnt, always copy on iphone, never cut. So as promised I have returned to update on what I've been up to in the last few months since September 2019.

One of the digital pieces I worked on was a drawing of Dennis the Menace and Gnasher. These characters were a huge influence on me as a child and were a big factor in my wanting to be an animator/illustrator. I initially drew out these characters in 2016 and only recently got around to bringing them to life in a digital form.

As mentioned previously, I worked on a logo for Elroy of Cut Different clothing, based in the USA. Elroy had a very specific idea of what he wanted the design to look like. I enjoyed working on this design as it does incorporate a character of sorts - character design being one of my passions. Elroy was very happy with this design and recently gave permission to share this design on my site and blog.

Next, I did some work for Kenny, one of Elroy's contacts. Kenny reached out to me to give his current logo new life. As you can see from the images, I upped the detail on the logo, but kept the core principle the same. Kenny was very happy with this updated look.

I helped Kenny again soon afterwards when he contacted me to create a logo for his brand "Moor Life." Kenny wasn't sure exactly what he wanted but was hopeful that we could include an elephant in the design. I created a design as below and Kenny was thrilled with the final delivery.

 There was another Hashtag Live held in Classic Grand in December 2019. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, the boys were unable to record audio for another introductory animation so I instead I did various pieces of artwork for the show.

In mid November, I decided it was time to return to creating animation, as it had been 6 months since I had actually done anything in that medium. At first I planned to create an animation that I'd planned out earlier in the year. However, it occured to me that we were approaching the Christmas period, and so I felt this was a good opportunity to create an animation based around that. The result was "To Elf and Happiness" the story of Twinkie, a workshop elf and his secret love for Elsie, an Office Elf. Overall I was very happy with how this project turned out and feel that I am back to my animating best.

Going forward, I have a few ideas for what I would like to do next, including the aforementioned idea, which centres around a balloon character and perhaps another comic. I will also be doing my best to raise the status of Campbell Animation in 2020. I will update the blog as soon as I have further developments.

Long Overdue Update

I have been unable to post to the blog for a while due to other commitments but I am happy to have returned and hopefully back to posting frequently again.

You know, I realised recently that this blog isn't really for the people reading it (if any) it's more for me to just recap the period since the last post and to review what I've been getting up to. Sometimes I'm quite surprised by how much I've actually achieved in that time too. I have been on two wonderful trips to Florida since my last update and I feel that my energy levels have now been completely rejuvenated.

As I had mentioned in my previous post, I was working on a Hashtag Show comic based on the character “Geordie Captain America” who is discussed in the show. The comic shows a violent and obnoxious parody of the famous character. The storyline for the short comic came from Mallorca Lee. This was a fun little piece to work on and I was particularly pleased with how the final frame looked.

 

Comic books were my first passion, and what sparked my interest in becoming an animator/illustrator.

During my period of silence I created this tribute to the legendary comedian Robin Williams, one of my all-time favorite actors. This was a piece of work that, similarly to the Stan Lee before it, I had always wanted to create. I was very pleased with how this final piece looked and hope that I did Robin some justice.

Robin passed away in 2014. Given that he was my favourite actor, this really affected me more than a celebrity death ever had.

Additionally, I did some work on character design again, which I hadn't done in quite some time. All of this played a vital part in me finding my motivation again and creating new animation. The two characters below were designed during this period. I may possibly use the heavy character (whom I'd dubbed "Egg in a Cup" due to his strange shape) in a future animation, as he would work very well in that medium.

 

The updates in this post take me up to around September 2019. In my next post, which will be within a few days, I will update everything else I have been doing since September and what the future holds for me and Campbell Animation.