A Long Overdue Update!

Hello all!

It's been a little while since l've posted anything of any substance in the blog other than a few pieces here and there. As I've previously discussed in a few different posts, I have been working hard on an animation since last July - the first since Hashtag Live in late 2022. This project is now 95% completed including sound and we are now awaiting final approval from the client. I plan to cover more about this animation in the blog - breaking down the processes behind the work. This will be planned out once everything has been approved and the final production is public.

In September last year I also completed illustration work on a feature length film titled "Make it to Munich." The film follows Ethan Walker, a young Scottish footballer who, following a life-changing car accident, makes the decision to cycle to Munich for Scotland's opening match against Germany in Euro 2024 - only nine months later.

The film premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival on March 9 2025. I am pleased to say that I was in attendance, getting to spend some time on the red carpet and soak in the experience of a film premiere. I initially had the opportunity to meet with all the cast and crew in a function at the Dakota Hotel and even got the chance to catch up with Martin Docherty and lan Bustard, whom we animated in "Marty Goes to Hollywood" in 2014.

Make it to Munich itself was fantastic, a deeply enjoyable film on many levels with the ideal balance of emotion and comedy. The film will be released in Scottish cinemas in May, though could possibly see a wider release.

I have also taken part in two local fayres (Christmas and Easter) in which I have been selling my prints. These have been an enjoyable experience and not entirely outside of my comfort zone since I have a background in sales and upselling.

Going forward I have a checklist of smaller projects that I intend to get through before taking on anything bulky. I will be taking a laid-back approach and treating this period as a break whist I recharge for what's next. However, I do have a few ideas for future graphics work and there is a certain animation that I started a few years ago that I may just revisit.

On the subject of animation, I have learnt over time that these projects tend to be few and far between, my next animation project may well be 2 years away. I have no idea what the future holds in this regard, how exciting!

Exciting few months to come!

Hello all! Once again I've not updated the blog for a few months longer than I would have liked - time just seems to fly by when you're insanely busy... and I've been insanely busy! 

 

 

Occasionally some edited versions of the Celtic Park project have been requested, which I've only been too happy to work on.

Firstly I want to go back to what I had mentioned previously, Mallorca - of Ultrasonic and Public Domain fame - whom I'd collab'd with for many years, has unfortunately passed away since my last update. His funeral was absolutely packed with mourners and he had an unbelievable send off, filled with love and emotion. Going forward, I don't really know where we're at with The Hashtag animation and graphic design, I know Scott is continuing the podcast but that is all at this time.

A lovely tribute set up to Mall.

Before I start covering off some of the work I've done since last time, I should mention that I have a big project, currently in pre-production, that l'm very excited to get stuck into. I will update more info on here in due course. Pre-production development has been made on the main character design and a shot list including thumbnails. If you couldn't tell so far, this next project will be an ANIMATION Huzzah!!

I've only recently sent across some of the pre-production materials for review, so in the meantime I am planning to complete a couple of custom print orders over the weekend.

I also recently completed work for a local softball team called "The Glasgow Isotopes", creating a logo for their shirts and for social media presence. The name is an homage to the team from The Simpsons, so for this design I pretty much immediately wanted to incorporate "Blinky" from the season two episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish." The finished design and shirts can be seen below. Overall I was very pleased with how these turned out and look forward to owning one in the future when my contact is able to provide it.

Finally, I worked on a stylised map of my home village of Twechar, detailing streets that were demolished in the mid 00's during a regeneration project. I created this for myself but also knew this would be appreciated by the people of the village. Thus far the reaction has been very good, which is a big relief as the approval of these works is important to me.

 

 

 

 

Some framed prints of the Twechar map, A3 size, with the street names around the border.

 

Going forward, I will continue to work on the aforementioned project and I will post any updates that I can on here.

Lots of exciting developments!

It has been a little while now since I have updated the blog, but I haven't been a total couch potato for the past two months, I have had some very exciting new opportunities recently.

First of all, I completed the work I was doing on a health and safety video for Touzie Tyke in Glasgow. This project involved animating two simple bird characters in a kitchen scene, which had been created in Adobe Illustrator. I worked exclusively on the animation in the scene, primarily using Adobe After Effects.

I also gained some invaluable experience collaborating with Glasgow company Smudge Digital, animating the main character in a low-budget Scottish documentary. The documentary itself was filmed in live-action, and a group of animators and I were contracted to create 30-40 second animated insets which broke the film up, giving extra appeal to the audience.

Now that the aforementioned project is in post-production, I have started to relax again and will be pursuing personal projects for a little while. I hope to have designed and digitised another pirate-style character to fit in with the others that I have designed in my last few posts.

Additionally, I may have some extra work coming my way from Smudge Digital. This time the work would guarantee pay, which is always a bonus. The upcoming project is, as far as I know, for an animation which will last around 10 seconds.

I will also, hopefully, be returning to Touzie Tyke to complete more work on additional health and safety bird videos in the near future.