Making some Green

.... and here's how!

These are some green pumpkins in-the-making which I need for 'Myrtle the Witch'. Tricky one really - I mean I could just make one or two in Maya and then duplicate over and over, or I could sit and hand sculpt dozens of them to fill the scene and have loads left to sell online to collectors which in part funds 'Myrtle'. I've gone for the second option - stay tuned, much more interesting things to post about soon. :)

In other news, last night I discovered a brilliant bar that plays Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones.... it's awesome. Tiny hole-in-the-wall kinda place called Cavern Club. If you're new to Wellington then I suggest you find it. They're open late most nights. That's another thing - Kiwis can drink, I've noticed!

Flooring it!

Laying slate flooring for the miniature kitchen in 'Myrtle the Witch'. I used tacky glue and fit these great components together, but after a few test photos with new items I'm listing over at my shop, I figured they weren't whimsical and special enough for the project. Too generic. So I'll be sculpting my own floor tiles.

Here's a picture of new fairytale items for the shop taken today on the new slate flooring. (Cinderella pumpkins and mice...). ;)

And I've sculpted brick facades for the bat tower I'm creating. Here's an image. Of course they'll need plastering onto the wall, colouring and mossing.

More updates on 'Myrtle' soon.... working like crazy on the sets whilst running tests and getting into pre-vis. Stay tuned~

Published Tutorial just in time for Halloween

Just gave a tutorial on how to make one inch scale pumpkin cauldrons for a magazine (out now and available here). These are basically props for 'Myrtle the Witch', but as many of you know I am partially funding the project by selling replicas of props for the film. The editor took an interest in my work and now it looks like her readers may be able to get the clay out for themselves.
Take a look, let me know what you think. :)

Cover Girl - new feature

I'm interviewed about my miniature work in the latest issue of a US miniaturist magazine. They put one of my scale miniature cafes on the cover and a 5 page feature inside.

In other news... really enjoying my time in New Zealand - exploring the fantastic nightlife of Cuba street in Wellington (they like their classic rock here so it's just my bag), saw 'Cinderella' by the New Zealand Ballet and was massively inspired by the sets and costumes, attending screenings and meeting brilliant Weta folk, I'm exhibiting at a Kiwi craft show next weekend and spending every waking hour sculpting props and making set pieces... more on this soon.

Magazine cover with my set piece 

Journey to Middle-earth

From La La Land, to Blighty, to Middle-earth.... I never seem to sit still. Yep, I left English summer behind for a wetter New Zealand winter and moved here for a 6 month stretch a month ago.

Packing all my tools and materials into 3 suitcases so I can continue to run my business whilst here working on 'Myrtle' was rippingly good fun as ever. Several hours in my mum's kitchen weighing clay, sand, documents and wood in little rickety scales whittled my workshop down to 130 lbs and a £70 penalty fee. Would have been handy if it had dawned on me that after 28 hours of flying I'd arrive in Auckland and promptly have 10% of my materials confiscated by Bio-security.

Here's my little damp and mossy abode pictured above...

Alright, there weren't any vacancies for Hobbit Holes, so I've settled into the 15th floor of a skyscraper in central Wellington, made an office out of the 2nd bedroom and planted my computer where I get the best view of this awesome city.
I'll give updates on 'Myrtle', but for now I've just finished an 8 page feature for an American magazine (out in Sept) and committed to a feature in a British magazine's Dec issue... deadline is mid August. Plus I've got commissions to plough through including a one inch scale Hogsmeade... so will be a busy bee.

Sunrise view from my balcony the day after arrival.

My apartment.                                   My building - photographed yesterday.

My brilliant view of the Pacific.

Moving at a Snail's Pace

So for people wondering where the heck I've been, here's a blog update! You know what it's like when you get SO immersed in everything and you think it's been 2 weeks since your last blog update and then realise it's actually been 2 months...?! Whoops.

Well, still currently residing in Groovy Britain. Plans to move back to the US have been taking up a lot of my time - getting into America is like getting into Fort Knox. Anyone in the European Union can pop over to my country and work, study, get free health care and leave, yet America views Brits trying to enter the US as suspiciously as a shark in a wooly jumper trying to sneak into a teddy bears picnic.

What's teeny tiny and in demand? No, besides me?
Yes, miniature snails, apparently. Who knew?!
This post is going to read like I sit around making microscopic snails all day. Not quite the case. It's true that I am funding my short film (Myrtle) in part by keeping an online shop which sells miniatures (mostly doubles of the same ones I create for my short), but I have in fact been steadily building more and more of the set for my short, inch by inch...
Below are images I took yesterday of snails which I've been selling lately and are contributing to the Myrtle kitty.

I also managed to turn 30 since my last post, went to Cancun, learnt to snorkel, swam with giant sea turtles and pretty blue fish, become obsessed with ceviche, have been working with editors on more features of my work to come out in magazines throughout this year... and some more exciting new developments to be shared soon. ;)

 

A Slippery Subject

Just finished making the first draft of Myrtle's snail - the pest turned pet who currently has no firm name (still settling on one)...

Here he is with collar and leash, and made in one inch (1:12) scale (this means he is 12 times smaller than real life) which makes him the size of a puppy.  Made using polymer clay and finished with paint / mixed media. Later I'll recreate a 3D version in Maya.

Don't forget, he's just a first draft - stay tuned for final versions or get involved and leave me suggestions in the comment section!
Before you ask, yes I think I must have been (at least on a subconscious level) inspired by the racing snail from the 80s movie 'The Neverending Story'. ;)

 Alongside morning cuppa - to show scale.

H A P P Y 2 0 1 2 ! ! !

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope everyone had a fantastic time last night. My night was probably my second favourite New Year's Eve ever (coming after New Orleans at the Ritz-Carlton in 2009)!

Mulled wine now washed out of my hair, I'm updating this blog to reflect on what I accomplished last year in 2011. Below are snapshots of the past year. Summing up, I wrote a short film entitled 'Myrtle the Witch' that I will aim to work on in 2012. It will be shot on miniature sets using miniature hand-sculpted characters and I really can't wait to get started. I also had my work featured in 2 magazines, started working as a freelance miniaturist and building a business in which I now sell in over 30 countries worldwide. I graduated from UCLA with my Certificate in Entertainment (Screenwriting), did both freelance script revision and freelance concept artwork for producers in LA, travelled around California (including Yosemite twice), had a balloon ride over Temecula, packed up my workshop and moved from the US (where I have lived 2.5 years) and moved back to Blighty at the end of last year!

Snapshot images of 2011 below.

Hearst Castle, UCLA Graduation day, Temecula

Yosemite and Halloween in Los Feliz

Pumpkins in miniature for various projects

Miniature forest scene

Boggarts Bazaar miniature commission

Boggarts Bazaar miniature commission

General miniatures

General miniatures

An English Village, Hopping the Pond and a lot of bread...

From one film hub to another - I've just moved from Hollywood to Turville - *the* location most filmed in Britain. Flew across the pond from California to the UK with no less than 9 suitcases in the first week of this month. (Don't call my US cell btw... getting new UK phone soon).

With a population of 100 people (including actor Orlando Bloom who owns a house here) Turville has been used to film many movies and TV shows, including: 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', 'Little Britain', 'An Education', '101 Dalmatians', 'Goodnight Mr Tom', 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Bride & Prejudice', 'Midsomer Murders', 'Jonathon Creek', Miss Marple'... the list goes on and on. I worked as a runner on set here when I was 16. Met Sam Neill ('Jurassic Park') on his birthday when he was filming here and had a slice of his cake. ;)

Anyway... my updates...
I am focusing on my short film (ish) whilst enjoying being back, eating English pub food and racing through commissions. Amazing what people will order - just completed a commission for 150 miniature baguettes in one inch scale for a woman in Paris. (See photo below).

Below are pictures of the English village of Turville. 16th century brick cottages, 10th century stone built church and a pub named after Henry VIII at the time he executed Anne Boleyn.

And here's some pics of Turville.