The Shortensuite

Trust me, I'm a...

2012-03-08T01:18:00.000-08:00

Trust me, I'm a...

2012-03-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

...

2012-02-29T09:47:00.000-08:00

...

2012-02-29T07:36:00.002-08:00

Found this lying around. Can't remember from when or why though...

The Yellows

2012-02-28T07:13:00.000-08:00

Hotels.com

2012-02-22T06:57:00.000-08:00

The first of three Hotels.com (finding the perfect place, is all we do!) adverts I worked on recently doing concept and environment design.

Arthur Christmas

2012-02-20T08:16:00.000-08:00

So I did a year's work as Prop & Environment Designer on Arthur Christmas a while back and the film finally got released last year, which means I could get around to scanning some of the many drawings and sketches I did for the movie. A small selection of which I've posted here.

This image above is a concept (not mine) from which I based the designs for the bridge, church and houses in the fictional town of Trelew, Cornwall.

This image above I did towards the end of the movie where I got to start working more on environments and got to consider things like lighting and atmosphere.

Concept drawings for how the sleigh might turn into an old fighter plane, which subsequently got changed to a UFO for the final movie.

There's also some good behind the scenes movies here at the Sony Pictures website which hints at the full scale of trying to tackle a movie of this size.

Netflix

2012-02-08T11:02:00.000-08:00

Saw this on TV the other day. Had forgotten all about it but I provided some 2D set designs, not that you end up seeing much of it. Still a fun little advert though.

Cup Noodle

2012-01-05T13:11:00.000-08:00

Just some some sketches and development work for a Cup Noodle pitch I worked on before Christmas.

Old Jobs

2011-11-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

Battersea

2011-10-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

The Waterfront | Exeter

2011-10-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Arthur Christmas Trailer

2011-10-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

...and here's the first theatrical trailer for Aardman and Sony Animations' joint festive feast, Arthur Christmas. When the movie is eventually released I'll try and get around to posting some of the design work I did on the film.

Doodle Page

2011-10-05T02:56:00.000-07:00

Angry Birds Commercial

2011-09-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

A commercial I did character design on at Nexus recently. I was given the task of turning the three guys who created Angry Birds into angry birds. Fun job.

One Hundred Days: Day Six | Kings Cross St. Pancras

2011-09-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

2011-07-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

2011-07-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

Jaguar E-Type

2011-07-26T09:47:00.001-07:00

2011-07-21T09:53:00.000-07:00

Inspired my my mate's weekly comic strip blog over at Rakuten Wednesday...

Peter Vesterbacker

2011-07-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

Top Shelf

2011-07-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

Got a bit distracted by the mess hanging over my head, then it became fun, then I wasted a whole afternoon doing it...

Pentyrch Cricket Pavillion

2011-07-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Llansantffraed Court

2011-07-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

2011-07-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

New Venture

2011-06-27T01:31:00.000-07:00

I've had a few example illustrations of buildings around London professionally printed and framed to try and garner interest for a new venture I'm working on. The idea is to create personalized illustrations of people's homes, but could extend to workplaces, pubs and wedding venues. I'm setting up a professional website for the business soon, but in the meantime I'm relying on word of mouth and small craft fayre's like this street party on Ritherdon Road, Balham that I attended yesterday. I got a little spot for a stall courtesy of Robbie's Photographics who did a great job of the printing and framing for me and all in all it was a hugely successful and enjoyable (if not scorching hot) day. Big thanks to everyone involved in making it a success.

Coloursplash

2011-06-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

I had a commission this week to create an illustration for a Cardiff-based post-production house. They wanted an illustration that could cover the back wall of their newly refurbed grading suite rather than using traditional wallpaper. The idea was to have one coloured element picked out of the all-black-and-white image, based on a Victorian-era photograph of the building. The illustration once printed, will be 8 foot tall by 16 foot wide. Enormous(ly scary).

...

2011-06-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

The Prospect of Whitby

2011-06-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

Kensington

2011-06-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

Road Hog!

2011-06-10T05:34:00.000-07:00

A rough for an illustration I'm doing for a pub called The Fat Pig.

2011-06-07T04:09:00.000-07:00

The Explorer

2011-05-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

2011-05-16T06:14:00.000-07:00

London Peace Pagoda

2011-05-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

Spitalfields

2011-05-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hmm, had to re-blog this one. Not quite sure where it disappeared to, but here it is again. Someone check down the back of the sofa...

Tati Square Pants

2011-04-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

I was going through some old drawings from dusty boxes for a guest lecture I'm doing this week at my old college, and stumbled across this gem from The Illusionist days by Laurent Kircher.

London Through My Eyes (Sketch)

2011-03-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

Just a rough sketch for an abstract illustration I'm doing portraying

my own specific view of the part of south London where I live.

Moss

2011-03-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

St. Paul's

2011-02-17T08:56:00.000-08:00

Old Timer

2011-02-16T06:41:00.000-08:00

Character Design

2011-02-11T09:14:00.000-08:00

I've been checking out the blog of Chris Sasaki for inspiration, and have attempted to do some character design of my own in his style to see if I could push my skills. Hopefully this doesn't qualify as full-on plagiarism, more a respectful homage.

2011-02-08T08:40:00.000-08:00

2011-02-07T04:13:00.000-08:00

Saturday Sketches

2011-01-29T12:17:00.000-08:00

Moods, Textures & Impressions

2011-01-28T11:18:00.000-08:00

Casares

2011-01-28T01:38:00.000-08:00

The Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati

2011-01-20T02:38:00.000-08:00

Took a week off for some 'real' work last week. That done, I've gotten back around to painting up my Google Sketchup model of The Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. Used photographs heavily as reference (obviously, having not been there) with a bit of artistic license thrown in. Hopefully it lies somewhere between photo-real and impressionistic, influenced somewhat by Alberto Mielgo who designed all the gorgeous looking 2D backdrops for The Beatles Rock Band intro sequence.

Tassimo Ad

2010-12-22T13:57:00.000-08:00

A selection of character designs and a colour concept I worked on when I was at Nexus recently. It was for a Tassimo ad campaign directed by Tom and Mark Perrett.

The Graduate

2010-12-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

After watching The Graduate last night, I thought I'd just take a few of the stills I found attractive and have a go painting them up. Mainly just to practice my painting but also to focus more on composition and lighting from films I admire.

160 Great Portland Street

2010-12-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

Arthur Christmas Teaser Trailer

2010-12-06T12:28:00.000-08:00

Piccadilly

2010-11-26T09:33:00.000-08:00

Freezing cold cloudless day today, identical to the morning light of last week. Lasted about 10 minutes outside drawing then worked this up back in the relative warmth of the studio from photographs.

EON Advert

2010-11-25T01:44:00.000-08:00

An advert I worked on for four or five weeks at Nexus, directed by Jim Le Fevre. Three of us doing clean-up in Photoshop.

Painting London

2010-11-19T08:29:00.000-08:00

Stopped off to do a drawing this morning just off Oxford Street with the intention of painting it up later in the day. Really gorgeous light this time of year. Doing my best to capture it. I hope to make a habit of attempting to paint what I've drawn when I'm out and about in London.

Character Sketches

2010-11-17T01:34:00.000-08:00

A few early Photoshop sketches from a personal project I've been working on with a couple of friends. Can't reveal too much just yet!

Dinner For One

2010-09-23T04:37:00.000-07:00

Angry Waiter

2010-09-22T05:49:00.000-07:00

Royal William Yard

2010-07-27T06:53:00.000-07:00

Around London

2010-07-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

L'Illusionniste

2010-07-05T04:27:00.000-07:00

Cars!

2010-06-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

Heat

2010-05-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

Another illustration I found lurking on my hard drive.

I created the collage effect using old torn up

Animation Magazine editions, pen and Photoshop.

World Cup 2010 Approaches

2010-05-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

Winston

2010-05-25T07:15:00.001-07:00

Kyshera T-Shirt

2010-05-15T04:25:00.000-07:00

My mate asked if I could design a t-shirt for his band Kyshera. They have an album coming out on July 12th and I'm definitely going along to the launch party. My mate's the bassist, he asked for something along these lines so he could wear it for the gig. Check 'em out here.

Fame

2010-05-14T04:42:00.000-07:00

You Have Been Watching

2010-05-02T04:50:00.000-07:00

Blumenthal

2010-04-19T15:05:00.000-07:00

Mingus Inspiration

2010-04-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

Inspired by a BBC Four documentary about jazz legend, Charles Mingus.

Mr. Marathon Man

2010-04-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be running the London Marathon 2011, I've decided. I ran for 20 minutes the other day and I was a complete wreck, but I made a pact with my Uncle and Aunt, who both said they were going to do it with me, so I'm thinking, why the bloody hell not? I've got a year to train for it...

Hmm....well, let's just see ay.

Mon Oncle

2010-04-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

My Uncle recently got married and he asked if I could design invitations for the party. This was the finished result. The party started on a boat that sailed around Plymouth Hoe and then continued at his apartment in the gorgeous old Royal William Yard.

Train Sketches Winter 09/10

2010-03-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

Bit slow this week. Finishing off my Aardman job, which I've been doing a lot of commuting for since last summer. I found these drawings in my notebooks which I used for writing any ideas down on the train. I had a sketchbook last summer and I went and lost it when I was out in Uganda. I still hold out hope I'll find it, but for now, I suppose these drawings are a small reflection of what I can remember being contained inside.

The Illusionist

2010-03-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

It's taken it's sweet time to make it into cinemas but this May, the movie I poured a hell of a lot of my heart and soul into along with a small crew of other incredibly dedicated, hard-working, talented individuals will be finally released. Let's hope it was all worth the wait. For now, I'll settle for the poster.

ShoeTube

2010-03-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

So, this is partly a desire to try and get into a good habit of posting regularly from the beginning, and also a good reason to go rummaging through old sketchbooks.

When I first moved to London and started getting the tube I felt a bit uncomfortable sketching people in such close proximity, so I spent the first few weeks just drawing their feet instead. I soon realised no-one cares what you do on the tube, even if you are buried in their armpit. Turned into quite an interesting little exercise, especially on reflection, seeing whether I could describe the person by just their feet. Like they say, you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes...

Here Goes Nothing!

2010-03-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

So, my first ever blog. Not entirely sure how it all works, but I think its about time that my sketches stopped gathering dust in my sketchbook and were released onto this here interweb. No better place to start than with a recent trip to Paris. My first time ever there, it was short but sweet and I was lucky enough to get some sketching in (a rare occurrence at the moment). Notre-Dame Cathedral, in particular, exceeded my expectations in amongst all the other beautiful architecture. Anyway, now to find people who want to actually look at these sketches. Hmm...like I say, how the hell does this work again? Enjoy, fictional audience!