My visit to Mackinnon and Saunders

As I mentioned in my last post, I met Ian Mackinnon of Mackinnon and Saunders at the Bradford animation festival which took place two weeks ago.

Ian very kindly invited me to come and have a look around the studio so that I might have an insight into the puppet making profession. It was a wonderful experience, Ian took me around each department and introduced me to some very talented individuals. These people are amazing! It was over whelming seeing the sheer amount of dedication and attention to detail. Many of the puppets and maquettes were familiar to me. As soon as I walked through the door I was came face to face with a life size model of the martian from Mars Attacks! 

I really enjoyed just being able to look around and chat with Ian and the other members of the team. Everyone was friendly and offered me words of wisdom! Having external feedback on my work always helps me focus on the key areas I need to concentrate on, so that I may continue to improve. Though I am really happy with some of the complimentary remarks I received.

My latest character "Frank"

This is the maquette Ian commented on saying that he liked that I had managed to make a simple character yet give it plenty of appeal and a strong form. He explained that often drawings and models can be made over complicated and detailed and mask the fact that underneath the form is off.

Again as I mentioned in my last post about Valerie Kausen (granddaughter of Chuck Jones) liking my quicker sketches. Ian said the same thing. He really liked the raw pencil lines in my life drawing sketches. He said that I should not be afraid to show more of my rougher sketches as I can draw and understand forms. This as you can imagine was a good confidence boost.

I know that I and many of my friends miss being at university, and this seems to be a common topic in recent blog posts. But even though I have left higher education I am still learning. Even in the few hours I spent at Mackinnon and Saunders I feel I have gained even more knowledge and experience that should inevitably help me on my journey to making my way into the animation industry.