What have I been working on…
Below are some of the more recent creative projects I have been working on, both from my time at university as well as my time working at The Sad Ghost Club.
Short Film ‘07:00’
‘07:00’ is the graduate film I created during my final term at university. It began as an exploration of animation using various print processes, such as Risograph printing, to achieve a unique texture and feeling. It’s a continuation of techniques learnt from my second year, but further developed into a long form animation with a narrative. The story follows a ghost-like character in bed one morning.
I directed and produced the film, with animation by Nathan Johnson and myself, and backgrounds by Lize Meddings and myself. The music was composed by George Jackson.
The final version was printed using an inkjet printer onto 36 pages of A5 paper, each displaying 21 different frames of animation. These tiny images were then scanned at high resolution and reassembled into a moving image.
As part of my submission, I created a bespoke book containing all the pages of the animation. This physical object was displayed alongside the film at my degree show and offered a glimpse into the making of process.
The Sad Ghost Club
I’ve been working as Studio Assistant at The Sad Ghost Club since 2020, alongside the creator Lize Meddings. As a two-person team, Lize creates the comics and illustrations you’ll find across the website and social media, while I keep everything organised and running smoothly. This includes managing the online shop and social media channels, as well as planning for events such as Thought Bubble Comic Convention and most recently the Patreon which includes a monthly podcast that I record and edit.
The Sad Ghost Club itself began in 2014, founded by Lize and a friend, with the simple aim of creating comics and illustrations that speak openly and positively about mental health.
Risograph Animation
During my time at university, I had the opportunity to work with a Risograph machine, a digital screen printing technique. I learned about the history of the Risograph, where it came from, how it was first used, and how it has since gained new appreciation as an artist's tool for creating uniquely textured illustrations with vibrant colours.
I had a basic understanding of Risograph animations from artists on social media and was intrigued by the process and the transformation of drawing to print. With access to the machine at university, I had the freedom to explore different printing methods and develop my own technique. I began by creating 21 frame looped animations on A3 pages. Adding to that, I began using sheets of clear 5mm acrylic, which I then used to play around with adding multiple layers of animation, using inkjet prints on acetate, as well as laser cutting into the Risograph prints to create windows in the paper so you could see the layer behind. In some ways, this process began to resemble traditional multi plane animation, using a Rostrum camera to record the animation once printed and layered together.
This process involved a lot of trial and error to figure out what would work and be visually appealing as a final result. It involved a lot of printing and I liked that it created a physical piece of art you could hold and look at, as well as a moving image.
“A Fairy Tale” Short Script
As part of a preproduction module in my second year of university I worked on a short script. It follows the story of two fairies in a glade and a disturbance to their peaceful life.
Short Film “Rocket Science”
‘Rocket Science’ was my second year film, created in collaboration with Martyna Sikonczyk, Hoching Kwok and Eden Fixman. We shared responsibilities across preproduction and production. The brief was to create a one minute animation for a young audience, based on the three randomly assigned words Conical, Food and Rocket.