First Crochet Creature

Also known as amigurumi, rather than crochet in this context. I used a pattern from Hobbycraft, the 'mini puppy amigurumi kit', which I purchased last year when I had absolutely zero idea how to even do a chain stitch! But, fast forward to now and I was finally able to complete it! It's not perfect and I definitely learnt a lot along the way, but I am still super proud of what I achieved- I think it looks really cute and for my first creature (and only second finished piece overall) I think it's not too bad.

Here's the work in progress picture (surrounded by a load of yarn- yes, yes I did get carried away in Boyes)!

And below are a few images of the final piece:

This is extremely addictive right now! But I can't let myself get too carried away, because I've got a feature film to make, remember... Though I think it's allowed for a little bit, because it's not been long since finishing my short film and I do need a bit of a break/ change of creative scenery. And this is providing exactly that, but like I said, mustn't get too involved!

Short Film: completed it!

My film ‘I Wish I Was There’ is done. Yes, 100% completed. What a journey, 17 months of hard work, including 781 hours of animating (not counting creating the animatic, scripting, filming, editing and so on which all took a lot of time). Here’s the teaser:

Synopsis: Whilst relaxing abroad on a solo holiday, a woman receives a series of phone calls from the hospital. She decides to ignore these in effect to enjoy her vacation, but her imagination gets the better of her. An unpleasant time ensues, with the growing realisation that she needs to confront her fears.

It’s been a while since posting anything about my film, but I was still quietly working away on it in the background. It just felt a bit silly updating every week, when there wasn’t a lot of big new news on it etc!

I completed the film Friday 19th September, but for some reason it’s taken me forever to get this post out. I often feel strange on completing a big project such as this- kind of a weird sort of empty/ sadness feeling. So trying to come up with something to write about on here regarding the completion of the film hasn’t been the easiest things to do. I think experiencing this feeling on completing projects is quite common within the world of creativity (a lot of creatives speak about this) and it’s a feeling I’ve experienced many times before and have written about in here previously, so I won’t dwell on it too much. I know I’ve just got to ride it out and distract myself with other things (skating, crochet, football etc) until it passes. But still, it makes it hard to appreciate what I’ve accomplished. Which is a lot.

I’ve animated a film from start to finish all by myself with no external funding or pressures. Which is a big deal. It’s hard to finish projects, especially big ones like this which have a lot of challenges. But I did it! I pushed through the difficult parts, found solutions to the problems and came through the other side.

Whether it does well in the realm of festivals or not, it is a piece I’m extremely proud of in terms of both look and feel. It’s a step up in that regard from my previous short, and the story is a lot tighter and more refined. It’s also a film that shows the kind of work I want to continue to produce as a director: thematically and stylistically. Yes, it’s not perfect, but to have been able to produce what I have done without a budget shouldn’t be ignored.

Despite it being largely a solo effort, I’m not going to gloss over the help I received in various ways throughout, such as trusted friends giving me feedback at different stages, family for helping out with locations and friends for technical tips. And, my wonderful partner Ben, who kindly supported and encouraged me throughout the whole process, listening to my turmoil at times when the project wasn’t going so well and giving me honest feedback on various story aspects. As well as assisting as camera operator for a lot of the live action rotoscope reference shoots. Thank you <3

I also have my voice cast: Nathalie Codsi, David Holt, Marta Madrid Manrique to applaud for breathing life into the characters, as well as Tom Parker, Lucia Pires-Reeves, Najma Heybe, Ronny Calow and Charlie Lightning to thank, who played the amazingly creepy nurses:

And then, Barnaby Templer at Fonic, for providing me with the best sound design I could have ever asked for. I always felt it was the sound design (or lack thereof- I tried, don’t judge me!) that let my previous short down. So for this project, I was determined to not repeat that and instead have the sound design created by someone who knows exactly what they’re doing! I also didn’t want to include a score in this film, so the sound design was especially important, because that would be the thing that would be used to build tension and emotion.

This is the first film of mine I’ve worked properly with sound designers. I must admit going into it, I was a little nervous about how it might go and whether we’d be on the same page etc. I didn’t want to not give them any creative freedom, but at the same time, I didn’t want the film sounding not as I had imaged it. But, he did an honestly fantastic job with only minimal direction from myself. He picked up the themes and story and ‘got’ exactly the film I wanted to tell. I think this was because we had several long calls about the film before work was started on it, so could get to know the story I wanted to tell, plus who I am as a director and person. I’d say he pretty much took the film from around 70% to 100%. So Barnaby Templer (sound design and mix), Stephen Maxwell (foley recordist) and Andrea King (foley artist), I can’t thank you enough!

Right, have I done gushing about all the help I’ve received? I think so! So, what’s next? Is it going to be that feature I keep going on about that I want to make? Yes, yes it is.

I Made a Hat!

Not sure if the 'sewing' tag is the correct one for my crochet stuff, but I suppose in my head it's an all encompassing 'stuff I've done using fabric' term! Anyway, it's my blog, let me do what I want! Also, I'm not sure how long I'll stick with crochet for, so be a bit silly to make a tag for it if I only ever do like 5 projects- but who knows... I'm very much enjoying it at the moment- all new and exciting stuff.

As the title would suggest, this is my first 'proper' project if you like, rather than the test pieces I wrote about in my previous post. I followed this idea, kind of, but also ad libbed in places, but because this is the closest thing to it, then it's only fair I link/ credit the creator.

I used white and a dark-ish green for my design, not because they are my favourite colours, but because the green one was on offer and I thought the white would go nicely alongside it! But, I do think the colours look good together and it is a hat I would wear. In theory. Unfortunately the one I made ended up being a bit too big. But, I am not going to unravel it, as it's still an achievement and I'm still really proud that I made it. It's something I can learn from and develop as I get better at the craft. I'm already excited to start the next piece- not too sure whether I should try another hat straightway, or try making an amigurumi plush that I have a pattern for. Decisions, decisions...

Below is the final piece, followed by a couple of work in progress pictures.

Crochet!

On my most recent holiday a couple of weeks ago, I taught myself how to crochet- at long last! It's been something I've wanted to learn for a few years now, ever since I was gifted a hand created amigurumi plush by a friend. But, I always thought it seemed crazily complex and out of my skill range to ever learn it, despite buying a couple of kits. Though for some reason I thought, this is the right time(!), so I put my embroidery to one side and put my mind to the task and learned several types of stitches/ techniques. I found this YouTube video the most helpful as a complete novice.

At first I found it extremely difficult to get my head round and definitely struggled, but once I got going with it, I found myself in a good rhythm and it's actually really enjoyable! I'll post a few pics below of my progress.

I started with a US Single Crochet- you can see how much I struggled with the first piece (on the left) and then my progression of how I improved throughout each try:

After that, I learned how to crochet in the round- another super useful technique, especially for making amigurumi. My first one (on the left) was a typical beginner's mistake- where I didn't alternate the increase stitches, meaning that my circle ended up looking hexagonal. I then tried again once I researched how to increase correctly, so the next one was an actual circle- now how about that!

Continuing the theme (kind of), I wanted to make a sphere. Again, especially useful when making 3D objects. The first one on the left isn't quite as neat, but I re-did it (in the gold), which had a much better result.

Must say, I was pretty proud of the second sphere! Very fun just to have on my desk to play catch with! After those, I wanted to learn how to change colour, because one colour is just boring, isn't it?! I got the technique down, but the 2 sizes of the yarn are both different, so it didn't really work that well:

Aaand finally-ish, I just tried a load of different stitches out- mainly ribbed/ stretch ones, to enable me to be able to make garments to wear. As well as US Half Double Crochet and Double Crochet stitches. This piece was really fun and relaxing to make- once I got the hang of the stitches. Using 100% acrylic yarn by the way, because 100% vegan! 

Bonus one below- this is a sneak preview of my first 'proper' project, if you like. Basically chose those colours because the green one was on offer(!) and then I thought the white would look nice to contrast it with. It's taking a while and no idea if it'll look any good when it's finished, but it's an enjoyable task and I would quite like the sense of achievement when I eventually finish it. Of course, you will hear about it in here, however it turns out!! xo

New Camera... kind of

I say 'kind of', because it's actually an upgrade on my previous camera phone, which was shockingly bad! It didn't even have a 2x zoom. Yes, seriously. And I was not enjoying being out and about with it- especially for taking it to football. And if you know me, then you know how much I enjoy taking photos (and football)! So, since upgrading to a Samsung S24, I've reignited my enjoyment of photography. I know it's not the best camera phone out there by a long shot (no pun intended), but it's a serious upgrade from my last one. Here's a few of the results:

Latest 35mm pics

All taken with my Praktica BMS Electronic, Kodak Colour Plus film. Mostly straight from the camera, 2 images lightly edited.

edited in Photoshop

edited in Photoshop

Another Pencil Case!

I promise there won't be as much writing as last time(!), but, I will say that this one is a lot neater and more precise than the previous one. Definitely building up more skills and confidence on my sewing machine, plus learnt a lot from having done the first one. I followed a different tutorial this time, to test out another way of creating it, but the result is quite similar. Love my fabric choices on this one, too! Couldn't resist some cute giraffes in my favourite colour! Anyway, without further ado, here are the pictures:

Embroidery: moths continued...

A few more ideas- these are a mixture of POSCA Paint Markers and embroidery (various stitches). Decided to step outside my comfort zone more with these ones, as went for a load of techniques I wouldn't usually go for, despite whether I'd think they would look 'good' or not. I just had the ideas and went through with them. That's the best way to work, in my opinion. It's the way you get your best creative ideas I think, when you let loose and don't hold back. I know I haven't reinvented the wheel or anything here(!), but they're definitely a bit different and less 'safe' than my usual stuff... And to be honest, there's a lot I quite like about them- obviously not all of it works, but that's what this development is for. What's the point in trying out ideas only if you know they're going to work out?

Hand Sewn Pencil Case!

So after the trouser patches I made last week, I wanted to move on to creating a full sewn project. Which was one of two pencil cases I plan on making. I have a load of pens that need sorting out/ some I want to keep separate, plus I don’t actually have a case for any pens/ pencils to take around with me- they either come with me loose in my bag, or they don’t come with me at all. Mainly the latter. Which is why pretty much everything I draw is done with a single black biro! But I do like the idea of adding colour to my drawings, hence the desire to make a pencil case for this exact reason.

The first one I made was for my POSCA Paint Markers. I wanted to keep these separate from the rest of my pen selection, because these are slightly more premium and are also for different uses, as opposed to general felt tips or gel pens etc.

I’ve made a box style pencil case several years back and they are often what comes up as a good ‘beginner’ sewing project, when you search for such things. The one I made prior though, was all hand sewn, because I didn’t own a machine at that time. But obviously the idea of this project was to use the machine to give me experience, confidence and practise. And wow, using a machine is so much quicker isn’t it?! I’m really enjoying the capabilities of it thus far, so don’t mind going through a few of these ‘learning’ projects to get to the good bit, if you like. I said it in my last post about this, but I’ll say it again: I’m seriously excited about the prospect of being able to make my own garments!

I followed along to this tutorial on YouTube, because it was one where all the seams were hidden inside the lining, so there would be no visible seams on either the inside or the outside. So, this would be a total new challenge for me- I don’t think I’ve ever made a project where the seams have all been hidden.

I’m super proud of this piece (even though it is a little rough around the edges- don’t look too closely)! And there was a lot of challenging sections to get through in the creation of it. The whole thing was actually quite fiddly, with it being quite small, plus like I said, I was using techniques I’ve never previously used. I also decided to ad lib with the size of it, to suit my needs. Plus the style of zip: as illustrated in the photographs, I decided to go with a chunky one (as opposed to the more ‘regular’ style used in the tutorial).

WIP- sewing the zip

I saw an image online that someone had used a chunky zip similar to mine and I thought it had such a cool effect. But, the zip I originally bought for this was a concealed zip, because I thought it might look nicer. But after some practising sewing it, I thought it was better left for a project that suited it better (such as on some kind of clothing or alteration). So the concealed zip is now, urm, concealed in my haberdashery draw! A bit frustrated that I had wasted money on a zip, but I actually found that I had a couple chunky zips at home already- which I had saved from a couple of tops I discarded a few years ago. Always save your zips if you’re getting rid of worn out clothes! So ended up not feeling quite so bad about losing money on a zip (which will get used in a future project anyway).

concealed zip sewing practise

Another big mistake was me attempting to machine sew through said zip. Yeah, apparently machines can’t sew through chunky bits of metal like this and will result in a broken needle- I learned this the hard way! But, at least it meant that I now know how to change a needle on my sewing machine (it’s actually pretty easy).

I was a bit apprehensive using the chunky zip to begin with- and all the way through to be honest (until I turned it the right way out at the end), because I wasn’t sure how well it would hold it’s structure. But, as you can see from the pictures, it actually does so quite well. Yes, maybe a little interfacing inside the layers may have assisted, but I still think it holds a decent shape.

I also had to get over my fear of top stitching in a contrast thread using the sewing machine. The contrast thread was my choice, by the way, because I wanted to tie it in nicely with the zip. My machine sewing is slowly improving, but still no where near as neat as I quite want to be! But, practise makes perfect as they say. Or practice makes permanent- a phrase one of my old cricket coaches use to use, which I think is a better phrase than the original, because if you practise a lot, but practise wrong, then you’re going to make getting the stuff right harder. Anyway, phrases aside, I’ve still not quite finished analysing my latest sewing project!

I’m pleased with my achievements here anyway, despite the improvements I want to make the next time around. Oh, and before I forget, this was also the first project I had sewn where I pressed the seams. It makes it so much more crisper and also easier to sew, because the pressing does a lot of the work. So, from now on, I’m never not sewing with the iron out! I’ve done it again, haven’t I? I’ve written 1,000 words on a pencil case! Why do I always do this? Can’t I just make something and let it be?! I’ll try not to be so analytical with my next post. Maybe just pictures only? Let’s see..!

First bit of (actual) sewing in a while (not embroidery)!

Sew yeah- basically the title! Inspired by my brother having recently purchased a sewing machine, combined with the fact that I've neglected to use mine in I-don't-even-want-to-know how long, as well as having completed all the visual work on my animation (woop!) freeing up some time, I decided to get over my fear of the dreaded machine and get to work on a project.

I'm way more confident with hand sewing, because it feels much easier to control and there's less to learn- needle and thread, you're all set. Pretty much. But what good is the machine just sat there taking up valuable desk space? The only thing really stopping me using it at this point is myself. But, like with anything, the first step is usually the hardest and the more you do something, the easier it becomes. So I dusted it off (literally) and decided to really delve into learning it properly this time round. After a lot of practise and threading/ rethreading, I decided I was finally ready: with a clothing alteration.

I ripped my trousers skateboarding (quelle surprise) a week ago- pesky stones, causing me to fall! Knee has almost recovered- it's always the knees, I swear. Anyway, instead of patching over the hole like any normal person might, I decided to go full Flora Martyr and turn it into a project. Of course I did. Knees tend to be one of the points where the concrete is most attracted to when I fall, so I decided to turn this into an opportunity and create a 'double knee' style trouser, which is quite common on a lot of skate/ work wear. Picture below of the pretty small hole:

I thought it would just be a case of cutting out two large patches, hemming them and sewing them on. But nope, it wasn’t quite that simple.

After having cut and created the patches using the machine to hem them (see above pic), I presumed the next job would be a hand sewing task to attach them to the trousers. But, this was taking ages:

I estimated to sew on each patch it would take approximately 3-4 hours. Do I really have time for that? I can’t say I do, however much I like my trusty thread and needle. Plus it also meant there was no shying away from using the machine again. Though, turns out, without ripping the seams, it would have been almost impossible to attach them. Something I had no idea I’d need to do for this project. But, I do love a good learning opportunity, so the seam ripping prospect kind of excited me.

Ripping the seams was a genius plan. I was able to stitch the patches on in no time, after choosing the correct stitch length on the machine to match the sewing I had started by hand.

Voila- I now had two patches attached. Just need to sew back up the seams now, right?! Well, firstly, not quite that easy, because for some reason I had like zero black thread. Such a standard colour- how did I not own any?! Emergency trip to Hobbycraft ensued. Now just to sew the seams up then? Well, kind of: I managed one, but when it came to the other, urm I realised this had happened:

Yep, clumsily, I had mistakenly stitched one of the corners onto the underside of the material. So, I unpicked that, restitched it by hand, then it was time to complete the final seam. On both, I used a straight stitch and then as I don’t have an overlocker machine, I used a zig zag in place of that:

Turned them right sides out, and I am now the proud owner of some contrast double knee skate trousers!

I’m honestly so pleased with myself for having completed this project, because it made me look straight into my fear of the sewing machine (rather than the safety net of hand sewing) and complete a few tasks going into this project I didn’t expect myself to be doing, such as the seam ripping. It’s all a bit rough around the edges and I’m still getting to grips with creating neat lines with the machine, but nevertheless I am proud of my achievements here. I am actually really excited to continue sewing and getting to the point where I’m comfortable enough to make my own garments: I have loadsss of ideas! But, can’t get too carried away at this point or go too fast with it all- need to build my way up on small projects, before creating made to measure clothing. As always, watch this space, and stay creative xo