About Jonathan.
About Jonathan
I've always loved monsters. Years before I'd even seen the film, I was obsessed with King Kong - and once I had seen that image of a giant gorilla (is he really a gorilla?) atop the Empire State Building I was captivated. At the time I had no idea how he was made, or how he moved, but all I knew was that that was what I wanted to do - make monsters!
Through the years many other artists and film makers have been a big influence on my work and chosen career path. Stop motion animator Ray Harryhausen's work had a huge impact on me. The effects he produced on films such as The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad and Jason And The Argonauts were beautifully executed flights of imagination, bringing monsters, demons and dragons to life.
While still at school I'd started making my own stop motion animated films and when in 1980 I heard that Harryhausen would be giving a talk at the BFI about his career and most recent film Clash Of The Titans, I had to be there. I also thought it would be a perfect opportunity to show my hero some samples of my work. Taking with me a bag containing rubber and wire dinosaurs and monsters, I went to see the great man. But when confronted with meeting Harryhausen after the talk, my creations didn't seem quite worthy and I opted for an autograph instead.
Years later, when working in stop motion at Cosgrove Hall Films in Manchester, I was fortunate enough to not only meet, but also briefly work with Harryhausen on the Carrington-Cosgrove Hall Co production Odysseus-The Legend. Although this project never came to fruition, I was able to design and sculpt characters and creatures at the early stage of production and create work in very much a Harryhausen style. Much of this work is featured in the book Harryhausen: The Lost Movies by John Walsh, published by Titan Publishing Group. The experience of collaborating with Harryhausen is one I shall obviously never forget.
Having spent many years working in stop-motion animation as a sculptor and animator I decided to leap into the 21st Century and learn digital sculpting with ZBrush. I'd been working primarily in children's television on series such as Postman Pat and Roary the Racing Car, but my original inspiration had always been creatures and monsters. After Kong and Harryhausen, the work of Rick Baker (An American Werewolf In London) and Rob Bottin (The Thing) were significant influences. ZBrush offered great opportunities to produce these sort of designs and sculpts and a new way to create creatures and characters.
Jonathan
Through the years many other artists and film makers have been a big influence on my work and chosen career path. Stop motion animator Ray Harryhausen's work had a huge impact on me. The effects he produced on films such as The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad and Jason And The Argonauts were beautifully executed flights of imagination, bringing monsters, demons and dragons to life.
While still at school I'd started making my own stop motion animated films and when in 1980 I heard that Harryhausen would be giving a talk at the BFI about his career and most recent film Clash Of The Titans, I had to be there. I also thought it would be a perfect opportunity to show my hero some samples of my work. Taking with me a bag containing rubber and wire dinosaurs and monsters, I went to see the great man. But when confronted with meeting Harryhausen after the talk, my creations didn't seem quite worthy and I opted for an autograph instead.
Years later, when working in stop motion at Cosgrove Hall Films in Manchester, I was fortunate enough to not only meet, but also briefly work with Harryhausen on the Carrington-Cosgrove Hall Co production Odysseus-The Legend. Although this project never came to fruition, I was able to design and sculpt characters and creatures at the early stage of production and create work in very much a Harryhausen style. Much of this work is featured in the book Harryhausen: The Lost Movies by John Walsh, published by Titan Publishing Group. The experience of collaborating with Harryhausen is one I shall obviously never forget.
Having spent many years working in stop-motion animation as a sculptor and animator I decided to leap into the 21st Century and learn digital sculpting with ZBrush. I'd been working primarily in children's television on series such as Postman Pat and Roary the Racing Car, but my original inspiration had always been creatures and monsters. After Kong and Harryhausen, the work of Rick Baker (An American Werewolf In London) and Rob Bottin (The Thing) were significant influences. ZBrush offered great opportunities to produce these sort of designs and sculpts and a new way to create creatures and characters.
Jonathan