The JUST GIVING page is now LIVE!

The JUST GIVING page is now LIVE!
The JUST GIVING page is now LIVE! Click the banner, donate £5 and leave your email address for a chance to win the book when I give it away on May 4th. GOOD LUCK!

Wednesday, 29 June 2016

Carrie and Billie are in the book!

Thank you Carrie Fisher (General/Princess Leia) and Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix) for taking the time to sign the book, and thank you Susie for making it happen.

PAGE 1
Carrie Fisher (General Leia)


PAGE 1
Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix)




Now we're talking!!!

 Adam Driver aka Kylo Ren is in the book.


PAGE 0
Adam Driver (Kylo Ren)


General Hux is in the book!

Domhnall Gleeson is in. Thank you Susie for all your help!

PAGE 0
Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux)



Thursday, 23 June 2016

The book box.

I've got a casting out of the mould for the lid to the book box. It has a skin that is 50% bronze. It's had a little buff and the first patina pass.




Traitor!!!!

Thank you so much to Liang Yang for taking the time to get Rob Inch's stunt crew to sign the book! Now, if you could just stop breaking our armour, that would be great! :-P


Liang Yang

PAGE 179
Rob Inch (Stunt Co-Ordinator), Stuart Clark (Assistant Stunt Co-Ordinator/Stunt Performer) Liang Yang (Stunt Petformer), Florian Robin (Stunt Perfomer), James Cox (Stunt Performer), David Grant (Stunt Performer), A.J.Blackman (Stunt Performer), Andy Wareham (Stunt Performer), Will Willoughby (Stunt Performer) and Chloe Bruce (Daisy Ridley Stunt Double/Stunt Performer) 


Threepio is in the book!

I met up briefly with Mr. Anthony Daniels yesterday so he could sign the book. 

PAGE 1
Anthony Daniels (C-3PO)


Saturday, 18 June 2016

The first of the Creature and Droid Performers

Here are the first few signatures from Creature and Droid Performers. There will be many more to come over the next few weeks.


PAGE 144
Barbara Fadden

I don't actually know the name of Barbara's character, despite the fact that most of the characters from Maz's castle have now officially been named on the www.starwars.com databank. If anyone can enlighten me, then please do. She can be seen at the bar in James Clyne's illustration on the above page and on the far left of this Annie Leibovitz Vanity Fair photo. Click for a closer look.




PAGE 166
Paul Kasey (Ello Asty / Creature Choreographer)





PAGE 183
Nathalie Cuzner (PZ-4CO)





Costume Concept Artists

Getting all of the costume concept artists that worked on VII will take a while, as most of them have moved on to other movies, but I am on the case. Getting Glyn was easy though as he was a Co-Costume Designer on Rogue One. He drew Kylo straight on the page.


PAGE 12
Glyn Dillon (Costume Concept Artist)

More Heads of Department

Here are some more of the HODs that I have collected. I've still got quite a bit of work to do to complete this page, including getting hold of Rick Carter (Co-Production Designer), Roger Guyett (ILM Visual Effects Supervisor) and Dan Mindel (Director of Photography). Thanks to Sam Leake for getting Darren Gilford to sign for me. Fortunately he's still in the UK, as the Production Designer on 'Kingsman 2'

PAGE 4
Simon Emanuel (Unit Production Manager), Darren Gilford (Co-Production Designer), David Hodges (Sculpting HOD)

UK Art Department, Set Dec, Props, Creatures, Costume and Costume FX

These pages are packed with loads of signatures from friends and colleagues from all different creative departments. I've still got quite a few to collect and cram into these pages.


PAGE 6
Stephen Swain (Art Director), Oliver Roberts  (Art Director), Vivienne Jones (Assistant Costume Designer), Alex Hutchings (Art Department Modelmaker), Dominic Sikking  (Graphic Designer), Ben Harrington Groves  (Lead Assistant Set Decorator), Sam Keeble  (Assistant Costume Designer), Alistair Bullock (Senior Art Director), Vanessa Bastyan (Supervising Animatronics Designer), Rob Hayward  (Lead Prop Maker - Prop Shop), Gavin Dean (Draftsman), Jo Finkel (Art Director)

PAGE 7
Toby Hawkes (Costume FX Supervisor), Rob Seex (Lead Prop Maker - Prop Shop), Ashley Lamont (Art Director), Mathew Kerly (2nd Unit Standby Art Director), John Weller (Costume FX Supervisor), Keith Ferris (Lead Prop Maker - Prop Shop), Julie Pitt (Assistant Set Decorator)

Friday, 17 June 2016

More of the UK Art Department

Here are some pages which feature signed work from some of the UK Art Department.


PAGE 141
Gary Tomkins (Senior Art Director, Vehicles)

PAGE 155
Andrew Palmer (Art Director)

PAGE 158
Lydia Fry (Assistant Art Director), Matt Allsopp (Concept Artist)

PAGE 168
Lee Oliver (Props Concept Artist)

PAGE 184
Sam Leake (Draftsman)

PAGE 195
Me (Concept Modelmaker)

PAGE 207
Mark Harris (Art Director)

PAGE 237
Peter Dorme (Art Director)



More Concept Artist's Sketches

Here are a few more of the one-off sketches that I have received from the concept designers from both the UK and US (ILM) Art Departments.


PAGE 8
Andrew Wallin (Concept Artist)

PAGE 46
Ryan Church (Concept Artist)

PAGE 110
Christian Alzmann (Concept Artist)

PAGE 162
Matt Savage (Props Concept Artist)

PAGE 210
James Clyne (Concept Artist)


Creature FX Department

So far I've collected a fair few of the Creature FX crew including concept designers, sculptors and animatronics designers. They have signed characters that they worked on.

 
PAGE 11
Maria Cork (Creatures Hair Department Supervisor)

PAGE 115
Martin Rezard (Senior Sculptor), Andy Colquhoun (Senior Animatronics Technician)

PAGE 123
Gustav Hoegen (Supervising Animatronics Designer), Jake Lunt Davies (Creature Concept Designer)

PAGE 160
Waldo Mason (Creature Sculptor/Prosthetics Designer)

PAGE 198
Chris Clarke (Key Animatronic Designer)

PAGE 199
Steve Wright (Senior Sculptor), James Sandys (Senior Animatronic Designer)

PAGE 227
Ivan Manzella (Senior Sculptor)

PAGE 233
Luke Fisher (Senior Sculptor), Henrick Svensson (Creature Paint Finish Designer)


The first Principle is in the book!

The first of the principles are in, thanks to Brian Herring. Today Andy Serkis who plays 'Supreme Leader Snoke' signed page one of the book.

PAGE 1
Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke)



If you're not quite sure who Brian is, this is him...








Thursday, 16 June 2016

First Post... I'm half way there!

Those of you who know me are aware that I like to have a project or two on the go. This one is way more interesting than the usual prop gun, helmet or spaceship you would usually find on my bench.

I am collecting Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens cast and crew autographs in a copy of "The Art of The Force Awakens" I'm going for 150 in total, including UK and US Art Departments, Creatures, Costume, SFX, Set Dec, VFX, Performers, Puppeteers, Principles, Producers and Directors.   

It's taken almost 3 months, but with 73 signatures in the book I'm almost half way, and having just finished the pattern for what will become a cold-cast bronze display box, I thought it would be a good time to create a little blog.

Eventually, once all 150 signatures are in the book, it will be auctioned or even better, raffled with all of the money raised going to SENSE, a great charity for deafblind people, who (amongst other things) teach deafblind children and their parents how to communicate with each other.


The pattern for the display box.



I've got a few pages that are looking pretty full so far. This one is loaded with many of the heads of department that worked on VII, from the Art Department, SFX, Costume, Set Dec, Creatures, Construction and Props...


PAGE 5
Neil Lamont (Supervising Art Director), Chris Corbould (SFX Supervisor), Michael Kaplan, (Costume Designer),  Neal Scanlan (Creature Creative Supervisor), Pierre Bohanna (Costume FX Supervisor), Dave Crossman (Costume Supervisor), Lee Sandales (Set Decorator), Paul Hayes (Construction Supervisor) and Jamie Wilkinson (Prop Master).


Many of the concept artists that I've managed to contact, who were unable to sign in person, have very kindly done some great little illustrations with their signatures, that have been mounted into the book. Here are a few examples...


PAGE 85
Doug Chiang (Concept Artist)

PAGE 95
Erik Tiemens (Concept Artist)

PAGE 241
Thom Tenery (Concept Artist)


This afternoon I managed to add Dave Filoni to my page of Star Wars Directors...



BACK FLYLEAF
Rian Johnson (Director ''Star Wars: Episode VIII), Gareth Edwards (Director 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'), 
Dave Filoni (Supervising Director 'Star Wars: Rebels')


Here is another cool page. BB-8's makers and puppeteers...


PAGE 156
Josh Lee (Senior Animatronic Designer), Matt Denton (Electronic Development Supervisor), Brian Herring (Puppeteer) 
and Dave Chapman (Puppeteer)


You get the picture. I've got a load of pages that I still need to pop up here and I'll be adding more as I collect the signatures. The hard part is still to come... getting the principles. Wish me luck.