I love creativity! I have a very artistic mind filled with unlimited imagination. I have ideas piled up in my head I still need to pencil onto paper! 

 

EDUCATION

I studied four years of Art & Design at Bury College (2013-17), leaving with a Merit in my Level 3 Extended Diploma. In this time I spent a Summer doing work experience with the Art Department. As a student I had become friendly with the Art Technician staff so I thought to just offer my help in prepping the department for the new academic year. 

 

I then went on to practice effects in Film & Television at the University of Bolton in 2018. Choosing to switch from 'Special Effects' to 'Model Making Effects' in 2019 because I found myself more at home in that department. 

​

Unfortunately, my time as a student clashed with Covid 19 so a lot of my experience in the workshop was cut short. I did however pick up a new skill while isolated from the outside world, I kept my creative motivation going by teaching myself methods in Photoshop. I improved and developed my skills in graphic design to a point where I was producing work for other people and not just entertaining my own interests!

 

Despite the difficulties that came with the pandemic, I graduated university with Second Class Honours as a Bachelor of Design in 2021. However, I was not ready to leave yet, I felt I had more to learn and I wanted to make up for the time I lost during the pandemic. So I went on to do a Masters course in Film FX Creative Practice at the same university where I worked more on miniature effects. I suddenly found myself fascinated in techniques such as 'Kit-Bashing' and 'Scratchbuilding', in which various bits of scraps as well as parts found in model kits are collected and used to create something entirely new! I was amazed by how successful these methods were in films such as Blade Runner (1982) or franchises like Star Wars (1977 - present). The outcome for my second module was a huge Martian crater model with a small and detailed Human settlement base sat in the centre. I loved every moment of that project! 

I learned a lot of techniques and gained a lot of skills in practical effects. I even took part in non-module work during my time at university, including three Dalek projects! As soon as I helped my lecturer complete his Dalek prop as well as be the operator of the thing, I knew that's where I wanted to be! I also helped produce a large Christmas sleigh for a charity company and help renovate the university workshop, a lot of painting and also Photoshop work by producing a series of posters to be put on the walls in the corridor. 

​

WORK EXPERIENCE

Between finishing my undergrad course and starting my Master's, I was employed by Splinter Scenery (Ashton, Manchester) where I worked with a team to create a mesh structure in the form of Big Ben, which was covered in political books. We had a production line to seal thousands of books in plastic bags which were then attached to large sheets of mesh. 

 

My next employment was at Barrow Creative (Salford, Manchester) a short time after finishing university all together. I worked with a team in the last two weeks of a project that needed a lot of polly-carving and painting! The project was for a Winter display down in Oxford. It was actually down to my contacts and involvement at Splinter that got me into that short but successful time at Barrow. It doesn't hurt to gain as many friends in this industry as possible, often enough, it works in your favour! I recently had a video conversation with a contact on LinkedIn and in doing so I made a new friend and we're helping each other out!