Being an actor, there are periods (some very long) where being creative just doesn’t happen. Some of those periods you are grateful for that because you do need to switch off at points. My main interests are football and boxing. However considering Plymouth Argyle’s recent travails against relegation it wasn’t working this time…
Which is why I turned once again to animating. My animation is self-taught (still making a ton of stupid mistakes) and to be kind to myself, crude! Not in the salacious application of that word, more in the construction and execution of said animation. As an advert for trying to entice you to watch any of my output you’re probably going;
“Alex, man, there’s hard sell and then there’s no sell!”
Heck, I harbour dreams – fevered, ludicrous dreams of being a one man Laika studio. Or being a hybrid of Harryhausen/Lynch/Cronenberg. Reality then gives me a swift kick in the shin and runs off cackling. Little bleeder. That kick, which has a left small bruise by the way, is helpful.
Part of the creative process demands that you let certain ideas and goals go. Budget, time, resources or sheer gaps in expertise dictate that. Yep, creativity on a budget comes with a helping of compromise folks. So why not embrace those dang limitations? Why not have a ‘get it done nice and quickly’ project? That’s why the entire budget was a whopping £4.
The plasticine and an app were my only outlays. Everything else was left over from a previous project and those materials weren’t glamorous;
• Cardboard
• Children’s paint
• Gaffer tape (always needed but now I’m out of the stuff!)
• A paper sheet of stone flooring bought on a whim
The result is Fool’s Gold:
Hopefully, if you’re the kind of person who is looking off the beaten track for something, it works for you.
Until the next time brothers and sisters!
Alex
Alexander Warn 