Sculpting a miniature Shaun the Sheep began well but slowly went down hill.
The workshop to make the character was part of Brighton Fringe’s schedule of events and comes ahead of the anticipated Shaun the Sheep by the Sea trail.
The spectacle will see hospice charity Martlets, which helped organise the previous Snowdogs and Snails installations in Brighton and Hove, place more than 40 individually designed sculptures of Shauns around the city’s streets, parks and other public areas between September 9 and November 5.
Aardman senior model maker Jim Parkyn talked us through how to sculpt our Shauns at the event hosted at Caravanserai’s Luna Parc tent near St Peter's Church.
Aardman is the animation studio responsible for Shaun as well other beloved characters including Wallace and Gromit.
While we worked, Jim shared anecdotes about working on the Shaun the Sheep production and told us facts about how the show is made, including how one episode takes around two weeks to make.
I thought I was doing well as I created the body and tail out of plasticine, but Shaun’s head proved tricky and I soon couldn’t contain my laughter as my creation looked more and more bizarre and tortured.
The battle commenced with Shaun’s legs, with the too-long sticks repeatedly poking out the other side of him, making him look like a lamb kebab.
I managed two legs and gave up as the time had run out.
Once back to the office I managed to attach his other legs and was amazed that he actually stood up unassisted.
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I attempted to finely tune his feet but with the cocktail sticks sticking out of them there was little I could do.
Shaun now sits at my desk with a look of surprise as if he has seen something horrific play out before his eyes.
The event was a fun hour spent with Jim creating a humorous atmosphere and it was nice to have a go at something creative.
It will be a wonderful sight to see much better Shaun the Sheep sculptures dotted around the city in a few months’ time.
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