Gromit Unleashed

Most people around the world have heard the names 'Wallace & Gromit', and if you are local to the city of Bristol (UK) then its something you have grown up with. Local animation company 'Aardman Animations' have started a project to help raise money for Bristol's Children's Hospital's 'Grand Appeal'. The project is to have 70 five foot tall Gromits dotted all around bristol, each of which will be decorated by a mix of famous and local artists, in a bid to raise awareness of the appeal and to raise money through a charity auction that takes place in september.

I can happily say i have not one, but two of my designs have been chosen. This all came about as an work led opportunity through a group effort at RED©, the design agency i work for. I wont have to do it all alone, I will be overseeing the creations and will have help from fellow colleagues. I can safely say it is by no means a small undertaking, and i am very nervous, but proud to have gotten this far. At this point i can not say what the designs are, but i can show you the Gromits unpainted and some examples of finished ones.

As you can see the scale of the Gromits make them quite a formidable canvas. The Gromits shown above were by iconic designer Paul Smith, with his ultra-contemporary stripes and Cath Kidston, who has decorated Gromit in her renowned floral print. Simon Tofield, award-winning illustrator and animator of the cartoon series Simon’s Cat has covered Gromit in mini cat illustrations and the animation director of Disney's ground-breaking Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Richard Williams, has adorned Gromit in dazzlingly bright rainbow hues. Also Vivian Westwood will be designing one, so no pressure then.

On a personal note, I am very happy to support the 'Grand Appeal'. When my son was born, I had to deliver him myself at home without medical help. When the panic subsided I saw that he was born with some of his bowels on the outside. So within 2 hours of his birth he was rushed into surgery at Bristol's Children's Hospital where they patched my son up, it took three weeks of intensive care. The hospital staff were amazing and helped us through this tough time. My son will be five this year, and that is thanks to the amazing doctors and nurses at the hospital, I can never repay them for what they did for my son and my family. 

I hope I can produce two Gromits so awesome that they make lots of money for the hospital.

For more information on Gromit Unleashed (click here) or if you want to support the 'Grand Appeal' (click here). 

Thanks for reading.