Susannah Shaw: Model Makers

Susannah Shaw Model Makers
For professional animation, the artists at a model making company like the U.K.’s Mackinnon & Saunders work from the animators’ sketches and then make a 3D maquette, a blueprint from which they make molds to make the models. Mackinnon & Saunders started working with Cosgrove Hall Films in Manchester in the 1970s. At Cosgrove Hall, they learned their trade as the company developed and grew. Many techniques we all use today were developed at Cosgrove Hall and many world-class animators such as Paul Berry, Loyd Price, Sue Pugh and Barry Purves learned the ropes there.

Mackinnon & Saunders specializes in models for series work and features, making puppets that are robust and easy to repair with standardized parts to keep them exactly the same all the way through the shoot.

Ian Mackinnon describes the process: A lot of the animators we’ve worked with over the years have done their own model making as well. People like Jeff Newitt and Ken Lidster from Loose Moose. They would probably make their own puppets if they had time to do it. They like to give us some sort of reference to work from, whether it’s a sculpt or a sketch. It’s the job of the sculptors then to interpret it and take it from a sketch into 3D form.

Whilst the sculptors are working on blocking the character out they’ve got to be conscious of what the job ent