Wallace and Gromit creators give 'hands-on' clay modelling workshop in Preston

Children in Preston were invited to join an expert model maker from Wallace and Gromit creators, Aardman Animations, for a hands-on clay modelling workshop at the Harris Museum.

There were three sessions across the day on Friday in which youngsters made their own clay Gromit the dog, which they could then take home.

George Watson, based in Bristol, is a model maker who led the sessions. He has worked on the ‘Shaun the Sheep’ films, ‘Early Man’ and a number of adverts Aardman Animations has been involved in, such as ‘Turtle Journey’ for Greenpeace.

The 31-year-old said: “I’m always surprised that they always do a really nice job but I think they surprise themselves more.

“They might not know that they’re going to get a really good result.”

A number of parents got involved in the modelling too.

He continued: “The adults that come up think they’re doing something nice for their kid and end up really enjoying it themselves.”

George gave his advice for budding animators like he once was.

He said: “All the time you hear people saying their child does loads of animations and lots of little models, just keep doing that and keep a record of what you’re making and creating because you can see how you’re improving. Keep practicing and don’t throw away your work."

His workshops are used to motivate children to be more creative and for them to realise there are careers that aren’t based on academia alone.

He added: “I’m looking to inspire but also just getting children back to being creative again because so much funding is being cut from arts and music at schools so it’s a really nice way of getting kids to realise that there are creative careers out there.”