Shaun in the City: The Making of my Shaun the Sheep

Back in October, Aardman asked if I'd like to design one of their 'Shaun in the City' Shaun statues and base my design on my London-centric picture book 'The Queen's Hat': a funny tale in which HRH is taken on an impromptu tour of some of London's most famous landmarks. The statue went on to fetch a staggering £15,000, which was all donated to Wallace & Gromit's Children's Chrity. In reverse-ordered photos, here is the making of my Shaun the Sheep, which is currently part of the London trail. My Shaun is sponsored by Studio Canal and is located just off of Carnaby St, London. The trail, which will raise funds for Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Charity and The Grand Appeal, makes a great day out. It ends on the 25th of May.

You can click to enlarge the photos.

I finally got to see my statue in situ.

It was great to see it all laquered up.

Before I saw my statue in place, I saw lots of photos of it. Photo by emmagrattidge

Before I saw my statue in place, I saw lots of photos of it. Photo by emmagrattidge

To date, Instagram has just over 4000 posts tagged with ShaunInTheCity. Photo by yuttakorn

To date, Instagram has just over 4000 posts tagged with ShaunInTheCity. Photo by yuttakorn

It's great to see all of these photos. Photo by eimontaite

It's great to see all of these photos. Photo by eimontaite

Another BAAA-rilliant photo found on Instagram. Photo by flaviabenevides

Another BAAA-rilliant photo found on Instagram. Photo by flaviabenevides

Finishing touches!

Finishing touches!

I used this sliced spray paint lid to paint the eyes.

It worked perfectly.

Union Jacks all done.

My signature.

Lids from sweet tubs came in handy.

Lids from sweet tubs came in handy.

A waving guard. There are five hidden characters from 'The Queen's Hat' on this.

Working late into the night.

Detail of the ear.

I left the pupils until last.

Lots of brushes.

Acrylic paints.

The flags took ages. I painted the red and blue first and then I added the grey string.

So far, so good!

Really pleased with the overall effect.

The legs were awkward to paint.

My legs.

Black on. It was time to paint the bunting.

Three more legs to go.

Three more legs to go.

Selfie. My 'The Queen's Ht' bunting is in the background.

Selfie. My 'The Queen's Ht' bunting is in the background.

Painting on the black.

Painting on the black.

Finished applying the base coat (4 layers of white masonry.)

Finished applying the base coat (4 layers of white masonry.)

I figured Union Jack bunting would look pretty cool.

What would happen to Shaun if he'd found himself in 'The Queen's Hat'? He'd get entangled in bunting!

First coat of masonry paint.

Me and my naked Shaun the Sheep. Initially, I was going to paint London icons all over it.

The reception area at Aardman.

I couldn't take many photos, but I could get one of me next to this famous windmill!

I visited Aarman shortly after I had the invite.

I love all of these Gromits!

I want them all!

Brilliant designs. Inspiring!

To end this blog post, here are a few fantastic tweets I've received.

Go visit the official Shaun in the City site HERE and go download the fantastic sheep spotting app!