Hi!
I’m Pete - a Graphic Designer, Illustrator and Video Editor based in the Forest of Dean.
I have 4 years of Graphic Design experience, and 36 years of life experience. I'm curious and I'm dedicated to my work.
I love to sink my teeth into a new project and there's always something new to learn in the process. Being creative for work, and improving daily is why I can honestly say I love my job.
I like to keep my finger on the pulse with new technologies and features - not so much so I can stay ahead, though that is obviously a bonus - but because it's interesting, and it's exciting to consider what can be achieved with new tools.
I love to talk with people about their vision, brainstorm ideas with them and spend the time sketching and conceptualising the best ways to bring that vision to life. It's the way my mind has always worked, far before I began designing as a profession. It feels natural to want to help others problem-solve in a creative way. That's just how I work.
I love to talk with people about their vision, brainstorm ideas with them and spend the time sketching and conceptualising the best ways to bring that vision to life. It's the way my mind has always worked, far before I began designing as a profession. It feels natural to want to help others problem-solve in a creative way. That's just how I work.
Early connections
I was introduced to various art forms at an early age by my Grandad, often spending time at my grandparents house sketching and watching 'how to draw cartoons' VHS tapes, Watercolour Challenge on TV, making homemade comic strips, painting with Watercolours and dabbling with Acrylics. My Grandad was a great watercolour artist and always encouraged me to join him on rainy days.
My Grandad was very influential in my early years, and my parents always kept what I painted or drew. I started to play instruments and make music, though I always kept my music as private as I could. Without those early connections with creativity I wouldn’t be who I am today. Growing up I always found myself making something.
Later on one of my cousins studying Art at University introduced me to other more contemporary styles of art, and around the same time I was swept up with writing music and skateboarding - both equally creative, the latter in particular introducing me to a whole new creative environment, full of creative people.
Nowadays using technology and modern techniques I love to try new things and find solutions to problems in pursuit of a new result. I'm always learning - something I believe is important, and also very gratifying.
I was introduced to various art forms at an early age by my Grandad, often spending time at my grandparents house sketching and watching 'how to draw cartoons' VHS tapes, Watercolour Challenge on TV, making homemade comic strips, painting with Watercolours and dabbling with Acrylics. My Grandad was a great watercolour artist and always encouraged me to join him on rainy days.
My Grandad was very influential in my early years, and my parents always kept what I painted or drew. I started to play instruments and make music, though I always kept my music as private as I could. Without those early connections with creativity I wouldn’t be who I am today. Growing up I always found myself making something.
Later on one of my cousins studying Art at University introduced me to other more contemporary styles of art, and around the same time I was swept up with writing music and skateboarding - both equally creative, the latter in particular introducing me to a whole new creative environment, full of creative people.
Nowadays using technology and modern techniques I love to try new things and find solutions to problems in pursuit of a new result. I'm always learning - something I believe is important, and also very gratifying.
Canada
I started to yearn to leave the UK in my teens, visiting friends I'd met online in Canada in 2006. After that experience I hit the road, and in 2008 I moved to Canada for a time, snowboarding in the Rockies, and Whistler. I met some wonderful people and channeled my creative energy into Snowboarding, eventually becoming a qualified CASI level 2 snowboard instructor and a level 1 Park instructor. This period was undoubtedly the most free I have ever felt, and gave me so many experiences I'll never forget. I even worked at a couple of cinemas, where I would feed the projectors with movie reels that came in the post in multiple locked cases and had to be stitched together. I was at the cinema in Banff to witness the transition to the modern digital format, eventually downloading movies and trailers from the cloud into huge projectors. We would put on midnight showings for friends in town. It was a good time.
I did find time to learn how to crochet hats, keeping my hands and mind busy, and sold them to skiers for a time too. They were by no means masterpieces, but if you live in a ski town believe me, this kind of stuff was popular back then!
She said yes!
I spent 3 years working and seeing the country before meeting Steph, a kind-hearted Canadian who agreed to marry me on January 8th 2023. We've been together for 10+ years and we both currently live in the Forest of Dean in the UK. We're getting married in August 2024!
Volunteer Work
I've always volunteered for things I find interesting. From a Youth Centre in Whistler, BC to Gardening projects in my hometown, litter picking or festivals, I'm quite likely to sign up for things both to help, and to gain knowledge and experience.
Campus Pool Skatepark
It’s so much more than a skatepark - through Campus I met and photographed mural painters at work (RichT mural below as an example), worked on a videography project teaching 14-18 year olds how to plan, shoot and edit short documentaries through the lens of skateboarding with Clockwise Films (more on that below), made reels showing off what we’re up to for social media & videos of event nights, and met professionals across the video, photography, art and skate spectrum in the process.
A few of us used to make videos for the fun of it, like this one on the right of a staff member making paper bags for the Skatepark shop for Instagram.
I love to edit video. I think it stems from a love of music in truth - I think music choice can make or break a video. I love to match the rhythm to the pace and beat of the video, let it influence transitions, matching lyrics to what's happening on-screen, and creating a mood with the music and footage working together. It's a joy.
Skate to Screen Workshop
Skate to Screen was a 3-day workshop teaching 14-18 year olds to create thought-provoking short documentaries through the lens of skateboarding. The participants were put into teams and assigned a pro skater to film over day 2 at well known spots in Bristol, and they spent day 3 editing their footage and choosing the tone of their film based on their footage by adding music. Day 1 was spent covering filming techniques & writing interview questions to put to their pro skater the following day so they could plan their films before beginning them.
I loved working with younger people enthusiastic about film making, and to do this hand-in-hand with Clockwise Films, Get Your Bearings, VANS, Vanguard & Shextreme was a great opportunity. I skated with the team on day 1 for practice material and filming techniques, listened to the teams ideas and chaperoned on day 2 and helped in the editing suite day 3 as a regular user of Adobe Premiere. We also conducted interviews with the participants on day 3 to help crystallise their thoughts on where film might play a part in their careers, as well as to record the impact of the workshop overall.
The films made by the teams are on YouTube and are all excellent! You can view them here.
Skate to Screen unfortunately couldn't happen in the years after it took place in 2021, but I'm ever hopeful there will be a repeat in future. There is also talk of a still photography workshop in the pipeline called 'Focus' which would be another excellent opportunity for young people.
Digital art
I always try to find time to illustrate projects of my own, so I made a page on this site with a few examples. My Digital Art page is here.
In 2022 I joined a collective called the Art of Compassion Project. 100% of the proceeds of items sold raise money for animal related charities and charitable organisations. I submitted my first submission to an Oracle Deck project they were running, where each card is a different animal by a different artist. I was offered to complete the crow card, and the decks went into print in late 2022.
Animation
I'm still quite new to frame-by-frame animation, but have used it multiple times in both work projects and personal projects. I'm very familiar with Procreate and Procreate Dreams, their new animation software. I'm very keen to continue developing my animation skills, as it's something I've always found fascinating.
I have plenty of experience animating in Adobe Premiere and After Effects as using keyframing is a lot quicker and easier!
If you think I might be able to help you with a project, get in touch. I'd love to hear from you and I'm very interested to talk to you about your needs & goals!