An Interview With Artist Tomas McAdam
My name is Tomas McAdam. I am a self-taught, multi-disciplined artist with a strong passion for storytelling and character design. Originally from Nottingham, in the UK, I have been living in Barcelona, Spain for the last six years, where I met my wife, Fernanda, while working as a commercial video editor, animator, and graphic designer.
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- A Passion for Character Design and Sculpture
- Creating Anomie, a Fictional Post-apocalyptic World
- The Sky Raider Clan
- Making Rob “Rash” Reeker and Harley
- Rob “Rash” Reeker's Fate
- Tomas McAdam’s Inspirations
- Practical vs. Digital Sculpting
- Adding Realistic Details
- What’s Next for Tomas McAdam?
(Tomas McAdam with his wife, Fernanda, and their dog.)
A Passion for Character Design and Sculpture
Although I enjoy video and graphic work, my true passion lies in character design, sculpture, and...just making things! It took a while to find my true calling, having tried many other art forms before taking the plunge into sculpture and character design several years ago. Once I discovered my love for the art form, there was no turning back.
(Bloated Mutant (1/6th scale) - Monster Clay.)
Creating Anomie, a Fictional Post-apocalyptic World
Since then, when I am not in the office, I have been in my tiny studio at home working on building a giant imaginary world I hope to bring to comic book format very soon, with further hopes that one day my imagined world might extend to the game and film industry.
(Cyborg Punk Raider from ANOMIE (1/6th scale) - Chavant NSP, painted with acrylics.)
My fictional world, which I call ANOMIE, depicts an alternate reality version of Earth following a global war towards the end of the 21st century.
(Lurker, from ANOMIE (1/6th scale) Monster Clay, painted with acrylics.)
The scope of the world is massive, following several groups of survivors in different locations around the world as they try to find their way in this brutal and unforgiving environment.
(Butcher Pete from ANOMIE (1/6th scale) - Chavant NSP, painted with acrylics.)
(Jess AKA Gas Girl from ANOMIE (1/6th scale) - Monster Clay.)
The Sky Raider Clan
I've already created several intertwining story arcs, written the first of many plotlines, and sculpted many of the characters that will appear in the stories. The Sky Raiders and Rob “Rash’s” Reekers are just two of the many clans in ANOMIE that formed after the war.
(Sky Raider sculpture (1/6th scale) - Monster Clay.)
The survivors are up against impossible odds, faced with a toxic version of Earth, mutated creatures, and a multitude of vicious clans. Both the writing style and overall aesthetic of ANOMIE are gritty, with a dash of dry and sometimes dark humor thrown in.
(Sky Raider - composited from a photo of the actual sculpt in Photoshop.)
Making Rob “Rash” Reeker and Harley
Rob "Rash" Reeker is the leader of a notorious clan based in the Western Territories (which used to be the USA). The piece, Rob “Rash” Reeker and Harley (the hoverbike) is made from many different materials. Rob himself is raw Monster Clay, painted with acrylics. Harley is made from various scrap plastics like light fixtures, spray bottles, and layered plastic card stock pieces. Everything else is made from scrap plastic, fabric, wood, metal, epoxy, and lots of super glue!
Woooooow just smashed 1000 likes! That’s crazy! Thanks everyone! Truly thankful. Here’s a sneak peek at my latest character, scratch build hover bike included! Still a long way to go with it, but you get the idea! This is another character from the same world as the Sky Raider which is still live on Kickstarter!
Posted by Killaton Corp on Monday, September 17, 2018
Here’s a sneak peek at my character build with scratch built hoverbike included!
(The making of Harley the hoverbike.)
(The making of Rob “Rash” Reeker and Harley the hoverbike.)
(The making of Rob “Rash” Reeker.)
I wanted Rash to look intense and menacing, as well as to imply the speed at which he was traveling. This forced me to learn several new techniques, like dipping fabric in glue to make it stiff and posable. The same can be done with chain and super glue!
(Details of the finished piece.)
The biggest challenge was lifting the bike off the ground and trying to hide the metal rod that supports the whole piece. In the end, I did this by making it look like he was smashing through plants and trees.
(More details.)
The various fleshy trophies are a mixture of bad casts and other bits I had lying around, which I think works well, as they’re all part of the same world anyway! My favorite parts of the piece are the expression on his face and the spiked baseball bat made from real wood and metal!
Rob “Rash” Reeker's Fate
My studio is very small and full already, and Rash is a big piece, so I knew I couldn’t keep him around for long. I took some decent photos of him and decided to try and sell him. Because he was made for the competition, I decided to offer half of any money made to a local charity.
(Rob “Rash” Reeker and Harley (the hoverbike) seen from the front.)
The piece is now sold, and I plan to donate half of the money raised to a local animal shelter here in Barcelona. I would like to mold and cast more of my work, but I can’t afford the silicone to do it with all of them.
(Rob “Rash” Reeker and Harley (the hoverbike) finished painted figure.)
Tomas McAdam’s Inspirations
I am inspired by the great character designers, SFX artists, and sculptors of the film and entertainment industry, including The Shiflett Brothers, Jordu Schell, Stan Winston, Simon Lee, Dom Qwek, and Rick Baker, to name just a few. But this isn’t my only source of inspiration. Often inspiration comes from illustrators such as Pascal Blanché, Craig Paton, and Domenico Pagano or from a multitude of other places such as video games and comic books.
I grew up on video games and 80s movies, thanks to my older brothers, so a lot of my world-building concepts are based on sci-fi and dystopian stuff. I follow a lot of lesser-known sculptors, writers, and illustrators on social media. I see a lot of amazing work out there, a lot of which gets lost in the vastness of it all. I think this is a real shame, and so I try my best to support and collaborate with other artists as much as possible. We’re all in this together, and I have no problem sharing what I’ve learned to help other artists. Traditional sculpture is a dying art, and the more people that do it, the more chance there is for a revival in the industry. Guillermo del Toro, you’re our only hope!
(Tribal alien maquette (1/6th scale) - Chavant NSP.)
Practical vs. Digital Sculpting
Although relatively proficient in digital sculpture techniques, I prefer to use clay and paint the old-fashioned way.
There’s a certain special something to a physical piece of artwork that can get lost in a digital piece. I’m not dismissing digital sculpture by any means, and I definitely see the positives in the medium. There is some absolutely insane work being produced digitally, but I just prefer to work traditionally myself. I like taking a load of random objects and making something from it.
(WIP - Deerstalker (1/6th scale) - Monster Clay.)
(WIP - Deerstalker (1/6th scale) - Monster Clay.)
Adding Realistic Details
When I make a character, I’m not just thinking about it at that particular moment. I try to imagine every aspect of the character, from their personality and goals to their weapons and purpose in the world they exist in. For me, everything needs to make sense. Any tubes, cables, and equipment need to look like they would actually function in real life, or my brain starts to shout at me!
(Details of the base of the Rob “Rash” Reeker sculpture.)
What’s Next for Tomas McAdam?
My dream is to work full-time as a character artist and sculptor, doing the work I love. Achieving this dream probably means moving to the USA at some point in the near future, and Fernanda and I are excited about the potential.
It’s not easy working nine hours in an office just to fund my artwork, often sacrificing sleep and social time to put the hours in on my art. Yes, my wife is an absolute angel! She knows I won’t be happy until I’m doing it all day, every day, so I’m now actively looking for work in the industry. In the meantime, I will continue to work on the ANOMIE project, continue to sculpt, and continue to make things as much as I can.
I was totally overwhelmed by winning the Stan Winston School Character Sculpting Contest. I still can’t believe that I won. The level of work I saw in the other entries made me think that I didn’t stand a chance. I’ve been an admirer of Stan Winston School and the team for years, and Monster Makers are my favorite brand for materials. So, I’m thrilled to receive the prizes, but the thought of just being recognized by such a legendary institution is much more valuable to me than anything else. It’s given some validity to what I’m doing. It’s much, much more than a hobby to me. It’s my purpose.
- Tomas McAdam
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You can follow Tomas on the following pages:
- LinkedIn: Tomas McAdam
- Twitter: @tomasmcadam
- Instagram: @killatoncorp
- Facebook: Killaton Corp