'Working on Wallace & Gromit was very special'

Gav Strange says he grew up watching Wallace & Gromit

Gav Strange is a man who firmly believes he has the best job in the world.

The 42-year-old is a designer and director at Aardman, the studio known for creating animated films and shows including Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep.

And he worked as a graphic artist on Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, the studio's latest project, which attracted more than nine million viewers on Christmas Day.

He said: "There was this real energy of, we're making something that is both totally familiar and something I think people are going to love, but with an air of freshness and looking to the future."

As well as films and TV shows, Aardman does exhibitions and live events

Mr Strange's first job was as a graphic designer in his home city of Leicester, but decided to strike out somewhere new in his 20s.

"Because I didn't go to university, I didn't live in a different city," he said.

"At 23 or 24 I felt like I needed to go somewhere new and Bristol was the place for me."

He then won a job at Aardman, where he has worked for 17 years as both a designer and director.

"It's a really special place because the people that work there are so in love with what they do and they're so proud of what they do," Mr Strange said.

"They're all incredible craftspeople."

One of the sequences he worked on for Vengeance Most Fowl was when Norbert, a new character, comes to life.

"You see the world through his eyes as he's digitally scanning everything," Mr Strange said.

"I was very fortunate enough to do the design and animation of those bits, so just being a part of it was so special."

Mr Strange also made a project called Wallace & Gromit Shot on iPhone, which was projected on to the front of Battersea Power Station in London every night in December.

When asked if he had the best job in the world, Mr Strange said: "I really feel like I do, and honestly, I feel so proud of it."

Mr Strange said the latest film used traditional techniques of stop-frame animation, but also used 3D printing and rapid prototyping