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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Black on. It was time to paint the bunting.

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

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!

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

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.

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

@MrSteveAntony Monet getting into the spirit of the Queen's Hat :) @shaun_inthecity pic.twitter.com/fWlqG9JItO
— Jo Byatt (@JoanneByatt1) April 11, 2015

@MrSteveAntony Monet and Sienna Loved Your Shaun especially finding the hidden Gems! @shaun_inthecity pic.twitter.com/wgpiZRQAWg
— Jo Byatt (@JoanneByatt1) April 11, 2015

Look who we spotted today @MrSteveAntony #ShaunInTheCity pic.twitter.com/hAHaOpkA7y
— Action For Kids (@ActionForKids) April 10, 2015

Found the Rule Britannia #shauninthecity by @mrsteveantony pic.twitter.com/WsuKwi9yGQ
— Andrew Sharp (@Andrewsharp1) April 4, 2015

@MrSteveAntony my friend and I with your Shaun 😀 pic.twitter.com/rP8H8WKjLc
— Sami J Toomer (@samij_toomer) April 12, 2015

Am on the @shauninthecity trail today. 2nd stop: @MrSteveAntony's sheep inspired by #TheQueensHat! & I found butler! pic.twitter.com/J5dQA9UQTN
— Rebecca Logan (@bookshopbecky) April 12, 2015

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

50 differently designed Shaun the Sheep have made their way to London this weekend for the much anticipated Shaun in the City London Trail, including mine, which is inspired by 'The Queen's Hat' and sponsored by Studio Canal.

I am so thrilled to be part of this absolutely amazing project.

Everything you need to know about the trail, you can find HERE, including a link to download the super-fun sheep-spotting app!

But most importantly, this is for an incredibly worthwhile cause. Ultimately, the sheep will be auctioned off in October to raise funds for the Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Charity.

So, what are you waiting for, go download the Android or Apple app!

As soon as I'm back from the Bologna Children's Book Fair, I'm heading straight to London!

PS. Look out for the hidden 'The Queen's Hat' characters in the bunting!

BLOG UPDATE: New photos added. I'll add more from my visit to London and some work-in-progress shots soon.

TO SEE MAKING OF MY SHAUN AND THE CITY, PRESS HERE.