Known for his rhythmic linework and playful imperfections, the Bristol-based illustrator and animator helps to turn a humble sneaker into a charming, charismatic character.
Con McHugh has teamed up with performance brand On to create a 60-second spot for the new Cloudboom Max running shoe, transforming it into a likeable character full of charm, wit, and bounce.
The campaign began with a simple idea: what if the shoe itself introduced its own features? On’s creative team imagined a sketched-on personality, complete with arms, ready to show off its tech. Con was invited to take that idea and run with it, shaping not only the look of the character but how it moved, gestured, and interacted with the script.
“It was a huge amount of trust,” says Con. “They had the voiceover locked, but very little else. I had the freedom to explore how Max looked and how he moved. We wanted him to feel ridiculously cool, not just a talking shoe.”
Drawing 1,400 hands
A big creative challenge soon unfolded: hands. For many illustrators, they’re the ultimate nemesis, often avoided or simplified. But this project required an entire sequence of them. Around 1,400 hand-drawn frames, to be exact.
Con wasn’t fazed and leaned into the opportunity. “I’d never been one to avoid drawing hands, but I hadn’t exactly drawn thousands either. We experimented with floating hands, gloved hands, and morphing hands. The final style was a playful mix – thick, bouncy, squishy, with just enough naivety to feel like street art, or something torn from my sketchbook.”
A mix of 2D and 3D
To give the shoe itself real weight and dimension, Con collaborated with TwoMuch Studio, which created a polished 3D render of the Cloudboom Max. The production process became a kind of creative rally: sketches and animatics bouncing between Con and TwoMuch until the timing and rhythm felt spot-on.
Once locked in place, Con set to work on the painstaking frame-by-frame animation, building up sequences over weeks of long days in his Bristol studio. “My days became this rhythm of cacao, stretches, drawing until midnight, maybe a sandwich, maybe a stroll by the harbour,” he laughs.
The result is a playful piece of mixed-media animation that fuses the charm of hand-drawn illustration with the sleekness of digital 3D. The final spot, complete with TwoMuch’s sound design, captures the personality of Max with humour and heart.
From jazz posters to global campaigns
Of course, Con is no stranger to combining analogue techniques with other media. His Bristol Jazz Festival animated poster series first put him on the radar in 2023, mixing music, movement, and character illustration in a way that felt fresh and memorable.
At the core of his practice is rhythm, restraint, and an embrace of imperfection. As a neurodivergent artist, he’s interested in how complex ideas can be distilled into clear, simple, and often witty visuals. His work carries a nostalgic, human touch that stands out in an age of polished digital design.
Based in Bristol, Con studied design at Norwich University of the Arts and illustration at Hochschule Mainz in Germany. He continues to balance commercial collaborations with personal projects, and, more recently, life with a new puppy called Mungo.