A MONSTER has been casting a dark shadow over this year's movie awards season.

Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water – about a mysterious, scaled creature that lives in a water tank in a lab – almost got a record number of Oscar nominations with 13.

It is also hotly tipped for the BAFTA awards night with 12 nods.

But the man who brought the Mexican filmmaker's vision to life is actually Warrington's own Mike Hill.

And Mike is even up for a BAFTA himself. He has been nominated in the special visual effects category and is competing against against the people who brought the likes of Dunkirk, The Last Jedi and Blade Runner 2049 to life.

Dallam born Mike, who Guillermo described as 'the father of the creature' was the lead designer of The Shape of the Water's complex and misunderstood 'monster', partly inspired by 1954's Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Mike made a career out of everything that goes bump in the night when he moved to Los Angeles in 2005.

The first person he worked with was his idol Rick Baker, who won the inaugural Academy Award for best make-up. They teamed up on The Wolfman and Men in Black 3.

Since then Mike has worked on the likes of Mel Gibson's Apocalypto and the hit TV series American Horror Story.

He met Guillermo almost 10 years ago when he sculpted some models for the director's personal collection.

The pair became friends and that lead to them collaborating on The Shape of Water.

Mike, who grew up in Higham Avenue in Dallam and Clough Avenue in Orford, said: "Guillermo is the best to work with. He understands the importance of a creature such as this. That's what makes us friends."

But the 'monster' – who Guillermo nicknamed 'Charlie' – was a little strange even by Mike's standards.

The Cold War era film will see Sally Hawkins' lonely janitor Elisa form a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.

So while most of Mike's monsters have to be repulsive, 'leading man Charlie' (played by Doug Jones) had to be attractive.

Mike added: "Guillermo explained that even though he's a human-fish hybrid, he still was the leading man. He asked me to give it a soul and try to make it attractive.

"He had hired other artists to work on the creature before he contacted me. Although the previous ones were beautiful sculptures, they really didn't fit Guillermo's vision.

"He's got a really keen eye and knows exactly what will work. The first thing I changed was the entire face.

"Guillermo's insistence on this thing being 'handsome' was not easy when combining a man and a fish.

"It meant I had to give the thing kissable lips and build the face out from there – strong jaw, cleft chin and all the things that make a face look strong and heroic.

"Then I designed the body to be athletic and not too scaly. I drew a couple of sketches and Guillermo loved them."

Guillermo and Mike know that feeling of falling in love with a creature because they both have a thing for Boris Karloff's Frankenstein's Monster which also played into the design.

Mike, a former Montford High School, said: "We decided to give him a slim but vascular body similar to Karloff's. Pretty ripped. Slim but strong."

From his designs in November 2015 to the first shoots in September 2016, Mike worked with Legacy FX, a special effects company who have worked on the likes of Iron Man, Pacific Rim and Thor.

At the last minute Guillermo wanted a change in the colour scheme and it was eventually agreed that 'Charlie' should be black/blue on top with a gold underside after Mike spotted a goldfish by chance that looked like that in a restaurant fish tank.

After sculpting various scale models Mike made four full body fish man suits from head to toe, with separate gloves, for actor Doug Jones to wear.

Mike added: "Once the creature was finished, we flew to Toronto in Canada, where the movie was filmed.

"I was on set everyday for two months with the creature. The suit and make-up took three hours to apply and one hour to remove.

"We built radio-control gills, which gave a great aquatic look. Doug Jones, who plays the creature, is fantastic and was very patient.

"He really brings these things to life. It was a wonderful experience,all the cast were great especially Doug and Sally Hawkins."

Naturally one of the big challenges was immersing the outfits in water every day.

Mike said: "It was made from foam latex with some silicone areas to add translucently to the fins. The facial appliances/pieces were new every day.

"We also had 10 sets of eyes and several different versions of dentures. The creature spent a lot time in water which was very tough on the paint.

"So I'd spend a lot of the time repairing the paint on days he wasn't on set."

Meanwhile, Mike continues to work as a sculptor with some pretty high profile commissions.

The dad-of-two created a 7ft bust of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s Monster for the Art Gallery of Ontario and Metallica's Kirk Hammett is a fan of his work.

Mike added: "He's a huge horror movie fan and has an incredible collection. He bought the original costumes that Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi wore in The Black Cat and White Zombie and he hired me to replicate the actors as life size statues for the costumes to be displayed upon.

"Since then I've done several classic characters for him: Dracula, The Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster to name a few.

"I have always seen them as art, so its cool to see others appreciating that too."

Mike will also be soon returning home to work on a currently under wraps movie that is being shot in the north west and he is even working on his own short film.

He said: "It's a homage to the classic monsters but with a modern touch. I'm excited about it. It's about time one of my sculptures got up and walked.

"My friend Jason Laughton, who I went to Montford School with, has helped me immensely with drawing the storyboards. We used to work on projects together in our teens so it's come full circle. He's been a great teammate and supporter."