From creating some of the most definitive characters from Dr Who and The Wolfman to building one of the largest miniature film sets of its time, now Peter Tindall has organised the only convention of its kind in Europe called Creaturegeddon, which will take place at The Langley in Watford.

The event celebrates the art of creatures explains the 49-year-old, who lives in Windsor. It is a chance for people to meet some of the greatest monster makers and prosthetic make-up artists in the world of cinematography.

Spine-tingling army of trolls, aliens, werewolves, dragons, gremlins and orcs are among the VIPs on the guest list for this festival of fear and fiction, which will bring together the finest creature designers, concept sculptors, illustrators, fantasy sculptors, prosthetic make-up artists and creature suit performers for the two-day show.

Peter, who grew up in Scarborough in Yorkshire, claims is hair has gone grey very quickly since he started organising Creaturegeddon. He says: “You get a lot of science-fiction conventions and fantasy conventions, but there is nothing much that specifically looks at the creatures behind the sci-fi or the fantasy films. This is about the illustrators, the designers, the sculptors and special affects teams in film.

“We did a convention last year for the first time and it was a great success and as a result we have had to move venues.”

Guest speakers at this year’s event include Nick Dudman, who was the creature designer for all the Harry Potter films; double Oscar winning Mark Coulier, who is known for his work in The Iron Lady, World War Z and The Grand Budapest Hotel; Jordu Schell a Hollywood designer who has worked on everything from Men in Black to Alien vs Predator and Howard Berger, known for his creature designs in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and The Walking Dead.

Describing his role, Peter, who is currently working on a film project at Pinewood Studios, says: “I am more of a special effects technician. We take designs, and from them we fabricate and make the finished things.

“I think the most challenging thing about our job is to remain dedicated, because the work that we do, we often have to do incredibly long hours in difficult situations. The film that I am working on now we are doing 16/17-hour days and then we are working in workshops that are hot, using a lot of chemicals so to try and keep up the enthusiasm, drive and the passion is quite challenging.

“But you do the job and then you go and see the film in the cinema and you see it up on the screen and suddenly it all becomes clear why you do this type of stuff.

“One that I am particularly proud to have worked on is not a creature that I created, but the work that I did on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - we built the miniature city, and at the time it was the largest miniature set that had been built for a film – it was something like 20,000 square feet.”

As a child Peter says he always enjoyed playing with Plasticine, building models and drawing, but what inspired him to pursue a career in creature-making for films was seeing The Dark Crystal.

He says: “I must have been about 13-years-old and as soon as I saw that film it just knocked me off my feet really. The beauty of the creature designs, the way it was rendered and sculpted and painted… everything about the film is just gorgeous with regards to design. There’s nothing that has ever been done like it since.”

Now having worked in the industry for quite some time, Peter says he is inspired by everyone and everything. Just whilst he was chatting to me, he spotted an old dry plant and tells me that was an inspiration to use a skin texture - perhaps the back of a hand for a creature.

There’s also Jordu Schell and says: “I admire his imaginative designs and his uniqueness of his designs inspires me every time I look at what he is making or sculpting. Then I look at people like Mark Coulier who has won two Oscars - he’s a Yorkshire lad who has done really well and his story inspires me.

“Inspiration is everywhere and I am looking forward to seeing the people visit this convention.”

The Langley, Gade House, The Parade, Watford, August 20 and 21. Details: creaturegeddon.net