This fine looking fellow is actually somewhat of a tragic figure, orphaned from his original text this beautiful shark never quite made it to print. Equally he never quite managed to become a builder, he was too slow you see.
While I always feel a twinge of sadness for his unfulfilled ambition he has been very helpful in convincing fine quality clients that they definitely 100% want a shark for their new logo. How appropriate this was for the local swimming baths I cannot say, but the customer is always right.
This represents was my latest collaboration with the wonderful Lawrence Prestige (it's our 4th book together) and is unusual because rather than a novel it's a collection of poems. It's also printed rather lavishly in full colour, with this in mind I haggled for the opportunity to flex my design muscles and do all the layouts myself. The thinking was very simply that I'd get to cohesively integrate the text and the illustrations rather than have one dominate the other.
Was I successful? Of course! If you don't believe me just buy a copy and you'll know for sure.
The Big Draw is an organisation that promotes the idea that 'Drawing Changes Lives'. Obviously this is something I thoroughly approved of so when they ran a competition to illustrate the notion that 'Drawing is Cool' I unleashed my own creativity sharpened my pens cleaned my pencils and drew this. If memory serves it even made it to the internet (which is some place that everyone seems to go these days) and was displayed as part of their competition.
This is a photograph of a Bog Eyed Trout, I took the photograph using 'paintography' which is a technique I painstakingly developed specially for the purpose of documenting strange creatures. This was my first foray into the world of writing and illustrating children's book and, while Julia Donaldson needn't worry just yet, I'm very pleased to say it brought a lot of smiles to a lot of children.
If you want your very own fish you can always buy the book or ask me for a business card (he lives on the back).
What do you get if you cross a unicorn and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?
A Kimuracorn...hilarious right!?
Hmmmm, this may be a niche joke so forgive me. The print is a rash-guard (which is kind of stretchy spandex) and is very exciting as an artist because you can do all over prints: as you can see. However most exciting was the very happy customer at the end of the project.
My degree was in classics, well technically half of my degree was in classics but I digress... When I snagged a job illustrating the twelve labours of Hercules I was not only thrilled but for once in my life eminently qualified.
To give the art a distinctive look I opted to do all the illustration in biro and simply add tone with copic markers at the end. The front cover was again biro but this time coloured in Photoshop. I realise this explanation looks like nothing more than a cheap bid for sponsorship from Bic and Adobe but it's not I promise, though if you wanted to...
Either way the book ended up looking great and is well worthy of a read.
It has always been my dream to be involved in a 'B-movie', I am a connoisseur of such things and rank 'Teenagers From Outer Space' amongst my favourite films – this film is most notable for featuring forty year old teenagers and space lobsters, yes you read that right, space lobsters!
When I got the opportunity to do storyboards and concept art for a low budget Sci-fi film it was indeed a dream come true. The best thing is that according to IMDB the film is still in production so I may still get my red carpet invite.
The Big Draw is an organisation that promotes the idea that 'Drawing Changes Lives'. Obviously this is something I thoroughly approved of so when they ran a competition to illustrate the notion that 'Drawing is Cool' I unleashed my own creativity sharpened my pens cleaned my pencils and drew this. If memory serves it even made it to the internet (which is some place that everyone seems to go these days) and was displayed as part of their competition.
I've done a number of book covers but this is by far my favourite. The books itself is an academic tome for the deep thinkers among you, who want to contemplate the importance of anger and emotional release in the work place (I'm very much simplifying this).
What makes it my favourite is that the job came about through sheer coincidence following a serendipitous conversation on a train.
If you ever wondered about Nouns then this is the poster for you! Commissioned by a local primary school trust this was one of a series of wall posters designed to help students understand word types. They were very well received on the whole but the one about expletives was quite heavily criticised for the colour scheme.
Comics are without doubt the ultimate artistic medium and when I got commissioned to create a 12 page narrative comic for a band I was very excited. Without a script I was initially given nothing more than a narrative concept and then given free reign to work on the comic all they asked was that I considered lyrical content and the overall ethos of the band.
Overall this was a dream project and while the completed version was changed to b&w, in keeping with the bands aesthetic, the comic has been very well received. Though my advances to the Beano have been roundly ignored.
As a life-long martial artist I often find myself asked to do logos and promotional material for local clubs and I'm always happy to oblige.
The monkey mascot was designed to emphasise the kid friendly ethos of the club and he's proved to be very popular thus far gracing shirts alongside flyers and posters.
Star Paws is the culmination of geek wisdom distilled into a limited edition print that will illuminate your hearth and home; displaying your debonair wit and erudition to all who cast their eyes upon it. Okay I admit it could just be a cheap pun, either way it is hanging up in homes up and down the country.
This commission was part two in a series (as you can probably surmise from the title) and I was asked to adapt my style to mimic the original illustrator. Needless to say I obliged and Mike was clearly impressed as I've done two more since, who knows by the time you've read this I might have done another one! I'll just go and check...
I met Bill (of Bill Rotella fame) at a concert, I was quietly doodling when he thrust his business card in my hand and insisted I ring him. I duly did and we ended up working together to create this album cover. The process was extended as we kept adding different aspects to represent Bill's music and life, ultimately it was a resounding success.
However artistic differences mean that I am not currently talking to Bill, he has completely blanked my offer of playing kazoo on his next album. For anyone out there who need a kazoo player I am available at reasonable rates.
In collaboration with my favourite art shop and local coffee shop we host a themed doodling session once a month where people get together and enjoy a pen and a pint. Obviously they don't drink the pen, nor do the draw with the pint so the premise is pretty simple, but it's a great way to get out and share your passion with like minded people. This is a selection of the posters produced thus far and should you ever wish to join us feel free to break out your Miss Marple skills and follow the clues to discover when and where we'll be next.
