Imposter

Here's a look at a couple of pages from Imposter - which is a pitch I've been working on with writer Tony Lee (Starship Troopers, Doctor Who, etc). I'm not sure if we'll be doing much more of this, but it can't hurt to show a couple of pages off!

Vodka!

According to my sources, my cartoons now adorn the new food/booze menu at Revolution Vodka bars around our fair nation... and I haven't even seen it! As I have no life and never leave the drawing-board, I have one of my trusted minions out there stealing one for me as we speak. Here are a few of the caracatures (did I spell that right?) that I did for the menu. If you can't tell who they are, I haven't done my job very well have I?

All images copyright (c) Revolution 2008:

More Goldfish!

Here is a look at the finished goldfish cartoon - this was for Global Integration; you can see it used on their blog here: www.lifeinamatrix.com I've almost finished the next one too.

In other news, I'm still working on that other special little project, so stay tuned for more on that - and I may actually be published as a comic artist later this year on another project! As soon as it's a "go" I'll be posting the news here.

Booked my hotel nice and early for the Bristol comic con later this year - this time we'll be staying over two nights, so it should be less stressful than the sprint down to Birmingham last year!! We can mosey on down on Friday, and not be so knackered on Saturday morning, so I'm looking forward to that. Now it's back to the drawing-board for me...

Talking Goldfish

This job is never boring... you really don't know what you'll be drawing next.

Just finishing up the colouring for this latest commission, for a compnay called Global Integration - then it's back on to the comic stuff.

Sneak Preview...

Here's a little peek at the pencils and colouring for the next page of that special little project I'm working on (currently pencilling page 3). I'm definitely getting the hang of the graphics tablet - bloody great, it is!

I have some more commercial work which I'll be starting on tomorrow when I've rung the client, so the comic stuff will have to wait a wee while - but I'll be right back on it as soon as that's done and dusted.

Happy Birthday to me!

Turned 36 today... 36!!! Should I be feeling like an adult... because I really don't! When does growing up start then, around 40? Sharon bought me an A3 graphics tablet for my birthday, so my morning has been spent playing with that - it's going to take some getting used to, it's harder to use than I imagined, but for colouring in Photoshop it's fantastic.

So here's another sneak peak at a panel from that special secret project I've started work on, and a look at my "colouring workstation." I've got the whole setup now - A3 scanner, new printer, A2 lightbox and graphics tablet - so there's no excuses!

Bad Cop

I'm excited about this, it's starting to look good... stay tuned for more!

Wahayyyy!

Well it's Boxing Day morning - Sharon bought me a fantastic A2 Lightbox for Xmas, and I have just solved a comics-colouring mystery that has annoyed me for YEARS!!!

How do they colour the actual line-art in different colours? Like when that GENIUS Dave Stewart makes Guy Davis' characters stand out from the background so well in BPRD comics... well I finally sussed it this morning - see attached image. The foreground characters have solid black line-art, whereas the background line-art is brown, giving a nice depth-of-field appearance. This may not sound like a big deal, but it bloody is to me!!!! Now I can colour fire with nice orange lines, etc...

In other news, I've had to work during this Xmas week, as I received a new script from Manitowoc (a crane manufacturer) so I've managed to almost finish the drawing side of things - next up is colouring and adding all the company logos. I've also just finished three more illustrations for Easy Jet, as well as a Xmas commission for one of my guitar students.

I'm due to start work on an exciting project which will be pitched to Image, etc sometime in the new year - stay tuned for that!! I should be starting character designs as soon as I finish the Manitowoc job in the next couple of days.

Inks and Colours...

Now I have a little "me" time for drawing, I decided to practice my new inking skills a little more - I'm really getting into the brush and dip-pen approach.

I had this single page pencilled, from a story written by someone who's name I completely forget now... anyway, it was begging to be inked so I went ahead. I was really happy with it, so thought I'd colour it as well, in my new "blocky" style - that is, solid colours for the most part, rather than airbrushing absolutley everything!!! I feel this style has more impact, but is easier on the eye for storytelling - not to mention being quicker than all that airbrushing.

So here's the first panel - I'll post the rest when it's done.

In other news, I have a new commission to do the artwork for two superhero t-shirt designs, which I'll post if I get permission (when I've done them!).

Spending time with Nigella...

Well I've actually had to WORK hard this past week... tight deadlines on the Revolution Vodka illustrations - 3 covers and 13 cartoons, all in colour - and I've never had to do so many caracatures before! Added to my repertoire this week were Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty, Lily Allen, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay, Paul McCartney & Heather Mills, Jamie Oliver, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, Sharon Osbourne, Dani Minogue, Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss - the list goes on! I have big respect for caracature artists, some people just ain't easy to draw... particularly tough was the new Bond, Daniel Craig - I just couldn't get that guy right - got there in the end though (I hope). I'll post some of this work here when it goes to publication (this is all for the new menu for Revolution bars around the UK).

I've inked all of the cartoons with a brush and dip-pens, and it's gone surprisingly well. I will definitely be doing this from now on, it adds a lot of life to the artwork - not as accurate as a pen, but adds "character" - I just wish it was quicker! I've been looking at Joe Kubert's stuff, and I just love what that guy can do with a brush, he makes it look so easy. I should be starting some new comic pages soon in some form or other, and also practicing my inking. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, here is another character I drew for the ICO website (before I started experimenting with brushes, etc):