Kevin Hauff: Illustrator

2011

2012-01-16T11:00:00.002Z

2011. Spring cleaning the studio (and Mac of old pix) over the weekend my mind started wandering back over the last year. Blimey what a year! Its been a busy time in the Hauff household with ups and downs along the way. A few highlights and musings, mainly work orientated although intermingled with some personal stuff. Pix attached and in no particular chronological order....

I've drawn a lot more freely in my sketchbook, especially in the latter part of the year. Enjoyed the process and will continue in 2012. Felt like I'd rediscovered how to simply draw and create new work for pleasure as opposed for a deadline. A good feeling.
Enjoyed exploring Adobe Illustrator thoroughly this last year, using it more often rather than relying mainly on Photoshop. The benefits having flowed into my work in spades.
My little boy started school. Wow, how did that happen....?!?!?
Blocked drains. Twice. And the subsequent clear up. I never knew I could swear that much. Holy Mother of God. Enough said.
My little girl played her first musical solo piece to a school audience. Dad beamed !
I sold my trusty (very) old VW Golf. I'm a bit of a VW fan and even though its been an occasionally troublesome beast, to say it was hard to let it go was an understatement. Its gone to a good home (I hope).
We went camping this year. The kids LOVED it.
I finally got to work for the New York Times. An ambition achieved.
My kids make me smile and laugh more and more, but sometimes I wish they came with a 'How To' manual.
I revamped my studio a little. Small changes, but now a better working space.
DIY. A fascinating steep learning curve as at the start of the year (between commissions) I tackled a lot of house decoration to keep the costs down in these austere times of ongoing recession. Cuts and bruises? Check. Lots of swearing? Check. Relief when it was time to take a break and get back to creating work? Check! Lows were rebuilding a sewer manhole and drains. Sheesh. Highs were seeing my kids faces light up at their new bedrooms. Wholly worthwhile.
My trusty Mac G5 tower hard drive fried itself into oblivion with zero warning. LaCie to the rescue.
The Vets unprofessional but funny reaction to our big burly tom cat as we removed him the travel box for a health check: " Look at the size of that "…!
The untimely passing of Steve Jobs. My favourite Jobs quote on Design: "When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You'll know its there, so you're going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through".
Winter storm watching over the Christmas holidays where we drove up the coast to watch the huge waves braking over the sea defences. Spectacular.
The joy at finally fathoming out how to set up a NAS drive for iTunes in my studio and getting it to work properly. Punch the air.
Now that the kids are back at school and Su has gone back to work, Its just too quiet in the house and studio. I don't like it. Time to adjust again. At least Podcasts and iTunes make for working company.
My best buddy and I got disorientated on a 'challenging' ridge of a mountain when a heavy bank of mist descended, reducing visibility to a couple of meters. Thank goodness for a map and compass. Very scary at the time.
More drip paintings with my daughter. She loves throwing paint around and it gives me the greatest of pleasure to assist her.
Running 10K for the first time was a big achievement. Started running again about fourteen months ago and steadily upped my distance each week.
Doodling on a friends iPad. Wow. It won't replace a sketchbook, acrylic paint, Photoshop, Illustrator and my Wacom tablet just yet, but the potential is tantalisingly evident.
Seeing Anthony Gormley's Another Place on Crosby Beach for the first time. There at sunset, the place was deserted, the tide all the way out and the weather conditions were still, making for a rather eerie atmosphere to be walking around the sculptures.

Ronald Searle 1920 - 2011.

2012-01-04T08:30:00.010Z

Very sad to read of the death of Ronald Searle this morning on the BBC website (also more on the NYT Site). Known widely for the St Trinian's characters, but perhaps not acknowledged as he should have been for his wider creative work, especially here in the UK. Some of my favourite work of his came from the film titles of that 60's movie "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines". Not widely referenced when his work is mentioned, probably not his most revered work, but they struck a chord with me when I saw the movie as a child - then having no idea what an illustrator did. Yet somehow those drawings had an impact at the time. It was with great pleasure that I rediscovered them in a Ronald Searle book in the college library years later. I also witnessed his astonishing draughtsmanship on display when I visited an exhibition of his drawings at The Imperial War Museum as a student. He was a prisoner of war and survived the forced labour of the infamous Burma Railway construction. Here he created an astonishing record of life under terrible circumstances. The drawings ache with the experience and are as powerful as any photograph could ever be. If you are not familiar with these images, they are worth seeking out.

When I was at Art College, I worshipped a Holy Trinity of three great contemporary artists and draughtsmen that I constantly referred to and (foolishly) tried to copy and mimic - failing miserably. They were Ralph Steadman, Gerald Scarfe and of course Ronald Searle. Thank you for the inspiration and guidance Mr Searle.

Radio Times: Living With Princes

2012-01-03T12:30:00.006Z

Radio Times: Living with Princes. A lovely way to start the New Year. A challenging commission for the radio pages as the theme was rather complex. A snippet from the synopsis:

"In 1588, the essayist and landowner Michel de Montaigne set out on a journey round the troubled kingdom of France. He was on a mission - to reconcile the Valois King Henri the Third, a Catholic, with his likely successor, the Bourbon King of Navarre, a Protestant. His mission had high stakes at play – with an intensified Civil War the price of failure."

I decided to concentrate on the idea of the country being united (from a religious perspective) by depicting a hybrid giant crown / castle with a split down the middle of a central cross to show the divide between the two religions, the complexities of the problem at hand represented by the two convoluted sides of the crown. The client requested a symbolic approach given the limited copy available and I just kept coming back to this rather left field theme. Radio Times out on newsstands today. And more on the BBC Radio 3 broadcast here: Link

Ben Tallon: Blog contribution.

2012-01-03T12:15:00.005Z

Ben Tallon is an award winning freelance illustrator and former student of the University of Central Lancashire. After graduating in 2008 he has gone on to become a very successful freelance artist. You can view his online folio and blog and I highly recommend doing so. I had the pleasure of experiencing Ben's dedication and passion for the subject when I was working as part time lecturer at UCLAN. He was always that one step ahead of the rest of his year, either with the questions he was asking the staff or the creative questions and challenges he was asking of himself. One thing that set him apart from the herd being his steadfast refusal to accept the creative status quo, always willing to try something new, even to the point of failure, regularly sacrificing work considered below par. Always receptive to constructive criticism and unyielding in his ambition to move his work forward. A rare character indeed!

Ben recently contacted me and invited me to contribute to his award winning blog on the theme of copyright, especially as some clients seem to be 'adapting' their copyright terms of late, from his experience and also mine. The full piece can be read here in context: Linky ! Or below....

After an invitation from Ben to contribute, I’ve raised, pondered and addressed a few questions about how the current economic climate is influencing the way both freelancers and clients are dealing with copyright; mainly with regard to retaining and relinquishing copyright ownership. To begin there’s also a brief tale of one particular experience I had as a fairly new graduate with a prominent client who employed a rather dismissive attitude to copyright law. To protect all concerned I’m not going to reveal the end users.

Lord only knows I’ve made virtually every mistake possible in the illustration game, fortunately I was lucky to learn early on in my career about the benefits of protecting copyright. Having not been long out of college I was still very naive when it came to how copyright worked in relation to an illustration commission, cutting my teeth on editorial’s initially where the copyright rules were generally pretty simple. At around this time, I was taken on by an Agent so Design and Advertising work started to come in. Luckily this Agent was instrumental in my second education in terms of making oneself aware of the nitty-gritty that surrounds an illustration commission, and subsequently how to protect oneself against the occasional charlatan in the game, that beware, do exist.

I was invited to submit sketches for a national campaign, starting with a brochure, which would if successful, expand to many further commissions - the eternal carrot - how often have I heard this since in my career, especially “if you can keep the fee low”? Several artists were considered for the job, but I got lucky and my then Agent secured the commission. Terms including fees, deadlines, copyright usage and assignment were all agreed in writing. Copyright assigned for one print application only, full copyright and original artwork ownership retained by artist. The commission was then completed, any amendments dealt with and all the deadlines were met. Client pays promptly. Everyone happy. I thought that was the end of the story, little did I know! A mushroom cloud of initial disbelief, followed by frustration and anger erupted several weeks later. Up until now, all the companies I’d ever worked for had been as straight as an arrow. A baptism of copyright fire perhaps… After several weeks the Agent visited the client premises to pick up the original paintings (required for an annual book promotion) only to find the artwork had been applied to many items outside of the agreed terms, including cards, posters, exhibition panels, flyers, merchandise etc. All sat in the office, ready, waiting to be sent to the end user client. The agent requested to see the Art Director asap (without appointment) and refuses to leave without being seen - FIGHT! The agent politely pointed out the breach of copyright issue and requested extra payment for multiple copyright infringements. Art Director then bluntly declined. Agent (volcanically enraged) then consults end user client, informing them of Ad agency / Design Group malpractice re: copyright infringement. Agent consults (copyright specialist) solicitor, threatening end user client and Ad / Design company with a lawsuit for breach of copyright. End client user comes down on the Ad agency / Design Group like a ton of bricks having zero knowledge of the original copyright terms, threatening to retract their entire account if the issue is not resolved. Ad agency / Design Group finally admit and agree that they have ‘taken a few liberties’ in terms of the copyright assignment. Through gritted teeth, they finally agree to pay for all copyright infringement, then threaten to ruin both Agent and the Illustrator in the Art & Design business!

Copyright fun and games. What did I learn from this? ALWAYS, but ALWAYS ask for copyright terms as the fee, deadline and the theme of the commission are being negotiated, especially if the artists does not have formal representation by an agent. Once agreed, ask the client to confirm in writing so there is proof of the original arrangement where both parties are clear as to how the work will be used. I also learnt to generally stick to ones guns about retaining copyright ownership of artwork, but alternatively, when required, to be open minded and flexible too. In some cases I have signed up to abysmal terms with regard to the copyright ownership, for one reason only. I had the opportunity to work for a client that I’d always wanted to work with. Sometimes it can benefit in the long term to just grin and swallow the bitter pill, while gaining some satisfaction that the bagging of a high roller is payment enough for the deal with Beelzebub. It is just part of the game. Before this incident I would never have asked about copyright. I now ask every time I get an enquiry and commission from a new source. The most important thing is knowing what you are signing away in the first place, so that you can make an informed choice as to the best course of action to take when the thorny issue of copyright assignment and ownership comes up, and it will, its only a matter of time.

Constantly monitoring copyright terms with all of the other associated freelance paraphernalia is yet another issue to address and is usually never at the top of the freelancers list, especially at career start. Ignorance with regard to copyright ownership could be a potential stormy sea for the unwary, especially those afloat on a rough ocean of limited experience. When it comes to the potential for ripping off both artists and even photographers, some mercenary clients can be rather vampiric, sucking as much out of the commission as they can get away with. If copyright has been agreed and signed off by all parties then you would think that would be the done deal, adhered to by all. Sadly not always so, as in my little tale which went on for some time afterwards, resolved in the end, but was a salutary lesson to learn early in my career - agree terms in writing - and check on what the client is up to with the print run.

A few questions spring to mind with regard to the current illustration market place and how clients are changing and adapting their copyright requirements…

1. Are all clients circling sharks tasting the blood in the water ready to exploit their contributors? Thankfully not. Actually, the vast majority are a pleasure to work with, some are wonderful and even go on to become life long clients where a healthy working relationship brings great creative rewards for both artist and client alike. This makes the odd copyright trickster pale into insignificance. Learn the rules and its fairly simple to play the game - even defensively when required.

2. So where are we now and why do more clients seem to be requesting outright copyright ownership? From discussing this with clients of late, its all about maximising how far their budget will go. Quite simply, in this economic climate of restricted outlay the aim is to reduce their expenditure for extra usage on the artwork. If the artist owns the copyright, every time the end client wants to use the artwork for something new they have to consult with the artist, negotiate permission and pay an extra fee. Time, effort and money. If the client has copyright ownership, they can use the artwork wherever and whenever they want to, over any time frame, without consulting the contributing artist. Time and budget efficient. Worrying isn’t it? Especially when the piece of work concerned may well be something the artist has put heart and soul into and the manner in which the client is using the work starts to differ from initial expectations. Which scenario would you rather have, copyright retained or copyright sold?

3. Playing devils advocate; are clients protecting themselves from the artist with outright copyright ownership? In some cases yes, and rightly so. There must be some self policing and restraint by the artist, where the artist respects the aims and intentions of the client and their respective campaign in the manner in which they use the artwork for any future personal gain, be that promotion, resale, competition entry, stock sale etc. Consider the potential scenario where an artist gains a commission, retains the copyright as is their right, but then decides that in a few week or months to resell the rights of this image to another rival client. The same image now being used in two similar campaigns by rival companies, at roughly the same time. If the artist retained the rights, they would have done nothing ‘wrong’ from a legal perspective, but little consideration would have been shown to the original client who’s campaign with the original artwork would now be next to useless. Is it any wonder clients want full copyright ownership? After all they are only trying to protect their (considerable) investment in the grand scheme of their campaign. Perhaps, another reason why a client would like full control of the use of the artwork.

4. What can the freelancer do to protect their copyright? Read the small print! Firstly, know the basics of how copyright works. Secondly, ask questions when the client initially makes contact. Prepare a check-list in advance so that you are ready. They only need to be basic introductory questions: My intro list runs like this: 1. What is the theme? 2. What is the deadline? 3. What is the fee? 4. How and where is the image to be used? 5. What are the copyright terms? From those simple questions, either by phone or email, the freelancer should be able to gain enough info to start proceedings and then expand with more searching questions if the job progresses or the klaxon starts ringing. Thirdly, if very restrictive, the freelancer does have the right to say no to the copyright terms offered by the client, then perhaps renegotiate by submitting alternative ‘compromise’ terms to which the freelancer would be happy to undertake the commission. It is here that the tug of war begins and on more than one occasion this has worked out beneficially. Although I’ve found it best not to be overly pedantic as the client may become impatient and go elsewhere if a king’s ransom is requested as part of the deal. It is at this stage where negotiations get interesting. Finally, and probably most important of all, get everything regarding the copyright terms agreed in writing with the job purchase order.

5. Does the artist have to sign away their soul in blood with every commission? No. Although on occasion you may have to choose how much you are prepared to sign away. In the current economic climate, all freelancers are at the mercy of the clients, (any client), as not only are the number of commissions decreasing due to shrinking budgets for such a luxurious commodity as an illustration. The very future of the clients themselves are also in jeopardy, threatened by the these European / global forces of financial doom. How many Magazine, Design Groups and Advertising Agencies that you know of or have had dealings with have gone into receivership in the last few years? I would bet a pound and a dollar (but not a euro) on more than one. Is it any wonder clients are tightening their copyright terms? Quite frankly, I don’t blame them. Of course, it doesn’t make it correct or fair practice in terms of what we the freelancer expect or hope for when we sign on the dotted line, just a reality we have to deal with. Most commissions will remain with a copyright bias towards the artist, but it seems an increasing number will not.

6. What about the Internet? Copyright still applies and stays with the artist, unless otherwise agreed with the end user client. Although what I’m finding are that some clients are requesting copyright ownership for a short period of time only (often thirty, sixty or ninety days), where they can use the artwork for both print and web. I personally don’t mind this copyright flexibility for two reasons. Firstly, the client gets what they want (for a limited period), so if the client is happy and if the commissioned work is of high standard, then hopefully they will come back to the contributor for new work. Secondly, by using the artwork on the web the client allows greater potential for the exposure of the artwork in question, essentially free net advertising for the illustrator concerned, as well as the usual print visibility as well - as long as the contributor is name checked. All for a little open minded flexibility when copyright assignment is negotiated. One of those rare win/win situations when both parties gain from signing away the rights, the caveat being, only sign the rights away for a short time span, the aim is for the artist to keep the rights once the copyright allocation ends.

7. What does it all mean in the short term? Recent economic gloom + double dip (pending) recession + restricted outlay for all clients = fewer jobs for freelancers + revised copyright terms.

Something we are going to have to get used to unfortunately. It seems the recent golden period of illustration is now over. Its been tough, its tough now and its going to get even tougher if the news headlines are to be gauged as an accurate barometer. Consider this: If you do gain a commission, firstly count yourself lucky, you are producing work that is gaining the right sort of attention, but what happens if that commission is dependent upon relinquishing the rights on the job? What do you do? There are plenty of other freelancers circling each commission, ready to relieve it from your hands if you let it go. Only quite recently I had to make this choice. I chose to let the rights go. It hurt, but I deemed it necessary as the client was one I’d always wanted to work for and I also needed the income, so I decided not to miss out on the opportunity. Though it is not something I intend to do with every client. With the illustration market compromised by external economic woes I think it really is time to tighten belts and not only that, certainly in the short term future it may be time to be willing to sign away those precious, much prized and passionately fought over copyright terms for a lot less than you (or I) would ordinarily like, for the one clawing simple fundamental reason, the need and desire to survive…?

2012 !

2012-01-03T11:45:00.002Z

Happy New Year! A prosperous year ahead to all :-)

Radio Times: Christmas Edition: Madama Butterfly.

2011-12-07T10:15:00.004Z

A lovely commission from the Radio Times. An image for the radio pages to accompany the late Anthony Minghella's acclaimed production of Puccini's opera being broadcast by the Met, live from New York on Saturday 17th December. As a main theme I kept coming back to the idea of Cio-Cio San reacting to her fate with quiet dignity, her expression overlapping into her childhood memory of witnessing moths and butterflies being pinned to a display board. When rendering the finished artwork I approached it from the onset intending it be more decorative than usual - as per some of my experimental images of late. A lovely job and many thanks to powers that be at the RT for the commission. Out on the newsstands from today.

Steampunk Cat Demon - An experiment

2011-11-20T10:30:00.002Z

An experimental image with a bit of history as it was sat in a sketch book for a while. Always knew I'd do something with this Sphynx like scribbly exaggerated drawing (based on our cat) as it had an interesting anthropomorphic feel to it. I'd been working on and off the finished image for a while and a version of this character also came into play when working on the Times Dreams & Nightmares series, as a sphynx like demon for the second article. I decided to take it a little further, changing mainly the eyes. No real planning to the changes, just leaving progress to fate when rendering the finished image to see what would happen. Hoping for inspiration from the divine accident!

I'm playing with a new approach with a heavier bias towards working in Photoshop. To date I've always preferred the directness of Adobe Illustrator, but recently I've been exploring PS a little more inquisitively. Screen shots were taken to gauge and monitor progress (yes I was struggling!) when rendering, just as I did when working on the Tosca image for the RT. Where that image came together beautifully, this Steampunk Demon proved a little more troublesome, going through three colour-ways before I was totally happy. By the time the image was fully resolved I had about 40 screen shots totted up. As I'd maximised the viewable image for each screen grab they all lined up quite well. Thought they could make an interesting sequence showing all of the key stages of the render when animated into a slide show. Assembled in Adobe Flash after a steep learning curve. My first time using the software and I actually found it quite intuitive after the initial head scratching. Hope you enjoy it.

LAB Visual Illustration Agency

2011-10-10T11:15:00.001+01:00

I'm delighted to report that I will be represented in mainland Europe by the new Illustration Agency LAB Visual. An exciting new venture and a huge thanks to Ev and team for the invitation to join :-) Agents? Never ever say never. I had no immediate plans to approach an agent but fate intervened and an interesting email came pinging into my inbox a couple of weeks ago. An invitation to join something new - a different type of agency. Small in scale with only a handful of artists. Limited, agreed representation. No contracts sealed in blood. Soul not exchanged for a bulging suitcase full of dollars & euros with Beelzebub. The main carrot for me? They intend to concentrate and limit their promotion to Europe, Russia and the far east, where I've hardly ever worked (mainly UK and US) before. They have the team to deal with any language barriers that may arise and the experience to back up their venture. After quite a bit of head scratching and ether based correspondence I decided to take the plunge. It will be interesting to see how things move forward. After all, I've been involved with two other agents in my career - both at their genesis and really enjoyed being part of something at the beginning. The same scenario here with LAB Visual, starting from scratch with yours truly on board for the journey. Lets just hope its an interesting, stimulating and smooth ride for all involved...

Community Care Magazine

2011-10-10T10:54:00.003+01:00

As soon as the email came through from the Art Editor, I knew I wanted to do this job. The description of people passing through a clock face to liberate themselves from the constraints of the usual working time frame appealed immediately. Two final variations shown where the figures and clock were adjusted for scale and placement so leaving the copy clear. Also, interesting to fire up Adboe Illustrator as well on this job. I've been neglecting this fiddly, but very versatile piece of software in preference for Photoshop of late. I really enjoyed tinkering with the gradient mesh and pen tools again and had forgotten its distinct benefits and advantages over Photoshop (namely speed). I shall be playing some more :-)

New York Times.

2011-08-21T09:00:00.008+01:00

A real privilege to work for one of the worlds great newspapers this week, with the added bonus of a rather challenging subject to tackle as well. The article discussed the current reduced US productivity levels and the potential follow on scenarios, which are of great concern to the financial markets. A few ideas were submitted but the Art Director preferred the concept of a sparse landscape with the factories only capable of manufacturing and producing tumbleweed. Simple and to the point. A huge thanks to Minh for the opportunity to work for the NYT. Out on the newsstands today.

Radio Times: Gormenghast: Steerpike

2011-07-19T14:00:00.013+01:00

The world of Gormenghast created by Mervyn Peake needs little introduction due to the dedicated following the books have gained since publication. BBC Radio 4 are currently broadcasting a radio adaptation in six parts, adapted by Brian Sibley. I was commissioned by the Radio Times to produce an illustration for their radio pages to accompany the series. A gift of a project. I thought it best to concentrate on Steerpike and his murderous intent. For me, he's by far the most interesting character in the book(s) as he's so calculating and unrelentingly evil. A true villain in the best theatrical sense. His ambition to be part of the castle life and hierarchy is all consuming and I thought it would be interesting to depict him overlapping into the walls of Gormenghast itself. I explored a few other ideas, but I kept coming back to this as it seemed to have the most potential for a brooding portrait. I also subtly referenced the Peake original drawing without resorting to copying or fan worshipping - his illustrations for Treasure Island (astonishing) made a big impact on me as a student. Great fun to do, and timely in reference to the last Bama / Aurora illustration blog entry, as they were an influence here too.

Aurora - Universal Monsters

2011-07-01T21:00:00.006+01:00

Aurora. Not the Northern Lights, although that is a spectacle I would like to witness once day, but a 1950's company that produced an interesting range of self assembly model kits that were an influence on me as a youngster. Now defunct, but a very popular brand in the US (less so in the UK) through the sixties and into the nineties, when still releasing kits under changing parent companies. Compared to the likes of Airfix, Revell, Tamiya etc, the company placed themselves in a unique position by obtaining a copyright license from Universal Studios, allowing Aurora to manufacture plastic kits in association with Universal's famous monster movies, following on with popular TV show / comic related kits. They commissioned a talented artist to depict the model kit figure on the box cover and lets just say there was artistic license with the portrayal of the actual contents! Favorites are The Creature From The Black Lagoon, Dracula (based on Bela Lugosi), King Kong holding on to a mini glow in the dark Fay Wray and of course Godzilla - my all time fav creature feature.

Nowhere near as scary as a ten year old boy would hope, despite the real "glow in the dark" pieces. In fact once constructed the Godzilla figure looked like he was suffering from a bad case of elephantiasis! The Mummy kit based on Boris Karloff is slightly out of proportion as well, sporting a rather large head. No matter, as a kid I loved these kits and more so the box cover images, pouring over the cover and then the contents, afterwards enthusiastically covering my fingers in polystyrene glue and Humbrol enamel paint when constructing them. For me at that impressionable age they were evocative of the movies themselves, bridging the gap between cinema and behind the sofa fan, where perhaps a little piece of Hollywood terror could sit a on kids shelf. Inspired.

The illustrator was a chap called James Bama. He was latterly famed for his portrayal of native americans, formerly, for a broad spectrum of commercial work, most famously the Doc Savage book covers. I only linked the childhood experience of these kits to the work of the artist and the Aurora company when I studied illustration at college, then of course finally understanding the role of a commercial artist - I was a slow learner (still am). These tall portrait box images are the original Bama illustration covers. The square 'glow in the dark' covers were from a later controversial release, where the original paintings were overpainted by another artist to exaggerate the new glow in the dark kit parts.

Bama's later gallery work consists mainly of delicate sensitive character studies, a million miles away from the commercial work. But for me, its the Aurora model cover art that still pleases the most due to my nostalgia driven experience of them. The way a heightened colour pallet was used for exaggerated (cinematic?) drama, how the limited printing process of the time added its own patina and how the images spurred on the imagination, long after the movie had been watched. Kitsch? Definitely, even gloriously so. But they are executed with such affection for the genre that I find them irresistible. Even though my work influences have changed significantly over the years, they still make me smile, and always will. Thanks James Bama and Aurora.

More on James Bama: http://www.bighorngalleries.com/bama.htm

http://gammillustrations.bizland.com/monsterkid7/bama1.htm

More on Aurora: http://www.oldmodelkits.com/blog/plastic-model-kit-history/a-brief-history-of-aurora-plastic-model-kits/

More on what happened to the originals (shameful): http://arglebarglin.blogspot.com/2006/06/aurora-bama-box-art-blasphemy.html

UCLAN 2011 Exhibition

2011-06-15T14:15:00.016+01:00

UCLAN Y3 Exhibition: Spent a very pleasant morning catching up with Steve Wilkin who is the course leader of the BA Illustration course at UCLAN in Preston. I enjoyed a good few years teaching at the Uni with Steve and his team. Certainly very interesting to be back in the academic environment for a short time, catching up with student progress, the course evolution and how the nature of University funding is changing (for the worse - much worse) in relation to the new fee structure. Its show time of course and the Year 3 bods have their graduation exhibition now open to the public. Overall its a mixed show, but there are stand out artists and potential stars in the making. The course has gone from strength to strength over Steve's ten year role as course leader, turning out some of the finest UK based illustrators working today. To name check just a few: Rachel Goslin, Danny Allison, Jay Taylor, Angela Swan, Liam Derbyshire Ben Tallon and Kate Pankhurst. Being in the Y3 exhibition room brought back the memory of the frantic last minute preparation, student panic and the relief of completing it all. Wistful sigh! Great to see that the course is thriving with Steve at the helm and his teams passion for the subject appears undiminished, despite the challenges ahead regarding Uni funding etc. Well worth a looksee if you are in area :-)

Storybook

2011-06-02T18:30:00.004+01:00

Occasionally projects come along that just raise the spirits. This was one. I was contacted by Art Director Rob Story who is putting together a bound sketchbook of his favorite artists drawings / sketches, to be presented to his two boys when they are older. A lovely idea. I thought it would be interesting to contribute sketch ideas for a proposed set of promo / experimental pieces that will go on to be finished paintings or promo illustrations, the format yet to be decided. At the moment I have no idea how they will develop, only knowing they will move forward - somehow. As its such a personal project Rob wants to keep the website available to the contributors only and out of the public domain, but he has kindly allowed me to share my drawings in my newsfeed. Anyways, a lovely project to be a part of and thanks to Rob for the invitation. More on Rob: http://therobstory.com/

Here's a brief snippet from one of the email exchanges:"Hi Rob. Well, I've finally finished the drawings..! Sincere apologies for the delay in getting them done. Drawing for me is a purpose solely to get to the finished painting or digital illustration, so I didn't want to just 'knock something out' quickly. To me, that would just not feel right somehow, and be a false representation of how I work. So, I waited until the decks were clear and could start planning a series of experimental images, loosely exploring concepts about passing ideas down the generational line. Making the sketches working drawings to progress to either a painting or digital illustration. That way there is a creative lineage to a finished image or even a series (who knows where the direction will lead) from the sketches. But the important issue being, these drawings are very early in that creative process. Concept genesis if you like. So they are fresh and also part of 'something', rather than just a dashed out doodle. Nothing wrong with that approach, just not how I work really. Anyway, enough rambling, time to get busy! "

Radio Times: Wind In The Willows (A Change in the Willows)

2011-05-03T10:30:00.000+01:00

Here's a set of beloved characters that I would probably never have considered tackling independently of commission. Somehow I would never have associated my work with Kenneth Grahame's Wind In The Willows, but I'm very pleased that the powers that be at the Radio Times thought otherwise. From the synopsis:

"A Change In The Willows reunites the beloved characters of Kenneth Grahame's seminal The Wind in the Willows for an all new adventure, written by Ian Buchan.

Toad is back on a spending spree and dismissive of his friends until he needs their help for a rather irritating ghost problem. Ratty finds himself flooded out of his riverside home by rising river levels.

Mole tries to understand the link between the pang in his stomach and the desire all animals have to be amongst their own kind. And good old Badger is upset that nobody listens to him and his friends take him for granted.

The cast stars Tim McInnerny as Toad, Stephen Mangan as Mole, Julian Rhind-Tutt as Ratty and Andrew Sachs as Badger."

A really interesting commission all round, a real challenge and great to be stretched with the subject matter. Out on the news stands today.

Lürzer's Archive 200 Best Illustrators Worldwide

2011-03-01T12:27:00.013Z

I'm very pleased to be able to report that I had a piece selected for the Lürzer's Archive 200 Best Illustrators Worldwide. I really enjoyed looking through the superb work on display in this beautifully designed book. A really varied cross section of working styles representative of how the illustration profession stands at the beginning of 2011. A privilege to be part of.

If you have visited this news feed before you may remember the image, originally commissioned by the Radio Times and featured in this post: Radio Times: Tosca. So a great big thanks go out to Jacob Howard at the Radio Times for the commission and all of the final jury members who allowed my work to be featured with such illustrious company.

Here's a brief description from the Lürzer's Archive bulletin...

More than 1,100 illustrators applied for inclusion in what is now the fourth special to be entitled "200 Best Illustrators," with no fewer than 6,075 submissions having been received. Yet – as the name itself suggests – only 200 actually made it into the selection. In a volume numbering 326 pages, we present you with exceptional illustrations produced during the past two years from around the world. Incidentally, the cover of this new edition comes from India or, to be more precise, from Taproot India, Mumbai. The name of the illustrator who produced it is Anant Nanvare. What particularly pleases us, as a publisher dedicated to showcasing the best advertising from around the world, is the fact that this illustration originally appeared as part of an advertising campaign (featured in issue 3/10). The motifs for Transasia Papers were also awarded a Golden Lion at Cannes in 2010.

For more info: Lürzer's Archive 200 Best Illustrators.

Radio Times Christmas Edition: "Old Harry's Game"

2010-12-08T12:30:00.000Z

Devils. Don't you just love them? Well, I do anyway! Always enjoy depicting 'the dark one' when I get the opportunity, and this commission proved no exception. Published in the Christmas edition of the Radio Times this week, it accompanies a new series of the show "Old Harry's Game", set in Hell, where Satan decides to ban Christmas in the first of two episodes. The opportunity to depict a grumpy Satan festooned with Christmas decorations was simply too good to miss!

There were a few variants along the way, mainly a couple of simpler versions where the background content was reduced to concentrate visual focus on the head, but they did not quite have the overall atmosphere I was after. All three shown for reference. A big thank you to the Radio Times as it was a pleasure to work on from start to finish. Published and out this week in the double Christmas edition of the Radio Times.

Footbal Heroes Gold.

2010-11-23T11:57:00.008Z

I'f you've visited this news feed before, then you may remember the Football Heroes Gold project I contributed to a while back. The printed version arrived this week and it looks very good indeed. Available to buy at selective bookstores worldwide: ISBN # 9783952308882 . Wonderful to see all the other artists work in the book too, where the illustrations are of a very high standard indeed. I feel very lucky to have been one of the 45 chosen artists. A total pleasure to be involved. A huge great big thanks to Herzglut and Beach for the invitation to take part and of course all of the hard work to see it into production. A few press links that may be of interest...

Anna Goodson.
Maxim

Times Dreams & Nightmare Image 8

2010-10-04T09:15:00.004+01:00

Here's the final image in the series and I thought this article written by Simon Winch fascinating. It describes the analysis of seafarers dreams. When on land they they tend to dream of blue skies and calm seas, but when at sea they dream of maelstroms, sea serpents and raging storms. Published today in The Times T2 section, here's a snippet....

"At sea, a sailor’s slumber is overrun with nightmares; but when his trick is done, and he is back at home in bed, then his nights are filled with dreams. This is an axiom well known to all who sail: that out there your sleep is ruined by unconscious fear, but back here is made bliss by the nocturnal pleasures of remembrance and longing."

The Times: Dreams & Nightmares Image 7

2010-09-27T11:15:00.001+01:00

So here we have the penultimate image in the series. This picks up on the article reference to 'fantastic' dreams that people often have, here surfing the ultimate wave. This whole project has been a joy from start to finish!

A snippet from the text by Henry Sutton...

"The thing about dreams, as someone who quite often has them, is that half the time, upon waking, I/you can really only remember fragments, and these are usually pretty ludicrous. And if anything is clear, then invariably it doesn’t really make any sense. Or at least it’s so implausible it’s laughable. I have dreamed, over the years, that I’ve played right back for Manchester United, that Bill Clinton’s come for dinner, and I’ve survived a plane crash. I’ve also surfed impossibly large waves, run the country, and had a relationship with the wife of a very well known celebrity."

The Times: Dreams & Nightmares Image 6

2010-09-20T08:00:00.002+01:00

So here we have the next image in the series. Published today in the T2 section. I thought this article discussed an interesting concept, an extract lifted directly from the text by Tim Butcher...

The best explanation of dreams I have ever heard was what a wise religious studies teacher told me as a schoolboy.
``The brain is like a filing cabinet,’’ he said during a discussion on apparitions.
``Sometimes the drawers get so clogged with ideas and images that they begin to stick. A dream is your brain’s way of clearing out some room. At night it takes a memory from the bottom drawer, a few thoughts from the middle drawer and a whole series from the top and out they come, all higgledy-piggeldy.’’

The Times: Dreams & Nightmares Image 5

2010-09-13T08:30:00.014+01:00

Here's the fifth in the series. Image explores the idea of keeping a 'dream journal' to expand / record the nightly conversation between the conscious and sub-conscious minds. Loved working on this particular illustration. Published today in the Times T2 section.

The Times: Dreams & Nightmares Image 4

2010-09-06T15:09:00.013+01:00

Here we have image 4 in the series and probably my fav so far. Really enjoyed this one and good to render / play with an image scene without figures / characters present. Article explores a dream the author had when looking down from the gallery inside a church to see writing on the floor change into a compass shaped star. Published today in the T2 section of The Times.

The Times: Dreams & Nightmares Image 3

2010-09-02T11:00:00.001+01:00

So here we have number 3 in the Times Dreams & Nightmares series. This was based on a nightmare the writer had as a teenager..... To quote " Wondering what the place of dreams and nightmares were in convent life, where there was so little "real world" to plait itself into their dreaming. It covers ecstasy (dream/subconscious/ waking?) and ends with a poignant quote from a nun about how dreaming is where they go to live."

The Times: Dreams & Nightmares Image 2

2010-08-31T11:00:00.005+01:00

The second image in the Times Dreams & Nightmares series. Reference was made in the article to the famous etching by Goya: The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, so the Art Editor and I agreed it would be an interesting exercise to use this as a starting point and create my interpretation of that etching but using the descriptions of the demons in the text. Great fun to do!

The Times: Dreams & Nightmares Image 1

2010-08-30T10:35:00.003+01:00

A really stimulating set of commissions from the people at The Times Newspapers for the T2 section. This series will run for seven weeks. Each week a different take on the subject of Dream & Nightmares. If ever there was a gift of a commission, then this is it. Only trouble being that the deadlines are rather tight from receiving copy to press. Always the case with newspaper commissions. My work is pretty labour intensive, but I do like a challenge so its been a good adrenaline buzz so far. I'm very grateful for the powers that be for thinking of me for this job :-)

A work ready studio - finally :-)

2010-08-30T10:25:00.001+01:00

Before work began...

Years of water ingress left rotten woodwork...

So it begins...

Desk cut to shape and primed...

Shelves go up - and stay up...!...

And relax, its done...

Its been quite some time since a last entry! I'd love to be able to say that I've been utterly bone idle and have been lazing around, but unfortunately not the case. Decorating my new studio from the floor up has been the main task at hand. Little did I know how much of a DIY iceberg it would turn out to be. I thought it would just be a quick lick of paint after stripping off the old anaglypta wallpaper and that would be it, but alas the best laid plans evaporated into a red mist of frustration. Just a few of the issues that required attention: All lighting replaced. The wall sized window / door needed re-fitting to make water tight as it was completely bodged when it was installed. A new radiator fitted as the old one leaked. The floor needed leveling. And then for fun we found that the drains under the studio and garage were blocked and had been backing up from the main drain for about a year :-( On the day it was cleared you can only imagine at that whole new level of nasty that was encountered underground. So once all that lot was put right, I set to with a circular saw, some 25mm thick MDF and gallons of white paint. A couple of weeks later new desk tops and shelves were installed. One paint area (drawing board) and two computer desk areas. One for illustration work and one for when Su occasionally works from home. The studio finally went live about two weeks ago, leaving a make shift studio in the corner of the dinning room, juggling commissions around while setting up shop. The light is great as its north facing and even though its smaller by about 40cm each way than my old work room, being a simple cube it works more efficiently as a space. A lot easier for laying kit out - no chimney breast or nooks and crannies to work around. After shots show the just moved in look. Unfortunately its not that tidy now! Nice to finally unpack the James Jarvis King Ken sentinels so that they can take pride of place on the top shelf!

Nostalgia trip.

2010-08-30T10:00:00.007+01:00

Well, these images are certainly a blast from the past. While going through old folios during the house move I came across some of the postcards I made for my degree show. Home made by shooting a roll of 36 exposure 35mm (film) photo's, then getting the prints duplicated a few times, then cutting each one out and sticking it on some white backing mount card. If that wasn't laborious enough, each one then had sticky label with contact details placed on the front or back. Printing costs were way out of my financial budget at the time of being a student.

The original artwork for both 'Street Entertainer' and the 'Computer Art' piece are A1 in size and the circus scene is some 3X A1 panels in size. I worked a lot larger then! All rendered with acrylic paint and tissue paper collage for the background. The Street Entertainer went on to win the Best Newcomer Award from The Association of Illustrators and the Computer Art piece was an image exploring the then fledgling potential of computers in art and design. How things have changed!

DPI Magazine Interview.

2010-05-15T10:51:00.003+01:00

Those kind people at DPI Magazine recently invited me to take part in an interview and show a few examples of my work. All featured in the May issue. Other artists featured are Nigel Buchanan, Segio Mora, Ester Garcia Cortes, Mariusz Stawarski, Steve Adams, Lou Beach,Kaspian Shore, Monsieur Qui, Ana Maria Lopez Correa, Igor Knezevic (Alienology) and Yu Jordy Fu. Details can be seen by following the link: DPI Magazine.

House move!

2010-05-13T12:17:00.006+01:00

House move time! Blimey O Riley - why or why did we choose to go ahead and move house? The studio has become the location for all of the loft contents and general packing boxes, as a result its now a bit full. Just a couple of pix to show the before and after status of my nice shiny studio. From the start of June, it will no longer be mine :-( I have very mixed feelings about moving as I really feel at home in my workspace and also its the longest I've ever lived in a property. This fact came as quite a shock when I sat down and worked out how many houses I've lived in over the years, which totals to some seventeen properties from being a toddler. Most of the houses were when renting as a student in Brighton and then later in London. This house is where Su and I started a family as well, so from that point of view it will also be a huge wrench to leave. My children have never lived anywhere else, so it will be a great adventure for them to move into a new place and experience different surroundings, but I do think its going to be a period of great adjustment for them - and us. There are a lot of good memories in these walls and the only reason we are moving is to be closer to my wife's place of work as she has to commute an hour plus each day. Not good, especially over the last winter months - definitely time to move after the volume of snow we had here. We are leaving Bolton and heading over to the Fylde, so it will be wonderful to be near the sea again. After nine years living inland do I realise that my heart belongs near the coast. Another interesting aspect of the move is that we are leaving a 1930's period property where it has an unusual mix of Deco and Victorian architectural styling cues. The new house could not be more different as its a late 1960's property that remains largely unchanged in many ways. The decor is a mixture of 60's, 70's (mostly) and 80's. So a definite mish mash and clash of styles - there's work to be done! This sixties house will provide the ideal opportunity to hunt down some appropriate vintage furniture of the time to populate the rooms. Over time I've developed an appreciation for the product and interior design of that era so its pretty cool with me :-)

Radio Times - Tosca.

2010-04-20T12:16:00.010+01:00

Out on the news stands today. Those good people at the Radio Times commissioned an image for their radio pages to accompany a new version of Puccini's Tosca, broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Just for interest I thought I'd post the image at four different stages.

Experimental image - Sneaky peek 2.

2010-04-19T13:51:00.003+01:00

Well, more or less finished and that will have to do for now.

Experimental image - Sneaky peek.

2010-04-15T12:42:00.004+01:00

This is an experimental image that's been lurking in the sketch book for a while. Not something I usually do but I thought it may be interesting to show an image at about about 70% completion, still quite a bit of tinkering to do so watch this space for the finished image :-)

Deep Sea Critter.

2010-04-14T12:32:00.010+01:00

We found this little critter washed up on beach. Called a Lumpsuker and about 14" / 35cm long, so named due to having modified pectoral fins used to grip on to rocks. A photo of a healthy one in action too, courtesy of the 'What's on in the South West' web site: Link . Anyone who knows me well, understands my interest in and enthusiasm for anything marine related. In an earlier life I was very nearly on track to becoming a Marine Biologist, but failing my physics A level (was always hopeless at knuckling down to revise!) led me to take a 'year out' to do an Art Foundation Course for a bit of fun. A whole new world of possibilities opened up and thoughts of re-sitting physics exams were very quickly forgotten - sometimes failure is the best thing that can happen? I still retain a passion for sea dwelling beasties and over enthusiastically bore my wife (and kids!) with useless info on all things marine we find when out and about. How the time flies by for them LOL.

Holiday!

2010-04-14T12:25:00.007+01:00

Really nice to get away for a few days over the Easter hols to the wilds of Northumberland. A stunning part of the UK where big deserted (almost) beaches expand into endless skies. Great to explore and enjoy with the kids. A few coastal landscape shots - but due to my inferior camera skills the sheer scale and breadth of the gorgeous beaches are rather lacking in these images.

Website revamp

2010-03-24T16:33:00.005Z

As you may have noticed the Blog has had a little makeover today. All to coincide with an imminent (small) website makeover intended to freshen up the design a little. Main changes were to make the overall site a little cleaner in design and add new links to this here Blog and to test out a small store page. Both examples of the the new and old versions of the homepage posted for comparison. New website to go live in the next few days :-)

Perfume Cash in.

2010-03-11T15:43:00.009Z

An interesting brief - to explore the subject of celebrity product endorsements, specifically the vast amounts paid for perfume / scent / fragrance cash ins. Fun doing something much more decorative than usual too, and I'm also quite fond of my grinning celebrity on a stick!

Terry Thomas - CadTastic!

2010-03-09T08:53:00.006Z

Writing the previous entry reminded of me of one of my favoutite actors when I was growing up, a one Mr Terry Thomas. If I ever saw his name amongst the credits of any film scheduled to be on the TV, I'd always tune in and watch avidly. Even including the really poor movies as I knew his on screen presence as the typically upper class caddish persona he mostly portrayed would lift even the most tawdry of plots.

For the uninitiated (shame on you!), there's a detailed profile and write up at the Terry Thomas fellowship... http://www.terry-thomas.info/. He appeared in many British films, a couple that stick in the memory were 'Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines' which is probably one of his most well known but he seemed to get a little less screen time (than I'd have liked) due to the sprawling cast. One of his movies I particularly like is 'School For Scoundrels' starring the equally talented Ian Carmichael and Alistair Sim. A superb biting satire exploring social position and 'advancement' in life by any means necessary, all studied at the fictional School of One Upmanship. Terry Thomas plays the cad with great aplomb and Ian Carmichael the hapless student who learns to 'out cad' the great Terry Thomas, all under Alistair Sim's guidance. Still makes me smile.

Doctrine

2010-03-04T15:31:00.005Z

An quick experimental image that came about after playing with a series of one word themes.

Ronald Searle at 90

2010-03-04T12:19:00.013Z

Just a few drawings, but how do you choose just a few!

One of the artists I admired as a student, encountering his work firstly as a child (unknowingly) when watching the credits of the movie 'Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines' and being more fascinated by the credit drawings themselves rather than the film itself - except when Terry Thomas was on screen. Then later as a student at Brighton, where I discovered the sheer variety of work, from the very powerful prisoner of war drawings to the satirical editorial work. At that same time I was also inspired by Ralph Steadman and Gerald's Scarfes work. All you have to do is look at their early drawings to see the debt owed to Mr Searle while they were finding their own drawing language at the beginning of their careers. You can see more at the Ronald Searle tribute blog, at the Chris Beetle Gallery and there's also a Channel 4 News interview with the man himself over at Youtube. Fantastic to see the video of him raising a glass, in good health and still passionate about work.

Spark.

2010-02-04T14:59:00.007Z

This image proved a challenge. Exploring the origin of ideas and which ones stand out as having greater potential over others. Started with the barest glimmer of a sketch as a very loose framework - all in the sprit of the subject being explored. After digging around for some appropriate reference I started to render my own version of an old NGK spark plug in quite tight detail but also exaggerating and simplifying elements as needed - hence the obvious choice of Adobe Illustrator for this as it offers an immediacy and directness I sometimes find lacking in photoshop, brilliant though it is.

Originally there were six versions of the image, narrowing down to these three 'finished' pieces. Two exploring the human link by using a figure base, as per the original sketch; the third taking it into another direction by putting the plug in a landscape with other 'dead' ideas. Taking it over into photoshop allowed some of the painted textures to be added and integrated with the plug. A similar green / brown pallet was used throughout. In the end I re-work the winged version, altering the tonal balance to make it a little warmer. A digital glaze perhaps? This is probably the most successful of the three, but I kind of like the slight ambiguity of the other two.

When working in this way its good not to have all the answers. Taking risks as I went along meant the old cliche of the 'happy' accident comes into play and allows for unexpected results. The unfortunate point being that you have to work through all of the poor variations to move forward. Just like when generating ideas, some creative happy accidents are worth embracing and can be used in future images, others go to the creative graveyard and become the ghosts failures past!

Bomb!

2010-01-28T21:11:00.012Z

To anyone tuning in - a belated happy New Year! Its been a little busy here with one thing and another so no time for blog entries - woeful I know! I've just restarted a couple of experimental pieces that were lurking away in the background, finally making a concerted effort to get them finished. I played around quite a lot with colour on this illustration. It still amazes me how much the effect of colour and specifically the tone of colour has on the atmosphere of an image. I preferred the green and the orange versions and opted to push the orange one to finished artwork. The theme is based on a lighthearted article I found on 'military paranoia' where the patients in question have no reason to be afraid, but still have an irrational fear of military persecution! As this is an experimental image it may get some tweaking to push it further.

Radio Times Christmas livery pages.

2009-12-09T12:22:00.015Z

Above are close ups to show detail and how much bleed area was rendered. Below show the illustrations in situ...

The Christmas Edition of the Radio Times is just hitting the news stands around now. Along with a couple of other artists I was invited to submit sketches for the Christmas Eve page livery. Numerous pencil drawings and a 'finished' colour rough test piece were submitted and I'm delighted to say that I got the job to illustrate the rest: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Eve, New Years Day and Radio In Your Area spreads. The space for the artwork is pretty limited - approximately a 17mm deep strip across the top of the double page spread. The illustration has to accommodate text and of course the central gutter. The first temptation is to ram the design with as much content as possible, using the top and bottom edges to frame and crop objects close up and run content down either side strip, but this years brief requested a clean simple set of images with just one theme for each, but still using traditional iconography and keeping the side colour more or less intact for simpler 'colour day page' magazine navigation. It took quite a few roughs to get the designs and ideas simple enough to work as a set. The deadline was fairly tight with around a week to take all the images to print once the sketches were approved. A few late nights with the odd necessary correction where needed and the job was done! Following the line work, the finished images were rendered mainly on the Mac with some acrylic painting here and there. I'm really pleased with the set and if I had to pick a favorite it would probably be New Years Day. I always really like Radio Times commissions as the projects are fun to do and they are lovely people to work with as well, which is a definite bonus.

Christmas Cards.

2009-12-07T08:59:00.013Z

At long last I've finally created some of my own Christmas cards, something I've never got around to doing before. A couple of playful ideas to be used on cards for personal use, not a client mailer or anything on that scale - that said a few clients may get one in the post! Somehow I've never done a Christmas 'work' mailer as yet, despite the obvious promotional opportunity with all of those cards crossing the globe to their respective personal and commercial destinations. Will do one at some point!

The images were done pretty quickly using elements of recent work. The 'ghosts of illustrations past' as it were! We three kings (robin X 3) is a play on the three wise men, combined with a reference to a set of decorative wall mounted ceramic ducks from a childhood memory of them being on an aunts wall. Space baubles X2, one with a background and one without - these B movie references will just not go away.!!! I also wanted to try out a new printer who I've not used before (Moo clicky). A very user friendly site, but limited scope to play with the overall card design. Will report back on the quality when they thud onto the doorstep.

New Scientist: Black Holes & Dark Matter

2009-12-01T20:08:00.007Z

Sometimes commissions come along where the boundary between work and play gets a little blurred, this was one such project for the New Scientist. A cracking article to illustrate that explores theoretical space travel, where spaceships are powered by black holes and dark matter! After a few emails the Art Editor and I decided on the approach of William Heath Robinson meets a 50's B movie...! Image was rendered as above but was flipped for printing. A joy from start to finish. Out on the news stands right now.

Altpick Award...!

2009-11-13T09:35:00.004Z

Yesterday I received an email from the Maria at the Altpick stating that I had won the Third Place Illustration Award for one of my (new style) illustrations..! To say I'm very pleased (and reassured) that the new work is gaining some headway is a bit of an understatement. You can my piece here: Clicky1 and all the award winners here: Clicky2.

Prism

2009-11-13T09:30:00.004Z

This was a challenge. The brief involved using Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon album cover as a reference point. Good fun to do as we decided that it would be interesting to make the image slightly more 3D in feel, so angled the prism slightly to show the underside floating in an abstract space. I really enjoyed this piece as it was similar in approach to the origami speed boats I did a while back: Clicky!

Great to re-visit an iconic piece of pop imagery.

2009-11-01T10:13:00.009Z

It was Halloween last night and I just thought I'd post a few pix of our evening. Ciara and Su carved a pumpkin and then did a couple of drawings ready for the evening. The witch and the little black line drawing of the figure as posted. When I asked her what it was she replied (exasperatingly): 'Its a happy ghost monster daddy'...! Love both the drawings, especially the witch in glorious felt tips. We pinned this one up on the outside of the front door to show that people were welcome. It seemed to work as we had loads of trick or treaters this year. Ciara took great delight in opening the door in her witch costume to try and scare the callers. Theo tended to hover in the backgound a little as he'd already been (REALLY) spooked by an earlier trick or treater in a very scary full werewolf head mask from the upcoming The Wolfman movie . Poor Theo ran back down the hall shouting 'SCARED SCARED SCARED'...! I love halloween..!

Tree

2009-10-23T10:16:00.004+01:00

Just thought I'd pop this newie on here. Quite enjoyed playing with this image as I got to experiment with the depiction of a dead, withered tree contrasting the new green shoots. A few versions were supplied to the client, but this was my favourite.

Promo images

2009-09-15T15:39:00.012+01:00

Eco-manufacturing and Bubble.

I've been tinkering over the summer with a few promo pieces that I may use for mailers or possibly for web portal promo sites etc. For most promo work, I tend to prefer using self initiated work rather than using commissioned pieces. With these images I can then work a little more spontaneously, with just a loose brief or theme as guidance. By working in this way it just allow a little more freedom and scope to be able to play with ideas and rendering. No pressure of a tight deadline or a specific brief - just some time to play :-) Reminds me of what this image making lark is all about, as sometimes its just fun to work outside of commissions just for the sheer pleasure of creating new work.

Ciara & Theo's work

2009-09-11T17:01:00.010+01:00

Horse Mask (photocopy)

Glitter and glue.

Rubber stamps

Hand & sponge painting

And more hand & sponge painting.

I have two kids, one age five and one two, and they both love playing with materials in Dad's studio. Above are a couple of examples. I REALLY like the scary horse mask made out of a piece of blackened photocopy paper!

I also had a spare large 3' X 4' canvas knocking about the studio, gathering dust and waiting for a bit of attention. So on a particularly grim rainy summer day in the school holidays, Ciara and I set up a work area just at the right height for her to be able to reach all parts of the canvas. I usually paint on a large drawing but no matter what we tried we could not get it low in enough for her to reach the top. After some juggling, we set up on an old wooden box and then set to by using up some of our old emulsion tester pots and some old acrylic paint. We mixed up some water with the base paint to make it slightly runnier, then added a bit of glaze medium to help the paint become a bit more transparent. Then let rip, painting with hands brushes first and then pouring paint from one end of the canvas to the other. The 'finished' painting is now hung on the kitchen wall. Great fun! The nice thing about working like this is that it makes me loosen up a bit with the paint and lets Ciara really throw paint around - which she did with great enthusiasm. We also agreed that on the next rainy school holiday, we'd re-work the same canvas, so it has the potential to develop and change with every session - a work in progress for us both!

Origami Pound Notes!

2009-08-21T08:25:00.004+01:00

A three quarter page image used inside the magazine.

This is how the cover was printed, with the background details reduced - I REALLY like the printed result, not something I often say about a printed illustration, and the sign of really good Art Dept working well with their contributors (photography or illustration).

The finished image ready for print as originally supplied.

The line pencil sketch after client approval

A recent project that proved quite challenging in that it required a much more visually economic approach than my usual working method. After a discussion with the Deputy Art Director, it was decided that it would be interesting just to focus on the central object, minimising the background's importance. I really enjoyed having to keep things simple and just concentrating on the main theme and not being distracted by background. This is completely alien to me as I usually like to envelope a figure or object in an environment of its own to make the scenario or concept more convincing to the viewer. I REALLY enjoyed this approach overall - a working method I'll certainly be exploring further.

Images 33 Exhibition.

2009-07-29T16:56:00.014+01:00

Last night was the Private View for the Association of Illustrators launch of Images 33: The Best of British Illustration. Link. Unfortunately I was unable to attend, but I hope to be able to get to show before its run ends - fingers crossed on that! I was delighted to get two pieces excepted into the exhibition itself and also a third in the annual as well: Scorpion attacks which is all about bullying in the workplace. Poker Robot which explores a robot designed specifically to always win at Poker. Factory Relocation, an image about relocation of manufacturing for cheaper labour costs. If I get to the show itself, I'll post photo's of them in situ and also my fav artwork from the show.

A couple of the 741 Illustration crowd (Sarah Coleman, Jacquie O Neil, Jill Calder Ali Pellatt and Myles Talbot) are in the show was well. Sarah, Jill, Jacquie, Ali, Myles and I were the founding members of 741 illustration collective a few years ago. We are still very much in touch and support each other through the ups and downs of freelance life :-) Here are Sarah's (I challenge you to find a more gifted type artist!) pieces from the Images show...

Influences - Dan Dare

2009-07-20T17:26:00.007+01:00

Anyone with a passion for sci-fi will know about Dan Dare! These playing cards were found in a friends attic and they kindly lent me them to scan in, there must be about thirty or so in good enough condition to repro. I have a few of the original Dan Dare annuals bought from junk shops when I was a kid. Prized studio posessions now!

Play!

2009-07-20T16:31:00.014+01:00

When I left my teaching role at UCLAN last year, it was clearly obvious that a 'sense of play' had somehow disappeared from my illustration work. Probably as a result of trying to keep too many things going on at the same time. Play? Work just for fun? The what if approach? Material experimentation? Call it what you will, but I had just a couple of weeks where I raided my paints, collage drawer and some of the throw always the kids had been drawing and scribbling on and just let loose, scanned the results in and just played :-) No brief or theme to any of the images, just a reaction to the materials in their own right and then a tiny bit of computer manipulation. A couple of the images went on to become a finished images - usually semi abstract backgrounds with a central figurative theme. Just a few favs of the many that were done...

Footballing Heroes

2009-07-16T10:52:00.001+01:00

This project developed about a month ago. I was invited to contribute to the Footballing Heroes project, now in its third incarnation: http://www.footballheroes.org/

I don't often get to do portraits, so this was a really fun, challenging project to undertake. I started in usual way by doodling in a sketch book and copying photographic reference, but expanded this once the likeness was more or less there. I used both Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to build these two images, starting out by blocking in colours in Illustrator and then by adding paint (scanned and digital) in Photoshop. I ended up playing with different versions of each character, mainly tonal changes, but enough to make a noticeable if subtle difference.

Images of the printed versions will follow in due course.

Diego Maradonna

Ademir Menezes...

Introduction...

2009-07-15T17:22:00.003+01:00

Hello! This is the first entry into my shiny new blog. I work as an illustrator, based in the North West of the UK and I'm planning on using this blog space as an extension of my own web site. Expanding on some of the illustration work in detail, showing sketches, layouts, experiments, some golden oldies perhaps and of course the inevitable cock ups that go hand in hand with the creative process. I guess the first thing to do is publish a couple of photo's of my studio and some of the kit therein...