Autumn Books

After the Summer books illustration it's now the turn of Autumn books for Nature Magazine.

Final

First character sketches

Finished sketch

Detail

Accompanying spot illustrations

Gibbons

Lightning sketches of gibbons at my local zoo. Lightning because they barely stay still though it's great when they rest for a few seconds with their arms splayed out in front of them. I'm in awe of their agility and I could watch them for hours....

Modern day Suffragettes

A short deadline for The Times Weekend Review which was briefed, roughed and completed in the space of a day. I love these quick turnarounds, keeps me on my toes.

The Stasis

Illustration for Nature Magazine about how the Stasi stole scientific secrets from companies in West Germany. The scene is set in the 1970's hence the dodgy moustache and clunky computers.

Autumn

New intro image for my portfolio website.

Interview

Caustic Cover Critic is a great blog that celebrates good book design and entertainingly lambasts the bad ones. The blogs' author asked if I'd like to be interviewed and I was happy to oblige. To read the interview please click here.

Pan's Trotters

For The Times Magazine. A restaurant review of La Tante Claire at Selfridges in London where the chef is famous for his Pigs Trotters. The reviewer Giles Coren wrote about J.M Barrie in the piece so this was a nice way to link the ideas together.

Sketch. We decided that the pig face was too distracting.

Final line drawing

Final. Tinkerbell is helped along by some photoshop brushes which I usually avoid but in this case I needed some sparkling kitsch.

Secret text life

A small look into the process of a piece for The Times 'Body & Soul' section. It's about a guy who, after many of marriage, has started to flirt online and via texts with an unknown woman. The hand going into white helps to emphasize his breaking of the bond with his wife.

Sketch

Final line

Final

PD James Novel

Here's a little more background behind the inside illustrations for the Folio Society book Cover Her Face by PD James.

The project was so involving and rewarding particularly when piecing together all the scene and character descriptions that needed to be referenced in order to stay true to the story.

Two ideas presented with descriptions

Descriptions of proposed illustrations (click to enlarge)


Seeing the sequence together helped me establish the whole look

Drawing out the seating arrangement for the 'Whodunit' final image and trying to solve the problem of showing eight people together in one room all facing each other.

Final

PD James novel. Sally.

The first illustration in the book is an introduction to the main character Sally the maid who gets murdered (not giving anything away here). Miss Liddel in the foreground is shocked by the maid having the audacity to stare at her during the meal. At the table there's also a hint of the jealousy subplot.

Sea Monster

For Fortean Times about the writings of Peter Haining on the so called 'Loch Watten Monster' set in the 1920's

Sketch

Final Pencil

Final

Temptation

Hommage à Seurat

For Nature Magazine to illustrate their summer reading suggestions

First sketches

The final was drawn on rough watercolour paper to help achieve the pointillist effect

Coloured in photoshop with a noise filter thrown in for good measure

More Telephonic Doodling

A collection of mind-wandering doodles are now to view in a special set over at my Flickr page. Thank you.

Rain

A break from the heatwave....