The Unreachable Itch

The Perils of Archibald Toddle #5 - Cannibal Hat

2012-01-05T21:52:00.000Z

The Story so far...

and then!

Existential detail.

'The hat will grow spider legs and eat Ziggy, and the spiders will kidnap Archibald.'

Thanks to Diana Probst for the crazy idea that I've put into a Victorian style comic page. I improvised a little to get Archibald into a new environment and a good place to ask 'What Happens Next'?

He's inside the ship! Is the interior like nothing we've ever seen before, will it go somewhere, is there anybody else within?

I'm gonna go for a single full page image on the next one (probably) so SHORT AND SNAPPY suggestions below please.

Fire away! The weirder the better....

Idea for Archibald #5

2011-12-14T06:36:00.000Z

Can't resist this one by Diana Probst which came via twitter:

'The hat will grow spider legs and eat Ziggy, and the spiders will kidnap Archibald.'

I'll get drawing! Unlikely to finish before the Xmas chaos but you never know...

Thanks for the fantastic ideas everyone. Please please keep it up!

Lost at E Minor

2011-12-06T11:38:00.001Z

I've written some 'Guest Posts' of some of my favourite web finds for 'Lost at E Minor' in which I praise:

Grayson Perry, Kitty Daisy and Lewis, Jon Ronson on The Shaggs, Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowisc, Walton Ford and Terry Gilliam.

Oh and I might have slipped in a mention for Archibald too.

Audience Participation #4 - The Hat Thief

2011-12-02T11:11:00.001Z

The story continues but first a recap!

And then....

Thanks to Michael Kirkham for the idea!

Calamities! What will happen when Ziggy puts on the hat?

Will he transform, will the world end, will our hero's perception of reality be twisted beyond recognition...

Suggestions below please for the next exciting episode of The Perils of Archibald Toddle.

*A reminder that all chosen participants get a copy of the illustrations as a handmade book. Jolly good, carry on.

Flavia De Luce

2011-11-25T13:24:00.001Z

Cover illustration for the new Flavia De Luce Novel by Alan Bradley for Orion Books (hardback) which was a lovely job to work on. The plan was for me to illustrate the back catalogue of paperback re-editions but it didn't work out in the out in the end and they went for something much more graphic. I like the sketches though and I've included them below. Disappointing for me as I would have loved to work these up to final.

Hope you like!

Pencil work

First sketches for the above hardback

Sketch for 'The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie' (paperback).

Sketch for 'A Red Herring Without Mustard' (paperback).

Chosen idea for Archie #4

2011-11-24T08:21:00.001Z

I'm going for Michael Kirkham's great suggestion: 'Upon Ziggy's command the spiders web Archie to the floor (in a Gulliver-esque manner) and make off with his top hat".

Thank you for the support and wonderful ideas. It was a tricky one as the image didn't have an obvious angle to work from so I'm gonna change tactic slightly for the next stage and move this adventure into a perilous cliffhanger.

Stay tuned for the Perils of Archibald Toddle.

To be continued......

Audience Participation #3 - Ziggy

2011-11-14T07:46:00.001Z

'Archibald notices hundreds of spiders surrounding him and a man on top of the capsule. He has a thunder on his forehead. It's Ziggy Stardust!' (click for a larger version)

Thank you to FEDRA for the idea and all who posted.

Victorian meets Glam Rock! Where could it go from here? I await more of your suggestions as to what happens next.

Keep the ideas 'short and snappy' please and a reminder that every chosen participant gets a credit and copy of the handmade book.

Here's a recap of the images so far and a quick thought for the intro page which will have a collage of some of the alternative ideas:

So What Happens Next? Suggest below......

Don the Talking Dog

2011-11-07T12:19:00.003Z

My cover illustration and typography for the new Fortean Times magazine inspired by vintage circus posters. Lots of fun to work on this cover helped along by the Art Director Etienne Gilfillan.

Final

Rough sketch

Rough colour

Final close ups

PS: Half term chaos and work have put a hold on Archibald but I'll be getting back to him shortly....

Chosen Idea #2

2011-10-15T09:24:00.000+01:00

This is the first time I've been so open with my work and invited people to join in so firstly, thank you for responding and secondly for being so inventive! A great range of ideas including the poetic, the crazy and the enigmatic.

This weeks selection process involved -

5 favourite ideas printed and cut out, 1 'lady woman' for her unbiased opinion and 2 daughters hiding in the 'play tent' where the, then wife-filtered, slips of paper were thrown in. This is the ticket that emerged:

'Archibald notices hundreds of spiders surrounding him and a man on top of the capsule. He has a thunder on his forehead. It's Ziggy Stardust!' Suggested by FEDRA.

I'm looking forward to it! Watch this space..... (in a week or so)

Audience Participation #2

2011-10-10T20:11:00.001+01:00

'A large metal object falls out of the sky and crashes at his feet.'

Thanks very much Allan Sanders for the idea and all those who posted. The range of funny and weird suggestions were a pleasure to read. Please continue....

SO, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Post ideas below!
Short and snappy suggestions please and remember 'the stranger the better'.....

The Art of Literature

2011-10-07T08:47:00.001+01:00

There's a celebration of the The Folio Society's illustrated books over at the Guardian website which talks about the tactile quality of a beautiful object:

"In this age of e-books and e-readers, many of us yearn for books that can be bought and held, kept in a home library and handed down to future generations. It is something that The Folio Society, which will celebrate its 65th anniversary next year, understands very well"

*You can vote for your favourite book too and you're under absolutely no obligation to vote for mine. However, when voting, think about where you heard of the article and do whatever your conscience tells you (if your conscience tells you to vote for mine that is).

Chosen idea.

2011-10-05T09:05:00.000+01:00

THANK YOU for the great responses!

To keep my choice pretty random I put five of my favourite ideas in a hat then my daughter plucked out this one:

'A large metal object falls out of the sky and crashes at his feet.' suggested by Allan Sanders.

Lovely stuff. I'll post the next stage soon and look forward to hearing your crazy and brilliant suggestions again....

Audience Participation

2011-10-03T09:16:00.001+01:00

I need the help of YOU the loyal and lovely readers of this blog.
Please post a comment below with an idea of 'what happens next' to this character . Just a short and snappy idea for a wordless narrative. Along the lines of: "He gets attacked by..." or "He meets a...." or "His trousers fall down..." etc...

I'll then choose one idea and draw it. Then I'll ask for more suggestions for the following image. I'm thinking of maybe 8-12 illustrations which I'll then make into a handmade book. All those people whose comments make it into the story will be credited and will receive a GIFT COPY! Oooh.

It's an experiment in improvisation and new ways of thinking. I hope by the end to have created some work that I would never have expected of myself and I also hope that it could be an interesting organic project for you to interact with.

It's an open brief! Do what you will with him, be merciful or horribly wicked, the stranger the better.

SO, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

*NOTE:

Please don't post anonymously if you'd like a copy of the book.

Also, I'll wait until there are at least 10 comments before I choose one for the story so please don't be shy.

Twitterer

2011-09-30T14:25:00.002+01:00

Also, I've started tweeting so please follow if that's your thing: @jonathanburton

The Wild Wild East

2011-09-30T14:22:00.001+01:00

Nice art direction from Mark Stammers for this piece about “Investing in the Wild East”.

Eastern Europe is still dominated economically by Russia and whilst money can be made in the region it still has the air of lawlessness mixed with get-rich quick entrepeneurs that draws comparison with the US gold rush.
Mark briefed, "I think the overall piece would have maybe a quite dark and threatening overtone to suggest a level of danger beneath the fascade."

After some discussion added "Russia certainly allows western entrepeneurs and investors to come in, but once you are there you have to play by their rules which just happen to include bribery, corruption, murder etc. So entry is free but you might not get out with your investment intact and in some cases with your life."

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

2011-09-06T10:11:00.000+01:00

I was thrilled to continue illustrating the series with the sequel to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy published by The Folio Society. So a huge THANK YOU to Art Director Sheri Gee.

Please click images for larger versions

The cover is blocked in gold and holographic ink on the same blue glittery cloth as the previous book.

'Restaurant' is more epic in scale than the first with descriptions of vast space and landscapes while the characters are split up through time and space to follow their own strands. With the 'cast' already established in HHGTTG this was an opportunity to take a step back and see them within a larger scale.

Or seeing them from some odd angles....

Working out the perspective for the spaceship aisle.

Some finals with their sketches. New characters Max Quordlepleen who is the Restaurant's Host and the Ruler of the Universe who is an idler living in a shack.

By far the most surreal characters are the Golgafrinchans of who I don't know where to begin to describe!

Nothing is confirmed yet as to if Folio are going to continue the series or if indeed it will be me illustrating them but I sincerely hope that the project carries on. Watch this Spaaaace!......

And another thing! I love to see the really rough early sketches on illustrators blogs so here's a couple of pages from my Hitchhikers sketchbook for anyone with similar curiosities:

Monsters and Angels

2011-08-02T13:04:00.005+01:00

This is for Asset International on the subject of Prioritising Problems. As I've mentioned here before, working with the Art director Soojin Buzelli is always interesting as she lets illustrators breath and go with an idea that tests the audience rather than having it laid out on a plate for them.

I'm guilty at times of thinking more about what the Art Director wants to see rather than trying to surprise them with a more unusual or poetic concept. Thankfully there are some great AD's like Soojin who support metaphorical thinking and personal reactions to themes which makes the magazines at Asset International a source of great illustration.

I have a good handful of Art Directors that I'm really thankful to work with. They have a real passion for the industry and trust me to do my best which gives me a great boost : Martin Colyer, Etienne Gilfillan, Sheri Gee, Jim Stoddart to name drop a few.... The Angels

Sometimes though there are briefs that arrive that make my soul sink. Those that come with a list of things to include or have a cheesy concept attached or those that don't want to know my thoughts/ideas and on top of that come with a terrible budget... The Monsters. I have to fight and defeat them and I am always very concise about why I won't take something on in the hope that we can have a dialogue! Which is what it's all about.

Anyway, here's the sketches and final for one of the good guys - Planadviser Magazine:

Plansponsor Magazine and drawings for Sale

2011-06-13T22:12:00.009+01:00

New for Plansponsor Magazine on the subject of 'confusion as to where the end of a glide path is'.

Sketches

Final Line

The original line drawing of this illustration is for sale in my new shop run by illogator. There are other items too so please feel free to pop in and browse.

American Illustration 30

2011-05-31T19:13:00.003+01:00

The winners are online now which includes my 'chosen' illo below. Hoorah.

Glycon

2011-05-24T09:46:00.003+01:00

Alexander of Abonoteichus the false Prophet with Glycon the human snake oracle with whom Alexander preached in the second century AD. For Fortean Times Magazine

CINEMA

2011-05-11T16:07:00.006+01:00

My Cover Illustration for the Greek magazine 'CINEMA' on the subject of the new rebellious film makers coming out of Greece - one of which is Yorgos Lanthimos. At first I thought of the crazy dancing scene from his film Dogtooth which perfectly demonstrates youthful rebellion but it was thought better to not highlight one film on the cover though I still like the image.

Time for an update

2011-03-23T20:02:00.016Z

Here's a few recent things....

First is for Asset International using Hamlet as reference for the article To Boutique or not to Boutique.

Below was for Moneywise Magazine about techniques to keep the (Goliath) taxman at bay.

Again for Moneywise. This is about the high cost of Long Term Care where life savings get very quickly eaten up in fees.

For Fortean Times. Neanderthals were much more sophisticated than previously thought.

Kingsley Amis

2011-01-14T12:54:00.007Z

It was great to work on these covers for Penguin books which are for the Modern Classics Kingsley Amis reprints. I had a very short deadline so I got into a rhythm of illustrating one cover a day over a period of a week. (There were 5 covers though one is on hold). A big thank you to Art Director Jim Stoddart.

This one is for the hardback edition of Complete Stories.

Close ups of the illustrations without cover type can be seen here

The Winners are.....

2011-01-08T15:51:00.006Z

Names were randomly selected from a straw hat. Bizarrely they are the last 3 names in the comments list, proving that randomness has a strange kind of order to it.

One more random selection as I'm feeling generous:

Please email me your postal addresses and I'll send you all a goody bag: jb(at)jonathanburton(dot)net

New Year give-away

2011-01-05T11:32:00.005Z

Illustration for my agents 2011 calendar on the theme of Hollywood.

If you'd like one of these compact little calendars to decorate your desk just leave a comment here and I'll pick three names at random at the end of the week. I'll throw in some other goody bag things too.

Happy New Year!

Xmas Working

2010-12-26T23:41:00.005Z

For the Wall Street Journal's 'Weekend Journal' a seasonal cover and interior illustration for a short story by Alexander McCall Smith about a workaholic Father who neglects his family.

At first I was thinking of having the lead character in the same position many years apart. One having his wasted musical ability and the next sleeping on the floor of his office.

Further sketches showing a more open ended and dream-like narrative

Final cover illustration

Inside illustration

Festive Cheer and Bad Woolies!

2010-12-22T09:49:00.002Z

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

2010-11-18T08:55:00.065Z

I'd first read and loved HHGTTG in my teens so going back to it to do an illustrated version for The Folio Society was a dream job. Douglas Adams' book has an important place in British culture and is an international bestseller which started out as a Radio Play, then went on to a TV series and most recently a big budget Movie . Working on a much loved story was more than a little intimidating and a real challenge helped along by Art Directors Gavin Morris and Sheri Gee and also the active involvement of the Douglas Adams Estate.

The cover is printed in holographic ink on navy blue glittered cloth with blind embossing.

The first illustration was to be a test for marketing purposes and to show how I would approach a main character. I chose Zaphod Beeblebrox, the president of the Universe. A two headed, three armed, badly dressed egomaniac.

'The robot camera homed in for a close-up on the more popular of his two heads and he waved again.'

Some of the reference used for a character study. A wonderful mixture of spandex, back combed hair, glitter, knee-high boots and neckerchiefs. Sexy and weird.

The frontis illustration is of a Vogon ship about to demolish the Earth and is a nice way to start the book. These were some of the thumbnail sketches presented with notes:

'It’s difficult to know exactly what the people on the surface of the planet were doing now because they didn’t really know what they were doing themselves.'

I've tried not to show any of the characters in too obvious a way and leave something to the imagination which is why I love behind the head views, obscured faces and unusual angles. Showing the Vogon from behind felt right for this. This is the scene where Captain Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz tortures Ford and Arthur with diabolical Vogon poetry.

‘Nnnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrggggggghhhhhh!’

Here's some early Marvins. At first I was thinking of him as a slick futuristic robot, beautifully shaped as if designed by Apple Mac resembling the humanoid robots in 'irobot' or simple and sleek like the character Eve in 'Wall-E'. But no, clunky, clanky and creaking seems more suited to Marvin's personality.

"I suppose you want to see the aliens now" he said.
‘They would appear,’ said Ford doubtfully, ‘to have turned into a bowl of petunias and a very surprised looking whale.’

'Arthur was a dead weight – he seemed hypnotised by the airborne rodents swooping towards him.'

And finally: Some reference photographs of myself looking daft taken on a delayed timer. Sometimes my wife walks in and catches me like this and then walks out the room shaking her head whispering the word 'freak'...

All eight final illustrations are on my website here.

Culture Evolves

2010-11-15T08:35:00.003Z

For New Scientist Magazine.

'Say culture and most people think of opera, ballet, art and theatre. No wonder there’s general bemusement or even anger when biologists say that they have found it in chimps and whales. Surely culture is a human thing? So what should we make of claims that you can see signs of culture in monkeys and meerkats, let alone birds, fish and insects?'

Schizophrenia

2010-11-10T20:08:00.005Z

Recent anti-stigma campaigns featuring celebrities apparently have little effect on people's attitudes to those with mental health problems. Researching this subject made me think about my own pre-conceptions and opened my eyes to how the media and public can wrongfully judge. For Nature Magazine.

http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/

Overdraft Britian

2010-10-28T10:38:00.003+01:00

A new piece for Moneywise Magazine

Ouija

2010-10-20T15:28:00.003+01:00

I've been very busy these last few weeks illustrating some book covers that I can't reveal until April next year!

In the meantime, here's a recent job for Fortean Times titled 'Poetry and the Paranormal. Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath dabbled with a ouija board for inspiration: According to Hughes, in a note to his wife’s poem, Ouija, Plath “occasionally amused herself, with one or two others, by holding her finger on an upturned glass, in a ring of letters laid out on a smooth table, and questioning the ‘spirits’.” Full story here

Final line

Final colour

Whip

2010-09-21T20:16:00.004+01:00

For Boss Magazine in Australia about the importance of having a protective boss.

Final

Sketches

Heroes

2010-09-14T14:00:00.004+01:00

Here's a bit of the process behind a new illustration for Moneywise Magazine where investment bankers are seen protecting clients money from the double dip recession.

Final

Sketches

Final Pencil

I flipped the final image as I think the main arrow reads better going from left to right.

Skint

2010-09-10T13:30:00.010+01:00

This illustration is in tomorrows' The Times Magazine for a review of The Capital Hotel Restaurant which is apparently very expensive much to the dismay of the author who explains that he is a bit skint.

The idea is influenced by (copied from) a scene in the Charlie Chaplin film 'The Immigrant'. He realises that he has no money to pay for the meal but then he notices a coin on the floor.

AOI award

2010-09-08T12:17:00.005+01:00

I'm happy to say that my illustration for Cover Her Face has won Silver for Book Illustration from The Association of Illustrators in London. Both the original line drawing and the finished proof are exhibited.

The Folio Society swept the board for book illustration last night. Read the story here.

Unfortunately I missed the awards ceremony as my flight was cancelled due to the strike in France :-(

The Mirror Crack’d

2010-08-25T16:24:00.005+01:00

Here's some new work for an illustrated version of the Agatha Christie novel published by Penguin Readers.

Janus

2010-08-25T09:27:00.003+01:00

For Sight and Sound Magazine about the end of the UK Film Council which was the intermediary from government funding to the UK film industry.

Folio Society Prints

2010-08-17T16:10:00.002+01:00

The Folio Society are now selling prints of illustrations from many of their books from postcard size to large format. Cover Her Face is included as those for sale and soon to be featured are my illustrations for The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy which will be released in November.

Watch this space.......

The Consultant

2010-08-07T17:42:00.005+01:00

This piece is for the latest Plansponsor Europe on the subject of 'Relying on Investment Consultants'. The Art Director Soojin Buzelli really supports metaphorical thinking and I had a lot of fun with this.

Sketches

Final Line

Final colour.

L'homme Inaccessible

2010-07-30T10:03:00.005+01:00

I'm now on holiday until the 9th of August...

Note to Self #2

2010-06-28T08:44:00.005+01:00

"A work of Art is realised when form and content are indistinguishable. When form predominates, meaning is blundered but when content predominates, interest flags. But the genius comes in when both of these things fuse".

PAUL RAND

The big draw of illustration

2010-06-21T12:05:00.003+01:00

An encouraging and positive article over at The Times

3 Dogs

2010-06-08T07:58:00.006+01:00

This lady caught my eye walking near my house this week and I was taken by her matching coat and dog leads. It was one of those moments when I wished I had my camera. What really stood out was the shape of the leads and their colour against the black and white crossing. I tried hard to commit her pose to memory and when I got back to the studio I realised just how little I could remember. I went back to photograph the crossroads and then whilst reworking the scene in my mind it became more theatrical, more graphic and more poetic than how a camera would have described it. So this drawing comes from the gap between observation and imagination and for me this is just how she was.

The Return of Narrative Art

2010-05-27T08:15:00.012+01:00

An interesting essay by Patrick Coyne over at Mark Murphy's blog

"Our society is in the midst of a radical reassessment and restructuring—what was once known to be true no longer applies. There exists a need for future mythology and iconography, symbolic narratives explaining how the world and humankind might evolve from their present form. Narratives can teach, enlighten and inspire us to move forward with hope and aspiration."

ALSO on the same blog a controversial but astute observation about art trends and 'borrowing' from other artists:

"'Art fashion' is an attempt for tertiary artists to harvest works that feature characteristics of today’s popular cool. For example: striped dunce hats (Nathan Ota), squid legs and arms (Jeff Soto), extra-large eyes (Mark Ryden and Sas Christian), one large eye and one small eye (Joe Sorren), and on and on. (Whatever happened to worshiping artists from another age? It would take a lifetime to imitate Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio 1571-1610 or Gian Lorenzo Bernini 1598-1680)"

WHICH reminded me of a post on Jillian Tamaki's blog:

"I think there’s a valuable lesson illustrators, particularly students of illustration, can learn from Fine Art… that work should come from a place of exploration and introspection. To copy a “style” is simply a superficial appropriation of someone else’s context. Someone else’s life experience, interests, travels, tics. It’s just surface. There’s nothing underneath."

AND leads to a great link at ART:21 where you can watch whole episodes of artists at work including the amazing Walton Ford (at 41 mins) who is talked about in the Patrick Coyne essay above.

So a nice trip round the block!

Small houses making big books

2010-05-13T17:13:00.003+01:00

The Financial Times recently profiled The Folio Society and used a photo of my book illustrations. Nice to see people read it with a nice cuppa.

Taigheirm

2010-05-13T16:44:00.003+01:00

This is a new illustration for Fortean Times Magazine about a ritual called Taigheirm which is an infernal magical sacrifice of black cats believed to have taken place on the Island of Mull in the 17th Century.

Final

Sketches

Note to Self #1

2010-05-11T15:54:00.004+01:00

This is from an essay by novelist Raymond Carver called 'On Writing' but I think it's appropriate for any form of artisitic creation, illustration included:

'I have friends who've told me thay had to hurry a book because they needed the money, their editor or their wife was leaning on them or leaving them - something, some apology for the writing not being very good. "It would have been better if I'd taken the time." I was dumbfounded when I heard a novelist friend say this. I still am, if I think about it, which I don't. It's none of my business. But if the writing can't be made as good as it is within us to make it, then why do it? In the end the satisfaction of having done our best, and the proof of that labour, is the one thing we can take into the grave. I wanted to say to my friend, for heaven's sake go do something else. There have been easier and maybe more honest ways to earn a living. Or else just do it to the best of your abilities, your talents, and then don't justify or make excuses. Don't complain, don't explain.'

New Website and Shop

2010-05-03T16:07:00.004+01:00

Finally my new website is working which has a simple and clear design and shows the illustrations much larger than on the previous site. Also I have a brand new shop over at Big Cartel.

Move

2010-04-19T22:32:00.008+01:00

My website is moving and should be up and running in a day or two.

Human Genome

2010-04-01T08:56:00.007+01:00

Here's the new cover illustration for Nature Magazine about the human genome sequence being ten yrs old. The article and how the image is used online is just here.

These are just a few of the stages including first sketches and colour tests. There was a lot of to and fro with the Art Director to get it right and I was happy to work with them with main comments being 'more hair, more tangles, more disorder......'

The trickiest thing was drawing the child which had to be a generic 10yr old without showing any features.

Pencil

Final coloured in photoshop

Breaking the Law

2010-01-04T09:26:00.004Z

For Readers Digest. A article about unusual and outdated laws

Sketch knocking into the right hand page

Final line drawing. I later rescaled several things to make the main character bigger. I kicked the football around too.

Final colour

Modern Day Saints

2010-01-04T08:59:00.002Z

A bit of 'catch up' for the New Year before I get back into the swing.
First of all here's a recent job for Fortean Times about modern day celebrity Saints.

Sketch

Final line

Final colour

One handed press ups

2009-12-14T21:25:00.005Z

For The Times Magazine restaurant review Giles Coren got himself into an unusual situation at The Beckford Arms.

Sketch

Final Line

Final Colour

Also my website has had a little makeover plus I've been very busy on another book for The Folio Society which I'll be posting about in the future.

Autumn Books

2009-10-22T17:11:00.005+01:00

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

2009-10-12T12:52:00.006+01:00

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

2009-10-02T19:41:00.006+01:00

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

2009-09-25T23:14:00.007+01:00

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

2009-09-25T23:10:00.003+01:00

New intro image for my portfolio website.

Interview

2009-09-22T08:11:00.003+01:00

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.

Secret text life

2009-09-10T08:48:00.005+01:00

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

2009-08-07T21:10:00.011+01:00

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.

2009-08-07T20:42:00.006+01:00

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

2009-08-05T16:26:00.004+01:00

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

2009-08-05T16:22:00.005+01:00

Hommage à Seurat

2009-07-23T21:00:00.010+01:00

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

2009-07-07T11:30:00.008+01:00

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

Rain

2009-07-02T12:49:00.006+01:00

A break from the heatwave....

Animals that Count

2009-06-25T08:42:00.007+01:00

For New Scientist magazine. Article here.

Saucy

2009-06-09T20:44:00.007+01:00

For Notebook Magazine in Australia an article about Women and Porn.
The illustration was briefed to concentrate on the reading of the novel 'Lady Chatterley's Lover'.

Telephone Doodles

2009-06-08T20:31:00.009+01:00

I don't even remember doing these, the right side of my brain just having some free time while the left side just chatters away. And then he comes back and shouts 'Hey! Can't I leave you alone for even 5 minutes....'

AI-28

2009-05-26T09:42:00.011+01:00

Illustrations that the judges have chosen* for American Illustration 28.

*'Chosen' means being eligible for their website whereas the 'selected' images go into the book. Both due in November 09.

Heart Attack

2009-05-01T21:16:00.006+01:00

Here's an illustration for Plansponsor Magazine about a worker at a benefits agency who feared she caused the death of a retired claimant.

Sketch 1

Sketch 2

The Climate Crunch

2009-05-01T20:57:00.008+01:00

It's been while so time for a bit of catch up...

Here's some ideas behind the recent cover for Nature Magazine which illustrates the growing problem of the earths carbon emissions. Full article here.
My first idea was to have a huge carbon monster bearing down on a city but the AD made the better choice and also rightly suggested the Earth rather than a city under threat for the final.

Cocoa

2009-03-26T09:38:00.008Z

A little more process work for the illustrations within the PD James novel 'Cover Her Face' for The Folio Society.

Final

Notes and scribbles

Sketch

Final line drawing

Close up

Long Neck

2009-03-20T14:49:00.002Z

Snapshot

2009-03-13T10:13:00.005Z

Something for Friday the 13th

Fish!

2009-03-09T08:06:00.009Z

Times Magazine, a review of the Bouchon Breton restaurant where the fish was apparently under cooked.

This was the final line drawing but I redrew the woman's face to make her more expressive.

Final

Times Magazine

2009-03-09T07:50:00.006Z

Apologies for the lack of updates, I'll try to get back on track.....

Some recent work for The Times Magazine with this one being for a restaurant review of Lucknam Park.

Sketch

Final Line Drawing

Final

E Nesbit

2009-02-03T20:48:00.004Z

Portrait of E Nesbit for The Sunday Telegraph Stella Magazine.

"More than 100 years after it was published The Railway Children remains a classic, evoking a more innocent, bucolic age. The book had a happy ending, but not so for it's author, whose only respite from a bizzare often tragic life was her writing."

Sketch

Final

Mr Toppit

2009-01-30T20:39:00.006Z

Some new work for The Times on Saturday illustrating an extract from the book Mr Toppit by Charles Elton.

Snooze

2009-01-19T10:04:00.004Z

PD James novel. Faux Pas

2009-01-19T09:05:00.004Z

A few more process sketches for the Folio Society book 'Cover Her Face'

Final

First thumbnail sketch

Colour rough

Final line drawing

Readers Digest

2009-01-05T21:34:00.012Z

Sketch working to the page layout design

Snapshots of the 3D model

Backstage

Final Illustration and layout

Illustrators 51

2008-12-28T15:15:00.004Z

I have some work on show at the Society of Illustrators from the 7th to the 24th of January in the Illustrators 51 sequential exhibition.

Chrimbo!

2008-12-18T10:34:00.003Z

The Cruel Irony!

2008-12-16T21:30:00.012Z

See my first post on Classic FM (Dec 4) and now two weeks later the spot is cancelled due to a re-design!

So, John Tavener is the last of over 70 composer illustrations but it's been good through all these years...... sniffle

House of Illustration

2008-12-15T11:10:00.014Z

The House of Illustration is the brainchild of Quentin Blake and the museum is set to be 'the place to see past and present illustration, both British and international. It will be the world’s first centre dedicated to the art of illustration in all its forms.'

A recent competition ran alongside the exhibition titled: 'What Are You Like' which showed work by artists Quentin Blake, Peter Blake, Sara Fanelli, Eric Carle, Davis Shrigley and many more. This was my entry which *cough* happened to win *ahem... and will be shown at the Dulwich Picture Gallery until the 18th January 2009.

Final coloured in Photoshop

First thumbnail sketch

Final line drawing

Composers

2008-12-05T10:02:00.013Z

Some more illustrations for Classic FM Magazine with these examples going into the realms of 3D.

Sketch for Beethoven

Final Beethoven

This image of Dvorak picked up a Silver Award from the Society of Illustrators at the Third Biennial Dimensional Salon and was exhibited within a box with a 'spy hole' at the front and a wide hole at the back to shine a light through.

Classic FM.

2008-12-04T12:47:00.008Z

I've been illustrating the 'Composer of the Month' for Classic FM magazine for over 5 years and and 3 art directors now. I'm really grateful that the magazine has stuck with me and encouraged me to experiment. Without their openness to ideas and my use of different media it wouldn't have lasted this long and I hope it continues.

This is the latest and it's of John Tavener

PD James novel. Whodunnit.

2008-12-03T15:44:00.004Z

Final coloured in Photoshop

Final line drawing

PD James novel. Crime Scene

2008-12-03T14:46:00.009Z

Here's a look into how the crime scene illustration developed. The final image is inspired by photographs of murder victims taken in 1930's New York. Click on the images to see a larger version.

Final version coloured in Photoshop

First notes and scribblings

Rejected idea

Final line drawing

Cover Her Face

2008-12-03T14:33:00.004Z

Earlier this year I illustrated the crime novel Cover Her Face by PD James for the Folio Society and it has just been released. I’ll be posting some illustrations from the book shortly as well as some of the working drawings and processes involved in creating the works.

I’m very pleased to say that 4 images from the book have been selected for the ‘Illustrators 51' exhibition and book which is published by the Society of Illustrators.