Yoshiwara

Have created this illustrated piece for Belfast-based newly established label Yoshiwara. They're focusing on releases of doom/stoner/metal and just downright esoteric material.

The name is taken from the club featured in Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) so the direction was 'do something with art deco feel and if possible throw in something dark/fantastic/satanic'. Had a blast doing this as love Art Nouveau/Art Deco stylings and trappings and intersected with dark, murky stuff just made it all the more fun to work on.

It involved original ink elements such as figures scanned in, then a lot of background/environment stuff built up as vector elements in Illustrator, then colouring and textures applied and tweeked in Photoshop. Haven't really had the time this weather to build anything up in that time-consuming intricate fashion so was nice to get to work this up.

Below is illustration containing the Yoshiwara logo created by Will Broadbent, drummer of band Ogre who do a great line in Sabbath 70s-style heavy doom metal. They've released material through the Yoshiwara label. 

Rockin' Robin

Saving Snowdrop

Here's a set of children's illustrations I created back in 2012. The client, American-based Learning Media, informed me not to highlight them online until after publication in 2014. Found out last week that the company no longer exists! So here they are...

It was a pretty tight deadline (surprising as it wasn't going to print until 2014?!) so they're pretty basic combo of ink line work and flat Photoshop colouring.

Flute Magic

What do you get your talented flute-playing 10-year old nephew for his birthday. Answer: Flute Magic! This was fun to piece together and helped scratch an itch to do basic, bright, elasticy kids illustration (which I haven't done in some time).

 

 

This was probably the equivalent of someone giving me a 78rpm shellac record when I was 10, but created a little cd package containing fun tracks that all have flute playing present in them.

 

 

Also, printed an A3 print complete with shaky googly eyes. These always make me laugh as they're so harmlessly stupid.

 

Here's the tracklisting...

A - Z: A is for...

 

I've had the idea floating about my head for some time to alphabetically create a series of illustrations of musical acts. Hopefully, utilise styles/techniques that are sympathetic to the subject matter in each case, but maybe more importantly, utilise differing working methods for the sheer sake of shaking things up for myself.

 

Lately I've got into a bit of a rut of doing comic-booky working method of creating clean inks, scan them in, clean them up, then flat colouring in Photoshop so it seemed that now was a perfect time to give this a go. There's no defined schedule on this or anything else imposed, so hopefully I put this to positive, fruitful use going forward.

 

With this series I want to be able to break a few eggs along the way, not be too precious and use whatever gets the job done, pencil, ink, watercolour, paint, vector, texture scans, maybe try out new techniques and materials. Basically rip it up and have fun. Regarding creating fresh work lately, have been a bit zapped with usual life and 9 to 5, so hopefully this project on the side gives me a bit of fire and incentive to attack the drawing board with a bit more relish.

 

Have been listening to a bit of old soul this weather, Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, so there was little doubt in my mind to kick things off with the Queen of Soul. In a weird way, due to the recognition she's received and lack of obscurity think it's easy to be a bit dismissive of Aretha. Stuck on 'I Never Loved A Man' album while working on this, it's the definition of class with a side order of 'oomph'. Hopefully there's a little drop of that oomph that she delivers in this...



The Depths

The Cosmic Plectrum

Have finally sent the material for my third issue of Charlatan Tales off to print.

It contains a self-contained 28 page full-colour story 'The Cosmic Plectrum' containing my erratically occurring character 'Spaceman'.

Below is the cover artwork, hopefully update sooner rather than later on release and availability of the finished product.

Stage

 

I've just completed this piece incorporating pencil work, vector line work and a lot of Photoshop.

 

Originally, prior to colouring and adding vector elements such as the stars and anchor and ropes, I pieced all components together in greyscale.

 

 

When it came to overlaying the colour the colour I had to really hold myself back as I wanted a final look that would look like colours washed out with time and age or a look reminiscent of old hand tinted film footage with slightly garish colours such as emerald green and peachy red seeping through.

 

 

 

I'll have prints of this piece available when I'm attending MCM London Comic Con on the weekend of 25th-27th October.