Wild Bison to be reintroduced to the UK

It has been announced today that wild bison will be reintroduced to the British countryside for the first time in between 6000-15000 years (no one seems to really know apparently). Per the BBC news:

“The £1m project, led by Kent Wildlife Trust and the Wildwood Trust, is aimed at helping to manage Blean Woods near Canterbury.

A wild herd of European bison, the continent’s largest land mammal, will be in their new home by spring 2022.

The breed is the closest living relative to ancient steppe bison, which once roamed Britain.”

The above editorial illustration was done in about an hour. Nothing fancy – just thought the idea of a bison on the tube was amusing. Enjoy!

The Clock Maker

This was a fun piece to do (even if it took a while to finish, but i’m sure you’ll all appreciate that procrastination won’t get done on it’s own). I added the lighting effects to the main character in the same why (I hope) that SPA Studio’s did for their movie, Klaus. There’s a lot to take in to consideration for the lighting in this piece, which subsequently made it quite tricky to pull-off, and I’m still not a 100% sure I’ve got it right. So, what are the principles of lighting I’ve used here;

  • Ambient light – this is the soft light coming in from the moonlight on the top planes of the character.
  • Contact shadow – simply the darkest shadow where two things touch.
  • Bounce light – this is the light that bounces up from the desk where the lamp light hits. So all the planes that face down get illuminated.
  • Direct light – this is the light cast directly from the lamp.
  • Rim-light – this is the thin strip of bright light we see around the edge of the character and certain objects cast by the moon.

There also the texture of things to take in to account. Wood for instance is less reflective than polished metal or glass and thus has to be rendered appropriately. Anyway, that’s enough technical waffle. Hope you like the piece and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the process GIF up top, and whether you’d like to keep seeing them. Cheers

The Clock Maker WIP

Working on this bad boy at the moment. The above piece was made quickly to give me and idea of the atmosphere and values I’d be focusing on before I fully render it. I did a similar illustration to this for Inktober on instagram a couple years ago and always wanted to expand on it. Stay tuned!

Paper Planes

A friend of mine has been nagging me for a while to do an illustration of a group of us that all met a few years ago in Ibiza. One of the first things that happened in our apartment was the maiden flight of a paper airplane, I can’t remember why and we probably should have been out drinking instead. Anyway, it flew like I’ve never seen! In all my years of watching paper airplanes fly – through primary school, middle school, high school, university, and in to my professional career – this one was hands-down the most impressive. I don’t know why i’m going on so much about it, but trust me; it. was. impressive. This is my somewhat unimpressive retelling and illustration of said event. Enjoy

Life’s a beach

This is another concept for a children’s book. I feel like there’s lots of potential and character here to explore – who, what, where, how etc… This place feels lived in and practically built, even if it seems a little unstable in places. Is it an island or part of a larger mainland like so many seaside towns? I expect we’ll be finding out more about this place in the future…

Sailing the skies

This is a children’s book concept I’ve been toying with for a while. It’s essentially a story about time and death, which doesn’t sound too children’s book-y, I know, but the story would address the issue in a subtle and abstract way (I hope). Anyway, this a full page spread in which the two main protagonists take a journey in a flying boat (also the little girl is an Eagles fan… of course). Enjoy!

Fishing Village: work-in-progress

Three hour digital sketch that I’m going to tidy up and colour for the portfolio. The idea was taken from a fantasy book I’m reading at the moment by Miles Cameron (if you’ve not read his work, I highly recommend him). I’m excited about this one!

The Testaments

This is a throwback to an editorial piece I did for the release of Margaret Atwood’s “The Testaments” for a university project. It went through a few iterations before I landed this design, but this illustration in particular ignited my want to become a professional in the art industry. I’ve also yet to read this book, but the prequel to this “The Handmaid’s Tale” was a great read!