This is a commissioned piece that the client has kindly allowed me to share. I did a pencil sketch like this years ago, probably about a year after I started drawing again, and although I liked it at the time it now looks incredibly naïve. I also like how the troll has crammed itself underContinue reading “Troll Bridge”
Tag Archives: childrens book illustration
Environment Concept pt. Deux
A slight expansion on the farm house concept. As I mentioned in the previous blog post I felt like the house didn’t look abandoned enough and that I would rectify that and I think this goes at least part of the way to doing that. It was also a good exercise in drawing an objectContinue reading “Environment Concept pt. Deux”
The Magic Cloak
Final spread (unless a publisher wants to approach me for a full book… hint, hint). To be honest all these pages have been very rough and the character design pretty elementary. There’s a definite Disney aesthetic to all the pages which wasn’t initially intentional, but certainly was in the last two spreads. So what next?Continue reading “The Magic Cloak”
Kids Book Spread Concept
Double page spread for a possible kids book about the Norse god Freyja taming the boar Hildisvini. This is only a rough spread, but I do like how it’s looking. I tried to stay away from adding cast shadows and strong light because I think the colours work quite well and Freyja and the boarContinue reading “Kids Book Spread Concept”
Reading Light
I’m attempting to transition the new style I’ve been using into some character work. This piece is somewhat influenced by Riccardo Guasco, an Italian artist who lives in Wales; “he researches the lightness of form and color of the heat and he does it with a few colors and simple lines. He loves old postersContinue reading “Reading Light”
Ice to Meet You
This was a fun one to do. The previous illustration I posted felt like it was missing something and I didn’t want to make the same mistake twice. I was originally going to have a large troll (this is set in Norway after all) standing just to the left hand side of the house withContinue reading “Ice to Meet You”
Capturing the Essence
This is one of those rare occurrences where I actually like a piece I’ve made. I focused on simplifying and abstracting a lot of elements here because I often get into the habit of adding too much realism and detail. There’s nothing wrong with realism and detail, but a piece that should take a coupleContinue reading “Capturing the Essence”
Late Night Deli
Just a quick study today. This one, unlike so many others, didn’t cause me any stress. I kept things super simple and didn’t go too crazy with the detailing. I found with this piece that I was initially drawing everything too precisely, so I had to go back and “correct” the shapes and proportions soContinue reading “Late Night Deli”
In Case You Hadn’t Noticed…
In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been sticking to a certain style recently. I’ve found that in the past the work that I post on social media and on here is “all over the shop”, for lack of a better term. If you came to my website I think you would be hard pressed toContinue reading “In Case You Hadn’t Noticed…”
Making things hard for myself
The above illustration is actually only the top half of a larger image. As far as composition goes I think this is an improvement on the original (see below). The reason for this is the reduced colour palette and the shape of the canvas. A limited colour palette tends to bring a piece together moreContinue reading “Making things hard for myself”
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