It’s a Process

The weather has turned in the UK so I figured a character in the cold was warranted. This guy and his sheep/ram buddy were fun to design and took probably about four hours to illustrate altogether. I took a lot of inspiration from Siberian, Mongolian, and Icelandic cultures, but isn’t specifically any of them, insteadContinue reading “It’s a Process”

Freyja

Freyja character design. This one was difficult, but is perhaps my favourite of the bunch so far. I seem to rarely draw women, so I often find myself having to relearn how to every time I make an attempt. In most forms of art it is well documented that you should “stick to what youContinue reading “Freyja”

Scared of the Dark

I quite like the composition of this one as I think the balance between light and dark helps lead the eye. As I mentioned before, I’m trying to incorporate the new style in to some character work, it’s early days yet and the character here isn’t as refined as I’d like but it was onlyContinue reading “Scared of the Dark”

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”

Frustration

There are days where everything seems to go right. The work flows, you feel good, and the piece you makes excites you. This is not one of those days. This piece was really tough to do and took a long time to complete. It’s another of those illustrations that I’m not sure how I feelContinue reading “Frustration”

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…”

A Question about Originality

I’m enjoying doing these pieces. I believe they’re getting more and more refined as I do them, and rightly so; practice makes perfect, and all that. The majority of the illustration is a replication of an existing photograph, albeit my take on said photo. Because I’ve essentially copied a photo and just added some bitsContinue reading “A Question about Originality”

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”

Lighthouse

Another study today. This one was a little more complex than the last one, because there’s more going on with the buildings. I injected a conceptual aspect to the piece with the torn paper, as it made things a little more interesting and leads the eye. I used the mixer brush in Photoshop to giveContinue reading “Lighthouse”

Little Merchant – study

Quick character study here. I’m playing around with line-work a little more than I usually would as a way to test things out, and it means I don’t have to be so careful with edge control for colour. I quite like this for what it is; a simple character scene. Not everything has to beContinue reading “Little Merchant – study”