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”

Booking heaven!

This was going to be a quick piece – a bit of drawing from life, but then I got carried away. As with every illustration I do, I get to a certain point (usually when all the flat colours are applied) and I think “I hate this stupid picture and myself! Why do I evenContinue reading “Booking heaven!”

Bully

I tried something different with this one, that being the light being overcast and thus diffused, rather direct light. Not sure how I feel about yet. I think perhaps I haven’t fully grasped how to paint this type of lighting yet – it could be my values are off a bit or maybe my useContinue reading “Bully”

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 lotContinue reading “The Clock Maker”

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.Continue reading “The Clock Maker WIP”

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 shouldContinue reading “Paper Planes”

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 soContinue reading “Life’s a beach”

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 mainContinue reading “Sailing the skies”