'Walkies' book

An illustration of Jason Webley and Jay Thompson's song 'Eleven Saints'

A little project I've been playing around with. Sadly I've only got up to five saints so far, but they were great fun to draw. I spent a while looking through religious texts and looking at various dramatic scenes, most involving an animal of some kind and a painful death.

And now for something completely different...

I've been experimenting with using Photoshop textures within my work for a while now and decided to go all out on an idea I had for a Christmas card. This is based on the iconic painting 'Revd Dr Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch' by Sir Henry Raeburn.

Nul Points cover re-release

Arrived in the post this morning. The bright yellow was initially shocking but its really growing on me and I love the new size. This won't be in the shops until next year though...

Angry this morning

As a freelancer I rely on prompt payment from clients and my bank being efficient to keep my balance in a healthy state. Yes I've been paid but does it show up on my online bank statement? No. Why is it not updated over the weekend? Or even by Monday morning? Why does is take three working days to input a piece of data into a computer that should work instantaneously?

The shops open on weekends, the electricity and water works on the weekends and even I work on the weekends (hey I'm committed to my job what can I say?). Isn't it about time my bank did too?

Having fun with my new font

Its official. I'm going to be adding my swirly typeface to my library of favourites. This image is the first in a line I'm working on to do with 'Guides to Life' or hints or something. Its all in the air at the moment but I'm excited about it.

As to why buy expensive shampoo? Well because it works better. I have long hair and spend hours gazing at all the pretty bottles in Boots and Superdrug.

More News for November

Another reason to avoid Starbucks...

Although they have just released their new hot chocolate and man is it good.

Partyyyyy!

For those of you who live locally, I will be having a little gathering at the Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh College of Art, to celebrate the completion of my book 'Dae Ye Ken?'. All are welcome so feel free to pop along from 7-10pm on Saturday 25th November and say hello!

Second instalment of a Month of News for November

November 9th to 11th. This project is turning out to be quite a challenge. It is very difficult to illustrate a story every day, particularly one that may not even have a humorous angle. I'm sure it is good for me though...

Sunday Times

One of my Business Gateway ads was in the Sunday Times today. Thanks to Jill for spotting it! This design is also currently appearing on the Scotsman website as a banner.

First instalment of my new series, a news article every day for the month of November

News for November 1st to 8th 2006.

Diet time for ponies...

Now this irritates me. Ponies are generally quite round and robust, it is part of their charm. My Little Ponies used to be cute, round little beasties with big eyes. These days they have legs up to their armpits and a nipped in waistline. They look more like gangly foals than ponies, why oh why? Is it not even acceptable for a toy to be curvaceous?

Dae Ye Ken? Blog

I've just finished creating a blog for my book Dae Ye Ken?. You can view it here...

Experimenting with lettering...

This week I have been looking at lettering (one of my passions) and trying out some new fonts. Here is one of my favourites so far. My Hand Lettered text has appeared on bookjackets, billboards and taxis. I'm a huge fan of hand lettered text in general and many of the illustrators that I admire also use lettering in their work.

Oh and Happy Birthday Alex!

My little brother is 22 today!

Fifty-three days until Christmas!

Hello All. I'm back and ready to get creating. Yesterday I had a sudden compulsion to design and make an advent calendar and here is the result. The image to the left is the front and the image to the right contains the little pictures under the flaps.


And here are some photos of the finished thing...

I'm off to Spain next week!

I'll be leaving on Sunday for a week in Ampurias, an ancient Roman town complete with ruins and a beach! I'm taking my sketch pads (and Linn) so I'll be posting images when I return.

My Desk

My new prize possession is my Dell LCD 19" Monitor. This beauty has freed up a huge amount of desk space as well as improving my digital workspace too! Anyway, I drew this in response to a brief titled 'Wish You Were Here', the idea being to depict a place where you meet people, talk to friends and get inspiration. Well sorry guys but my PC is my access to the world. I have every visual reference I could ever require and my best friends from all over the world can be reached via the click of a mouse (hooray for Skype and Messenger). Plus I've been a little under the weather this week so I haven't strayed far from my desk.

I'd also like to link this piece to a website that I find fascinating called 'On My Desk'. Here creatives share photos of their workspaces and give a little insight into their inspirations and methods. I warn you it is very addictive...

I'm everywhere!

We popped down to Waverley Train Station today to take a few pictures of the barrier arms with my images on them. We also happened upon one of the taxis! Once we'd spotted one we kept on seeing them everywhere!

It is finally here!

My book arrived from the publishers this morning so it is now available for all you lovely people to purchase. You can get it on Amazon, W H Smith or straight from my publishers. You know you want to....

An ancient horse

My grandparents had one of these at their house, whether it was real or not I don't know! I love the way these statues stand and I had a compulsion to draw one.

My Business Gateway poster in Glasgow...

Thanks to Lex for pointing this out and providing a map! I took this photo this afternoon. If anyone else spots one please feel free to let me know. I saw a few more of this particular one but I'd like a photo of one of the green ones!

Business Gateway

I've been reliably informed that my posters have been spotted in Glasgow! Well here they are anyway. If you haven't seen it already I've just re-built my website so please take a look.

Riding under the influence

A 'cowboy' rode his horse into a number of bars in the German town of Geseke whilst drunk. He was eventually arrested and his horse spent the night in the police stable.

Another animal encounter!

Okay, according to the news Zhang Xinyan, a construction worker, drank four pints of beer and then climbed into the cage of Gu Gu, a seven-year-old panda, at Beijing Zoo. He then attempted to hug Gu Gu and was rewarded with a bite on the leg. He responded with equal force but failed to get his teeth through the panda's thick fur. A zoo worker used a hose to seperate the pair with jets of water. Zhang claimed to have seen panda's being hugged on TV. He will be off work for a month recovering from his injuries and Gu Gu is off his food.

A brief look at the news headlines...

And I came upon this beauty yesterday. Apparently the groom was caught in an intimate position with said goat and a group of officials decided that this was the correct course of events. He paid the animals owner a dowry and both he and the goat haven't been seen since. I actually thoroughly approve of this logical outcome!

Lemmings Don't Leap!

I forgot to mention that I received a copy of a book I drew images for the cover for a few weeks back. It is called 'Lemmings Don't Leap' and is a collection of '180 Myths, Misconceptions and Urban Legends Exploded'. Well worth a read actually!

CBBC Website

Busy day today creative-wise. My image 'Breakout' went up on the CBBC website today so take a look!

If you live in London...

...go see my work which will be part of the exhibition at Magma Books...

MAGMA EXHIBITION, LONDON
Before we officially go live at www.noisefestival.com on Tuesday 3rd October, a month long exhibition of NOISE artwork will begin at Magma on 27th September, in collaboration with media partner, Grafik Magazine, the leading journal of the best in international graphic design. A selection of graphic design, photography, illustration, film and fashion talent will be on display at Magma’s London store on Theobald’s Road, between Clerkenwell and Holborn.

It is due to run from 26th September until 29th October.

Just an excuse to draw a woolly mammoth...

Woohoo, book finally finished and going to print this week. I've had an idea for another one though and am beginning work on that. I'm off back to college on September 28th to do my Masters. Hopefully being able to dedicate my entire days to my artwork I'll be able to experiment more and get some personal work done. It'll be fun learning to balance my paid work with my studies and I look forward to the challenge!

Today's efforts...

The image of the animal band was something that came to me last night as I lay in bed. It has been a while since I had the time to indulge in a bit of drawing for myself. I've had a lot of work on- but I'm not complaining mind you!

I've just finished three posters for Business Gateway that should be going up on buses, taxis and giant posters. I'll post them here once they're sorted.

The other image is something I'm working on for the CBBC 'What's Your Picture Story?' competition. It is for younger children who write in with stories about what is happening in the picture. I hope they use it as I'd love to hear some different interpretations of my work!

Next week will be all about my book. We're starting on the final layout and going to press pretty soon!