I went down a little people with band's names wormhole earlier in the year! Enjoy!
Friday, 22 December 2023
Wednesday, 13 December 2023
More Batman...
I like a little Batman sketch now & then, here's a few recent ones...
Batman on his summer holidays
Moody pensive Batman
Tuesday, 12 December 2023
Thursday, 28 September 2023
Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Friday, 25 August 2023
Cheese Moon!
I was listening to the news about the Indian moon shot yesterday & got distracted & drew these mousetronauts (with a hat tip to George Méliès' Trip to the Moon from 1902) I REALLY hope the Chandrayaan-3 finds cheese (or even paneer?) while they're up there! (Pen & ink with wash A4 300gsm watercolour paper available to buy as the original or as a high quality art print on my Ko-Fi Shop)
Wednesday, 16 August 2023
Dragons In Their Pants (slight return)
A lot of people* say to me... "Hey Steve May! Why haven't you posted a dragon in pants for a while man?!?"
I'm TOO good to you!
(*Statement *might* contain fibs)
Tuesday, 1 August 2023
Powerful Barnets!
I posted a picture of a poster from 1954 (see below) saying that 'no person wearing Edwardian clothes will be admitted to Dances taking place in this Hall' harking back to probably the first youth cult of all, the teddy boys. A friend was celebrating the teds & remarked on their 'powerful barnets' which is a wonderful turn of phrase & I had to draw it!
More powerful barnets?
http://stevemaystuff.blogspot.com/2011/05/zombie-arcade-slight-return.html
http://stevemaystuff.blogspot.com/2012/04/hair-gunk.html
http://stevemaystuff.blogspot.com/search/label/hair
Wednesday, 26 July 2023
Concertina Sketchbook
I was given this lovely concertina sketchbook as a present from my agents Arena Illustration & decided to take a line for a walk...
Tuesday, 25 July 2023
Thursday, 20 July 2023
Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Friday, 7 July 2023
Thursday, 25 May 2023
Friday, 12 May 2023
Giraffe pop up!
Do you ever think of that?
No, because you only think of yourselves.
Monday, 8 May 2023
Dog Save The King!
Getting into the patriotic spirit at the weekend. (I'm back on the green ink because that's all I have left but I kind of like it!)
Friday, 28 April 2023
Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Book Mark Project 2023
I've just finished my (very literal) bookmark for Sharon Hattersley's Book Mark Project 2023 it's an original drawing, one of many produced by some great artists which will be auctioned in May to support Katiyo Primary School in Zimbabwe.
Tuesday, 18 April 2023
Friday, 14 April 2023
Monday, 3 April 2023
Tiger Dreams
Regular followers of my other social media accounts will know that that I stabbed myself in the thumb with my dip pen while drawing this. The rest of you will probably never see this or even care, you absolute rotters!
Who KNEW illustration was so dangerous?!?
(Yeah, I'm fine now. Cheers for asking...)
(More tigers?)
Friday, 10 March 2023
Steve May - Illustrator's Q&A
Illustrator Q&A for the Big Bearded Bookseller (@IndieBookshopUK)
Where I discuss drawing, conversations with random cats, my influences & basing a villain on an ‘evil-David Dickinson’ amongst others…
Read the interview here
When did you know you wanted to become an illustrator?
I always drew obsessively as a kid but I didn’t realise you could do it as a living until I was about 10 years old & discovered 2000ad
How long does it typically take to make a page or cover for a book?
Ha ha! How long is a piece of string? It depends how many characters are involved. My present book has a big cast of characters so the cover was quite complicated!
What’s your favourite piece of art equipment?
I love dip pens although I’m a rather destructive illustrator & I frequently destroy them!
Do you have a favourite colour scheme, if so what and why?
I seem to often lean towards purples & oranges but nothing in particular
Who were your inspirations when starting out?
There are SO many artists I love but Tove Jansson (Moomins) Mick McMahon (Judge Dredd etc.) Albert Uderzo (Asterix) & Ralph Steadman all had a huge influence on me
Do you have another job beside being an illustrator, if so what?
I’m an animation director & I lecture in animation.
What do you do to overcome a creative block?
Eat things I shouldn’t or go for long walks & start up conversations with random cats I meet in the street.
Do you have a favourite piece in your portfolio, if so could you share it and talk about it?
It changes all the time. I like to feel I’m always moving forward so it’s usually something I’ve done recently. I’m rather fond of the cover from Supernan’s Day Out by Phil Earle which was published last year 2022 by Barrington Stoke – it’s got lots of things I love in it, superheroes, the seaside, ridiculous animals (& if you look closely there’s a little cameo of me wearing a striped shirt eating an ice lolly & holding an inflatable fish in the background.
What was your first book related project?
I *think* the first children’s book I illustrated professionally was called ‘James & The Alien Experiment’ by Sally Prue back in 2005
What type of media do you prefer to work in and why?
I love pen & ink but I generally work digitally so my stuff is usually a bit of a hybrid
Do you have a playlist you like working to? If so do you want to share it?
I like noisy music when I’m colouring in!
Do you have any rituals when working?
Does ‘pulling stupid faces’ count?
Do you have a favourite artist outside of the world of books, if so who and why?
Too many to mention, early Hockney, Francis Bacon, Jean Dubuffet, Aubrey Beardsley (& all the other ones I’ve forgotten!)
Did the books you read as a child influence your work?
Very much so! I loved the Asterix & Moomin books & Richard Scarry’s work was phenomenal. (I had the honour of getting a quote on the covers of recent Scarry reissues from Faber which was VERY exciting!)
Has your illustration/art style changed over time?
Yes, but gradually. (although I’m sure my critics would say I just drew the same nonsense over & over again!)
How closely do you work with the author on developing the illustrations for a book?
I like to be able to send over character ideas & discuss them with the author – sometimes I’ll ask them if they have anybody in mind for a particular character. When I was working with Harry Hill we concocted a villain who was half Nick Cotton from Eastenders & half ‘Evil-David Dickinson’!*
(*You’ll only know David Dickinson if you watch too much daytime TV!)
If you could illustrate any classic book which would it be and why?
Alice in Wonderland would be fun but I’d also love to have a crack at Andy Stanton’s Mr Gum books!
Which illustrated books in the last year have you loved?
Too hard! I did rather love Sister Clawdetta by the brilliant Tor Freeman!
If you can please tell us about your latest project and if not your last project
My latest project is a picture book with the brilliant Francesca Simon which I’m sworn to secrecy on – I’ve been working with Francesca on her Two Terrible Vikings series for Faber but this is a new picture book for younger readers – hilarious & VERY colourful – watch this space…
Do you have any events on in the near future?
I’m doing Wimbledon Bookfest for World Book Day on the 9th March with Francesca Simon talking about our latest book Two Terrible Vikings – Feast With The King – expect mayhem (that’s MAY-hem of course!)
Thursday, 9 March 2023
The Two Terrible Vikings invade Wimbledon Bookfest!
I had great fun today bringing the exploits of Hack & Wack the Two Terrible Vikings to life at Wimbledon Bookfest today at the lovely New Wimbledon Theatre with Horrid Henry author Francesca Simon.
We entertained about 500 London school children with stories & live drawing with characters & stories from the Two Terrible Vikings series by Francesca & me.
They learned about Vikings, stinky trolls & terrible babysitting tips when the twins have to babysit Dirty Ulf's brother Fire Hazard (whose name explains a LOT!) from the new book Feast With The King
Tuesday, 14 February 2023
Thursday, 2 February 2023
Publication Day for Two Terrible Vikings - Feast With The King
It's publication day for the THIRD in the Two Terrible Vikings series 'Feast With The King'
As ever I loved working with the brilliant 'Queen of Comedy' Francesca Simon who imbues these books with so much energy & humour!
Three fantastic new stories!
Hack and Whack babysit a toddler – Fire Hazard – and discover to their horror that they might not be the worst vikings in the village after all . . .
Then they manage to secure an exciting invite to feast with the visiting king, but discover that it’s three days of having to be on their best behaviour . . . Until the new teenaged king turns out to be a lout – food fights ensue, and he loves them.
Unfortunately, that’s when the snotty, privileged, wealthy winter guests turn up – distant cousins who can’t be turned away. They make everyone’s life a misery – can Hack and Whack find a way to get rid of them?
Packed full of humour that children will love and illustrated with anarchy by the fabulous Steve May.
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