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Showing posts with label children's books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children's books. Show all posts

Friday 21 April 2017

Superdad's Day Off

 Superdad's Day Off by Phil Earle with illustrations by me is out now published by Barrington Stoke.

"Stanley is a normal little boy, whose dad just happens to be the greatest superhero on the planet. Six days a week, Dad saves the world from disasters, aliens, and bad guys. Friday is his day off and he always spends it with Stan. But one Friday, Dad and Stan meet a series of people desperately in need of Dad’s help! Soon Stan finds himself saving a lion stuck up a tree, rescuing a monster truck from a ditch and taking on shark-infested floodwaters. That’s right: Stan is a chip off the old (superhero) block!"

Was an absolute blast to illustrate & I'm pleased with how well it's come out, here's a few bits & pieces from the book.





Tuesday 11 April 2017

It's Beardageddon!

As it's #NationalPetDay I thought I'd share a preview of the second Pet Defenders book Beards from Outer Space by Gareth P Jones & illustrated by me 

'There's a new mayor of Nothington-on-Sea and the bearded, sunglass-wearing politician has attracted a whole load of fans.
Soon everyone in the town is sporting a beard - even the women!
But these are not just any beards - the Beard King is in town and he's planning to conquer the world.'

It's out on Star Wars day (May the fourth be with you! Ouch!)

(Here is a picture of me with a rather feeble excuse for a beard but I rock the sunglasses ok!)

Tuesday 21 February 2017

Superdad's Day Off (sneak preview)

Shhhhh! Here's a sneak preview of Superdad's Day Off by the very funny Phil Earle with lots of nice colour pictures by me. It's published by Barrington Stoke on the 15th April & you can pre-order it here.
I'll write & post more once it's published. I've got previous form with superheroes so was BIG fun to illustrate!

Thursday 9 February 2017

Pet Defenders published TODAY!

Pet Defenders - Attack of the Alien Dung written by the very funny Gareth P Jones with illustrations by me is published today (9th February) by Stripes. It's the first in a brand new series in which an unlikely pairing of pets Mitzy & Biskit protect Earth from an assortment of invading aliens. 

'The planet is under attack and it’s up to Pet Defenders, Mitzy the cat and Biskit the dog, to save the world but first they are going to have to stop fighting like cat and dog long enough to do it! Secret agent Biskit is really not happy that his new partner Mitzy is a cat – everyone knows that the two don’t mix. But saving the Earth must come first when the planet is being invaded.' 


In the words of the author "It's basically Men in Black meets Dogs & Cats meets Dempsey & Makepeace with a giant space beetle made out of cowpats." which was obviously music to my ears when it came to illustrating it, giving me the chance to draw lots animals & aliens which are some of my favourite things (& drawing poo is ALWAYS fun, right kids?)

You can buy it here or if you're lucky enough to have a good local book shop go & say hello to them & buy one there. There's also a theme tune performed by the great Mr Jones which you can listen to here!




Wednesday 25 January 2017

Pet Defenders - Attack of the Alien Dung!

I just received my copy of the first in the series of the Pet Defenders books - 'Attack of the Alien Dung' written by the very funny Gareth P Jones & published by Stripes. It's out on the 9th February so will share more info & pictures then. It's been a lot of fun to illustrate & I've just finished working on book 2 so plenty more to come, I also get a PROPER credit which is very welcome! 


Saturday 15 October 2016

Aidan Abet - Teacher's Pet

The very funny 'Aidan Abet Teacher's Pet' by award winning author Guy Bass & illustrated by me is published today by Barrington Stoke.
I enjoyed working on this immensely & always great to get to grips with a really nasty villain, the sinister Miss Vowel (& I always love a bear in glasses!)

You can get your grubby mitts on it here or even better, get off the interweb & go to your local independent bookshop & buy it there (that's ALWAYS more fun!)

'Aidan Abet loves to help the teacher. It makes him popular with the teachers but very unpopular with everyone else. But when substitute Miss Vowel strides into school with a rather unusual mini-zoo, Aidan has a choice to make – he can listen to the animals, or he can become the Ultimate Teacher’s Pet.'




Thursday 14 July 2016

Johnny Danger - Spyborg

I recently completed the cover for the 3rd Johnny Danger book 'Spy Borg' written by Peter Millett published by Penguin Books. (Any excuse to draw big robots is a 'very good thing' in my book!)
It's available for pre-order in Australia here 

Wednesday 4 May 2016

One that got away...

Rejected cover for a recent project (boo!) Some things are never meant to happen, often one party has a very specific idea of what they want but can't always articulate it which makes an illustrator's job harder. Equally, sometimes it's the wrong illustrator for the job which I think was the case for this one. Pity, I LOVE a dinosaur!

Thursday 4 February 2016

Diary of Dennis The Menace - The Great Escape published TODAY!

It's publication day for the 6th Diary of Dennis the Menace book - The Great Escape written by Steven Butler with illustrations by me.

In this story, Dennis the Menace - Prankmaster General and feared enemy of softies everywhere - has been sent to Posh Street, an elite boarding school run by the terrifying Mrs Snoot. Help! Dennis is surrounded by bookish boffins, can't hang out with the Bash Street Kids and is nearly starving as the school dining room only serves super-healthy food. What he needs is a plan. With a little help from his menacing buddies on the outside, some fart pellets and Gran on a Charley Davison bike, it's time for Dennis to make his great escape . . .

Very sadly I recently found out that this is going to be the last Dennis the Menace book I'll be drawing. It's been a huge amount of fun & I've absolutely loved the chance to be able to reinterpret a childhood hero of mine in the books. I've also thoroughly enjoyed working with the lovely Steven Butler (any author who can make me laugh out loud with the manuscript is ALWAYS a good sign!) & lots of thanks to all the people at Puffin & The Beano.






Thursday 14 January 2016

Felix Frost - Time Detective - Ghost Plane - published today!

Ghost Plane, the second in the series of Eleanor Hawken's Felix Frost books I've illustrated is published today (14th January)

While illustrating the interiors & cover I got to become familiar with the details of several WW II planes (in particular the Mustang P51 he says knowledgeably!), some '40s hairstyles & managed a few pictures of Winston Churchill in the meantime.
(Because of another job I actually ended up drawing likenesses of Winston Churchill & MC Hammer on the same day! Not many illustrators can claim that but that's a story for another day...)

It's published by Quercus books & you can buy it online but I'd urge you to seek out your nearest independent book shop & give them the trade if you can - you never know what else you'll find or what people you might meet!*

(*ok, Winston Churchill's out, but there's an outside chance of MC Hammer...)

'As every respectable scientist knows, messing with the space-time continuum is more trouble than it's worth.
That's why Felix Frost, secret child genius, has locked up his time machine for good. Yes, sir.
But, when your best friend is an adventure-loving bossy pants and you've got a history project to do. Well, that changes things.
When Missy and Felix visit Bill Hudson, Missy's great grandfather, to ask him about his years as a pilot in WW2, he tells them the story of the ghost plane: a fighter jet that went out on a routine mission, and when it came back, its pilot had vanished.
Join Felix, Missy and Einstein as they dust off the time machine to travel back to England, 1943. Can they solve the mystery of the ghost plane without getting caught out as time travellers? Or worse, spies!'





Thursday 7 January 2016

Happy (belated) New Year

First post of 2016! Here's my newly arrived copy of Felix Frost - Time Detective - Ghost Plane, written by Eleanor Hawken & illustrated by me. I'll post some more when it's published on January 14th. It's published by Quercus books

Tuesday 1 December 2015

Johnny Danger - Lie Another Day

Forget your Spectre nonsense! Here's my cover illustration for Peter Millet's second Johnny Danger book, 'Lie Another Day'
It features 'death-defying bungee bogeys, Big Andy the killer anaconda, despicable G.R.O.S.S. agents, and a gassy evil villain known as The Blank Space.' - out in 2016

Monday 23 November 2015

Doctor Menace!

As it's Doctor Who's 52nd birthday today. I sometimes like to sneak the odd extraneous detail into book illustrations for the eagle eyed... (& slightly geeky) This is from The Diary of Dennis the Menace - Canine Carnage

Thursday 17 September 2015

The Diary Of Dennis The Menace: The Great Escape! - cover!

Pssst! Here's a sneak preview of the cover for the new Diary of Dennis the Menace - The Great Escape - written by Steven Butler with illustrations by me - afraid you're going to have to wait for 4th February 2016 until you can get your grubby paws on it!

Wednesday 16 September 2015

Felix Frost Time Detective: Roman Riddle

Felix Frost - Time Detective - Roman Riddle by Eleanor Hawken which I illustrated recently has just been published by Quercus books.

"Join Felix Frost, secret boy genius, his chameleon Einstein and his classmate Missy as they travel back in time to Ancient Rome, where terrifying danger and embarrassing togas await."
(as well as chameleons & embarassing togas I also get to draw a toy Yoda, a smattering of chickens & indulge my 'inner Asterix' by drawing some Roman soldiers too! I'm also responsible for all hair styling in the book)
You can get hold of a copy here or better still get off the internet & support your local bookshop & buy it there




Wednesday 15 July 2015

The Fine British Art of Queuing.

Dennis & friends demonstrating the fine British art of queuing.

From the latest Diary of Dennis the Menace - Canine Carnage written by Steven Butler & published by Puffin

(see also 'passive aggressive tutting' & Britishness)

©DC Thomson and Co. Ltd

Thursday 2 July 2015

Diary of Dennis the Menace - Canine Carnage

The new Diary of Dennis the Menace - Canine Carnage written by Steven Butler & illustrated by my good self is published today!

Mighty menaces, disaster has struck! Gnasher's got himself into REAL trouble this time.
If he's not careful, DENNIS AND THE DINMAKERS are going to be kicked out of THE FAME FACTOR competition. And with our rockin' tunes, we're guaranteed winners!
I have to do something to help Gnasher out - before he ends up in the doghouse for good!

So who's the 'Greatest rockstar on the planet' huh?

(I had a lot of fun with this one - hope you enjoy it)