Tigers on Vaseline!

Moving on from my previous post for International Tiger Day here's another tiger on vaseline thanks to inspiration from the great Dame David Bowie!

Hang on to yourself!

You want more book covers for non existent (as yet) books? Go here!

Down To Earth

Here's a couple of pictures from a recent book I illustrated called Down to Earth by Carmel Reilly for Oxford University press which I can find no trace of but anyone who knows me will know I'm fond of drawing aliens etc. so here you go!

Laura Norder - Sheriff of Butts Canyon PUBLICATION DAY!

Laura Norder - Sheriff of Butts Canyon, my third collaboration with author Guy Bass for Barrington Stoke is published today, Friday 15th February
In this pun-tastic & funny Western adventure Laura Norder lives her life by the Golden Rules and so should everybody else. But being Sheriff of Butts Canyon at the age of ten is a big job to handle, and when a no-good rule-breaking bandit causes chaos in the town, enough is enough! It's time for Laura to step up to the plate and catch the masked mischief-maker before he breaks any more of her rules!

This was a great fun book to work on & I particularly loved visualising all of the subsidiary characters like Tad Tipsy the drunk bartender, Walter Spitty the town scruff & Mort L. Coil the undertaker.

You can order it here or even better, pop into your local bookshop & pick up a copy

Matt Millz Stands Up - PUBLICATION DAY!

Matt Millz Stands Up the second book by Harry Hill about the experiences of a young stand up comedian is published today Thursday 18th October.
As before Harry's text gave me lots of scope to create new characters & to indulge in the odd bit of surreal nonsense too (which as anybody who's followed my career will know is a particular favourite of mine!)
'Matt’s TV performance seems to have given him the fame that he had always dreamed of: There are reporters camped outside his house – he’s suddenly in demand! But as the novelty wears off and Matt struggles to get any new gigs, it’s not long before he begins to doubt his friend and manager Kitty Hope. Would the stylish Excalibur  Agency turn his fortunes around? And could Matt ever bear to push Kitty aside?'
You can order it from here or even better get down to your local independent bookshop & get it from there! 

Pet Defenders 6 - Invasion of the Giant Nits

The sixth & last instalment of the Pet Defenders series by Gareth P Jones & me is published today (9th August) Order it at your nearest book shop or you can buy it online from here

The Pet Defenders Code: 1. The safety of Planet Earth depends on you. 2. Humans MUST NOT know the truth. GOOD LUCK – you’ll need it…

Biskit and Mitzy are confronted by a large alien spider who plans to destroy the planet. Worse, she has an army of nits that she can enlarge with a blast from her own invention: the Relativisor. She can also shrink things with it – and suddenly Mitzy is the size of a louse and clinging to Biskit’s head. Can the Pet Defenders stop the nits ripping the Earth apart? It’s a head-scratcher!

These books have been an absolute delight to draw, they're smart, funny & occasionally fairly disgusting, ALL the good stuff really! I'm going to miss Mitzy & Biskit!

Happy 80th birthday to The Beano!

Happy 80th birthday to The Beano! I loved it as a kid & was extremely honoured to add my own contribution in the form of the 6 Diary of Dennis The Menace books written by Steven Butler for Puffin Books. Huge fun to add my own spin to some of these iconic characters!

Cheese From Dimension Pong

May 3rd 2018 is publication day for Cheese From Dimension Pong the 5th in the Pet Defenders series by Gareth P Jones & I published by Stripes books! Here's a sneak preview

You can order it here!

Noah Scape - He Can't Stop Repeating Himself - publication day!

'Noah Scape - He Can't Stop Repeating Himself' by Guy Bass with illustrations by me is published today by Barrington Stoke. I previously worked with Guy on Aiden Abet Teacher's Pet

'Noah Scape loves dinosaurs and spaghetti with tomato sauce. But Noah doesn't always get what he wants and when school doesn't revolve around dinosaur facts and lunch isn't always his tried and tested favourite, well... enough is enough! It's time for him to stop wishing and to decide on exactly what he needs; a world full of Noahs!'

(I can honestly say, I don't think I've ever drawn so many versions of the same character in one book - probably a record on my part!)

Imagine Children's Festival with Harry Hill

I had great fun at the Imagine Children's Festival at the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday 17th February with the very funny Harry Hill promoting his new book 'Harry Hill presents Matt Millz' illustrated by me.

Harry entertained the crowd with an hour of jokes, clarinet-playing mayhem & a joke contest, while
I was live drawing onstage - everything from dancing cucumbers, comedians' eyes to how I draw Matt Millz. I also discussed how my childhood obsession with drawing, dinosaurs & Doctor Who helped my decision  to become an illustrator (I realised I couldn't be a dinosaur when I grew up & I'm STILL waiting for the Doctor Who call!)

Afterwards we signed (lots of) books & posed for lots of selfies with the kids (I just about have the feeling back in my signing hand now!)

(Many thanks to Iain Sawbridge from The Beano for compering & saying some very flattering things & Hannah Love from Faber for all her hard work)

 My very own dressing room!

Drawing dancing cucumbers

Revenge of the Atomic Burps publication day!

It's publication day for the 4th in the Pet Defenders series 'Revenge of the Atomic Burps' written by Gareth P Jones & illustrated by me & published by Stripes. It's another great inventive & funny read (& some of the pictures ain't bad either!) You can buy it here

Nearly Summer!

Well, not quite, but here's a glimpse of June from the Arena Illustration 2018 calendar featuring Noah Scape by Guy Bass & me which is published on March 15th by Barrington Stoke

Matt Millz on BBC Breakfast

Inspired by letters from kids who want to follow in his footsteps @HarryHill's written about a boy who wants to be a stand-up comedian 📖 🎤 pic.twitter.com/J6IjJtWldq

— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) October 12, 2017

Harry Hill reading from his new book Matt Millz on BBC Breakfast today with lashings of lovely illustrations by me!