I was alerted to the fact it was British Sandwich Week (it's true, look here!) this week & this fella popped into my head & onto my paper.
NB As a cautionary tale, sandwiches & hot soapy water don't go together very well from bitter (& soapy) personal experience. Due to the ongoing horror of '70s school dinners, the 6 year old me begged my long suffering mum to allow me to take sandwiches to school instead. One day, whilst washing my hands I somehow managed to drop them into the sink, whereupon one of the more peculiarly sadistic dinner ladies insisted I eat them, thinking it was a ploy to avoid eating my dinner. Mmmm hot wet soapy corned beef! (not sure it'll ever catch on!)
Showing posts with label children's illustration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children's illustration. Show all posts
Wednesday 11 May 2016
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!
Monday 8 February 2016
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.
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
Startled dog in mid-fart.
More farting animals? Yes siree! Just click here
Labels:
children's illustration,
dog,
dogs,
fart,
farting,
illustration,
pen & ink,
sketch
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.
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
A glimpse of summer...
Well, with January shaping up to be pretty horrible all round here's a glimpse of summer from some newly arrived run ons from my agents Arena Illustration's 2016 calendar where I get to be Mr August! There's dinosaurs & ice cream in it- what's not to like?
Here's the original from way back when...
Here's the original from way back when...
Labels:
Arena Illustration,
calendar,
children's illustration,
dinosaur,
dinosaurs,
dog,
dogs,
girl,
ice cream,
ice cream van,
ice lolly,
seagulls,
seaside,
steve may
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
Monday 21 December 2015
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
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
Friday 27 November 2015
Make mine a "99"
Nope, I have no idea why the '99' flake was called thus. Anyway, we all love cats & ice cream don't we...?
Labels:
99 flake,
animal,
animals,
cat,
children's illustration,
girl,
ice cream,
ice cream van,
illustration,
seagulls
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
Wednesday 23 September 2015
Then there were six!
I've illustrated six Diary of Dennis the Menace so far - nice to see them all lined up together!
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 22 July 2015
cats & laptops
Labels:
advertising,
animals,
cat,
cats,
character design,
children's illustration,
dogs,
laptop
Unicorn tantrum!
(who doesn't?)
*I realise that if there was any justice Unicorn Tantrum really ought to be the name a '70s prog rock / psych group
*I realise that if there was any justice Unicorn Tantrum really ought to be the name a '70s prog rock / psych group
Labels:
children's illustration,
illustration,
pen and ink,
sketch,
tantrum,
tongue,
unicorn,
unicorns
Wednesday 15 July 2015
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 9 July 2015
Lion on a bike!
Labels:
animal,
animals,
bicycle,
bike,
children's illustration,
illustration,
lion,
transport
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)
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