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...

cats & laptops

Some recent character designs

More cats?

You can't do that sort of thing any more!

A Compendium of Unwise Pursuits. 

NB Smoking & fighting is NOT big or clever kids!

(part of the 'Steve May rather hinders his career as a children's illustrator by drawing fighting & smoking' series - I may be a bit of an idiot! ; )

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)

Diary of Dennis the Menace - Canine Carnage cover

Sneak preview of the cover for 'Canine Carnage' the fifth in the very funny Diary of Dennis the Menace series written by Steven Butler & illustrated by me.
Publication date 2nd July 2015

(Wondering if I can swing a free Flying V or Explorer guitar from Gibson for my product placement...hmmm...)

Monster Facts #10

Monster Fact : Monsters do not receive mandatory holiday pay & rarely take time off - it is considered wise not to disturb them when they do*

*This also applies to freelance illustrators, crocodiles et al. Dogs, as EVERYBODY knows have Wednesday afternoons off.

Monster Facts #4

Monster Fact: You know when people say "they won't hurt you they're just being friendly"? * or, "they're more scared of you than you are of them"?*

These are abject BIG FAT LIES. Run away now!

(*see also big vicious dogs with dumb owners)

(*see also spiders)

Full moon tonight! Altogether now... "AAAAWWWWOOOOOOO!"

I know LOTS about werewolves but very little about astronomy but apparently... 

'A full moon coinciding on Friday the 13th is not all that uncommon, occurring every three or so years.

But having the combination of a honey moon and Friday the 13th is rare, last occurring on June 13, 1919, according to the popular astronomy site Universe Today. We'll have to wait until June 13, 2098, for the next one.'

(thank you National Geographic)

(illustration from 'Making Monsters Happy' by Susan Gates)

Dogs & demons

More over Christmas sketchbooks, I bought a new fountain pen after forgetting my usual one, it's made me go all cross-hatch-y!

Holidays!

NB no crustaceans were harmed in the making of this picture (that sandcastle got well f***ed up though!)

Questionable mutt

Drawn late at night for questionable reasons...

Parp! Parp!

Parp! Parp!

Advent of unwanted gifts #16

Fluffy anthropomorphic footwear.

Advent of unwanted gifts #12

Dual purpose novelty Donald Trump / One Direction hairpiece.

Advent of unwanted gifts #1

Xmas jumper

Hairball of Horror!

Just received this through the post I was commissioned to re-cover the Space Mutts series of books by Michael Broad published by Macmillan a while back so I designed the main text & drew the mean cats, bewildered poodle & the eponymous hairball(!)

Note to publishers - it really keeps a humble illustrator happy if you actually send copies of the books / magazines we've illustrated to us - unfortunately there's plenty of you out there who don't bother (you KNOW who you are!) - it's really nice to have the actual book in your hot little hands!

Cats & dogs

A (fighting) cat & dog rescued from a sketchbook left in a tent in a rainstorm - there is a moral here somewhere re. camping & illustration...probably. A memento of a particularly British summer.

sleeping dogs doing what they do best...

Drawing a new book full of dogs, here's one of 'em for your canine delectation.

Hot Dogs

Mmmmm... some tasty new seaside-based work served with a healthy dollop of sauce 'n' pomade

(click to view closer as usual)

(not many animals were harmed in the process)

(honest...)

KAPOW! FREE Superheroes in Newham!

Get your capes on! If you're a Newham resident you get FREE entrance to the Discover Children's Story Centre until Sunday 12 August - including the Superheroes exhibition I illustrated & designed for! How good is that?