Creative Moves

  

A fun little illustration & motion graphics job I did for Kabir Malik's Creative Moves podcast

I had some fun envisaging characters based on their unusual & fascinating job changes, adding a bit of humour & some subtle animation 

"Creative Moves: Left Career, Right Path."

Creative Moves is a podcast exploring career pivots and unexpected second, third or even fourth, acts. Each episode features a conversation with someone who made their mark in their chosen profession, before stepping away to pursue something entirely different.
These are stories of reinvention, risk and reward. 

More spookiness!

 Some more before & after illustration stuff left over from Halloween for you illustration nerds

The original is drawn on A4 300gsm watercolour paper drawn with a dip pen (with a Leonardt 256 nib) & Winsor & Newton ink & a Kaweco fountain pen with Rohrer and Klingner Dokumentus ink.

I scanned the original then coloured it in Photoshop using a mixture of scanned ink textures & a couple of Kyle T Webster watercolour brushes & a couple of custom brushes I made myself

I then decided to get my hands dirty & have a go at hand colouring (using Derwent Inktense pencils) this was then scanned again - here's the initial scan.

My scanner works really poorly with orange so I adjusted the orange to match the original inage & did a little bit of adjustment of brightness & colour et voila!

'Treat?'

 

A bit of Halloween fun for you all!
I thought I'd include some of my process here from the original drawing to the digital colour. 

With this one I drew it with a dip pen & indian ink  (Winsor & Newton ink & a Leonardt 256 nib if anyone's interested!) 

With this piece I didn't draw a rough I just drew it from scratch - mistakes stains & all - on horrible cheap paper! Cheap paper is extremely liberating but makes it less desirable to sell the original drawing to to anyone! 

Next step is scanning it & using Photoshop to lose any unwanted marks & occasionally a couple of alterations although I haven't done much to this apart from shift the signature down.

After that I use Photoshop to colour the image using a mixture of custom brushes & some scanned ink textures 

Hastings Book Festival 2025

 

I was really happy to be invited back to my hometown for the Hastings Book Festival where I did some live drawing, illustration chat & conducted draw-alongs for the kids (& their grown ups) 

I demonstrated how cats eats pizza from pizza trees & showed everybody how to draw Professor Poo & Ploppy from Poo Crew Adventures - Journey to Pootopia my graphic novel with James Turner. I also got to sign some books & chat to a few folk afterwards which is always really pleasurable & rewarding!

Thanks to everyone who made me so welcome, wishing Hasting Book Festival the very best - I want to come back next year!

Guinness Book of Records 2026

Published this week: the GUINESS WORLD RECORDS 2026! I had the pleasure of creating a comic-strip rendition of conservation crusader Aneeshwar Kunchala - commissioned by Guinness World Records to celebrate him being the world’s youngest documentary presenter!

'Eco-hero Aneeshwar Kunchala is the youngest documentary presenter and Guinness World Record Holder aged 7 years 288 days. He's on a mission to protect our planet, the keen naturalist urges others to do the same on TV, online and in print. This comic strip was commissioned by Guiness World Records 2026 to celebrate his achievements.'

More here on my agent's page

More Monster Facts

Monster Fact: Monsters are prone to growing alarmingly & therefore rarely wear clothes. 

If you meet a clothed monster it's liable that the clothes belonged to a recent meal & it is advisable to RUN!

Do you like monsters?
Do you like facts?

More MONSTER FACTS HERE

 

Homage to Mick McMahon

I don't usually post 'fan art' but I drew this recently as an homage to the great Mick McMahon which gives a nod to his magnificent iconic depiction of Judge Dredd along with a reference to Junkyard Demon a strip he drew for Marvel's Doctor Who Weekly which featured a typically idiosyncratic take on Tom Baker's Doctor & a wonderfully baggy Cyberman. 
I first encountered his work in 2000AD when I was about 10 years old & initially loathed his work which seemed 'odd' to 10 year old me!  Very soon after I gradually 'got' his work & he swiftly became one of my favourite artists. Always willing to experiment & move on, his work is continuously fascinating to me & an incredibly strong influence on me. 
I met him when I was 11 years old & he drew me a picture in my autograph book which I treasure. I met him again in 2017 at the 2000AD 40th birthday & he was incredibly gracious.

My Hammerstein, drawn by Mick in my autograph book 1980

 

Me & Mick at the 2000AD 40th birthday party.