'Grow'vember 1st

Yesterday I was doing some visual research just for fun. I do this when I'm not sure what to draw. The topic was the character King Kong. Not only was it fun, but I realised it's too important an exercise to do so infrequently. With drawing, being able to represent form well is one thing. But having a rich mental bank of imagery is just as priceless. With this realisation I decided to undertake 'Grow'vember. Each day for the month of November, I'll take a topic, and fill at least one page in my sketchbook with visual studies. Going public with this was also a way to keep me on track. I'll be posting the sketchbook drawings here on my blog, on my facebook page, and on my twitter account. Here's to a month of artistic growth.

Atelier art classes

So I've been doing some traditional art classes here. Starting at the top are my most recent exercises, and then progressing towards the bottom are the earliest. The first image is a cast drawing still in progress.

The Very Cross Bun cover art

With the cover illustration done, it's now time to hand the baton over to the designer. I didn't expect it to be such a long road to this point. I can still remember the day Jennifer proposed a series of 'fractured fairy-tales' to me on the drive to a children's literature festival.

The agreement with the publisher is pretty open ended, which has meant doing without the sometimes helpful threat of a deadline. My perfectionism was left to run wild. And then as jobs, other projects, and life inevitably interrupted, it turned into a stop-start affair. In the end, I managed to resurrect my momentum each time, and I feel I've produce a series of inspired illustrations. At the very least the best I could do.

I would love to know your thoughts, especially if you get around to reading it.

Summer Reading Club 2013

This year I am contributing a 'how to draw' series for the QLD State Library Summer Reading Club blog. There will be six lessons over six weeks starting from December 1st. It'll be really easy stuff, so if you're a young grasshopper or just starting out it should be quite useful for you!

Legends in their own lunchbox

The first two books in the series which I just finished illustrating. The publisher was surprisingly open to my showing the artwork, so I'll see what I can post from behind the scenes in coming posts. If you'd like to get your hands on the books they are available from Macmillan's website. A direct link to the books is here.

Animation project

Back in 2010 I was commissioned to design characters and produce a few minutes of animation for this community health education film directed by David Hansen. The film is a blend of live-action and animation. We discussed using 3d CG animation initially, but in the end decided on Flash style animation due to the tight deadline.

An excerpt of the full film can be viewed HERE.

Thank you to the people of these communities for allowing me to showcase my contribution on this project.

Lockyer arts festival

 

Giving a small workshop with children's book illustrator Craig Smith. Together we had a go at turning a volunteer model into a character. Thanks to our brave model and all who joined in!

Ipswich Festival of Children's Literature

Here are some photos and doodles from my first 2 days at a festival for children's literature. I don't generally like drawing in front of people, but the kids were very enthusiastic and made it unexpectedly enjoyable for me.