Look What THEY Drawed - Happy Birthday to me!

It was my birthday yesterday, which meant that I got some brilliant cards drawn for me! There seems to be a theme of drawings of me, superheroes and penguins...


© Arina Orlova


© Richy K. Chandler


© Thomas Flintham


© Nanae Kawahara


© Guthrie Watson


© Yuki Nishimura

Happy Birthday Diana!

My friend Diana was visiting London for a few days last week, and it was also her birthday the day before. Here's the birthday card I made for her. Thankfully it didn't actually rain while she was here, and it was nice and sunny for most of the time. London weather is SOOOO unpredictable!

The Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize (Sneaky Peak)

I'm working on a 4-page comic to submit to The Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize. I've planned out the story, and have finished the first page, but I wanted to share a short sequence...



I'll post the full story once I'm finished. The deadline is 14 October. Wish me luck!

Congratulations Emma & Martyn!

My friends Emma and Martyn got married last weekend, and while I wasn't able to make it along on the day, I was able to be a part of their big day. Several months ago, they contacted me to ask if I would be able to draw the pair of them in the style of a lot of the Royal Wedding images that were being used on commemorative mugs and plates, that they could use on jam jars, mugs and fridge magnets and give as gifts to the wedding guests.

Here's my completed illustration...


And here's a photo of my image used on the lid of a jar of home-made jam...


(Photograph © Charlotte Timney)

Sketchbook Project 2012 (Work In Progress)

Here are my latest pages for my Sketchbook Project 2012 sketchbook for the theme Heroes & Villains...






You can see my previous pages here.

Paul Shinn covers Wolverine #8

My work is featured on the Covered blog today! The idea behind the blog is to rework an existing comic book cover in your own style. I've been featured on their before, and this time my entry was a reworking of the cover to Wolverine #8, featuring Wolverine and the Hulk.

Here's my version and below it the original cover by John Buscema...

Sketchbook Project 2012 (Work In Progress)

Here are some more pages from my Sketchbook Project 2012 sketchbook, for the theme Heroes & Villains...

双截龍

This evening's episode of Dragon's Den featured a set of twin sisters who run a company selling "unique hand-drawn illustrated animal t-shirts". They are selling their products in 60 stores as well as a major high street department store, and were asking for £65,000 of investment from the Dragons. (For anyone that hasn't seen the show before, the Dragons aren't actually mythical fire-breathing creatures, they're "five of Britian's wealthiest and most enterprising business leaders").

Eventually the question was asked regarding how much they pay for their illustrations, and the answer of a £20 flat fee had me and many other illustrators on Twitter up in arms at the fact that they were paying so little, and also that there are illustrators out there that are willing to work for such a paltry sum. (The paid did admit that this amount was "quite small", but then they didn't suggest using any of their investment to pay a better rate).

Working as an illustrator, I want to get paid a decent rate for my work, which reflects the time and effort that I put into it. And yet some people out there who are commissioning work don't seem to appreciate the value of the service that we are providing. And when there are people out there that are willing to do work for little or no pay in the belief that it will provide them with exposure, it becomes increasingly difficult to garner a fair price for your work.

The whole thing left me quite angry and in need of a long lie down in a dark room!

BUT while watching Dragon's Den, I was struck by the unique appearance of the newest Dragon – Hilary Devey. So much so that I found myself doing a quick sketch of her while I was watching, just to calm myself down...

Sketchbook Project 2012 (Work In Progress)

I've signed up to take part in The Sketchbook Project 2012 run by the Art House Co-op with the Brooklyn Art Library. Once you've signed up for the project, they post you out a 32 page sketchbook which you then have to fill and send back by the 31 January 2012, to be included in The Sketchbook Project 2012 tour which takes in numerous locations across America, as well as Vancouver, Toronto, London and Melbourne, before being housed within the Brooklyn Art Library and available for people to view.

There are a selection of themes available to choose from to provide a starting point for your sketchbook. I selected Heroes and villains and decided to use this as an opportunity to develop an idea for a series of images that I first came up with a couple of years ago, taking iconic brightly coloured comic book superheroes and villains and placing them in a much more ordinary setting than they are usually depicted.

It's been good not to go near my computer for a change, and I've been using a combination of drawing ink, marker pen and watercolour to create the images. Here's a sneak peak at my work so far...

Yeah but no but yeah but no but...

I was recently asked to do an illustration for Amelia's Magazine to accompany a review of the book CHAVS: The Demonization of the Working Class by Owen Jones. After reading through the review, I picked up on the references to both the media and politicians presenting so-called Chavs as "the bogeymen of Britain"...



You can read the full review online over at the Amelia's Magazine website.