Sketchbook Project 2015: Winter

I've signed up to take part in the 2015 Sketchbook Project. I've taken part in previous years and it's a fun project to be part of. You sign up, pay $25, and get sent a 32 page 105 x 148mm sketchbook which you then have until 31 March 2015 to fill and send back. Once they receive your sketchbook it then goes into a permanent collection at the Brooklyn Art Library where it is viewable by the public, as well as taking part in a touring collection.

There are various themes you can choose from as a starting point for your sketchbook, and this year I decided on the theme "Winter".

And I've just achieved the first major obstacle with any sketchbook: completing my first page! And I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out. I found a quote by William Blake about Winter and drew an image to illustrate it: "In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy."



I used a Sky Blue Pentel colour brush pen to sketch out the image lightly, before inking it with a Zebra fude Brush pen, and then using the Pentel brush pen to colour the sky.

Birthday Card Catch-Up

Here are a couple of birthday cards that I've drawn recently...

Emmy The Great recently teased the announcement of her upcoming EP and UK tour with a photoshoot including this image...

...which I used as my inspiration for this card for her birthday...


Here's a drawing I did for my friend Ayano's birthday recently. I scanned some patterned papers for the background and her shirt...


Here's a card I drew for my friend Sarah's birthday...


And finally (for now!) here's a card I drew for my friend Maria's birthday, based on one of her photos...

Thought Bubble 2014 Round-Up

So I thought I'd write a follow up post to my previous entry about the Thought Bubble Comics Art Festival.

Here's a slightly blurry photo from my phone of my table, all set up and ready to go on Saturday morning...



Fellow comics creator (and my hotel roommate for the weekend) Richy K. Chandler took this photo of me at my table on the second day of the Convention...



And here I am recreating the cover to my new comic Look What I Drawed..., which I was launching at this year's Thought Bubble (photo courtesy of Jess Cave)...



Although I was feeling a bit nervous about my first time with a table exhibiting my work prior to travelling up to Leeds, once I was there I really enjoyed myself. My comics sold quite well, and it was nice to see people's reactions to my work in person. One woman picked up a copy of my Haiku Comics book, read the first strip, laughed and said that it had passed the test and she'd have to buy a copy. There's such a great atmosphere at Thought Bubble and it's definitely my favourite show that I've been to, both as a spectator and now as an exhibitor.

I met a lot of great people over the weekend, some for the first time, and it was really inspiring to see such a wide selection of comics on display. As well as selling my own work, I did get a chance to go around and pick up a few things from other people...


(Clockwise-ish from top-left)
Last Days of Nobodies by Mike Medaglia. The first in a three part series looking at the days leading up to the deaths of three artists who were little known in their time. The first book focuses on Vincent Van Gogh.

The Cauliflower Fields by Enoki - One of the great things about going along to an event like this, is the chance to discover the work of someone you hadn't previously been aware of. Enoki's table was directly opposite from mine, and after looking over at the cover to her comic during the Saturday, I went over to have a look through the pages on the Sunday. And was very glad I did. Intended as the first part of a longer narrative, Enoki's artwork is intricate and detailed, but what really grabbed my attention was her use of page layout and space on the page which paces the story just right, as well as incorporating elements of animation in places as you turn the pages. Definitely somebody to watch out for!

Totoro print by Chibi-Shibby – I love this Risograph print of Totoro AND fifty percent of the sale goes to Cancer Research UK, so it looks good and does good too!

36,000 Feet by John Cei Douglas and Alessandra Genualdo - it was fun to be sharing a table with John and Alessandra for the weekend. This is a comic they created together with a really beautiful story, which Alessandra wrote and John drew.

Safe Place by André Pereira – another new discovery during the weekend was Kingpin Books who publish the work of Portuguese comic artists, like André Pereira. I had a flick through this comic and really liked the style of it, which felt both unique and familiar at the same time. They also had an anthology comic that I meant to go back and buy later, but never got the chance to...

Expecting To Fly by John Allison – I liked the format of this comic series by John Allison which is a two part tale, presented as two single issue comics. The fact that the covers featured videogame references encouraged me to pick them up...

It's A Bird by Matt Duncan - a fun mini comic focusing on the gathered crowds during a superhero fight that rewards repeat reads!

Turtles Fighters by Jack Teagle - pitch perfect Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles parody.

I'm already looking forward to next year's Thought Bubble and also planning to exhibit my work at more comic shows during the year!

Thought Bubble 2014

Thought Bubble is the annual week-long Comic Art Festival held in Leeds, which culminates in a two-day comic fair this weekend. And for the first time, I'll be exhibiting with my own table, selling my comics! If you're going along, you'll be at table 65 in New Dock Hall sharing with John Cei Douglas.



I thought I'd give a quick summary of the comics I'll be selling this weekend...



Look What I Drawed..., as well as taking it's title from the name of this blog, is my latest comic and will be debuting at this year's Thought Bubble. It's a collection of various comic strips, single page comics and a couple of longer stories I've created over the last few years, including this two page story, The Orb, which I produced earlier this year...





Look What I Drawed... includes a wide range of comics, featuring vampires, werewolves, feline superheroes, Shakespearean penguins, and more!



March Of The Penguins was released earlier this year, and is a collection of comic strips featuring a pair of penguins who live alone in the middle of an isolated snow-covered wasteland. I originally produced these strips daily during the month of March, which is where the title comes from. What started out as an attempt to produce a comic strip about nothing, gradually evolved to develop more of a longer narrative, and I'd still like to come back and do something else with these characters at some point. Here's a sample of a couple of strips...







I'll also have two penguin badge designs on sale alongside the comic!

And finally, I'll also have a limited number of copies of my first self-published comic, Haiku Comics!



This was my final project for my MA Illustration degree, where I decided to adapt English translations of three-line Japanese Haiku poems into three-panel comic strips. Looking through these again now, this is also a project that I would love to return to. Here's a couple of sample strips...





So there you go! Now you know what I'll have with me and where to find me, so I look forward to hopefully seeing lots of you during the weekend! Do come and say hello!

Every Man Remembered

Today I went out on my lunch break from work and did a sketch of Mark Humphrey's Every Man Remembered sculpture in Trafalgar Square...

Halloween rundown

So yesterday was Halloween and while I didn't go out dressed as a ghost in an attempt to elicit sweets, I did do some drawing...

I changed my Facebook profile picture to one of me dressed as a slightly apathetic vampire...


I also did a couple of Halloween-themed biro sketches during some downtime at work...




And I carved a pumpkin...


My mum and brother also got in on the pumpkin-carving action...


Happy Halloween!