Back Soon

Hello, this is a screenprint that you may have seen a lot of preparation for on the old blog.  I did a run of them before Christmas but got back into the printing studio the other day to do them proper.  They're going to be part of a zine that I'm still in the process of putting together at the moment - either whole or possibly chopped up, I haven't decided yet.

Also, the kind people at Cohabitaire did a little interview with me recently which you can read here if you fancy.

And finally, I'm going to be away for just over a week as I shall be at Angoulême BD festival attempting to sell my wares amongst lots of creative and talented people.  Very much looking forward to the festival - less so the travelling there.  I shall return with pictures!  Promise.

See you soon!

A Tale to Tell

Hello again, I've got a very exciting project to tell you about...

Myself and the exceptional Jane Richardson have just put the finishing touches to A Tale to Tell.  

A Tale to Tell is a rolling collaborative project in which artists and illustrators will combine to make one long, hopefully, excellent story.  Each week a new artist responds to and continues the story as it was left by the previous.  We're hoping that this means by the end (which isn't specified at the moment) collectively, we'll have created a really imaginative story full of different styles, ideas and creative minds.

Have a look at the project over at - A Tale To Tell - and get involved!  

We've started the story using the first few lines from The Jungle Book, because we felt that, not only was it really important book to a lot of people, but it would act as an excellent starting point for the project.  Below is my illustration for this.

Hope you like it - we think that it could have the potential to be really nice.  Just need to make sure people get involved!

Virunga Volcanoes

So this post isn't strictly illustration-based but I thought I'd share something interesting that I just came across.  

Doing a little bit of research into Mountain Gorillas and their dwindling habitat due to, amongst other things, slash-and-burn agriculture, I decided to have a quick GoogleMaps search of where they're from.  There's only a few places left where Mountain Gorillas can be found, one of which is the forests surrounding the Virunga Volcanoes in Uganda.  These screenshots are taken from there (have a look for yourself on maps here).

When you zoom in to the straight lines (which I initially thought were just where the pictures had been pasted together) around the base of the volcanoes you can see the effect that this style of agriculture has had on the environment.  I'm not going to go into the ethics of this as it's not worth mine or your time, but I just wanted to share these images as they blow my mind just a little bit.  Apologies if this isn't new to you (as I'm sure it probably isn't) but, as I say, I just came across this and think that it's absolutely incredible.

6

Returned back to school today.  There is too much to do.  Here is a big 6.

Also, because I didn't do it at the beginning of January, there is now a SALE in my Etsy shop!  Just enter the coupon code HELLOHELLO at the checkout to get 15% off all purchases until the end of January!  Isn't it nice?

Truth

New illustration!  I think I was trying to represent ideas but that may have gotten lost in the process.  Either way, I'm quite pleased with the image - particularly the fogginess achieved with layering tracing paper.  Thoughts and opinions always welcome.

The Weiner

Big thankyou to everyone who entered the giveaway/followed this blog/left comments - very surprised and pleased at the response!
I put all of the names into a hat (a monkey hat, if you're interested) and drew out the winner and runners-up!

The winner is - Angelina Ioannides-Beer

 Followed closely by Rachel Clare Price and Alvind95


Congratulations to these 3, hopefully they can find something that they like from the shop!

Tree Time

Hello again,

This is an illustration for a possible poster design.  Still don't know whether it will actually be used or not - hopefully.  Original size is just a little bigger than A2.  Pencil on paper and then acrylic on transparent film - because I was too scared to do it on the original drawing.

Don't forget about the giveaway - as a couple of people have mentioned, you have to have a blogger account to 'follow' a blogger blog (blog) so if you can't then just leave a comment and I'll throw you in the hat as well!  All are welcome!

Hello

Welcome to my brand new blog!  Exciting, isn't it?

If you've migrated from my previous blog - 365 Days - and are wondering whether I will be uploading something here every day, I am pleased to inform you that I shall not.  As good as making myself do that last year was for me, it was somewhat of a burden at times and some of the posts were a bit of a cop-out.  I'll still be drawing basically everyday (at least up until I graduate this year - who knows what the hell will be happening after that).

Giveaway time!

So, in honour of the New Year and a new start, I think I'll begin with another giveaway!  That'd be nice.  The winner of which can choose 3 items from my Etsy shop as their prize. There will also be 2 runner up prizes, who can each choose an item from my shop as well.  All-in-all, not too shabby.

All(s) you(s) got(s) to do to enter is follow this blog!  (Feel free to comment as well though, if you fancy - say hi)  That's all.  I'll be picking the lucky winners at random on Monday 10th January so make sure you're following before midnight on Sunday 9th January.

Thanks for stopping-by and good luck!

Hello there, bear.