New Print!

Back in March, I was contacted by lovely lady called Rachael who wondered if I ever undertook commissions, and, if so, if I'd be up for designing a screenprint for her based on The Enormous Turnip. Indeedy, I was.









This one is a three-colour print, and, even though I told Rachael I probably wouldn't have it done until the end of April, a nice break in my current illo project a few weeks ago meant I managed to get in to the print room and get it all printed up in one day. I do like it when the Print Room Zen just flows and you can simply crack on. I've tried to make it look properly old and battered, as if it really might be a mass-printed poster for a long-ago circus act. It works, I think.

Rachael's family's nickname is "The Turnips", so they've always seen The Enormous Turnip as "their" story, so I was happy to create something so personal for them. The dates on the poster refer to Rachael's wedding day, and the birthday of her daughter (not in the same year, I hasten to add!) I've sent it off to its new home now where I hope it'll spread a little screenprinty joy.

Rachael graciously allowed me to create a whole edition of these, so they are up right now, freshly listed in my Folksy shop here. I'll also have this print at the Jubilee Library AOH all through May. There are notecards to match, and these, along with copies of this print and some of my other prints, will be for sale on the opening afternoon only, this Saturday 5th May. Do come along!

End of Week 17

PBK 2012

For the fourth year running, the staff at B&H libraries are putting on an exhibition to coincide with the May Open Houses/Festival at Jubilee Library. This year is a bit of a departure, as we're not just open at weekends, nor are we tucked upstairs on the top floor. This year, we're downstairs for everyone to see everyday during normal opening hours, displayed on some huge frame/stand that I still have no idea how to picture in my head, despite it being described to me several times already.

My new screenprint (deets to come ASAP) will be in there. The opening day, 5th May, will be the only day we're selling prints, cards and the like, so do come down, take a look, and maybees treat yourself. All welcome!

A Blatant Bit O'Plugging

I spent yesterday embroiled in one of the most tedious, yet most satisfying, of all self-promo activities, updating my websites. If you scroll down there on the left, I have buttons that link to all my various online portfolios, and my own website. I tell ya, updating all these in one day really makes you notice the differences between all the portfolio sites and their methods of uploading your work, and appreciate the ones who make it really easy for you to do so. Hurrah for batch uploading, I say. Anyhoo, the lovely folks at Hire An Illustrator have a handy news section, which I thought I'd take advantage of to plug my OUP stuff. Screen grab a-hoy:



If you want to read it properly, the item is here.

Isn't that background the most lovely design? I do love me a bit o'grey and yellow together. It's by Salt Lake City-based artist David Habben. Lovely stuff.

I think Childrens' Illustrators has a news section, too. I must go brag on there soon...

Oh, Hello

O Hiyaz, Blog. Long time no see. Like, over three weeks. Ahem. Many apologies, I've been rather busy, but now I'm finally allowed out to play.

I've been colouring up the artwork for the Knights project I'm currently working on, and I was absolutely determined to avoid any 3am finishes as the deadline approached. So, no knitting on Wednesday evenings, no going to the gym or the pool, no long hikes at weekends, indeed, no going out at weekends at all. I tell ya, I feel DULL. Howevs, it was all sent off on time and the initial reaction was good, which is all I can hope for until the main feedback arrives late this week/early next.

I'm feeling a little under the weather after it all, not surprising as I've basically only had one proper meal a day (cooked by Hubbo), and have been fuelling myself at other times on easily grabbable carbohydrates. I also have that weird "You mean, I can have some time off now? I don't need to feel guilty about sitting here watching Downton Abbey and drinking tea?" feeling I always get after a deadline. Ahh, the life of a freelancer! So, this week is all about taking a breath, actually getting out of the house and doing some exercise, and eating food with vitamins in. Oh, yeah, plus catching up here and updating my various websites and online portfolios. Next week, I'll have a new print for sale, which has a nice story behind it that I'm looking forward to sharing.

In the meantime, have a couple of pieces of local telephone exchange box art:






Both on West Hill Road. I do like the blue padlock, nice touch.

Installing The Bees

Installing the Bees from Matt Kuchta on Vimeo.
Neil Gaiman pouring bees into a new hive at 2,000 fps.

Beautiful. I have never seen a bee flap its wings before.

End of Week 16

Eww

End of Week 15

End of Week 14

End of Week 13

Seven Months in One Book

I am unspeakably chuffed to be able to share some of this at last. This is the first part of the HUGE year-long project I was working on for OUP last year. Ta da!!! Splash A is the first part, Splash B is the second which is out a bit later on this year. Finally I have something new to put in my portfolio and on my website!



I shared a little sneaky bit of the cover about this time last year. It's so exciting to hold it in my hands and appreciate all the hard work that has gone in to putting it all together.



This page has intentionally blank areas for the kids to colour in.



These "storycards" come in two sizes. There are larger, A4-ish sized versions which come in the "Teachers' Pack" which I haven't received yet. As they're a bit wider, they have a bit more background artwork in them. I just had to work to two sets of guidelines; one encompassing the centre of the action which you can see here, and another wider set containing a bit more of the landscape. Can't wait to see those at the larger size.





Stickers!! How cool. These have been printed on lovely, glossy paper which just makes the colours pop so beautifully. I love Tex the Turtle here. MY WORK IS ON A STICKER!!!!!!!







Pop-out cardboard finger puppets, front and back.



And a dress-up doll of Dizzy the Duck and her winter wardrobe.
 
I'm so, so pleased with how it's turned out. It was a mammoth task and one I'm so glad I took on. It's so weird to look through it and remember "Oh, yeah, such and such was happening when I drew that" and "Yeah, I was listening to this or that audiobook while colouring that part". This project meant I could move house, pay the year's council tax in one go, and spend far too much on shoes. Thanks, OUP, it was a fab job and one I hope everyone is proud of.

Show me the second part!

A New Print in Progress

End of Week 12

Quite Possibly The Coolest Gardening Tool EVAH

A Decision

So, in the end I went for a grey-green line. Artists' prerogative. Once I'd put the colour in, the black was definitely too harsh, as I thought it would be, and the grey just too flat. So grey-green for Tom here it is. This means each character will have a slightly different outline colour, which I like the idea of. I used MS for all the character outlines, which I am LOVING. It's so quick, and produces a pretty realistic ink-pen line. Lovely jubbly.

This little sample here is just a small part of the cover test which is with the publishers now, waiting for a verdict. If it's OK, I can go ahead and colour the rest. Fingers crossed!

End of Week 11

Slightly Late End of Week 10

A Brief Outline

I've just started working on the colour for my current project. The comments on the roughs are in and are pretty good, so I'm just in the process of deciding how on Earth I am going to tackle working up this baby. I have to colour the cover and one spread for Friday so the AD can check the palette and what-not before I go ahead and do the rest, so this is the ideal time to experiment a bit.

So, decisions, decisions. It seems such a long time since I've coloured people I'm finding it a bit strange! (In fact, it was my Christmas card 2010. But only one Santa amongst eight reindeer. Whoa.) About this time last year, I took up a pretty good offer on Manga Studio Debut, which I bought, installed and promptly ignored. It's the standard software comic artists use not only to ink up their artwork, but also plan their storyboards. I'm obviously not planning boards, but I like the HUGE range of brushes it comes with. So I've been experimenting with drawing the outlines both in PS and MS using different brushes and with altering the colour of those lines. Recently, I've been outlining my characters in darker shades of their body colours, but with this book I think I'd like to outline the main action in one colour, probably a dark grey, then have the backgrounds with coloured, or even no, outlines. I'll have to see how that works out once all the background colours are in.

So, in the meantime, I just have to choose a line:



I'm edging towards MS in grey, the top right, but we shall see!

Nymans

Husband and I have had a very outdoorsy, active, heavy-on-the-walking kind of weekend. It's been lovely. We put our National Trust membership to good use and went to Nymans this afternoon. The original Regency house was re-built as a fake Gothic mansion in the 1920s, but then most of it burnt down in 1947. The ruined parts have been stabilised, but left as ruins. The rest of the house is arranged as its last owner, Anne Messel, liked it. A nice contrast, and so interesting.

A New View

This afternoon, Middle Sister and I went on the Brighton Eye. Like many a Brightonian, I was a bit WTF? when it was constructed last September, but, actually, the view was pretty interesting. I don't know if it was supposed to, or if it was just because we went on a slow day, but we went round seven times. The first couple were a bit freaky, but by round 6 we were, like, totally blase about it.

I'm not sure how long it's going to be around for - the local goss says a year - but it would be lovely to take a ride at sunset on a clear day.

New Gocco!

I've (finally) put some Gocco'd Mother's Day cards up in my Folksy shop:

I've been experimenting with using several shades of the same colour in one card, which I think came out quite well. It means each one comes out differently to the next, which is great.

I've also got come new-ish Gocco prints up in the shop, which I can't quite believe I haven't blogged about yet. This one is inspired by Steph's Ladies in Monochrome blog and her obsession with finding a photo of a nun with a cat:

I do like printing on brown paper; I've only ever used white before. That's one to do again in the future.

Do go take a look at my stuff, I'd be well chuffed.

End of Week 9

You Know How I Said I'd Be Knitting Colourwork Soon...?

Not too keen on how this has turned out, though. I very much enjoyed my first foray into knitting with more than one colour at a time, and working from a chart, but I'm just not too keen on the fit, particularly around the thumb, so there'll be no mitten no.2. The pattern designer refunded the cost of the pattern to me off her own bat, and has asked for any suggestions on how to improve it, which I though was very nice of her.

But this is quite a big deal. I have tried cables, charts and colourwork all in the space of a few weeks. Shockingly swift progress!! I have no idea what I was so worried about, though; they're not scary at all. Bring on the scaries!