Illustration Friday - Winter

I started out with the intention of drawing some winter birds and ended up with this little guy. Happy New Year everyone! My New Year's resolution is to do Illustration Friday every week.

How to Make a Heron Happy

'Hamish is worried about the heron in the park. It always looks sad and grumpy, with its hunched-up shoulders and long frowning eyebrows. So Hamish decides to cheer it up: first he brings bread crusts and biscuit crumbs to the park. But the heron still looks grumpy. Next he brings his family to tidy up the heron's polluted pond. But the heron still looks grumpy. Then he brings his class to plant flowers around the pond. But the heron still looks grumpy. Finally he brings everyone he knows to have a party for the heron. But the heron still looks grumpy. Hamish looks at the heron and wonders: maybe the heron isn't unhappy after all? Each page of this delightful story from popular children's author and storyteller, Lari Don, is brought to life with vibrant illustrations. Colour and activity build up as the book progresses and the drab inner-city park is brought to life.'

- as you can see, just sent off the final artwork for How To Make A Heron Happy! For more information visit www.florisbooks.co.uk

Street Scene

Work in progress...

Moody Guy

I don't know what I was trying to do with this but I know I didn't achieve it. Still, its better to post then not to post, and I'm still experimenting so I'm not worrying too much right now about making things I like.

Borough Market

This is a recent print of Borough market, I may still work into it a bit.

Man on the Tube

I'm well into my MA (Printmaking) course now and I thought I'd post my first piece of work :) Its an etching.

St. James Park

I was walking through St. James Park in London yesterday and I was really surprised at how tame all the 'wildlife' is.

Elvis and Chip

My internet is only working when it feels like it (which is not very often) but I have THREE BARS of signal right now and I thought I'd celebrate by uploading something I'm working on. Hope you like!

Teapot

Still drawing...

Onion

I'm waiting to move into my new flat and in the mean time I have heaps of work to do but no access to my art supplies. It's getting a bit annoying! So I have been sprucing up unfinished work on my computer. I did this for a drawing project in my 4th year of uni.

Heron

I was going for less cute and more realistic with this one.

Research Photos

I went out on a research mission to a local park today. I didn't take my sketchbook because I'm moving to London tomorrow and had to be speedy with my trip (still haven't finished packing).. so photographs it was.

A Disagreement.

A rough for a project I'm working on.

A little attention from Digital Arts Magazine

There is a section of Digital Arts Magazine's August issue devoted to recent graduates, and I'm in it! So exciting.

ECA Degree Show 2010

I've not posted anything in a long time because I've been a bit busy, first with my deadlines, then the Degree show and then D&AD/ New Blood down in London. Now I'm back in Edinburgh I can finally post these photos of the show; thank you very much to all the people who managed to come see it, it was wonderful to receive that amount of support. :)

Ruby at the Zoo

Ruby terrorising some penguins.

Fish

I finish this picturebook some time ago but I only recently had it photographed by the college photographer, I'm really happy with the way the photo came out because he's managed to capture all the embossing detail on the front as well as some of the insides.

photograph copyright John K. McGregor, Edinburgh College of Art.

Arnie is "Highly Commended" by Macmillan Publishers

I thought I'd let Arnie waddle back into the spotlight on my blog for a bit, having received the very very happy news that in the Macmillan Prize this year my book 'Arnie's Problem' was awarded a 'Highly Commended". So happy!

Random food post

Images for chapter headings of a pretend cook book :)

Introducing Ruby

This is an example of some of the research I do before embarking on a book project. This is Ruby. I've just started the book and I only have 3 weeks before my degree show. The countdown begins...

Arnie's Problem

Here are a few excerpts from my offering for the Macmillan Prize, a children's book competition. What was supposed to be a relatively quick project turned into a mammoth 7 week struggle, but I'm pretty happy with the outcome.

A Funeral of Raindrops

A Troubling of Goldfish

Another 'collective nouns' illustration, this one was not for submission so I decided to sneak another colour in there.

A Burberry of Raincoats

This was a quick quick quick project for a collective nouns competition. I'm working on a few longer term projects right now but sometimes its nice to take a break.

Last Ever Lifedrawing - Linda

Last ever naked tuesday! *sniff* We were drawing Linda, who I previously thought was called Allison.

Elephant Stew

For a recipe in the Observer monthly food magazine by Nigel Slater for "elephant stew"... (which does not contain elephants).

Cinnamon and white wine jelly

Recently I found an article that suggested making Jelly as the new "it" dessert for cheaper dinner parties. I decided to do a quick drawing for the article, to get in the mood for some shorter projects after my great big printed book.

Chipmunk antics

This is one half of a duo that are making up my next possible children's book... he may still change a fair bit. Also he doesn't have a name yet, suggestions welcome. :)

Starbucks on the Royal Mile

I haven't been posting much because I'm screen printing a book, but here is something I drew today.

Stranger At The Pier

This illustration is for the text and image collaboration project between Edinburgh University Creative Writing MA course and us 4th year illustrators. I'm working with a man named Larkin who wrote a short story called "Stranger at the pier", this is my image to accompany that story. Its a pretty dark story so my usual happy/ colourful illustrations would not have gone well. I tried to keep the things I'm interested in (colour, pattern, shape) and apply them to a darker image.

Francis takes a nap

Today was life drawing (or Naked Tuesdays as I like to call it) and we did a fair number of short poses which are not my forte and I won't post them up, but the final pose was the longest we've ever had, over an hour, so I felt really relaxed afterwards.

I think Francis felt relaxed too because he fell asleep and snored a little.

Illustration Friday - Focused

A really quick Illustration Friday sketch this week, I actually went out trying to find someone who was reading a newspaper or doing a cross word puzzle but when I saw this lady engrossed in her book and the guy behind engrossed in the lady I couldn't resist.

St. John's and St. Cuthbert's finished!

It took all week and a lot of consultation with Bryan and Steve in the print workshop, but they really helped me out and now it's finished. :)

St. John's and St. Cuthberts

OK the new slightly different version (minus colour):
old version:
Thinking of maybe making this into a print... can't decide.