Spooky Ride

October 31, 2016March 21, 2023 | N4 Sketch Pad

Happy Hallloween! Here’s a video of Spooky Ride, my first ever pop-up book, published by Tango Books way back in 2001. Spooky ride was the start of a long and fruitful relationship with Tango Books that still continues. The paper engineer for the project was the very patient Matt Johnstone whom I bombarded with questions at the time. It wasn’t until pop-up book 2 that I took on that role myself, picking it up as I went along.

I’d seen a funfair ghost train in Finsbury Park and wondered how that could translate into 3D book. The final book has one continuous train track running through holes in the pages, out the back of the book, round to the front and back in again – so you can read it over and over and over and over… My brief was to base the illustration style a little on ‘Funnybones’, keep the colours pure and make it scary! – well, sort of, it’s a children’s book.

Early roughs from the project.

Park Theatre Exhibition

December 7, 2015March 22, 2023 | N4 Sketch Pad

Given my work on two children’s theatre productions presented by Half Moon over the last 3 years it seems fitting that the current venue for my touring exhibition is also a theatre. Park Theatre in Finsbury park has kindly agreed to host the show for the month of December to coincide with their production of Rapunzel.

The other connection for me is that the pop-up books seem quite theatrical in their own way. Just like stage sets, all is not what it seems, the illusion can be broken by deconstructing the constructions or going behind the scenes.

The work on show are examples of flat illustrations from the books or those pop-up spreads that can be easily merged.

The artwork is produced using a combination of traditional and digital media. Most start as pen and ink outline drawings which are then scanned and further developed in photoshop where the colour is also added. Because of this, the final artwork exists in digital form only.
What you see in the exhibition are signed and numbered archival prints, produced at the London Print Studio on 290gsm A2 Ilford Gallerie Pearl paper in editions of 25 using Epson Ultrachrome pigment inks.

The exhibition runs until 10 January 2016 and can be found in the theatre’s stalls and mezzanine corridors. All the prints are for sale.

Its magic big and small with side panels

Treasure

July 17, 2015March 22, 2023 | N4 Sketch Pad

What I like about Illustration Friday is that it gives me the chance to revisit some of my past work. This week’s word is ‘Treasure’. The picture shows, what else, artwork from pop-up picture book no.2, Pirate Treasure Hunt, published by Tango Books.

IF Airborne

June 8, 2015March 22, 2023 | N4 Sketch Pad

This week’s Illustration Friday word is Airborne – image shows details from one of the spreads in Professor Moles Machines (published Tango Books).

World Book Week 2015

March 9, 2015March 22, 2023 | N4 Sketch Pad

Back-to-back schools last week for the week of World Book Day. A lot of advance planning is always required for these but the enthusiasm of the kids and their eagerness to dive in and get creative always make it all worthwhile. This year’s schools were St. Pauls in Friern Barnet, All Saints in Fulham, Coppermill Primary in Walthamstow and St. Pauls and All Hallows in Tottenham. Here’s the montage:

Skull

August 23, 2014March 22, 2023 | N4 Sketch Pad

IF word of the week is ‘skull’. This one’s’ from my book Pirate Treasure Hunt published by Tango Books.

Illustration Friday – Reflect

January 3, 2014March 22, 2023 | N4 Sketch Pad

This week’s IF theme is in fact ‘time’. I seem to be running a week late!

Illustration Friday

What the Thunder Said

August 3, 2013March 21, 2023 | N4 Sketch Pad

I’ve always wanted to try my hand at a theatre poster and was finally given the opportunity after a chance meeting with Alan Ward at the Museums at Night event in May. As a result of our brief encounter, Alan, from The Theatre Centre, asked me to design the poster for one of their upcoming productions.

What the Thunder Said, a new play by award-winning writer Ed Harris, is based on a series of conversations and workshops with children about violence in five inner-city areas. These children spoke as victims, witnesses and sometimes perpetrators.

I was aiming for the feel of a comic book or manga style to connect with the age group and the fairly limited palette was a result of this. A lot was decided through trial and error – I did like the way the people at The Theatre Centre took ownership of the design and took a very active part in the development of their poster.

The decision to make the child look upwards towards the clouds tended give it a slightly more realistic feel and there was the added challenge of making the girl angry and frustrated without looking ugly – we needed to feel sympathetic towards her. The finished drawing of the girl has a touch of the David Shrigley about it – especially the fists – which I think is good as it does gets across a nice a sense of awkwardness.

For more information on What the thunder Said, please go to the link:
http://www.theatrecentre.co.uk/downloads/showsprojects/page/What_the_Thunder_Said_-_online_programme.pdf