Creating some celestial character concepts

Science Fiction is one of my favourite genres. It was Star Wars then Star Trek that got me into the wonders of fantastical futures of our world, Space and the possibilities of life and Planets beyond our solar system and into the seemingly infinite Universe beyond.

(technically Star Wars is not the future but set "A long time a go in a galaxy far far away..." but it's still futuristic to us I guess)

So when I was approached by Chris Pinches of Entanglement Productions to do some character designs and concept art for his company's new SciFi production 'Paradise Aliens' I jumped at the chance. It features a bounty hunter, a geek, a psychopathic robot, alien body guards and a butler.

Below are some finished and some sketches of the concepts of a character called Erinyes

Erinyes from Paradise Aliens - A pre-production project by Chris Pinches.

From normal dogs to re-animated dogs. ...and no I'm not barking up the wrong tree.

Come! Sit! Lay down! Roll over! ...yes I was talking to you, dear reader. ...and as you didn't do as your told there's NO Scooby-Snacks for you!

Below is a recent pet commission I finished today. Just a little something extra I do to keep the pennies rolling in. (They make good Christmas presents too by the way)

Tomorrow I am off to meet Brendan O'Neill of Stickleback Productions regarding his Scampenstein Animation/Graphic Novel project. It seems I'm going from one dog to the next. You never know... you could be seeing Scampenstein in your local cinema someday soon. ...and what do dogs eat at the cinema? Pup-corn! (The best dog joke I could find in a google search)

Pet commission 22 Oct 2012

Sketch by sketch I stretch your face

I thought I would give you a sneak peek behind the scenes of my work. For this I choose a recent commission I did for a Wedding present. Once finished this was then printed onto canvas.

Commissioned caricature of an English Rose and an Aussie who got engaged in Paris. From the pencil sketch, inked drawing, computer coloured final image and a photo from the client of the canvas print as it was delivered.

Freelancers congregate for some Creative Company

Working as a self employed artist is great ... but you can get a little stir crazy after a while of always being on your lonesome.  In an attempt to integrate with other studio-bound individuals and forge some creative alliances I have started a fortnightly meet up for freelancers dubbed Creative Company.  The first meeting was today and it was attended by myself, Giuseppa Barresi and Jason Dennis all of MC² fame.  When they were busy working I took a crafty photo of them (below). I used the time today to work on a commission of a Crowned Eagle for someone at Warwick Castle which can be seen above.  Its not quite finished yet but I'm pleased with the results so far. 

Jason pictured left working on some comic pages for a computer game and Giuseppa pictured right pondering over the script for the second issue of Soul Snatchers.

Wedding caricature commissions

Beccy and Al married today

Beccy and Al's wedding present printed on canvas commissioned by Beth Jordan. Illustrated by TheArtyOne!

What do you get if you cross 2 kittens and an artist?

My lovely girlfriend, Rachel and I have two cats. A black one with some white on his paws and his belly who is called 'Stalker' Stan and a stripey ginger one known as 'Tiger' Tim. We've had them since they were 4 months old and in the year they have been with us they have provided us with much amusement. 

Not long after we got them I was asked to draw a picture of Dick Whittington with his cat to be used as promotional material for the 2012 Christmas Pantomime at Solihull Arts Complex. The other day I stumbled across my artwork being used and I was struck by the resemblance between Dick's cat and my Stan. I didn't even realise I was copying one of Stan's poses at the time, I think that he must be in my subconscious now! 

Promotional Image produced for the Solihull Art Complex Christmas Pantomime.

Since then the cats have taken on their own alter-ego's and have come to life in my new comic. Stay tuned for the first instalment due this autumn/winter.

'Stalker' Stan licking milk off his nose after he helped Rachel finish her cereal and 'Tiger' Tim trying to give the camera a nose kiss.

More comics

Warchild comic book/graphic novel

About a year ago I did a few sample pages of a story written by Roger Cottrell called 'Warchild'. These pages are to be used as a way of visualising some of the story to potential publishers and/or funders which would give the project and myself the funds required to finish illustrating the entire graphic novel. 

I really enjoyed doing this project and hope to get a chance to finish the work at some point. However, I do remember the many hours of frustration that came from trying to draw a 'futuristic tank'. It's harder than you might imagine. So many angles to deflect bullets = so many angles to draw incorrectly = a look alikey of a deformed tortoise shell with a canon on top!

Since then Roger has been approaching various people and companies with regards to funding and publishing it (Image Comics and 2000AD to name a few) and has received much interest. Today he is attending a very important meeting with a large, shall we say, multi-media company. 

Fingers crossed, Roger!

Warchild page 3 - Written by Roger Cottrell and illustrated by myself

Warchild page 4 - Written by Roger Cottrell and illustrated by myself

Here's to drawing some kick-ass Sci Fi ...and of course more tanks.