The Accidental Animals...

Recently received a printed copy of The Accidental Animals with my illustrations decorating the covers and insides.

I was sorting out my paper work from 'The Accidental Animals' on the studio floor the other day and thought, dear viewer, you might be interested in this. By no means a representation of all the work that goes into making a publication but I think it gives some idea of my process.

The publisher wanted to work in a specific way which meant producing images from a synopsis, the writer (Hi Natasha) then wrote the text around the guts of the book. I remember hearing once that this is how old Marvel Comics were produced. Some of the illustrations used in the book are on the back of the sheets shown above. I like to draw in the moment and not worry about presentation. That's what computers were invented for.

Horned Tomato...

Sample from our crop of tomatoes this year. If you squint hard enough you might just see the eyes of the well known comic character Hellboy staring back at you.

Holiday Snaps...

As promised here are a few of of my holiday snaps from a few days ago. We went to see our friends Justin and Maria who live in Alicante, not far from the beach. The weather was great and we went swimming in the sea most days. I have not done the swimming thing in over 13 years and I think this is my first beach holiday...EVER!

Saturday Night (12th Sept) we were taken into town and had Tapas and cider and then on to El Coscorŕon which serves mint infused Mojitos, very nice. The bar is also tagged beyond belief. Layer upon layer of names and doodles (pens available behind the bar) scribbled, and in some cases, gouged into the walls. We left our mark too in a discreet place, terribly British I know.

On the Sunday we managed to go swimming in the sea before the clouds gathered up in the mountains. They quickly found their way to the shore. Wind, rain, thunder and lightening tore at the land and palm trees. Justin and I went out, wading in sandals as the streets were flooded ankle high. Part of the beach was washed out to sea by an outlet sluice. Very exciting.

HOLGA / LOMO Photography...

I took these holiday photos on my 2m camera phone and 'Holgarised' them in Potatoshop. Taking up the contrast and saturation and creating vignette layers to try and recreate the effects of Holga/Lomo lenses, it's a great way to hide the limitations of lo-res digital photography. If you're interested here's a little tutorial.

The Accidental Animals...

Ah - Ha! Have just got back from five days in sunny Spain, (I'll show some photos of that a bit later on). The day before Helen and I went away I'd finished doing the illustrations and book design for a 28 page children's book called 'The Accidental Animals'. Hopefully to be published real soon. Here is a sneak preview...

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