Collision!

I fancied doing a random video game-based picture for fun and decided to bosh together two of my favourite games: We Love Katamari and Bomberman. I would heartily recommend We Love Katamari for everyone as it's just the weirdest, addictive and fun game ever!

Social Networking and the Evils Thereof

I'm addicted to Facebook. I love the bloody thing. The first thing I do in the morning is see what everyone is up to. I then tell everyone what I'm up to, trying to make it somewhat amusing and hopefully interesting. I then repeat this process several billion times throughout the day. Why is social networking so addictive? I could text or call half the people I'm friends with and meet them in the real world, yet I'm lazy and stay in touch through status updates. Sadly, this suits me fine as I'm a bit of a hermit and having the world in a box on my desk is a very convenient way for me to keep my grubby little fingers in the social pie. It took me a while to get into Twitter but it's fast becoming another favourite.

It's not just for the sake of it that I like these sites; I've found that as an illustrator, they're very useful tools: You can let people know what work you're doing, where you're going to be selling stuff, etc. I've gotten some interesting commissions through these sites and a lot more interest in my work. Setting a page up purely for my "business" has been great too as it's a very nifty thing to be able to give people Facebook details at comic book conventions. FB seems to be an acceptable form of professional networking now which I quite like as it's a very accessible system. However, like most web-based promotional tools, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

How does everyone else find social networking? Does it work for you? Do you do it just because you feel left out otherwise? What are the perils of using social networking in a professional capacity? Gimme your opinions! I would like to do a follow-up post to this so the more the merrier! :P

Stuff and Guff!

Yoink, what a busy couple of weeks! It doesn't seen to have stopped since LFCC which I'm not complaining about in the slightest! As well as getting various private commissions, I've been working on an exciting project that I can't mention as of yet (mostly because I don't want to jinx it) and some greeting card designs for a charity. I'm also getting a whole bunch of promotional material printed and just generally trying to fit things in where I can. Needless to say, I'm having a great time though; I love being an illustrator! :D

I was looking through my DeviantArt gallery the other day and realised I've got about 850 pictures in my gallery. I've been a member for about 5 years now, so not too amazing, I hear you say. Well, considering that at least 600 of those have come out of the last three years alone, it's a tad scary! In 2009 I submitted a whopping 75 pictures in one month. I think people will want to slap me when I say I still don't think I'm as productive as I think I could be...

I guess thinking of it that way has made me realise just how much work I've done in the last few years. It's been tough but it's been more than worth it. Let's hope I can keep it up!

Pod People!

I've been watching one of my favourite films - the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers - and had to draw a picture inspired by it! I've noticed that my last few personal pics have been in a slightly creepy vein. Well, as creepy as I can get anyway!

A Bit Of Everything Poster!

As I got the bug for making prints, I thought I'd have a go and print a poster too. I'm eagerly awaiting their arrival from the printers (I just got a test run of 4 at the mo!) and I really hope they turn out okay. I thought an image like this would make a fun poster as there's a fair bit to look at! :P Fingers crossed...

Huge online shop update!

I've finally updated my store after the madness of LFCC and there are literally OODLES of things to buy! And to say a huge thank you to everyone who follows this blog or generally supports me and my art, I am once again offering 20% off of all shop items. Just type the discount code SQUISHY when prompted for sweet sweet discount! :P

The Shadow Over Innsmouth

Another Lovecraft-inspired illustration. I'm having a lot of fun with these and intend to do more as a break from all the other work I've been doing. Expect more fish-gods and other weird deities here soon! :P

Postcard Commission

Before the madness of the LFCC started, I got a rather nice commission from a lovely couple in Australia for their online business. They wanted a fun postcard/thank you card to put in all of their mail orders and this was the result:

There are a couple of things I would tweak now looking at it, but it was fun commission to do and they were very happy with it. Good enough for me! :D

London Film and Comic Con!

Wow, is all I can say! The LFCC was amazing: I sold shed loads of stuff, made enough money to fund my upcoming trip to New York (and have a little bit left for spending), met some great people and all in all felt like a bit of a celebrity! :P (think that was the fact that we had access to the green room and people were mobbing me for sketches!) It was a fantastic weekend; thanks to everyone who came to the stall - it makes me realise why being an illustrator is so bloody cool! Here are some pics from the weekend:

Two very questionable gents; one of them is in fact called Mario. The other isn't Luigi though.

My prints! William Shatner is actually the owner of a Kirk print after JP bumped into him in the green room!

A Stormtrooper just chilling at the Reaper table.

Some dodgy bint and her work.

Awesome Shaun of the Dead costume.

Award for most inventive use of a moustache!


I'm-a gonna win!

He'll rip you a new one!


An Ewok. And someone dressed up as one of those bear-things from Star wars.


Like looking in a mirror.

A gaggle of Boba Fetts admire some art.


Arnie has fallen on hard times. That's politics for you.


The awesome Mario of Apocalypse comics!


Aliens vs. Predator.


Aliens vs. Preadtor 2: The Paintening.


This is what conventions do to a girl. Chugging Red Bull and talking to leprechauns (not pictured).


Colouring sketches finally takes its toll on JP.

It's safe to say this will become a regular con for us, so keep an eye out! :D

London Film and Comic Con!

The London Film and Comic Con is tomorrow and after weeks of going on about it, I hope I do well! I'm going to be doing sketches over the weekend a bit akin to this:
I did this speedily to get an idea of timing so hopefully the more I do, the better they'll look! I'll be keeping them primarily black and white in case people would like them coloured by my awesome boyf. Cost-wise, I thought £7.50 a sketch was reasonable with an extra £7.50 for a full-colour glossy print-off too. We'll see if peeps want to pay that or if they think it's a rip! :P

More Geeky Prints!

The last of my geeky prints for the con hath been printed! There are 4 new large prints and a set of small Star Wars prints. The large ones will be selling for £4.50 each and the small for £1.50. As always, if anyone wants any before they appear in my online shop, give me a shout!

Inconvenient Ouiji

I think the reason most ghosts don't answer the Ouiji Board is because they're in the bath.

More Star Wars Stickers

Captain Kirk FTW!

Some Captain Kirk stickers for the London con: Kirk, Battle Damage Kirk, Khaaaaan! Kirk and Kirk with Tribbles!

Star Wars Pics

I'm having a rather fun time making these pics! I've held off drawing Star Wars characters because so many people do them and many a lot better than me. But I was convinced it would work and it's really enjoyable! These, along with stickers and prints, will be available to buy here next weekend.

Giveaway winners!

Thanks to the randomness of the internet, the 4 winners of my Super Massive Print Giveaway are:

1st - We Blog Artists (blog artists [at] gmail.com)

2nd - Ezeqquiel (ezeqquiel [at] gmail.com)

3rd - Lindsey (puibee [at] gmail.com)

4th - Adara - (Starfish8094 [at] aol.com)

Well done all! A huge thanks to everyone that enetered the giveaway; I wish I had the finances to give everyone something but alas, I haven't won the lottery yet! Most of these prints are available on my online store so all is not lost :P

I'm already planning the next giveaway (a few months off yet) which may have some original paintings up for grabs, so please keep watching!

New Geeky Prints!

For some extra goodies to sell at the upcoming London Con, I thought I'd order some large nerdy prints. I have more in the way but in the meantime, here are the ones that came through this week:

They're 30x20cm glossy prints (slightly larger than A4). So far, I've got my 50ft Guppy (for some b-movie style goodness), Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid, a Jessified Daredevil cover, a Lovecraft-inspired Dagon (soon to be coupled with a Cthulhu print), Kurt Russell from The Thing and Watchmen. They'll be selling for a rather reasonable price with the option to have them signed (still can't get used to that when people ask) and will also be up for sale in my shop after the con, either individually or in packs. I ordered another big batch today and will hopefully have those by the end of the week. If anyone is interested in one now, email me and we'll sort something out!

Star Wars Stickers!

It was suggested I do some Star Wars characters for the London Con as there is usually no end of merchandise and people dressed as Stormtroopers to be found, so here is the first batch! I think Chewy and Wicket are my favourites, purely because they look like Star Wars as done by Jess! I've got more characters on the way for stickers and there will also be original paintings to buy. If time permits, some exciting prints may get made too! :P

Toe Fluff!

The awesome Steve Rack is running an exhibition for his Toe Fluff characters and has opened submissions for other artists to create one using a template. Here is my humble design! I don't think he'd be too out of place in Milk Town actually! Speaking of, Steve interviewed me on his character website not long back :D

I'm a Confirmed Guest - woo!

I'm now a confirmed guest at the London Film and Comic Con at the end of this month along with my awesome boyfriend, JP. As well as selling paintings, stickers and prints, I'll be doing sketches on the day, with the option to be coloured by JP and printed off all swanky! I'm excited and nervous at the same time as I've already had people enquiring about sketches and need to do a couple of trial runs to see how long it takes me. I've already got a whole bunch of Star Wars characters planned to paint too and need to get on and make more stickers! It's an awesome con that I've gone to for the last two years and I'm really looking forward to being an actual exhibitor!

A couple of other things; my Super Massive Print Giveaway has one more week to go, so if you haven't entered, then you still have time!

Relating to cons and cool geeky stuff, the rather awesome James Eatock of Cereal:Geek has written an IMMENSE guide to the original He-Man series and needs pre-orders to get it published. I would highly recommend getting a copy if you were an '80's kid like me as James is an absolute authority on most animated series' and his insights are a pleasure to read!