Monday 31 January 2011

My Desk!


The spare room in our new house is finally starting to take shape into the form of a studio/guest room. After a heady trip to the Swedish Chud Warehouse (I love Ikea so much!) a new desk was bought and fashioned to my own liking. Photos of the rest of the studio will be posted when the room is finished, but here's where I work most of the time! I'm officially in love with my new desk.

Thursday 27 January 2011

Toy Machine!

I couldn't tell you how much money I spent on these when I went to Japan in 2007 but I think the vast collection of toys I own from them will speak for itself! :P

Tuesday 25 January 2011

More zombie goodies!


It's been quite a while since I made any comics to sell at conventions, so I thought I'd do a zombie zine for this year's shows. But as well as that, I'll be making a whole bunch of stickers and key rings to sell alongside it! I think I'll pop a full colour zombie print in with the zines too as a free gift. The zine itself will be black and white with a colour cover. Now to get drawing!

Saturday 22 January 2011

Trading Cards Printed!

My trading cards arrived in the post today and they look awesome! Each card is printing on high quality card stock, all double-sided.


A selection on my ink-ridden desk.


Card with Squid Bits logo on the back.


Mmm, maybe some Top Trumps?



I'll be ordering some envelopes and bubblegum this week and will hopefully have these to buy on my online shop very soon. Each pack will have 6 cards and a stick of bubblegum and will be about £3 per pack. Don't just think of them as trading cards, but collectible art cards! :D

Wednesday 19 January 2011

Zombie Noms!

Lots done, lots to do and the inevitable Burnout that follows.


Things were very hectic just before xmas; as well as doing a children's book, deadlined illustration work and seasonal commissions, I moved house and was doing extra hours at my day job. All got done and I had a great Christmas and New Years break, all the while worrying slightly about the quiet period that would follow all of this. Fortunately, there was no quiet period and I got a few awesome commissions pretty much straight off. Unfortunately, this is when my brain decides it's had enough and shuts done for anything else arty. I'm enjoying the work I've got at the moment but I'm finding it hard to get motivated for my own stuff. I get Burnout every now and then and I know I'll get over, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating!
But I've got a formula for getting through it:
  • Read lots: bedtime is usually my designated book time purely because of my working hours but during times of un-inspiration, I'm allowed to read whenever I want!
  • Play video games: letting my brain zone out and play video games usually gives it a nudge back in the right direction. I'm never sure why, but I've learnt not to question it!
  • Get products made: This is usually the best time to get things like prints, stickers, keyrings and other easily produced items made. If I can't be useful at the drawing board, I'll stock up for comic cons!
  • Get out of the damn house: Although I'd love to be fully freelance, I'm very grateful for my part-time job as it means I HAVE to get out of the house. I'm a bit of a hermit at heart so the excuse to get out is one I take for granted sometimes. Thursdays are my day off in the week so I'll use that for an art shop trawl and supply restock. I might just amble about for the sake of it too.

I'd love to know what other artists do when they've fizzled out too so if you fancy sharing, please do!

Saturday 15 January 2011

Wolverine vs Cake

My Prints on Display!


The rather spiffing Richard Mushet, a chap I met at Thought Bubble in November very kindly sent me a picture of the prints he bought from me. They look fantastic! I'm always delighted to get pics from people of my work in situ (it reassures me that people actually do like my work) so if you have anything up in your humble abodes, please do email them and I'll feature them here!

More Activity Pages!


Monday 10 January 2011

Giveaway Winners!


The 5 winners of my giveaway have been picked! I'll be in touch about sending you your prints! The winners are:
Joan M. Otero
Casey Rich
Cerena-Leigh
Elysa (J.Skyrocket)
Ron Workman
Well done all! I hope you enjoy your video game goodies!
(Winners were picked using Random.org in numerical order)

Sunday 9 January 2011

Activity Book and general pimpage!


The beginning of the year usually means it's time to send out a load of promotional material/ideas to publishers and what not, so that's been my main priority so far. Above is one of four finished pages for a proposed children's book/activity book called Pesky Pets that I'm working on at the moment. Hopefully it will attract some interest! I'm having a lot of fun coming up with puzzles and activities involving pets; I've also got some ideas for other themed books too. Fingers crossed!

Saturday 8 January 2011

Tripod Terror animated!

Tripod Terror 2

Here's a very rough animated gif made in Photoshop with one of my older images. I might try and do something a bit more complex next time! I'll have to try and convert the animation I made in my second year of University from VHS (yep, that's how long ago it was!) to post on here. Over 800 drawings for less than a minute of work! :P

Wednesday 5 January 2011

New Year!


Egads - It's 2011 already! Once I get over the horror of knowing that I turn 31 in April, I may start to enjoy myself. 2010 was a good year both professionally and personally: I worked on my first children's book as well as buying a house and getting engaged. I went on two awesome holidays (more than I've been on in the last 5 years) and did some awesome conventions.
I'm hoping this year will bring more illustration work as well as possibly being able to work entirely freelance. We'll see how that all goes though! :P
Happy New Year!

Tuesday 4 January 2011

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