don't believe those crocodile tears...

It's been far too long dear blog. Please excuse the lack of posts but I've creative projects ongoing that I couldn't post about, at least not yet. Thankfully good old a little bit bunny blog is always there, as it's supposed to do, to encourage me to blow the cobwebs off and post something. Well this months ALBB creature is the crocodile and I had great fun getting inky and tearful! Here, as always, is some of the sketch work plus a detail of the final illustration.... pop on over to a little bit bunny blog if you'd like to see all of the emotional croc.

Okey dokey, I've a book cover to design, but first I have to read the book... TTFN

a sheep...

a sheep I saw, I sketched... it's tricky to sketch sheep, look at too many and you keep dozing off...

just some vegetation doodles for future illustrations...

Staithes seaside screen print in progress...

This links back to a post a couple of months back now about a print design I've been working on (off and on while time allows...). I've posted my research sketches and where I got up to on the design so I can move onward and upward from it. I think part of the reason I wasn't happy to date is I've forced myself to try out the screen print design as a single colour only and I've been feeling frustrated that I cannot do some of the colour mixing tricks I love screen printing for. The design acquired a sort of woodblock print feel to it that I did like, although it's a slight departure from my usual approach. Looking on stuff with fresh eyes a few weeks on really helps. I'm not sure quite how I'll proceed but I still think there is an illustration in there. If picturesque is your bag I suggest checking my previous post (link above) for a photo or google Staithes to see just how overloaded with 'picturesqueness' the place is!

beluga whale speaks...

Saw this article today about a beluga whale recorded making 'human sounds'... Nature never disappoints!

a local shop... for local people...

Like my llama panorama post I did these quick illustrations mainly as a landscape layout and colour exercise. I hadn't seen The League of Gentlemen since it was aired on TV so I treated myself to the boxset and have worked my way through at a rate of knots! Deliciously dark and twisted humour. Highly recommended. It never really occurred to me when I first watched it but part of the reason I think I like the show is it's locations are predominately up in The Peak District of Derbyshire, where I grew up. Now I live in the concrete jungle of Surrey I appreciate all the more the moors, and watching the show really does remind me of where I grew up (in the nicest possible way of course...). The League of Gentlemen really did make the locations as much of a character in the show as the people and thats shown nowhere better than the infamous "Local Shop" of Edward and Tubbs Tattsyrup. Given the subject matter and the fact that it was 'just' a TV comedy it's perhaps surprising just how beautiful some of the establishing shots are in the show. Brooding skies, the grand natural scenery and careful use of post production really give a great backdrop to the humour. If you have no idea what I'm on about here's a taster :-)

Llama panorama over on a little bit bunny...

It's Llama time over on A Little Bit Bunny (cue music ... 3 minutes 6 seconds in ;-) this month and, as always, here's a sneak peek and my sketches.

Llamas are a lot of fun to draw (who knew). Much more fun than horses with their far too bendy rear legs, thats for sure! In the end however my idea for an illustration (after the obvious "Llama in Pyjamas" or the "Dalai Llama") was a "Llama Panorma" so, as it turns out, my Llamas are almost too small to see on the final piece.

I've been meaning to practice more of late my environments / backgrounds and using colour to establish a scene so this illustration became more of an exercise than a way to play with Llamas. In case all the Inca and Aztec pattern studies don't make sense I did intend to have graphic decorated Andean mountains in the mix too but the final result worked better without any additions. Still fun to play about with patterns though.