"hoppy chocolate time !"

A whole month since a post... very tardy, but many things just seem to have got in the way.  By way of celebrating the time of year (and to climb back on the blog...) here's a bunny and some eggs. Hoppy holidays folks!

Get well soon Grandad.

My grandad has been a little out of sorts, and out of breath, this past week or so but I'm glad to say he's now feeling a lot better. Here's a little something I did to cheer him up.

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 :-)

gorilla doodle

The estimable Don Flores has done me the great honour of inviting me to join the fun over on Cup O'Doodle blog and here is my first effort. Don posts various styles of random abstract doodles on the blog and then various folks use these as the basis for an illustration flight of fancy. Like my other group blog endeavour A Little Bit Bunny it's a grand way of generating artwork and it's really fascinating to see how different illustrators take the same starting point but end up at different destinations.

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.

another magpie logo... (I've been here before!) & screen printing plans

At the certain risk of repeating myself (what's this, paid magpie logo project number four for me now... total number of enquiries for magpie logos must be around eight or nine... I've really lost track now...) here is my latest magpie logo design This feathered fellow is for a publisher in the Netherlands. I really don't know what  manner of 'corvid zeitgeist' I've been fortunate enough to tap into...?! Mustn't grumble of course.

To explain my absence of major creative bits and pieces of late most of my spare time (when not occupied with magpies) has been with the aim of being able to start screen printing from my modest little abode. Todays job was to design an exposure unit to produce my printing screens. There's still equipment to buy and things to make (oh, and prints to design of course) but I hope to have blog worthy fodder (and prints to hawk, maybe an etsy shoppie...?) before too much longer! Ever since my toe dip last year into the world of screen printing I've wanted to be able to sort out a modest set up and produce my own prints. It's going to be great to get a little messy and make real things! Watch this space.

my mammoth...

This months creature over on a little bit bunny is the wooly mammoth. As usual here's some early sketches, the final illustration wasn't much tidier (it's fun to be messy). Pop onto A.L.B.B if you'd like to see the finished result. Right, now I can switch off and go eat.

living pink cloud...

Well it's high time I eased into the new year's blogging. I'll get off to a sweet and gentle start. It's rarely the case that I will ever have anything worth blog posting here from my graphic design day job but the occasional scrap falls from the table that I hate to see go to waste. One such titbit is this unused prelim design for a mascot to advertise a Candy floss brand. I mainly include it as, despite being solely vector and having a pure magenta in it's palette (two things I'd usually steer away from if given the choice) I was happy enough with the result to keep hold of it. A departure from my freelance personal work but variety is the spice of life they say. Onward into 2012 folks...

(artwork © MAPS Ltd.)

Hello Ted!

My very good friends Kev and Vicky have signed off 2011 and signed into 2012 in grand style with the arrival of their wee bundle of fun, little Edward! It's at times like these that you want the right sentiment to go to those dear to you and not give money to the greetings card companies and post something generic. Well done you two and hello little Ted!

A Little Bit Bunny... doggy decorations & a "sausage role"

Just in the nick of time before the silly season is upon us all I've got my dachshund entries up on a little bit bunny. One is all festive (you're invited over to look at 'Banger's christmas decorations' ) while the other is my usual cringeworthy word play on sausage dog... sometimes the idea in your head has to be exorcised onto the screen no matter what the cost :-) Breaking the bunny rules (forgive me fellow bunnies) I'm posting this last, revised somewhat, here on my blog too as I couldn't resist some small tweaks to 'improve' things. Y'know when you just cannot leave well enough alone!

Merry Christmas one and all!