Merry Chrimbo

Have a good one folks and see you in '13!

ABRSM In Theory

Here's the latest work for ABRSM and their Music Theory Past Papers 2012 books. Nice to be able to work in monochrome for a change and give the old retinas a rest from colour strain.

Rio Three Ways

Here are some test illustrations I worked up for some Brazilian themed packaging that didn't quite make it to market. There are three colourful interpretations of Rio De Janeiro, the thrill of Carnival, the buzz of the big city and the calm of the beaches.

Nashville Tech

Here's another technology flavoured illustration for the cover of Nashville Post magazine. It's sizzling hot on that Tennessee tech scene...owww!

When The Boat Show Comes In

Here's a cover for the BoatShow International guide to the world's largest yacht gathering in Fort Lauderdale. This is the sixth year I've worked with Richard Taranto on the cover and probably my favourite so far.

NewWebPick

Here's an interview and showcase of work for the latest issue of online magazine NewWebPick. Click the images to enlarge.

Harkonnen

A film portrait of blistered, obese tyrant Baron Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan) from David Lynch's Dune sending off a character in typically crude fashion with a bit of spittle. Lovely man.

Jesus Christ Superstar

I recently did some illustration work for the UK arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar. The updated show is transplanted to a modern setting inspired by the Occupy movement and the brief was to create urban imagery in the mode of Banksy/Fairey. The work was featured on a large centrepiece video screen and edited into the show by director Fish Nor Fowl for Treatment Studio.

Time Out

October was mostly spent away from the studio this year so here's a little photo compilation of my escapades. The first week saw a trip to a peaceful Treyarnon Bay beach house in Cornwall for a spot of cycling, walking and amateur hour surfing to wash away the cobwebs. For the second week my wife and I jetted off to the ridiculously picturesque Amalfi Coast region in Italy. The dramatic cliff-hugging town of Positano was our first port of call and the weather was good enough for dips in the sea and a ferry trip to lovely Capri Island for a lemon slushyfest. We finished our trip in the more cosmopolitan Sorrento with it's spectacular views over Naples bay and Vesuvius, a breathtaking area despite the hellish Naples traffic that can only be described as mentalistic. For the third weekend we brought it down to earth in style at the excellent Supersonic Festival in Birmingham's Custard Factory where I saw some great music I'd not been introduced to before. Highlights for me were Devilman (pictured), JK Flesh, Bohren & Der Club Of Gore, Gnod, Ufomammut and Zoltan (pictured).

Tech Rush

Here's a multi-post featuring some recent technology themed illustrations. These include a piece for an article entitled 'Keeping Pace' for Currents Magazine on the rapidly changing world of social networking. Two illustrations for PC World Magazine on protecting your passwords and a feature on the latest in digital camera geekdom. Finally an illustration for Nursing Management on the reliability of using apps in nursing. Phew, I'm tech'd out.

Step Back

Here's a combined cover illustration and video for new hip hop release Step Back by Sam Krats featuring Nabo Rawk on Killamari Records. The illustration is a bit of a Bristol/Boston mashup reflecting the backgrounds of Krats and Rawk respectively. The video was edited together from a couple of raw performance recordings of Nabo outside Dunkin' Donuts and designed to accompany the look and feel of the illustration. You can watch it here.

Martian Chronicles

Meanwhile, back on Mars, the Chinese have beat the Americans to the red planet in this cover illustration for Pacific Standard magazine.

Tingle On: Images 36 and 3 x 3 Proshow

The Tingler poster was selected to exhibit in this year's AOI Images 36 show at Somerset House and will continue on the exhibition tour around the UK. It also appears in the accompanying Images 36 Best Of British Illustration 2012 book in the Self Promotion category along with my Urban Utopia (New Scientist) and Creative Outsider (Design Week) illustrations both in the Editorial category. The Tingler pops up again in this year's 3x3 Proshow, selected for the Poster category.

Hallucinatory

No you are not seeing things, well, you are technically. Here are some illustrations for a feature on Hallucinations in the November issue of BBC Focus Magazine. All of the senses get in on the act.

100th Grey Cup Festival

I'm back at the wheel after some downtime with a backload of work to plonk on the blog. Firstly, here's a job for the folks at Bensimon Byrne to promote Canada's 100th Grey Cup Festival 2012 in Toronto. It's a big cultural sporting event based around American football happening in November. I had to produce a panoramic illustration that could work across various media and as five different banner compositions to hang around Toronto. Touchdown...as they say.

ABRSM: The New Batch

Here's the second wave of illustration work for the UK's largest music education publisher ABRSM. The Brass Syllabus and Exam Information & Regulations covers get an overhaul in a new colourful style I'm applying to all their publications over the coming months. Design and art direction by Kate Benjamin.

Protipper

I've been blabbing about textures and layer blending again in the Protip section of the latest issue of Advanced Photoshop. Check it.

Hadassah

Here's a chunky editorial job for the centennial issue of Hadassah Magazine featuring a cover portrait of Hadassah founder Henrietta Szold and a few collages looking at the history of the organisation.