Hiii Illustration 23 Finalists

Happy to report that two of my projects have been chosen as Finalists at the Hiii Illustration Awards 2023. First up is The Dark Universe illustrated and animated cover for BBC Science Focus in the Publishing category. You can vote on that by clicking 'Like' on its page on the Hiiibrand site here if you're inclined. Secondly, my personal project Lidoverse is selected in the Uncommissioned category and can be 'Liked' here. 

The Future Of Everything

Here's a commission I greatly enjoyed for the Wall Street Journal and their The Future Of Everything supplement on the theme of AI weather prediction. The brief was to create an illustration and animation representing data in the form of a weather front of some sort so I went to work on a few initial visuals. With the animation requirement in mind I experimented with some MoGraph techniques in Cinema 4d to simulate cyclones and rainfall then took some frames to help create the works-in-progress seen above. A direction was chosen for the cover illustration with notes to push back the cyclone in favour of a digital rain effect and give the clouds more depth. For the final I had fun adding intricate digital detail and designing the image for an unusual vertical cover format. The animation was needed for the online edition so I created a short loop from a 3d camera move into the clouds and digital rainfall. You can see that on the WSJ site here. I was also asked to provide a further editorial illustration with a similar theme and developed an AI weather vane rooster concept. Thanks to Caitlin Choi for a really satisfying commission overall. See more work for the Wall Street Journal on the blog here.

'Tinkering' The Ivories

Here's my latest cover illustration for ABRSM's new Piano Exam Pieces syllabus for 25/26. The process started with a selection of photographed pianist references sent over to have a play with and come up with a number of visual routes to get the ball rolling. I've included some initial concepts here that experiment with textures, shapes and lighting that are cherry picked by the ABRSM team at each stage to arrive at a final design. I'm happy with the atmospheric results on this one and enjoyed working with Darren Ellsmore and the ABRSM crew as always. You can see this and further work on the site here.

MVCDO Summit

Here's a recent illustration I enjoyed working on for the Martha's Vineyard Chief Diversity Officer Summit 2024. The brief was to create an inspiring image of diverse business leaders centred around a lighthouse to symbolically represent the summit's hopeful aims and the iconic landmark at Martha's Vineyard island, Massachusetts. Initially the proposal was to have a futuristic look and feel to match the 'Future Is Now' tagline and I modelled a concept lighthouse in Cinema 4d based on some supplied reference then worked up some ideas shown above. It was decided the lighthouse should look more like the existing one so I recreated that with a modern spin and combined elements from both ideas for the final. A satisfying commission and a lovely client to work with. You can see it on the main site here also.

Digitally Bank Like An Egyptian

Here's an online editorial illustration I worked on last year and got a little lost in the sands of time. It was on the theme of the state of digital banking in Egypt for the Al Majalla website. I was always obssessed with ancient Egyptian imagery as a child and I do enjoy a good tech commission so this one hit the spot. See more Al Majalla work on the site here.

College Town USA

Here's a recent cover and feature commission for the University of Maryland Medicine Bulletin to showcase the exciting new developments at their urban campus in Baltimore. The digitally collaged illustrations feature a mix of medical students, Baltimore landmarks and new campus architecture rendered in a bright palette. This job was a joy to work on and went super smoothly due to great art direction by Jim Gray who supplied me with an extensive array of really useful references and assets to go to (collage) town with as it were. You can see these on the main site here also.

Dance Tower

Here's a new flyer in the Dance Dance Dance series for the upcoming regular event at Margate Arts Club. More enjoyable sci-fi-delic shenanigans, this time under a Fernsehturm-ian tower with the city dwelling folk. Here's a sequence of progress from sketch through to colour rough, before a late date change for the final, and a horizontal comp. See all the posters on the site here.

EVC Slinger

Here's a catch-up on commissions for long-time client Car and Driver from the last 6 months. The most recent was an unusual request to rustle up an EVC gunslinger for a piece on charger comparisons and was a lot of fun to do. Two further illustrations looked at the 10 Best collector-car investments and the editor's reminisces on cars from the past twenty years. Great to work on as always. You can see more illustrations for Car and Driver on the site here. 

Anti-Ageing Diet

I've been neglecting the blog a little due to a freakishly busy few weeks so here's a post on a couple of recent pieces created for BBC Science Focus. These two didn't quite make it past the gatekeepers this time but were a lot of fun to work on. 

The first is an animation for Focus' first digital only issue for Apple News on the theme of The Anti-Ageing Diet. With a short turnaround time I worked up a few approaches, including a futuristic food blender/clock concept and an animated female figure picking up diet items, pictured here. The latter was chosen for development and I set about sourcing and animating 3d rigged models of an older woman and a younger woman to create a de-ageing effect as the diet items are collected. I used Mixamo for walk and run cycle loops to apply to the 3d models in Cinema 4d then keyframed a camera move before taking it all in to After Effects to composite with all the other elements. Quite a complicated learning curve this one but was pleased with the results. Turned out Apple News had been working on their own animated cover  and ran with that one, using only a still from the animation in the end. These things happen.

The second unused illustration was for a potential Focus print ad to promote their own website on a laptop screen with an appreciative android giving the metal 'devil horns' hand gesture. Was not to be. See more work for Focus on the blog here. 

Dance Moves

This is the latest entry in the DanceDanceDance poster series promoting a regular night at Margate Arts Club hosted by Katie Barber and Joe Lye. For the fifth in the psychedelic/sci-fi inspired series I wanted to expand the world a little with new characters and hints of new places to venture into such as the distant tower. This one features a sort of psych-deco Amelia Earhart from Mars 2.0 and was fun to make as usual. Also a cheeky Death Star-esque orb that might have nothing to do with the May 4th (be with you) date. I've included the process roughs here from initial black and white scamp to colour test then back to monochrome for detailing before presenting the developed colour rough for approval. Elements get added,  removed and refined at each stage and for the final I tweaked the overall background colour for a more upbeat Spring feel. You can see the full series on the site here.

Drum Kit

Here's some new work for ABRSM and their Drum Kit Exam Pieces 2024 cover. The brief for this commission required quite a number of initial concepts that explored a more energetic stylistic approach to previous ABRSM outings. I've posted a selection of the works-in-progress here showing a range of varied comps and palettes based around collaged photo ref of drummers. After a few rounds the chosen image was settled on and I'm pleased with how it all turned out. You can see this and other ABRSM work on the site here.

Secret Swan

I was really happy to have my submission selected for this year's return of the Secret 7" exhibition and auction in aid of the charity Warchild. All artists involved were asked to choose from seven tracks to create a unique 7" vinyl single artwork and remained anonymous until close of the live auction. I chose Siouxsie and the Banshees' Lullaby to base my artwork on and found the evocative lyric 'The dream swan spins' as good an excuse as any to build that robot swan I've always wanted to! Using Cinema4D I designed and modelled the swan before taking it into Photoshop for some violet-hued cygnetpunk styling for the final piece. I've posted an unused alternate version here along with some of the untextured 3d model shots to see. Also included are a couple of photos of the final sleeve displayed in the exhibition at NOW Gallery in North Greenwich, courtesy of Clare Mallison and Al Heighton. You can see some of my previous Secret 7" submissions here.

Dark Universe

Here's a new BBC Science Focus cover illustration and animation on the mysterious matter of The Dark Universe. The doozy of a brief involved visualising strange distortions in space and time that may reveal hidden forces controlling the cosmos. I was sent some specific reference of an abstract blob animation which was a helpful starting point for some exploration into Cinema 4D's volume builder dynamics. After some fun playing with various textures and organic animations I sent over first concepts, some of which are posted above. A stark and graphic black on white approach was preferred with a bulbous and jagged blob combo to give it an erratic feel. I was also tasked with creating headline typography that would interact with the undulating shape and added subtle grid elements to suggest an attempt to quantify the unquantifiable. The shape animation was created in Cinema 4d then composited in After Effects and was a very satisfying blob-job overall. See more Focus work here.

Making A Dance

 

Here's the fourth poster in the series for the regular Dance Dance Dance event at Margate Arts Club serving up a sci-chedelic soufflé with a dollop of hand rendered type and an acidic Spring palette cleanser. Fun to make!