Black Hole Fun

Here's my latest cover illustration for BBC Science Focus on new theories that could take us Inside a Black Hole. I was chuffed to receive the commission as the unofficial 'black hole guy' and take on the astronomical body again after working on both Ultra and Super-massive black hole covers in the past. For this one I needed to mix the swirling vortex look with a quantum interior map vibe so turned to Cinema 4d/Redshift to play with tubular shapes, textures and lighting. I produced a number of visual approaches in Photoshop, as shown here, and was happy with the selected illustration. Great to work with Art Editor Joe Eden on this as usual. See more Focus work on the site here.

The World's Scariest AI Company

Here's another set of feature illustrations for BBC Science Focus' current issue taking a look at Palantir - The World's Scariest AI Company. The brief was to create collages representing the various facets of the most influential and least understood tech company. Covering its benevolent and malevolent uses across areas such as healthcare and militaristic applications. Once again I had a selection of photographic assets to treat in Photoshop and create illustrative compositions to fit particular print spaces on the page. Always enjoy these commissions from Art Editor Joe Eden. See the work on the main site here also.

Mental Flexibility

Here's a set of feature illustrations for a BBC Science Focus issue from last year that slipped through the blog net. They're for an article on the idea of Mental Flexibility being the 'blueprint for true resilience' rather than dogged pushing through at all costs. The illustrations are digital collages created from supplied photography mixed in with various textural and design elements. I love working in this style and making the compositions fit specific spaces in the print issue. Thanks again to Joe Eden for the commission. See the work on the main site here.

The First Stars

Here's my latest cover illustration for BBC Science Focus on the theme of the hunt for the First Stars and how they are Lost in Space. The brief was to depict these mysterious first stars based on descriptions from the article so I worked through various interpretations, posted here, to send over and get the process started. As can often be the case the first 'first star' visualisation was chosen to develop as it conveyed more of a sense of a consuming gas ball rather than an emitter. I refined the digital illustration, made with Cinema 4d/Redshift and lots of Photoshop texture compositing, and ended up with the chosen final plus a more wispy alternate version, also above. Thanks to Joe Eden for another great commission. See further Focus work on the site here.

Dreamscapes

Here's a fun commission for a BBC Science Focus feature 'Welcome to the Dream World' on technology that might harness the power of lucid dreaming. The brief called for a couple of dream scene illustrations and a composition based on some of the tech and people involved. Really enjoyed digitally collaging these in Photoshop using a combination of stock imagery, 2d/3d elements and textures - a dream job you might say <groan>. Thanks to Joe Eden for the commission as always. See more Focus work on the site here.

Galaxy Glitch

Here's a new, and always very welcome, commission from BBC Science Focus and art director Joe Eden. This one was a cover and spread on the theme of The Galaxies That Shouldn't Exist and strange signals from deep space that reveal flaws in our understanding. The brief was to depict a galaxy with some sort of distortion so I had fun going to town on glitch-in-the-matrix visuals. Joe asked me to try out some type treatments to accompany the illustrations and I worked up some pixel-warped ghosted headers. You can also see these on the site here and other Focus work here.

Biggest Breakthroughs

To start the year off here's a new cover illustration for the New Year 2025 issue of BBC Science Focus. This one was a quick turnaround with a brief based on the concept of the Biggest Breakthroughs of the Century and required an esoteric creative visual with some bold typography. I worked quickly on a series of first visuals, some included here, to find something that felt right for the abstract brief. After the first round the simpler monochrome visual of a sphere with light 'breaking through' was chosen to develop and I worked with art director Joe Eden on various type treatments and headlines - love how the yellow that Joe selected pops against the black and white. I also worked up a horizontal spread version with a more dynamic 3d type approach for the title. All of the visuals were finalised in Photoshop using 3d models, abstract patterns and particles created in Cinema 4d. You can see the work on the main site here and previous work for Focus here.

Are We Special?

New work for BBC Science Focus' current issue on the theme of 'Are We Special?' and the origins of Earth and life itself. The brief was to create a cover that could be adapted for a spread illustration featuring Professor Brian Cox. I've done quite a few space-themed illustrations for Focus by now and wanted to try something a little different so had some fun with an eye-popping colour treatment that could be applied to the supplied Cox photography. The main elements of the cover illustration were created in Cinema 4d such as the planets and explosive line design with the stylistic work achieved in Photoshop. Thanks again to long-time collaborator Joe Eden at Focus for the commission. See more work for Focus 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. 

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.