Raw Power Festival 2019

Here's a job I really enjoyed getting my teeth into recently, creating all the promotional material for a North London music event Raw Power Festival 2019. It's a festival I'm a fan and regular attendee of so was excited to tackle the relatively open brief from the promoter Baba Yaga's Hut. I saw it as a welcome opportunity to indulge my creative and musical leanings with the festival being a great showcase for 'the best psych heaviness, space rock, synth crazyness, left field electronica and much more'.

For the logo I looked for chunky typefaces to adapt into suitably psychedelic texture windows. The artwork came about after two flashes of inspiration, one of them retroactively. I modelled the central figure in 3d, initially thinking welding helmets and slinky robots and was reminded afterwards by my wife that it was probably all inspired by Jennifer Beals in Flashdance (1983). Probably. For the landscape I was thinking heavy-duty gig lighting and dry ice fog by way of Flash Gordon (1980) skies and strange floating droids.

Once the look was signed off I designed the posters announcing the partial and full festival line up then went to town animating a promo video in After Effects to the heavy strains of Gnod's Donovan's Daughter. I've included some of the promo stills here and a few of the initial poster designs beneath the finals to show the creative progress. You can also see the work on the site here with related work.

Blog Tour

I was recently asked to hitch my digital wagon to the Blog Tour, a growing trail of creatives set loose on four career illuminating questions before inviting others to join the convoy. An old BA Hons buddy from Portsmouth Uni nominated me, Caroline Pedler, now a super-talented artist based in Cornwall, along with Tom Hubmann. Previous to Caroline were John Kilburn and Amber Hsu amongst others. Anyway, here goes...

What are you working on right now?
I've had a really busy period over the last three months working on an eclectic mix of different projects involving both illustration and animation. I'll run through a few recent jobs that represent an average cross-section of a working week as the stuff that I'm actually working on right now I can't post yet.

I'm currently creating an animated iPad version of my second cover illustration for BBC Focus Magazine, for which I've created a lot of science/tech editorial work recently. I also have a monthly column, called Into the Future, that I illustrate for the magazine where I get to play out a lot of my childhood sc-fi obsessions. Here's a recent example about deep space communications...

I'm usually juggling 2 or 3 different editorial commissions a week, some with 24 hour turnarounds such as this recent illustration for Wall Street Journal on the Ebola virus.

I've had ongoing rebrand work for the last few years illustrating book covers for the UK's largest music examining body, ABRSM. Here's a recent cover for the Guitar Scales & Arpeggios.

Earlier in the Summer I worked on my second brand illustration to promote Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park around London which included animation work for moving billboards. It's certainly a massive buzz seeing the work on a massive bus...no? Ok...

I like to have personal work on the go alongside the commercial as often as possible. A recent project, Post-Invasion Cards, involved transforming found vintage postcards into UFO crash-site scenes. I've since turned them back into postcards to be made available as a pack of four soon...

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I like to straddle lots of different genres and styles while keeping a recognisable quality to the work that is identifiably mine. This can be my unapologetic use of vivid, and probably ridiculous, colour or my approach to photo collage or drawing style. I like to be versatile for the personal creative freedom it offers and the obvious commercial reasons of being able to tackle varied work. I've developed a brush pen drawing style over the last few years that is quite different to the Photoshop orientated work I create. I really love working with both of these digital and analogue methods and I'm constantly trying to bring the two together in more harmonious ways. More successful examples of this marriage of styles can be seen in my Claude Debussy: Life In Miniature animation...

...or a series of portraits for a book of rock and roll poetry A Circus Mind such as this Ken Kesey illustration.

Ultimately I like to be as stylistically simple (usually drawn) or hyper-detailed (Photoshop) as I feel the work requires, be it personal or commercial.

How does my illustration process work?

For commissioned work I'll read the brief or article before doing a little internet picture research around the subject for added, and often unexpected, inspiration. Some clients provide specific imagery to work around which can be really useful, in terms of clarity of brief, but can be creatively limiting. Either way, hopefully I'll have a good mental image of how the illustration should look and run with it. I often doodle a crude layout then build up an illustration-in-progress in Photoshop before sending a semi-developed image over to the client that's closer to a final rather than a bunch of sketches. It saves everybody time if it's green-lit as it's practically there. I'll happily return to the drawing board though if the client needs more ideas, every job finds it's own way. Below is an example of a smooth running job for ASAE in the States from client sketch, to approved semi-developed rough to fully detailed final.

For personal work the process is more organic than the commercial route and ideas can sit evolving in my brain for some time until I feel the need to get around to them. When I do, however, I approach them with a similar urgency and need to exorcise them quickly. Strike while the pen/mouse is hot as nobody says.

Why do I illustrate what I illustrate?

I'm driven by the joy I get from image-making mostly and exploring the varied ways I can communicate visual ideas. I feel fortunate that I can make a living doing something I've always loved to do so I'm going to keep doing it as long as I'm allowed, damn it! My personal work explores themes I'm interested in, obviously, but I don't feel there's overriding subject matter I need to explore obsessively besides the process itself. My childhood imagination was heavily influenced by imagery from films, art and books and the desire to translate the results to paper somehow and that's never really changed I'm glad to say.

That's me done for. Over to the fantastic drawer/painter Kenn Goodall and the wonderful world of Wellington Drawe!

Barcelona Redux

Here's a little montage of sights and sounds from a recent trip to the beautiful Barcelona. From our base in El Born we ventured out to the excellent Primavera Sound festival for the second year running to watch some amazing music from the likes of The Cure, Mudhoney, LFO, Matias Aguayo & Rebolledo and Brum metal legends Napalm Death and Godflesh amongst others. Spent the rest of the trip taking in the city, spectacularly so from the top of Tibidabo, recovering by the hotel pool and munching muchos tapas. Tremendous.

Alan Turing

Here's a recent commission that was a joy to work on, a cover and spot illustrations for the current issue of Nature magazine. It's for a feature on Alan Turing reappraising the undervalued and criminally mistreated godfather of artificial intelligence and computer science a 100 years on from his birth. 

Joy Division

A busy few weeks have kept me out of the blogosphere but, dammit, there will be posts. So to kickstart this joint here's the first taster of a long term project I've been working on recently. I'm collaborating with the author Ryan Cox and a crack squad of illustrators, Julia Minamata, Zela Lobb and Dushan Millic, on a book of music inspired prose called A Circus Mind. For me it's an exciting chance to experiment with drawing and portraiture and wallow in some of my favourite music. First out of the gate are Joy Division and a suitably ghoulish post-Halloween interpretation.

Le Weekend Part Deux

My wife and I zipped through the Chunnel on that Eurostar again recently for another rumble with Paris. We spent a fun evening at the Phillipe Stark designed budget hotel Mama Shelter, the rooms of which came with snazzy light-fitting masks based on comic characters, in our case the dynamic duo of Batman and, er...Obelix. The Père Lachaise Cemetery was nearby so we had a wander around the necropolis, finding Oscar Wilde and losing Jim Morrison, before moving over to stay in the Canal Saint-Martin area. We strolled up the canal to the Parc de la Villette, stopping to gawp at the Logan's Run-style spectacle of the huge Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie with it's towering disco ball, before spending an end-of-summer evening in the Parc des Butte Chaumont supping le vin at the lovely Rosa Bonheur bar, our new favourite spot in Paris. On Sunday we got our tourist fix following a literary themed walking map around the left bank of the Seine, ticking off the sights en route (bonjour Notre Dame) and spotting the pads of Hemingway, Orwell and Kerouac amongst others. It were bon.

Folly For A Flyover

I went to a pop-up cinema, dubbed the Folly For A Flyover, nestling under the A12 flyover in Hackney Wick at the weekend to catch a screening of fifties rebel classic The Wild One. The folly was built from reclaimed and donated materials next to the Lea Navigation Canal and was a great space to soak up a bit of campy Brando on a warm summer evening.

Tim & Eric In The Flesh

Last Friday I went along to see comedy mentalists Tim & Eric's  Awesome European Tour, Great Job! 2011 Just Islands show at Camden's Electric Ballroom in Lindin with that f*cking bridge (watch the trailer to see what I'm talking about). It was diarrheatically funny and they were ably supported 'In The Mix' by DJ Dougg Pound. Loving this poster artwork too by Duke Aber.

Spanish Castle Magic

Been back from Barcelona and Catalonia for well over a week but still there in my mind, chomping on padron peppers and slurping the gin *sigh*. Anyway here are a few snaps from the trip which started with four nocturnal days at the Primavera Sound music festival held at the concrete-tastic Parc Del Forum overlooking the Med. Musical highlights for me included Interpol, Deerhunter, PIL, Grinderman, Factory Floor, Battles and the brash Odd Future. We spent a couple of days re-adjusting our post-festival body clocks taking in beautiful Barcelona and enjoyed a memorable trip to Ferran Adrià's new cocktail joint, 41 Degrees, sampling the great drinks and bizarro snack delights such as Parmesan Ice Cream sandwiches and the mysterious Fake Pistachios, all topped by the chance appearance of the amiable elBulli celeb-chef himself at the table next to us...whoop! After the city break we drove up the coast to the lovely Dali-centric Cadaqués, where we were based for the last three days, squeezing in a daytrip to nearby medieval Besalú and crag-perching Castellfollit de la Rocha. On the final day we strolled the lovely seafront at Sitges before shooting off to the airport and home, tired but inspired.

Secret Cinema Goes To War

I went along to Secret Cinema again recently over Easter, this time staged at the Old Vic Tunnels under Waterloo station. On arrival at The Embassy we presented our pre-prepared French identity cards at the military style checkpoint and avoided the steely gazes of the guards who were detaining people at their leisure. We made it passed the checkpoint into a dark and atmospheric recreation of North African backstreets, mosques, food markets, cafe's and embassies all populated by arabic speaking folk and policed by temperamental French military, who could also be found dishing out a bit of torture in one of the antechambers. I got the impression it wasn't going to be a showing of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, as one punter suggested, and soon twigged it was the classic sixties insurgent film The Battle Of Algiers. For the screening itself we were bundled through hidden passages into a makeshift cinema to watch the powerful film which is still as relevant as ever in it's brutal depiction of the Algerian struggle for independence from French colonial rule. It was more of an appropriately solemn affair for such a challenging film but great to see this classic transformed into an inspired experience.

Kent Dash 2: Naked Boogaloo

Had a lovely ol' time in Whitstable again over the bank holiday weekend. We attended the Post Nude exhibition opening night which was a hit, lots of folks queueing up to see hundreds of naked postcards arranged in the smallish gallery space. My two contributions made it through the postal service intact and were up amongst some really good stuff. I though it best to keep my clobber on during the show to the relief of everyone in sight. For the rest of the sunny weekend we visited the new Turner Contemporary Gallery, a welcome addition to the Margate coast, lounged on (and under) the sandy beach and took a return shuttle to Planet Dungeness to explore the solitary wind-blasted terrain once more.

Introducing The Japanese New Wave

I was asked to write an introduction, along with 20 fellow international illustrators, for a book entitled The New Wave Of Japanese Illustration compiled by Cristian Campos. Some spreads from which are online here. It has some amazing work in it and it doesn't make me a lurid shade of illuminous green with professional envy at all! It's well worth a look if you can get your hands on it, currently published in Spanish, French and Italian editions. Subarashii stuff!

Delta

Personal collage work inspired by an old magazine I picked up called 'Flying'.

I'm Walking Here

I've been dabbling with more self initiated work this year which has been refreshing. Here's a monochromatic collage of fractured street scenes pieced together from personal photographs, drawings and painted elements all based around the capital city of inspiration. New Yawwwk of course.

Start Spreading The News

Here are a few snapettes from a fantastic couple of weeks spent in New York recently. It was hot, hot, hot in the city for the first five days as we checked out the sights and sounds from our base at Hotel Chelsea. We strolled the Highline and Brooklyn Bridge, the boardwalk from Brighton Beach to Coney Island, cycled Central Park and took in the Big Bambú sculpture and view from the roof of the Met. For the weekend we drove up-state to Monticello in the Catskills for the All Tomorrow's Parties festival at Kutsher's Country Club, a fading seventies style venue with insane carpets and a charming lake to sit beside inbetween gigs. And what gigs, highlights for me were Iggy And The Stooges, Mudhoney, Breeders and the dry-ice drenched quasi-religous metal experience Altar. For the second week we continued driving north staying at the amazing Pollywogg Holler eco-lodge, a cluster of beautiful log cabins in the middle of the woods, for an enjoyable night with the wonderful hosts that kept any Blair Witch flashes well at bay. We passed through NY's take on the Grand Canyon, Letchworth State Park en route to Niagara Falls. The awesome spectacle of the falls was offset by the sheer naffness of the tourist trap town above it, one night was more than enough. On to the lovely Seneca Falls before settling in to our very own Airstream at Kate's Lazy Meadow, a fifties styled trailer park with a picture postcard setting next to a creek in the Catskills. Bliss. Back to the Big Apple for one last 9/11 memorial illuminated night before hopping the Atlantic home. Click the pics to big 'em up.

Le Weekend

For a birthday treat my wife whisked me off to Paris on the Eurostar for the weekend and it was proper fantastiche! Firstly we headed over to the Foundation Cartier to check out an exhibition by my favourite Japanese all-round whacko auteur 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano, his film Sonatine is in my all time top movie list and who can forget the mayhem of Takeshi's Castle. The show was fun and eclectic featuring comically surreal animal/warfare hybrids, crazed elephantine sewing machines, brilliantly daft interactive exhibits and striking naive paintings all topped off with a visit to a cool Japanese kiosk he also designed. The total Takeshi experience. We then popped to the Champs for macaroons at Laduree before leaving the tourist havens behind and checking out the gems of North East Paris and the 19th arrondissement. We spent a lovely summer's evening at the spectacular Parc Buttes Chaumont, walked the length of Canal Saint Martin with drinks at Point Ephemere and explored the amazing Parc de la Villette chock full of bright red post modern structures, submarines, huge mirrored spheres and a Claes Oldenburg & Coosje Van Bruggen buried bicycle sculpture. Incroyable!

If Only You Could See What I've Seen With Your Eyes

It was Secret Cinema time again last weekend and it was truly, and literally, out of this world. At Canary Wharf we were herded onto off-world colony shuttles, that looked suspiciously like coaches, then disembarked amongst rows of cargo containers riddled with street urchins and hustlers. Many travellers were sporting umbrellas and goggles to fend off the acid rain as we entered the main complex to find meticulous recreations of street scenes and interiors from one of my favourite films of all time, Blade Runner. Along with the replicas of Deckard's apartment, Zhora's dressing room and Mr. Chew's eye factory the room buzzed with noodle stores and nightclubs, snake charmers and dancing girls. The Final Cut played to roars of appreciation and the rescue of Deckard by the replicant Batty was re-enacted by wire performers with a live dove chucked in to good effect. We hung around for a great party afterwards fuelled by vodka peach schnapps shots and Liz looked very fetching in Pris' eye makeup. That's the spirittttt!

Va-Va-Varoom!

Received the latest Varoom! mag in the post over the weekend fresh from the AOI. I was chuffed to find a nicely laid out spread of some of my technology flavoured illustrations for an article entitled 'The Art Of Science'. It's a well written piece by Peter Lyle, who I discussed the subject with earlier in the year, and features many other contributors in the field beside myself. The whole mag has an 'Illustrating The Future' theme, which is right up my street, and is chock full of great images and articles so it's cool to be a part of it. Thanks are due to Peter and the editor John O'Reilly. Pick it up if you get the chance.

Skyliner

Here's my entry for a Transport For London competition to produce a modern take on London's skyline. I went for a relatively simple but dynamic collage approach featuring a cross section of London's iconic buildings. I always enjoy working the capital's architecture into my illustrations. Click to zoomify.

Kent Dash

Rented a car for a Sunday drive around Kent, the Garden Of England TM. We stopped for some oysters in the lovely Whitstable then made for the south coast to stroll around the strange and out-of-time Dungeness. It's an invitingly lonely shingle landscape punctuated with converted shacks, and the odd designer home, that buzzes to the low hum of the vast fifties power station that looms over the whole area. It feels like a simulacra of a western frontier town beamed to the English coast from Alpha Centauri. Here are a few snaps taken by my wife Liz and I that give a little taste of this curio of a place. We reacclimatised to reality with a quick zip to Camber Sands then headed back to the Smoke.