Yub nub!

Ewok for Sketch Dailies

Mountain Pass

Personal project. Just something that popped into my head one day. Wanted to limit my palette so I kept to only two main colours.

Vulpes Vulpes

So I'm trying to rely less on line. It's scary. But rewarding.

Just a sketch to kick of 2015

Best. Film character. Ever.

First Love for The Mo Chroí (My Heart) project

So I was very excited when I was approached by Martin Millar to produce a piece for a great project he was putting together called Mo Chroí. The project is a book and album featuring some great talent, with proceeds going towards the Irish Heart Foundation.

Since my life is pretty much dominated by my new baby girl, I used her as inspiration for the piece. Pretty happy with how it turned out, and seeing my work in print is a huge honour. It's a great cause. Support it today!

The Mo Chroí book.

Mo Chroí on Behance.

So this is my life now.

So it's been a while since my last update. Life has been VERY busy, and this... is why! My little girl, Hannah, was born 12 days ago, and it's been a rollercoaster of learning and panic! But it's so very worth it when she gazes up at you... and poops in your hand.

Skeletor's bad day.

New Sketch Dailies theme this week. It's villains, and first up is Skeletor. Loved this guy when I was a kid. Ah, memories!

Monsters sketch

Playing around with different texture brushes in Photoshop.

Does a bear crap in the woods?

Just a quick digital illustration of a bear doing, well, like the saying goes... does a bear crap in the woods?!

Harley Quinn loves her puddin'!

Another one for Sketch Dailies. This time the awesome creation of the genius team of Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, The Joker's squeeze, Harley Quinn!

Good Morning!

Good morning! Just something that popped into my head and I wanted to illustrate. May have something to do with the fact that I'm having a kid in July, may be completely unrelated....!

Snakes on a dame

Sketch Dailies post number 2. This one was a bit tardy, but it was a busy week, and took a while between other things. The theme was Medusa. The post was this-

In memory of Egon

We were all sorry to hear of the passing of Harold Ramis yesterday. Director, writer and actor, of course Ramis will be remembered for Ghostbusters. But he also made some savage films in Groundhog Day, Caddyshack and Analyze This. He'll be missed.

So Sketch Dailies decided to dedicate today to Ramis and his iconic character, Egon Spengler. Here's my contribution. Do... ray.... Egon!

Hercules for Sketch Dailies

So the twitter account Sketch Dailies posts new themes for each day to which artists post their drawings. There's some incredible work on there, and some seriously talented artists. I threw my hat into the ring last week with a meh drawing, and followed it up with something a little better- Hercules-

American Hipster

Well, it only took four months. Between a wedding, thank you cards, work, and getting knocked-up, this is something that took me far too long to complete. That fire escape on the right? Two week's work. 

Anyway, here's American Hipster. Based on the Grant Wood painting 'American Gothic,' I had the idea of doing a more contemporary, cartoony version after a sketch I doodled in one of my Moleskines. So this is it. I have a bunch of in-progress images that I'll post soon.

MERRY GIFMAS!

Just a little bit of animation for the festive season! Hope you all have a fantastic Christmas, and a happy new year! Here's to good things in 2014!

Four Seasons

Well, it's been a busy few weeks! Between weddings, leg-breakings, and a whole host of other activities, the blog has been pushed down the list of priorities. But that doesn't mean there's been no work going on! I've a few little projects coming up, and this is the first.

The 2nd Animation Art Show takes place next week in the Science Gallery in Dublin. Last year was a great success, so it was only natural that a second show would take place. For this year, I decided to go traditional, rather than doing a digital piece. So out with the brushes and paper, and here's what I did.

It's just a little watercolour illustration depicting a scene around a lake in the four seasons. Hope you guys like it, and if you're in town, pop along to the show. It's for a great cause, The Children's Sunshine Home.

The final, painted piece. Watercolour on bristol board. I really like the medium and paper.

The initial pencil sketch.

Work in progress.

Detail 1.

Detail 2.

The final, framed painting.

That's it for now. Plenty more coming soon!

"Headspace" Australian National Youth Mental Health Foundation Illustrations Part 2

So here is the final part of my illustration job for "Headspace," The Australian Government's Youth Mental Health program. The final illustration deals with self-harm. Obviously, this is a very difficult subject to deal with. And the illustration didn't want to show self-harm directly. No blood. So, instead, it was decided that to show a teenager somewhat isolated and withdrawn would be the best way to go.

SELF-HARM-

This illustration started out as five girls sitting around, chatting, with one girl different. Isolated. It was decided on draft two, that two of the girls should be boys. The brief stated that there should be a mix of ethnicities included.

The final illustration.

Detail of the self-harm girl.

Teenagers detail.

 Teenager detail #2.

The final illustration as used in the self-harm infographic by Lauren Hollern.

This was a really nice project to work on. The palette was limited, which was a bit of a challenge. And trying not to go all cartoony was also somewhat unusual for me. But for my first properly paid illustration commission, I really enjoyed it!

"Headspace" Australian National Youth Mental Health Foundation Illustrations Part 1

Okay, long blog title! So this is what I've been working on for the last few weeks. I mentioned last month that I was approached to do some illustration for "Headspace," the foundation that deals with youth mental health in Australia. I finished the project two weeks ago, and this long blog post is all about that. So... enjoy!


ANGER-

The brief for 'Anger' was to be a young man, a teenager, struggling to pull apart a wall, surrounded by debris of that wall. This was the original sketch for that piece-

After going through line work and painting with Photoshop, here is the final illustration. I was limited to a certain palette, and flesh tones, so what you'll see in these illustrations is... a limited palette-

A close-up of the dude's face. I was quite happy with the tip of the nose and the fingers... for some reason-

And the final infographic by Lauren Hollern, that was posted on the Headspace website, and their Facebook page-

SELF ESTEEM-

 This one started out as a male and female. One happy and outgoing, the other shy-

On the second pass, it was decided that both of the characters should be the same person, different personas, facing a mirror-

The final illustration-

And the infographic by Lauren Hollern-

So they are the first two parts of the project. I'll post the final part, self-esteem, next week, as it was the largest part of the project.

Headspace, Australia

So I was contacted about doing a bit of work for Headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation of Australia. My first, commissioned illustration gig. It's an ongoing project, so I'm not done yet. But it's nice to see my work actually put to use on the web. And for a great cause too. Here's the illustration-

Not the greatest drawing I've ever done, but everybody is happy with how it turned out, and if it helps somebody, it's totally worth it!

The Headspace Website.