Counting Chickens

 

Not every day a commission comes via my instagram.  The client liked one of my poster artworks there and asked if I'd do a 'Fox & Hen' similar in style to his sample -

My initial response was to show my terms and ask for fifty quid upfront starting fee with the remaining payable when he's happy with my resulting artwork - shown as a low resolution image.  The client replied with deposit and a couple of sketches of his own indicating more of his intentions, so i set to work showing these roughs for approval -

 

Then I did a colour rough which he was delighted with so I did his A2-poster and showed it, he made final payment and so I sent it.  Rarely does a commission go as smoothly, I really could o' counted my chickens before they hatched (pun intended).

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In other news.  Another new client in as many months and a commission to provide vector art for animated music video. This job came via a responder to my occasional Newsletter!  Can't divulge more at this time, very hush hush.

So now with 2 happy clients catered, i'm back to resolving my blog's backend video player's coding, to replace it with a js-player that's an independent free alternative to google's terraform option, that'll show 'em eh!

Dark designs

Joseph Conrad's seminal novel Heart of Darkness as Graphic-Novel in colour!   Here's 3 fullpage illustrations and cover art  -

Cover concept.

My reading of Conrad’s narrative was visualising his story as more of a Ripping Yarn Adventure Tale inkeeping with the his serialised reports for popular magazines of the 1890s who's readers then were hungry for news about unexplored regions of the world, especially from deep within the mysterious dark interior of continental Africa.


1, Here Marlow - Steamboat Captain, learns about the rogue company-man Kurtz is, when he's told about his return up-river immediately after dropping off yet another record breaking load of Ivory -

'I seemed to see Kurtz for the first time.'

2, Here Marlow's knackered paddle steamer is attacked by those godless Savages as it navigates the treacherous snags in the Congo's fast flowing river currents -

'Arrows, by Jove! We were being shot at!'

3, Eventually the steamer arrives at the company's Inner-Station where Marlow encounters the sick Kurtz crawling through long grass while the Savages get increasingly more restless - 

'I came upon him, and, if he had not heard me coming, I would have fallen over him too.'

Cropped detail - 

See extra sketches at my Behance !

Cartoons AtoZ Done

Series of b/w cartoons just completed for Paparazzi Comedian Dave Streeter's book; Midlife Comedy A to Z - a humorous look at Midlife issues for men of a certain age.  Something we share in common so was a real pleasure to illustrate these 13 chapter headers from Dave's suggestions -

A is for Alcohol

G is for Grooming

 K is for Know-All

 M is for Medical

 O is for Outraged

 P is for Parenting

 Q is for Queueing

 R is for Reminders

 S is for Sex

 T is for Travel

 U is for Ulcers

 V is for Value

 W is for Weather

In other news -
My submission proposal for The Warren festival 2019 brochure cover design got Shortlisted with one other candidate.  The organisers reckoned my Matchbook-print design was 'strong in terms of style and colour' but would require a reworking due to the central graphic, the pole supporting its radiating festoon of lights - see previous Post! won't be part of next year's event!  Also they wanted to know how I would supply individual graphic elements for featured ads, cards and staff uniforms.  So I did a quick colour sketch proposing a redesign with some explanations - here's that PDF!  Well, the other candidate landed the commission and I get drinks voucher and free entry to some choice shows, so mustn't grumble eh. 

2 bookcovers

Local Author wanted ebook cover art.  There's a scene from his manuscript in a Berlin coffee shop, 2 girls plot to assassinate Hitler, so then I thought Hopper's classic painting will be a good reference to base my artwork on -

Chop Suey by Edward Hopper

My sketch was approved and I worked-up the cover art and added the book's title -

2nd Book 

The girls have grown and they're in India uncovering shocking secrets that will hasen the end of British Rule -

Final art: 1600 x 2400 pixels required to match 6x9 ratio served up for popular ereader tablets.

Book Jacket design

My artwork for hypothetical book cover of Tadeusz Borowski’s remarkable collection of concentration camp stories.  Read excerpts from the book and here's my book jacket design -

The gas in the title refers to 'Zyklon-B' was originally used as a delousing insecticide, then as a poison later used by the Nazis to gas over a million people.  The German word for poison, incidentally, is 'Gift' hence poison gas is 'Giftgas' - see label on the airtight containers in which the poison was stored.  I took this label's design as the starting point for my inspiration -