Back2Hell Cryogenic Tanks

Back2Hell page art, digital pencils in Manga Studio

Back2Hell continues. Have a great week!

Back2Hell Pulp

Pencil page artwork from "Back2Hell" drawn in Manga Studio

Back2Hell continues. Have a great week!

Knee deep in Back2Hell

Pencil page artwork from "Back2Hell" drawn in Manga Studio

I'm currently enjoyably bogged down in the middle of the comic book adaption of "Back2Hell". With a tight deadline on the project there's not much else going here at Reeko Towers but I'll try and put up a sketch every week to keep the blog going.

Hope it's sunny where you are and have a great week.

Yoga

Crop from "Yoga", artwork in Manga Studio

I had the pleasure of receiving this private commission from a client and friend who wanted an illustration of his girlfriend for her birthday. She is a yoga instructor and he wanted an image of her in mid pose, perhaps on a beach or a fantasy location. I knocked up some roughs based on some holiday snaps he sent over and we settled on a fictional studio overlooking a sea view.

Roughs for "Yoga", artwork in Manga Studio

I drew the image straight into the computer using Manga Studio's "pencil" tool for a softer feel. I painted the beach in using a lot of white to keep the image nice and clean and then added the "Studio" tones over the top.

Progress of "Yoga", artwork in Manga Studio

"Yoga", artwork in Manga Studio

Thats it! Have a great week!

Klingon/Navi

"Klingon/Navi" Lineart in Manga Studio, Colour in Photoshop

BBC Focus Magazine commissioned me to produce this illustration for an article on the man made languages from "Star Trek" and "Avatar". Apparently plenty of students of "Klingon" have made the switch to learning "Navi" the language of the inhabitants of Pandora.

The issue is out now, go check it out and have a great week!

Autumn Odyssey – Easyjet

"Pisa Cherry Festival" EasyJet Traveller Magazine, artwork in Manga Studio

A month or so ago I received a commission from EasyJet Traveller Magazine to produce four illustrations for a feature. The concept behind the article was a young fashionable gastronomically inclined couple travelling to 4 European destinations to, well, eat I suppose!

The magazine supplied all the locations and reference shots, all I had to do was fit the young couple into each one.

"Berlin Tea Hall" EasyJet Traveller Magazine, artwork in Manga Studio

"Milan Cocktail Bar" EasyJet Traveller Magazine, artwork in Manga Studio

"Brussels Restaurant" EasyJet Traveller Magazine, artwork in Manga Studio

At the eleventh hour they changed their mind about the Brussels restaurant as the original one (above) they had selected wasn't "trendy" enough, so I knocked up a new version overnight to meet the deadline.

"Brussels Restaurant V2" EasyJet Traveller Magazine, artwork in Manga Studio

Have a great week!

Back2Hell and SciFi Art Now

Thumbnails for "Back2Hell", House of Fear 2010

Those who follow me on twitter will know that I have been signed on to produce a comic book adaption of a film currently in production, "Back2Hell", written and directed by Richard Driscoll. The film is currently in production (at Richard's studio House of Fear) and I will have to work like a man possessed to get the book done by the film release date.

I have also signed on to produce the prequel and sequel to "Back2Hell", so I better get used to noir horror lighting, blood splats, extreme violence and femme fatales!

SciFi Art Now

In more good news I've had this image accepted for SciFi Art Now, an art book featuring a wide range of SciFi art from established and new artists from across the globe edited by John Freeman.

The book is due for a October release both here in the UK and in the US and you can pre-order it here.

Any who, I got a film to adapt and better get my skates on!

Have a great week!

Nature's Most Wanted Assassins

Crop from "Most Wanted" illustration for BBC Focus magazine. Linework in Manga Studio, colour in Photoshop.

Robbie Bennie, Deputy Art Editor on BBC Focus Magazine commissioned me to produce an image for a short article on "Nature's Assassins", insects and fungus that "take out" destructive pests. Robbie gave me the concept of turning the insects and fungus into comic book style super villains in a police line up based on the famous "Usual Suspects" poster.

Rough sketch for "Most Wanted", linework in Manga Studio, colour in Photoshop.

Diving in with both feet I drew up a rough based on the poster, using the same poses but designing costumes over the top. Left to right the deadly assassins are; A ladybird (Targets Aphids) , Hoverfly (Aphids and leafhoppers), Rust fungus (the rubber vine weed), Lacewing (Too many to mention) and another kind of fungus not named in the copy I was sent!

Aside from the difficulties of designing costumes based on a white mould, I was having a blast! After the ok I moved onto the final linework and colour.

Final linework, Manga Studio.

Final artwork for "Most Wanted", linework in Manga Studio, colour in Photoshop.

The article is in the May issue of Focus which I think is out now. Have a great week!

Lunchtime Sketching

Sketchbook image, A6 ink and watercolour on paper

In my lunch breaks I've been doing little ink and watercolour sketches, sort of to get my hands dirty again after all the hours at my iMac, mainly because they're loads of fun! I publish them on my twitpic account, but when I get a few more of them I'm sure I'll put together a little gallery.

I'm also going to be adding a shop to this site to sell prints and some originals. If anyone has a particular image they'd like to see as a print drop me a line and I'll make sure it goes into the store.

Have a great week!

Infinity

Crop from "Infinity– LHC" illustration for April issue of BBC Focus

Robbie Bennie, Deputy Art Editor on BBC Focus, commissioned me to illustrate a feature based around the concept of "Infinity". As per usual, it's always so much fun working with the guys at Focus and I had a blast drawing mad scientists, planets and apes! Sadly, not all in the same image...

Robbie sent me the draft spreads for the feature. For the illustrations he'd created very rough photomontages that I then worked from to create the final illustrations. For me, the advantage of this way of working is I know where all the text will be and can compose the images accordingly.

The first image was based on the German mathematician George Cantor who discovered "Absolute Infinity... This number is so vast that it is literally indescribable: indeed, its definition is based on the idea that any attempt to describe it always describes something smaller. Not surprisingly, Cantor’s discoveries sparked huge controversy, and he found himself attacked by fellow mathematicians – and even some theologians, who accused him of encroaching on the concept of God. The criticism plunged Cantor into depression and led to frequent spells in asylums."

Rough sketch and linework created in Manga Studio

Final artwork, linework coloured in Photoshop.

"How infinity can turn a chimp into a genius – Imagine sitting Bubbles the chimp in front of a standard computer keyboard, which has around 100 keys. How long would it take for Bubbles to bash out the famous phrase “To be or not to be”? Assuming he hits the keys at random, there’s just a 1 in 100 chance of getting the first letter right, 1 in 100 of the second and so on. Even typing at the rate of a keystroke per second, getting just this bit of Hamlet right would typically take Bubbles far longer than the age of the Universe."

Rough sketch and linework created in Manga Studio

Final artwork, linework coloured in Photoshop.

"The Multiverse – Do we live in an infinite universe – or universes? The basic argument comes in various guises, but they all start by assuming that our Universe is just finite in extent, so that somewhere out there lies the edge of space itself. But an edge only makes sense if it marks the boundary with something else, and as the Universe includes everything by definition, the ‘something’ must also be part of the Universe."

Rough sketch and linework created in Manga Studio

Final artwork, linework coloured in Photoshop.

Rough sketch and linework created in Manga Studio

Final artwork, linework coloured in Photoshop.

Get a copy to read the rest of the article and have a great week!