Tiffany Aching

Terry Pratchett's books are chock full of great characters; the cowardly Rincewind, the conniving Moist Von Lipwig, the philosophical Death. He's also a great writer of female characters, because they are characters first, women second. I can never decide whether my favourite characters of his are Granny Weatherwax, who is such a wonderfully honest person, who tells you what you need to know, as opposed to what you want to know.

Tiffany Aching is another practical character. She hears of a monster in the lake, so WHOPS it with a frying pan. Terrific. She also has a desire to learn, she will look up words in the dictionary, questions the depictions of characters in fairy tales. She has a mind of her own, and that is something Pratchett always admired. This is a great quote that celebrates bothe creation and creator:

“Zoology, eh? That's a big word, isn't it."

"No, actually it isn't," said Tiffany. "Patronizing is a big word. 

Zoology is really quite short.”  

 

 

Flash Gordon

Dale Arden

Little Pierre No.1

A character based on my admiration for silent film comedians. Little Pierre is a literal translation for the french Pierrot character (just hopefully not as scary). 

Sherlock Holmes Competition

 I have just submitted my entry for The House of Illustration's annual competition with the Folio Society. This year the brief is to design the binding plus three selected stories: A Scandal in Bohemia, The Man with the Twisted Lip and The Musgrave Ritual. 

I've been a Sherlock Holmes fan for as long as I can remember. Growing up in Britain, you cannot escape the image of the great detective. I used to watch the Granada series starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes and David Burke/ Edward Hardwicke as Dr. John Watson, then I discovered the Basil Rathbone/ Nigel Bruce films, which are so much fun. When I was roughly 10 years old I read my first Holmes adventure: The Hound of the Baskervilles. I remember having to actually stop reading after this exchange between Holmes and Dr. Mortimer in Chapter Two:

"But one false statement was made by Barrymore at the inquest. He said that there were no traces upon the ground round the body. He did not observe any. But I did—some little distance off, but fresh and clear."
     "Footprints?"
     "Footprints."
     "A man's or a woman's?"
     Dr. Mortimer looked strangely at us for an instant, and his voice sank almost to a whisper as he answered:
     "Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!"

Like M. R. James, Conan Doyle has that skill for concocting a fairly simple sentence that makes you freeze. 

THE BINDING

For this project, I wanted to steer clear of the trappings of Sherlock Holmes. As much as I love the deerstalker/Inverness coat/pipe, they have unfortunately become cliche. The deestalker and coat would do fine for Holmes in the countryside, but hardly suitable for his rooms in Baker Street.

I think of Victorian London as the third main character of the Holmes stories. Conan Doyle really gives you a sense of the true nastiness and grime of the city. I felt that was important to illustrate on cover, London characterized as a red skull, the respected buildings of the city, associated with the Upper Class (Houses of Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge) as the teeth, gnashing down on the city. In the midst Holmes and Watson stand guard, like guardian angels.

The yellow scheme was inspired by the first addition of Dracula, which is a masterclass in simplicity. Yellow background with the words "Dracula" in red lettering. We know what Dracula means, so that's all we need, but back then they had no idea what to expect. The red in my cover owes to the Sherlock Holmes quote in A Study in Scarlet: 

 “There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it.”

It's another quote that has always stuck with me, and a nice Easter egg tribute to the story that started it all. The font was of my own design, a typical Victorian-seeming font that had to be thin (I mean, look at the length of that title-WHEW!)

A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA

Arguably the most famous short story in the Holmes collection. This story contains the only appearance of Irene Adler, who is not as big a presence in the canon as other media suggest. She is the only person to ever best Holmes, and for that he deeply respects her. I think of Adler as the true hero of the story, she was a person wronged by a wealthy noble. Sure, her methods are perhaps questionable, but you're definitely on her side more than the Prince. My illustration depicts how others perceive her:  

"She has the face of the most beautiful of women and the mind of the most resolute of men."

THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP

This is a great example of an atmospheric story. The scene of Watson searching for a friend's husband in the opium den is rather eerie:

'Through the gloom one could dimly catch a glimpse of bodies lying in strange fantastic poses, bowed shoulders, bent knees, heads thrown back, and chins pointing upward, with here and there a dark, lack-lustre eye turned upon the newcomer.'

Originally I was going to make the smoke and faces yellow, which I always think of as a sickly colour. But, seeing as how it was a Chinese opium den, I was concerned about the negative Racist connotations. I think in the end the green works better. It adds depth to the picture where the yellow couldn't. This was the first illustration I had made and it shaped the future illustrations, the main characters in full colour, with an omnipresence in green.

THE MUSGRAVE RITUAL

This was a trickier story to illustrate, as not a lot really happens. It is a story within a story: Watson's account of Holmes' telling of an early case, which also includes a friend recapping the events that led him to ask Holmes for assistance. There's Holmes firing the famous V.R. into his wall, but until the treasure hunt, there's nothing that truly jumped out to me illustration-wise. Plus, I hadn't drawn Holmes yet and really wanted to. The moment where Homes and Musgrave uncover the body of Brunton immediately struck me as a truly Horror moment, à la Barbara Steele in The Pit and the Pendulum (1961):

'At the moment, however, we had no thought for the old chest, for our eyes were riveted upon that which crouched beside it. It was the figure of a man, clad in a suit of black, who squatted down upon his hams with his forehead sunk upon the edge of the box and his two arms thrown out on each side of it' 

 

St. Nicholas

"He had a broad face and a little round belly

That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself."

-A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement C. Moore

Sherlock Holmes

I'm taking  part in the House of Illustration's collaborative competition with The Folio Society (deadline 17th January). This year it's designing a cover and illusrtations to a collection of three Sherlock Holmes stories; A Scandal in Bohemia, The Man With the Twisted Lip and The Musgrave Ritual. To warm up, I decided to finally get my version of the great detective nailed down.

It was important to not follow the cliches of the character. I love the deerstalker, inverness cloak and pipe, but they unfortunately look like a cliche and not as though you have really thought about the design. Holmes would very likely wear a deerstalker in the countryside, but certainly not in his homes in Baker Street. Besides, its more fun to look at characters from a different angle.

My take on the character certainly owes to the cold analytical aspect of the character. There's an alien quality to this design, that is different to other depictions, but when I drew it, I knew it was right, for me. I guess this is Holmes, the Vulcan.

The Wicked Witch of the West

I wondered what my version of the Wicked Witch of the West would look like. I read a few of the Oz books as a child and watched every version of the stories I could find (my favourite being the 1982 Japanese animation).

My version of the Witch is heavily influenced by W.W. Denslow's wonderful illustrations. I love the 'tough old pirate granny' look he gave her. It reminds of Captain Dola from Hayao Miyazaki's Laputa: Castle in the Sky.

Cyrano de Bergerac- 'The Shadow of my Profile on the Wall'

I love the character of Cyrano de Bergerac, a man who decides to overcome a supposed disadvantage (in Cyrano's case: an overpronounced nose), by being amazing at everything: he is a raconteur, a man whose swordsmanship skills are only matched by his razor-sharp wit. 

He is the character we all want to be... 

...And then there are scenes like this monolgue, where he longs for romance, yet believes that no-one could love him back, because of what he believes to be a defect. We realise that Cyrano de Bergerac isn't the character that we want to be- he is us. He is the part of ourselves that ignore what make us great, or unique, and instead focus on what we are ashamed of, or body parts we think are ugly. In that respect, Cyrano de Bergerac is a fascinating and, I find, inspiring character.

Favourite Literary Characters: Captain Nemo (Prince Dakkar)

Captain of the Nautilus, the Indian Prince who roams the seas in a self imposed exile, collecting lost bullion and rescuing the oppressed. Nemo is a mysterious figure with a commanding presence and brilliant mind. You never know whether to class him as a hero, or villain, but we love him all the same.

Supergirl

I like Supergirl. She is a fun character. I have always seen her as someone who just LOVES being a superhero, the action, the adventure and of course: helping others. I miss that with superheroes, especially the last one.

My take on the character owes a lot to the silver age, especially the first appearance of the Kara Zor-El character in Action Comics #252. Due to a colouring mistake, Supergirl appears to have blue leggings, as opposed to her bare legs. But, this is actually my favourite look for the character, I just added a red skirt for balance.

 

Web-Head

I watched Spider-Man: Homecoming yesterday. I really enjoyed it. Easily my favourite Spider-Man film. It wasn't overly-complicated, the characters were fun and I was invested in all of their stories. Plus, I really like this version of the Spider-Man costume.  

It inspired me to finally get down to draw our friendly neighbourhood friend. I've never been able to draw him successfully, but I was pleased with how it went.

 

COMMISSION PRICES

If you would like some artwork done, please feel free to contact me.

Wonderful Chap. All Of Them

My Lives with Doctor Who

Doctor Who is one of my favourite things to exist. A fantastic science-fantasy about a centuries year old, shape-shifting alien, who travels through time and space in a 1960s Police Telephone Box.  C. S. Lewis meets Alfred Bestell meets H.G. Wells. Its the best of British quirky adventure literature. It has, of course, had its ups-and-downs over the years. 

My favourite Doctor is the Second Doctor, portrayed by Patrick Troughton. He is everything that I want the Doctor to be, heroic, funny, mysterious and . Troughton played it so differently to William Hartnell's First Doctor, and this was so vital to the show's longevity. 

My favourite era, however, are the stories from the Third Doctor's tenure. I love the U.N.I.T family of The Doctor (now played by the marvelous Jon Pertwee), Jo Grant (Katy Manning), The Brigadier (a fantastic comedic performance by Nicholas Courtney), Captain Mike Yates (Richard Franklin) and Sgt. Benton (John Levine). There's a lovely feeling of comfort to these stories. Yes, they produced some of the scariest visuals of the show (my fear of shop mannequins no doubt stems from watching the Spearhead From Space omnibus on UKGold), but the central cast adds a familiarity that I just adore. They bicker and disagree with one another constantly, but each and every one of them would die for one another (unless Mike Yates has been hypnotised again).

My least favourite era is the majority of the 1980s. I'm not going to rant about John Nathan-Turner. Although he made some frankly awful decisions in this period, he did a lot of good in terms of publicity. But, it was during this time that the show started losing its mystery, and sense of dignity. It started to become a tad pantomime and too geared towards children. What made Doctor Who special to me was that is was a dark family show. It went a bit too far with the horror, sometimes verging on the disgusting, but it was always fun because of that. Children love to be scared, there's a pride factor to having sat through a challenging scary feature. The show built its reputation on being "watched behind the sofa" (although my settee was always pushed up against the wall, because I had cruel parents). For me the Sixth Doctor and half of the Seventh's are the low points of the show's history. This is by no means criticising the actors Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy, who throughout their runs always arrived on form, and thank-you Big Finish for redeeming them. It's just the writing and direction that let them down. But, again, it seems unfair to blame the production team, as Auntie Beeb decided to totally screw with the show. Partly because Michael Grade did not like it. But the last part of the Seventh Doctor's run, basically as soon as Ace (Sophie Aldred) joined the TARDIS, things began to pick up... then it was cancelled. Terrific. 

I remember the buzz around the TV Movie and I was so excited. When I was born there was no Doctor. It had been cancelled. The TV Movie meant that I was finally going to have a Doctor for my generation and I would follow his adventures for years to come. 

Yeah, that didn't happen.

The TV Movie (the Enemy Within) came out and... I didn't like it. There was something off about it. It did not feel like Doctor Who to me. Where was the multi-part story? Where was the Brigadier? Where was the CSO? It looked polished and like a film. Weird. But, the opening credits were cool. I love this version of the theme tune. The TARDIS interior is beautiful, possibly my favourite, a Victorian science-gothic machine. Paul McGann is great and would go on better stories courtesy of Big Finish Productions. 

That's the classic period in a nutshell. To me.

The modern era have had some great episodes: Dalek, The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances, Human Nature/ The Family of Blood, Blink, The Doctor's Wife. But overall the modern era just hasn't grabbed me as much as the classic series. And it's not because I've grown up, for goodness sake I bought a Rupert Bear collection the other week! I think the episodes seem rush, as if they are meant for multiple episodes. I am also not a fan of the mythologising of The Doctor. I know the Doctor is awesome, I don't need aliens to tell me he is great. 

Plus the companions I don't find all that imaginative. The classic series had multiple Time-Lord companions, a Victorian girl, an alien princess, a journalist, a scientist, an explosives expert, a futuristic tribal woman. The modern series has had such diversity as present day Earth woman, a present day Earth woman, a present day Earth woman, a present day Earth woman, a present day Earth woman, and a present day Earth woman. For a show whose boundaries are that of imagination, that's not very imaginative.

Anyway, even though I am not a fan of the modern era, I still always watch it, because, Doctor Who, if anything is a show about ideas and even when it doesn't work, it's still one of the most interesting things on television. And that's why I love it.


 

Garden Fete Poster

I have recently completed a poster for a local event. I wanted to go Art-Nouveau inspired design and the front windows of the cafe worked perfectly for the border design. There's a bit of Alphonse Mucha, William Morris and W. W. Denslow, illustrator of the Oz books who I consider very much an Art-Nouveau illustrator. This was a fun poster to do. Very complicated, in terms of measuring and detail, but still I managed to pencil, ink and colour all in a day!

A Bareback Satan

My favourite drink is, of course, a “Bareback Satan”. Does anybody know how to craft this fine nectar that sprang straight from the teat of Dionysus himself?
No… well, its just as well I'm here, then:

    Take a glass, of any size
    Half fill it with crushed ice
    Add a dash of classic bourbon
    Then a clump of hair most auburn
    Throw in the tail of a baby fox
    And the stinkiest pair of your Uncle’s socks
    Key is the left earlobe of Brigitte Bardot
    (Though caution, m’dear, as supplies are low)
    A fake moustache, in the style of Mark Twain
    Then leave for two years in the pouring rain

    A handful of kale
    A hipster’s ponytail
    The skin of a cheetah
    Chapter three of Lolita
    Anton Chekhov dressed as a satyr
    But not his gun, as you’ll need it later
    A popular character from Dr Suess
    (And being fictional is no excuse)
    An african elephant with bronchitis
    An Irish goat with hepatitis
    Attempt to steal William Shatner’s wig
    (And at this point take a sneaky swig)
    The Joshua Tree will nicely do
    Oh, screw it, just throw in all of U2
    A tiny cherry will make it ripple
    As would Bernard Cribbins favourite nipple
    A boa constrictor of impressive length
    And the heart of your enemy to give you strength
   
    A centaur’s hoof will make quite the hunt
    As would hair from a lady’s front
    Shoot a man and collect the discharge
    And hopefully, now you should be at large
    The signed confession you gave to the police
    Plus, Liza Minelli’s elbow grease
    A former minister, now thoroughly hated
    (Preferably one who auto-asphyxiated)
    Befriend a composer, to get a score
    Then throw in one confusing metaphor
    By now the drink won’t look attractive
    So, toss in something radioactive
    For a final heresy, stir with a Nicolaitan
    And that’s how you make a “Bareback Satan”.


By now, your tastebuds will be far wetter,
So order this drink: You’ll never get better.

A T-Rex Has Feathers, Yet Never Flies?

  

A silly cartoon, with an adorable T-Rex.

The Day That Our World Ended

A one-off poem I wrote. 

Enjoy!

The Poem That I Wrote

Slowly getting through the illustrations of my children's book, The Poem That I Wrote. Redesigning the character set me back a bit, but it all helps the overall project, which is the main thing. I cannot in all good faith release something without my 100% satisfaction. 

Anyway here's a little taste of what's to come.