Poodle Rock!

Dogs love soft rock! BBC Focus, 24th Feb 2017.

Mindfulness mice

Scientists in Oregon have been shining lights at genetically engineered mice to show how theta brainwaves help us relax. New Scientist, 25Feb.

Numbernaut

Now that Otto’s finally out it’s time to return to the follow up. Here are some character designs I’ve been working on in my sketchbook.

Otto Dinosaur Hunter!

Wahoo! Otto’s finally available on Comixology: http://bit.ly/2mgA3Nc

Otto Dinosaur Hunter!

Written by: Nick Roberts Art by: Nick Roberts Price: $1.99 Otto Dinosaur Hunter! is a (mostly) wordless comic which has been designed to help develop your child's language and communication skills by enabling them to tell the story to you instead of the other way around. The easy to follow pictures provide plenty of scope for your child to interpret and communicate the tale in their own words, with plenty of action and humour to push their vocabulary and story-telling skills through multiple re-readings. Buy now on comiXology!

New book on Comixology

Just got the good news last week that Comixology will be releasing my new book, Otto Dinosaur Hunter, on Wednesday. In the meantime here are a few images.

Late for the Party

I recently received my complimentary copies of Late for the Party from Ransom Books. It’s a lovely little story by Alice Hemming about a little boy who is, you guessed it, late for the party.
It’s part of Ransom’s new Reading Stars series for reluctant readers. Ransom’s Creative Director, Steven Rickard asked me to illustrate it because he thought I could capture the “existential angst” of the situation. Of course!
This and the rest of the Reading Stars range are available via the ransom website www.ransom.co.uk

Three monkeys, two indians, a dinosaur and a cowboy

Just because.

What happened to my hair?!

I was messing about with Illustrator recently and started working on a piece that became a sort of self portrait (at least it looked more like me than intended...).

I also recently found a self portrait in one of my old sketchbooks from art school, which begged the question (in my mind at least) what the hell happened to all the hair?!

Persian Miniatures

I remember first coming across Persian miniature painting in an art class at secondary school, and I remember noticing some similarities it had to the comics and cartoons I read at the time – the paintings were meant to be displayed in a book not in some boring art gallery, the figures had outlines (in a painting!), the colours were bold and bright and flat, and best of all – they didn’t use proper perspective (yay!). If you wanted to show someone far away you just moved them up the picture plane, with no tedious measuring or unsatisfying guesswork (double yay!).

I don’t know if that’s what my art teacher expected me to take away from it, but hey, each to their own.
I rediscovered Persian miniatures again a few years ago at a lecture on paintings from Herat, in modern day Afghanistan, and was reminded what a fantastic genre it was.

My previous blog post, the comic strip Hero for Our Time, was my first real attempt at a cartoon strip in years. I’d been working primarily in Illustrator for several years now and I found that it didn’t really lend itself to a conventional comic strip style. Bold, dynamic outlines, forced perspectives, weird angles didn’t really seem to work.

But a conventional comic strip style wasn’t really what I was after anyway.

I wanted to do something different and consciously referred to Persian miniatures when coming up with the final piece. I think these paintings below are mostly from Herat, painted for Sultan Husayn Bayqara in the fifteenth century or so.

I’ve often heard Afghanistan referred to disparagingly as mediaeval, meaning barbaric and unsophisticated. Well, these paintings are mediaeval (just about) and plainly neither of those things.

Bet Superman’s costume was never coloured with lapis lazuli!

Hero for our time

What if superheroes were as useless as the rest of us? To read just right-click on the image and select open in a new tab.

What happened to 2013?

Wow, it's been over a year since I last added anything to this blog. Better get down to it...

That time of year again...

Wishing everyone a merry christmas and a happy new year!

A grumpy kid who didn't get a visit from santa this year...

Forget Buzz Lightyear - next christmas' must have toy - Green Guff Guy...

Secret London

The 2012 Serco Prize exhibition Secret London has just opened at the London Transport Museum with one of my pieces in it!

My wife and I went along to the private view on Monday and took our son along with us – it’s his favourite museum so I was really pleased to be able to take him. He had the camera for the evening (something to occupy him and keep him out of trouble) and he took these photos before the battery ran out…

There are some better photos at another of the exhibiting artists Benfor’s blog (where you can also see his lovely picture of the shard) and at the Evening Standard’s site.

It’s a great show so if you get the chance to go along it’s really worthwhile (plus you get to climb around on old busses and trains!). It runs until December 10th.

More nonsense...

Groovy Triptych

Groovy people

Jim

Who ran away from his Nurse and was eaten by a Lion

There was a Boy whose name was Jim;
His Friends were very good to him.
They gave him Tea, and Cakes, and Jam,
And slices of delicious Ham,
And Chocolate with pink inside
And little Tricycles to ride,
And read him Stories through and through,
And even took him to the Zoo--
But there it was the dreadful Fate
Befell him, which I now relate.

You know--or at least you ought to know,
For I have often told you so--
That Children never are allowed
To leave their Nurses in a Crowd;
Now this was Jim's especial Foible,
He ran away when he was able,
And on this inauspicious day
He slipped his hand and ran away!

He hadn't gone a yard when--Bang!
With open Jaws, a lion sprang,
And hungrily began to eat
The Boy: beginning at his feet.
Now, just imagine how it feels
When first your toes and then your heels,
And then by gradual degrees,
Your shins and ankles, calves and knees,
Are slowly eaten, bit by bit.
No wonder Jim detested it!
No wonder that he shouted "Hi!"

The Honest Keeper heard his cry,
Though very fat he almost ran
To help the little gentleman.
"Ponto!" he ordered as he came
(For Ponto was the Lion's name),
"Ponto!" he cried, with angry Frown,
"Let go, Sir! Down, Sir! Put it down!"
The Lion made a sudden stop,
He let the Dainty Morsel drop,
And slunk reluctant to his Cage,
Snarling with Disappointed Rage.
But when he bent him over Jim,
The Honest Keeper's Eyes were dim.
The Lion having reached his Head,
The Miserable Boy was dead!

When Nurse informed his Parents, they
Were more Concerned than I can say:--
His Mother, as She dried her eyes,
Said, "Well--it gives me no surprise,
He would not do as he was told!"
His Father, who was self-controlled,
Bade all the children round attend
To James's miserable end,
And always keep a-hold of Nurse
For fear of finding something worse.

Hilaire Belloc

Victor's Secret

Last Friday I found out that one of my pieces has been selected for Secret London: the Serco Prize for Illustration 2012. It's going to be part of an exhibition at the London Transport Museum on 13 November–10 December and needless to say - I'm right chuffed!

Congratulations to the other illustrators selected for the exhibition - the full list is here.

Sweet stuff!

Here’s some recent editorial work for Sugaronline to illustrate their various columns. All created in Fireworks with the tiniest of deadlines – minutes rather than hours – which serves to focus the mind a little bit.