Tag Archives: story

Kinsey’s Sword Sneak Peek

A young queen falls ill at the beginning of her reign. Initially unable to leave her bedroom, she fights against fear and hopelessness in her dreams. But as Kinsey grows strong she remains in the dream world, avoiding the kingdom she left behind … Take a peek inside: I’ve shared bits and pieces from Kinsey’sContinue reading “Kinsey’s Sword Sneak Peek”

Creating the Title Page for Kinsey’s Sword

Here’s a look at some of the process I went through drawing the title page for Kinsey’s Sword. As it was the first spread I painted for the book I was still trying to capture the style of the illustrations. Initially I’d thought I’d add a lot more detail and move further away from theContinue reading “Creating the Title Page for Kinsey’s Sword”

The Brilliant World of Tom Gates

For the last six months I’ve been a storyboard artist on The Brilliant World of Tom Gates, working for Wild Child as part of an amazing team. The series is based on Liz Pichon’s bestselling Tom Gates books. The first episodes are now on Sky Kids in the UK, either as part of a SkyContinue reading “The Brilliant World of Tom Gates”

Morna and Alistair

Morna and Alistair are from a story I’ve been working at over the last few months. As they both get older in it I’ve been trying to find characters that work at different ages. These quick doodles I did after work are the first ones I feel capture their characters.

Kinsey’s Sword Thumbnails

A few years ago I posted some images from a short story I’d written and illustrated. You can view them here if you didn’t see them the first time around! The story follows Kinsey, a young Queen who battles her fears in order to reclaim her sword, her family, and her purpose. Since then I’veContinue reading “Kinsey’s Sword Thumbnails”

Good Friday

How can today be ‘Good’ Friday when it is a day of death, of sorrow, when even Jesus cried out ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ It is good because ‘It is finished’ – not over, but paid in full. It is good because the temple curtain was torn in two. ItContinue reading “Good Friday”

Inktober 2018 #14 – Sarah

Back in 2009 I wrote The Dance for NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, which takes place every November. Sarah is a maidservant in the court of the king when a magnificent ball takes place. Though she is cleaning, Sarah is asked to dance … For Sarah’s clothes I took directly from this Crows EyeContinue reading “Inktober 2018 #14 – Sarah”

Inktober 2018 #12 – Rudy

Rudy is a very old character of mine, but this is the first time I’ve draw her. In her world centaurs are considered like animals and are hunted for sport (though not to be eaten). As such the stories I’ve made up about her are often quite grim. I’ve heard that many peoples’ first storiesContinue reading “Inktober 2018 #12 – Rudy”

Inktober 2018 #08 – Dragon

At the end of a bitter battle with a dragon, a knight searched its layer and discovered its egg among the treasures. Feeling its warmth he found himself unwilling to kill an innocent, unknowing creature. Instead the knight wrapped it carefully in his cloak and cradled it on his saddle as he rode all theContinue reading “Inktober 2018 #08 – Dragon”

Pigeon Crumbs – Animatic

Recently I’ve been working on an storyboard about a pigeon who finds the mother of all crumbs, but discovers eating it isn’t all that simple. Here’s the result! Based on a true story … Sound effects copyright BBC

Tutorial: Storyboarding in Photoshop

I’ve realised that the way I use Photoshop to storyboard isn’t that well known. This way of working uses Frame Animation within the Timeline panel. It takes a short while to organise new shortcuts and change a few settings, but once that’s done it’s easy to add new frames and scroll through the storyboard. MostContinue reading “Tutorial: Storyboarding in Photoshop”

Doodle Dump

One of the good things about taking the train is getting the chance to doodle away. Here are a few drawings from a recent trip. Mostly I just scribble, but the first group below are some characters from an old story of mine. I’ve been wondering about storyboarding the idea, or developing it further inContinue reading “Doodle Dump”

Climb Ev’ry Mountain

While watching The Sound of Music again recently I was struck by the scene where Mother Abbess sings ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’. I decided to do a tone/composition study because the lighting and cinematography of the scene is so lovely. When Maria enters the room, it’s very dark. The lighting is harsh and dramatic, and allContinue reading “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”

Working on The Gaelic King

The Gaelic King is now available through Amazon, iTunes, HMV and Zoom in the UK! It’s exciting to know the film is out there, and people are watching this story for the first time. I thought I’d share some of the work I’ve done on the film from the last two years. There are someContinue reading “Working on The Gaelic King”

The Gaelic King Trailer

Scots warrior-king, Alpin, must fight to rescue his brother and regain the kingdom of Dalriata. The Gaelic King is an independent feature I was a story and concept artist on. Truffle Pictures has closed distribution deals for the film across North America, the UK, Japan, Italy and the Middle East. It’s releasing in the UK on theContinue reading “The Gaelic King Trailer”

New Portfolio and Showreels

I now have a new portfolio and two new showreels online! My portfolio has a range of gesture and life drawings, concept sketches, and animal drawings as well as a range of final art from some of my projects. The showreels page has both a character animation and a motion graphics reel, both which featureContinue reading “New Portfolio and Showreels”

Kinsey’s Sword

A little over a year ago I set myself the challenge of illustrating a short story I’d written. I’ve posted some concepts and development of these illustrations before, but now I’d like to share a few of the finished drawings. Most of the drawings below are spreads, and are viewed over two pages when printed. OddContinue reading “Kinsey’s Sword”