Monstrosity Issue 3 to launch at Thought Bubble!

It's long-overdue, but issue 3 of Monstrosity will be available at last in just over a week's time!
I'll be selling all three issues at table 65a in the Royal Armouries Hall alongside other assorted goodies.
I hope to see you there!

Monstrosity 2 Cover Colours!

Here's the finished art for Monstrosity issue 2's cover!
As I've mentioned before, it'll be available at Thought Bubble in Leeds on the 23rd and 24th of this month- hope to see you there!

Monstrosity Issue 2!

Monstrosity issue 2 will be released at the Thought Bubble festival in Leeds at the end of the month! Here's a work in progress peek at the cover!

Digital Pencils

And inks! Colours coming soon!

Summit of The Goddess

Here's my cover for the latest issue of The Phoenix, issue 89! My drawing schedule for Simon Swift has been rather hectic and I've not had much of a chance to update here lately but I will be starting the final episode of the current series tomorrow so hopefully I'll have more of a chance to post here soon!

In other news, Monstrosity issue 1 is now available from some fantastic stores over here in the UK. I really recommend them all and I'm delighted to be stocked by them!

Gosh! (London)

Orbital (London)

Travelling Man (Leeds)

Close Encounters (Bedford)

The Incredible Comic Shop (Swindon)

Simon Swift cover- Stage by stage

Hello!
Tomorrow's issue of The Phoenix has Simon Swift's latest nemesis 'The Fetch' taking centre stage on the cover- here are all the stages on the way to the finished piece. This isn't a particularly in-depth analysis about my process, just an overview of my approach.

Thumbnails

The idea that Tom, Will and I had talked about was having The Fetch on the cover frosting up the jungle, with that in mind I sketched out 3 very loose thumbnails in Photoshop. They liked the third of these the most, but Will suggested that it would look stronger if The Fetch was facing the reader more.

Rough Cover

I then took the basic idea from the third thumbnail and roughed it out very loosely in Photoshop.

 Pencils

Once the rough was approved I made the rough very light by reducing the opacity of the line layer in Photoshop. I then printed the very light rough out onto a sheet of A3 Bristol Board and used it as my loose guide upon which to draw tighter pencils. I kept a lot of the foliage relatively loose at this stage as it needed to be drawn over in ink anyway. I pencil using a blue col-erase pencil. Blue is best as it's easier to remove the pencil art digitally if it isn't black, that way it's a lot less hassle to end up with crisp ink lines on the finished piece.

  

Inks

Once I was happy with the pencils I started inking. I currently use 'Fountain Pentel' pens as I like the line they produce. I use a fine sharpie for the thicker lines and solid blacks.

Colours

 I then use Photoshop to remove the blue lines that show through the inks and separate the lineart onto its own layer, so it 'floats' above the white layer. I build up the colour in layers, beginning with flat base colours and adding layers for shading, lighting, steam effects and the eye glows as I go until I'm happy with the result.

Final

When I was working on the colours, my girlfriend Nikki suggested that it would be nice if the Phoenix logo was frosted up by The Fetch too, I passed that idea onto Will who loved it! The Phoenix's amazing designer (and comic artist extraordinaire) Paul Duffield executed it absolutely beautifully and added in The Fetch's speech balloon, elevating it to a whole new level! Here's the finished article (nicked from The Phoenix's Twitter feed)! I'm really pleased with the finished result and can't wait to see it on the shelves this Friday!

Here's the Proof!

Hello!
I collected the proof copy of Monstrosity Issue #1 yesterday and it came out looking awesome I think! Here's a peek at the cover!

The Phoenix issue 46!

Hooray! The latest issue of The Phoenix is out NOW and I'm lucky to have a brand new Simon Swift cover adorning it! This weeks issue also features Gary Northfield's hilarious 'Gary's Garden', the unmissable 'Zara's Crown' by John and Patrice Aggs and the inestimably talented Chris Riddell returns with another installment of 'Elsewhere' amongst many other comicky delights!

If you want some Phoenixy magic delivered direct to your door, head -HERE- for details!

Here's this weeks cover, (My second Simon Swift cover) with a sneak peek from inside below!

Next week there is all-out action! Stay tuned!

 

Shelved!

Nikki and I popped into Waitrose today and saw the two-week-old issue 38 of the Phoenix in there!

One part of me was annoyed, thinking that it should have sold by now, but another part was delighted, as it's the first time I've ever seen a comic cover I've drawn on a store shelf!

I must admit that we did move it from another shelf for a clearer shot (and shuffled the other copies of the Phoenix to pride-of-place on the front shelf before we left!) but hey, more kids should get to see the Phoenix- I'm doing them a favour!

Simon Swift Cover: works-in-progress!

Here's the cover art for issue 38 of The Phoenix without the logo's and text on them for anyone interested:

 

And below is the original inked drawing of Simon.

 

And lastly my mock-up scribble for this cover!

Tod Lineart!

Here's Some Sky Drifters lineart!
First a sketchy version of Tod's Phoenix cover:

 

And here's the inked version!

 

And lastly, the lineart for my favourite Sky Drifters page yet, I'm really pleased with how this one came out!

MONSTROSITY!

Well, this is one of the projects I've been working on for a while now, if you're heading down to the Bristol comic convention on the 12th and 13th of May you'll be able to buy a copy of MONSTROSITY issue 1, I'll have posters for sale too and I'll draw you a free sketch for good measure! I'm sharing a table with my pals Matt and Chris who will also have an assortment of delectable goodies for you! See you there!

Here's a sneak peek at the interior, panel 1 unlettered!

Bristol preperations!

My comic for the Bristol comic con is nearly ready!
Here's a cheeky tease of the work-in-progress cover, more info soon!