Cocktail Menu

For the last few weeks I have been kept very busy in my free time with this large personal commission - a fully illustrated, and personalised cocktail menu. This project was so much fun but it required an enormous amount of research and practical work, far more than I had initially anticipated. I have learnt an incredible amount though, about cocktails, their contents and what glasses they should be served in, if nothing else! I can't possibly post the entire thing as it is a personal commission and amounts to many pages, but here's a peak at the index page containing smaller graphical illustrations of all the cocktails contained within the menu.

Christmas Card 2011

Ok, let's pretend it's not nearly the end of January...Here's my Christmas card from last year (or last month!) I didn't want to post it before everyone received theirs in the post but unfortunately once I got back to work it got slightly forgotten about! 

However, here it is. It took quite a few evenings after work to create. It's a combination of 2D and 3D and is based on an idea I have had for a while; I love depicting scenes of contrasting warmth and colour and you don't get much more contrasting than a cold, Christmas Eve with snow and the glowing warmth of a child's bedroom. I wanted to capture the wonder and excitement of a child at Christmas looking out for Father Christmas. 


I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and that the January blues haven't been too bad! 

Happy Hallowleen!

Here's just a little something I whipped up in a couple of hours on my day off. (Click the image to enlarge!)


Happy Halloween everyone! 


Have fun and stay safe :) 

Illustration Friday - Boundaries

This is the first Illustration Friday topic I've been able to do something for since finishing my university work. Unfortunately, I have also been catching up with my friends and rebuilding a social life which has meant I was unable to finish it in time for last Friday - whoops! 


Anyway, here it is. I've gone for a literal take on the topic - Boundaries, the focus on this piece was more one of experimentation. Doing these exercises I really want to push myself and work outside of my comfort zone. So I went for a different camera angle than I would usually chose and some strong exposure. I enjoyed playing around with the exposure and using it to create atmosphere, without blowing it out too much and losing the colour palette I was working with. Overall i'm happy with the outcome and looking forward to starting on this week's topic - Mesmerized.

Canadian Geese

This afternoon I have been mostly; drawing geese. Here are a selection of sketches I added some quick colour to. I really enjoyed playing around with different styles, it's definitely something I want to do more of in the future. 

Domestic Goddess

I begin this new spate of artwork with a little thank you to a person who has helped contribute to it. My lovely friend Lexie was my first visitor to come and congratulate me after completing my Ma and came bearing a card and presents of a new sketchbook, pencils, rubber and sharpener... She knows me too well. Anyway, here is the coloured version of the first sketch in my new sketch book - a portrait of Lexie. She has recently moved into a new house, with her partner, and I loved hearing how she is becoming quite the domestic goddess!

Blog Relaunch!

Wow, I knew I hadn't been great at maintaining my blog but I had no idea it had been neglected for seven months! Over the past year I have been completing my Masters degree and general life has had to be put on hold. There has been very little evidence of a social life and even less existence of sleep. However on Wednesday 7th September I handed in my final degree project and my formal education was over after eighteen years! I'm officially in the big wide world now, scary and exciting. 


So back to the blog; things are going to change- firstly a new look. I also aim to  update this blog at least twice a week with some new artwork. Ironically, even though I've been doing a MA in Animation I've had very little time to draw in the last three months due to the production of my short film (Trionfi). I've also had absolutely no time for personal work. Now I have a lot more time I really want to develop and grow as an artist and spend a whole lot more time on short exercises in different styles and subjects. 


Here we go!