Scrummy Gifts Make for Tasty Illustrations.

Super nice gifts from super nice friends:

Ultra superb Clairefontaine notebook & Delfonics old school propelling pencil (wood), sourced from tucci brown, Melbourne. 

So Long Sucker!

Nice little job with the guys at Copeland Publishing.

View a larger image here in the Editorial gallery.

Ahoy!

Pirates Ahoy! Just completed a tortuose project that's had me re-learning some very basic moves in PS... Tut! Tut!
 When working on detailed images, break the components down into layers.
Example: The Bear. Layer 1: Sky. Layer 2: Background waves. Layer 3: Bears Head, torso & arms. Layer 4: Bears Pants. Layer 5: Boat. Layer 6: Oar. Layer 7: Lifebelt & rope. Layer 8: Bottles of Pop. Layer 9: For-ground waves.
 It sound laborious but if you cock-up part of the image, you've only cocked-up that layer as opposed the whole image. So, for every component of the overall image break it down into layers. & will I remember this...

So here is a snippet from the image.

To view the whole image you'll need to sail over here.

Animal Farm.

This last couple of weeks has mostly been filled with:

Dancing Rats.

Daddy Chickens

& Daughter Chickens

Late for work Bears in pants

Lady Dogs & Little Ladies

Here & There.

Having just created a new Twitter background page (grrr!), with much fiddling of page size & orientation, it  has inspired this little series 'Here & There'.

A version of the Twitter Background.

here & there II V1.

here & there II V1.2 (can't decide which of the two I prefer).

For more in this Series, wander over HERE & have a peek in the Picture Book Gallery.

Another Free iPhone Wallpaper.

That's right folks, yet another free iphone wallpaper. Enjoy.

Weekend Dervish.

Knackered after a blistering weekend spent fanatically cleaning, filming & making. Started out with a gentle Autumn clean of the house until I reached the Studio & realised I hadn't seen my desk for what seemed like a lifetime. Four hours later & sweating like a (use your own imagination here)... Desk uncovered.

Oh Joy! Arse indented cushion. It's not really that big; my arse or the cushion.

Shelves, replete with books, dusted & reordered. Completed work (dating back some 6 months), faced & put away in a cat free zone. Various 'used to be' Moths, Spiders, & undiscovered lifeforms hoovered into oblivion. Had forgotten what a pay-off a good clean can be, totally re-energised the studio & myself.
 So, that was Saturday. Sunday comes, all out of kilter with the clocks going back & my 4 yr old Art Director wants to make a movie?!? "Let's make a movie about a dog, Dad"

I love this app: Stop Motion Recorder. Great fun & now we can all be Cecil B DeMille.
& finally to top out the weekend; cracked the middle section of the current Picture Book script... relief unbound.  Metaphorical shake down... & relax.