New Bee Story- work in progress

This is a test piece for a new story about bees, first introduced as support characters in Piano and the Boy. It is a new challenge to illustrate lead characters which are a much smaller scale, encouraging me to think about more intimate and suitable imagery which tells a story of the changing world through tiny and fragile eyes.

Bee holding quill

This is a test piece for a new story, which will include more spot illustrations to make the pace of the story more fluid.

New piece

This is the new piece from my 'Halo' picture book proposal. After months of searching, the fairy's exhaustion gets the better of her, falling asleep in a nest.

'Endlessly' new piece on the way

This is a new piece i have just finished drawing out. it will be a spot illustration and is a mid point in the story where the fairy is exhausted from searching. I may add a bird looking curiously in at its nest which has been filled by the sleeping fairy.

Work in progress

This is how the next piece is shaping up, ive utilised more realistic human features in this story however still kept the caricatured elements from Piano and the Boy.

New Piece #2

New Piece taken from the story Halo

Cover

This is the cover for my story, i have decided to take it from a different angle, and not introduce the boy till the inside cover page. Instead one of the night creatures is caught sitting on the piano staring up at the logo, which also contains the bees and mice which are situated almost as a ring of support around the Piano and the Boy, a symbol of them always being near to the boy.

Spend some time with Silence

This is a new piece taken from an upcoming story titled 'Halo'. I have worked on recreating forests and producing illustrations set in different times of day and season.

Cheltenham Festival visit to Anthony Browne

This is an awesome post for me to be able to write, as we were able to meet picture book illustrator Anthony Browne today following his one hour session as part of the Cheltenham Festival. Bar my dorky grin, it was a great day after he gave some background as to his inspirations and methods of teaching children stories purely through his illustration. We also had a quick chat after at the book signing session and i gave him a few cheeky badges one of which he is (proudly) wearing in this photo.

Poppy Character Sheet

This is an preparatory character sheet for another story i am working at, "Light up the Sky". I wanted to work more on creating more diverse expressions rather than the relativel melancholy aesthetic of Piano and the Boy.

'Spilt Glitter' Piece

Ive finally finished the new piece for Piano and the Boy, showing a landscape. Ive decided to take the detail up again for this piece, though i want to remain consistent throughout the story i terms of attention to detail. I may mut the colour a little as they are very vivid, and i may redraw the sky as it could be executed better.

Autumn befalls the Fairy Ophelia

This is my new piece, a spot illustration for now of the seasons changing as the fairy sheds its leaves to reveal autumnal colours. I have amended many little bits of this and im still not totally happy with it but its a decent representation of how one of the new images from this story, entitles 'Halo' may appear.

An alternative story I am doing unrelated to the childen's book is a narrative entitled 'Shine On' that i may create as a graphic novel short story. It will be done probably in pen with mixed media backgrounds to give a textured look which differs from my previous works.

This is a very rough example of how a frame would appear, with spots of colour on each illustration, in this example the red hoodie. In a way it is a textless narrative as two stories unravel simultaneously, as the illustrations are a seperate story to the manuscript text however they entwine at the story's close.

Poppy New Still

A new image of my character Poppy chasing a butterfly. I could perhaps use this as an endpage image as it doesnt feature in the story however it gives an indication as to the type of persona of the lead character.

Character Idea

Along with working on the 'Piano and the Boy' story, i have been developing the narrative for a story which currently has a working title of 'Light up the Sky'.
It follows the relationship between father and daughter and after the father becomes ill, this is a concept design for the daughter character Poppy out collecting plants and herbs in an attempt to help her father.
It is still a rough design which needs refining, the figure is slightly out of proportion and the face needs some work.

Arms like towers

Another new piece for my children's story, i was worried that such focus on purely the boy's face would not be able to carry itself as its own composition, i'm still unsure but i paid particular attention to the eyes and framed the face with the arch created by the father's head and shoulder to draw a point of focus to the boy.

Days Dragged By...

This is the next piece, i wanted to pay more attention reproducing technical, architectural based subjects like the structure of the boy's house, as this is again something i have not woked hard enough at.

I feel that this is quite successful, i may change some hues althought i would like to keep the mute tones to compliment the rest of the story.
The father is introduced more at this point of the story so he turns up in the background as a secondary character who eventually becomes the main reason for repairing the boy's happiness.

New Piece

This piece precedes the previous couple, showing the boy falling asleep in the field before having to run home. I attempted a new perspective on the lower half of the page, an almost first point perspective of the father, again showing the boy as small and fragile, but also to focus on the tiiredness off the father, with cuts on his neck. This is an initial hint as to what he has been up to whilst the boy was out, as we later discover he has been working hard to fix the piano.

...the boy drifted off...

This is my first complete spread piece, it involves the bees going into the boy's room after he has been sent to bed. This time the mouse makes a cameo, i have made this a semi-running theme, including mice appearing in various parts of the story in the background, always watching over the boy.