The Fairy Kiss

Here's a gif showing a 3d image I did for the cover of Helen Maguire's book, The Fairy Kiss.
I enjoyed the idea of working in 3d very much. Having very little experience in the area though, I approached it in the style of the old Disney multiplane camera.

Bustling London

Here's another rough from the book I am working on right now.

This is the opening spread showing a busy market scene in 17th century London.
I always loved those Disney movies that start with a great big panorama or a townscape before homing in on a particular figure or area to begin the story. I think it's a great way to introduce the reader into the period and setting of a story.

Meeting Mickey Mouse

This is the moment when I finally got to meet Mickey Mouse. We had the kids over at EuroDisney last week and we all had a fabulous time.
I have been a huge admirer of the art of Disney animation for many years, but, like many people, I was wary of Disney as a great big multi-national company. The term Disneyfication has become an entirely pejorative term, and there is a kind of "right-on" notion that Disney represents much that is wrong with America.
Perhaps overly influenced by the anti-Disney lobby, I have to say I was expecting EuroDisney to be kind of tacky and horribly commercial. In fact I found the holiday to be a wonderful, magical experience for me and my family. The staging of the park itself and of some of the rides was beautifully done, and very inspiring for me. And it reminded me of the great artistry that lies at the heart of the best Disney movies.

My Multiplane Snoopy Picture

Whilst I'm still on my nostalgia trip, here is a photo from a project I did when I was at Brighton College of Art.
I was fascinated with the art of Disney movies, and particularly with the Multiplane camera that gave movies like Snow White and Pinnochio a stunning sense of depth.
I created my own multiplane set-up by painting the central action on an acetate cel, and the foreground and background elements on watercolour paper. Then I raised the various planes a few inches away from each other by jamming them in between piles of books on my desk. Lastly I lit the scene in different ways using anglepoise lamps, and took lots of photographs.
I'll try to find a coloured version and I'll post that too.

There's a bit of a creepy flavour to some of my work from those days. I don't know what was going on in my head.