Illustration Portfolio

A selective look through my Publishing/Illustration Portfolio, with a few other bits and bobs, added that I still like.

‘Painting Rainbows’

‘Painting Rainbows’ is the new book written by Triona Harris and illustrated by myself. Available to buy at Amazon for £6.63
Join Kitty as she reaches for the sky to put the brightest of rainbows back into the gloomiest of days.
The ‘Painting Rainbows’ book is a multicoloured hug filled with hope, just when we all might need one.
Book cover with a young girl painting rainbows across the top.
A little girl crosses the road on a colourful zebra crossing, with the help of a lollipop lady. A train is going over a bridge and around the bridge are painted several rainbows.
Illustration of a young girl thinking , with thought bubbles around her head.
Illustration of a young girl painting rainbows all over her house.

The artwork was painted in watercolour on stretched paper. I wanted to keep a pencil drawing feel to the illustrations. So the final stage was to add a 6B pencil line drawing over the watercolour.

You can see more on my ‘Painting Rainbows, Blog Post.

Pop-Up Books

I have worked with Paper Engineer, David Hawcock on several of his books. He provided me with a mock-up of the pop-up and drawn shapes of the different parts of the pop. These need to be re-drawn and painted, depending on what they were depicting.

Mummy Book

‘DK Amazing Pop-Up, Pull-Out Mummy Book’
2000
The Mummy is based on the finds in Tutankhamum’s Tomb found by Howard Carter in 1922. I enjoyed researching the finds on the Mummy and the various elements in different layers of the body within the sarcophagus.
Most of the artwork was airbrushed using acrylic and gouache. But I used watercolour for the bandages and body.

The Death Mask artwork was also re-used in a book for The British Museum.
‘Ancient Egypt Pop-Up Book’
2003
This also had some new artwork for pop-up spreads by myself.

Airbrushed parts for a pop-up Mummy book.
The Mummy's Head behind the Death Mask, watercolour illustrations.

Zoomers

A cover showing the Earth and the Solar System.
Zoomers

Published by Readers Digest, 1999.
Zoomers were four spreads that sort of folded through each other to get back to the beginning!
My artwork was airbrushed with acrylic and gouache. Apart from the cartoony ‘Spook House Party’, which was watercolour with a brushed ink keyline.

Airbrushed alien face.
Airbrushed artwork of a Plesiosaur swimming.

‘Loch Ness Monster’ for the ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ Zoomer. I added the blue underwater background when the artwork was returned.

Monsters of the Abyss

Viperfish on a Book Cover.

The Monsters of the Abyss book, published by Macmillan Group 2008, contained pop-up spreads of Viperfish, Giant Squid, Sperm Whales etc. It was great fun to illustrate. This time I used digital artwork, but in my realistic airbrush style.

Digital artwork of a Viperfish with it's mouth wide open.

Moon Landing

Book Cover and double page spread.
Gemini IV Astronaut floating above the Earth.

Moon Landing book, published by Walker Books 2008. I was commissioned to supply some of the illustrations for this book. Notably, the Gemini IV spread, illustrated using digital artwork. Above I have taken two of the Pop-Up elements and put them together to make a 2D image.

Book Cover
Double page book spread

Harry Potter Masks, published by Sudamericana 2001. It contained pop-up masks that were also part of a double page spread. They could then be taken out of the pages worn and put back. Clever chap that David Hawcock. My digital mask artwork was re-working the films style guides to fit to David’s outlines.

Digital artwork of a Viperfish with it's mouth wide open.
Digital artwork of a Viperfish with it's mouth wide open.

The Book of Three-Dimensional Masks, published by SM Saber 2001. Contained pop-up masks with the same working as the Harry Potter ones. This time they included airbrushed artwork for masks of a Wolf, Shark, Leopard and Lizard.

Book Cover and double page spread
The head of a Caiman

‘Predators’ – Enter if you Dare, published by Lito, 2008. With pop-up spreads of various predators, including Caiman, Tiger, Shark, and Polar Bear. All of my artwork was produced digitally in my realistic style.

Book Covers

Book Cover with an Airship flying against a stormy sky.

Children of Another Albion by J P Paradise
2014
The Cover was painted using watercolour with a black ink keyline. The book also has black & white illustrations with-in it too.

Illustration from 'Children of another Albion' of a man riding a steam-punk motor scooter.

Morbidelli riding along on his ‘steampunk’ motor scooter.
Illustration drawn with a brush & black ink.

Book Cover with the constellation of Orion

Paradise Mislaid by J P Paradise
2017
The Cover was created using mixed media of inked keyline, acrylic painting and digital artwork.

‘Fictions Of Unease’
Published by Sulis, 2002.
Digital Artwork.

Myths and Legends Book

Artwork of a Red Dragon sat on a rock with wings spread out. Painted in watercolour.
I was asked to illustrate a ‘Smaug’ like red dragon.
Beowulf grabbing hold of Grendel's arm. Watercolour artwork.
Beowulf grabs hold of Grendel’s monstrous arm.
These book illustrations of Myths & Legends for Element Books were one of my favourite jobs. It had several illustrators working on it and looked fab. Unfortunately, Element went belly up just before the book went to print. All the work had been done and we had all been paid, it had even been proof printed. It was a real shame not to see it printed up and in the shops.
My illustrations were all painted in watercolour at roughly A3 size for a double-page spread.
Watercolour painting of a hand raising the sword, Excalibur, out of the water.
The Lady of the Lake raises Excalibur out of the water.
Watercolour painting of the Giant Surt charging forth at the start of Ragnorak.
The wolf Fenrir opens his ravaging maw and the Giant Surt charges forth at the start of Ragnarök
Watercolour artwork of fairies dancing outside of Newgrange.
Fairies dancing on the carved stone at the entrance to Newgrange. The huge burial mound in Ireland.
Watercolour illustration of a Knight charging into battle.

Other Things

Oil painted harbour and beach scene.

‘Harbour Scene Jigsaw’
Oil-painted artwork for Otter House.

Oil-painted artwork showing Santa pulled by his reindeer flying across the country side.

‘Santa Jigsaw Artwork’
Oil-painted artwork for Otter House.

Harbour scene jigsaw box
Santa Jigsaw Box
Watercolour plan of garden with plants growing around and in an old Mini.

‘Mini Garden’
Watercolour artwork for a Garden Design at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Airbrushed artwork of a pub pump clip with the lettering 'Moles' with a mole sat on top.

Moles Brewery Pump Clip’
Airbrushed artwork using acrylic and gouache.

Ink artwork of a cartoon biker holding up two fingers.

‘Phaze 2’
Pen and ink logo design for a motorcycle training group.

Pencil artwork of a key on a woodwind instrument.

‘Tony’s Key’
Pencil logo design for Tony Millyard. Maker of flutes, baroque oboes and baroque bassoons.

Airbrushed artwork of Britannia sat on the toilet.

‘Shit Award’
Tongue in cheek version of a similar sounding award for ‘Loaded‘ Magazine.

Thanks for taking a look.
If you’re not bored yet you could check out…

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