Illustration Friday "Craving"

"Star Craving Mad!"

I must admit I came to the Mario party a little late in life. But playing Mario Galaxy has turned me into a star hungry fiend! Outta my way kids, it's Daddy's turn again!

Illustration Friday "Cracked"

"OK! Who invited the elephant?!"

Seems like a perfectly logical scenario in which cracks might occur. Don't you think?

Swimland Web Award

Congrats to my friends at Paul Sadler Swimland who, not only do a great job teaching my kids to swim, but have also picked up an award for "Best Swim School Website". I had the fun job of bringing their mascot "Swordy" to life, for some brief animations along with some hints and facts about the school.

You can view the site and story here (HINT: Click Swordy when he's floating in the corner).

Well done to Get Started who came up with the site design and a big thanks to Jason for being the first person EVER to describe me as a "guru". Not sure I'm quite there yet, but thanks all the same.

Rosie's Fairies

My daughter's 4th birthday is coming up soon and I wanted to create some Fairy characters to appear on her party invitation. This is what I came up with.

Illustration Friday "Contagious"

"Tea and Sympathy"

This week’s topic “contagious” proved to be quite prophetic, as I spent a large portion of the weekend coughing and snivelling over cups of honey and lemon tea. Naturally, being male, I was on death’s door several times and only just managed to raise my arm long enough to hit play and start another episode of LOST. Luckily I made it through alive and was able to whip this little self portrait together.

I had originally intended to post this caricature of Russel Brand. As an entertainer I find his humour to be quite contagious and I can’t help but like him, despite myself. But I thought that link was probably a little too tenuous, so he remains as a little sketchy bonus.

Illustration Friday "Parade"

"Sun Loong and thanks for the memories "

Every Easter, Bendigo (the town where I live) brings out Sun Loong, the longest Imperial Chinese Dragon in the World, for the annual parade.

During the Easter School holidays I ran 2 workshops where the kids and I drew a cartoon version of the Dragon. It was a great experience for me and it was awesome to see so many youngsters interested in drawing. We built the image step by step to end up with the sketch you see below.

I thought it would make a good subject for this weeks IF. So I went and coloured him up. He's a little bit rushed, but it was all I had time for.

Illustration Friday "Hierarchy"

“I know my place”

This week’s Illustration Friday topic was chosen by yours truly, so I could hardly let this one pass by.

I’ve always been fascinated and frustrated by the English class system. When I suggested the topic of hierarchy I always intended to create a homage to the classic comedy sketch starring John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbet. This iconic sketch has become one of the most loved English sketches and I think it still holds true to this day. I’ve always enjoyed the look of this footage, especially the opening silhouettes, so I’ve posted it for you below.

For those of you playing at home, this sketch was part of The Frost Report. The same David Frost as portrayed in the recent Frost vs Nixon. Fascinating huh?

10,000 HITS!

My blog has topped 10,000 hits! Admittedly 9,000 of those were probably me, checking to see how many hits I’ve had, but hey they all count right?! So anyway I did this picture of what 10,000 hits might actually look like. I suppose in reality he would be a pulverised mess of bloody flesh and bone, but that wasn’t much fun to look at.

So to all those guys and gals who’ve followed and dropped in over the past 15 months, I thank you.

Illustration Friday "Theatre"

"Too obvious, or not too obvious"

With a topic like "Theatre" I couldn't really go past Shakespeare. I actually studied Hamlet in High School which put me off old Shakey for quite some time. It's only now I can revisit the subject without breaking into a cold sweat.

Not particularly imaginative I suppose, but it's all i got.

Illustration Friday "Impossibility"

"Sweet Dreams"

Of course Monsters couldn't possibly exist, yet every small child believes otherwise. Especially when reading spooky stories at bedtime.

It's been a long time between posts lately and I've really missed the weekly challenge of Illustration Friday. Of course like most people I've been rushed off my feet, mostly animating on a very cool TV pilot for a great studio in Melbourne. Hopefully I'll get to post more about that soon.

I also may have some other exciting news regarding one of my own creations, but I won't count my chickens on that one just yet. But here's hoping.

Thanks for stopping by.

Joints Don't Jump

Late last year, I got the great opportunity to provide some Character designs for Animax Entertainment. The resulting TV commercial is for The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and is a light hearted look at joint pain. It was a real buzz to see other people bring my characters to life, and I think Animax did a fine job.

Hope you likes!

Illustration Friday "Breezy"

"I might go for a paddle"

Growing up near the British coastline, I would often be amazed at the amount of people on the beach front, no matter the weather. Usually it would be the older folks stepping out boldly into the blustery elements. Nothing like an icy blast of sea air to clear out the cobwebs, eh?

Illustration Friday "Instinct"

"Honestly! That's what happened!"

Instinctively Mother's can always tell when you're telling the truth. Admittedly this young fella hasn't come up with the most convincing excuse. Still a Mother always knows!

Illustration Friday "Celebrate"

"I put the PARTAY in Partayto!"

As a kid I remember hearing the saying "He'd go the opening of a packet of crisps". This was often used when describing Z list celebs desperately trying to get their faces seen at any event they could weasel their way into.

Still, the saying always amused me and it got me thinking...what if someone really did celebrate the opening of a packet of crisps. What an annoying person that would be!

Illustration Friday "Flawed"

"Batteries not included"

This poor Robot would love nothing more than to run outside and feel the sun on his metallic face. But due to a basic design flaw he has to remain plugged into the mains at all times.


My original take for Illustration Friday's theme of "Flawed" was going to be a caricature of Mills (Brad Pitt)from the movie Se7en. The ending is still (for me) one of the most powerful and memorable in film history.

Ultimately it's Mills' flaws and his eventual Wrath that culminate in his own tragic downfall. Despite this I felt it was all a bit too morbid for IF, so he remains as the sketch you see here. The pose is taken from the moment after he discovers what's in the box! On that cheery note...bye bye!

Illustration Friday "Climbing"

"Been there. Done that"

Climbing a mountain / drawing a cartoon. Invariably you'll find that someone has had the idea first, done it better, faster and more easily than you could have imagined. Annoying isn't it?

Over The Hill

© AG.com

Just before Christmas last year I animated a Musical Ecard titled "The Over the Hill Song" and it has just popped up over on BlueMountain.com.

Gary Swift from the UK handled the character design and I was responsible for all the Flash builds and animation. These cards usually come to me fairly tightly scripted, but for this I was able to throw in a couple of my own gags (which was nice). So if you find yourself laughing uncontrollably at a cat falling off a table and a crudely drawn diagram, then my work was not in vain.

Hope you likey!

Melbourne Calling

Very soon I will be animating on a project out of Melbourne. I probably can't mention details just yet, so I won't, just to be on the safe side.

At any rate, the job requires me to leave the comfort of my home office of 9 years! and head on down to the big smoke. Since I won't be able to use my Cintiq on location, I'm downgrading and digging out my previous tablet for the trip.

She's a bit grubby and scratched up, but she should see me right. The above picture is the result of my attempts to rekindle our old partnership. I couldn't think of anything to draw, so I decided to draw myself re familiarising myself with it. It's like riding a bike really, only less energetic.

Illustration Friday "Pale"

"No one understands me"

Probably an obvious choice, but when a word like "Pale" crops up, you can't really go past a Goth kid. So I didn't.

Slacker Cats

© ABC Family

The Good News:
The episode of Slacker Cats, the very funny show I animated on with Animax for ABC Family, will finally be seen after almost a year in limbo. The show was cancelled after only 6 episodes, but is due to resurface online this month with the unaired episodes.

The Bad News (for me):
Due to online regional restrictions the shows can only be watched by US residents (Boo!). So if you're living Stateside you may want to consider checking out the schedule. The first series was great and with enough support the show may get picked up again. My episode is titled "Work, Work, Work".

Here is a launch calendar.
ABCF Slacker Cats 1006 Dolenz 01/19/09
ABCF Slacker Cats 1008 Sex and the Kitties 01/19/09
ABCF Slacker Cats 1009 Buckley on the Run 01/20/09
ABCF Slacker Cats 1010 Garage-a-Trois 01/21/09
ABCF Slacker Cats 1011 Work, Work, Work 01/22/09
ABCF Slacker Cats 1012 Buckley Versus the Future 01/23/09

The first 6 episodes can be viewed here or more naughtily here on YouTube.

Enjoy