First major update in a fair old while...

I have been meaning to update here for a while but every time I think I have five minutes to do it, something comes up or I get sidetracked with something else... This also includes the shitty internet reception we've been getting in the studio as of late which still hasn't been repaired after about three months of being faulty.

Anyway, I have been rather busy as of late. With a mix of illustration gigs, the Lou Scannon comic and work at the tattoo studio.

I'll start off with the comic. Lou Scannon issue four is finally finished and is being printed as I type this. Hopefully we'll have it available to buy at some point over the next week or two. This issue has probably taken the longest to produce so far with various real life issues delaying it for one reason or another. I really pumped a lot into the backgrounds of this issue. Far more so than with any of the other issues. I also changed the way I've been working as well and was... breaking in the new format which may have slowed me down somewhat too.

We changed a lot with issue four. This one wasn't coloured straight in greyscale for a start. It was done in full colour and then greyscaled afterwards. This was done in the hope that when it comes to doing the graphic novel, we will be in a position to do the entire thing in colour but in a slightly smaller (UK not US) format.

I have to be honest, it's looking absolutely brilliant in colour. Kris and Jim have really out done themselves.
That said, certain pages seem to work better in black and grey and give off a great noir feel. So there's reasons to buy the comics in black and white and the graph in colour *Hint hint*

Here's a promo poster we did for issue four:

Obviously the August release date is a little wrong... But we did it with the best of intentions! Although we all know the road to Hell is paved with them...

Back in June I was commissioned to do a two page comic for a clients partners birthday. It was a big surprise for him as not only did he have no idea the comic was being done but the comic also starred him as well. It was to a fairly tight deadline but only in the sense that I was going to France and wouldn't have the facilities to finish it out there and get it posted to the client in time for her partners birthday. So I pushed to get it done for her before I went. From the feedback I had, he loved the gift so I was quite chuffed with that. Plus it was a lot of freaking fun to do! I got to play around with a lot of iconic eighties characters AND kill Anakin Skywalker (The Jake Lloyd version...) so it was a great project. Oh I should mention I had free reign on the script as well. It's very hard to come up with a complete story like this in two pages but the challenge was as I said before, a lot of fun!

Here's the first page of the comic:

and here's the second: 

And I also drew this for the couples wall at home (They have an art wall - awesome!)

So with that down, I went on what turned out to be a rather traumatic family holiday to France which I wont get into detail about here. Suffice to say it wasn't pleasant... So I came home and work on Scannon resumed albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Eep.

When everything else settled down I went back to a commission I was asked to do quite a while back that I knew was going to take a while. My friend Llinos asked me to do a picture of her friends who had just got married in a Zombie style. Now Llinos works in fashion so when she asked me how much it would cost, rather than give her a price, I asked if she would be willing to exchange trades if you will. So in exchange for the following picture, Llinos is making me a Lou Scannon jacket AND gloves! Totally stoked about that! Can't wait to see what she comes up with. It will be ready for next February's comic convention in Cardiff!

Anyway, here's the final picture for the newlyweds!:

The reason for the discolouration in the sky is because I had to scan the image as two separate pieces due to its size. Waddya think though guys? I really hope they like it. Again this was a lot of fun to draw.

I've done a few other freelance gigs too but they were for a media company and i'm not sure of the legal ins and outs of posting that stuff. That stuff though was done to a really short deadline.

On the tattoo front, I have been a lot busier. Although I have to admit that September so far has been rather dead for me. Students are back soon though so hopefully it will pick up then. I previously posted a pic of the Hulk tatt I was working on. Well I have finished it now. It's not a great pic as it's literally just after I finished it and the black has yet to come back through the green in this pic (Although it has now of course as its healed) but here it is:

The client was happy with it, as was I.

I think I may start posting more of my tattoo work here as I go too.

I think with my next post I'll put up the cover for Lou Scannon issue five that Kris Carter and I have done. It's a pretty nice looking Planet of the Apes homage. I have a few other bits and bobs to show you too but for now?.. I think I have waffled on enough!

Take it easy guys.