Come Where?

Just a quick post today as I am due to go running in about 20 mins (go Chorlton Runners!).

...Anyway, mid-last year I was called upon to create a music single cover for a guy called Roy Fisher. Though whether it has been printed out and distributed, or remains as an itunes exclusive, I am not sure (nor do I care that much if I'm honest). The band is "One Dark Horse."

Pretty standard process; series of sketches to make sure I was on the right track. He wanted a woman in front of a ship. Hopefully I will post the youtube video below, so you will see why.

Often, as was the case here, it's worth doing a colour sample. I personally like the triangle cleavage cut-out which mirrors the triangular belt buckle. Blue hair is always very sci-fi. Possibly a combination of the above made this gal the winner.

Roy was adamant that she needed to be beckoning towards the viewer. This was a challenge and a nightmare of foreshortening. I'm still not sure that it's 100% right. I was also uncharacteristically reserved on the text. Final lines were drawn with a brush pen. Added a few textures and voilà. ...Enjoy...

 

Fact or Fiction: The Paris and M6 Crashes

I'm published: fact. Not quite for the first time, but this time could be interesting. I was contacted some year-and-a-half ago by a man called Colin Hall. Colin claims to be a security consultant whose job has taken him literally around the world. A paranormal enthusiast, he has become meticulously embroiled in intently investigating some online rumours about mysterious crashes, disappearing bodies and some curiously related blog posts.

Cover of Colin Hall's book.

To cut a long story short. It was my job to illustrate, layout and compile the book; this was no mean feat. It was very much a grubby hands-on affair. I had access to hundreds of photos, hundreds of sketches (Colin Hall cannot draw too well, so I was in the position of re-drawing and making sense of his sketches), stills from a truly baffling youtube video and a ton of text to weave through it all. 

Sample page featuring sketches on lined paper

and stuck-on snippets of reports.

Colin's approach to investigative journalism is holistic; the book is chock full of references to a plethora of conspiracies and spooky mysteries worldwide as he wanted to put the whole thing in context (see the above sample page) as well as drawing possible connections between those more "established" mysteries and this relatively recent one. I use the word "established" tentatively; it's worth noting that a large chunk of the internet now seems transfixed on these happenings, as well as articles in such long-running conspiratorial magazines as The Fortean Times.

Close-up featuring Colin's trip to Paris and polaroids.

Colin Hall's book has certainly been a unique challenge for me and my burgeoning layout skills, I wish him well on his quest. It's a quest which does not end with the book; the reader is encouraged not only to get involved but to report his/her findings to Colin directly. So if the thought of helping unravel a unique and genuine real-time mystery appeals to you, then they may not come much better than this. Will there be a sequel and will you be part of it? Maybe the question ought to be, how many sketches and wine-stained Parisian place mats can I deal with in a lifetime?!

Buy or download the book on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fact-Fiction-The-Paris-Crashes/dp/1905692986 

Illustrating the Poetry of Belinda Bradley

I was commissioned by Belinda for this event back in 2010, along with fellow illustrator Robin Clare who illustrated one or two of Belinda's other poems. (All illustrations below are by me.)

 

Items Found on Public Transport (by Belinda Bradley)

A Barbie birthday cake,

a “Nobody Likes Me” CD

by Alice Cooper,

a Misty Pink lipstick,

thirteen stick insects,

a mouldy cheese sandwich,

a goldfish named Slurpy,

a Nokia 1208 mobile phone,

a 2 year old,

a silver trombone,

a dinosaur bone,

a packet of brown rice,

six dead mice, white,

a “Kiss” wedding dress,

a prosthetic leg,

a last will and testament,

a copy of “Harry Potter

and the Philosopher’s Stone,”

£30,000 in used bank notes,

a black brolly,

a cat called Holly.

............

  

 I Remember (by Belinda Bradley)

I remember...

the bus

red,

covered in cobwebs

in the garden shed.

I remember....

the blossom

pink,

daisies

on the olive sink.

 

 I remember ……

my ragdoll

blue,

school shoes

shiny and new.

I remember ……

the white swans

on the wall,

threadbare carpet

in the narrow hall.

I remember……

my grandma

calling a dress “a frock,”

and saying

“you are soppy” a lot.

I remember……

ballet lessons

and tap,

looking in the mirrors

thinking I looked fat.

I remember……

the first time I was alone

with a boy in my room,

my dad asking

“is he going home soon?”

I remember ……

the day

my twin sister left,

how I wept

and wept and wept.

............

  Through the window of the Manchester train  (by Belinda Bradley)

  
I watched her walk away,

a nondescript figure

on an empty platform.

I saw her sure-footed steps

as we sped past,

watched the draft lift

my sister’s thick brown hair.

Her lasting impression

fossilised in the changeable air.