Halloween costumes and some drawing

Celestine has been thinking a lot about her Halloween costume lately so we drew up some ideas.  Here she is modelling an array of spooky outifts:

My favourite is the cat costume. Which is yours?

I also did a 3d version of the cat costume to see how it would turn out:

I have discovered a new love for pencil over this last year or so. I used to always outline everything in black pen but now I'm finding that whenever I go over a pencil drawing in black pen it seems to lose its charm and liveliness a bit. It's all very well but it leaves me in a bit of a conundrum about how to colour drawings in.  Putting colour on pencil drawings doesn't seem to work either. Hmm.

Anyway here are another couple of drawings. They were done on Tuesday at a drawing session that I like to go to. I find it's good for helping me to keep practicing- otherwise I find I just never get round to drawing actual things that aren't stylized or from my head! 

The black line one took me about a fifth of the time the pencil one did! Black line has always been my default medium. I think that is starting to change now though... I love the depth you can create with shading. I know it is possible to create that too with black line but i really love the way pencil can be reeeeally soft or really quite dark and black. I like the way you can make things look very wispy and ghostly with a pencil. Also I like that the line is variable- something you can't get with a fine liner pen.

Anyway that's all for now. At some point today I am going to try and make one of the Halloween costumes in real! Miniature size of course.  I tried to make one last night, a red and black witches tutu (which I will show you soon!) and now there are trails of tiny black tulle triangles all over the house.  There's something about tulle, tiny bits of it kind of grab on to your clothes and then drop themselves everwhere...

Rag Boy

I've been working on character design for my kids book that I am illustrating at the moment. I don't really want to write too much about it because ultimately I want to get it published (I've been working on it for three years now! It's my baby!) This is why I haven't updated much lately because I'm wary about putting it on the internet. Here's a teeny tiny sneak preview of the first draft for one of the characters: On Sunday I went to Starbucks in Norwich and sat at the bar thing at the window where you can see all the people sitting outside. Had to draw them quite quickly because they kept moving and leaving. Here are my top three favourite looking people that I saw:
I love deep deep brackets, wish I had them:
This guys friend left a WHOLE peach and pomegranite frapucino on the table:
It's weird, these people will never know they're immortalized on paper from that morning. It's like photography, I always wonder how many random tourist photographs that I'm in the background of without knowing.

Me and my friend Bruno (who does 3d animation) are going to make a book about a little rag boy who goes on some kind of adventure round London. We havn't quite decided on the story yet. This is a really quick first sketch I did of the little rag boy while we were talking about ideas over msn:
I really like the colours orange and black together at the moment. It's probably something to do with Halloween just gone and all those pumpkins!
This^ was my favourite carved pumpkin I saw this year! (by Rebecca Poole) Cat shapes are cool. I love them.

Grumpy Cat

This is Isadora the witch
She has a grumpy cat.
And these are some sketches I did in Letchworth the other day
Not a big fan of Letchworth
There's nothing to do there
and it reminds me being at school
and having to take subjects like MATHS :s

Anyway on a more positive note
It was nice and sunny
And it's nice and sunny today too! :)
Which is good because I am going to a garden party.

Letchworth Arcade^

Dorrie the little witch

These were some of my absolutely favourite books when I was little. Slightly creepy but very adorable. Dorrie is a little witch who's hat is on crooked and who's socks never match. She lives with her mother the big witch and her cat Gink. Dorrie and Gink get into all sorts of mischief. The illustrations are usually done in one or two colours which I think adds to their charm.One of the books i specifically remember is 'Dorrie's play' but I can't seem to find it ANYWHERE! It never ever comes up on ebay or anywhere else really which is a shame. I wonder why.

Fairylights Muncher

These are more ideas for the conversation piece brief. I really like the top one although I might put a background in it like some stripy wallpaper or something. I'm not sure that it needs it though.I need to work on faces a lot more. i do not like the one below as much and I am not sure that it works as well for the brief but never mind.
And yay for my 'Ottoline and the yellow cat' book arriving today! :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! (for midnight)

The Family Portrait

Its Christmas Eve tomorrow! :) I am so excited! I decorated the tree the other day ON MY OWN. My sister and brother are too lazy to help do it now. It is all red and gold with tinsel and chocolates and stuff on it :D Ive been doing a lot of practicing drawing faces, especially mens face because I find it really hard to draw men's faces so that you can actually tell they are men and not women with short hair.

I tried to draw some pictures of my family but after a while i gave up and traced pictures of them instead so that they have more of a likeness. I am going to give the drawing to my Dad, my Grandad and my Grandma for Christmas.I am the one wearing the cat hood.

I reay admire the illustrators Tony Ditlerizzi and Chris Riddell for the way that they are able to draw such characterful faces.

ALSO i bought some half price pink fluffy fairyights today!