Pet Portraits - Bolin and Asami

 Morning Everyone!

Sorry for being a bit quiet on here recently! 
I've been meaning to share this commission with you all for a while but work has been getting in the way. But, I assure you, it's worth the wait!

I don't know if any of you recall a themed pet portrait I did waaaaaaay back in 2017!!?
I was commissioned by our pal Tom Curry to draw his friend's pet cats; Mako and Bolin, as their Fire and Earthbending namesakes from the Legend of Korra, sequel series to Avatar the Last Airbender.
Okay, it was 4 years ago. I won't blame you if you don't remember, so click right here to check it out!

So 4 years later (having binged all of Avatar the Last Airbender during Lockdown, and now currently watching Legend of Korra myself!) I was approached by Tom's friend to draw an updated portrait of their Avatar cats!
Now I'm all clued up on the lore I was so psyched to have another go at drawing these guys! Sadly I learnt that poor Mako passed away, however Bolin is not on his own as little Asami has joined the family.
Without further ado; here's your boy Bolin, showing off his Earthbending skill, and introducing Asami for the first time, with her lightning gauntlet!

This portrait is A4 landscape and coloured using Copic Markers!

Do you have a pet named after your favourite fictional character or person? Would you like to see them drawn as their namesake? Get in touch and I could draw a portrait like this for you!

Sector 13; the 2000AD Fanzine - Law of the Wild!

 

Hey Everyone!

In my last post I hinted at some comics work I've been quietly working away on, so let me take the time to give you lot a bit of background on what this project is all about!

During the first Lockdown last year I was approached by Peter Duncan about contributing some material to an extra special edition of his all ages anthology SPLANK! It was Peter's intention to showcase the wealth of British comics talent with a special bumper issue of his comic during the time when COVID 19 meant comic conventions and fairs had to be cancelled, as well as collect donations for NHS charities to help those who needed it most during this difficult time.
I took Peter up on his kind offer and used it as an opportunity to revive my own anthropomorphic, autobio comic strip; Paws for Thawt! 

The free digital download for SPLANK went live on May 28th 2020. If you missed the launch post you can read more about it here!
I can also happily say that since this issue of SPLANK! my Paws for Thawt webcomic has kept going strong! I'm continuing to post weekly updates on the Paws for Thawt Tumblr and Instagram pages so give them a like and a follow to stay up to date!

Anyway, you're probably wondering what all this has to do with this latest project and Sector 13!?
Well, after my involvement with SPLANK! Peter introduced me to the 2000AD Fanzine he is Editor for and presented me with the script for a short anthropomorphic he thought would be a perfect for for my illustration style!

Sector 13 itself is a strictly non-profit 2000AD tribute comic founded by the Belfast-based fan group of the same name. What started as a compilation of articles and photo stories featuring the groups cosplayers, has turned into a high quality A4 sized publication teeming with talent from the British indie comic's scene! You can read more about Sector 13's story and get hold of previous issues over on Peter's website: BOX OF RAIN
Or check out the Sector 13 Facebook page for regular updates and news!

The story that I'll be working on for this next issue is called "Law of the Wild" written by the fantastic Ed Whiting!

Ed has written stories for Sector 13's pages previously, making his debut with his 50's throwback Futureshock story "Lethal Weapons" April this year! Ed has also produced his own self published comic "Bigger Fish", a 44 page gritty crime story set in the New York of the early seventies. Bigger Fish is available from Get My Comics (follow the indie tab and then look under B for £5.99) https://getmycomics.com/Release/Indie

"Law of the Wild" is a quirky anthropomorphic, sci-fi based, hard boiled detective story! It combines sci-fi body swapping ideas with the seedy criminal underbelly of a noir detective story, all told with quirky anthropomorphic characters! It's so much fun!! Here, to wet your appetites for what's to come, I'll share some character sketches for two of our main characters! Colt Winchester is this story's super cop! A gruff, no-nonsense detective who's not afraid to get his hooves dirty in the fight against crime! He's a horse by the way!

Inspiration for Colt came from a combination of Bojack Horseman and one of my favourite anthro comics of all time; Blacksad by Juan Díaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist). Seriously if you haven't heard of it check it out! It's incredible! 


Next up we have this villainous venomous viper; Sebastian Ssstan! Sebastian is our story's criminal mastermind, highly intelligent and superior, he might get away with his heinous criminal operation if it weren't for Colt's meddling!
Sebastian was mostly inspired by the Disney characters; Sir Hiss (Robin Hood) and Kaa (Jungle Book) with a nice dash of the stereotypical Supervillain aesthetic.

If you liked to look of these guys, then keep your eyes peeled for the reveal of more character concepts soon!

Don't forget to give the Sector 13 Facebook page a like in order to keep up to date with upcoming news and sneak peeks for this story and the rest of the issue's content, as well as any snippets I might share on my own social media!

Pet Portraits - Westley the Dachshund

Morning you lot!

How are we all doing? 

I hope you all managed to enjoy the weekend, despite the crazy weather!?

When I'm not trying to dodge sporadic showers while on dog walks, or on my commute to and from work, I'll be working on a new comics project! This exciting lil strip will be featuring in the 2000Ad fanzine, Sector 13!
Some of you may have seen lil snippets and teasers on my Instagram and wondered what I'd been up to, well I can confirm that this strip is in the works! Keep an eye out for some panels and sneak peeks on here soon!

Today however, I'll be sharing a portrait of a very sweet lil pooch from the US!
This adorable lil long-haired Dachshund is Westley!

Westley's Full-Body style portrait is A4 in size and coloured in a traditional style using pencil.
This portrait was commissioned as a gift to Westley's owner, if you have a friend who's pup means the world to them then a pet portrait would make the pawfect gift! 

Pet Portraits - Doris the Golden Retriever

 Hey Everyone!

It's the end of April already! When did that happen!?
Does it still feel like, despite lockdown easing, the days are still slipping away from us!? I don't know about you, but during lockdown the days all merged into one and went by without notice. This time, now things are slowly returning to normal, it feels like my days a fuller and I've more things to do! Which still makes the time fly by!

Still, I'm thankful to be able to slow down and appreciate our green spaces while out on dog walks every day. What makes those times extra special is when Lupin gets to play with some of his friends...
One such friend is actually the subject of today's post!

Let me introduce you to the most gorgeous Golden Retriever!

Doris is the sweetest, softest girly ever, her and Lupin love playing together! Her headshot type portrait, like most of the others, is also A4 in size and coloured in a traditional style using pencil colours.

As a little bonus, here're some photos of Lupin and Doris having a good ol' play sesh!

Pet Portraits - Meg the Jack Russell

 Hey Everyone!

I hope you all had lovely weekends!?

They say that great things come in small packages, and that couldn't be truer of this little lady!
Let me introduce you to a big personality in a small pup, it's Meg the Jack Russell!
Meg is a hell of a character, loud and sassy, she makes sure she's not overlooked. Now she'll be centre of attention with this pet portrait!

 

As with all the pet portraits posted previously (try saying that 10 times fast!) Meg's Headshot type portrait is A4 in size and coloured traditionally using pencil colours.

If you've got a pup with big personality that deserves their very own portrait, then please get in touch!

Pet Portraits - Stue the Silver Tabby

Good Morning everyone!

I hope today finds you all happy and healthy!? 

The weather this week is certainly helping!

I got a bike for Christmas and having been furloughed I hadn't the opportunity to benefit from the shorter commute to and from work till now! This lovely sunshine, with still a little crispness to the air, is making that commute really enjoyable! As I said in my last post, I've found returning to work a bit of a shock to the system, but starting the morning with a lovely cycle ride is helping maintain a positive attitude.

Anyway, let me introduce the subject of today's pet portrait;
This stunning Silver Tabby is Stue! I don't get asked to draw many cats, so this was a welcome change of pace from all the dog portraits I've been producing lately. 

We gotta show our feline friends some love too!

Stue's Full Body type portrait is A4 in size and coloured in a traditional style using pencil colour.
If you would love to see your beloved pet immortalised in their very own portrait like Stue's then please get in touch!


WAIT! There's more!!
I went and did another Time Lapse recording! 
Once more this is the colouring process for Stue's portrait, from start to finish. The original length of time spent colouring here is about 2 hours!
Enjoy!!

Pet Portraits - Sabre the Rescue Headshot

 Hey Everyone!

Have the shops been busy where you are?

I've now had two shifts back in work and after yo-yoing in and out of furlough for the better part of a year, I expect I won't be the only one feeling strong social fatigue by the end of this week...
Don't get me wrong, it's been lovely to reconnect and catch up with my work colleagues and to feel some sense of normality and routine once more! But after 4 months with mostly just my partner and my dog to talk to, I feel like I've become a little more introverted. And now to go back to spending 8 hour days interacting with the general public in a retail environment... it's going to take some getting used to!

So if you are planning on squeezing in a bit of retail therapy, now that more businesses have re-opened, in this last week of the Easter Holidays, then I hope you do so safely and sensibly. And please be kind to us socially awkward retail workers, who've been talking to no-one but our pets for the last 4 months!

Anyway, from talking to our pets to a pet who looks like he's great at listening!
You might recognise the subject of today's post as the lovely Pointer-mix rescue dog, Sabre!
This portrait is the 4th and final in a series of Full Body type portraits and Headshot type portraits depicting Sabre and his American Bulldog sister, Winnie.
If you missed all the previous portraits you can view them in detail here:
Winnie Full Body
Sabre Full body
Winnie Headshot

This Headshot is the twin to Winnie's casual pic, so without further ado here is Sabre! Ready to listen to all your troubles!

The entire series of pet portraits featuring these two, have all been A4 in size and coloured traditionally using pencil colours.
A huge thank you to Rachel and Julia for commissioning this amazing little series, I have really enjoyed drawing these two beauties! And to Charlotte, Winnie and Sabre's hooman mum, who was gifted these portraits for her birthday. I have had so much fun getting to know these two pooches, thank you for sharing all the photos!

I'm gonna sign off now by sharing with your some photos I took of this series of portraits before they got sent off to their forever home!