Character Designs & Experimental Space

Final options for the main character.  I think I am going to go for the last one, he has just the right mix of friendly grandad & quirky watchmaker that  I have been looking for.....finally! These were done with water colours and pens.

I am experimenting with different media and techniques to get a nice nebula & general space effect. The first image is water colour. The second image is two panels done with acrylic, one with the nebula colour underpainted before the black is laid down, the other with the nebula painted on top. I prefer the intensity of colours in the acrylics, but I prefer the effect of the watercolour....hmmmm....more experimenting I guess.

Almost ready to start on my first finished spread!

Fantastic Shaun Tan talk on ABC Big Ideas

Australian illustrator, author and Oscar award winning animator Shaun Tan is one of my personal favourites. His picture books are fantastically designed, wonderfully composed, beautifully coloured...simply magical. They offer readers of all ages a glimpse into strangely familiar worlds full of insight and humour.

Tan's choice of subject matter is not the normal affair for children's literature; 'The Rabbits' (written by John Marsden) is an allegory of colonisation, 'The Arrival' is a silent graphic novel telling an immigrant story and 'The Red Tree' is an ambiguous story about feelings of isolation. Despite the unorthodox subjects Tan weaves highly skilled painting, drawing, collage and a plethora of other techniques into lavished spreads  drawing together the familiar and surreal.

All in all I am pretty sure the sunshine is intrinsically linked with his posterior! But dont take my word for it, below are a couple of my favourite images to give you a flavour and a fantastic hour long talk Tan did last June for ABC's Big Ideas about his work and career. (All images copyright Shaun Tan) 

Shaun Tan: From Hillarys to Hollywood - Talk on ABC's Big Ideas

Shan Tans Website

Sketchbooks - Concept drawing

A few pages from my sketchbook showing some concept art for the children's book I am currently working on. It is a quirky, funny little story which I wrote a few months ago which should (hopefully) end up being a 32 page picture book playing on themes like the origins of the universe and cultural difference (I dont want to give too much away yet!).

These sketches were done using a standard 0.5mm HB mechanical pencil. I use them to nail down some of the disparate ideas I have for the story, playing with ideas for characters, compositional ideas, and motifs I want in the book. The final image is a flat plan I use to help me get an idea of how to break down the story and how I want to design the overall book.

Stay tuned to see how this develops over the coming months.