Lessons from Inktober 2021

Last October I managed to achieve something I’d been wanting to do for quite some time- a new picture uploaded (to instagram) every single day for a whole month.

I was a little scared to commit initially and threw some already completed artwork at it for a while before realising that I was going to have to pick up the pace and draw lots of new stuff.

Then I started doing-up partially completed sketches to keep the numbers up.

I also re-drew some artwork from my childhood, which was a huge boost of inspiration for me. It’s interesting to look back at that work and see the design choices that dominated. Lots of belts- final fantasy perhaps? Lots of Dragon ball Z-style suits with fabric sashes around the waist.

Eventually I ran out of candidates for pictures to finish and was forced to draw completely new stuff.

The result of all this hard work was …to lose a lot of followers on Instagram.

Looking back at the work its clear that the quality suffered towards the end. I was under a fair bit of time pressure and it shows. There was probably also a lack of consistency- something I’ve always suffered from perhaps, but I hate seeing artists make the same piece over and over. I like to tackle new stuff!

Not that I’m overly concerned with instagram followers. Social media is well documented to be a totally bonkers minefield. Early in 2021 I’d seen my follower count shoot up from about 100 to nearly 600- all while I stood back in bemused interest and did absolutely nothing. I hadn’t uploaded anything in months, and yet up and up it went.

So when the count stopped at 597 I couldn’t help but think that a little burst of uploads might push over that arbitrary line, like that mattered, and having a go at inktober might be the perfect time to do so. Well, that shows what I know, eh?

While it may have been a disaster from a self-promotion point of view, from a personal perspective I feel very glad to have done it. There’s a lot of value in consistently doing something every day. I also felt like I was really learning for a change. It’s hard not to refine when you’re tackling the same sort of thing over and over in such a short space of time.

The Brotherhood Cover art

Here’s some more cover art- painted late last year for a book that’s just launched- “The Brotherhood” by Phil Smith

A young woman scales a giant aqueduct overlooking dark city.
The Brotherhood: Full cover art

Here’s what the blurb has to say:

Paige has a secret. A terrible, horrible secret. The worst part: she doesn’t even know what it is.

Her elvish mother’s heritage set her apart. Her father’s secret ripped her world apart. And her sister’s capture tore her apart. Paige’s life wasn’t perfect, but she was happy. But when her village is attacked, her people slaughtered, and her sister taken hostage, Paige soon learns that her parents harbored a deep, dangerous secret – a secret her sister, Olivian, may end up paying the ultimate price for.

Running for her life, Paige stumbles into a small, but formidable ragtag Brotherhood of rogue warriors hiding in the forest. Her challenge now lies in convincing them to help her rescue her sister from the clutches of the same wicked prince who tore their lives apart, all while discovering the secret that destroyed her world in the first place.

Filled with heroic tales, thrilling action, and non-stop adventure, this first installment of the ‘Eirensgarth Chronicles’ will take both young adults and old alike for the quest of a lifetime one page at a time!

If you’re interested in checking out the book you can read the prologue for free over on https://www.eirensgarth.com/

The book is available for purchase on Amazon.com

The Brotherhood- Front cover art.
The Brotherhood: Front cover

As usual- I had a good time doing this. Book covers are one of the most satisfying things to illustrate. Thanks again Phil for the generous creative freedom!

Cover art for “Ozel the Wizard”

Here’s some recently completed work that I did for Author Jim Hodgson and his latest YA (young adult) series dubbed “Ozel the wizard.” Here’s the blurb from the back of book one- Apprentice Quest.

Cover illustration for book one: Apprentice Quest

A hopeful orphan. An incredible wizard. One boy must do the impossible to change his life forever…

Ozel wonders if he’ll ever escape his angry, fat caretaker. As the orphan hopes for a better future, a mysterious wizard gives him the gift of an apprenticeship and some unbelievable magic. But when Ozel discovers he’s the lone heir to a massive fortune, he’ll need more than a few spells to claim it. 

After learning his portly caretaker plans to steal the money first, Ozel races through a forest of blacksmiths, witches, and even the undead to protect his birthright. If he survives the treacherous Tangul forest, the orphan and his wizard may just have to stop a twisted mage to go from zero to wealthy hero.

Apprentice Quest is a young adult fantasy novel full of action and humor. If you like powerful wizards, twists and turns, and coming-of-age tales, then you’ll love Jim Hodgson’s worthy successor to the magical genre. 

Cover illustration for book two: Journeyman’s Trial

The last book in the series- Wizard’s Resolve– launched just before Christmas. If you’re looking for something that has wizards in it and doesn’t include all that tedious Quidditch nonsense then check it out over on Amazon.

Cover art for book three: Wizard’s resolve

It was a great pleasure to work with Jim, and hopefully the future will see many more opportunities to do so!

Prints available!

If you’re interested in purchasing any prints of my work please know that I’ve opened a print shop over on inprnt.com with a selection of my artwork

printshop

If anyone is interested in buying prints from me directly, or you don’t see the particular piece you’d like- just shoot me an email and I’ll get back to you when I’m able.

Please note that sometimes I can’t sell prints of particular artwork because the rights are owned by publishers or other clients.

Cheers!

Books

A couple of days ago I was delighted to receive a package I’d been eagerly anticipating. Books! With my art on the covers- the de-facto proof that someone else thought it was good.

The books in question are by the generous Mr Benjamin Mumford-Zisk. I’ve been reading and very much enjoying book one: “The Origami Man”. It’s always a delight to work with people that have some original creative vision.

If you’re interested you can read the first couple of chapters for free on amazon:
The Origami Man
A Farther Orbit

Cheers Ben!

I recently received a nice surprise in the mail- several books I did art for last year.

A few books from Capstone Press

I always enjoy seeing the final result of my work. Thank you to the lovely people at Capstone Press for the free samples.

Back To The Drawing Room

The inimitable folk-punk band Smokey Bastard have a new album out- and I’ve done the artwork for them.

Cover art for Back To The Drawing Room

Baba Yaga

The guys were good enough to do some music and put it on discs and stuff so we had something to wrap the artwork around!

…Just kidding. I’ve heard it, and its very good, and I’m chuffed I got to be involved. Other people seem to think it’s good too.

If you want to hear it you can find links on their site here: http://www.smokeybastard.com/

…or follow them on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/smokeybastard/