Month: December 2021
Dinosaur Park Set design/storyboards
DIno Park Ad & Creative
Often in my role as a storyboard artist I can work on a project and never hear of it again – projects get cancelled, clients decide to use another concept – many reasons.
But I thought I’d show an advert by one of my clients, NeamTV, for the VTech playset “Toot Toot Friends.” It’s got my dabs all over it.
First of all, I was hired to create the back drop of the set. Here’s a few images from the set of my artwork, printed IRL at huge size.
In addition, I was asked to storyboard this advert:
…and here’s the final broadcast advert.
Geeks
Another 2000AD related post. Drew some Geeks from one of my childhood favourite stories, “The V.C.s”. Sketchbook doodle > paint > to a couple of finals.
Harryhausen
HarryHausen.
Ray Harryhausen’s films left a deep impression on me as a child—those Sunday mornings watching Jason and the Argonauts, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, or Clash of the Titans became formative visual experiences.
The creatures, movement, and atmosphere still sit somewhere near the core of how I imagine and make images.
This series began during the lockdown, with a drawing of Calibos from Clash of the Titans. Since then, I’ve returned to Harryhausen’s world again and again, building a loose collection of drawings and paintings that pay tribute to his iconic stop-motion creations. The project is ongoing—I’ll add to it each time a new figure or moment insists on being drawn.
Portrait sketch dump
Portraits.
Early on in the 2020 lockdown, with a bit of time on my hands, I started to do a bit of digital archaeology and dug deep into my archival hard drives for the first time in years. Part discovery and part clearing away an accumulation of digital detritus I unearthed numerous dead projects, ideas, doodles and other crap.
One of the things that I found was a folder called “To Draw” where I’d stored images and reference for later study. From anatomical study, interesting faces or statues or, as in a batch of images, photos taken off the TV of some unusual guests on the late not-lamented-at-all Jerome Kyl-e show.
The Great Hall, Hampton Court Palace.
THE GREAT HALL.
3D Visualisation: Hampton Court Palace
This previsualisation project was created to help plan a wedding event set in the extraordinary surroundings of The Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace. Working from reference material and floorplans, I developed a 3D model of the space that captured the room’s major architectural features—most notably its stained glass windows, carved hammerbeam ceiling, and historic tapestries, some of which were likely commissioned by Henry VIII.
The challenge was to balance fidelity to these details with practical limitations on time and budget. The result is a set of images that reflect the grandeur of the space while providing a clear and useful visual reference for planning layout, lighting, and atmosphere. I handled all aspects of the modelling, layout, and visual rendering.
This is a pipe
This is a
Pipe
Specifically, it’s my Granddad’s pipe.
As a kid, I was always fascinated by the details – all the creases and folds, the fingernails. It’s a lovely object. Made of meerschaum, I think. My Ma cleared out the attic a few years ago and it finally came to me. My Granddad was a blacksmith, pretty handy with DIY I would guess. Not sure what he would make of my skills making the frame, but it’s framed and up on the wall.
Classic Computers
Functional Modelling
BBCMicro & Acorn Electron.
This project features 3D models of two iconic machines from the early days of home computing: the BBC Micro and the Acorn Electron.
Originally created for the book Acorn – A World in Pixels (published by Idesine), the models were developed using detailed photographic references, original manuals, and archival technical drawings to ensure accuracy and fidelity.
The models were built, textured, and rendered in Blender, and were first used to produce both wireframe illustrations and realistic renders for the extended second edition of the book.
In addition to the main machines, I also modelled a Cub monitor to accompany the set.
This model is currently available via Superhive (formally BlenderMarket,) with the Acorn Electron model to follow..
All assets are available for personal or professional use with appropriate credit (& $9.)
VirtualBeeb project.
Since then, they’ve taken on a life of their own—most notably as part of virtual.bbcmic.ro, an ambitious project developed by Dominic Pajak to recreate a working BBC Micro computer entirely in the browser.
The models were adapted and integrated to support a fully interactive user experience, allowing visitors to explore and use the virtual machine in real time. It’s a great example of how technically accurate assets can extend beyond static images and become part of a dynamic digital tool.
