"I Was Built With A Smile On My Face" - Process 2

A bit of colour thrown on, and a couple of robots sent packing so the composition can breathe a bit...

"I Was Built With A Smile On My Face" - Process 1

The original plan for this one was to render it tightly in pencil and do the colours in Photoshop. It quickly wandered into digital execution territory instead, the graphics tab feeling that bit better suited to tackling intricate circuitry, metallic sheen and what have you.

The above illustration's part of a little package which I'm hoping might turn a few heads in game development studios - a package which will also include wide open vistas expanded from the scenic thumbnails in this pic.

Plus I've a slew of new print/poster designs on the go. There aren't enough hours in the day, I tells ye...

Upgraded Trolls

One of the perks/drawbacks of doing new - and hopefully more accomplished - work is how it can completely refresh your perception of your older stuff. Take "Trolls" above. I used to think the version on the left was one of my most complete efforts. Nice composition, kinetic, good colours, lighting, atmosphere etc.

But seeing it next to my recent take on Little Red Riding Hood made it seem like nothing more than a sketch. Just like that: Bam. All of a sudden it looked impossibly flat, which may well have been the intention at the time, but nowadays the plan is to give the viewer something they might be tempted to physically jump into. Whether the reboot on the right up there fits the bill, I can't say. Right now I think it's a giant improvement, but who knows what me in six months time will think?

January Part 2 - Damienne Hobbs Reflects

And here's a sneak peek of the other thing that's kept me glued to the monitor this month; my two favourite pages from a submission to New British Comics, a Polish/UK anthology due out in a month or two. I reckon I'm going to single out some of the better panels and just keep drawing, expanding them beyond the present perimeters, adding another few centimeters every month or so, so you get a series of ever-evolving, never ending illustrations...

January Part 1 - Hunter Stoke & Rusty Blue

Gawd, there was a hectic January. Just finished the above pics (from a series of five) for a stirring tale by Sam Rawlings, for an anthology of mythologically influenced illustrated short stories. It's out later this year from Lazy Gramophone - I'm looking forward to tapping my dancing peepers over the rest of it.