The Idiot Trolls

All done.

March Update

Wow, here's me actually remembering to post something.

Been busy with character designs and a sample spread for a very exciting job, as well as the work-in-progress portfolio pieces you can see here. They're doubling up nicely as character design/concept illustrations for Roof Monsters, which is coming along pretty well. One of the trickiest bits has been getting it's child stars right, both as written personalities and visually (the Roof Monsters themselves are a doddle).

My other half/writing partner is not at all happy with the girl's current hairstyle, or indeed the shape of her head in general. I know better than to argue, so a makeover is surely imminent...


More about Roof Monsters some other time. I'll leave you with these process shots of The Idiot Trolls. I'm sure there's a picture book brewing in there...

Troll vs Goat - Process 2

Laid some more detail down on this one, although at least one of the troll's arms looks a little awkward; an afternoon's tweaking looks likely. It doesn't help that I've given him noticeably different proportions in the opening shot of the sequence...


... so yeah, time to start bringing them together.

Troll vs Goat - Process 1

The Three Billy Goats Gruff has always been one of my favourite fairy tales, thanks in no small part to Robert Lumley's delicious illustrations for Ladybird's Well Loved Tales edition. Lumley's troll, scary yet weirdly cuddly, has lurked in some primal cranny of my skull ever since. Plus it's got goats in it, and goats are superb.

I'm working on a short sequence to illustrate the story's climax. 1: Troll confronts goat. 2: Goat charges at troll. 3: Troll rues the day.

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?