Quick Commission

I'm in the middle of the Christmas rush, hence the lack of posting.  But the end is in sight and to fill the gap here's a commissioned caricature for Mark Butler the Federal Minister for Health & Aging (unless he's lost his portfolio in the reshuffle, but I haven't checked...)

Super Baby

Today I received, hot of the presses, a series of children's books I illustrated earlier in the year.

It was an interesting job, as 3 of the 6 books were to be redrawn and updated from their original version in the 80s and I needed to match the original illustrator's style - then use that style to illustrate 3 new books.

The style was definitely something I hadn't done before and it was that challenge that interested me.

Visit the Super baby website to check out some more illos and some cute stories with good morals!

The Roger Project

One of the special moments of the Stanley Awards night was when Roger Fletcher, the man behind stalwart Australian cartoons Torkan and Staria, was presented with the "Roger Project".

The project was a book that contained 35 artists showing their appreciation for Roger's work and I was lucky enough to be asked to contribute.

Roger is a top bloke and has done an enormous amount for the industry in Australia and below is my contribution to the book and a small token of my appreciation. 

It's digital mixed with india ink.

Staney Awards 2011

I've just gotten back from the 2011 Australian Cartoonists Assoc Stanley Awards and Conference in Sydney.

As always it was full of learning, laughing and drinking and was something I was really looking forward to (especially as I was taking my dad with me for his forst foray into the dark world of cartooning).  The conference was over two days and was the most full on one I'd ever been to.  It started with Anton Emdin showing us his inking style and finished offf on Saturday with Glen Lelievre talking us through how to get a cartoon into the New Yorker.

I've made it as abridged as I can, because the amount of amazing work I saw from the likes of Ronn Cobb, Reg Mombassa, Leigh Hobbs, Cathy Wilcox, Stephen Axelsen, Roger Fletcher, Dave Follett, etc would take me all day to explain and I have work to catch up on...

The Saturday night awards were great as always and congrats to the big Winner on the night Anton Emdin!  He's terribly talented fellow and all round nice guy.  Congrats to Anton for his Gold Stanley and all of the other winners. 

I was lucky enough to be nominated for Caricaturist of the Year, but was beaten out by David Rowe, who's had a great year and is never off his game.

Just testing mobile upload...

Just testing

Promo Piece

Here's a promo piece I just finished for my agency to potentially go in Contact 2012 an illustration directory in Europe.

Movember Prints

Movember (prostate cancer charity) has sprung upon us once more.  Now I can't grow a moustache to save myself, let alone save a bunch of other dudes, so I've devised a plan to raise some cash for the charity.

Click on "The Many Faces of the Moustache: A guide to Pronunciation" below and it'll take you to my profile at Redbubble where you can buy it as prints, posters, postcards, and iphone cases.  I've whacked a 40% mark up on the production costs which I'll donate to the cause.

If you haven't heard of Movember head here to check it out.

PIG

it's a public holiday here so I have a legimate excuse for avoiding work - and I've done so by doing a 45 min sketch of a pig.

Vincent Price for Caricaturama 3000

Here's a "quick" (2.5 hours) painting of Vincent Price for Caricaturama 3000.  I recorded the painting process, like I did the Kobe Bryant, caricature but the program packed it in and I only captured the last bits, but have a look if you want to.

Promo Postcards

I got a stack of my promotional postcards from my agenct Lemonade today.  They look great and hopefully they'll get the attention of some people who need pretty pictures painted...

Pug Prints!

This is the first of a limited edition of prints of my Pug caricature I'll be selling.  I've had a great response to it and now you can have a copy in your own home.  This first print was a test to see if the printer did a good job and they did! 

It's an archival print on Canson Rag Photographique 100% cotton museum grade white Fine Art paper.

Hand signed and numbered (#1) if you're interested send me an email or message and I'll get back to you with the price.

Australian Cartoonists Association Yearbook Online

Just in time for the Stanley Awards voting, the 2011 Australian Cartoonists Yearbook is online now for all to see.  So jump on the link here and have a squiz at the work of the Australia's best* cartoonists!

*I'm also in there...

The other Canberra Times bits and bobs

Here are the other Canberra Times illos I did for last Saturday's and Monday's paper.

Canberra Times

I'm doing a bit of fill in work for the Canberra Times this week while they're a bit understaffed in the drawing dept.  Here's Tuesday's and today's piece with a couple more to come.

If they're out of context you'll just have to read the paper!

PUG!

it's a pug.

Carmelo Anthony

Here's the other promo illustration I did for the agency promotion.  NY Knick Carmelo Anthony

NYC Agency Promo Illustration

My new agency Lemonade have just officially opened their new office on 5th Ave in NYC!  I contributed a couple of NY-centric paintings for the promotional A1 poster/postcards they're sending out to their US client list.

Here's the poster (with me down the bottom)

And a close up of my painting of Yankee Derek Jeter...

Speedpainting

Here's a speedpainting of Kobe Bryant.  It was completed in a little over two hours (ignore the time on the movie title...I wish I was that fast).

It's more an experiment in the recording process than the caricature itself, but it came up alright.

sketchy sketchy: Style experiments...

Friday fun times!

Here's a illo I did as a bit of fun, mainly to have more of a play aournd drawing fur, which sucks.  I usually just use basic PS brushes to paint but I enlisted the help of one of Chris Wahl's custom PS brushes ) that he has kindly made up for all of us to download for free) for the bulk of the fur.

What a lovely chap.

idle hands...

I had a quiet day on Friday, waiting for clients to get to me with feedback, so the latent narcisist in me made me do a self portrait.

It was done on PS, and all on the one layer, except for the late addition of the well arty sploshes and spots.  nice.

The 3 Beardos...

I just got a hard copy of this in the mail today.  It's a caricature by Jason Chatfield of Himself, Anton Emdin, and Me that's been used in the latest Inkspot magazine as the title image for our combined journal of the Reuben Cartoon Awards in Boston in May...

I didn't think of it at the time but we did all have facial hair of varying degrees of success in Boston...In the image you can clearly see Anton holding up his award for growing the only real beard...congrats.

New Cover

Here's the cover of the latest Australian Cartoonist Association Magazine "Inkspot" featuring my caricature of Reuben Award winning illustrator and drinking buddy Anton Emdin.

It's come up alright...

Website Illustrations

I worked with a local company RPS Industries as they overhauled their website.  It's gone live so I guess I'm allowed to show some of what I did for them.  It involved cartoons for buttons and then larger illustrations that needed to be like jigsaw puzzles to allow for mouse hover functions to select different elements.  It was a bit fiddly, but it seems to have worked.

2011 Stanley Award Submissions

This is the post to show the work that I've submitted for the 2011 Stanley Awards .  If you've dropped by from the year book, it appears I spelled the link correctly!  Below are my two submissions for Carictaure and Media Graphic Artist repectively. 

I realised when I was putting my submissions together that I'd actually done a lot of the Media Graphic stuff this year through posters, graphic facilitation and website illustration, when I hadn't done much of it before.  It's funny how that happens!  The post above this one shows some illustrations that I did for a website that has now gone live, so check that out too...

Caricature

 and Media Graphic Artist

Thanks for looking

My New Illustration Agent!

 I'm really excited to announce my new international illustration agent...

They have two offices in the UK and are getting bigger and better with an impressive list of artists and clients.  We really see eye to eye and that's the best possible way to start!
Here's the post on their blog:

"BLUMING' MARVELLOUS WORK LUKE!

We are overjoyed to welcome, award winning, Aussie artist Luke Watson to our roster.

He has already made a huge impact here, as you can see from this superb caricature of Heston Blumenthal. Luke is a prestigious digital painter and has lots more work on our site. We are sure you will be as impressed as we are!"

 

Draw on watto, draw on...

Cadel Evans' Big Win and Bum Chin

It's my wife's birthday today and in honour of that I'm not drawing her, as is her wish.

Instead, Australian cyclist Cadel Evans won Le Tour De France last night so I'm gonna draw him and his bum chin...good times.

Here's a WIP after about 45 min this afternoon.

Vulture Sketch

Been busy with commissions so heres a sketch that've had lying around for a while to keep this thing updated.

Shrinks!

My mate and amazing cartoonist Anton Emdin has a new cartoon strip up and running called Shrinks!  It's an agony aunt piss take, where he enlists some great comedians to answer your questions that he illustrates.

It's a great concept, beautifully executed and I got in early.... and he needs new questions so hit him up!

Bear WIP

Kanye West

Here's another promo piece, this time of Kanye West (please note head is actual size)...

Kanye WIP

New merch available now!!

New Chicks with Dicks t-shirts, hoodies, etc available now!


I GOTSTA HAVE ONE!