Monkey Mobile!

Summer is here, but nearly gone. No chance for a holiday yet. We’ve had rain today, the first in weeks… it comes as a bit of relief.
This is an early outtake from a recent stencil illustration project. I’m still rather fond of this monkey icon and thought it would make a fun wallpaper for [...]

Grandcamp Adventures – Treasure Maps

These two Treasure Maps were illustrated for Grandcamp Adventures, creators of a multi-platform children’s activity kit that promotes bonding between Grandparents and their Grandchildren.

The Tiger Takes Tea

The Fox, Tortoise & Sheep

This illo has been a long time coming. I sketched it ages ago and posted the b/w version of it on this blog. After several modifications it has finally been completed. It’s part of a series that started with this fox.

The Royal Mail Delivers!

Last week I had a pleasant surprise in the mail. Rather than bills and take-out menus a couple of print samples from Oxford University Press arrived. I contributed some illustrations too a couple of books published earlier this year from their Tree Tops series. It’s nice to see the illustrations in context.
Here are the samples in [...]

The Fox Returns to Japan

Yet another in this series of Fox illustrations. In this episode, our Fox character returns to Japan to gather news from his old friend a retired shinto priest convalescing at his mountain meditation retreat.

The Tiger Takes Tea!

This is one of a couple of recent sketches from the same series as the Fox character. It features his valet, the Tiger, taking tea with a dubious Snow Leopard character in a Tibetan café in Kathmandu.

Gung Hay Fat Choy – The Tiger Valet

This was an illustration created as a self promo and sent to clients and friends to mark Chinese New Years. The tiger is also a character from my ongoing Fox series — the gentleman Fox’s personal valet. A generic print version of this usually available n my etsy shop.
Here’s a detail.

The Fox, the Sheep & the Tortoise in Casablanca

This illo has been a long time coming. I sketched it ages ago and posted the b/w version of it on this blog. After several modifications it has finally been completed. It’s part of a series that started with this fox.
Set in Morocco’s most famous city Casablanca, this illustration introduces two new characters to the [...]

Elephant Party!

We recently bought this mobile for my 10 week old son. It has been a huge hit, and I couldn’t help but share it. It was designed and made in Denmark by Flensted Mobiles www.flenstedmodern.com or www.flensted-mobiles.com for kids.
This mobile keeps Cole active and entertained for hours a day allowing my wife and I to [...]

Beautiful Joe – Book Cover Illustration & Typography

This cover illustration for Beautiful Joe (Penguin Canada) was heaps of fun to complete. The story was written in the 1890’s by Canadian author Margaret Marshall Saunders but originally published under the name of Marshall Saunders.
The story was inspired by a real life dog who had been cruelly maltreated by his owner and was later taken [...]

Halloween at the illoLab studio.

Well, Halloween 2009 was a bang-up success. My wife and I must have given out approx. 10 kg of sugary treats! We were swamped in succesive waves and had to turn out the lights by 8:30. Fireworks in the park across the way were excellent, the most I’ve seen in a long time… it must [...]

Let Love Reign

One thing I’ve always found rewarding is working on simple illustrated icons. Much like logos, their challenge lays in the simplicity. How can you strip down the layers of unessential detail to review the root of the communication. Here’s a couple icons I have on hand. I’ll be digging some more up in the near [...]

How The World Began – Oxford University Press Book Illustration – Part 1

Here are some illustrations I contributed to Oxford University Press’s Myths and Legends series due out early 2010. My story is called “Tagaloa’s Rock” and is featured on the cover as well as grayscale spots inside intermingled with large lettered text. It’s based on a Samoan creation myth and is retold by author Fiona MacDonald.
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How The World Began – Oxford University Press Book Illustration – Part 2

Here are some more illustrations I contributed to Oxford University Press’s Myths and Legends series due out early 2010. My story is called “Tagaloa’s Rock” and is featured on the cover as well as grayscale spots inside intermingled with large lettered text. It’s based on a Samoan creation myth and is retold by author Fiona [...]

Wolf Fables – Oxford University Press

These are some illustrations I contributed to Oxford University Press’s Myths and Legends series due out early 2010. My story is called “The Wolf and the Goat”.  The illo’s appear intermingled with large lettered text and are aimed at readers at the grades 3 and 4 levels. It’s based on the Aesop’s fable of the [...]

The Wolf & Goat goes to Press!

Sorry for the delay in postings… I’ve been toiling over a hot Cintiq for a few weeks…
Earlier this Summer I finished of a dozen illustrations for a book of Aesop’s fables being published by Oxford University Press. The Book has now gone out for printing. It features several stories, each with illustrations by a different [...]

The New Fox Illustration – The Sequel!

Alas I’ve cleared off a few projects and am looking forward to starting the final colour illustration of a new fox painting. Here’s the b/w sketch I will be using as basis for the final.

New Year Promo 2009 – Wolf & Sheep Illustration

This promo was sent as a New Year’s greeting primarily to advertising agencies wishing everyone a Prosperous New Year.

Arctic Tales – Grayscale Illustration

This grayscale illustration was created in response to some recent trends. Times being what they are there’s bound to be a resurgence in publishing. In fact, there’s no reason why b/w illustrations can’t provide as rich an experience for the reader as colour. I’ve been experimenting with different digital techniques to find ways of creating [...]