Pastures New...ish.

Sun setting over Hampton court the first night we moved here

Well, it's been a while, that's for certain. The last couple of years have been busy to say the least. First a move from Ye Olde City of Bath where I had been happily living for over ten years, to a place I'd never visited until recently...Kingston upon Thames.

In Bath I was a Bath bun's throw from the river Avon but now I can look out of my window at Old Father Thames as he slowly winds his way through Kingston, then Teddington, Twickenham, Richmond, Kew, Barnes, Putney and on further through Central London which is now tantalisingly close and easy to get to. Waterloo Station is a mere 20 minute train ride away and yet I'm lucky enough to look out over the Thames and over fields and trees that are part of the Hampton Court Estate which is just down the road. I didn't mention the car wash in between me and the river but you can't have everything.

A view from The Tate Modern balcony looking towards St Pauls and the city

So, here we are, fairly well settled in but I still haven't settled into a permanent studio as we have major plans to rearrange our apartment. Part of those plans include creating a larger studio space where I can spread out a bit more. I have enough room at the moment for my drawing board, my Mac and Cintiq and a few shelves but I miss having my collection of books, magazines and comics etc. close at hand for inspiration and reference. (most of which are still boxed up in the garage waiting for a new home). I've managed to squeeze in a couple of my guitars and an amplifier so that's all right.

A smaller space than my garden studio in Bath but I'm back to work in a new space.

There's a lot to catch up on but I'm really just kickstarting this blog back into existence and there's some catching up to do. More to come soon...

Illustration Workshop 2 - February 2014

click on poster for full view

Please note new start dates and times below.

Following on from the successful workshops from 2013, I am planning another a 10 week illustration workshop starting in February 2014 in my home town of Bath for a small group of people who are interested in having some fun with their drawing and painting.  This will be aimed at individuals of all abilities so whether you are serious about pursuing illustration professionally or just want to develop your skills further then this workshop is definitely for you!

Each session will be designed to explore and develop your own image making skills in which ever medium you feel comfortable with. I will be available to talk with each individual before the workshop starts so I can make sure I can cover the aspects of illustration you are interested in.

These are some of the topics I am looking to explore through the 10 week period:

Media and Techniques

Environment

Character Design
Composition and Layout

Sketching and Visualising Ideas

Sequential Narrative

Research and Development
Portfolios and Self-Promotion

The course will run from Wednesday 26th February until Wednesday 7th May 2014. It will consist of 10 x 2.5 hour sessions.  There will be a break halfway through on Wednesday 2nd April. I am hoping there will be an option to join either a morning or an afternoon workshop which will be confirmed when I start enrolling. 

The workshop will run from 10.30am until 1.00pm. 

Students will be asked to provide their own art materials that they wish to work with and I will provide a checklist before the course starts to make sure that you will have everything you need for each session. I personally work with both traditional and digital media so can assist you with either of those...or both!

Sessions will all take place at The New Oriel Hall, Brookleaze buildings, Larkhall, Bath BA1 6RA 
(see map below for directions)
The cost for the 10 week workshop will be £180 with concessions for students and senior citizens and the payment structure for the workshop will be this:

£60 to be paid in advance to secure your place on the workshop.

£60 to be paid one week before the workshop commences.

£60 to be paid on week 6 of the workshop.

If for any reason that the course does not go ahead, I will fully refund any payments you have made to me.  I won’t be able to make any refunds if you decide to leave the workshop before it has run it’s 10 week course.

I hope this helps with spreading out the payments and also allows me to reserve the room at the Oriel Hall for our use.

Places will be limited to enable me to spend time talking to each of you individually about your work and what you would like to achieve over the 10 week period.  The last workshop proved very popular and unfortunately I had to turn several people away so it is advisable to reserve your place early to avoid disappointment.

Students will also receive a 10% discount card towards art materials courtesy of the kind people at FJ Harris and Son once they have enrolled and paid their deposit.

To book your place on the course and for further information please email me: stevecox.info@gmail.com

If you have any other questions or suggestions I would be very happy to hear from you. If these particular dates and times aren't possible then please let me know what would work for you as I am planning other courses.

Please check back for more details and information as things shape up.

In the meantime, if you want to see the creative process of a children's picture book (recently published by Hachette August 3013) you can have a look on my Behance Portfolio site.  

It's in three parts:
The Cat and The Mouse and the Runaway Train - Part1
The Cat and The Mouse and the Runaway Train - Part2
The Cat and The Mouse and the Runaway Train - Part3

View Larger Map

Lords of Awards

I was delighted to learn that the Lords of War strategic card game which I spent much of last year working on, in terms of design and illustration was very well received at the UK Games Expo last weekend. Furthermore it scooped up the award for 'Best Strategic Card Game', beating other more established contenders such as Wizards of the Coast to the top spot.  Positive reviews of the game are rolling in, including one from Beasts of War here.

I am obviously quite chuffed with the reviewer's comments: 

"I can quite honestly say this is one of the best looking games you’ll ever play. The artwork for each of the factions is utterly astounding with character filled and colourful portraits staring up at you at every moment."

It's so nice to read something like that after so much hard work! The guys at Black Box were also working hard at the Games Expo and obviously over the moon when the awards were announced. Orders have started to flood in which is fantastic news.

click on image to read read article without a microscope.

The next game 'Elves versus Lizardmen is going to print as we speak and you can catch up with other breaking news on the Lords of War Facebook page.

Lost In Space

Suddenly...I seem to be working on several space/alien based projects at the moment. It's a bit like the comment Captain Kirk made to me about UFOs a long time ago... "You sit up all night waiting to spot one and then three turn up at the same time". How do they do that? Expect to see more bug-eye monsters and strange craft appearing over the coming weeks...

This was a quickie I knocked out in a couple of hours for my American agent for a promotional themed catalogue she does every quarter. The theme for this quarter was 'Family'. I wish I'd put a pet or something in there now as well...never mind.

Below are some quick sketch ideas for another project involving kid's alien/monster masks...some more successful than others.

Illustration Workshop

click on poster for full view

Website

I'm running a 10 week illustration workshop starting in September in my home town of Bath for a small group of people who are interested in having some fun with their drawing and painting.  This will be aimed at individuals of all abilities so whether you are serious about pursuing illustration professionally or just want to develop your skills further then this workshop is definitely for you!

Each session will be designed to explore and develop your own image making skills in which ever medium you feel comfortable with. I will be available to talk with each individual before the workshop starts so I can make sure I can cover the aspects of illustration you are interested in.

These are some of the topics I am looking to explore through the 10 week period:

Media and Techniques

Environment

Character Design
Composition and Layout

Sketching and Visualising Ideas

Sequential Narrative

Research and Development
Portfolios and Self-Promotion

The course will start on Wednesday 18th September 2013 and will run for 10 weeks in total. Each session will last two hours on Wednesday mornings from 11am until 1pm. Students will be asked to provide their own art materials that they wish to work with and I will provide a checklist before the course starts to make sure that you will have everything you need for each session. I personally work with both traditional and digital media so can assist you with either of those...or both!

Sessions will all take place at The New Oriel Hall, Brookleaze buildings, Larkhall, Bath BA1 6RA 
(see map below for directions)
The cost for the 10 week workshop will be £180 with concessions for students and senior citizens and the payment structure for the workshop will be this:

£60 to be paid in advance to secure your place on the workshop.

£60 to be paid one week before the workshop commences.

£60 to be paid on week 6 of the workshop.

I hope this helps with spreading out the payments and also allows me to reserve the room at the Oriel Hall for our use.

Places will be limited to enable me to spend time talking to each of you individually about your work and what you would like to achieve over the 10 week period. I have already started taking deposits to secure places on the workshop so hurry if you want to secure a place!

Students will also receive a 10% discount card towards art materials courtesy of the kind people at FJ Harris and Son once they have enrolled and paid their deposit.

To book your place on the course and for further information please email me: stevecox.info@gmail.com

If you have any other questions or suggestions I would be very happy to hear from you. If these particular dates and times aren't possible then please let me know what would work for you as I am planning other courses.

Please check back for more details and information as things shape up.

In the meantime, if you want to see the creative process of a children's picture book (due to be published by Hachette in August 3013) you can have a look on my Behance Portfolio site.  It's in three parts:
The Cat and The Mouse and the Runaway Train - Part1
The Cat and The Mouse and the Runaway Train - Part2
The Cat and The Mouse and the Runaway Train - Part3

View Larger Map

The Hunt For Smeagol

Final version 2013 - click on image for closer look

I drew the first version of this in 1983 with a biro in a sketch pad and have only just got around to doing something with it (where does the time go?). Of course Peter Jackson has embedded his own ideas of what Gollum and Gandalf should look like in his films. It's always tricky drawing stuff when you're up against that kind of thing. Anyway, I did the basis of this many, many years before the film was even conceived and based on my ideas I'd visualised when reading Lord of The Rings in my teens.  I might have to do a few more...

Biro version 1983 - click on image for closer look

There Be Dragons

Every 3 months this year my New York agent has been sending out promotional sheets in a catalogue for each illustrator she represents. Each one is themed and this one is simply called 'Movement'. As I'm up to my armpits in lizardmen for the Lords of War cards I thought it might be nice to keep things reptillian but go for a more classic children's book dragon with this. My rough sketch below the finished illustration shows the movement dynamic I was trying to get into the piece. The shape and size I had to work in was dictated to me so I had to fit everything into that shape. You can be the judge as to how successful I was! Always hard to know when to stop with this kind of thing but other jobs beckon so I guess I'm done on this one.