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Author: JT
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Inn from the Cold – commentary
Last updated 15/5/22 – I’ll be updating this as I complete each page! Inn from the Cold is one of my self-penned picture books that has been waiting for its […]
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Waiting for the studio to open…
Well, I feel that I need to write a quick post because otherwise anyone visiting the site will think it’s been abandoned… We bit the bullet last year and forked […]
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In this, our city
Wahey! It’s done! This has been my project for the last few weeks. I’ve always loved drawing cities and I stupidly thought that this would be a pushover. Instead, I […]
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Tower Hamlets Creative Writing Competition 2022
Phew. Well my self-penned picture book is still requiring more revision and The Squeeping Catterwhip is still awaiting publication, and now’s my traditional December deadline for the creative writing poster. […]
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Half a competition is better than none?
I expected to see more discussions on the SCBWI social media pages in regards to why the illustration category of Undiscovered Voices was dropped. In fact, I at least expected […]
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That nagging self-doubt
The worst thing about subbing to agents ISN’T the rejection letters. It’s looking at the talent already on the books and thinking “my work is nowhere as good as that”. […]
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New proof of Inn From the Cold
Inn From the Cold is set in the far north during winter, so aside from the snow, moon and lamplight was originally very dark. The first proof was almost unreadable […]
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Covid and the Catterwhip
Of all the art from this book, I think the creation of this one will stay the longest in my memory. I vividly remember drawing this on the sofa, Huion […]
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First proof copy of the Catterwhip!
Incredible! The proof copy of The Squeeping Catterwhip has landed, and now it’s just a case of adjusting the colour and brightness of a few pages that are just too […]
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The Catterwhip – available now!
The Squeeping Catterwhip by Michael H Lester and illustrated by myself is now available to buy from Amazon!
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Bookends
These were the first two illustrations I completed for ‘The Squeeping Catterwhip’ – a commission from poet Michael H Lester. The sunrise painting was my initial reaction to the opening […]
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Burn brightly 2
My latest addition to the growing bank of assets for my pixel art Nevermoor. I feel I’m definitely getting the hang of stippling and shading now. I’ve been meaning to […]
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Timetabling!
As work on The Squeeping Catterwhip comes to a close (and I’m looking forward to actually posting the completed art here!), I’ve been bitten by the book-illustrating bug once more […]
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Nevermoor characters
Nevermoor is the first pixel art project I’ve worked on that I haven’t been able to use any existing character assets from other posters, at least without significant editing. Next […]
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Pixel art = virtual lego
Yeah, so I hadn’t expected this to be dead easy, but I hadn’t realised just how many new assets I’d need to draw from scratch for my pixel Nevermoor! Here’s […]
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Making a videogame
Okay, so this won’t be the first game I’ve started making (or even the 5th). I’ve been playing around with GameMaker studio for years, and did actually complete a game […]
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Returning to pixel art
I can’t wait to be able to properly post the competed work from “The Squeeping Catterwhip” – a poem that I’m currently illustrating. The finishing touches are being added, as […]
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Deadlock
It’s been years since I’ve drawn this guy. In 2000 (with my first computer) I made an animation based on the Henry Flint-drawn Deadlock story in 2000AD. It didn’t […]
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‘I am not alone’
Another creative writing competition! When I planned this one last August, I honestly hadn’t anticipated our glorious government being quite so incompetent as to take us back to square one […]
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Revisiting and revising
Not being able to visit friends and relatives, I’ve instead been revisiting some of my art from last year and quickly changing it’s status to ‘pending review’. Most of it […]
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The art of inferno
This is a scene from Hollowpox – the third book in the series – where Morrigan meets a wundersmith from the past. By this point I’d decided that Wunder manifests […]
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A Ghostly Hour…
Whilst I’m really enjoying Hollowpox, as I’m doing these largely for Instagram, I’m finding it tricky to choose scenes that are fairly ambiguous and don’t spoil things. That said the […]
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Burn Brightly
A quick drawing that turned into one of my most liked Instagram posts! This one is Morrigan opening the mysterious door in her room…
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Lady Kraken
Another illustration from Malamander. The reclusive Lady Kraken using her Cameraluna to spy on the town of Eerie-on-Sea.
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Boathook Man
The Boathook Man from Malamander by Thomas Taylor. I posted this on Instagram and got a thumbs up from the author which was great.
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She was alive
Morrigan Crow following her leap from the Deucalion roof. Still in progress – my initial draft is below. I really wanted to capture the early morning light and the warmth […]
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Step boldly!
A work in progress, as on the dawn of the new age, guests at the Hotel Deucalion leap from the roof, umbrellas in hand.
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Poor kitchen cat
Another tragic death in the Crow family. Morrigan didn’t kill Kitchen Cat, not that this fact stopped everyone blaming her.
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The arachnipod
Bluffing their way into the free state. This scene gave me an opportunity to properly draw the arachnipod. I’m currently taking advantage of the Covid19 lockdown to illustrate the whole […]
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Jupiter North
Jupiter North introduces himself at Crow Manor, after giving suitable warning as to his outstanding gingerness.
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The chase trial
Morrigan rides Fenestra in the chase trial, and Cadence takes a tumble… I’m going to continue working with limited colours on these scenes – my choice for this one was […]
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What time do you call this?
One of my favourite scenes from Nevermoor – when Morrigan first arrives at the Hotel Deucalion and is greeted by Fenestra the magnificat.
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Morrigan and the Wundersmith
My earlier take on this scene was ‘Confronting the Hunt’ (link below). I’ve been playing around with styles and this is my second Krita drawing on my new (old) EliteBook […]
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Shadow puppets
“I’m… gonna make…” Hawthorne said, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as he bent his fingers into a complicated, unrecognisable shape, “…a dragon.” Another illustration from Nevermoor, […]
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Morrigan and Corvus
I decided to return to Nevermoor (or Jackalfax in this case) as a break from my poetry-illustrating gig. I also wanted to have a shot at a different illustration technique. […]
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Not quite ‘doing a Thanos’
Hasn’t Thanos worked his way into the public consciousness recently? His callous wiping out of a seemingly random 50% seems to have resonated with us in these uncertain times – […]
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On a hidden island
A sneak preview of the artwork for the 2020 Tower Hamlets Creative Writing Competition that will be used as a poster design and book cover. It started as a Chris […]
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The sword in the stone
I should stop referring to this sword as ‘Excalibur’ as the majority of the re-tellings feature Arthur breaking this sword in his fight with Pellinore and later recieves Excalibur from […]
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Find that sword!
This was one of a pair for another SCBWI competition. I didn’t win but I enjoyed revisiting Arthur’s Britain for a little while. This was designed as a double-page spread […]
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Teacher’s book blog
A big part of my work with the Tower Hamlets Schools Library Services is recommending and evaluating books. My colleague started a teachers’ reading group a year or so ago, […]
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The trickster in the tree
I seem to be inventing a fantasy world that I should give a name to so that I can properly link all of the illustrations. I’m discovering that trees can […]
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Mermaid
I’m not sure why I got the inspiration to draw mermaids – I was doodling before a training session at work and found myself drawing tails on characters.
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City leviathan
I’m not entirely sure what to call this creature. I’d imagined it to be a bit like Philip Reeve’s traction cities, just as giant monsters.
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Shadowtooth
I fancied a change, so I went back to monsters – I may have been inspired by the cats I was drawing. I’m not feeling that my kids illustration is […]