Here’s a peek at the first three days of my Inktober challenge. I’ll probably post an update in a week or so. Even just a few days in I think the practice is making a difference. The brush pen is pretty tough to control, so it really does pay to use it a lot.
If you don’t know what Inktober is, have a look at my last blog post.
1. The Inkblot.
2. Space Dog.
3. The Island
I’m now happy to accept a new round of illustration commissions. Over the past few months I’ve completed over 40 commissions, so if you’d like some original, affordable art to hang on your wall, here’s how it works…
Commissions
If you would like to buy an original drawing, email me at rob [at] thisnorthernboy [dot] co [dot] uk , you can request one of the following:
A robot
A Spaceship
An imagined place
If there’s something in particular you’d like, that isn’t one of the above, just let me know – it might be something I’d be interested in drawing for you.
What you’ll receive will be a black and white pen drawing, on an A4 sheet of good quality, 200gsm cartridge paper. The artwork will be approximately 240mm x 160mm in size, centred on the paper so you can frame it easily if you’d like to.
You can also request for the illustration to be landscape or portrait in orientation.
Any other requests – type of landscape, style of robot etc. can be made, but there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to take this into account. I know this sounds a little strict, but I only want to accept commissions that I’ll enjoy drawing right now, and in return you get a lovely surprise when you open your finished illustration.
What will this cost?
I charge a flat rate of £60 including post and packaging for the UK, and £60 + post and packaging for the rest of the world.
When you email me to request a commission, if you can include the address you’d like it shipped to, I’ll work out the cost of postage and let you know. If you’re happy with the overall cost I can accept payment by PayPal.
When will you get your drawing?
I’ll aim to complete and post all illustrations within two weeks of receiving payment.
What might your commission look like?
Well, it could look a little like these…
My most recent commission was for a spaceship, with some steampunk influences. I wanted to keep it very much like one of my spaceships though, so it’s kind of an amalgam of my asteroid belt clippers, and some weird alt-history Victorian airship.
I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out, it was one of those rare illustrations that just flows nicely all the way from initial doodles right through to the final ink.
Finished Steampunk Spaceship.
Work in progress.
Initial sketch.
I’ve drawn a fair few cityscapes and imaginary places over the last few months, some of them purely personal, some have been commissions, some have been posted here before, some haven’t, so here they are collected in one place.
The first, City on the Edge of Nowhere, is one of my favourites.
City on the edge of nowhere.
I’ve always wanted to be an astronaut, and even now at 42 years old, I haven’t quite given up hope, so when Jeremy Marshall commissioned an illustration and said “… is there any chance of an astronaut featuring?” I jumped at the chance.
The astronaut.
Details.
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, or following me on Twitter, Tumblr or Instagram, you’ll know that between August 2013 and August 2014, I drew a robot a day for a whole year. It was quite daunting committing to a daily project of that length, but it was something I felt I had to do to get me in to the routine of drawing every day – a skill or habit that I’d need if I wanted to become an illustrator for a living. I think it achieved its purpose – I now get pretty restless if I don’t draw at all for a day, and I’m currently work on my first book illustration project.
I haven’t really drawn robots since I finished the Droid a Day adventure though, and to be honest, I’ve missed them.
Today I’ve given myself the day off from paying work to rustle up another droid, and I’m pretty pleased with the way he came out.
Droid V.366.0
Initial sketch.
Final inks.
A floating island, or a fragment of one. Not unlike the Kingdom of Laputa described by Jonathon Swift in Gulliver’s Travels.
Fragment of Laputa.
Rocks.
Lonely tree.
Drawn with Copic Multiliners on cartridge paper.
Floating islands are a continued theme with my drawings, more here and here.
The Giant’s Ring is a neolithic henge at Ballynahatty, on the southern edge of Belfast. The site dates from 2700BC – making The Giant’s Ring older than the pyramids.
The illustration below was inspired by a great photograph on Instagram by my friend Jonny. I’ve taken a few liberties with the landscape though.
This illustration continues my fascination with stones and henges.
The Giant’s Ring
Cloud details
Stones detail
Today, the 24th of March, is my birthday. I’m 42 years old. An important number for any Douglas Adams fans. For me it’s the age at which I’m hoping my third career begins. Roughly seven years working in and managing bars, 15 years as a designer, and now embarking on a quest to make a living as an illustrator.
My day started pretty well with some lovely presents, including some inspirational books, and a stuffed crow (I’ve called him Russell)…
Birthday haul
I’m currently on holiday, spending a couple of weeks in the Maldives, and enjoying the chance to get away from the day job for a while.
I can’t stop drawing just because I’m away though, in fact if I don’t draw for a few days, I get a bit cranky.
Here’s a little sketch that I did by the pool. The subject was suggested by my wife, and inspired by being surrounded by ocean.
this northern boy 