Large Ego Collider

I worked on a couple of private commissions this week – trying to clear the backlog so I can work on a new (top secret) project. Well, I’ve told just about everybody I know what it is but I can’t publish anything on the web just yet. I’d be a crap spy.

Anyway, here we have a cartoon for a friend at work to give as a wedding gift. I was a bit more anally retentive than usual with my inking and colouring here. This was probably as a result of having seen some of Steve Bell's cartoons at a master class last week. My GOD those things pop out of the page at you – absolutely fantastic. There were a few of things that surprised me about his technique; firstly he works very small and also quite slowly (no wild strokes of the pen here), secondly he dumps loads of watercolour on the page and then uses blotting paper to take of the excess, and thirdly he does very few drawings before starting on the final piece. I got to show him some of my work but he didn’t say much about it – probably because I was nervously yapping away. Sorry, the cartoon:

I drew this cartoon for another friend at work to give to her father for his birthday. I’m afraid I can’t claim the credit for the Large Hadron Collider pun but the awful Higgs Boson pun is all my own work – well, can you do any better?

May Balls

I was secretly hoping I’d be asked to do the cover for the special May Ball edition of The Cambridge Student (The May Balls being the Cambridge University end of exam parties which take place in June – another quirk of this very old institution), but instead I was asked to do another cover for the magazine section, entitled Bridge. See my first attempt at doing one of these here.

The editor wanted a sort of ‘evolution of man’ illustration, depicting a line of students processing from the exam hall to the May Ball. The students leaving the exams were to look exhausted and depressed, but as they approached the May Ball they gradually assume more upright postures until they’re at the door bursting with new-found energy. Thinking about it, I should have included their deterioration during the night into droopy-eyed, grass-stained, beer-soaked inebriates, thereby completing the cycle of wretchedness.

Gender Agenda

Front cover for issue 2 of Genda Agenda, referencing a certain recent news story...

Pagan Punting

The Cambridge spring term is nearly upon us, which means TCS have started asking me for cartoons again. I had the time over the bank holiday weekend to add some colour to these drawings, the first of a pagan druid punting on the Cam, and the second of a couple whose pastimes are getting in the way of their relationship.

Make Insurance Funny

Quite a challenge I'm sure you'll agree.

These drawings were for an Insurance company who specialise in "high net worth individuals". They support the winner of the Young Cartoonist award each year by commissioning a drawing for their marketing material. A lot of the previous winners had set their cartoons in stately homes, so I wanted to steer clear of that and produce some cartoons in more unusual settings. Below are the 8 sketches I sent them, followed by the final cartoon based on the “Small Print” sketch. I hope you like them.