Alongside these babies I also started recovering a few ranges of books from similar fields, overseen by designer Nikalas Catlow, namely Horribly Famous (previously.... "Dead Famous) Ten Best's (previously....erm, Top Tens- I think) and "Totally...." (previously "The Knowledge")

The above pics are the Ten Best range- and these started me on the road to my own style, which seems to fit nicely with that of Tony De Saulles (Horrible Science) and Martin Brown (Horrible Histories) without treading on their toes.

Something really clicked with these and I'm really pleased with them. Loads more have followed and they flexed my illustration muscles enough to bring in other work too....

but more of that another time- I have a glass of vintage cider that won't wait any longer.

I'm sure I forgot something...

I have had a small amount of breathing space in what has been my busiest period of work in, like, forever!

Never one to complain *cough* I thought I'd dust off the blog and actually stick something on it....

.... so here goes

Scholastic have (Bless them) been giving me a bunch of work over the last couple of years, and it's been the making of me really- I've found a style that not only works, but I enjoy, and they really like what I've been doing.

I started working with them after a stint banging out artwork for the long running Horrible Science Collection partworks. They sped me up, and I really enjoyed the discipline of working in someone else's style- it was liberating, especially after years of banging my head against the drawing board getting nowhere fast.

It gave me a steady income (which was nice) and got me used to a more comic/cartoon style.

Off the back of the magazine work I started working on a set of new book titles under the Horrible Science banner- the Handbooks, of which I have done 5 or 6 now I think, with another due for artworking this summer.