• Huion asked me to review the Giano or WH1409 Wireless Graphics Tablet. Just in time as my old Wacom intros was falling apart! I’ve not been paid to make this video, but I do get a small commission if you buy from my Amazon links – but you pay no extra. This helps me to make more videos!

    I’d often thought about buying a Huion Tablet, but the battery pen always put me off. I’d always thought it would be heavy… but Huzzah! It’s not! Actually I’d say it is lighter and more comfortable – the Wacom pen is pretty clunky.

    The tablet is wireless. There is an 8gb usb disk/stick hidden underneath, which doubles as the wireless dongle. It also has all the driver files and extra manuals saved onto it, so you are ready to load the drivers and get to work.

    You charge up the pen and the tablet with usb cables and the tablet can also work independently as a usb tablet. The wireless charge gives you about 40 hours of work time on one charge.

    There are assignable keys, but I never use them, as I’m so used the keyboard short cuts. I think most graphic artists are like that.

    I never use a mouse. I did a massive animation project once that nearly gave me RSI, I’ve only ever used a tablet and pen since and can work comfortably all day.

    If you get mouse strain in your hand, GET A TABLET BEFORE YOU DAMAGE YOuR HANDS!

    I’m very happy to recommend this, the build quality is great and it is sooooo much cheaper that the wacom equivalents – across the whole range too.

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  • Learn how to draw a swallow in flight and then paint it in watercolour

    I saw my first swallow yesterday, which does not make a summer, but it’s always a great and cheering site to see them back for the summer.

    I’m also drawing illustrations for a new book written by Michael Morpurgo at the moment. It’s a series called Mudpuddle Farm, and there are swallows in the story, which I have been drawing this week. See more here 

    Also if you want to draw clouds, try this video

    Here is a great video about swallows
    and a brilliant bbc video of Swallows Drinking While Flying – Slow Mo!

  • New Book – New covers

    Twenty nine years ago, I illustrated a book for an up and coming author called Michael Morpurgo. He’s done quite well for himself since!

    The book was Mossop’s last Chance, a sad story about a farm cat that was past his expiry date. Fiona Kenshole, my editor at A&C Black, had a vision that she manifested in the groundbreaking Jets series.

    Jets were such anew idea. Fiona had seen what “desktop publishing” could achieve. Computer artwork and typography was very new and had released type from boring straight lines. Why not let the illustration flow around the text and include the text in ways that were appearing in trendy print?

    We didn’t have a computer! In fact I got a computer capable of doing interesting things before my publishers did!

    So in the beginning we faked it. if the text needs to be on a curve, then we cut up each word or even letter and pasted it down – the origin of the phrase cut and paste. I say we… I did t the book layout and pate up and drew around the text to get it to fit nice and tight. Integrated text, we called it.

    One of the first 6 in the famous Jets Series

    I received the fearfully expensive typesetting in a long roll and had to cut Michael’s story up with scissors to paste down on the pages. Speech bubbles I drew with hand-lettering.

    Inadvertently, Michael taught me how to write while I was doing this. Being so intimate with his text, I “saw” how he constructed his stories. Fiona then taught me how to edit and I was away.

    Mossop’s last chance was one of the first Jets. The series was huge success. I went to to write and illustrate my own Jets books, Grandad’s concrete garden and We won the Lottery.

    We made six books books together in the Mudpuddle farm series. Being a farmer himself, I always felt that Mudpuddle Farm was close to Michael’s heart.

    9 million happy meals!

    In 2012 9 million copies of Mudpuddle farm were given away in a McDonald’s Happy Meal promotion!

    There was life in the old series yet.

    Harper Collins had always done the paper backs. A&C Black had meanwhile been bought up by Bloomsbury.

    HC Have now taken over the Mudpuddle series and we are starting again.

    Michael has written two new stories which I am illustrating at the moment. They will be bound together in a two story book called Hee-Haw Hooray! It should be out this summer, if all goes to plan, along with new versions of the previous six, all ion their new-style, brightly coloured jackets.

    It’s both thrilling and weird to be doing the books again. Weird because I’m copying my drawing style of so long ago. I started out thinking I would draw things so differently now, but now I’m in the swing of it, Im really enjoying going back to the naiveté of my younger self, but with added experience. I’m certainly a lot faster than before – and I remember I used to get blisters on my fingers from using the old rOtring isograph pens!

    I’ll keep you up too date with the project as it proceeds. I’f wished the first story, now on to books two!