I enjoyed the opportunity to work on a jungle background, or should I say foreground, for this picture. This helped to set the scene for something dynamic like an action film poster!

This is the front of a card made as a retirement card. 

It started as a simple caricature but then I had the idea 

to personalize it with text and additional drawings for 

the front and inside. The next picture is the inside piece.

Rock star in his bedroom with number one adoring fan, the family pet dog!

This was created for a 50th birthday, but it was suggested that I should be subtle with the number 50, and the family cats had to feature!

There are a lot of elements making up this picture; from the t-shirt to the pork scratchings. And of course the family pet dogs. But the main element which really frames the picture is the Mack truck, rendered in a bold comicbook style.

This illustration/caricature focuses on the imaginative creative writing of the subject. So there was a lot of scope for fantasy imagery but i had to be careful that this imaginative stuff didn't overpower the main focus, the subject!

I had started to do everything in full colour before I had the inspiration to 'knock-back' the imaginative thought 'balloon'.

This helps to give the picture the right balance, 

so that the subject is still the main focus, and it also suggests the illusive nature of the imagination. The picture was finally used for a book jacket cover, which gave me the opportunity for some graphic design.

My caricature's usually show aspects of a persons life; personal interests, hobbies, sport, work - and often family pets are included! I try to combine these interests in a visually appealing illustration.
As you can see here the subject is very keen on rugby. If you recognize the flag then you're probably a rugby fan too.

I've started of with this simple illustration because of the brilliant feedback that it received and also because the illustration demonstrates that 'less is more'. When i produced the pencil drawing I was not prepared for the client's  reaction. I usually produce a pencil sketch for client approval and then go into final 'inking' and colour. But in this case the client said:

the sketch is perfect, it doesn't need colour! Well as you can see I managed to get some colour in as I suggested that it might be a good idea for the tartan of the kilt! My initail reaction was that the picture needed colour but when I review it now I am in complete agreement with the client.