Christmas Korky

What a lovely Christmas it has been. Snowy too - what a bonus! Here's the Korky the Cat I did for the bumper Christmas Special of the Dandy this year. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve Kinetic Comedy

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring because they were all out at the Library in Islington chuckling at festive comedy. Get yourself down there tonite and check out Inel and the gang and enjoy their comic stylings. Here are the deets, it's bound to be a good night. And yes, thank you for noticing, I did draw the characters on the poster.

Olympic 50p

Did any of you enter that competition to see if you could get a fifty pence piece made up by the Royal Mint to celebrate the Olympics? I see that a few embarrassing efforts have started doing the rounds (oooh so much bitterness in one so old) so I presume I didn't place. This was my entry, but there's no chance of taking two of these down the Pound Shop to get a packet of Vimto Bon Bons.

Mini Gay Boy Friend

Well it's finally out, the game that I spent most of the Summer on has been accepted by the Apple Store and is ready to buy and for only 59p too. Now that's a bargain you can't say no to. This app is a dating sim, virtual pet and collection of fantastic mini games all with that graphical expertise you've come to expect from yours truly. But don't just take my word for it have a look at the Mini Gay Boy Friend website for a more detailed description of what it's all about. Here's some screenshots to whet your appetite. Now do me proud and go and buy it be you gay, bi, straight or just mini curious.

Pet shop

As it's coming up to Christmas I'd like to remind you that if you're thinking of getting a pet that you're not going to eat such as a turkey, chicken or piglet then think again carefully. Pet's aren't just for Christmas, some can last as long as Easter occasionally.

Of course I'm joking. I love pets and would quite like one for Christmas. Especially one of those fuzzy worms on a string. They really are a lot of fun.

...And it's through!

Happy Days! Today the project I was working on for most of the summer has finally been given the OK. Watch this space for news on this most exciting development.

Bear Thrills

Has another week gone by again already? Where does the time go?

Well tomorrow is Wednesday and that means Dandy time again. So that also means you get to see a new Korky story. But wait, there's more. I have a brand new strip debuting in this issue, which incidentally is a massive Christmas special like you used to get in the old days before the internet and when there was only four channels on the telly. Bear Thrills follows the adventures of this scout leader extraordin-bear and all the zany scrapes he gets into. It should be loads of fun, and I should know, I've seen his first ten adventures. So catch up with his first scrape in The Dandy tomorrow. It's a double page spread too. You've never had it so good.

Pig kebab

Piglet kebab anyone? This was going to be a screen print based around the tale of the Three Little Pigs. It never happened though and I haven't posted anything a little disturbing up for ages so here you go.

The Sheriff of Dottingham

There's loads of exciting things happening in the Dandy at the moment. This week sees Korky go full page and next week my new strip, Bear Thrills starts. As I was thumbing through this issue I noticed my little dot to dot page has snuck in. Not one to shy away from puns I present to you The Sheriff of Dottingham. I used to love dot to dot puzzles when I was tiny. I remember my Grandad making me do them with a ruler, which kind of took the fun out of it.

Korky goes full page

Tomorrow is my first full page Korky Strip for the Dandy. This is quite an achievement as he was almost dropped from the comic and it was only the constant whinging of me and one of the staff artists that saved him from the chop. This would have been a massive shame for the nation so it's good to see that he's been popular enough to have been given a full page again and continues as one of the longest running comic characters in the world.

Tomorrow's adventure sees him going to Banarnia as I cash in on the popularity of the Chronicles of Narnia franchise for my own ends. So be sure to get the comic, just look out for Harry Hill (I'm confidently guessing) on the cover and brace yourself for chuckles.

Dead pets

December is upon us and snow is falling heavily in Hove tonite. So as the advent month begins how about a picture of some dead animals. This is from an exciting project I've been working on since about May and it has been a lot of fun. Reader's voice: "What could it be?"

I'm not saying yet, but keep it Corbett to find out. All will be revealed soon enough (if all goes to plan).

Tricerablobs

Look at this adorable plush monster I made. Like a modern day Frankenstein I bought a load of old charity shop cuddly toys, cruelly dissected them and then restitched them back together again into this monstrosity. I think it works.

Spiral pterodactyl

This is a print of some kind of flying monster I did. this turned out to be one of my favourite prints as when it came out the colours were amazing. You can't go wrong with a blue & pink colour scheme though.

Penguins 3Dish

I thought I'd continue with the triumph that is my 3D skills at recreating penguin. I don't think that there will ever be a better representation of the monochrome flightless birds created by a computer. Who needs millions of vectors? About 40 is more than enough I always say. Got to go the phone is ringing.... I think it's Pixar.

Arctic Love

Who says I can't create stunning CGI? Look at this beauty. I made it myself, although we are going back a few years here and I think my skills in the third dimension have atrophied a bit. That said I still believe it's a phase and we'll soon be back to glorious 2D. I tried to get a grant from the arts council in Birmingham to get these made as sculptures. They said no and gave the money that year to film someone kicking an empty curry tray through the streets of Sheffield. They really did.

But these pixelated penguins returned when I was working at Gameplay to become the stars of everyone's favourite penguin romance simulation game on the WAP phone: Arctic Love. I'm going to have to see if I can dig up the actual graphics for this game. 24 pixels high and just black and white. These pictures were from the interactive TV version which kept to the pixeled principles of my original vision. I remember the game to be quite fantastically whimsical.

Scary Mary prints on sale in Forbidden Planet

Everyone's favourite comic and ace things shop, Forbidden Planet on Shaftsbury Avenue are now stocking my screen prints. Do yourself (and of course me) a favour and get down there and buy one. You can also get a copy of Kitten Parasites there too for the perfect Crimbly stocking filler.

Surf clione

Do you remember how I posted about the humble clione a few days back? I found another illustration I'd done of that adorable but deadly terror of the deep. This one isn't as scientifically accurate as the previous post but I'm sure you'll agree it really is a lot of fun.

Monster ball

Monster Ball! Not that film I've never seen about the mental hospital (looks too harrowing) but football, with monsters. This piece is quite old and Nike never used it in the end but I quites likes it. Looking at it again I think that the main monster looks too feminine - and that just won't do in the manly world of football.

Sausage burst

Ever wondered where sausages come from? I know I have. Well, here's your answer. Thinking of which I had some lovely ones last weekend. Honey & rosemary chipolatas. Very nice.

Graffiti Granny

Go girl! Graffiti Granny a go go! This illustration I did the year before last. I think this is the best one of the Hip Hop Granny series I did for Mad Dog Magazine. You'll be surprised to know that I don't know anything about Hipperty Hopperty music, although I have an almost encyclopedic knowledge about grannies.

Squid pattern

Squid! Squiddy! Squidling! Squid! I don't know why I did this but I kind of like it so I thought I'd share with the group. I can't even remember what it was for and I haven't had any hot, inky, squid action for ages so here you go.

More Gameplay goodness.

Here's some more eleven year old work from the Gameplay vaults. This was our Bust-A-Move clone re-skin: Shooting Stars. It's like it was from a different age and in a way it was. To be honest I'm not sure there's enough flare on the title. Increase the glitter threshold by 200% please. Happy days.

TACOT Racers

Cast your mind back to the year 2000. Remember that brave new world? Back then I think I was enjoying the best real job I ever had with loads of lovely people. We on the interactive TV game department could basically do what we wanted. You never get that freedom now with game designs and I think it shows. This was the title screen to TACOT racers: Tiny Animated Creatures On Television was the acronym (although there was a another secret acronym for those in the know). This was a top down racer for ITV. I didn't do the CGI but I designed the characters. I don't think we got a UK release but we were massive in Scandinavia. It was a shame Gameplay went spectacularly tits ups but it still remains in its original pre-evolved form here.

Hello Kitty

Seeing as everyone is doing their take on Hello Kitty for Sanrio's 50th anniversary I thought I'd have a go. I haven't done a kitten parasite for a while and they're always a treat to draw so I've seized the chance. Adorable.

Zombie Sheep

The Shock Flock is still simmering away in the background if you'll indulge me to mix my metaphors. But I don't really know what to do with them. Everyone loves zombie sheep don't they? One day their potential will be realised and I'll unleash them into the world... but until that day you may rest easy Gentle Reader.

Dandy Cover

Here's this week & last week's Dandy cover. I'm worried they're all too similar, but I suppose they're still establishing the new branding. Hopefully they'll start showcasing other stories soon and have the confidence to move away from celebrities. That said my Korky has been getting bigger on each progressive cover. Maybe it's only a matter of time until I get that coveted cover gig. You never know.

Dungeons that drag on - Gelatinous Cube

People are loving the jellies. Here's one from the Dungeon Master's manual that I had been unaware of: The gelatinous cube. It's just a square thing that goes around engulfing and digesting all it enconters. You'll be alarmed to know that it's impervious to magic too. Can nothing stop it?

Dungeons that drag on - Amorous Blob

This is the flip side of the afore mentioned amorphous blob: The amorous blob. This sexy creature lives to love. It's a lover not a fighter and pudding though it may be, it's not a deadly one. I don't think the amorous blob was in Dungeons & Dragons, not even in the advanced version but it should have been.

Dungeons that drag on - Amorphous Blob

The amorphous blob also known as the deadly pudding is a gelatinous mass that slops about engulfing things. I hope you can roll equal or above your luck on a twenty sided dice otherwise you'll get your just desserts. Get it? Jelly is a dessert.

Clione

When I was in Sapporo a few years back I met a lovely little chap known as a clione. These are aquatic gastropods, some kind of sea slug if you will, that thrive in the icy waters around Japan. Being Japanese they've been amazingly anthrapomorphised into lovable characters with their red internal organs represented as a lovely heart. But they are pretty sweet in real life and you can see them in aquariums all over Japan. You can even buy little refrigerated tanks for them if you want to own one yourself. I found a clip here.

The best thing about them is that they're carnivorous and the top of their heads open up into a tentacle ringed maw of doom which extends and catches prey. They're amazing.

I recently got to thinking about the clione again when a friend in Japan sent me over this tub of clione themed jelly sweets. This is a triumph of animal merchandising. I really regret not buying a Hello Kitty dressed as a clione when I was out there. Oh well, next time.

Dungeons that drag on - Owlbear

My acclaimed Dungeons & Dragons series continues with this monstrous chimera, no not a chimera the mythical beast from Greek myth but the Owlbear. It is a monster that has qualities of both bird and mammal, a bit like a platypus. I only recall this one from its Citadel miniature which I ruined when I attempted to paint it, but I remember it looked pretty cool before I got my clumsy paint brush on it. Cute but deadly.

Dungeons that drag on - Beholder

Recently, for some reason, I've been thinking of Dungeons & Dragons, the game. I was never really into it as a kid. All those spread sheets and charts and that, but I was keen on the idea of it. I especially liked looking through the bestiaries. I loved the Citadel miniatures, I still do, but whenever I tried to paint them it was a disaster. I thought I'd try and recreate, from memory, some of my favourite creatures from the creature back catalogues and but them on here as a kind of mini series to enjoy a little nerd time with myself and of course you.

First off is that floating omni-optic orb known as a beholder. Stay tuned for more D & D(elights) soon.

Students

Here's an illustration I did for The Student Guide. Pretty self explanatory but I assure you that when I was a student I didn't live in conditions like this... does anyone?

Rubber fetish pointy head chaps a go go!

Cor blimey! See I don't just draw cuddly animals look what a Renaissance man I am, I can turn my hand to anything. Here's some costumes I designed for a fetish show. I'm not sure of the details but I think it was a Face Party and Torture Garden collaboration, I'm going back a few years with this one. It was a good night though and the costumes looked amazing. They cost a bomb to make too - who new rubber would be so expensive... And no, it's not me in one of the costumes.

Lion line up

What an exciting week..! Well back to business: I found this image as I desperately archive stuff off my computer to conserve space and keep it working a few months longer. Don't worry I'm not going to start ranting again so please just enjoy the colours and relax....

D Day reveal: The new Korky the Cat

Today is D Day. Dandy day that is. I've been sitting on this for months but finally I can reveal my new Korky the Cat for today's Dandy relaunch.

Drawing Korky means a lot to me as I grew up on comics (although I must confess I was more of a Whizzer & Chips fan back in the day) and I had all the Dandy annuals from the 60s onwards from jumble sale hauls. Korky was always one of my favourites and who would ever have thought I would get to be working with him.

It's a real treat to be bringing back a character with such a history after his couple of years off - I believe he was away travelling - and hats of to the Dandy people for letting me change him so much. I think he's the oldest ever continuously printed comic character or something like that (citation needed) so it's down to you to keep him going. Get out and buy the Dandy today!

Dandy Relaunch Oct 27 2010

Get ye down to your news agent's tomorrow and buy this copy of The Dandy. It's relaunching as a proper comic full of cartoon strips again, just like it used to be.

But who is that peeping out from behind the Y of Dandy? Why it's one of the oldest, yet still going characters ever: Korky the Cat.

It's quite an honour to be putting words into the mouth and drawing such a venerable character & hats off for the Dandy for letting me change him so much. He's now a lot shorter and blue, rather than black. He still has his trademark big red nose, green eyes and furry belly. I've made him generally fuzzier all over too - I think he must have some persian in him.

So it just remains for you lot to buy this comic tomorrow and together we can usher in a new golden age of British comics.

Pitch presentation

I think it's OK for me to post about this now. As long as I don't say specifically what it was for I'm not breaching my contract so I think I'll be alright.

Well here is a load of work I did for a pitch over a year ago. When I went in to give my presentation they were amazed by the amount of work I did for it. It was just me and not an agency by the way.

Well I say just me... I got some brilliant friends to help out. Have a close up look at the plush and the sculpt. They were made by Caitlin & Holly and they were ace. There was also some ace animations in both the third dimension by Seed Animation and the second by Big Man Designs. Lucky I know such ace people. And look: Here I am about to wax lyrical about my ideas....

What a professional! But I didn't get it. I made it through to the final selection but in the end the tender was given to an agency which created two committee designed horrors. I was thinking about this earlier as I saw the hideous plushes in the shops and had a pang of bitterness and disbelief at the state of them. How was that ever allowed? Oh well, onwards & upwards. One day I'll be a mover & a shaker.