1. DIY Splatter Paint Balloons
2. White Russian Fudge! One of my fave cocktails in fudge form
3. Great typography from Daily Dishonesty
4. Beautiful accessories from bRainbowshop
5. DIY Rocket Garland
6. Fascinating examples of fake houses

McKinley’s work has appeared in several publications and he has worked professionally with a number of household names such as Disney, Computer Arts Projects, Diesel, National Express, BBC and Lee Jeans. Recently he has begun to feature his personal work in live exhibitions and gallery shows.

I love the vivid colours and patterns in McKinley’s work, and his intricateness. His work is heavily inspired by Japanese art and western comics, but isn’t a slave to those influences

So using the inspiration I’ve pinned and some of the forms I’ve been sketching out, I sat down and hand illustrated and inked this little quote. The ‘speak’ and ‘even’ are maybe a little thin, but I think it’s a great result for a first time attempt, as well as a great learning exercise.

I like the less restrictive nature of hand illustrating text rather than trying to pull them together in a computer programme. Any time I’ve attempted to do something like this digitally, it’s ended up the same way; the pencil sketches I’ve done look good in terms of coming up with an idea and deciding on a composition, but everything falls apart when I try to translate it into a digital format. I can never find the right fonts in my library and the layout never pulls together. With a pencil, however, I can create whatever my mind comes up with little restriction. Then I can simply scan it into the computer, do a little clean-up with my Wacom, add some colour, and the jobs done.

My penmanship will need a little more work, but that’s what practice is for.

Influenced and inspired by music, her multi-disciplinary talents are evident in the diverse work found in her portfolio.

So often watercolour is thought of as a medium for retirees in need of a new hobby, but Lora Zombie shows with her grunge art how it can be dynamic, vivid and modern. Everyone of her works is evocative, stand-out, and original, and often comment on modern society and politics. Her work has been used on a number of accessories, such as phone and laptop covers, and she has even worked on designing album artwork for bands.

Thanks to Pinterest, this has become much easier to do. I simply create a new board for a specific client, pin what I think could be of interest in regards to the project, annotate each pin with my thoughts, categorise with tags (such as #typograghy, #illustration), and ask the client to comment with their opinions. I fine it a much easier and less time-wasting process than going straight to design based on other information they may have given me.

To this end, in the future, I’m hoping to post some of my mood boards here, some used for clients, others for my own work. I find creating mood boards a great way of collating information and ideas, so maybe they will be useful with my personal illustration and graphic design projects.

The first one here brings together elements I think would work well for an illustration I’ve been thinking of; an 1920s-inspired circus poster with a young woman as the central figure. The colours will be strong, but subdued rather than garish. The typography will be simpler than that which often comes to mind for a carnival, and my character’s clothing and hair will be inspired by the ladies above. And, of course, there will be stripes.

Clients include Marvel Comics, 20th Century Fox, Shopify The National Post, PEN Canada, Soapbox Design, PSYOP West, Rethink, and more.

His work has also been exhibited in galleries across North America and Europe, including Gallery Nucleus, Spoke Art Gallery, Bold Hype Gallery, Thinkspace Gallery, AQUA Art Fair in Art Basel, LeBasse Projects, London Miles Gallery, and Show & Tell Gallery.

Nimit Malavia work is incredibly varied in influence, media and technique, and are often imbued with raw emotion. In many of his pieces, his use of intricate strong black line art makes the subjects really pop off the page.

The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins, has long been on my to-read list, and my partner bought me this gorgeous edition for Christmas 2011. It collects cat fur like crazy, but the prettiness is well worth it.

I’ve read quite a bit of literature from in and around the time this novel was written, such as Dostoyevsky, Nathaniel Hawthorne and several of the most famous gothic horror novels, but I think this may be my first time reading Victorian ‘sensational’ fiction. It’s been an exciting read so far (probably helped by the fact it was serialised, meaning cliffhangers abound), though I’ve just gotten past the first half. As it always is with classics, it will take me a while to get finish, but it will be a fun experience.

After reliving my teen years a little thanks to watching ‘Buffy, The Vampire Slayer’ DVDs, I’ve been listening to Rasputina. Their song ‘Transylvanian Concubine’ was used for the show, so after listening to it on Spotify, I hopped over to the band’s page on the app and kept listening.

The reason I enjoy the band so much is that they incorporate so many things I love; quirky rock music with classical instruments, historical allegories, and a Victorian steampunk visual style. I especially love the track ‘1816, The Year Without a Summer’, not just as it’s a lovely piece, but as it talks about a time period I love. They are playing the Whitby Goth Weekend this year; ah, it would be so fun to go.

Somehow I’ve gotten through all three and a bit seasons of Community in the space of a couple of weeks. I’m a massive nerd, and not in the currently cool ironic way (I’ve actually been to Star Trek and anime conventions in cosplay), so the show’s geeky and meta humour strikes a cord with me. the 8-bit episodes especially cracked me up.

The intricacy of her line work, the soft earth tones used for colours, and the sheer imagination poured into every piece makes Caitlin Hackett a true standout artist, and the way she depicts mythological beasts reminds me of two of Miyazaki’s most ecology focused movies, ‘Princess Mononoke’ and ‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’.

Her work isn’t just limited to art pieces; she has illustrated books and even products such as a tea set.