FROM MY SKETCHBOOK: Autumn Stroll...

HECTOR and the BIG BAD KNIGHT - now available to preorder!

*Fanfare*

It gives me GREAT pleasure to be able to reveal the title and cover of my next picture book!

Hector and the BIG BAD KNIGHT 

Publishing 6th March 2014 (Scholastic Picture Books)

This is my ninth picture book and I am super excited about it!

Here's some details from the publishers:

"When Hector's granny has her magic wand stolen by The Big Bad Knight, Hector, the tiniest boy in the village, decides to go after him. 
And when The Big Bad Knight sends a dragon after Hector, our hero knows just what to do - with a little help from a bag of crisps! Soon it's time for The Big Bad Knight to learn a little lesson about knightly manners. 
A fun-filled new picture book about the power of good with quirky illustrations from award-winning Alex T. Smith."


Hector is available to pre-order now from 
Amazon, Waterstones and from your local independent book store.

Keep checking back here for more details and sneak peeks coming soon!

Oh! Go on then... if you insist...
Here's your first sneak peek!

OVER THE WATER...

About a week ago, I doodled the above picture not in my usual sketchbook, but on a big sketch pad I was using to plan out some pictures for a book project I'm currently working on. 

I'm not sure why I drew a picture of a rabbit running through a jungle/forest with a giant crystal, but sometimes I think you just have to go with what you brain tells you to do! 

Usually, in my little sketchbook, and my rough images for work, I make them very tidy and tight, but working on a bigger pad made my pencil work looser and I was desperate to colour it in. 

Usually, my work is a mixture of traditional artwork (mainly the linework) and digital colour and texture. However, recently I've found that I'm not able to get the feeling I want using the computer. 

No matter how much computer trickery I use, the image still doesn't quite do what I want. I've also found the amount of time I am staring at a screen  has become quite uncomfortable, so I'm trying to work away from the computer as much as possible to give my eyes a rest and look at something other than a flickering screen.

This image was an experiment ahead of my next two picture books to see if I could manage a large, fairly complicated scene with put having a nervous breakdown! And I LOVED it. I really liked how not having an undo function meant I had to think about more before tackling bits of the image, and I also really enjoyed how relaxed it made me just quietly colouring bits and working the image up in stages. 

I don't usually show my process because to be honest with you, even after 7 years of being an illustrator, I still have very little idea of what I'm doing and most of it is trial and error, but I did think you might like to see how I put this image together. 

ART GEEK BIT: It's pen, pencil crayon, watercolour, chalk pastel and gouache on medium texture, heavyish weight A3 paper. 

And the final finished image...

Details...

And one final picture of it on my messy desk! (Well, actually, my dining table- hence the kitten shaped salt and pepper shakers!) 

More non digital artwork here soon! 

FROM MY SKETCHBOOK: Bedtime Conversation about Love with my Little Nephew (aged 5)

The Royal Baby...

click to enlarge

As everyone in the Entire World knows - the royal baby arrived this week!
Last night, whilst glued to the TV waiting for William and Katherine to appear with the little boy I wrote this silly poem.

In the Bear Cave...

This is a finished, non digital piece of work based in an old sketchbook image. It's mainly pencil crayon with gouache and pen here and there, on card. 

The Swing...

I did this little piece this morning as a warm up to get my brain in 'colouring in' mode. 

It's pencil crayon, pencil and pen with the tiniest bit of gouache.