I was brought up on superhero comic books, robots, spaceships and science fiction B-movies.
Mesmerising images and stories of imaginary worlds and futures where amazing, fantastical things came to life. I
was left with a love of epic science fiction imagery, which is probably why I enjoy illustrating science fiction book covers.
I like a cover illustration to tell an intriguing story, often
about some form of conflict where the ordinary meets the extraordinary.
With an idea and a visual in mind, my illustrations always start with a pencil sketch, usually a tiny pencil sketch which establishes a strong composition and
stops me from putting in too much detail. I enjoy playing with simple geometric shapes and if it looks powerful and interesting at a small size, it’ll look even better when it’s larger.
The sketch is then
scanned and used as a base image to work on. I usually follow the original sketch quite closely.
My illustrations are created in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, usually switching between the
two.
The more technical, man-made elements are often drawn first in Illustrator. I'll also make use of the 3D tools in Photoshop on more mechanical forms. For a more painterly technique I'll switch to using a Cintiq
Pen Display.
The illustration is then refined and completed in Photoshop.
