HOW IT'S DONE

After many years producing these posters in the traditional way using gouache paint and brush I have now embraced the new medium of digital. This hasn't necessarily speeded up the process as I produce these in virtually the same way as I always did, but rather than paint and board I now use a digital canvas.  Whilst still loving the looseness of a painted image I find that digital has the benefit of giving a crisp line and a vibrant flat colour. These are not 'computer generated images' as many believe, a computer will not break down an image into such simple blocks of colour. These are not manipulated in Photoshop, in fact the only time Photoshop is used is to clean up the scan of the pencil line work.

The only way to achieve these images is by drawing them as you will see in the following images. Because they are produced as 'Vector' illustrations rather than being resolution based it means they can be reproduced in any size without a loss of quality.

The illustrations begin in the traditional way with a pad and pencil. Firstly I produce a loose pencil sketch to establish the composition. This is then refined.
The line work is carefully planned and the breakdown of the colours considered. Once I'm happy with the linework it is then scanned into the computer,
over- traced and 'plotted' by hand with a digital pen, creating 'Vector' linework  ready for the colour. This can take several hours depending on the
complexity of the illustration.
Once complete I place the main elements onto their own layers, enabling me to work on individual sections of the illustration in isolation by
turning layers on and off.

Now the fun bit, adding the colour. Working on one individual element at a time and converting the line work into solid areas of colour.  This is where the advantage of digital really comes in. A lot of care is taken at this stage to get the balance of colour just right.  This process can 
involve a lot of experimentation and can take several hours or even days, sometimes I even do a couple of versions.

Once happy the image is cropped to the size required. The copy is then added and I prepare the artwork for all the formats it is to be reproduced in.
Because these images are created as Vector illustrations, and are therefore not resolution based, they are scalable to any size without any loss of detail. This makes them ideal for large scale imagery, wallpaper, or canvasses.

I hope this gives a quick insight into my working methods.