Many who know me personally know I’m a fan of good food and naturally, a fan of Heston Blumenthal and his creative concoctions. I was thrilled to hear that one of UK’s most talented Typographer/Illustrators Tom Lane was drafted in to bring Heston’s book to life. Tom brings an outrageous amount of detail to the pages with his intricate swirling gothic florals, ornamental border art and jaw-dropping drop caps.

Take a look yourself and basque in the glory of some fresh yet traditional book illustration.

For more information about the project visit Tom Lane’s Site

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Brighton Freak Show

Brighton’s not just about raves on beaches you know, it’s also home to some of the UK’s finest illustrators. To celebrate such epicness Johnny McCulloch and Mega Munden have put together “Brighton Freakshow” , their sumptious cherry pickings of Brighton’s finest image making talent this side of the pier! Illustrators on the roster include Luke Insect, Steve Wilson, Matt Taylor, Neil Davies and many more. It’s definately reflective of the growing crop of exciting and fresh things happening in the city.

The exhibition will be held at St. Peters Church and will form part of the 2010 Open House Festival in Brighton, UK. Brighton Freakshow will run every saturday throughout May between 10am and 5.30pm, so make sure you attend and let your eyes melt with delight like a summery ice-cream.

If you’re really keen the OPENING NIGHT is 30th April, 7pm – 9pm

For more information and to see the full list of artists get on over to the Brighton Freak Show site

Johnny McCulloch

Luke Insect

Matt Taylor

Mega Munden

Neil Davies

Steve Wilson

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Tucked away in the small city of Chester in the North West of England is a brilliant little monthly drawing event called Doodleplanet. The night is held at Telford’s Warehouse a vibrant, socialable venue which is popular to many of ye local folke. Doodleplanet is hosted by Illustrator David Setter, with Matty Setter providing the bopping upbeat tunes that keeps the creative mood.

It’s been growing steady over the last 12 months so I thought I’d pop down and check it out. We got there just after the starting time of 8pm and found there were quite a few enthused doodlers who had already got stuck in. We then proceeded to the greeting desk where we were met by none other than Felt Mistress (which was a lovely suprise). People not aware of FM’s awesome creature creations – get yourself educated here! Anyway she explained the setup and we hired some lovely poscas.

We then chose one of the many high quality artboards that lay dotted around the venue and we got stuck in. Needless to say during the 2hrs we were there, lots more people turned up. And with cool art kids sitting on the floor, gathered in groups and just getting their doodle on, it had a really friendly vibe, with people admiring each other’s work. It’s people doing what they love for the cause and getting involved. It has DIY ethics and morality all over it. Plus it’s a damn nice way to spend an evening.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a new concept. In fact I’ve been to a few similar events in Liverpool and hear of other’s in Manchester. But those always seemed quite cliquey and it seemed that as a first timer I was welcomed at Doodleplanet with open arms. I think the physical space also played a big part. It’s a fairly decent size and you can choose an artboard hung up under spotlight, grab one and sit at a table, or do what we did and sit in a corner doodling your heart out.

It was fantastic to see some of established local artists endorsing it too with their works. You can see some work from Jonathan Edwards, Julian Kimmings and Dan Berry below.

I’ll definately be going back (especially as it’s just down the road from my work), but I envisage it will continue to grow with Doodleplanet playing host to the exposure of some great upcoming artists. Do yourself a favour and get down there at the next available opportunity.

To find out when that next opportunity is you can visit the Doodleplanet facebook page! That’s where all the action is!

Julian Kimmings

Jonathan Edwards

Dan Berry

Richard Page aka UME

Here is another piece of other amazing work by someone who I unfortunately didn’t manage to catch the name of. Please do inform me if you know!

Finally, here is the result of when me and my good buddy Carl went a bit mad on some artboard ourselves.

Get yourself down there!

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Recently I’ve been visiting Learn Something Everyday – a new site which aims to deliver a little known factoid of information whilst trying to amuse once a day.

These illustrations are brilliantly executed and make me smile everyday. It’s educational and a whole lot a fun. Just what the internet was made for.

The site was created by manchester based design maestros We are young.

Go get some happy drawings.

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Hello! How are you doing today?

Not too bad at all. Sick last week, so this week is feeling a lot more productive. Thanks for asking.

Tell us what Drew Millward is about, what you do and why you do it.

That is the sort of thing that will send me into an existential crisis. I find it best not to think about myself too much in the third person, and certainly not to pay too much attention to what I’m all about. Basically I’m an artist/designer/illustrator. It’s not that easy to pigeonhole really. I suppose there are elements of all those disciplines in what I do. But the bottom line is that enjoy drawing pictures and having fun.

You seemed to have a developed a unique balance and blend of dark and light themes within your work, where does that influence comes from?

I think those are elements that I’m very much interested in. I’m drawn to things that have elements of light and dark, it’s something that I strive to illustrate in my own work. The thought that something can be attractive and disturbing at the same time is something that can engage a viewer in a pretty interesting dialogue. It allows you to build narrative into the work that would otherwise be lost without that balance. If something looks nice and the subject matter is ‘nice’, as much as people are drawn to it, the attraction tends to stop there. Equally with an image that works only to offend or confront the viewer will only really illicit one sort of response. You mix the two together, and you instantly create something that is a lot more engaging. I’m not saying I always achieve that, but it’s definitely something I look to as what I hope to create.

Are there any hidden meanings or messages within your work?

Lots. I find it really dull listening to people explaining why things are done the way they are done. It takes away some of the mystery. Like I mentioned before, I like the viewer to enter into some sort of dialogue with the work, so if someone sees something that means something to them it can draw them in and create a narrative that is personal to them, or indeed is intended to be there.
I love comics, and I love the traditional narrative form, but personally I could never think about sitting down and drawing a whole book. I would simply get bored. I’m much more interested in getting a narrative into a single frame, be that a poster, shirt, painting… anything really.

Tell us a bit about the process of your designs. I understand you do a lot of it by hand first.

Yeah, I’m a bit of a heathen really. I still prefer to draw everything by hand and then put it together in Photoshop later. I suppose as time has gone by I have become more reliant of computers to colour images and I’m beginning to see the advantages of using them to work out layouts a bit more, but I still would never want to stray too far from the hand-made aesthetic. Drawing is what I love doing, so creating something purely with a computer is not something I’m in any hurry to do. Having said that, it’s about the best tool you can hope for aside from a paper and a pen.

Does the music of the band you design for have any aesthetic impact on what you produce?

I would like to think so. The challenge of designing for a band is to try and capture the aesthetic of their music into a visual medium. As much as I have a style of work, I would like to think that I tailor what I do to the specific project I’m working on… maybe some are more successful than others. I really try as much as I can to work with bands that I personally like. As much as I don’t like turning down work, sometimes it’s unavoidable. If I were to disagree with a bands politics, or really dislike their music I would find it very difficult to produce work for them. I guess it’s a balance you have to get right.

You’ve done posters for The Melvins, Sonic Youth, Gallows, Bon Iver. What has been your favourite design you have done to date?

I’d probably say my Mogwai poster, but in truth it’s usually the last thing I have completed, since it’s usually fresh enough for me not to be sick of the sight of it.

Where do you hope to take your work in the next few years and eventually in the long term?

I’d love to carry on doing what I’m doing. As much as I bitch and moan about it, I genuinely consider myself one of the luckiest people on earth to be able to do what I’m doing. There are some things I’d like to do, like make toys, more clothing projects, more album work, but that is pretty much what I’m doing now. I would, however, like to own a house. Anything that can make that happen would be the best.

Music

What are you currently enjoying?

I’m constantly listening to music, so it’s a pretty long and eclectic list to be honest.
I’m listening to a lot of Tom Waits of late. I’ve always been a fan, but I’ve recently gone back and filled in some gaps that were in my collection. As a body of work it’s pretty much second to none, he even came through the 80’s unscathed. It’s pretty impressive that he has never made a bad album in such a lengthy career.

Other stuff…P.O.S., Trap Them, Black Tusk, Thou, Cannibal Ox, Pinback, Springsteen, Russian Circles, Hanged Up, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sunn 0))), Master Musicians of Bukkake, Goblin, Wolves in the Throne Room, Crippled Black Phoenix, Guapo, King Crimson, Lambchop, Richmond Fontaine, Mendoza Line, Giant Sand, Mogwai, Narrows, Planes Mistaken For Stars….

Who would be your all time favourite band you would design for?

I’m honestly not sure. Mission of Burma are one of my favourite bands, but I’m unsure whether my work would fit with their aesthetic. I’d love to work with Shellac, that would be awesome. To be honest, I’m happy to work with anyone who would ask me. But if pushed it would have to be Tom Waits.

Debate

What’s really ticking you off at the moment?

Most things really. I’m a grouchy individual at the best of times, but couple that with the fact that I’m mainly sat alone means I’m pretty much wound up by most things and most people.

What are you “buzzing” and being happy about?

Working alone and for myself.

And finally what would you change in this crazy world?

I honestly wouldn’t know where to begin.

You can view more work and information on the Drew Millward website. You can also follow Drew Millward on Twitter.

Drew Millward’s Music pick on spotify

Tom Waits, Cannibal Ox, Pinback, Goblin, Lampchop

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I’m really loving the brand new illustration site by Kev Speck – www.bliinddrawings.com.
He manages to capture the essence of the message with so few lines and colours it’s pretty magical. The humour is neat and concise, plus it has a universally appealing tone to it.

You can see the drawings here and follow the drawings on Twitter too.

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I’ve only just got on to this, but this is a great little book from the creators of Found Magazine – the regular collection of found items. This book carries that theme of discovering of other people’s real life love letters, notes, doodles and to-do lists, but also adds more context with a little short story from the finder themselves.

It’s certainly an interesting concept, particularly when these finders are celebrities from all different arts and media. The contributors to this book include Chuck D, Kimya Dawson, David Simon (The wire), Kori Gardner (Mates of State), Billy Bragg, Damian Kulash (OK Go) and many kind folk.

It’s less than £10 and about $10 too, so you american folk are getting a bargain! Got to love the illustrated cover work too – you all have no excuse!

Read more about Requiem for a Paper Bag on the Found Site

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Just a shout out for Abi and Des at Doodlezine to let people know there are still copies of their fabulously A5 hand crafted zine full of brilliant doodles. It features a double page spread from Jon Burgerman and the front cover was delightfully illustrated by Bish

You can also stay up to date on the Doodlezine Blog for future issues, and you can even submit your own doodle. Go on, get your biros out!

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