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Showing posts with label children's illustration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children's illustration. Show all posts

Wednesday 21 February 2024

Sammy And The Extra Hot Chilli Powder


 There's a nice write up about my new book 'Sammy And The Extra Hot Chilli Powder' on my agent's site here

Steve May masterfully illustrates the latest adventure by Charlie P. Brooks as we emBARK on a rip-roaring diamond heist adventure.

This week we celebrate the publication of Sammy and the Extra-Hot Chilli Pepper, written by Charlie P. Brooks with a stunning jacket and internal illustrations by Arena’s very own Steve May.

Setterpoo Sammy is a dog with an extraordinary sense of smell, in fact, she has the best nose in the business if you're a sniffer dog! She can sniff out ANYTHING - diamonds, watches, explosives and even parrots! But in an incident involving some extra-hot chilli pepper she completely loses her sense of smell.

This spells disaster for Sammy! Not only is she unable to smell her favourite treat (sausages) but also, she is 'retired' from the Border Security Dog Unit. But every cloud has a silver lining when Harry her handler finds a new home for Sammy in a small village called Bloomington with a little girl called Beanie and her mum. The pair soon become best friends and it's not long before Sammy's sense of smell starts to return. When mysterious events begin to occur the pair leap into action and become the village investigators. Mogpuss the cat goes missing, Farmer Gerard's eggs are stolen and then half of the villagers lose their broadband connection - DISASTER! But - in a dramatic turn of events, Sammy's expert sense of smell is needed back in London to help foil a dastardly plot to steal a precious diamond. She’ll have to use ALL her instincts to save the day!

 

Steve’s illustrations bring a comic magic to this brilliant read, from stinky bins, smelly socks and sausages to fish heads, burgers and stale eggs. Steve’s intuitive sense of humour and fun shine through and will ensure that this book really grabs the attention of a host of young story seekers. 

You can take a look at an extract HERE.

 "I love drawing dogs although I usually approach them with a fair amount of 'Steve May' artistic licence but this one required specific breeds so I enjoyed the challenge of drawing Sammy and her pals. There's also a wonderfully snooty cat cat called Mogpuss who was rather fun to imagine too!" - Steve May

Steve is a prolific doodler, artist, rock star and animator and has worked with the likes of Phil Earle, Francesca Simon, and Harry Hill alongside clients such as the BBC, The Economist and Discover Story Centre. Based in London, Steve works digitally and in pen and ink with a spontaneous freedom which joyfully leaps off the page. With many projects including the Dennis the Menace brand under his belt, his talent for creating chaotic attention-grabbing, cartoon style characters are unparalleled.


Wednesday 14 February 2024

PUBLICATION DAY for Sammy & the Extra-Hot Chilli Powder!

Sammy & The Extra Hot Chilli Powder is published today!

It's written by Charlie P Brooks & illustrated by me & published by Harper Collins Childrens & was great fun bringing Sammy & her canine / human friends to life (there's a good villain in there too - they're ALWAYS fun!) 

I love drawing dogs although I usually approach them with a fair amount of 'Steve May' artistic licence but this one required specific breeds so I enjoyed the challenge of drawing Sammy & her pals. There's also a wonderfully snooty cat cat called Mogpuss who was rather fun to imagine too!

'A warm and brilliantly funny family comedy told from the perspective of Sammy the sniffer dog – perfect for younger readers aged 7 and up

Setterpoo Sammy has a BRILLIANT sense of smell. She can sniff out ANYTHING – watches, explosives, even parrots!

But one day, Sammy sniffs some EXTRA-HOT chilli powder and loses her sense of smell COMPLETELY. It’s up to Sammy’s Best Human Friend, Beanie, to help her get it back.

And when Sammy finds out that someone is planning to steal a precious DIAMOND, she’ll have to use ALL her instincts to save the day!'







 

Friday 25 August 2023

Moon Shot!


I was listening to the news about the Indian moon shot yesterday  & got distracted & drew these mousetronauts (with a hat tip to George Méliès' Trip to the Moon from 1902) I REALLY hope the Chandrayaan-3 finds cheese (or even paneer?) while they're up there! (Pen & ink with wash A4 300gsm watercolour paper)

Friday 14 April 2023

Thursday 2 February 2023

Publication Day for Two Terrible Vikings - Feast With The King

It's publication day for the THIRD in the Two Terrible Vikings series 'Feast With The King'  

As ever I loved working with the brilliant 'Queen of Comedy' Francesca Simon who imbues these books with so much energy & humour!

Published by Faber Childrens

Three fantastic new stories!

Hack and Whack babysit a toddler – Fire Hazard – and discover to their horror that they might not be the worst vikings in the village after all . . .

Then they manage to secure an exciting invite to feast with the visiting king, but discover that it’s three days of having to be on their best behaviour . . . Until the new teenaged king turns out to be a lout – food fights ensue, and he loves them.

Unfortunately, that’s when the snotty, privileged, wealthy winter guests turn up – distant cousins who can’t be turned away. They make everyone’s life a misery – can Hack and Whack find a way to get rid of them?

Packed full of humour that children will love and illustrated with anarchy by the fabulous Steve May.







 

Friday 6 May 2022

Supernan's Day Out - behind the scenes

 

In celebration of the publication of Supernan's Day Out, the sequel to Superdad's Day Off & the 4th collaboration between me & the brilliant Phil Earle I thought I'd share some of my process & initial sketches for the book. 

Being brought up by the seaside reading superhero comics the British seaside resort & superheroes are subjects very close to my heart so in Supernan I had to opportunity to indulge myself in both so that's a bit of a bonus! I decided to base the seaside resort on an amalgam of Blackpool, my hometown Hastings with a little dash of vintage Coney Island into the mix


This was my very first sketch for the cover which is hidden away on the back of my sketchbook. At this point I hadn't read the book but I'd seen the precis & we wanted to echo the wraparound cover from Superdad's Day Off. Here's some more early pics of nan (on the back of an envelope!)
This was my initial rough which I sent to the publisher. They liked nan's styling but Phil thought nan needed to look a bit older & more frail so I had a little rejig.

They liked this version so I added a bit of colour...

(& added a sneaky cameo of me with an inflatable fish & an ice lolly shhhh!)

A few more sketches of the clifftop hotel being drenched by a tidal wave & my first sketch of Gladys, Nan's best friend




Monday 2 May 2022

PUBLICATION DAY FOR SUPERNAN'S DAY OUT!

 

Supernan's Day Out by the brilliant Phil Earle & me is published TODAY! (Thursday 6th May 2022)

'An unexpected family secret has hilarious consequences in this action-packed story from Phil Earle and illustrator Steve May - perfect for superhero fans. Plane crashes, robberies and fires were not what Stanley was expecting on a day out at the seaside with his nan and the other residents of her care home!

Nan doesn't know about his superpowers, so Super Stan can't step in to help as it would blow his cover. Luckily, though, another mysterious superhero seems to be on hand, saving the day.

But who could it possibly be?'

This is the sequel to Superdad's Day Off & is full of colourful hilarious action. It's my 4th collaboration with Phil & publisher Barrington Stoke & I always relish our projects. 

I loved illustrating this book & it was huge fun relating the antics of Stan & his nan & reimagining a seaside town which was part Hastings (my hometown) part Blackpool with a tiny smidgeon of Coney Island in the mix somewhere. Being brought up by the sea reading superhero comics the British seaside resort & superheroes are subjects very close to my heart so in Supernan I had to opportunity to indulge myself in both so that's a bit of a bonus!

Nip down to your favourite bookshop & tell them me & Phil sent you (or alternatively you can order a copy here)







Friday 4 June 2021

Cats, buses & harmonicas...

You know they talk about herding cats? Imagine driving a bus full of 'em?


(from an original idea from the great Bob Mortimer!)

Thursday 14 January 2021

BUCK ‘N’ BRONCO Hit the Road!


Howdy pardners! You have to be FOOLS* to miss out on BUCK ‘N’ BRONCO Hit the Road!** my latest collaboration with the brilliant Guy Bass which is out on 1st APRIL published by Barrington Stoke!

*see what I did there?


** might contain horse farts.


'When the Happy Ranch theme park closes down to make way for a futuristic new adventure land, park mascots Buck and Bronco are out of a job and out of a home.

While Buck thinks its time for them to spread their wings and take the show on the road, Bronco wants nothing more than for their life to be exactly as it was ...

Can the pair discover new meaning beyond the park and recapture the fame they once had? Or are they destined to be yesterday's mascots?'

Monday 11 May 2020

Beserker Cats of the Fjords!



Sparked off from a tweet from the QI Elves about Vikings taking their cats on raids & having just drawn a rather lovely book about Vikings by bestselling Horrid Henry author Francesca Simon for Faber (no cats in there, but a rather lovely baby wolf!) I seem to have embarked on a whole series of pictures featuring 'Beserker Cats of the Fjords'.

I figured I'd put them all together in one place for your perusal.

I like Vikings AND cats so it's a bit of a win win







(Of course, the innate difficulties planning anything involving feline input led to the Old Norse phrase describing any difficult task which literally translates as "blöody hëll, this is like raiding with cats!")





Friday 2 August 2019

Tigers on Vaseline!

Moving on from my previous post for International Tiger Day here's another tiger on vaseline thanks to inspiration from the great Dame David Bowie!

Hang on to yourself!

You want more book covers for non existent (as yet) books? Go here!

Thursday 25 April 2019

Don't Shout At The Lions Lionel!

Never raise your voice at big cats. This is unnecessary & invariably rather dangerous. Another in the series of 'books I haven't quite written yet'

Thursday 7 March 2019

World Book Day 2019

Happy World Book Day 2019 !
(but spare a thought for some of the less popular days too World Cook DayWorld Rook Day, World Crook Day

Spread the love & happy reading!

Wednesday 20 February 2019

Love Your Pet Day!

Surely Love Your Pet Day shouldn't really be necessary? Isn't that the WHOLE POINT of having a pet? Anyhow...

Thursday 14 February 2019

Laura Norder - Sheriff of Butts Canyon PUBLICATION DAY!

Laura Norder - Sheriff of Butts Canyon, my third collaboration with author Guy Bass for Barrington Stoke is published today, Friday 15th February
In this pun-tastic & funny Western adventure Laura Norder lives her life by the Golden Rules and so should everybody else. But being Sheriff of Butts Canyon at the age of ten is a big job to handle, and when a no-good rule-breaking bandit causes chaos in the town, enough is enough! It's time for Laura to step up to the plate and catch the masked mischief-maker before he breaks any more of her rules!

This was a great fun book to work on & I particularly loved visualising all of the subsidiary characters like Tad Tipsy the drunk bartender, Walter Spitty the town scruff & Mort L. Coil the undertaker.

You can order it here or even better, pop into your local bookshop & pick up a copy




Thursday 18 October 2018

Matt Millz Stands Up - PUBLICATION DAY!

Matt Millz Stands Up the second book by Harry Hill about the experiences of a young stand up comedian is published today Thursday 18th October.
As before Harry's text gave me lots of scope to create new characters & to indulge in the odd bit of surreal nonsense too (which as anybody who's followed my career will know is a particular favourite of mine!)
'Matt’s TV performance seems to have given him the fame that he had always dreamed of: There are reporters camped outside his house – he’s suddenly in demand! But as the novelty wears off and Matt struggles to get any new gigs, it’s not long before he begins to doubt his friend and manager Kitty Hope. Would the stylish Excalibur  Agency turn his fortunes around? And could Matt ever bear to push Kitty aside?'
You can order it from here or even better get down to your local independent bookshop & get it from there!