A black and white day.

Some days are spent drawing in glorious colour and others begin and end drawing pilot roughs for projects. Yesterday was spent doing the latter.  Busy times at the moment spent drawing Frankenstein (as one does). This job is looking as though it might be a lot of fun to do.  It’s a light-hearted character based on the infamous monster, only this time, he’s a friendly guy. More on this later when I’m allowed to tell you where the drawings will appear in colour and when you can see the full story.

Monster of a job

The UK foreign secretary William Hague made a blunder recently by instructing the UK special forces to go walkabout into Libya during the dead of night. Mr Hague stood up in Parliament to explain his actions and passed it off as an error of judgement. The detainees were later released and boarded a UK war ship to be returned to safety. This drawing is one of a series I’m doing using of well-known people, topical situations with simple sketchy imagery and bold textured lines.

More later.

 

Mr Hague decided to send in the SAS

The most promising projects?

Last year around this time, I received a call from a really pleasant guy from a record company you will all have heard of – but who shall remain nameless. I nearly dropped my Nokia when this producer began talking about his studio’s latest AC/DC offering.  The band had apparently just completed a European tour and were planning the DVD follow-up. He went on, “Listen, we need an illustrator to develop the Angus’ character for us.” I adjusted the Nokia and listened intently. “Angus Young is looking for someone who can draw him in a loose animated style. He’ll be in all kinds of fun situations in a short interactive animation for the beginning of the DVD. Are you up for this?”

Do bears relieve themselves in the forest?

After a couple of weeks, that particular phone call sadly turned out to be most promising part of the project as I found out afterwards that the finances just weren’t right to make a decent job of it. I spent time (with a number of other illustrators I gather) creating my own take on Angus – which passed the final audition – only to learn of a budget that wouldn’t quite cover a tour’s worth of strings for Angus’ Gibson.  In the end, I had to bow out with dignity, which was a shame really as I would have loved Angus to have seen the light- this guy is a master guitarist in a great band!

Finished Pilot Character Illustration

Sometimes the most promising projects never quite make it. Now where have you heard that one before?

©  Paul Hampson

My bonus hasn’t arrived.

Bonus Time Again

The sobering but realistic part of earning a living as an illustrator is you never actually get to receive huge bonuses for doing your job well. It’s agreed when you’re commissioned right at the beginning of a project that you’ll complete the work on time and that it will meet the brief within the agreed budget – no more, no less.  I can imagine the intake of breath if I were to demand a bonus. -it just wouldn’t work. The bonus is in seeing your own work reproduced.

I read somewhere earlier today that Britain’s banks are allegedly preparing to announce multi-million pound annual bonuses to senior staff and are aiming to pocket hidden subsidies from the taxpayer worth over  £32.5bn a year. Not only that but a major high street name is withdrawing finance for small businesses.  I don’t know if that’s true, but this illustration seemed appropriate for this posting. To make Mr Cameron’s Big Society work, everyone needs to contribute. Big cats included.

 

 

© Paul Hampson | See more like this on my new website

My new site – he whispered

It’s been a long time coming as the saying goes, but my new illustration site is online – (pause for applause here). OK then, it may not be massively important in the whole scheme of things, but for a person like me who tends to labour over every tiny little typographic nuance, every shape and colour choice, it has certainly been a mini-ordeal. Take a look now.

City Gent Running for The Hampstead Bus

 

If you like this drawing, you can see more on my new webspace

Spread the Sketchy Word

I’m hoping my new site will enable me to reach a whole range of people. My working sketches will be regularly uploaded as well as new completed illustrations. I already work on commissions from people in New York and Brazil as well as here in the UK and Europe, but there’s no reason why I shouldn’t aim for creative people further afield. I plan a random, but regular sketch to appear every week or so – a drawing reflecting a current issue or a topical point; an illustration on which site visitors might comment (or contribute) and maybe even discuss reproducing if the work fits a project. Yes, I’m an illustrator on a mission to spread the word and create more drawings for more people in the future. The phrase sketchy illustration for the nation just about sums up what I offer and I look forward to creating even more.

Surfing Dude

 

An illustration for Eye to Eye Publishing for a Puzzle Book Cover

Work I admire

No blog exists with the capacity to list all the people whose work has and continues to influence me past and present. Artists working for magazines such as The New Yorker had a huge impact on me. I recall in particular the drawings of Charles Saxon, Robert Weber and Henry Martin in the 60s and seventies. Then there’s the work of brand new talented artists. Those recent graduates who are having an impact on the illustration scene and whose reputations continue to grow. Whenever possible, I’ll share some of their work and invite comments and contributions.

My Leica Camera

My Photographs

I admire the work of  photographic heroes such as Henri Cartier Bresson, Eve Arnold and more recently Martin Parr. I have spent a lifetime always with a camera somewhere close by. Having owned various light-proof boxes from the Brownie 127 as a child in the sixties, to the more recent Pentax, Canon, Nikon and Leica cameras over the years, I have been a lucky chap to have always had some decent gear. The technical side of photography was never really my thing though, but when it came to lighting, composition and attempting to see with the eye of an artist, I have moderate success – occasionally. So from time to time on this site, I intend to air one or two of my favourite personal photographs, or even the ones I shoot professionally. These images might be digital images, or analogue contributions in old fashioned film – yes I still load film into my Leica – and love doing so. Sitting in the armchair polishing camera equipment instead of going out and shooting photographs has never held great appeal to me,  so I will selectively capture one or two moments as they pass me by in my life, then share some with you and welcome comments too.

How to force a smile, even when you don't want to

Paul’s Portfolio (in stages)

My name is Paul Hampson. I’m an an illustrator, graphic designer and photographer based in the UK. I have been lucky enough to have earned part of my living illustrating for many years and I’m still loving the process of drawing and still improving (hopefully).

This first posting is intended to showcase a portfolio of illustration samples. There’s no special order to these drawings at the moment. Rather they are placed here in an interesting sequence, just to show the way I work. Most of my drawings are created either in soft pencil or charcoal, with watercolour to add the colour in the main.

A soft pencil drawing produced for American Express

A quick soft pencil drawing of a very elegant, tall couple dancing the tango. Dancing has a very big following here in the UK, with millions glued to their TVs each Saturday. Personally I can’t do one step, but I’d give it a try.
 

My Cartoonist’s Hat

I design, art direct and illustrate for a living, but this site is dedicated to my cartoon illustration and this blog that will showcase my work on a regular basis. Think of it as a link to a live portfolio via my website or just a place for people to just look around.

My first attempt at a written piece was this morning. It took me about an hour to write and edit, after which I promptly destroyed it by accident. There are lots of little places to lose articles on this site. I dare say that as I get into doing this properly, things will improve.

My aim is to showcase favourite drawings, with some of my photographs, artwork and design projects too. Ideally encouraging comments from like-minded people, interested random visitors and potential clients alike to share ideas and thoughts on the styles, trends and other issues surrounding our business.

Call back and look later or leave a message in between time. I’m looking forward to meeting some new people. Here’s a drawing just for starters. It’s one from my plan chest made in charcoal and watercolour.