"CAN HE BLAST IT?"

Dang right, he can! Still my favourite character from Star Wars, and also the coolest ever action figure, it was only a matter of time until I "Bob the Buildered" him. I've posted this in response to comments in the past both on here and on the blogs of Paul, Nik and Andy. I did mention that at one time I was often asked to do comic/film characters in the style of Bob - this first began at signings at festivals, and soon spread to bookstore and school appearances. I'll dig out the character doodles I've done of other infamous Bobified folk as and when, so they'll turn up on here intermittently.

Work back on track now after Lottie's arrival. Frankenstein's Cat designs come thick and fast, am opening my laptop for a bit of novel writing again tonight (have had a two month break from the book and am itching to get back to it, it's conclusion now resolved) and have also secured the services of Ian Culbard to co-write and animate a bonafide Biteneck Beatniks pilot episode/trailer.

Bada Bling!

More press for Frankenstein's Cat

Article in THE SUN

Just stumbled across this article online which I figure was in today's Sun newspaper. Not a newspaper I'd ordinarily get but might have to ask the newsagent if he can dig out a copy of it tomorrow as I've missed it now. Nice to see the Cat still getting column centimetres! :-D

I've been absent from the blog due to fresh fatherhood once more. Yes, restless nights all over again as we take it in shifts to be deprived of sleep. Wouldn't change it for a thing, mind you. Has been lovely this weekend to have all my kids at home with me, AJ, Evie and Lottie. A happier chap you'd struggle to find.

As things are settling back into order now it's back to work for me this week as the Cat production rolls on, namely with me churning out the designs for episode number 2. All fun stuff.

On a much sadder note, I'm sorry to report that my good friend and mentor Jeanette Crizzle lost her battle against Leukemia on Friday in the early hours. I first met Jeanette when I turned up to do creative writing and illustration workshops with her class of boys at Bedford prep school and her unfailing dedication to her pupils, literature and most significantly her family took my breath away. I've been back to Bedford frequently in the last few years, Jeanette principally being the draw. She leaves behind Adam and her two children, Emily and Nicky. I've agreed to become a patron of the Jeanette Crizzle Trust, hopefully helping to spotlight and raise the profile on the criminally ignored subject of bone marrow donation.

Following on from this awful news, I'd like to direct anyone who hasn't read it to "Harry" by Rosemary Timperley, in my opinion one of the greatest short ghost stories ever written, certainly the saddest. It's there alongside "The Monkey's Paw" for mine. Jeanette directed me to it when we first met and it had a profound effect upon me. Please try and pick it up if you're a fan of chillers/horrors. It can be found in various collections, most notably the Roald Dahl Book of Short Ghost Stories.

"Such ordinary things make me afraid. White roses. Sunlight. Sharp shadows on grass..."

Scarlett Victoria born 10/10/06

Proud dad and daughter here! Emma and "Lottie" are both well after a pretty traumatic birth. Lottie weighed in at 9lb 1oz which is pretty blooming big. This should explain my absence from posts and whatnots in the last week though.

Below we're joined by Evie, the doting big sister, and Nanny, my mum. Evie can't stop kissing her, bless, and kicks up a right fuss if she doesn't get to. Lottie bears an uncanny resemblance to Evie, as Evie had a full shock of black hair when she was born also (although she obviously "blonded up" at a later date!) Facial features are spookily similar though (and no, I don't just mean that they both have eyes, a nose and ears and the like!)

She's beautiful and I can only thank my wonderful wife for gifting me another darling daughter. AJ gets to meet her next weekend so that's the next thing we have to look forward to :-)

Illustration posts are obviously to a minimum at the moment but I'll be back on the pony before you know it, I promise!

"Mr Zombie Presents......"

Big meeting tomorrow in Newcastle with Northern Film & Media. NFM have funded various projects I've worked on in the past and they're a wonderful organisation, a regional division of the old UK Film Council. I'm hoping they may be able to come on board as I develop a new series of short animations for mobile phones, titled above.

As a viewer, you are invited into the world of Mr Zombie, your erstwhile guide to life (or un-life as the case may be) via the magic of 2D digital animation! In shorts of various lengths (and I don’t mean leg-wear) Mr Zombie provides a quick insight into all manner of pursuits, from the mundane to the magnificent. Sadly for our titular host, each of these lessons results in injury, dismemberment, and body parts falling from his forsaken body…