15th December 2006 This will probably be my last update on this version of this website. I've got plans for a major overhaul before the end of the year after more than two years with this layout! A lot has changed since September 2004, not least the big move to becoming a freelance artist. I've had another busy couple of months, working for Imagine FX and a new, and different, contract with Sony. Here's a detail from my most recent piece for 'Imagine FX', a line-up of Circus Folk:

There's also a bunch of miscellaneous stuff in the GuMPF section, including more experimentation with Painter IX. I've also managed to get involved with some of my favourite forums a little more than i have been, including working up a piece for a UK vs. Scandinavia 'Thunderdome' conceptart.org called 'Erik the Hungry Viking'.

25th September 2006 There's been another big gap between updates, but my leap into freelance has been going well and i've been snowed under with Imagine FX workshops and a freelance contract with SCEE. Here's a recent Chimpski image for Imagine FX:

Obviously, it's fantastic that i've been keeping myself busy with proper work, but it's left little time for my personal work, or even personal projects that i'm hoping to see in print. And one of the few drawbacks with producing concept art for computer games is that, with NDA's and long development cycles, i can't show work here until it's a year or two old! I've got a ton of stuff that i'd love to post from the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' (which i was working on at Eurocom), but the game's still in development and the concept art remains hush hush. For Sony Computer Entertainment, i've been working on a huge PS3 game called 'Eight Days'. There's a fantastic team at Sony, and i've been producing hundreds of character concepts along with an old friend, John Clark.

I've also been working on some new King of Space images and assembling content and comic strips for the upcoming website. I'm hoping to get it all online before Christmas.... 2006.... I'll upload some of the concept art and sketches here soon!

14th June 2006 I think this has been the longest gap between updates since i launched my website! But i've had SO much going on! In the middle of March i left Eurocom, where I'd been working for 15 months on a next generation 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Game, but i was tempted away by the lure of the life as a freelance artist. Here's my latest published piece for ‘Imagine FX’.

I've done a few more workshops for Imagine FX (i finished my 8th piece last week!), and some of those images can be linked from the 'What's New?' section below, or from the 'Gumpf' gallery. Imagine FX commissions are always great fun to produce, because there's a degree of freedom that i don't always get producing concept art. And i'm allowed to waffle on a bit about how i produced the image. I think i've learnt a lot about my own working process by writing the articles. And the rest of the magazine is an entertaining read and has featured some fantastic artists such as Aly Fell, Jason Chan and Linda Bergkvist... So go out and buy a copy!

The other grrrreat bit of news is that i landed a freelance contract with a major publisher to join their concept team on a (very) high profile next-gen project. Obviously, i won't be posting work here for a long time, but it's a different style to my personal work and a mouth-watering challenge! It's also kept me shackled to my Wacom since March which means that personal projects (such as the 'King of Space' and 'The Firewood Flute') have been put on the back burner for a little while longer... Although i have set another personal plate spinning with my 'Chimpski' workshops for 'Imagine FX'. I'll be posting more Chimpski images over the next couple of months...

31st January 2006 It’s been a long time since the last update and such a lot has happened! I’ve posted new images all over the place, but I’ve linked most of them from the ‘What’s New?’ thumbnails below. I’m gonna waffle for a bit so bear with me…

I’ve had two tutorials published in the first issue of a new ‘Sci-Fi and Fantasy Art’ magazine called ‘Imagine FX’. The magazine, by Future Publishing, includes work by some big names in the digital art community and is a great read, so go out and buy a copy! The first article is an explanation of how I do character ‘turnarounds’ which make up a huge chunk of my day job. There’s also an article by me entitled ‘Anatomy for Beginners’, so I’ve included some sketches and posted the ‘Bjorn the Berzerker’ turnaround in the ‘Gumpf’ section with some close up JPGs.

I mentioned CGsociety’s ‘Spectacular’ challenge in my last update and was lucky enough to be placed 4th, winning a copy of Corel’s Painter IX and a super-dooper graphics card from ATi. Which was splendid. My finished piece was inspired by my Granddad’s childhood in Manchester, if you find time to read the accompanying text. Finishing the challenge was a struggle because I had a painful bout of RSI, but support from the CGtalk community and a diagnosis of Cancer for my Granddad inspired me to get it finished in the last couple of weeks before the deadline. I wanted to show the finished piece to my Granddad, Joe, but unfortunately he passed away in November. I’ve included a short obituary below, if anyone’s interested in a bit of Duddle history. He was a wonderful man and I’m sure he’d have laughed at the ‘Joseph Duddle’ story. My finished entry for the ‘Spectacular’ challenge is in the ‘Stories’ section and I’ve added some step-by-step images in the ‘How?’ section.

I’ve (at long last) got started on more ‘King of Space’ material and finally got together a website to publish the strips, which should be properly online in the next few weeks. There are some new designs for Rex (King of Space) and a revised version of my original strip. I’ve got big plans for ‘the King of Space’ this year, time permitting (??) so keep an eye on www.thekingofspace.com for images, strips and updates.

I’ve added step-by-step images of the ‘Pirate Muncher’ in the ‘How?’ Section. I’ve not found the time to include any text this week, but hopefully the images are self-explanatory.

There are some ‘A to Z’ animal images in the ‘Gumpf’ section, which you may notice spell the name ‘EVA’. These were printed and framed as a 1st birthday present for my Goddaughter Eva Lee-Smith. I’ve started on ‘DAISY’ too, and then I’ll be hitting the middle names!

There’s also a couple of new links. Celia Calle is one of my favourite illustrators (her motorbike image was my desktop for a long time) and Andy Hickingbottom has been a great support to me online and produces wonderful stylised 3D characters.

The other annoying bit of news is that i've had all sorts of problems with my hands! I had all sorts of pain in my right hand in November which was some kind of repetitive strain injury. Thankfully it seems to have cleared up after i rearranged my office space at Eurocom. And just when my right hand seemed to be working properly again, i managed to snap the tendon on my ring finger on my left hand! It's still in a splint but doesn't bother me too much except when i'm reaching for keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop. Only four more weeks before it comes off... I can't wait...

Phew! That’s about it for now!!