Réics Carló 2012

‘Binjí Madra ar Strae’ written by Patricia Forde and illustrated by Brian Fitzgerald. Binjí is shortlist for Réics Carló 2012 Children’s Book of the Year. Awards on the 21^st November 2012.

Binjí the dog and Cloigín the cat

Binjí, the little dog, has got lost in the big city. 

 Anxious to reunite with his master who awaits him at the market, 

 Binjí meets a clever cat named Cloigín.

 Cloigín is sure she can help Binjí find his way home.

 But can she, really?


Benjí decides to follow his own instincts




For children 10-13 years and adults of every age!

Images 36 Best of British Illustration 2012

A couple of weeks ago my copy of Images 36 arrived. 

It’s a great privilege to be in this years Best of British Illustration.

Raising money for Temple Street Children's Hospital

Sharp Suits is an exhibition of posters by members of the Irish design and advertising community. The posters depict the funniest and most outrageous quotes ever heard from clients. During Design  Week (2nd Nov - 7th Nov) the posters will be displayed for sale at 'The Little Green Café, Bar and Gallery, 13 High Street Dublin.

All proceeds will go to Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

Opening night Friday the 2nd of November, from 5pm,

Posters will be exhibited during Design Week (2nd Nov - 7th) November 2012 and then sold for €10 apiece.

Preliminary Sketch

My contribution to Sharp Suits exhibition was a line I heard a lot when I worked at studio in London in the 90’s. I imagine most creatives heard a version of it in some shape of form during their careers. 'We want it to look like this but don't copy it, just make it different enough but keep it the same'.

finalised idea

Because it was a project for the Temple Street Children's Hospital the first image that came to mind was a playful image of two elephants face to face. The page would be divided down the middle and the silly quote would sit below the illustration. 

I applied chalk on the reverse side of the sketch …

... and transferred it onto the scraperboard using a sharp pencil pressing down on the sketched side of the chalked page. 

Cutting a scraperboard creates wonderful shapes depending on the tools you use.

It’s a slow process but it’s definitely worth the trouble

Close up.

Now I'm happy with the final scraperboard  it's time to scan the image into Photoshop.

 I saved the line in channels, which gave me the freedom to choose whatever colours needed for the scraperboard line. Sticking to a select palette  I used Photoshop to colour up the elephants onto different layers.

I created new colours for the water drops and bubbles.

The image needed to be divided down the centre. On the left I used a slightly crumpled and torn effect to suggest an older image while the right side represents the new image. The same but different!

I found a suitable font to work along with the scraperboard. 

That's it, ready to email it off now and hopefully raise some money.

Thanks for your time.

 Opening night Friday the 2nd of November, from 5pm,

Posters will be exhibited during Design Week (2nd Nov - 7th)  November 2012 and then sold for €10 apiece.