An important thing to remember this Christmas...

It's been an insanely busy month for us with commissions turning up all over the place (hence the lack of blog posts recently), however we're here to make it up to you with our 2008 Christmas card.` Incidentally, you know you may be a work-aholic when you've worked without a day off for a month and you still feel compelled to make a Christmas card at 9pm after you started work at 8am...

I really had an urge to do something traditionally Christmassy this year, but as always, a little bit of humour had to sneak in there because after all, it is us!

Hope you have a great Christmas, we'll see you all next year!

All the best,
David and Sarah

Advanced Photoshop's 50th issue - 50 covers by 50 artists!

You can now pick up the big 50th issue spectacular of Advanced Photoshop, where we took part in their lead feature "50 Covers by 50 Artists". The jpeg here is a tad small, but if you look carefully you can see we included a film strip featuring our long history with Advanced Photoshop magazine: our winning Peer Pressure appearance (remember that?), our first ever tutorial, the first ever winning monthly competition image and our most recent tutorial for Advanced Photoshop!

Have fun,
David

10 Leaders- haven't you bought it yet?

If not, here's what you're missing out on...




So what are you waiting for? Click on the link in our sidebar to buy it from Amazon!

10 Leaders who Changed the World
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

Buy our books!

For those of you who haven't snapped up your copy of 10 Explorers and 10 Leaders, well now's your chance. Our more observant followers may have noticed a few changes to the blog, including an exciting new carousel in the sidebar with highly recommended books. Simply click on the book of your choice to be taken to amazon.co.uk; we're very selective about which books we recommend, so you know it'll be a cracker. Go on, give it a whirl! (See what I did there?).

And if you still need some persuading, here's another sample image from 10 Leaders to whet your appetite...





10 Leaders who Changed the World
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

"10 Leaders who Changed the World" sneak peek #7

It's time for another image from the book "Ten Leaders who Changed the World", and today Hitler is in the spotlight...





10 Leaders who Changed the World
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

We're in ImagineFX again!

If you pick up this month's issue of ImagineFX (#37-The December issue!) You can see my advice on good forum crit etiquette! As well as learning how to point out what needs improving in a pic without making a new enemy, it also features the revamped version of our 'Mechanic girl'. You can see how the older version below stacks up against the new version,which was largely based on forum feedback.

Have fun,
David

Tiki and Mambo: When hamsters get drunk! (with a little Monkey Island influence)

These little Roborovski hamsters were commissioned for a very good friend of ours who is really into Tiki culture. After doing a bit of research into all things Tiki, everything kept reminding me of the Lucas Arts "Secret of Monkey Island" games which I still love to this day. As a result, the eagle eyed amongst you will notice that a few Monkey Island easter eggs got thrown into the mix for this image, plus one completely unrelated game just for fun. Which ones can you spot?

After studying his work, I have a whole new respect for Bill Tiller who inspired a lot of the Monkey Island aesthetics. His take on clouds inspired me a lot for this image. I really enjoyed making this, so thanks for the inspiration Bill!

Have fun,
David

"10 Leaders who Changed the World" sneak peek #6

Monday again already?! Okay then, here's the latest 10 Leaders image depicting Stalin's victory at Reichstag...



10 Leaders who Changed the World
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

"10 Leaders who Changed the World" sneak peek #5

It's Monday, which means it's time for another preview image from the Ten Leaders book.
Hitler's idea of "care in the community" left a little to be desired....




10 Leaders who Changed the World
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

"10 Leaders who Changed the World" sneak peek #4

Today's offering from "10 Leaders" depicts the momentous falling of the Berlin wall. If you look closely you might spot some familiar faces in the crowd...




10 Leaders who Changed the World
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

Margaret Thatcher - The Iron Lady

Back in July, we announced a competition that we were holding with "Do You Remember?" where one lucky winner would end up with their very own extremely limited edition Cool Surface artwork created just for them! As you can see the winner went with a very definitive (albeit unexpected) icon from the 80's, UK Prime minister Margaret Thatcher. It was a bit of a different topic from Superted, He-Man or Barbie as we expected, but proved to be interesting subject matter nonetheless.

PS. Apologies for not updating the blog last week, we were relocating to our new home. Don't worry though, we're settled into the brand new Cool Surface towers and normal service has been resumed!

"10 Leaders who Changed the World" sneak peek #3

Here's your weekly Leaders preview image. And today we have a scene from the steelworks during Stalin's reign. Don't ask me what the steelworks have to do with Stalin; we don't write the books, we just draw the pictures. So I suppose you'll just have to buy a copy and find out [/end shameless plug]





10 Leaders who Changed the World
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

Buy this book: “Fantasy Artist's Figure Drawing Bible” by Matt Dixon!

Not only is he one of the nicest guys in this business, Matt Dixon is just damned talented. Those 2 reasons are enough to pick up “The Fantasy Artist's Figure Drawing Bible” by Matt Dixon, but if you need more convincing, here's a quick rundown of the book.
It's 256 pages on fantasy character design, from the basics of drawing the figure through costume and prop design, characterisation and rendering. Containing 30 example characters which are included, each showing progression from first doodle to finished artwork.

Matt's characters are brilliant, and his artwork always shows through a great sense of humour, so what are you waiting for? Click on the link in our carousel in the sidebar and buy it now!

Out now in the UK through A&C Black. Published later this month in the USA through Barron's Educational.

Have fun,
David

PS. Come back Monday for another "10 Leaders..." Preview!

"10 Leaders who Changed the World" sneak peek #2

Here's the second Leaders image. It's a day late, but let's just blame that on the Bank Holiday!
This is Hitler, enduring a bitter winter roughing it on the streets...



10 Leaders who Changed the World
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

"10 Leaders who Changed the World" sneak peek #1

Here it is! The first preview image for the upcoming book "10 Leaders who Changed the World".
And an exciting piece to start off with; a WW2 dogfight from the chapter devoted to the great Winston Churchill...


10 Leaders who Changed the World
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

"10 Explorers who Changed the World" sneak peek #6

It's a sad day today, as this is the last Explorers sneak peek that we'll be showing you... But, don't despair! Soon you'll be treated to some select images from the next book in the series; "10 Leaders who Changed the World". For now, here's one of Magellan's men trying to catch a tasty penguin (not the chocolatey kind, though)...




10 Explorers Who Changed the World
Publishing 4 August 2008
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

"10 Explorers who Changed the World" sneak peek #5

Last Monday we showed you ships in a stormy sea. This week's image shows how Columbus' men would tie themselves securely to the ship during stormy weather to avoid falling overboard...




10 Explorers Who Changed the World
Publishing 4 August 2008
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

"10 Explorers who Changed the World" sneak peek #4

Here's our regular Monday afternoon Explorers sneak peek. Has it really been a whole week since the last one? Things have been so busy at Cool Surface Towers that the time has really been flying by...


10 Explorers Who Changed the World
Publishing 4 August 2008
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

"10 Explorers who Changed the World" sneak peek #3

As promised, here's the next Explorers Day (formerly known as Monday) sneak peek installment. Here, Jacques-Yves Cousteau uses his trusty underwater camera to fend off sharks...


10 Explorers Who Changed the World
Publishing 4 August 2008
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

Increase your karma: help Matthew Woodson!

Here at Cool Surface towers, we're big fans of Ghostco's Matthew Woodson. Not only is he an amazingly talented artist, but he writes a very honest and entertaining blog "With hands and hair..." which you should bookmark for reading immediately after your done with your regular visit here.

Now to the crux of this post, unlike here in England where the spiders are just things that I have to get out of the room because Sarah is scared of them, in America the spiders mean business.

I'll let Matthew elaborate: "On Monday of last week I was bitten by a yet unknown poisonous spider on my right knee. By Tuesday I was running a high fever and unable to walk. On Friday evening I collapsed and was rushed to the ER. After a series of x-rays and a whole lot of examination, I was informed that I had a rather large abscess and cellulitis due to the spider's bite. I was sent home early Saturday morning after having my knee surgically "drained", and in more pain than I have ever been in. After a doctor's appointment this Monday, another abscess was drained and I was informed that I would need to see a doctor weekly until the wound had healed, which could possibly take up to 8 months. Within these 8 months there will remain the very real threat of the infection spreading into the bone of my knee, as well as the possibility of blood poisoning."

Because Matthew lives in America, there's no NHS, so this is going to cost him. A lot. So we're asking you to go and visit his site and maybe buy a print from him, or even better, commission him to draw something. It's the first time he's ever taken on commssions, and you couldn't ask for a more talented artist to draw something for you, and even better, you'd get a great piece of art while helping him out financially. And if you need more convincing, here's a sample of his work here:Well, what are you waiting for? go visit his site and blog now! If you're lucky, he may even be persuaded to email you the pics of his knee hole!

"10 Explorers who Changed the World" sneak peek #2

It's Monday, so here's another taster from the upcoming book "10 Explorers who Changed the World".


Every Monday we'll treat you to another preview image from the series, so come back next week to see a unique method of shark repellent...

10 Explorers Who Changed the World
Publishing 4 August 2008
By Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books
www.panmacmillan.co.uk

Win some Cool Surface Art at "Do You Remember.co.uk"!

Who wants some art for free? (Actually, I do, but nobody ever sends me any...*sniff*) Enough about my lack of free stuff, this is all about free stuff for you!

Our good friends at "Do You Remember?" (probably the world's number one retro website for everything that was cool in the the 70's and 80's) are currently holding a competition for one lucky winner to have their very own extremely limited edition Cool Surface artwork created just for them! Now, this could go to anyone on the site, but we'd like it even more if somebody who regularly views this blog wins, so go enter now!

All you have to do is let them know which 80's character you would most like to adorn your wall - this could be anything from Transformers to Barbie or even Spotty and Superted! Sarah wants Superted, but personally, I'm thinking that "Blues" here looks pretty good, nudge nudge...

Sneak Peek from the Upcoming "10 Explorers who Changed the World"

We've been teasing you for over a year now about these mysterious books we've been working on, but as the release date approaches we can finally begin to show you a few images from the upcoming book "10 Explorers who Changed the World". This is the first in a new and exciting series for younger readers. Due to be released on the 4th August 2008 by Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Books, this new and innovative series of books will use Cool Surface's animated art style to attract more reluctant readers and teach History in an exciting and engaging way. Here's a glimpse of Magellan's employee appraisal system...


For more information about the books, visit www.panmacmillan.co.uk

Summer's here!

Here's our latest commission from Imagine Publishing. A summer themed tutorial imaginatively titled "Summer". If you want to find out how we created this image using a variety of textures from real-life hair to a pair of bikini bottoms, then pick up a copy of Advanced Photoshop Magazine issue 45, on the shelves now! There are also some of our very own custom brushes supplied on the accompanying CD. What more could you ask for?!

SC

Shiny Pink Top!

This lovely lady was drawn for a limited series of promotional mini-prints that Sarah and I made. For lack of a better title, we call this one "Shiny Pink Top"!

Have fun,
David

Sneak Peak!

After a very long 3 weeks without having my own computer to use (my laptop's video card fried itself!) I'm finally back online with a brand new PC! (I can't tell you how much I've missed using my own setup, borrowing Sarah's system and checking email remotely just wasn't the same!) If you've emailed me over the last 3 weeks and haven't heard from me, that's why! I'll be in touch soon, promise.

Anyway, before I get to my mountain of emails, here's a sneak peak of an upcoming magazine commission. We don't normally show you images from magazines before they see print, but the final image went in a very different direction from this initial concept sketch, so we thought we'd share it with you to show how differently the colour scheme and painting style could've been...

We'll post the actual image when it's published later this month.

Have fun,
David

Recommended Reading: Comic Art Now

Today, instead of showing you some of our art (because everything new is under an NDA at the moment) lets plug something we aren't in (for a change!)

"Comic Art Now" is an anthology book from Ilex Press that focuses on interior decorating. Kidding, I was just checking that you're all paying attention!

You can already guess that it collects art from numerous professionals in the comic industry, but what makes it worth picking up is the range of styles involved. From the brilliant cartoon stylings of Dan Boultwood (who I once worked with at Mongoose Publishing many years ago), the retro-cool work of James Hodgkins, some dream-like work from Kate Brown, the nightmare inpiring offerings of Ben Templesmith to the excellent cel-shaded work of Paul Duffield, pretty much everything is represented here. Granted, as with all anthology books there will be some entries that you don't care for, but there are definitely more hits than misses here, so we can safely say it's worth a look! Click here to see where you can get it from! Happy reading!

Back soon with some more art,
David

"Adrenaline"- Digital Arts Magazine Tutorial

Introducing "Gayle Forzz", the star of our latest commission for IDG.
You can find out how to create this image by checking out our tutorial in Digital Arts Magazine, out now!

Enjoy!
SC

A book to buy and another one to avoid!

It's shameless self-promotion time again (when isn't it?)! You may remember a while ago I posted the Djinn as a sample of two pieces of art I submitted to an upcoming anthology by the good people (A special nod to Chris Gatcum) of Ilex Press?
Well, Erotic Fantasy Art is now available! It's doesn't just feature yours truly, it's got loads of excellent talent, including Billy Nunez, Martin Abel, Cool Surface's good friend Steph Laberis, the sorely missed Glen Angus and wonderful pieces from the authors Aly Fell and Jonny Duddle! This must be a record for the most links in a post ever...

Synopsis (from Amazon)
"Erotic Fantasy Art" is a unique showcase of today's very best erotic art. Drawing on a wide variety of work by traditional and digital painters and illustrators from all over the world, it comprises a sourcebook of ideas and inspiration guaranteed to stimulate the imagination of all artists who strive to give their artwork an erotic edge. In this book you will find superlative examples of a wide variety of erotic styles and genres. The authors are on hand to guide you through the selection, revealing the background behind the images, sharing anecdotes drawn from interviews with the artists, and sharing practical tips and tricks on how the works have been created.

*******
And now, from something you should definitely buy to something you should stay well away from! We were informed by illustrator Darren Di Lieto, who runs the Little Chimp Society illustration site, that the work of loads of illustrators, and his interviews with them for the LCS, have been plagiarized in a 350-page book being sold online for $100!

None of the people whose work is represented have received anything from this book. You can read more about it at Darren's Blog where he has scans of everyone that has had work stolen. Please help spread the word and
Please DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!


Thanks everyone,
David

It's not just filler, honest....

It's been a little while since our last update, but there's lots of new artwork on it's way from magazine tutorials due out this month and next. To keep you happy until then, here's another quick study from reference by David. The first person to guess who the image is based on wins a great, big...... "Well done!"

Enjoy!
SC

Second post of the week- we're spoiling you!

Here's a quick reference study that David knocked up yesterday morning (not in THAT way!)...

Enjoy!

SC

As promised...

Well, it's been an insane amount of work, but our second book for Macmillan is now finished, which must mean it's time to update the blog. First things first, here's the coloured version of Sarah and I. Come back later this week for more new pics! Yes, that's right, this week! We spoil you don't we?

More soon,
David

Happy 2008

Happy New Year! We hope this year has started well for all our fans out there.
2008 will be bringing lots of exciting changes in the world of Cool Surface. Firstly, a new addition to the team... that's me, Sarah!
Also, we are in the process of becoming a Limited Company. Which won't mean a lot to many people (except the tax man), but it does to us- mainly because we get to call ourselves "Company Directors" and put "Ltd." at the end of the old Cool Surface name!
Here's a sketch of both of us that David drew... I'm the one on the right with the slightly less impressive stubble! Come back soon for a shiny, new coloured version...

SC