I can finally show 'Retrocave', my illustration for art book #EVERYDAYISPLAY by @Gamepaused

Retrocave

Super proud to have this painting included in the stunning coffee table art book "Every Day is Play", now available on Gamepaused.net.

From an early age I've been pretty obsessed with video games, and this painting has several meanings (as well as a bunch of game references - can you spot them all?);

1, It depicts how a single controller (in my case my first time was with a NES) can be a gateway into another world for a highly imaginative kid.

2, It shows how often, when we revisit the things we remember fondly from our past (especially old games), they haven't aged too well and don't live up to the amazing memories we have of them.

The kid dangling from the wire is me in the early 90's at the height of my obsession - a simpler time when games were 2D, all multiplayer was local and the most important thing in a game was how 'cool' the mascot was.  Ahh, good times!

Below are some shots of the book itself;

You can order your own copy from www.gamepaused.net/books/everydayisplay and it's well worth the money.



Shane
www.ShaneMadeArt.com

Introducing Whittle Mill, plus cover illustration for 'Progressive Greetings' magazine

In January this year my sentiment driven card range for Gemma International, Whittle Mill, launched into Clintons stores nationwide!  It recently featured on the cover of Progressive Greetings, the number one magazine of the UK greetings industry, which was really satisfying to create and see in print.

Whittle Mill is a cute sentimental range centred around two wooden puppets. There’s a sweet little story to accompany them which tells of how, long ago, a couple carved a heart into a tree which sealed their love inside it forever. Years later a branch falls from the tree and is carved into two puppets who, imbued with the love once sealed in the wood, come to life to be reunited.

This range is very much a love letter to my Wife, who inspired the relationship based illustrations as well as the background story (below) and the verse inside—which in its self was a whole new, and very rewarding, experience to write.

The story on the back of every cards reads (get ready for the feels!);

"A long time ago, before you and me,

A happy couple sat under a tree.

Into the bark they each carved a heart,

And swore to each other they never would part.

In leaving the hearts their promise was kept,

And for many years in the wood their love slept.

Then on one windy day a branch snapped and fell,

Landing next to a sculptor, who said with a yell...

“This wood is perfect for the toys I’ve drafted!”

And from the branch two puppets were crafted.

The sculptor examined his work, delighted,

The happy couple at last reunited."

But my illustrations would be nothing on cards without the expert graphic design skills of fellow Gemma creative Adam Martin which frames them so perfectly.  

As previously mentioned, Whittle Mill is currently in Clintons stores across the UK, and will soon be sneaking into Tesco and WH Smith.

This post contains excerpts from a recent interview I did for Tuts+ which you can read here.


Shane
www.ShaneMadeArt.com

Blue Nose Friends toy environment concepts

This will be my last post of artwork from my time at Carte Blanche Greetings.

I think the forest image above was actually the best thing I did whilst at the company, so it's a good one to close this chapter of my artistic career on.

Below are some concepts for other such worlds, along with the 'magical doors' which lead to each one.
Seems like a lifetime ago I did these, but it was a really fun project.

Images courtesy of and copyright Carte Blanche Greetings

There was a whole new character sub brand I worked on whilst there that I'm dying to show, but as it never made it to market I'll probably never be able to.  :(

Next onto some newer stuff!


SHane
www.ShaneMadeArt.com

Blue Nose Summer beach

Image courtesy of Carte Blanche Greetings

As the weather's so amazing at the moment I thought this painting would be approriate.  Enjoy the summer while it lasts!

I feel it's time I closed the blue nose chapter of my illustration career, so I'm only going to post a few more of my Carte Blanche images, after which it'll just be personal work and anything I get approval to post from my current job.



Shane
www.ShaneMadeArt.com

Blue Nose Friends Blossom Pond

Image Courtesy of Carte Blanche Greetings

A promotional illustration created for the launch of the included characters in plush form.  I always enjoy painting water and it was fun experimenting with different colours and levels of transparency in this piece.

Shane
www.ShaneMadeArt.com

Quaint toy fireplace

Image courtesy of Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd

A painting used as a decal inside "Tatty Teddy's heart shaped house", a new toy that's part of a range from Worlds Apart.

In the snap below you can see it on TV, the second time my artwork's been shown on the small screen (the first was the result of a competition I entered when I was 8 so it doesn't really count);

Check out www.TattyTeddyToys.com to see the rest of the toy range.

Shane

Tatty Teddy and Blue Nose Friends Sky Scape

Image courtesy of Carte Blanche Greetings

An image used in a kind of trailer animation for the newly released Tatty Teddy and My Blue Nose Friends toys.

This is what I call the 'Sky Scape', an aerial kingdom found within the sky door (to be shown in a future post).

About the new toys, got to www.tattyteddytoys.com to check them out; Your small female relatives will love 'em!

Shane

Tic Toc Jungle themed door concept

Image property of Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd

A themed door which leads to a kind of Jungle world where there's a time travelling Grandfather clock.  That particular idea probably won't make it into the final products so I thought I'd put it out there anyway.

Painting this made me realise how fun it must be to design one of those crazy environments in a theme park, so if anyone out there's developing a new attraction and needs some ideas all you have to do is ask!

Shane

Tic Toc Jungle environment concept

Image property of Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd

A quick concept for the magical 'Jungle world' of the Blue Nose Friends.  In this post you can see the  door that leads to this land.


Shane

Magical room of magical doors

This is kind of a hub found within Tatty Teddy's wardrobe, each door, for example this farmyard door, leads to a different themed world, for example the Farmyard world.  I think you can see where I'm going with this!

Initially it was produced for a style guide to inspire new toys, but has since been used on a bunch of things including a giant display at the London Toy Fair (shown below, I did the characters too), which was nice.

More doors coming in future.

Shane

(All images property of Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd)

Home, blue home

Image Property of Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd

A potential new house for the Blue Nose Friends, but what's it actually for?  You might find out in a  few years :)

Zoom-in to check out my favourite part -  the contoured roof!

Shane S

Creative influence map

Loads more I wanted to include but decided to stick with the grid ‘rules’ on the bottom of the template instead.

I mainly included artists that have influenced my work and technique directly rather than just a bunch that I loved but didn’t consciously take anything from, hence no James Jean, Da Vinci or Watterson.

I'm always interested to find out the creative origins of artists I admire, so have been checking out a whole bunch of these things online lately.  A few highlights are those of Sam Nielson (surprising how similar my own influences are to his, unfortunately I left off Monkey Island but I haven't been able to draw clouds without including a spiral since playing MI3!), and Sebastien gallego.

Download the template file from the creator's DeviantArt page at http://fav.me/d2vx881 and create your own.

Shane S

Tatty Teddy Rainbow Lake

Image and character property of Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd

An experimental Tatty Teddy painted a few years ago.  Although the concept wasn't quite right I still like the colours so I thought I'd post it anyway.

Shane S

Blue Nose Friends springtime pond

Image and characters property of Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd

Really enjoyed painting this illustration as it was a good chance to mess around with water effects, plus it's kind of two images in one which is never a bad thing if you enjoy a bit of variety.

Promotional image for the plush launch of these four characters.

Shane S

Lighthouse aerial scene

Image property of Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd

A background painting for an animated short.

Shane S

Summer fun with some blue nose friends

Characters and image property of Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd

Promotional image for the launch of these plush characters.  It was also a great chance to experiment with coloured lighting.

Shane S

Blue Nose wishing well

Image and characters property of Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd

Promotional image for the toy launch of these four little guys.

Blue Nose beach 2

Image and animation property of Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd

Another animation background for this short, beaches are surprisingly fun to paint;

Blue Nose Spring

Image and characters property of Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd

A promotional poster for a Blue Nose Friend toy launch.  had a lot of fun painting the environment on this one.

Shane

Blue Nose Beach background

A panoramic background for an animated My Blue Nose Friends short (before and after playtime!).

With the Blue Nose Friends;

After the kids have gone home - spot the difference;

Images, animation and characters property of Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd

Watch the final animation below, created by the folks over at Gizmo Animation;