London MCM Expo this weekend ^_^

Hey, guys! I'm getting all hyped about the expo coming up this weekend; hope to see some of you there. I'll be there all weekend at the Sweatdrop stand in the ComicVillage. I'll be offering sketches, commissions and of course Dragon Heir, alongside my studio buddies and many other awesome comickers! ^_^

On the Saturday you can find me on the main stage along with Leah Moore, Kit Buss of WindFlowerStudios and Darren Garrett of LittleLoud Studio as we talk about the upcoming Thrill Electric project.

And on Sunday, I'll be on the comics stage with the fabulous Becky Cloonan, Jamie McKelvie and Kieron Gillen as we discuss and answer questions on paths into the industry and how you can get creating yourself! ^_^

I'm also looking forward to the Artists Vs Writers showdown...maybe this time, artists. Maybe THIS time!

Bristol comic con

Popping in very quickly to shout out that I shall be at Bristol comic con this weekend, yay! I'll be sharing a table with the delectable Kate Brown and Paul Duffield and we'll be on table number 140 in the mercure holland hotel. It's going to be a lot of fun!
I'm typing this on the move, so apologies for the lack of linkage! Do come and say hello^_^

Arcane Vault announce limited edition laser cel

It was a nice surprise to see this announced yesterday, hot on the heels of the USAToday preview! Arcane Vault, official merchandisers for Vampire Academy, have shown a preview of the first in a line of  pretty funky Lase Cels I'm creating. These are going to be limited edition and feature artwork made exclusively for the cels. I've seen the products made for other titles, and they are very awesome! The first print is one that all RoseXDimitri fans should enjoy ^_~
Click the banner for the laser cel announcement.

Working on long contracts like this can be very isolating at times, but seeing announcements finally making their way out into the world makes the months of hard work totally worth it!

Vampire Academy exclusive on USA Today

Rather excitingly, USA Today have published an exclusive preview of the graphic novel along with an interview with myself and the fabulous Richelle Mead. Apologies for the low quality banner image, haha, but click through to see the first six pages of the book and read a little about the process.

Pinups galore

I will always consider myself a comicker first and an artist second. I just love creating pages and telling stories. But every now and then I'll need to do a standalone image, and this week has been all about the pinups. ^_^ Firstly, a cover for one of the episodes of Thrill Electric - the exciting new digital comic series I mentioned a while ago. Produced by Hat Trick and channel 4, written by Leah Moore and John Reppion, and drawn by Windflower Studio, it's going to be a very cool series indeed! Oh, and I was the designer, so it's been really amazing watching my character designs and colour suggestions being taken forward and put into comic form; very cool. For those interested, there's a step-by-step for the pre-colours part of my cover behind the banner. To see the full, coloured image, you'll need to check out issue 2 of the comic when it's out. ^_^
And the second pinup? Well, Vampire Academy fans may like it ^_~ Hopefully we'll be able to show at least a snippet of it soon. I know you guys have been amazingly patient for a long time!

Genre For Japan - custom charity sketch

If you follow my twitter you may already have seen this, but I am offering up a custom sketch of the winner's choosing to the highest bidder! My pencil is at your mercy, haha! '^_^
All proceeds from the Genre for Japan project will go towards aid efforts in Japan, where they are much needed. My lot is just one item up for grabs in this pretty amazing charity auction, so head over and take a look.
(banner this post is from an image appearing in an ImagineFX Q&A soon)

My life in fantasy ^_^

Okay, so two fantasy-related bigs things finished yesterday. One was the first book in the Avalon Chronicles series I'm doing for Oni Press! WOOOOOT. All pages submitted and I await the script for the second book eagerly, as Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir are bloody amazing. ^_^ Sadly, the book won't be out for a little while, so rather than post an image for that just now (we'll have to all sit on our anticipation, haha), I'll post an image of the other fantasy related adventure I finished last night:

That there is my digital boyfriend, Anders, from Dragon Age 2, haha XD He's a...bit of a handful.
I adore bioware games. Dragon Age 1 is still tearing at my heart strings (Oh, Alistair). Much as those of you who follow me on twitter will know I joke about the love stories in these games, I don't want to do an injustice to the actual stories - which are just superb. Bioware write amazing, epic characters and worlds and I love them for it. Roll on the next Dragon Age game!
(EDIT hehe, couldn't help myself...Anders fanart!)

Arcane Vault provide the goods ^_^

I've been really slow to post this, but a little while ago I was lucky enough to get a box of goodies from Arcane Vault, the merchandisers for Vampire Academy. I was absolutely thrilled! So, as I type, I'm wearing a VA T-shirt and a St Vladimir's hoodie (it has fleece lined pockets), and I'm drinking from my St Vladimir's water flask and of course the coffee mug. My bag is jingling with a few awesome keyrings...I'm basically living it up as a student of St Vladimir's Academy right now. The merchandise is really lovely quality and makes me smile a lot! Thank you, Arcane Vault!
The reason I'm in touch with the guys may just be connected to some shiny, art-related products that we'll let you know about when we can...stay tuned! ^__^