It's part of a story that my Cakes in Space co-author Philip Reeve and I made up as we went along, based on a little painting he once made on a piece of wood. (You can see earlier Dartmoor Pegasus drawings here.
The thing that got me going was when concept artist Ian McQue tweeted a picture with the #maysketchaday hash tag. People are trying to post one sketch every day, but a lot of these people are concept artists and a lot of what they call 'sketches' look like big, epic finished pieces to me. If I ever start thinking I've figured out this illustration thing, I just need to look over at concept artists' work and realise I still have a long way to go in upping my game. I love line, but I'm not so good at lighting effects and more subtle colours, and some of these guys are masters.
Ian McQue consistently posts amazing work; he's one of the best things happening on Twitter. Here's one, created in Photoshop, with a Blade Runner feel to it:
And another based on his 'Mechadoodles', this one titled 'Flea':
My other favourite person experimenting on Twitter is Jonathan Edwards (@jontofski). Here's a watercolour painting of a street corner in Toronto that most people would probably pass without noticing. He's turned it into total magic:
This #maysketchaday challenge has instroduced me to some more concept artists. Check out work by Thomas Scholes:
Here's one by Paul Scott Canavan (@abigbat):
And another by Lennart Verhoeff (@Pixeltuner):
I'm going to try to post some more drawings for #maysketchaday. I'm not sure they'll be every day because I have a lot of events, but I'll do my best. Thanks for sharing your work, lovely concept artists. You're very inspiring!