Character Design

A selection of character design work from books and publicity.

Character designs offer benefits in areas like literature, marketing, entertainment, and education. Character illustrations are great at conveying messages, emotions, and narratives. They can transcend language barriers and resonate with diverse audiences, making complex ideas more accessible and engaging.

They can help brand identity. Memorable characters become mascots that consumers associate with products or services, fostering brand recognition and loyalty.
Well-crafted character illustrations evoke emotions and forge connections with audiences. Whether it's through relatable facial expressions, body language, or relatable scenarios, characters can elicit empathy, laughter, or excitement, strengthening the bond between the audience and the content.

Characters are central to storytelling, and illustrations bring them to life in vivid detail. They provide visual cues about a character's personality, background, and motivations, enriching the narrative experience and immersing readers or viewers in the story world.

Character illustrations can be adapted across various media and platforms, including books, animations, merchandise, social media, and websites. Their versatility allows them to be repurposed for different purposes while maintaining consistency in branding and messaging.

In educational settings, character illustrations make learning more engaging and enjoyable, especially for younger learners. They can simplify complex concepts, act as visual aids in textbooks, or serve as interactive avatars in educational games and apps, enhancing comprehension and retention.

Links:
More illustration
A history of Cheadle Hulme School

Inspired by Cyan Lines

Get in touch here

Cyan Lines - Connecting 100 miles of nature in Greater Manchester

I've always wanted to walk the full length of the Irwell River in my home city. From Old Trafford, through Manchester and Salford. So I was inspired recently to attend a full room at Factory International for the launch of CyanLines. It's a bold goal to make the canals of Greater Manchester accessible, connecting the green and blue spaces together. 100 miles of nature walk in 10 years.

It's a pretty audacious idea, and would need a lot of cash, but I was inspired enough to live-scribe it, and also needed to run out my new drawing tablet.

Looking for a live scribe (live artist) for your event? Get in touch.

Start your new project

Links:

The Cyan Lines project
Bruntwood
Urban Splash
Andy Burham

Layout artist

Example of layout artwork from various projects;

Graphic Medicine - comic strips that educate

Ever heard the term Graphic Medicine?

It's not a drawing of a bottle of cough syrup, it's more helpful than that. As described on Graphicmedicine.org it's where healthcare and science meet comics.

It's a term that's been around for almost twenty years, referring to how the visual language of comics can explain complex issues or offer a light-hearted on a serious subject. There's an annual conference too, where professionals discuss how best it can be used.

Here are some illustrations excerpts from a comic strip I did recently, on the subject of scientific samples. I worked with the author on a script that was provided and added the humour where it would fit best. I'm happy with the results, and clean line is my preferred style.

More about Graphic Medicine.

Unlike standard pamphlets or medical texts, illustrated narratives make complex ideas clear and memorable.

For healthcare and med comms organisations, it provides a way to communicate with empathy. A comic steip or visual narrative can highlight patient voices and build stronger trust between providers and communities. Educators and medical professionals also benefit: illustrated stories make sensitive topics easier to discuss, and aid conversations and learning.

For patients, custom illustrations can transform intimidating medical info into something more approachable, helping them feel supported by seeing their own experiences reflected in visual form.

Links:

John's Illustration

Live Scribing Social Values

In May, I was hired to live scribe social values at 'A Greener, Healthier Salford' for an organisation focused on equality and sustainability in cities and communities.

As someone who lived in Salford for seven years, I've seen the prosperity and the challenges the city faces, and understand how very different a place it is from its neighbour, Manchester.

There was a lot to digest and translate, and I think understanding the people and the challenges helped me capture the key messages for the organisations and charities who were present, to have their voices heard and recorded. The Mayor of Salford was in attendance

Little did I know this would be a warm-up for a bigger project involving Salford's bid to become a Unicef Child-Friendly City, but more on that in a later post.

Links:
Live scribe social value
Fairer, Greener, Healthier Salford
The Lowry at MediacityUK
Salford City Council
Mayor of Salford
More Live Scribing

Distance 5th Anniversary Edition

Did you know this week is the fifth anniversary of the UK lockdown?

Crikey, eh?

They were some dark times, crazy times, and some might argue the changes that happened then are still being felt today. To mark the occasion, my graphic novel, DISTANCE, is now available on Amazon for the first time.

Did you run out of toilet roll? Did you social distance in a group of more than 6 people? Did we ever find out if was a scotch egg a substantial meal?

I drew this social commentary in comic book form at the time, as it happened from March 2020 to Jan 2022 and this is the first time the complete version has been available in print.

The title is a play on words about social distance and running, but as time went on it was about perspective too, getting distance from those extraordinary events. May you live in interesting times. Indeed.

Buy now on Amazon

5 Years ago...

Previously Distance has only been available via Kickstarter, where it was successfully funded over 2 volumes, and from me directly at conventions and art fairs. This 'UK Lockdown anniversary' edition contains the entire run, including additional material.

A couple of pages were also shown at the HOME open exhibition in 2022.

Back 2020, I started drawing a comic strip diary. I had no real plan, just creating it one page at a time documenting the ups and downs of life during the pandemic. As time went on it became about how to stay positive, exploring the weird, dark, crazy world we've all experienced dealing with living through such bizarre times. Like most people it made me reflect on life, be super vigilant and make new decisions about the future - whatever that might look like.

Comics are a great way to share experiences, and it was a great way to connect with people at a time when I couldn't touch, hug or meet up with friends.

Book Cover Illustration

Need a book cover design? As a freelance book cover illustrator I can help with that. it's not always humour, though these covers generate the most interest when opening my portfolio. I can work direct with an author or publisher and I'm (at the time of writing) not represented by an agent, so I can offer value for money too.

Here are some examples of previous books I've worked on. I also do interior artwork, and the examples below have 10 black-and-white interior illustrations too, but you'll need to check them yourself to see that! All my book artwork is created traditionally and digitally by hand.

Got questions?

Start your new project

Final Cover - Officer Crabtree's Fronch Phrasebook.

Here's a recent book cover illustration for 'Football's Tallest Tales' by Bryan Gibson.

Getting the cover right is important. In this case, nailing the humour and tone the author is after. Illustration is problem solving too. You'll see in this artwork in the background, on one side is the crowd is cheering, while the other is fed up as the ball whistles past the distracted keeper.

We could have had the fans in colour but after discussion, it was decided to keep them in shades of grey. Why? Well, imagine if one side was red and the other blue. It's important to make the book appealing to everyone, so if one colour was the losing team, that could put off a potential reader who supports a team that wears that colour. Make sense? These are the things I consider when doing illustration work.

For this book, I created illustrations for the cover and inside panels - but to see those you'll need to get the book!

Available from Waterside press

If you need a freelance book cover illustrator, get in touch for a chat;

Medical Illustration

Illustrating anatomy, science and medicine

Rocket Steps specialises in medical illustration (medcomms illustration) and motion graphics. Helping clients communicate medical and scientific information effectively through clear visuals and animation.

John's background in art, production and visual storytelling creates detailed and engaging medical illustrations for use in education and marketing. From anatomy to theory models, we can help you find the correct level of detail needed in your images to convey bodily structures and procedures clearly and concisely.

Catering for large and small-scale delivery, from one-to-one consultations to collaborations with other artists in the studio, John works with public and private medical healthcare organisations across the world. We assess project requirements and offer a variety of options to create visuals with precision and clarity that bring your project in on time and on budget.

Get in touch

We provide medical communication artwork which can be turned into motion graphics animation to explain complex processes clearly. As well as animation we also provide graphic design for leaflets brochures and exhibition stands.

Create engaging communication for science and medical organizations
give clients new ways to engage with audiences
Aid clearer doctor-to-patient communication
improve patient satisfaction through understanding
Assist research, funding and sponsorship
Improve the overall educational process

We don't use AI-generated imagery, everything is bespoke and human-made. All artwork provided to the client is owned by the client on completion. We have a large bank of existing illustration reference images that we refer to to make projects cost-efficient.

Start your new project

Links:

Healthcare Graphic Design & illustration
Medcomms illustrator
STEM Education
Science and Education illustration

People Watching at the Home Open

The Home Open is the biggest annual art exhibition the venue puts on, with over 400 pieces. I'm delighted to say have one of my illustrations on display at this year's show.

'People watching' is a bunch of faces, drawn at various events I attended last year, including the Edinburgh Festival and Wigan market. Super quick inked sketches of people as they walk by.

They are based on the speed portrait work I do at events, trying to capture real people quickly. In this case, it's folks who walk past, interesting characters in real places just going about their business. Once they've walked past, I'm left with what I saw and my sense of humour.

It's a fun exercise and I'm really glad I made the effort to enter this year. You can see the Home Open exhibition until the end of March 2024

Home open

New Graphic Design and Illustration for 2024

Updated Jan 2024

Here are some recent projects to start the year, hope you have a creative 2024

Looking for new graphic design or illustration? Here are a few things to consider to ensure you get the best results.

Discuss your project goals: Start with the end in mind and work backwards. By explaining the purpose of your project we can look at the best way to achieve it.

Are you looking for ideas, or do you know exactly what you need? Both are fine. More information is good if you’re on a tight budget, though if you have some flexibility, that makes room to explore more visual styles and value-adds to get the most out of the end result.

Request a portfolio review. You can always ask or look at my existing work to help you find a jumping-off point for what you need to achieve your vision.

Timelines and deadlines: In my experience timelines are often really short or really long. The sooner you ask for sketches, the sooner we can get a feel for how long the overall project will take. Deadlines, even if they are long ones, always help push a project forward to completion

Don't be afraid to give feedback or ask for suggestions. A good illustrator/designer can be proud without being precious. It’s often good to understand why design decisions are made so they can provide valuable insights and enhance your project.

These are just a few suggestions to get you started. Each project is unique, so feel free to ask any questions. Reach out via the contact form.

Manchester and Camden Fringe illustration and brand design

Live art / Graphic recording

Start your new project

What can an explainer video look like?

You've probably seen an explainer video. Traditionally it starts with someone talking, and then a hand appears and starts drawing what's being talked about, speedily making pictures to illustrate the subject. I've done a few of those, but they don't always need to look like that, do they?

I think it's just in the terminology, perhaps more folk have heard of the word 'explainer video' than say 'motion graphics' or 'storytelling video'. There are loads of ways of telling a story in a video, and explainer style is just one.

Where will it appear?

He's an example I did recently for NHS North West. You'll notice no sound or voiceover in this version. That's because in the initial meeting, we looked at what the team needed the video for, and where it would be seen. From there I could Then plan the best formats, so they got maximum value from the result.

Getting maximum value from the explainer video format

There were separate illustrations for print, a PowerPoint slideshow someone could talk over to an audience, and a version with text overlayered, to play out on a big screen in a conference room to engage an audience before an event began.

The end goal in mind

Having the end goal in mind helped the format. Identifying where and how the content would appear, meant I could lean into detail with the illustrations to engage the audience in my signature style. A great project to work on and cheers to the team for giving me creative freedom on it.

Start your new project

Ask the robot dog assistant

Question: Come on then Turbine fella, how would you describe an explainer video?

Woof, an explainer video is a short and engaging video that explains a complex or tricky-to-understand subject in a simple and accessible way. It can be created using different styles such as hand-drawn animation or clean and technical data animation.

What could I use it for?

They can be used for a variety of purposes. They are great for simplifying complex ideas, introducing a new product or service, showcasing a brand or company, educating customers or employees, and promoting a cause or idea.

How long should an explainer video be?

the ideal length of an explainer video depends on the complexity of the subject matter and the attention span of your target audience. Generally, most explainer videos range from 60 to 90 seconds. This is because attention spans are short, and you want to get your message across quickly and effectively. However, if the subject matter is more complex, the video can be longer, up to 2-3 minutes.

Start your new project

Useful links:

NHS GM integrated care

Can you draw sound?

Do you know what Phononics are? Can you draw sound?

Here's some new work I did for Professor Will J. Parnell for the International Phononics conference this year. As a creative, I love learning new things when I make animations and visuals - and this is a brilliant challenge.

"Phononic materials are engineered media that can manipulate waves propagating through them due to their synthetic and periodic architecture" Got that? My rough understanding is how soundwaves move through materials, and how soundproofing works.

Illustrating sound waves was pretty straightforward, with waveforms. Soundproofing materials was trickier. I looked at maths-based art (as that formed the exciting logo) with all its geometry, tesselation and symmetry, and the two parts came together nicely to carry the theme of the event. But where does the sound come from? These are the questions, and that's when the train the visual whoosh came in at the beginning.

Start your new project

Get a quote

Cyan Lines - Connecting 100 miles of nature in Greater Manchester

Ever heard the term Graphic Medicine?

It's not a drawing of a bottle of cough syrup, it's more helpful than that. As described on Graphicmedicine.org it's where healthcare and science meet comics.

In May, I was hired to live scribe social values at 'A Greener, Healthier Salford' for an organisation focused on equality and sustainability in cities and communities.

Did you know this week is the fifth anniversary of the UK lockdown?

5 Years ago...

Illustrating anatomy, science and medicine

Rocket Steps specialises in medical illustration (medcomms illustration) and motion graphics. Helping clients communicate medical and scientific information effectively through clear visuals and animation.

The Home Open is the biggest annual art exhibition the venue puts on, with over 400 pieces. I'm delighted to say have one of my illustrations on display at this year's show.

Here are some recent projects to start the year, hope you have a creative 2024

Looking for new graphic design or illustration? Here are a few things to consider to ensure you get the best results.

You've probably seen an explainer video. Traditionally it starts with someone talking, and then a hand appears and starts drawing what's being talked about, speedily making pictures to illustrate the subject. I've done a few of those, but they don't always need to look like that, do they?

Where will it appear?

Getting maximum value from the explainer video format

The end goal in mind

Ask the robot dog assistant

Do you know what Phononics are? Can you draw sound?

Here's some new work I did for Professor Will J. Parnell for the International Phononics conference this year. As a creative, I love learning new things when I make animations and visuals - and this is a brilliant challenge.