Illustrations: The Not-so Horrible History of Cheadle Hulme School

I don't want to blow my own trumpet, but if you look at some of my illustrations and compare them to the great Horrible Histories illustrator Martin Brown there are some similarities, we both clearly have a sense of humour.

I'm a fan of clean lines, stylised yet accurate anatomy and exaggerated expressions. You could say it's my signature style.

Making History

I got a call from work pal Kelly, head honcho 'Making You Content', a content agency here in Manchester (It's a content agency, get it? Some top wordplay there). They were updating a history book for Cheadle Hulme School and looking for an illustrator. She passed on my details as a good fit "in the style of horrible histories". They handled the words while I tackled the visuals, and added the humour. Teamwork.

Charlotte from Cheadle Hulme sent me the brief and I was fascinated to read about a school born out of orphans and the industrial revolution that has survived two world wars and has the odd famous parent among those attending today.

My early sketches were a bit dark. 1940's kids playing footy with an unexploded bomb on the school field never got off the drawing table, however, all the other sketches did the job and made it to the finished book.

Find out more about the Making you Content here.

Find out more about Cheadle Hulme school here

What do you need to provide, for a freelance illustrator to create you an amazing artwork commission?

Do you have a clear idea of what you want to visualise or would you prefer some quick sketch ideas to help you get the ball rolling?

How much detail you want to provide and how much input you request in the creative stages is up to you. I take a flexible approach to help you achieve the best result with your budget.