JERRY PARIS

TIGER TEAM!

2010-10-29T04:19:00.000-07:00

TIGER TEAM -- This is an ongoing job that has been a lot of fun. I was contacted by Phillip Stokes and asked to re-brand his Scuba Diving business. Any job where I have to draw tigers is OK by me!... and Phill has been great to work with.

At the moment he is deep underwater in Egypt, diving on a shipwreck, but am assured he'll be surfacing soon so we can discuss the merchandising. I'll keep you posted on the t-shirts and decals when they arrive!

BROCCOLI

2010-09-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

Designed for Tiger's birthday-- her favourite movie director takes on one of his toughest subjects to date. A full star cast join forces with Spielberg in what Entertainment Tonight are saying could be the hit film of the fall season. Or not. More film posters to follow.

DRAGON BLOOD PIRATES

2010-07-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

ARRR!-- AVAST YE MATEY! Tis ye old Dragon Blood Pirates, drown my bones, so it is! I had a whale of a time with this job, redesigning the characters and general look of the books, that were originally published in Oz. Don't know what they went with in the end, as there was a mutiny and all hands were lost at sea, god bless their wretched souls. T'was the lure of the gold that drove 'em mad-- mad I say.

B.L.Z. & GABE

2010-07-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

These two characters were also from the Pete Johnson book mentioned in my last post. Which one are you listening to at the moment..?...?

LITTLE SISTER!

2010-07-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

This manga schoolgirl was designed for the back cover of a Pete Johnson book, 'Help, I'm A Classroom Gambler'-- she is the little sister of the main character in the book. I've used the illos on the sidebar of this blog since it was published and have had constant requests for larger images, so here she is in all her cuteness.

BLACKOUT

2010-07-11T06:25:00.000-07:00

Blackout is the new title from Robert Swindells, due out later this year. Have just finished this art and am happy with it (so far!). The book is set in Wales at the beginning of WWII, and follows the adventures of four kids growing up during the firsts days of the war. They also get stuck in an abandoned gold mine! Oh, what jolly rotten luck!

TIPSTER BUNNY

2010-07-11T03:07:00.000-07:00

This little fella was designed for a friend of mine, Suzanne Stevenson, who has just launched her new business, I Can You Know!, which provides children with extra tuition in regular, bite-sized lessons tailored to the individual child. This easily accessible on-line teaching method helps to boost confidence and concentration and is especially effective for kids who find it difficult to focus on activities. The short lessons are key and in Suzanne's own words;

‘I Can You Know!’ is for children who need a learning boost. We all want our children to be happy and to achieve their full potential. By providing each child with a specially designed profile of learning activities we can build their confidence and skills. ‘I Can You Know!’ is a statement of self-belief. Our regular reviews and positive mentoring enable children to see themselves as successful learners once more.'

It's a fab idea and I wish Suz great success. For more info and to contact Suzanne, go to; www.icanyouknow.co.uk

SUMMER

2010-07-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

Eating Things On Sticks. A summer read from Anne Fine, this book went through a lot of different designs before we settled on the ice lolly direction. Admit it... you want an ice lolly now, don't you.

50's AMERICAN STYLE

2010-07-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

The Spell Book of Listen Taylor. This cover design had to have that whole Bewitched/Bell, Book and Candle feel to it.

NEW ZEALAND WORK

2010-07-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of jobs I worked on for my good friend Chris Waind, over there in New Zealand. One was for the Ministry of Health (Brush those teeth, kids!) and the other was promoting NZ on a kid's TV show. Always good fun working with Mr Waind.

BEAST QUEST

2010-07-10T07:33:00.000-07:00

My daughter has recently discovered the Beast Quest series, which she loves. I'd forgotten that I'd done this test sketch for the inside illos of the third series.

TANG SHAN TIGERS

2010-07-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

These sketches are my initial ideas for a series of books with a martial arts theme. Many of the ideas here bear no resemblance to the final covers, although I've included some of the transitional designs, which appear in colour. I think the figure work conveys much more action and is just cooler (Man!)

MORE BEAR GRYLLS!

2010-07-10T03:08:00.000-07:00

A few more Bear covers. Scorpion and Tiger were 3-D lenticulars and turned out really well, thanks to the amazing Chinese printers.
A little tip for survival if you ever find yourself stranded on an island with Bear Grylls-- NEVER get on a raft with him. He's totally rubbish at building rafts, which usually sink whilst he's far enough away from land to make sure he'd drown or be eaten if the film crew weren't there. Remember, Bear... don't leave the safety, food and water of the island. This way you'll stay away from the sharks, jellyfish, blistering sunburn/sunstroke, starvation, dehydration, typhoons and almost certain watery death, lost at sea.

SEINFELD

2010-07-09T06:23:00.000-07:00

Due to popular demand (!) here are the four SEINFELD strips I produced a few years back... at a readable size. Tried my best to be in touch with the man himself (and his 'people') but no joy-- Americans are so bound up with legal BS that they won't even acknowledge receipt of a Fed-Ex package, for fear of being sued. Life never used to be this complicated.

BOO!...

2008-10-25T06:12:00.000-07:00

... and Happy Hallowe'en! Here's a bit of artwork I found whilst looking through some old and dusty parts of my hard drive. It was drawn for a puzzle mag (hence the dead areas in the picture) but I thought it might make a good Hallowe'en party invite - space left to fill in your own details etc.

Haven't been doing much artwork lately but am now working on several new book jackets and a couple of comic strip ideas, so more soon.

PRINCESS PETRONELLA

2008-05-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

Well, finally, something new to post! I've been busy with 'stuff'... but this job has just gone to print and I quite like it.

WOLVERINE - WINTER KILL

2008-03-07T04:12:00.000-08:00

WOLVERINE - UPDATED. Thought I'd add some texture and darkness to the sketch-- something I'd been meaning to get around to for awhile. I think it looks much grittier now and more in keeping with Logan's character. The figure is actually referenced from a photo of me!-- kneeling on my office chair, wearing my 'Bruce Willis' regulation vest, whilst snarling at my wife, Tracey, who was taking the pictures. When they have the 'What do your parents do at work' day at my daughter's school, she'll be saying; "Daddy balances on his chair in his vest, pulling faces at Mummy, who's taking pictures with her camera."

BEAR GRYLLS - GOLD of the GODS

2008-01-24T09:34:00.000-08:00

Born Survivor Bear Grylls turns his hand to teenage fiction, with the first of a boy's own series of adventures. This cover has been through a few changes. Originally Tracey and I were asked to design a series look that reflects the boy's adventure/survival market, keeping the author name prominent and using a few special finishes if we liked. Also, we needed to design a branding for the series. The design went through fairly smoothly, with only a few minor changes. However, just before going to print, it was decided that the direction was to be altered and now a 'lenticular' cover was required. For those that don't know, 'lenticular' printing is the kind of picture that's either in 3-D or animated, the images changing as you change your viewing angle. Also, a different series branding was needed-- slicker and with more effects.Now, I'm an illustrator-- not an animator, which requires a completely new skill set!-- so I had to get my head around making the animations work, along with putting the figure in a circular compass device, which was something else that had found its way into the now jam-packed requirements! The animation cells, seen above, were sent to China, where the lenticular part of the print was/is being done. Once the process is complete, the lenticular discs are then sent back to the UK, where they're stuck on the printed cover.

The big question is; will it work?... I'm keeping my fingers crossed but I've seen some pretty awful cock-ups recently with these kind of effects. I've been trying to cheer myself with a fantastic example of lenticular print, which was a Cadbury 'Magic of Christmas' chocolate selection box that I picked up for reference last month. Will production have specified the printing of Bear's cover this well without chocolate being involved? Still, the Chinese are great at print, so all should be well. Here's the first version of the cover;

My 6 year old daughter, Tiger, has become quite the survival expert, mainly due to her massive crush on Mr. Grylls!-- we now have 'Grylls Night', where Tiger gets to stay up late on Friday, to watch Man vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel. We snack to keep our strength up (snails, scorpions etc) and Tiger self-edits the episodes (thumbs in ears, fingers over eyes) as she's not too keen on the more gory elements of survival. It will obviously fall to me to be red of tooth and claw, should we need to survive away from Tesco, Sainsbury and Waitrose. And if you're reading this, Mr.Grylls, Tiger would love a signed photo! Ta.

THE POISON APPLES

2008-01-24T00:19:00.000-08:00

3 Different versions of a cover that was fully Tracey's design. My job on this one was pretty much to draw up the figure and photograph the apple, following closely the roughs that I was shown.
Can't remember which version they've used and I can't ask Tracey, as she's just gone out--- it's either the red, white or black one.

P.S. Tracey says they've used a black version-- front cover is now just the hand and the face is on the back of the book.

JUMPING TO CONFUSIONS

2008-01-23T01:10:00.000-08:00

This is cover art I did for the latest Liz Rettig book, commissioned by Tracey, who was doing the design. I think the hearts are being printed on a trace overlay, to fit stylistically with the previous books we've designed for this author. Bit of a rush, just before Christmas-- but I quite like how it's turned out.

HOROWITZ COLLECTIONS 1&2

2008-01-12T10:25:00.000-08:00

NOW WITH ADDED BLOOD!... these are the final designs for the collections. Good fun to do, as I could spend an hour or so splattering ink all over large sheets of white card. By the end of the afternoon the studio looked like a scene from Sweeney Todd.

The Pumpkin Lantern has been replaced with cadaverous hands clawing their way out of the grave. They just didn't like the pumpkin!-- I was going to suggest a butternut squash but Tracey thought it best to lay off the vegetables and just get on with illustrating the hands. Always the voice of reason.

HALLOWE'EN!

2007-10-29T04:25:00.000-07:00

Just made it in time! Two new pieces that will hopefully be the next HOROWITZ HORROR covers - collections 1&2.

I will be cutting pumpkin lanterns tonight and tomorrow, with the help of my daughter, Tiger, who has put in a request for some Hallowe'en muffins; chocolate chip for her, pumpkin, pineapple and nut for the grown-ups. There'll also be some hot food on offer-- fine pork and leak sausages, corn-on-the-cob, bubble & squeak (with grated onion and sweet potatoes) and mature cheddar with freshly baked bread... all washed down with goblets of warm bats blood! I can't wait. Happy Hallowe'en!!

HOROWITZ HORROR

2007-09-24T03:50:00.000-07:00

I'm a fan of Anthony Horowitz's work, so was very happy when these covers came my way. The brief was to re-jacket Orchard's earlier Horowitz titles and to come up with a new author look for the series.

The books contain short horror stories, aimed at a young audience. With this in mind I wanted something graphic, dark and with a sense of evil fun-- my first roughs included a dead body lying in a bath full of blood!

Tracey worked on these titles closely with me (basically to stop me going too far over the top-- reigning me in and refining the designs, whilst adding her fantastic typework. We have two versions of The Night Bus -- as I write this we still don't know which will be the one they use.

She also asked me to design a 'Horowitz Horror' branding. The idea behind this was to incorporate ancient magic symbols in a device that can be used throughout the series and on any new titles in the range.

There are two more books to come - both collections - one of which may feature this Hallowe'en pumpkin lantern. I hope it gets used somewhere, as no horror series should be without a pumpkin.

Can't wait to see these titles stacked on the table at my local Waterstones in Bury St.Edmunds. Sorry it's been so long since the last update-- the seemingly never-ending school holidays have finally come to a close!
Hallowe'en next. BRU-HA-HA! (evil laugh).

FANTASTIC FOUR vs.THE HULK

2007-07-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

When I was young there were always playground discussions amongst the kids who read Marvel Comics, as to which character was strongest, which would be the greatest battle, who'd beat who in a fight-- and the most eagerly awaited of these match-ups was always going to be The Thing vs.The Hulk.

I loved the wise-cracking Thing but always considered the Hulk would win a flat out fist-fight, due to his uncontrollable rage, which seemed to increase his strength in proportion to his anger. The same feeling as returning to your car after shopping at Sainsbury's, only to find that some hammerhead has dented your car and then driven off. The anger increases in proportion to the size of the dents and scratches.

And whilst we're talking F.F.... Reed Richards aka Mr.Fantastic. Hmm... 'Mr.Fantastic'? To start with, stretching wasn't way up there on the 'super-powers you'd want' list. Maybe it's just me and I'm confident that nothing needs to be any bigger (HA!) but turning into a rubber band...?! Of course, being a scientist he usually had some kind of gadget or dohicky with him-- the one I've give him helps track down the Hulk, as it's difficult to spot an 8ft tall, rampaging green-skinned monster. In some neighbourhoods he'd just blend right in.

Anyway, all's back to normal after the girly art in my last post. Phew! Horror covers coming soon.

FRENCH KISSING

2007-07-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

Not my usual stuff-- no guns, explosions, superheroes, martial arts, monsters or mayhem... I don't know what happened?! This is proposed art for a book jacket that myself and Mrs Paris have been working on earlier this week. The book is teen fiction and set in Paris (or Paris, France as our American cousins say)-- good fun to do, even though there's no real action. Don't worry... normal service will be resumed after this posting.

THE SIMPSONS MOVIE

2007-06-24T04:31:00.000-07:00

This was something I did recently for 20th Century Fox, to help advertise the upcoming SIMPSONS MOVIE. They wanted their famous 20th Century logo drawn in the Simpsons style. I added Homer's donut-holding hand in the foreground, as I thought it a nice touch, with it also helping to tie the whole thing in with the movie poster art. Doh!

CROUCHING TIGER & CHINESE DRAGON

2007-06-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

These beasties feature on the jackets of a new series for Puffin. The covers haven't been finalized yet, so I can't show you the finished articles -- but I thought these nice enough to put on the blog now. From the number of hits the dragon gets, I'd say there's gonna be a lot of people walking around wearing him as a tattoo (Hi to all at Pompano Beach, Florida!).
I'm also going to be starting a companion blog, which will feature ideas, drawings and all the work that happens before the public get to see anything in print. It should be fun-- and it'll give me somewhere to use all the hundreds of preliminary sketches! Keep watching this space.