What I’m learning about Arts Council England grant funding

Until you get your head round this, it’s quite hard for a comic artist to approach the application form. You’re coming at it as someone who wants money to fund the time it takes to sit at your desk for weeks or months on end, and as far as you’re concerned, the end product is the comic.

Publishers/agents: come and talk to me about the Noisy Valley

It’s been an amazing year. As the tweet above says, my 2021 Inktober project – where I drew a different protester ever day of the month – led to me putting out my self-published book Sorry For The Inconvenience We Are Trying To Save The World. This sold faster than any comic I’ve ever madeContinue reading “Publishers/agents: come and talk to me about the Noisy Valley”

Protest, rumbling on

I’m a bit late with this week’s blog post, but in the spirit of ‘never explain, never apologise’, here we go! Great news this morning, as the Lords reject the anti-protest measures Priti Patel added to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. That’s great on two fronts: one for UK democracy, and one, muchContinue reading “Protest, rumbling on”

What’s happening this week?

Today was the last day of Inktober. In as much as it is a challenge, I guess I aced it? It was good to post something every day, plus, Instagram likes that too so I saw my follower numbers and engagement etc go up, for what it’s worth. The downside, of course, is that timeContinue reading “What’s happening this week?”

Comics thoughts, tweets and links

Tweet life I lived on Twitter quite a bit this week. First, while waiting at the opticians for an eye test, I happened to see playwright Molly Naylor tweeting about the new book she authored for Lizzy Stewart to illustrate. I love Lizzy’s style: she came and talked at our local comics meetup Cartoon CountyContinue reading “Comics thoughts, tweets and links”

Inspirations and Comics up Close

Podcasts are a great accompaniment to drawing – you can enjoy them without having to look away from the page – and sometimes they can even inform your work. This week I listened to a long chat with Wayne Hussey, who as a member of Sisters of Mercy, The Mission and Dead or Alive wasContinue reading “Inspirations and Comics up Close”

Telling someone else’s story

Last week I’d started drafting page 74 of Satin and Tat, and this week I’m about four fifths of the way through finishing it. Not very fast progress, but my excuse is that we’ve got a new kitten – kitten! – and my time has been spent fishing her out of plant pots and savingContinue reading “Telling someone else’s story”