New Celebrity Portraits for 2011

As you may know, I am a big fan of LuLu, and it's not just my love of healthy yogurt that makes me say that. He's the latest sketch I did of the pint sized, Scottish, pop star and advertiser of expensive margarine. It's obvious to anyone looking at this artisitic and unique sketch who it is they are looking at right away. If you have a favourite celebrity that you would like a professional sketch of, why not commission me to draw you one? Prices start from just £20.

Hilarious Used car salesman Cartoon.

I have been very busy drawing cartoons in a viz style which I hope that private eye will accept for publication (as it's printed on the same sort of paper, I think it would look good in private eye, and it's in tune with their sort of off-beat humour that they like).


I'm sorry, but I may have to remove this cartoon at the end of the week, if Paul Merton (publisher of private eye) decides to take the cartoon. It would be wonderful if they did, although I'm not sure how much they pay for a cartoon in private eye. This one took me extra time as it's in full colour, so I think they should pay more for it. Why don't they publish how much they pay for cartoons? They'd get a lot more people sending them cartoons if they did. I think it could be as much as £50 per cartoon - but I will negoitate hard when they email back to tell me they want this, as it's in full colour.


The parish newsletter market has strunk somewhat since I last wrote about it. The editor of the local one, St Mary's Parish News, has told me that they have had problems with their usual printer, and that my cartoons are not required at the moment, as the Vicars wife has created some wonderful word searches which means theirs not enough room in the current issues for cartoons! Of course I think they are being very foolish, and the circulation of the parish news will decline, especially amongst the illiterate of this parish!

This is a cartoon of a fried egg being thrown in a road working hole. Other hilarious cartoons are available for hire or rent, for your newsletter or business presentation. Perhaps you have a company that builds roadworks and you'd like this to liven up your presentation about road works? Or maybe you have a fried egg shop? Give me a call on: leonard.gubbins@googlemail.com 

William is going to Marry Katie

As reported in the recent press, Prince William the second is going to marry his girlfriend Katie Middletown. I think that's a lovely story. I know that the news is quite old now, and I would have drawn a lovely tribute cartoon much sooner, but I have been very busy lately with getting my iPod connected to my car stereo and sorting out a incident with a missing wheelie bin. But enough of my troubles (Roger Whittaker isn't that important). I would like to think that someone in the Royal Family will see this lovely cartoon for the tribute it indeed no doubt is, and who knows, it might even be spray painted onto the cake! That would make a lovely surprise for the Middletowns, and I've sure make a lovely day of celebration, even more lovely than it already is.


Has anyone seen what the Frankling Mint will be producing for this lovely occassion? I will be buying all the red top sunday papers to see what lovely offers are on to celebrate this lovely occassion of the celebreation of the lovely marage of the lovely day.


When is it going to be?

Choosing toys for Christmas.

This time of year many people with Children, or those that know people with Children, such as Grandparents are thinking of buying toys for children, but where to start? There's so many toys available these days for children that it can be difficult to choose something that's appropriate. If you go to a large toy department shop there are millions of toys to choose from. Where to start?


A good way to choose toys for children to give them at this time of year for Christmas is to watch what your child already plays with, and just as importantly what they don't play with. If little Jimmy never touches that 500 piece jigsaw of Whitley Bay, then it's probably not a good idea to buy little Jimmy another 500 piece jigsaw of Whitley Bay. He won't appreciate it at all! But what if he enjoys playing with his Power Rangers figures or his older brothers Roller Skates? Then, a good starting point would be some Power Rangers on roller skates perhaps?

Whatever you do, ensure that the toy gift you buy the child (or children) this year is suitable for their age. A petrol Chainsaw is not a suitable gift for an 8 year old under any circumstances, even if they do have ambitions to be a lumberjack later in life!

Album Cover Design.

I've been asked to design an album cover for a band called SKID MARKS. So I got straight to work on this interesting commission. After many hours of thinking what this band would like to portray in their album cover, was it romance? Perhaps it was shock value they were looking for.

After recieving the email requestition for this important piece of work, I had to pop out to Focus Do It All for around 3 days, so I couldn't get working on this important and impressive commission for a few hours as yet thus though. But that did give me time to think of some concept for this important peice of work. What would they want on their album cover, and would I agree with them. Time was running out. The pressure and the stress of being a top illustrator to bands from Estonia or somewhere like that.

While I was thinking I was also looking at the rabbit hutches in the attached garden centre of Focus Do It All. They had some nice ones, but they were all a little too pricey to be honest. Besides, I don't have a rabbit - so would have probably been a waste of money.

I thought maybe they would like an album cover of some skid marks from a car - but that was unlikely, as I can't really draw very good car tyres (or tires if you live in America).

Here is the first draft I sent the band for approval. They have yet to get back to me, but I suppose they have a very slow internet out there in Espania or where-ever it was they are coming from? It's the most exciting 8 weeks waiting I've ever spent!

FOOTNOTE: I have since found out that there is many bands called Skid Marks. Here is one of them

New Digital tool for cartoonists.

Electronic Arts has just announced the release of their brilliant Computer Art package for the Commodore Amiga (and PC compatibles) computer, Deluxe Paint IV. This is the premium digital art package currently available to the home user.

It has some wonderful features, such as 256 colour palettes (that's ANY 256 colours that you choose) or even a special HAM mode that gives a 4,096colour palette effect using a special interlace mode (Amiga 32 bit only, such as the 1200, or 600). I can't currently find anywhere online that's selling Deluxe Paint IV at the moment. At £99.95 I expect it's only available in the USA right now, but it'll no doubt make it's way over to the UK soon, when we can all get our hands on it and take our digital cartooning to a whole new level. Hopefully that high price will be a little more reasonable by such a time by then as well.

I've had a great idea.

I have just had a brilliant idea. Now I'm sure that someone reading this will be in the airShow business. Well here's an idea of the type of cartoons that I could do to help your business sparkle like a big shiny diamond.

World best cartoonist.

I'm looking for the worlds best cartoonist. There's so many out there, that there must thus be 1 that everyone agrees is the worlds best. Perhaps you know a rather over-talented cartoonist that writes your favourite blog for instance? Someone who can get hundreds of thousands of hits in the space of just a few days of starting their cartoon blog? I don't think you should vote for those flashy cartoonists that get paid ridiculous amounts of money by magazine editors. Most of them think too highly of themselves as it is, and they have terrible egos that could easily get out of control.

So who can you think of that is for you, the worlds best cartoonist? First prize is a link on this very Talent Free Cartoon blog. So leave a comment.

Lulu

I've always been a great fan of Lulu. The Shloop shloop song in particular is one of my all-time  favourites.

Here is a digitally enhanced portrait I did of her some time ago.

As you can see, it's instantly recognisable as being Lulu in her younger days, before she started messing about with Take That, and all that Benicol. I don't think I'm as much a fan of hers as I once was, but I have literally hundreds of portraits I did of her, so I might still post them for a while.

THE CORGI

I've been commissioned to drawer a picture of a corgi for a royal fan of corgis, or a fan of royality. I'm not sure, I can't rememeber much since I passed out through sniffing that marker pen earlier today. Now some might say it's not a very realistic looking corgi, but that's how I see them in my own unique style. Some people like to draw things to make them look like the thing they are drawing, but I think that's wrong. Quite quite wrong. If you don't draw what's in your mind (marker pen fumes or not) who will?

Anyway. I can't remember who requested this art work, so if it was you can you send me the £20 and I'll email the picture to you as soon as the funds clear.