The Hand Drawn Creative Blog

One in the Oven…

Well, after what seems like a lifetime, Julie and myself can officially announce that she's knocked up... real bad! We've just come out from the first scan and I can report that the yummy mummy to be is positively glowing and the dad to be is as confused as ever about the wonderful journey that is pregnancy.

We discovered that we were expecting on the eve of my 35th birthday, just as the Red Arrows were flying past our window. An event neither of us are likely to forget!

So there we go, freelancer and now father to be – who'd have thought I had it in me!

Rush Jobs

Here's a funny little job I worked on a while ago – at the start of May the Belfast Telegraph briefed my then employer with a brief to create a graphic for one of those 'Bags for life' thingy's that everybody goes nuts for these days (but always manages to leave at home when they actually go to the shops!)

Great fun! Like most Graphic Designers I love a challenging brief at 9am on a Monday. Slight problem though, the print deadline was 2pm the same day. But like I say, we designers love a challenge, and so it passed that at 14.00 hours the finished artwork was winging its way down the information superhighway – but, jeez!, what was the rush?!

A question I'm still asking, because 6 months later, after I'd completely forgotten about it, the bags were finally released yesterday a our local Sainsbury's, as you can see modelled here by my beautiful wife Jules. Looks pretty cool though, don't you think?

Obamarama…

A hearty congratulations to our colonial cousins on their choice of President Elect, an excellent race was run by the Democrats and the always ice cool Mr Obama. I can't help but think how much they were helped by excellent design choices - that fantastic roundel, great, clean sans serif typography and the work of great designers like Shepard Fairey, Scott Hansen and Lance Wyman who, as you can see below, produced some truly iconic poster designs for this successful campaign.

Ready to Upload?

This is the first (and probably last) time I've blogged on public transport. It makes for a very shaky typing experience if you're using an iPhone!
I've been pretty busy this week working on a downloadable PDF portfolio for Hand Drawn Creative. It's taking some time but should be up some time very soon. In the meantime I'll leave you with the cover illustration of me in my home office. Well, I'll upload it whenever I get back home from this seemingly endless busride!

Hello Ruby in the Dust…

BBC Four continues to dominate my Friday night viewing habits (much to my wife's annoyance), but how can I avoid it when they run such great programmes about my rock & roll heroes like Neil Young.

What a great evening's viewing and what a good excuse to upload an old illustration I've done of the great man himself, playing that great old Gretsch White Falcon

This Pen for Hire…

I was recently invited by Philip Wilson to post an article on Blick Studios' shiny new blog For those of you who don't know, Blick Shared Studios is a crackling nucleus of creativity based on Belfast's Malone Road, they're a great source of inspiration for folks like me who are just starting to fly solo in the creative industry.

My post involved a step-by-step diagram of the illustration process, using an illustration I'd recently completed for Philip, which you can see below.

I Call That A Bargain…

Here's something fun. I've worked on these five realistic guitar illustrations over the space of a year or so now, and I've printed a very limited edition run of each guitar (10 of each). If you're interested in buying a print, why not go to my flickr page for a more detailed view of each guitar. I've signed and numbered each print, and once they're gone – that's it – there won't be another print run. I haven't set up a a paypal store yet, so I can only accept cheques at this stage. By way of an apology, I'll wave any postage costs for delivery!

…it was a graveyard smash!

Okay, I know, I know I've designed the artwork for the Metro Monster Mash for 3 years on the trot – but I'm still really into the finished product and I still get a thrill when I see the Tsides roll past. I'll probably never get to work on this brief next year, but it sure was fun while it lasted.

If you want a closer look at the artwork, just click here

Good Times – Bad Times

I always seem to find time to listen to Radio 4's Today Programme in the morning, it can be pretty heavy stuff at 6 in the morning (especially in these economically turbulent times). Luckily there was a shaft of sunlight in the form of author Jonathan Franzen.
Franzen was referring to the current global financial crisis, and, instead of the usual doom-mongering the BBC are fond of broadcasting, came an inspiring message; "We're entering some bad times financially, but maybe some good times creatively and artistically"

Seems like a good credo to me.

Incidentally, Jonathan was initially being interviewed about Charlie Brown – it's well worth a listen.

Unfortunately the next article was all about the death of blogging. Not what I needed to hear the day after I've started my own!

Day One – Hand Drawn Creative

Okay – I guess this is it – no more stalling. I'm much too scared to get embroiled in a proper Dreamweaver constructed website at this stage, so I guess that makes me a blogger now, as well as a Designer and an Illustrator!

Welcome then, to the first post of my (Neal McCullough's) new venture in the world of professional graphic design & illustration Hand Drawn Creative. I've been working steadily towards a freelance career for a few years now, but since October I've taken the plunge and have been busily working away at tax & marketing workshops, business plans and other boring 'real world' stuff.

Do keep dropping by – I'll be keeping you up to date with all my latest work as well as some of my favourite found online design & illustration forums.

See you all soon!