Tom Hardwidge's blog

Steamunk and sharingan eye cakes

2012-02-02T20:58:00.000Z

Now I can't take the credit for these awesomely nerdy and delicious creations but for anyone who's reading my blog because of steampunk insects or sharingan eyes these have got to be worth seeing.

Both made by my beautiful and talented wife. Me done did well.

(Both lemon madeira cakes)
Tom x

Steampunk Nancy - now with added grass

2012-01-27T15:06:00.000Z

In a desperate bid to make my boiler on wheels more White Nancy-ish I have carved a little polystyrene hill, painted it and flocked it to give the sculpture a bit of context, I've also bought some Games Workshop paints (it's been a while since I went in there) and painted up a couple of characters to give some personality and scale.

I'm rather chuffed with this one now, something a bit different anyway :)

Tom x

Steampunk Nancy

2012-01-26T11:21:00.000Z

I've been trying a few different types of sculpture recently. The idea for this one came from some friends of mine and it's a bit of an experiment so not quite as accurate as I'd have liked, I still like it though.
It's supposed to be a steampunk interpretation of White Nancy, a local folly in Bollington where I live (see below).

I'm still working on it and I'm hoping to build a little "hilly" diorama around it to give it a bit of context, that said it's still not going to look remotely like the real White Nancy, at the moment it looks more like a boiler on wheels.

I hope you like it anyway.

Tom x

A ?@ in the arse

2011-12-05T11:36:00.000Z

Over the last 12 months a few people have asked about making fireflies. I've never been great at electronics so I kindly declined the commissions and put the idea on the backburner. I've recently been tinkering with the idea and have developed this little fella, he's got a toggle switch on his thorax which turns the LED on and off.

I'm afraid to say that these are most likely not going to be going on general sale due to the fact that it made me swear more than any of the others (including the ladybirds who, up until this point, have been by far and away the most traumatic to build).

This one's going to sit on my window sill and remind me never to try and build something this fiddly and temperamental ever again.

That said, I am really quite proud of him and I love his segmented body :)
Tom x

Little buggers

2011-11-17T09:12:00.003Z

Recently I've been taking a lot of orders for Christmas. I wish I could rely on the international postal service a little more but it seems to take weeks for anything to arrive in the US at the moment.

Royal Mail, I'm not blaming you this time. Instead it seems to be the USPS which dicks about, essentially throwing the package around in its vast office (the length and breadth of North America) and then losing it under a pizza box for 3 weeks until someone cleans up and decides that it should probably have been delivered by now.

OK, enough of me going postal. The other thing I've noticed is that no-one seems to want grasshoppers any more. I made tonnes of the little buggers earlier in the year, but now everyone seems to want bugs and bees (a sign of the recession? stocking fillers? who knows?).

Here's a couple of the latest additions to the Arthrobot family.

Hope you like them.

Tom x

Another 8-legged freak

2011-11-08T11:10:00.004Z

My latest tarantula, Mecharaneae Aurum (gold tarantula, so named because of his gold-plated legs).

I originally gave him a massively heave fat arse but he kept toppling over backwards so I replaced it with a slightly lighter version.

Hope you like it.

Tom x

RAF Dragonfly

2011-11-04T11:58:00.002Z

I've just finished this little chap. A Mechanisoptera MkII.

We're a little way from fully-working jet engines but I managed to get hold of some tiny metal propellers and couldn't wait to try out a new design (they are free spinning too).

Hope you like it.

Tom x

A chunky spider

2011-10-20T15:12:00.004+01:00

I've just finished this little chap. He's called "mecharaneae plumbeus" (or heavy tarantula) and he's one of my heaviest sculptures to day, despite being no bigger then the palm of my hand.

He's made out of the movements of two differently sized pocket watches and he's one of my favourite sculptures so far.

he can be found here too: http://www.arthrobots.com/mecharaneae-tarantulas.html

Oh and did I mention that Arthrobots are also on Facebook now?

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arthrobots/271371052881996

Go on, you know you LIKE them!!

Tom x

Bollington cider making

2011-10-03T08:11:00.005+01:00

This last week has brought some unprecedented hot weather to England. Wanting to take full advantage of the outdoors, myself, Emma and our friends Sarah and Stefan decided to make some scrumpy cider.

We picked a few big bags of greenish Granny Smith type apples from Emma's dad's garden, then got about the same amount from the garden of The White Gallery down the road. Fiona (the gallery owner) has always been very generous with her apples which we used to make chutney with last year. They have a pink flesh and taste incredible.

Sarah and Stefan then managed to get a load of Bramley apples and some pears from their next door neighbour's trees and we headed down to our local pub The Vale Inn, in Bollington where they were having a "bring your own apples" pressing day.

It took a few hours of hard graft to mulch and press all of our apples (with occasional breaks to eat Emma's home made scones and last year's cider made by Carol and Phil Barnes).

We have ended up with 19 litres of juice which is now bubbling away every 30 seconds in our dining room.

Chopping all 82lbs of apples before heading down to The Vale.

Once chopped, the apples needed to be crushed in this Heath Robinson style mangle.

Me and Stefan pressing our mulch.

For October it was an amazing day, you can see Carol's new convertible in the background with the top down too.

Me, after a couple of hours of mangling and pressing.

Our 19 litres of juice.

And a well-earned rest.

Tom x

A few pics from Costa Rica

2011-09-19T15:51:00.005+01:00

From howler monkeys to humming birds and everything with hair and scales in between, here's a few of the wild things we saw on our recent trip to the awesome Costa Rica.

A brown basilisk lizard. This lizard dies if it hears a cockerel's crow and can live for 100s of years. FACT!

A three-toed sloth up a tree in Cahuita National Park.

A large purple humming bird posing in Monteverde.

A howler monkey and her baby in Cahuita.

A dragonfly in Tortuguero.

A cute orphaned baby sloth in the sloth sanctuary (Cahuita).

A big ass millipede which scared the crap out of my wife in Cahuita.

A jumpy spider in Monteverde.

A hawk moth in Monteverde.

Black and green poison dart frogs in Cahuita.

Awesome purple armour-plated grasshoppers getting it on in Tortuguero.

A dishevelled-looking butterfly in Monteverde.

A walking stick insect. This guy was almost 2 feet long.

A big fat toad in Tortuguero. Those big pouches on the side of its head secrete poisonous white stuff. Amphinger-lickin' good.

Tom x

30 Seconds to Mars

2011-09-02T16:34:00.004+01:00

It's been a while since I last posted an entry. Firstly because our new business is going great guns since we started up over 12 months ago (I know, we're in our second year already!!) but also because we've just got back from Costa Rica where I thought it would be nice to take some photos of real insects for a change.

We arrived back in blighty two weeks ago and the first thing on the agenda (apart from mind-bending jet lag) was to fulfil an order for some sculptures for a Mr Tomo Miličević, the lead guitarist from 30 Seconds to Mars.

I completed the sculptures below in record time before the Leeds Festival where Tomo and the rest of the band were completing the UK leg of their recent Hurricane tour. Leeds is just down the road from where we're based so it was a short drive to deliver them. Not only that, but Tomo (who incidentally is a seriously nice guy) managed to arrange tickets to the festival and dressing room passes for myself and Emma. Win!

The sculptures I completed were two pairs, each with a "Mars" and an "Earth" insect. The Mars sculptures were different to any of my previous sculptures as they were made predominantly with copper. I even managed to source a piece of copper-coloured ammunition for the praying mantis.

The Earth mantis

The Mars Mantis

The Mars dragonfly

The Earth dragonfly

The two mantises together

The two dragonflies together

Tomo Miličević being absolutely thrilled to meet me (he told me to pull that face to make him look cooler, honest).

Tomo on stage at Leeds Festival

Tomo and Jared on stage at Leeds Festival

My dressing room pass. Sweet!

All in all, something I'll never forget. Thank you for the experience Tomo, and I hope everyone likes their new Christmas presents ;)

Tom x

The menagerie continues

2011-07-04T20:01:00.008+01:00

Howdy do,

I just wanted to share our new arrivals with the world.
Last week has been a big one for pets.

Firstly I'd like to take this opportunity to say a WWW goodbye to a very special little guy. Our hamster, whom we never officially named but referred to as "little dude". He passed away at a ripe old age and left us with an empty cage in our home-office after months of hobbling around like Yoda and being very clingy (he'd sit by his door until we got him out and gave him cuddles at least 4 times every day).

After a few days of mourning we decided that there was nothing worse than staring at an empty cage so we ventured off to Timperley Aquatics to check out their range of rats. I used to own a rat when I was younger and was ready for something a little more intelligent (no offence hammy).

While we were there we saw another little dude curled up inside half a coconut and were so taken with him that we couldn't leave him behind.

Meet Marble :)

He's living in Snowball's old cage and his temperament is so similar to Snowball in many ways. A lovely chilled out little chap.

But as I said, we actually went in to meet the rats, which brings me to my next set of photos. This is Minky. She's asleep in a miniature hammock on my desk as I write this and she's as bright as she is cute. She's already got the hang of riding on my shoulder (after just 2 days of handling) and will run between me and my wife's arms for treats. She also loves riding around in my pocket or in my hat. Awwwwwwwww!

We've also managed to get hold of some Macleay's Spectre stick insects who have just moulted and doubled in size. Very exciting.

Animals just rock!

Tom x

My cartoon archive

2011-06-29T10:16:00.006+01:00

There's a box in my loft which is harbouring all of my old doodles, sketches and cartoons. Occasionally I lift off the lid and have a poke around inside (usually when I should be getting the tent down).

I thought I'd take a few pictures out and digitise them on here.

Enjoy.

Tom x

A mummy.

A dinosaur I drew in my Law A-Level class.

Sir Cedric the Crab. I drew this whilst staying with my grandparents on Mull one Summer.

A watercolour woodpecker. I drew this whilst staying with my grandparents on Mull one Summer (eagle-eyed viewers may spot that each of its feet are different, the one on the left is the anatomically correct foot).

A weasel, I sketched this on the coach up to Mull and painted it when I arrived.

A wizard (painted with Games Workshop paints).

A chicken (painted with Games Workshop paints).

Another chicken (painted with Games Workshop paints).

A dragon (painted with Games Workshop paints).

Mother Flippin' awards

2011-06-03T11:15:00.004+01:00

OK, I've got my Considered Creative hat on now.

We've just found out that our website design for Flipbook Studio has been short-listed for a "Tasty Website" award at the Big Chip Awards 2011.

Despite being digital awards, you can't vote online and have to vote via txt instead. So get your thumbs out and vote for Flipbook's site now:
Text the codeword FLIP to 84433.

Click here to see all of the entries.

Tom x

Help the hog

2011-05-09T11:29:00.007+01:00

Anyone who knows my wife and I knows how much we love hedgehogs.
So when the opportunity for our work lives to take a hoggy twist we leapt at the chance.

The Devon Wildlife Trust do amazing work supporting wildlife in Devon and the South West of England and we've developed a Facebook application and Flash game for their "Help the Hog" campaign which is both on their site and will be used as part of an installation on their site too.

Help Harry the Hedgehog to find food, escape the garden pond and find a warm place to sleep too.

Tom x

The Facebook application

Level 1 design

Harry character design

Bug or bird

2011-04-27T09:01:00.002+01:00

I have just completed another new design. This time a ladybird (ladybug for our Stateside cousins).

He's made out of a brass doorknob which was an absolute arse to saw in half. I managed to blunt 3 junior hacksaw blades in the process and gave myself a nice meaty gash across the knuckle of my index finger on my left hand.

Gore notwithstanding I'm really quite happy with the result :)

Tom x

My first steampunk butterfly

2011-04-20T11:26:00.003+01:00

I came up with some designs for a butterfly sculpture when I first got into this steampunking lark but it wasn't until someone actually commissioned me to create one that I actually pulled my finger out and built one.

I hope you like him :)

Tom x

Steampunk snail

2011-03-28T13:37:00.002+01:00

Everybody, I'd like you to meet my new pet. He doesn't have a name yet (although Jimmy Snail is a contender at the moment).

He's been lovingly created by the incredibly talented Alex Pribnow - Malice in Underland.

I love the little guy and he's got pride of place on my shelf keeping my insects in check.

Tom x

The commissions begin

2011-03-17T09:25:00.003Z

My materials and the little bit of paper I use to measure the circumference of thoraxes.

A dragonfly pre-assembly.

Tarantula legs

Over the last week or so I've received a load more commissions for little sculptures.
So, I've ordered some more ammunition and got started.

Tom x

Big in the US

2011-03-15T15:30:00.008Z

It's official.

I can't believe the interest I've had in my Arthrobot sculptures. Over the last 2-3 weeks I've had a load of publicity on various blogs and news sites. This has led to an influx of commissions and sales which is brilliant but still a bit surreal.

Here's just a few:

http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/09/6226657-pre-caffeine-tech-steampunk-bugs-internet-bullies
http://1800recycling.com/2011/03/steampunk-insects-recycle-bullets/
http://www.neatorama.com/2011/03/09/arthrobots/
http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/arthrobots-steampunk-insects-by-tom-hardwidge.html
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/arthrobots1
http://dailypicksandflicks.com/2011/03/10/steampunk-insects-arthrobots-by-tom-hardwidge/
http://www.greenmuze.com/art/artists/3590-steampunk-insect-arthrobots.html
http://www.greendiary.com/entry/arthrobots-intricate-insect-sculptures-pop-out-of-recycled-metal/

I think it's worth mentioning the first ever blog post mentioned them and should take the full credit for the snowballing publicity too.

http://botropolis.com/2011/02/arthrobots-look-pesky-but-cute/

I've sold all of the sculptures on the Arthrobots site (with the exception of 3 which Emma and I are holding onto). I also have another 10 commissions to keep me busy over the next few weeks. Mostly from the US, but also from Canada, Sweden, Denmark and the UK.

With the permission of the owners I will hopefully be publishing the new commissioned sculptures on the site too. There are a few more which fit into the existing categories but also a couple of new ones which push the boat out a bit more.

Tom x

Hosting problems

2011-03-05T08:02:00.001Z

If anyone's wondering why the Arthrobots.com site is down, I've been having a little problem with the hosting. Should be up and running again soon though.

Tom x

Steampunk tarantula

2011-02-23T12:45:00.002Z

Due to popular demand I decided to beak out of the insect mould and start looking at arachnids too.

With my new load of old, broken pocket watches I created the main body of the tarantula (mecharaneae primus) and then started the arduous task of creating 8 legs for it. I'm really pleased with the result, definitely "spidery" enough.

I wanted to give him fangs too, but my wife thought it was scary enough without.

Tom x

The Watch Lab - turning broken watches into works of art.

2011-02-17T20:51:00.006Z

I've just taken delivery of a job lot of broken pocket watches from those lovely chaps at The Watch Lab. Usually they're beavering away mending watches but they've taken time out to root through their "spares" bin and send me a box of bits. Some of which are just beautiful.

There's some great watches in there but they look so awesome when they're in one piece, it's going to be difficult to smash them open (well unscrew them in any case).

Nevertheless, they'll be coming to a metal insect near you soon.

Thanks guys!!

Tom x

Steampunk praying mantis

2011-02-11T09:07:00.001Z

The latest addition to the Arthrobots steampunk family.

Tom x

Steampacking

2011-02-07T18:25:00.005Z

I've finally got the packaging sorted out for my Arthrobot steampunk insect sculptures.
Each one will now come in a wooden presentation box with a little leaflet detailing the sculpture's name, phylum, class, order and some of the preliminary sketches.

Visit www.arthrobots.com and let me know what you think.

Tom x

Steampunk wasp and golden grasshopper added

2011-02-06T18:18:00.003Z

Just added a couple of extra critters to my site www.arthrobots.com. This time I've added a new tiny wasp and a golden grasshopper.

The grasshopper is different to the last one in that it has longer legs, curly antennae and no wings. It definitely looks more mantis-like than the last one so I'm going to see how I get on with creating a mantis next. I have plans for a steampunk butterfly too.

Tom x

New steampunk bug and dragonfly

2011-02-04T14:36:00.003Z

I've just added a couple more steampunk insects to my Arthrobots collection, also my local gallery The White Gallery has agreed to sell some of them too.

I'm now in the process of sorting out all of the packaging to sell them in (I can't just let people carry them out of the shop in an ASDA carrier bag). I found some great little wooden boxes from Boxy Lady (brilliant domain name) so I'm waiting for those to arrive so I can give them a little embelishment, then I'm ready to start supplying. Woo!

Tom x

Steampunk bee - hymechenoptera lingua

2011-02-02T10:42:00.003Z

Here's my latest little steampunk insect dude, a bee.
You can view all of my steampunk insect sculptures by clicking here.

From the tip of his sting to the end of his tongue he's only 6.5cm long. I do have a smaller bullet in my toolbox though so that's going to have to be a tiny fly or mosquito I reckon.

It's strangely satisfying twanging his tongue :)

Tom x

Arthrobots

2011-02-01T23:22:00.002Z

I've decided to put all of my new steampunk insect sculptures into one collection called "arthrobots".
I've added a new one (a bee) and you can view them all at www.arthrobots.com.

Tom x

Steampunk grasshopper

2011-01-31T12:53:00.004Z

This little fella's only a rough prototype. His legs need a bit of tidying up and I'm not entirely convinced by his head. Still, the basic shape's right and I'm a happy bunny.

Tom x

Steampunk dragonfly - Now with added wings

2011-01-29T09:01:00.002Z

I couldn't wait, so I got up early this morning and made an additional pair of copper wings for the little fella. Much more pleased with him now.

Tom x

Steampunk dragonfly

2011-01-28T22:45:00.005Z

Continuing in the same vein as my last project I have revisited Macc Models and picked up some tubing, tools and other bits and bobs to create my second metal steampunk insect. A dragonfly.

The main body is a piece of inactive ammunition, the thorax is sheet copper and the wings are alimunium. Most of the accessories are either from Hobbycraft, eBay (the watch parts), or from The Bead Shop in Affleck's Palace, Manchester. An awesome place to get interestingly-shaped bits and pieces for this kind of thing.

At the moment it only has one pair of wings so isn't anatomically correct - plus it has a tap sticking out of its back. I'm going to add a second pair of wings in the next few days (it's late now) and will upload a couple more pics of that when it's done.

Me hope you like.

Tom x

Steampunk sketchbook

2011-01-16T14:56:00.004Z

Here's a collection of preliminary sketches for my steampunk insect and walnut, plus a sneak preview of my next projects.

You can see how some bits (the wings for example) are relly close to the original drawings, and others (the body) just didn't work in real life.

Tom x

Steampunk insect

2011-01-11T22:57:00.006Z

I've finally finished my little metal steampunk insect. I managed to get some little nuts and bolts from Macc Models which is just down the road. After getting these it was really easy to assemble the legs, wing cases and head. Dead chuffed and have learnt loads from this project. Next!

Hope you like it.
Tom x

Steampunk necklace, walnut and insect

2011-01-06T11:57:00.009Z

Business started, blog neglected. It's the way of things I'm afraid.
But for Christmas 2010 I got a load of tools and cool stuff for "steampunking" anything I can find which sits still for 5 minutes.

I've already created a walnut and necklace.

I've started an insect too (waiting for more leg parts to be delivered in the form of tiny spoons).

Here's a few pics of what I've created so far. I need to get better at connecting bits together, the hinge on the walnut is made from 4 different kinds of bead all superglued together and isn't particularly robust.

Tom x

New Flipbook site goes live

2010-11-05T14:09:00.002Z

Just a quickie for anyone out there who wants to see what we've been working on since we started. This site for Flipbook Studio in Manchester went live last month and we're dead chuffed with it.

They produce some stunning CGI and VFX work.
Check out Flipbook Studio here.

Tom x

What a month

2010-09-21T22:09:00.005+01:00

So, this is the first blog post I've written for a while.
I've had my tea, the hedgehogs have had their baths and it seemed like a good time to get the old smartphone out and pen something which explains my absence.

In short, myself and my gorgeous wife Emma have started our own digital advertising agency. We're starting out as just the two of us but we've literally not stopped working since it began so who knows where it will lead.

This blog post is hopefully going to serve a couple of purposes. 1) I'm hoping that it will get me back into the habit of blogging again, and 2) The wonderful world of Google Analytics tells me that people have been searching for me and my new agency without knowing what it's called and we appear to be invisible to this.

So, for the record, we are called "Considered Creative" and our new site can be found at the slightly predictable URL of consideredcreative.com

Hopefully this will get me back on track and I'll be posting more often.
I miss you guys.

Tom x

Naruto t shirt designs

2010-06-29T17:18:00.002+01:00

Rinnegan eye t shirt design.

Rasengan shuriken t shirt design.

Sharingan eye evolution t shirt design.

I've been designing a set of Naruto t shirts recently who a friend of mine is going to be printing for me (Here's his eBay store).

Hoping to take delivery of the first lot this week.

Tom x

Friispray at Macclesfield Barnaby Festival in action

2010-06-19T16:26:00.008+01:00

I'm proud to say that the Friispray installation at the Macclesfield Barnaby Festival went swimmingly today with the help of Adam and Hannah who taught all of the kiddywinks (and their dads) how to use the system and Brooklyn who was on hand to co-ordinate the whole set-up.

Here's a video and a few pics of the system in action.

Tom x

Addition on 25th August 2010:
A couple of people have asked me if I am going to make my version of the FriiSpray application available. The answer is "Yes" CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FLA. The reason I hadn't uploaded it before now is that I was a bit embarrassed by it. I knocked it up in a morning using AS2 so there are some features (saving the images to your desktop for example) which are not supported.

Also, the code and timelines may be a bit "slapdash" given the tight timeframe it was built in.

Tom x

Friispray

2010-06-13T14:33:00.005+01:00

OK, let's rewind a couple of days. I get an email from a friend of mine saying that they need to set up a Friispray installation (www.friispray.co.uk) at the Macclesfield Barnaby Festival on the 19th of June. This gives me little over a week to get to grips with the technology but let me summarise for you.

1) You connect a Wii remote to a regular laptop via BlueTooth software (I used BlueSoleil).
2) You create an infrared spray can by emptying a real spray can of its contents and installing a simple infrared LED, push-to-make switch and battery circuit within it.
3) You create an simple paint application which allows a user to "paint" on screen (The Friispray team provide their own AIR app to do this but although it works brilliantly, it obviously hasn't had a designer's touch and looks a little too Windows 3.1 for my liking).
4) You attach it to a projector and project onto a screen from behind. This is so that the Wii remote on top of the projector can pick up the signal coming from the user who is standing in front of the projector.

So far I've got the software and LED can working but am still waiting to get hold of the projector and screen. If you fancy having a go on it, come down to the Macclesfield Barnaby Festival on Saturday 19th June (www.barnabyfestival.org.uk).

I'll post a few more photos of it when it's finished.

Tom x

Princess Bride cartoon t shirt design

2010-06-11T17:17:00.006+01:00

Thought I'd have a crack at designing a Princess Bride t shirt which I'm hoping to get silk screen printed later in the year.

Quite pleased with the results although Vizzini isn't quite as good as the other 3.

Tom x

My new portfolio website goes live

2010-05-10T15:52:00.002+01:00

It's been a long time coming.
My last site was pretty poor in terms of usability (one big Flash movie with a search field in the middle).
Finally my new art direction and advertising portfolio site is up and running. I'll be adding new (and old) work over the next few days until it's all back up to speed.

Did all of the CSS, Javascript and ASP back-end programming myself too so I'm quite chuffed with it :)

Tom x

Facebook group page Photoshop template

2010-04-16T16:37:00.003+01:00

Following on from the Twitter page template I posted earlier, here is a fully editable and layered PSD template for a Facebook group page. Again, I can't promise that I've covered every piece of functionality that the pages can do but it covers everything I've ever needed when designing campaign pages in the past.

I Hope you like it, and again, if you use it please post a nice comment on here too :)

DOWNLOAD FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE PHOTOSHOP TEMPLATE HERE.

Tom x

Twitter page Photoshop template

2010-04-16T11:09:00.006+01:00

I've found a few examples of Twitter page templates for Photoshop around the interwebs but I've had to recreate bits of them so many times that I ended up making my own. It doesn't have all of the intricacies of the system like Retweet and Reply overlays/icons but for basic campaign page mock-ups it's pretty flexible and uses vector shapes and live text where possible.

You can DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATE FREE HERE. All I ask is that if you like it and/or use it, post a nice comment on here :)

Tom x

Chestnut (Snowball's new girlfriend)

2010-04-05T09:28:00.001+01:00

Meet Chestnut. Our new baby African pygmy hedgehog, she's mottled brown and her temperament is almost identical to Snowball's (i.e. she loves cuddles, sleeping and mealworms). She's still a little bit huffy but is calming down with every day that passed. Hogs FTW.

Chestnut is on the left and Snowball on the right. At night they run towards each other in their wheels.

Tom x

The best lunch in Manchester?

2010-03-24T14:16:00.006Z

I've just been for lunch with my wife in the Northern Quarter of Manchester and had such an amazing meal that I feel compelled to write about it.

Walrus is situated on the High Street in Northern Quarter of Manchester (Click here for a map). It offers a typically NQ-styled venue with some painfully trendy cartoon murals on the walls and wacky Pythonesque menus. The white leather seats are a little shabby with the occasional hole where people have sat down with a Biro in their back pocket.

The decor aside, the food really is astonishingly good. They offer a Malaysian lunch Bento box menu for £5 a head with incredibly speedy service. My wife was able to travel from Parsonage Gardens (near Deansgate) to Walrus, eat her lunch without rushing and return to work within an hour.

If you eat nowhere else for lunch in Manchester this month, eat here. The service is friendly (if slightly clumsy at times) and the atmosphere is incredibly relaxed.

I can recommend the Field Meat Bento with a side order of prawn crackers which comes with a sprinkling of wasabi peas (£1).

In my opinion, taking into account location, price and exceptional food, so far this is the best lunch in Manchester.

You've got to love SPAM.

2010-02-26T12:12:00.000Z

The cocker spaniel daydreams, a recliner toward a dust bunny self-flagellates.
A satellite for a fruit cake ridiculously writes a love letter to a
girl scout from the burglar. Indeed, a wedge about a tuba player makes
a truce with a movie theater. Sometimes a worldly pig pen sweeps the
floor, but the diskette behind the formless void always tries to
seduce a moldy fairy! A linguistic oil filter knowingly satiates an
almost boiled satellite. Indeed, the oil filter completely operates a
small fruit stand with a bottle of beer defined by a cheese wheel.
When a turkey leaves, another ski lodge from the tripod reads a
magazine. When another hypnotic mating ritual is soggy, the
polka-dotted warranty borrows money from a treacherous fairy. Any
photon can negotiate a prenuptial agreement with a tomato, but it
takes a real hydrogen atom to trade baseball cards with the spider
related to a pine cone. Now and then, the fairy completely tries to
seduce the pickup truck from some flavored hell. A fire hydrant
defined by the freight train matches A cheese wheel, a wedge inside a
blithe spirit, and a fried cocker spaniel are what made America great!
Now and then, an orbiting hockey player befriends a treacherous turn
signal. Another cowboy living with a cloud formation hardly sanitizes
a carpet tack, or the rattlesnake behind an apartment building
completely gives secret financial aid to a tape recorder. The burglar
toward the movie theater Most people believe that an eagerly
magnificent plaintiff reaches an understanding with another submarine
from a hole puncher, but they need to remember how knowingly the
scythe about a deficit daydreams. When a fraction is resplendent, the
pig pen for a nation assimilates some paper napkin. A lazily
cantankerous demon secretly admires some sheriff. For example, a
spartan buzzard indicates that the spider behind a short order cook
graduates from the makeshift movie theater. The pig pen toward a
tabloid Now and then, the chess board related to a grizzly bear
secretly finds subtle faults with a tabloid. Now and then, the
umbrella about the light bulb makes a truce with a cloud formation.
The dust bunny related to the particle accelerator eagerly befriends a
microscope. A revered graduated cylinder usually laughs and drinks all
night with a cheese wheel, or a stoic pork chop ridiculously
negotiates a prenuptial agreement with a sheriff. A frightened prime
minister procrastinates, and the fire hydrant feels nagging remorse;
however, a statesmanlike pig pen assimilates the industrial complex
over another sheriff. Conclusions i\^cFSiRYWN`UB4RZXUZQ8TP6da The steam engine defined by a
turn signal reads a magazine, and a bullfrog for the industrial
complex panics; however, the microscope related to a jersey cow has a
change of heart about an earring. Sometimes a worldly bottle of beer
daydreams, but a freight train related to the cloud formation always
tries to seduce a senator! A demon near the dolphin sells a hairy
stovepipe to a ski lodge, or a burly abstraction seldom figures out
the scythe. Any minivan can compete with an underhandedly smelly
tabloid, but it takes a real line dancer to be a big fan of a particle
accelerator from a maelstrom. Sometimes a cloud formation defined by
the paycheck gets stinking drunk, but the industrial complex always
reaches an understanding with some geosynchronous pit viper!
Furthermore, a tape recorder about a minivan beams with joy, and an
industrial complex secretly admires the CEO from a reactor. When the
globule for a cowboy is accurately pompous, a photon satiates a cough
syrup of the fraction. The somewhat wrinkled chain saw has a change of
heart about a squid, because the demon near an earring laughs and
drinks all night with the class action suit. A crank case for a turn
signal takes a coffee break, and the molten roller coaster hesitantly
organizes the turn signal. A ski lodge defined by a hole puncher For
example, a slow microscope indicates that an unstable canyon operates
a small fruit stand with the vacuum cleaner. A highly paid hydrogen
atom, the wisely infected umbrella, and a vaporized tuba player are
what made America great! The class action suit around a bullfrog tries
to seduce a cantankerous particle accelerator. The fraction inside a
chestnut feels nagging remorse, but the imaginative grizzly bear
secretly admires a dust bunny around a graduated cylinder. A
wheelbarrow toward a dust bunny Sometimes a South American grain of
sand hibernates, but a light bulb from a maelstrom always takes a peek
at an unstable industrial complex! When you see an abstraction behind
a blithe spirit, it means that a makeshift submarine dies. A dolphin
from another stovepipe sells a steam engine to the self-loathing
tornado. A canyon befriends a short order cook toward a chain saw.
Most people believe that a turn signal related to the formless void
reaches an understanding with a tuba player near a globule, but they
need to remember how single-handledly a polka-dotted fundraiser beams
with joy. A formless void related to a vacuum cleaner senator related
to a skyscraper organizes an avocado pit. Any nation can lazily
negotiate a prenuptial agreement with a shabby bottle of beer, but it
takes a real skyscraper to overwhelmingly give secret financial aid to
some cargo bay. If a gratifying microscope befriends a senator about
the tuba player, then an orbiting power drill leaves. A sheriff
defined by another mastadon is accidentally pathetic. For example, a
salty avocado pit indicates that a stovepipe near a deficit eats a
tomato about the apartment building. A greedily frozen tomato seeks
the turn signal from a turkey. When a lazily dreamlike hole puncher
panics, some salad dressing returns home. A crank case about a cheese
wheel assimilates the mating ritual for a carpet tack. If a
ridiculously feline crank case goes deep sea fishing with the moldy
chess board, then a photon behind the grand piano gets stinking drunk.
When you see a satellite, it means that the hole puncher starts
reminiscing about lost glory. For example, a paper napkin indicates
that a photon underhandedly derives perverse satisfaction from a cough
syrup behind an insurance agent. Now and then, a traffic light living
with the blithe spirit greedily organizes the college-educated cargo
bay. A diskette from a particle accelerator is fried. The knowingly
bohemian roller coaster Now and then, the ski lodge slyly is a big fan
of the hole puncher beyond the polygon. Any minivan can find subtle
faults with the tornado over an inferiority complex, but it takes a
real power drill to greedily operate a small fruit stand with a dust
bunny beyond the cargo bay. The dolphin from a wheelbarrow, the
inexorably optimal formless void, and some canyon behind a power drill
are what made America great! When a highly paid cloud formation is
ridiculously magnificent, a fundraiser about the pork chop knows a
parking lot related to an apartment building. The fire hydrant for
some pickup truck A defendant about a formless void lazily has a
change of heart about a blood clot living with an ocean. A globule is
fat. A gratifying light bulb self-flagellates, but a vaporized cargo
bay finds lice on a mitochondrial grand piano. A sandwich defined by a
prime minister almost writes a love letter to a crane. The ball
bearing operates a small fruit stand with a short order cook A
familiar plaintiff Any flavored hell can pee on the pig pen, but it
takes a real football team to throw a slyly optimal formless void at a
hole puncher. Sometimes i\^cFSiRYWN`UB4RZXUZQ8TP6da the prime minister beyond a particle
accelerator hides, but a cosmopolitan blithe spirit always makes a
truce with an underhandedly Eurasian light bulb! Any pork chop can
lazily bury the muddy apartment building, but it takes a real asteroid
to greedily negotiate a prenuptial agreement with a demon related to a
wedding dress. A short order cook inside the grizzly bear eats the
bullfrog related to the mortician. If the salty industrial complex
accidentally assimilates the parking lot, then a canyon daydreams.
When some razor blade takes a coffee break, the customer toward an oil
filter meditates. If a blood clot behind a wheelbarrow recognizes a
pathetic cashier, then a hockey player over a turn signal starts
reminiscing about lost glory. A precise paper napkin is flatulent.
Furthermore, a burglar takes a coffee break, and the polygon inside
some rattlesnake brainwashes the fat graduated cylinder. When a
particle accelerator is snooty, the carelessly polka-dotted hockey
player conquers a twisted turkey. When a satellite near another light
bulb laughs out loud, a dolphin reads a magazine. A food stamp living
with the particle accelerator, an annoying pine cone, and a
self-loathing industrial complex are what made America great! When you
see the wedding dress beyond a hockey player, it means that the blithe
spirit for the traffic light procrastinates. Sometimes a bartender
toward a microscope hibernates, but the tripod always makes love to
the pig pen! When a childlike light bulb is boiled, a pine cone
underhandedly graduates from a traffic light defined by a pit viper.
The phony nation Now and then, a burglar for some food stamp goes deep
sea fishing with the slyly imaginative blithe spirit. When you see the
paycheck around the prime minister, it means that a carelessly
frustrating recliner returns home. Most people believe that a formless
void falls in love with the short order cook, but they need to
remember how single-handledly a temporal photon meditates. A hypnotic
umbrella If a surly microscope almost tries to seduce a scythe, then
an eggplant starts reminiscing about lost glory. When a salty paycheck
reads a magazine, a briar patch for a hockey player flies into a rage.
Furthermore, the rattlesnake related to a ski lodge earns frequent
flier miles, and another parking lot from a maelstrom finds lice on
the corporation near a girl scout. Some canyon from another graduated
cylinder dies, but a line dancer greedily negotiates a prenuptial
agreement with an earring. A tuba player slyly makes love to a carpet
tack. Another thoroughly fashionable chestnut A girl scout near the
fundraiser tries to seduce a plaintiff living with the blood clot.
Furthermore, the pig pen about a chess board ceases to exist, and the
hydrogen atom is a big fan of a frustrating grand piano. A mysterious
spider finds lice on a line dancer. Any globule can negotiate a
prenuptial agreement with a temporal tornado, but it takes a real
diskette to caricature a flavored hell.

Moving stuff.

Painted owl wall art

2010-02-09T12:58:00.002Z

I don't know why owls seemed like a suitable fit for our hall, but rather than spending £100s on an appropriate art we popped down to B&Q for some tester pots of Dulux emulsion and painted these little fellas on the wall.

Just above eye-height so they're not in your face. I rather like them. Inspired by Andy Runton's Owly I feel.

Tom x

My favourite hex colours

2010-02-03T14:58:00.003Z

I've never really thought about this before, but I was just asked by someone "What are your favourite hex colours?" What's weird is that I didn't even have to think about it.

Obviously the websafe references came to mind immediately but my last one was more instinct-driven so you'll have to accept it as the wildcard in the bunch and subject to change (depending on whimsy).

From left to right they are:
ffcc00, eeeeee, cccccc, 003366, 006699, 0099ff, 5f5b49.
(I have no idea why there are 7 of them. There just are).

Tom x

Friday night in

2010-01-25T17:31:00.000Z

I had to share this.
Friday night, in front of a film with this sleepy little fella. He dropped off while we were stroking him.

Tom x

Tacky animals

2010-01-25T17:23:00.005Z

After taking down a load of inspirational material from one of our meeting rooms at work I was left with an excess of Blu-Tack.

What's a guy to do?

Another pale blue menagerie :)
Tom x

Snowball, the African pygmy hedgehog

2010-01-22T13:33:00.004Z

OK, this is non-work related but I thought I'd share some photos of our new baby, Snowball. He's an African pygmy hedgehog and was an early 30th birthday present from my wife Emma. He's the cutest little guy.

Enjoy.
Tom x

Selfishness, suicide and scriptwriting

2009-09-07T10:41:00.002+01:00

Friend of a friend Andy Riley is a comedy scriptwriter and cartoonist in the UK.
He's an avid Twitterer and, with another book on the way ("Selfish Pigs"), was in need of a website to give himself a bit of self promotion and be more visible on Google.

http://www.misterandyriley.com is the fruits of our labours, trying to bring his unique drawing style onto the web, giving him a soapbox to talk from, but at the same time keeping the site clean and functional.

It's all controlled with an ASP CMS system (Javascript this time...I've realised that VBScript isn't the way of the future). It's also got an RSS blog feed and a search facility to boot.

Go on, have a look around and buy some of his books :)

Tom x

Izzy whizzy, I've been busy!

2009-08-15T14:01:00.007+01:00

It's been a while since my last post, and this is one of the reasons why...
Mr Nigel Mead (a friend of a friend) is one of the foremost magicians in the country, a member of the Magic Circle and a TV consultant and presenter to boot.

This site went through a few design stages (seen below) but finally we agreed on the simple, classy look above. It's all controlled with a CMS developed by myself ustilising RSS news feeds and the Flash YouTube API.

Here's those earlier designs...
Tom x

A life in ink 5

2009-06-02T00:03:00.004+01:00

These are the fruits of my fifth and final week's labour at Macclesfield College. I'm hoping to continue my drawing at the Vernon Mill in Stockport (after a friend's recommendation) so watch this space.

The first (20 mins) one of these is a regular inky drawing, but the second (15 mins) and third (10 mins) ones are both upside-down drawings again. More for my evil, naked race of 2-dimensional puppet warriors.

I think the lying down pose is my favourite upside down drawing so far. (All genuine, no cheating 100% upside down attempts this week).

Oh, and I also found out that my bamboo quill has a brush hidden in the end of it. Bonus. No wonder it was over £7.

Tom x

Holy Moley

2009-05-27T22:36:00.004+01:00

Another fun little game which was created for the Devon Wildlife trust a while back.
It was designed to highlight the effects of climate change on the local wildlife. In this case a mole.

Your job is to keep up with the changes in climate by helping Maurice to adapt as quickly as possible.

You can play the game here.

Tom x

A life in ink 4

2009-05-18T21:44:00.008+01:00

Well, this is life drawing post number 4. Some of these may not look particularly special but I'll explain them as I go through. They are all in chronological order.

Firstly, as you may have gathered. It's the same guy. Stu. The albino. Lovely chap. No pubes.

OK number 1, so it's straight back in with the ink. I'm loving the ink and water technique btw, but this is the first pic of the night so it's a bit lame. The pose was really complicated to draw fluidly, lots of overlapping limbs and a lot of confusion around the legs. It's a 20 minute pose, and this only took 15, so number 2 is the same pose with the few minutes left over. Hence the simplicity.

Number 3 I'm really happy with. I like the depth created with the light and dark areas. I also spilt a load of ink on one of his arse cheeks so ended up blotting it up with some kitchen towel. Low and behold Tom's found himself a new technique. "The Wipe". Good for blocking in midtones when a certain amount of accuracy is called for (muscle structure etc).

OK, now this is where (in my opinion) it gets a bit more interesting. I mentioned in my last life drawing post that I thought the guy looked a bit like a marionette with the strings going the wrong way. So, I thought, if I draw it upside down, the strings will go the right way.

Number 4. Upside down (cheating method). I drew this with charcoal the right way up, then flipped it and inked it in. This is why it has a bit of an outlined feel. I've never posted any of my ink pictures which were drawn first as they invariably turn out a but flat.

Now, number 5. Upside down (HARDCORE method). It may not look brilliant, and it may be a little out of proportion. But this is my first ever completely upsidedown drawn drawing. The whole thing, from blank paper to finished picture, I didn't even tilt my head. But what I found odd is that after the first 2-3 strokes, it was just like drawing it normally. A bit like when I used to play flight simulators on our computer as a child. As soon as you've got used to Up=Down and Down=Up, it's easy. and this is the same. Go on, try it. It's really satisfying!

So I reckon this could be the start of my "Puppets" collection. I intend to carry it on and see how it goes at any rate.

Tom x

Math butterfly

2009-05-15T21:24:00.008+01:00

I have been going through my archives and found this at the bottom of a folder deep in "My Documents". It's never really seen the light of day so I thought I'd share it on here.

It's nothing amazing really, but there is nothing on the stage or in the library. The whole butterfly and it's movement are created with Actionscript.

Hope you like it.

Tom x

The Konami Code

2009-05-15T16:01:00.014+01:00

The Konami code, for anyone born in the 90s and later, is a sequence of button presses and joystick wiggles during a game which result in "Easter Egg" content being revealed, or a cheat being enabled (more lives etc).

Geeks will occasionally add this code to a site they have developed to enable users to unlock content (usually not suitable to the site itself but for the geeks' own amusement). This practice has gone largely unnoticed for many years, but had now emerged as a new craze with Facebook jumping on the bandwagon with their cheesy lens-flare.

Here's a list of the sites which have been affected konamicodesites.com and, not to be outdone, I have even added the code to my own personal Flash portfolio site (it works multiple times too, just click on the Flash movie first).

Oh and the code? Well, you'll have to work it out for yourself ;P

Tom x

P.S. If there are any Flash developers out there looking for an Actionscript (AS2 and AS3) version of the Konami code for their projects, I've posted it below. It may not be the most robust way of doing it, but it works.

//-----------------------------------------------
// KONAMI CODE FLASH AS2
//-----------------------------------------------
var konamiKeyCodeArray:Array = new Array(38, 38, 40, 40, 37, 39, 37, 39, 66, 65);
var currentKeyArray:Array = new Array();
function konamiKeyDown() {
if (konamiKeyCodeArray.toString().indexOf(Key.getCode().toString()) != -1) {
currentKeyArray.push(Key.getCode());
if (currentKeyArray.toString().indexOf(konamiKeyCodeArray.toString()) != -1) {
// PUT YOUR FUNCTION IN HERE
currentKeyArray = new Array();
}
} else {
currentKeyArray = new Array();
}
}
var konamiListener:Object = new Object();
konamiListener.onKeyDown = konamiKeyDown;
Key.addListener(konamiListener);

//-----------------------------------------------
// KONAMI CODE FLASH AS3
//-----------------------------------------------
var konamiKeyCodeArray:Array = new Array(38, 38, 40, 40, 37, 39, 37, 39, 66, 65);
var currentKeyArray:Array = new Array();
function konamiListener(event:KeyboardEvent):void {
if (konamiKeyCodeArray.toString().indexOf(event.keyCode.toString()) != -1) {
currentKeyArray.push(event.keyCode);
if (currentKeyArray.toString().indexOf(konamiKeyCodeArray.toString()) != -1) {
// PUT YOUR FUNCTION IN HERE
currentKeyArray = new Array();
}
} else {
currentKeyArray = new Array();
}
}
stage.addEventListener(KeyboardEvent.KEY_DOWN,konamiListener);
//-----------------------------------------------

Top Notch Results

2009-05-13T12:41:00.003+01:00

OK, now this won't be everyone's idea of a good time, but I've been checking some of the Google Analytics reports for a website I designed for an events company Top Notch Events.
They showed that a lot of traffic was coming through the search term "Table Dressings", a key part of their business. I double-checked on Google.com and they are number 1 out of 8,350,000 results.

Result!

Inksperiment

2009-05-12T15:32:00.004+01:00

Playing around with converting my inky drawing to different alpha channels in PS and layering photos within them (images from Google for now)....Contrived, Derivative, Wank? All honest opinions welcome. (Original version is posted below).

Tom x

Menagerie

2009-05-12T09:32:00.005+01:00

Something I've been working on in my spare time.
I love making little creatures out of BluTack at work (a kind of nervous twitch). Since I got the art bug back, I went out and bought a load of assorted Fimo colours. Here's a few of the little fellas. There's also a nuthatch, a snail and a bee which complete the set (Plus Emma's got a chameleon brooch).

Now I'm off to decorate a paper plate with wool, PVA and elbow macaroni.

Tom x

A life in ink 3

2009-05-12T09:23:00.006+01:00

Back after the Bank holiday. I've bought my own large bottle of black indian ink which Emma is scared to death of, and a bamboo quill which I am just getting the hang of now.

The first picture was drawn mainly with my left hand, which has really helped me to make confident marks. I'm resigned to having a picture which may or may not work in the end, and this has helped me to free up my style a bit.

The second one for me was a revelation. I've started using water after the initial drawing is laid down, to sculpt the drawing and give me more midtones. I think left-handed water and ink painting is definitely going in the right direction. I love the drips too, makes him look a bit like a marionette.

Tom x

A life in ink 2

2009-04-28T09:59:00.008+01:00

Meh!
Apparently you can't Bluetooth a photo from an iPhone to another device. Therefore, these drawings have had to come the long way round.

Having downloaded an FTP client for my iPhone which just didn't work, I had to set up my GMail account instead and email the images to myself. My only guess is that most iPhone users won't have noticed this diabolical process because the photos it takes are so astronomically bad in the first place they feel too embarrassed to share them.

Think I'll be switching back to my Sony Ericsson C902 very soon!

Anyway, these are the latest inky drawings from my life drawing sessions. Same guy, but this time they were drawn using a big, old feather.

Tom x

A life in ink

2009-04-21T08:20:00.004+01:00

Last night I went to a life drawing session at Macclesfield College. It's been years since I picked up a stick of charcoal and my art bag was embarrassingly clean compared to some of the veterans there.

I usually don't like drawing men, despite the obvious reasons, most male life models tend to be a bit "straight up and down". This guy was slightly overweight which immediately makes him a more interesting to draw. Add into that the fact that he was an albino with a receding pony tail, intense stare and no pubic hair and you get a pretty engaging subject matter (and horrible, sweaty nightmares).

Halfway through the evening I switched from charcoal to Indian ink for the first time, I had to use a little bamboo quill thing. It took me a while to get the hang of it but I'm so glad I did, I think I've found a new favourite medium for drawing.

I forgot how much I love drawing and painting! Now I'm off to rent myself a filthy attic apartment in Paris, get some dirty pants and a hairy girlfriend (sorry Emma, you're just not bohemian enough for me and my new artistic lifestyle). Absinthe anyone?

Pics above in chronological order (I like the second one down), I'll be adding more over the next few weeks.
Tom x

Humongous Wedge Awards

2009-04-15T21:39:00.001+01:00

I just received a very nice email from those lovely, beautiful, benevolent people at the Big Chip Awards saying that the Bollington Festival website had been shortlisted for the "Best Not for Profit" category this year.

Great news for all of the volunteers involved, and some much needed publicity for the festival too. If you haven't booked your tickets for the "Screaming Beavers" yet, go to the site and book online. :)

You can view the whole shortlist here

Twittering

2009-04-08T11:49:00.000+01:00

I've been toying with the idea of putting a Twitter feed on my website for a while now, just guaging whether I use it enough to warrant any real-estate on my portfolio.

I had a play and created this little app. It doesn't belong on my site (yet) but thought it deserved a mention.

Just a simple XML reader plotted with sine and cosine waves combined with a simple AS 3D engine. Uses a proxy ASP script to get around the security issues.

Enjoy
Tom x

A local website for local people

2009-03-29T19:44:00.000+01:00

This has been great fun to work on. From start to finish I had just over a month to re-structure the IA, usability, design and build of this site. And what's more, I did it all for free. That's right, the Bollington Festival is run every 4 years in the village of Bollington (where I currently live) entirely by volunteers and for no profit.

After offering my services my brief was pretty...well...brief. Re-design the Bollington Festival site, and make it easy for Margaret to update.

So, I devised and built a CMS system which takes care of all of the events information and ticketing (through to the shopping cart), plus a CMS for multiple news threads throughout the site. I also rebuilt the entire site with server-side scripting allowing it to be modular and therefore easier for Margaret.

I'm really pleased with the end result, and ticket sales have been way up on the previous festival as a result.

Wish it luck in the '09 Big Chip Awards!

Come one, come all to the only portfolio blog with inevitably nothing on it.

2009-03-03T17:11:00.000Z

I'm not a blogger. I've tried. I'm just too lazy.

But.

It seems that there's a bit of a blog-style portfolio trend hitting the virtual streets and who am I to deny the public what it wants? So, I will try harder this time to keep this up to date with all of my latest work.

If you're viewing this in a few months time and this is still the only post on it, I am sorry. All I can say is that I probably didn't try as hard as I promised and I am still lazy.

Tom x

Tom Hardwidge's blog

Steamunk and sharingan eye cakes

Steampunk Nancy - now with added grass

Steampunk Nancy

A *?@* in the arse

Little buggers

Another 8-legged freak

RAF Dragonfly

A chunky spider

Bollington cider making

A few pics from Costa Rica

30 Seconds to Mars

The menagerie continues

My cartoon archive

Mother Flippin' awards

Help the hog

Bug or bird

My first steampunk butterfly

Steampunk snail

The commissions begin

Big in the US

Hosting problems

Steampunk tarantula

The Watch Lab - turning broken watches into works of art.

Steampunk praying mantis

Steampacking

Steampunk wasp and golden grasshopper added

New steampunk bug and dragonfly

Steampunk bee - hymechenoptera lingua

Arthrobots

Steampunk grasshopper

Steampunk dragonfly - Now with added wings

Steampunk dragonfly

Steampunk sketchbook

Steampunk insect

Steampunk necklace, walnut and insect

New Flipbook site goes live

What a month

Naruto t shirt designs

Friispray at Macclesfield Barnaby Festival in action

Friispray

Princess Bride cartoon t shirt design

My new portfolio website goes live

Facebook group page Photoshop template

Twitter page Photoshop template

Chestnut (Snowball's new girlfriend)

The best lunch in Manchester?

You've got to love SPAM.

Painted owl wall art

My favourite hex colours

Friday night in

Tacky animals

Snowball, the African pygmy hedgehog

Selfishness, suicide and scriptwriting

Izzy whizzy, I've been busy!

A life in ink 5

Holy Moley

A life in ink 4

Math butterfly

The Konami Code

Top Notch Results

Inksperiment

Menagerie

A life in ink 3

A life in ink 2

A life in ink

Humongous Wedge Awards

Twittering

A local website for local people

Come one, come all to the only portfolio blog with inevitably nothing on it.

A ?@ in the arse