Merry Christmas 2011

Made by Hand

Cover Artwork for 'Made by Hand : My Adventures in the World of Do-It-Yourself' by Mark Frauenfelder. This is a really great book I had the pleasure of working on recently.  Big thanks to Joseph Perez at Profile books for his excellent art direction.

From his unique vantage point as editor-in-chief of Make magazine, Mark Frauenfelder takes readers on an inspiring and surprising tour of the vibrant world of do-it-yourself.

He spent a year trying a variety of offbeat projects such as keeping chickens and bees, tricking out his espresso machine, whittling wooden spoons, making guitars out of cigar boxes, and doing citizen science with his daughters in the garage. His whole family found that DIY helped them take control of their lives, offering deeply satisfying ways to spend time together.

Frauenfelder also reveals how DIY is changing our culture for the better. He profiles fascinating “alpha makers” leading various DIY movements and grills them for their best tips and insights.

More info about this book over on Boing Boing and also on the  Make blog.

How Machines Work : Sketches

Sketches of items for the How Machines Work timeline. Click to see bigger.

How Machines Work : Timeline

One of the most fun & interesting parts of the How Machines Work book project was working on a timeline which runs throughout the book. I produced around 60 illustrations showing how the different types of simple machine have been applied throughout history. Here is a small preview showing a Steam Engine with Sun & Planet gears (gears), Rack Railway (Rack & Pinion), Mesopotamian Wheel (axle), Corkscrew (Rack & Pinion), Rollercoaster (Ratchet), & Sumerian Potters Wheel (axle).



How Machines Work published by Running Press Kids October 2011.

How Machines Work : Pulley

You know all about pulleys right?  This illustration demonstrates how a compound pulley system is used by a crane. Find out more in How Machines Work.

How Machines Work

Earlier in the year I spent a good few months learning all about cranks, levers, pulleys, axles and other simple machines and mechanisms. If you want to learn all about this stuff too then maybe you should check out  How Machines Work , commissioned by Quarto books and published by Running Press Kids this October. How Machines Work is written by Nick Arnold, author of the best-selling Horrible Science series, and illustrated by myself. This book will not only tell you everything you need to know about machines but also give you a chance to build working models yourself.

Below is a small preview of the kind of thing you can find in the book.



Above:   An example of two simple machines.

Pre order on Amazon UK US

A little street scene

My first post of 2011! Yep, it's nearly spring and I've been pretty busy with one thing or another. Mostly I've been super busy working on a book that's coming out in October for Running Press kids. I'm hoping to show a bit of that work on the blog real soon but in the meantime here's a sketch I did the other day..