New artwork from The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey

I can now show a selection of design work from the first Hobbit film (a big thanks to Wingnut Productions and Weta Workshop).

Its under the Film Work tab and I will be adding new pieces over the coming weeks. Enjoy :)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Chronicles: Art and Design

When I was a Design Student in my final year I poured over the Art of Lord of the Rings books hoping some of the inspiration would rub off. Some nine years on it my great pleasure to be included in my friends book The Hobbit Art of Books, written by Daniel Falconer and produced Kate Jorgensen.

Unfortunately due to Studio restrictions I can't at this time share a sample of any of the artwork I produced on the film, so your best bet to see any of the artists' work is to buy a copy :)

Parka Blogs has a great review of the book and some sample pages and a video flip through.

Some of my Radagast designs on the left page.

Getting to design Orcrist was a major highlight working on the film!
Master sword-smith Peter Lyon at Weta Workshop made the live steel version. 

Keeping in theme with the forthcoming Hobbit feature film here are a couple of pieces I did at Weta Workshop for Tourism New Zealand.

Myself, Gus Hunter and Nick Keller have spent the last 4 years immersed in Middle Earth and so this was a nice bit of illustrative fun over straight concept design. The brief was to take some featured tourism experiences from lovely old NZ and evolve them into a moment from Middle Earth. This was more a chance for us to explore possible moments inspired by the images rather than draw to the script.

To see all the images go to New Zealand.com

Hobbit Con - Approach to Rivendell

With the Hobbit premiere fast approaching I thought I would share a piece of fan art I did for the guys over at Hobbit Con in Germany. After spending years working on concept design for the films it made a nice change to explore some of my own ideas for Approach to Rivendell.

Approach to Rivendell - Photoshop

White Cloud Worlds Volume Two!

We are very proud to announce the upcoming release of White Cloud Worlds Volume Two, November 2nd from all good book stores in New Zealand!


Weighing in at 148 pages and showcasing 41 heavy hitting artists, this volume is packed full with dazzling artwork accompanied by text written by the artists.


White Cloud Worlds Volume Two also includes written contributions from two of the world’s leading masters of the imagination – acclaimed artists, designers and writers Iain McCaig and Wayne Barlowe.


From the beautiful to the bizarre, frightening to fantastical, allow yourself a break from the mundane and get lost in the visually rich creations showcased in this book.  You might not want to leave!

‘White Cloud Worlds’ Volume Two Book Signings


Armageddon Expo Auckland - 19-22nd October

Be the first to buy the book! 

We have exclusive pre-release copies on sale at our booth on all days.

Weta Cave, Saturday November 3rd, 1pm

1 Weka St, Miramar, Wellington

Come meet a bunch of the artists for a huge signing session!


Whitcoulls Lambton Quay, Saturday November 24th, 2pm

Join us in the city with our Wellington artists for a signing session and chat.

Frank Victoria Portrait

After nine years in the trenches with Frank on the Weta Front, he has finally been posted home to France mission accomplished. I usually tend to try bust out some crappy digital portrait of long term leavers at Weta, but this time I decided to complicate matters by trying oil painting.
Here is the final painting and the whole torturous process for all to see. Bon Voyage Frank, I am sick of seeing your face :) and the portrait is in the post.

Atlantean Officer

A while back I was doodling up a old piece , giving myself 20 minutes to try salvage a bad start. Many hours later this is the finished result. It looks like nothing like where I started but for the better!  This is in the same series as my other Atlantis work.