For some time I was maintaining the habit of reading fiction everyday out loud (paid more attention that way) and this is a wonderful book. Love the way it's written with different people's accounts. However this cover was terrible and I felt I had something better in mind...

This is the original thumbnail I did real quickly, very small sketch, barely the size of my palm. Somehow it turned into a circle, and since it wasn't really for a real book, this was fine. Next stage, I scanned it, lightened, made it bigger, printed it, then refined it with pencils.

The pencils stage were done on a letter (a4) sized page. I really like how the negative space from the test tube fumes formed the background of Mr Hyde. Next, I scanned it, lightened it and printed it in on photo blue on a bristol paper of 11x14 inches.

I was actually really happy with the final inks! The negative and positive shapes played out really well, and am happy with the lettering too.

And here is the final piece! I definitely lost of the negative positive interplay of the black and white version, but gained a lot in the mood of the piece, Dr Jekyll stands out nicely, while Mr Hyde is sinisterly blending into the red background. I feel there is good balance and harmony in this piece. It wasn't a big hit on instagram, but the right people liked it, and most importantly, I was happy with it!

Create an illustration about how to cut spending with an imminent recession looming...

I really felt like the first one was really strong as I was able to get all 10 points of the article into one scene, but I make sure to at least stretch my brain a bit and try to think of two more ideas.  That was the one chosen in the end... the only comment was that the guy cooking looks to calm and confident, he needs to be a bit worried.

So I added the screen showing the economic downturn which serves its purpose in making him look up and be concerned. The points in the article are..

1. Reduce your streaming services
2. Cook at home
3. Get coupons and discounts

And the rest you can check out in the article itself, right here, https://www.moneytalkgo.com/8-places-you-may-be-able-to-cut-your-spending/

The title of the article is '5 things to consider if you're worried about your finances right now'. I was given this brief yesterday, March 23rd at around 1pm. I had to come up with an illustration that was expressing the idea but also wary of the sensitivities of the institution publishing it (TD Bank). 

I normally come up with at least three to five concepts but time was limited, and this is all I could think of at the time.  I wanted to show a meditating figure with the solutions around her, with a backdrop of tension. The idea was rejected however as the team felt it was too relaxed, and would not be relatable.  Ans so I came up with some more ideas..

And so I came up with these options sitting on my bed trying to get my son to nap at the same time. I wanted to focus more on the aspect of social distancing, and working from home tie the idea into that. The team went for option A, but felt that it shouldn't be too negative and there should be some sort of positive element in it showing the solutions.

That night I went right for it, and created this. The hardest thing was getting the expression right, so that the person seemed worried but also slightly relieved by possible positive things in the situation. The team liked it but felt however that the dollar signs were not necessary (perhaps too dramatic). I was worried that we would lose the financial aspect of it.. but then in conjunction with the headline it might work.

And this what the final looked like. I'm quite happy with it for the time it took to complete  (basically had half a  day). I like that the sense of isolation is clearly evident in the image and reflective of the times. The headline helps is make sense. I feel its a mood the people can relate with right now, and thats what's important, it reflects the times. 

Want to read it? Check out this link..
https://www.moneytalkgo.com/5-things-to-consider-if-youre-worried-about-your-finances-right-now/

This is the first page from this 6 page short story that is in the RAID 3 collection that just came out the summer. It was a lot of fun to work on with Andrew Healey! (who has himself written some PJ Masks episodes in the past). It was a great journey figuring out the story, and watching how it evolved into what it was and was still developing till the last day when the ending was finally determined (its a fun one so you better read the book!) The book has also work from amazing talent from the comic industry who have done brilliant work for DC and Marvel too. 

The book itself is available at the RAID Stores along with the first two editions. They do have some mature content, so not for kids!

I really enjoyed the word on the street this year. The day started with rain, but then brightened up considerably and the crowd was great (although I did notice that the festival was smaller). I was luck yet again that the people who I was supposed to share a desk with did not show up! The more I do these shows and see people's reactions the more it motivates me to keep on producing certain types of things. I think my work is definite by the line work, bright colours, social commentary, educational value and of course humour. I would like to start making products other than just prints, and also need to get that online store going! As usual I had the Timeless Characters as the main attraction, but the postcards always get some good chuckles. Overall, this was a great show yet again, for making new contacts and networking with the right people. If I do it next year, I hope to actually have some books to display. Some suggestions that I got this year were..

• Create a book with all your illustrations in it
• Make a t shirt out of the Kensington Market /Sesame Street illustration
• Keep creating!
• And a note to myself, that planets illustration is very popular, and I didn't forsee that, I think education and humour could be a great niche for me.. see picture below.

A visual timeline of fictional characters from Frankenstein till today. It shows the parallels between political and technological events and the creation of fictional characters. Characters have been chosen based on the fact that they have persisted in out media through time, and the theory is that they have persisted because they represent something significant and real in history.

This is an evolving poster that you can order by emailing me at email@daneshm.com This poster is updated every three years, and people who have already purchased one can get a substantial discount of the next on that arrives three years later. Sizes that are available are 12 by 18 inches and 24 by 36 inches. (anything smaller would not do it justice!) It's a perfect piece to have in your living room as it is a very entertaining conversation piece (especially intergenerationally).

I didn't know that when tomatoes first came to India they were called 'Laal Baigan' (red eggplant).

Now I've been to a few Comic Conventions (Fan Expo Toronto, MEFCC Dubai, Kapow! London, Delhi Comicon and Angouleme Band Desinee) as well as some art fairs (Kensington Market Art Fair and a Toronto Xmas Market) and these are the things are feel are important to keep in mind!

I took part in this year's even in Dubai and had a table at the artist alley. The artist alley here is the best I've been too so far in terms of space and accessories given to the exhibitor. By accessories, I mean the backing board for displaying your art work. What's great about it is that you can even draw on it, giving you even more opportunity to customize your space. The tables are not arranged edge to edge, rather there is at least a meter or space between each table. This is just amazing, its one of the more expensive artist alley tables but certainly worth for these luxuries. I hope they maintain these sort of things.

The crowd was also quite interesting. The first day, Thursday was excruciating slow, as is expected, but it gave me an opportunity to fiddle around with the stand and arrange it to perfection for the big busy day, Friday. And busy it was on Friday! What's interesting as well is that the crowd at comic con is not an accurate representation of the population of Dubai. In Dubai only about 20% of the population consists of locals, at Comic Con though it felt almost like 90%. It helps of course that they are so easy to spot visually (males in their white traditional robes and women in their black). There were also many people from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The cosplay was also really entertaining. The most interesting costumes are always those that are mashup of different characters or just plain original. The funniest were the groups of characters all dressed the same that would go charging through the crowds. One such one was carrying a rubber boat around. I never see these 'groups' in the north american ones, and wonder wha the reason is? I guess its cultural?

Another thing that amazed me was the lack of excitement and awareness around legendary talent such as Adam Kubert and Bob Layton! I was able to go have a chat with these gentlemen and even exchange prints and get some feedback. I really felt that there was not enough awareness of who they were or what they represented.  I also got to get to chat with and get a great print from Otto Shmidt.

It's great for me to come back to Dubai, the place where I was raised, and show people how I've developed. I also still have family here, so that's a wonderful bonus. I hope to return next year, or perhaps even get invited if I can reach that sort of status!