matt dawson

@mattdawsonblog

Thanks for stopping by. I'm a freelance illustrator. If you like what you see feel free to link to my artwork, but please always make sure and credit me. If you're interested in talking about a new project, my existing work, or just want to say hello, I can be reached via email from the "about" page on my website. All images ©2025 Matthew James Dawson unless otherwise stated. Ta. my website my instagram my old blog

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This is a photoshop composite of the features I liked the best from the iPad and ink sketches. I wanted to refine things a bit but still keep it chunky and loose. I don’t need to be too precious about following my sketch to the exact letter in the final linocut. Having a hoot doing all this.

#owl linocut #owl sketch #owl ink sketch #owl drawing #owls

Here’s some brush pen sketches based on the previous iPad sketch, trying to refine feather patterns and forms for the linocut.

#owl ink sketch #owl sketch #ink sketch #owls #owl drawing

Trying out designs for an owl linocut. Been quite a while since I used the iPad for any sketching but I found it useful in this instance. I don’t have an apple pencil so it’s quite a loose and chunky sketch, but then again, given I’m linocutting, that’s a good starting place to refine from I think.

#owl drawing #owl sketch #owl linocut #ipad drawing

more stretching of owls

#owl sketch #owl drawing #owls #owl illustration

It’s owl stretching time.... sorry, sketching time.

#owls #owl sketch #owl drawing #barn owl #owl illustration

A poster illustration sketch for Robert Eggers The Lighthouse that came to me after a little doodling. Much as I’d like to draw them in I left off the sea beast suction cups on the curving transition from mermaid’s tail to lighthouse. Didn’t want things to add another level of plot in there and over egg things. The film is so darn enigmatic it leaves itself wide open to visual interpretation.

#robert eggers the lighthouse #the lighthouse #mermaid #scrimshaw mermaid #sketch #doodles #poster #the lighthouse poster

Another sketch from watching Eggers The Lighthouse. The alluring scrimshaw mermaid. Love that word, scrimshaw. I could see this as a peeling paint, weather worn sign swinging above a pub called The Mermaid.

#robert eggers the lighthouse #the lighthouse #mermaid #scrimshaw mermaid #ink sketch

Watched Robert Eggers The Lighthouse last night for what must now be the third or fourth time at least. Okay, it’s maybe not the most relaxing or accessable of films to unwind in front of but it’s a truly remarkable piece of work on all counts. The cinematography and production design are just stunning to look at. The performances are riveting to watch and the sound design is immersive and unsettling. I love the salty sea dog dialogue as well.

“Doldrums. Doldrums.”

I had to have a go this morning at a quick, loose, pencil sketch of Willem Dafoe as Wickie Thomas Wake. What a superb characterful performance and he looks every bit the part too.

#the lighthouse #willem dafoe #pencil sketch #robert eggers the lighthouse #thomas wake

A vintage children’s book find, “Herbert Goes On Holiday” written and illustrated by Thadon Westmaw (quite a name). Did anyone else read the whimsical adventures of Herbert Hippo when they were little? There are more of Thadon Westmaw’s Herbert books to find out there. I remember seeing: Herbert needs no introduction Herbert and the pancake problem Herbert down the drain Herbert has his head in the clouds Herbert and the burglars

#childrens book #vintage children's book #hippo #hippopotamus #children's book illustration #illustration #old books

Looking right at the back of my plan chest today I found the original ink sketch of this rather shocked, spotty the triceratops. As I’d not posted it on my tumblr before I thought I’d give it an outing. Reminiscent of my card build triceratops from a few years later.

#triceratops #dinosaur #triceratops drawing #triceratops sketch #triceratops illustration

I thought I’d do a rhino in a similar style to my recent elephants. An ink brush for the loose, unplanned line work and some quick colour and texture added in photoshop.

#rhino #Rhinosaurus #rhino drawing #rhino illustration #rhino sketch

Donny the walrus is a lot of fun to draw.

#i am the walrus #walrus #the big lebowski #shut the fuck up Donny #pencil sketch #walrus drawing #walrus sketch #the beatles

“I am the walrus.”

“Shut the f*** up Donny.”

#i am the walrus #walrus #the big lebowski #Sharpie Doodle #sharpie sketch #sharpie drawing #the beatles

I used the loose pencil sketch I had as a faint underlay (I didn’t go with using a light box so I wasn’t a slave to the sketched line) and worked over the top, inking without any underdrawing, using a pentel brush pen. I might have used a blot technique or a dip pen but I wanted to move quickly so the brush pen was scrappy enough yet fast enough.

As is often the way I surprised myself with the direction the loose, free inking took things in. Other than reworking a few skin creases on a fresh sheet of paper the final inks were the first ones I laid straight down. Doesn’t always work that way.

Although the client had originally seen my earlier pink elephant I gave them a couple of other colour options to look at, with and without graphite stick tone. The earth tones and blues colour palette was taken from an even earlier elephant of mine from way back on my old blog. In the end the client opted for the pink pachyderm without the extra graphite gritty tones.

I’m very happy with how quickly this commission came together. It’s always nice to be surprised with how things evolve and I can see myself taking this ‘soft geometric’ elephant anatomy and see what else I can do with it for future pachyderm poses.

(see previous earlier blog posts here ... here ... & here)

#elephant #pink elephant #pink pachyderm #elephant illustration #elephant drawing

I kept the same walking pose as the previous artwork to keep the sense of life and energy, though I rotated things a little into a semi 3/4 view, to give it more depth. Even with the depth I kept the body parts more like the paper cut out’s from my tightroping elephant (see last but one blog post), just because I think the elephants body parts lend themselves well to the collage effect.

The client was really happy with where things were headed so I took the loose pencil sketch I’d shown them through to inking.

(more in the next post)

#elephant #pink elephant #pink pachyderm #elephant sketch #sharpie sketch

I took the original artwork and, more as warm up, just started sketching the existing pose loosely with a sharpie so I couldn’t be too precious. The client’s brief for the new elephant illustration was fairly open-ended so I just started experimenting with where I could push things forward.

The sharpe sketch was a bit too cartoon like and both the client and I had talked about possibly going bolder and a bit more abstract in the elephant’s anatomy. There is something about the basic, heavy, geometric forms and the way in which the skin’s creases flow around and accentuate them, that is really pleasing. With that in mind I kept loose sketching.

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