Simon Fletcher's Portfolio

I am a New Zealand based illustrator & designer. I create commercial illustration, logos, children's books and picture book illustration, graphic novels, and comics. Contact me for more information, I am currently available for freelance illustration.

[simonjfletcher]

As 2018 came to a close, and I wanted to create a painting to sum up what I think we as citizens of planet earth should be very concerned about. The photo of the 2018 polar bear, who looked like he or she was drowning, caught my imagination. There have been many records of polar bears drowning, swimming until exhaustion. How long until we as humans stop destroying, relentlessly, casually, in denial and full of justifications, the most beautiful blue planet in the galaxy? After the climate change summit this year, it has become clear: we are not changing fast enough to avoid huge, human made, species destroying, environmental disaster via climate change. 

We may like to avoid this topic. I often see eyes glaze over whenever the word 'environment' shows up in a conversation. Isn't life hard enough? Why change do I need to worry about something that I have so little control over? Because if we don't, if each of us does not consider this danger ahead, life is going to get a hell of a lot harder, for everyone, everywhere.

@world_wildlife 

Lets do everything we can to protect our beautiful planet in 2019 ppl! 

[simonjfletcher]

Anxiety

This painting is about the anxiety of existence, and its dedicated to  @karenferrazfletcher who went through a pretty tough year last year.

Anxiety is part of human life. I heard a psychologist explain "anxiety is fear in slow motion." This painting is part of my series about mental health.

There is a quote I relate to below, take a moment to consider: Because we are vulnerable and mortal, pain and anxiety are an integral part of human existence. We must have something to set against the suffering that is intrinsic to Being. We must have the meaning inherent in a profound system of value or the horror of existence rapidly becomes paramount. Then, nihilism beckons, with its hopelessness and despair. - JP

[simonjfletcher]

The Woods - Hansel and Gretel

As a kid the story of Hansel and Gretel it filled me with dread. My adopted sisters were both abandoned by their parents, so the reality of parents who should love and protect leaving their kids to face the wild was quite real to me - and I'm sure my sisters too. 

What I love about folktales is that they talk about huge, often terrible situations, in a relatively safe way that people of all age groups can engage with. The hope in this story is that Gretel is able to save her and her brother's life, and the witch and the stepmother, symbolising the wicked control of a evil ruler and famine respectively, were killed in a single moment.

No one could deny that Hansel & Gretel's father is a weak and awful dad. I did two versions, one with the underlying witch / step mother's face, as I couldn't decide which I preferred.

[simonjfletcher]

Cover illustration for Folktale week.

A collaborative initiative by creator @jennifermpotter.

[simonjfletcher]

INK DRAWINGS

I have to admit it - I love ink drawings! After years at art school avoiding linework with a deep sense of dread, 8 years on I think that my best work utilises linework in some way. This is a selection of some of my best drawings to date, many of them done for the yearly art challenge, Inktober.

[simonjfletcher]

Depression

Personal Work.

[simonjfletcher]

Becoming Toroa

For The New Zealand School Journal 2015

This project was such a delight to work on, and a privilege to be part on one of New Zealand’s oldest and most established children’s publications, The School Journal. 

The double page spread illustration was commissioned to accompany a short poem about the Toroa (Albatros in Maori) and a boys existential experience in a windy road trip. Working closely with the Art director Simon Waterfield, this is what we came up with.

The design process was followed from sketch, inking, colour composition and final illustration.

The boy character is supposed to look rather sick as he descends the windy mountain and watches the soaring Albatros flying overhead.

[simonjfletcher]

Real Dreams Web Comic

In April 2017, I started a webcomic called Real Dreams. I have done short comics before in the past, but this was my first attempt at a longer story.

Using a simple inking style and a flat colouring technique influenced by French bande dessinee, I launched the project on a few platforms across the web. Designed to suit both web and digital platforms, the first section of the comic is going to be published in New Zealand in Funtime Comics Anthology issue 30 with the two other part to follow in the next couple of issues of Funtime.

I enjoy woking on comics, and am currently pitch one comic to a publisher, as well as developing a very exciting comic project with Mikael Lopez.

[dropthedrawings]

Gran'ma Ben * Updated

Do you guys remember Gran’ma Ben, from Jeff Smith’s Bone? One of my favourite comics characters of all time, she was one ferocious, loving, protective and sarcastic old girl.

Thanks Jeff Smith for creating such an awesome bunch of characters which filled many of our childhoods with laughter, adventure and fun. ‘stupid rat creatures!’

[simonjfletcher]

Stay Protected

Personal artwork, digital

FINALIST FOR THE 2015 CHROMACON ILLUSTRATION AWARD

This painting was developed from an original ink drawing. It came out of a sketch from a sketchbook of mine, and I had thought of developing the composition in a kind of comic style as I had done for other pieces in the past, and ending up with a relatively flat drawing. However as the colouring and value stage began I began to realise that the elements and lighting deserved a more realistic / painterly treatment.

It was a very challenging piece for me to complete, and I would say I definitely learned a lot about digital painting and lighting. I wanted to bring unity to the piece though colour. IN retrospect I would have developed the piece with an undertone first, to make the process easier to bring to the finish line, with colour unity.

The characters are cartoony and the perspective quite warped. I plan to develop this painterly cartoon style, and have a few influences for what I enjoy looking at myself, from artists such as Dice Tsutsumi, Ryan Lang, and Alexandre Diboine who I admire a lot.

[simonjfletcher]

Story Time

Story time meant a lot to me as a boy, and the pictures and words totally captured my imagination. I tried to capture this feeling in this painting, with the lighting, the expressions, the toys on the floor, the pile of library books and the colours.

[simonjfletcher]

Steven Universe

Steven Universe & Lion - Characters from Steven Universe I love the colour choices on this cartoon show,  the attention to detail.

This way of painting is particularly enjoyable. 

[simonjfletcher]

Star Wars Portraits

Finn and Rey from the new Start Wars movie, The Force Awakens. 

I enjoy employing new techniques to create new impressions and interpretations. These paintings are highly influenced by both comics and Gouache painting techniques

[simonjfletcher]

Anthropomorphic characters

During the month of October/Inktober 2017 I did a series of anthropomorphic characters. Here are a few, the rest can be found on my blog: http://dropthedrawing.tumblr.com/tagged/inktober

[simonjfletcher]

Arrival in Neverland

I always loved that moment when the kids arrived at Neverland! The sense of wonder, imagination and discovery seems to permeate the scene.

This illustration was created for Folktale Week 2018.

[simonjfletcher]

WEALDWARDS - THE TRESSTREE RACE COMIC

in Oct 2017 I was asked to create a comic called Wealdwards, written by Mikael Lopez, a comic writer I really admire.

These pictures are a selection of shots from the pages that were created, along with some concept art for the series. 

If you are interested in me creating your comic, get in touch!

[simonjfletcher]

The story of the Rice Seller

A friend’s 10 year old nephew wrote a fairy tale about a Rice farmer meets an old woman, who later turns out to be a crane spirit. She trades him 100 pieces of rice for 100 pieces of gold. But the rice seller tries to cheat the woman by just giving her 99 pieces of rice, and as a consequence the crane returns at night and destroys his crops and good fortune.

Its a sad little moral tale, and I really enjoyed doing a bit of art to try to capture the mood.

Let me know if you like this style - kind of influenced by Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac.