Madden Illustration Blog
My name is Chris Madden; I am a freelance illustrator, living and working in Manchester, UK.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
If you would like to commission my drawing hand:
Agent: Eye Candy
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
• Print Shop • Portfolio • we•am•likes •
Search
Twitterings
Loading Tweet...
Find me on...
Stuff I Like
-
More Process & How I Approach Colour (sometimes)
So I’m a bit further along in my piece for Light Grey’s Macro & Micro show and I figured I’d...
-
100 year old hunting cabin named “Kuven” in Eastern Norway.
Contirbuted by Fredrik von Malchus. Photo by Sturla Opsahl.
-
this is so amazing
-
Super quick scribble inspired by Warwick Johnson Cadwell’s Tank Girl.
-
Another super quicky scribble before leaving the studio.
-
-
-
-
Buster Keaton
-
Tag Results
22 posts tagged commission
It’s Good To Tut!
This is the latest image I have rustled up for The Guardian Weekender’s great weekly column, “This Column Will Change Your Life” by Oliver Burkeman.
I had very little time to complete this image (Partly tight deadline. Partly my own fault) but still managed to apply some of the new techniques i’ve been playing around with recently in my personal work, as well as being able to experiment with more abstract, graphic shapes which is not something I would usually do with a timeframe such as this.
I’m really happy with the outcome of this image; It wasn’t my favourite idea at rough stage, nor was it the AD’s, but went in this direction due to it being a better fit with the layout. The other rough was also very similar in composition to another illustration on the same page.
Both Roughs are below // You can read the article here
Read more
Map • Eastern Europe
Just before Christmas I was delighted to get a commission that wasn’t at all festive.
I was asked by Shots Magazine to create a Map of Eastern Europe that highlighted all of the major cities. I haven’t ever really dabbled in hand-drawn type before and there is none whatsoever in my portfolio, so I found it slightly unusual that I would be commissioned specifically to do so. However, I’ll try anything once - so I gave it a go… and really enjoyed it.
I welcome similar projects with open arms; I was completely out of my comfort zone but as a result I found myself able to experiment a lot more than I would on an illustration project.
Enough Wine
A pre-Christmas illustration for an atricle about alcohol moderation over the festive period!
This is quite different to my usual style, and at the time I really wasn’t too happy with it. Upon reflection I don’t think it’s so bad!
Let’s Go with RyanAir
Yesterday, a RyanAir in-flight magazine landed on my doormat!
I was commissioned by Art Director, Mat Wiggins for a full page, slightly tongue-in-cheek, feature about the top 5 places in Europe to find a werewolf!
I have had a life long love affair with cinema that stems from countless hours of watching classic horror/sci-fi b-movies, so obviously, I snatched his hand off at the chance to illustrate such a wonderful subject matter!
I am really quite happy with how the final page turned out - I wouldn’t say that the illustration is in keeping with my usual style but overall I am pleased with the outcome. Mat seemed very happy with the results and even asked for my to profile to be put on the contributors page.
Below the break you can see preliminary drawings and rough sketches etc :)
Read more
Structured Procrastination
Another job I did recently for the Guardian Weekender. Only had a day and a half to do this one, so please excuse the half finished look of some of the elements…they are half finished!
you can read the article here: Structured Procrastination
sketches etc below the page break
Read more
Guardian Weekender
Following on from my previous post about a forced change in my working process, here is an image I created for an article in The Guardian Weekender Magazine.
I had enjoyed the novelty of a new working method and was very pleased with the results so I decided to have another pop at it and see if it wasn’t a fluke. I was asked by Art Editor, Pauline Doyle to illustrate an article on ‘Morbid Curiosity’. The desire to look at something that is ordinarily quite disturbing.
Read more
Bulletin Magazine Cover
Effects of Spinal Injury on Speech & Language • Cover Illustration
A few weeks before I went on holiday I was commissioned by Bulletin Magazine, a ‘members only’ monthly medical publication, to illustrate the cover of the August issue as well as the corresponding cover story.
Read more
Discoveries Magazine
A few months ago I was contacted by Discoveries Magazine; a medical magazine, published only twice a year, based in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. This was a commission of firsts; It was my first cover story illustration, and Cedars-Sinai, the company that publishes ‘Discoveries’ is my first U.S. based client.
continue reading below for more images and sketches
Read more
Monocle
Here is a couple of Images that were recently commissioned by the ever-wonderful, Monocle Magazine.
The article was about, how even in an economic crisis people still want something to ‘look after’ and will spend money, regardless of the situation. It was a fun job and I am quite happy with the results!
Salt
A few weeks ago I was sent over the brief from one of the articles I illustrate regularly. At the time I had been playing/experimenting with ink brushes and such and so wanted to try to incorporate those new found techniques into the spot I was working on. I’m not sure how successful the image or the techniques are but there are elements that I enjoy.
Southbank Centre
My very good friend, Natasha, has been kind enough to let me steal a few of her photos that were taken when she visited the Southbank Centre last week.
Imagine Festival 2012: The Southbank Centre
Back in October last year, I had a call from my agent saying that the design team at The Southbank Centre were interested in using me to illustrate a project they were working on. The project was ‘Imagine Festival 2012’.
‘Imagine’ is a annual children’s literary festival held in february half term, over 2 week there are loads of events and workshops with the aim being to encourage children to want to read more. The illustrators job would be to produce a cover and 13 additional double page spreads for the brochure that advertises the events. The main illustration would also be used for posters and advertisements across london to promote the festival.
Read more
Memory
Another brain based commission; this one was for an article in The Guardian about the importance of forgetting things. it was quite a fun little job to do, and I am quite pleased with the colour palette, too.
Eating Disorder
This was a small commission for an article on the science of eating disorders. I found it quite difficult to tackle such a bleak subject matter without being too negative. I didn’t think that the art director would go for this but surprisingly, he did.
Guardian (NPB)
Before Christmas I was commissioned by the Guardian for one of their business supplements. It was a cover illustration. It was also the tightest deadline i have ever had to work with…which is the reason I am so proud of the outcome. It is by no means my best work, a lot of the finer details I usually like to add to my work were left out but there are elements of the image that I really like.
