I have alway tried not to have my photo on the internet, and so have over the years experimented with various styles of illustration for my ‘profile’ image which is often required when you register to a site. It is also fun to do.

First version I went with the full on Archie oval eyes, but after a while it started to freak me out.

Experimenting with the exaggerated eye size of Archie comics, I came across the work of Butcher Billy and his post punk paper backs which convinced me to give it a go. I’m not sure if I have got it to work. I also went with a retro worn paper and half tone tint, when I really wanted to incorporate some ‘Kirby krackle’. Its been on my mind since watching Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, I felt the film really got a lot out of Kirby’s unique dots as a motif for energy.

This was an earlier attempt to go with a Japanese anime exaggerated large eye style. I also went with a slightly chunky look and feel inspired by Sean Galloway. For anime I grew up watching Battle of the Planets.

Originally I had gone the other way with the eyes, and reduced them to a dot in a way that most people would say copied Julian Opie. But I like to think it also harks back to the style of a late Tintin books, like ‘The Castafiore Emerald’.