Darren has recently been working on a number of handy new projects for the Hire an illustrator! website. They are neatly collected together in the ‘labs’ section of the site, and include The Wall, Illustrator GeoMapping, and Tweets from the artists. Labs will offer additional resources for both Hai! members and people looking for artists, and as this section will be in continual development you can expect to see new tools and resources added over time.

Why not try out what we got so far at http://hireanillustrator.com/i/labs

We love Dani Jones’ fun and fab characters, and would most definitely recommend taking a look at her live webstream, where you can watch her at work. There’s also a live chat facility, so you can talk to other viewers, leave comments for Dani or ask her questions.

Dani works live Tuesdays to Fridays from 10-11am -

http://danidraws.com/danidrawslive/

The new Hire an illustrator! website finally went public today. The old site was with us for quite a long time, so it was about time things got spruced up a bit

As well as a very different look for the site, the whole system has been updated and improved to make things more efficient and flexible. There are a whole load of other additional new features that we will be adding to the site over the next few months or so, which will provide new resources for both our members and for clients using the site to find an artist, illustrator, designer or animator.

You can check out the new site here.

I finally got round to updating the web hosting site we run called GiMUR Hosting. It’s been a long time coming – the previous incarnation hadn’t been updated since 2007. Go and check it out and maybe consider us next time you want hosting for a new site – http://gimur.net

I wasn’t sure if anyone was interested in how the site was made, what I used, how long it took or even how GiMUR works… So I’ve not done a write-up, but if you’re interested leave a comment on this post.

OK, so who remembers watching G-Force on TV during the ’70s when they were a kid? Strangely, most people who I ask have no recollection of this anime series (which, I must point out to any younger readers, did not involve any small furry rodents with spy gadgets). Rather disappointing really, as I thought it was brilliant.

Anyway, the artist who developed the original characters for G-Force (also known as Gatchaman) is Yoshitaka Amano, who is probably better known for his Final Fantasy character design and artwork. He has also worked on a vast range of other games and animations, as well as producing fine art, comic art, glass and ceramic work. His stuff is pretty cool and he is exhibiting in the US this year, although sadly not in the UK. Typical.

Take a peek at Amano’s website to see his work, especially the G-Force page… you remember the show now, don’t you?

If you need a further reminder, watch this.

http://www.linesandcolors.com is always worth a visit. The artist/designer who runs the site, Charley Parker, has gathered together some of the most amazing and inspirational work out there. There really is something of everything – traditional paintings, conceptual art, illustration, comics, animation, sci-fi, 3D, sketches, cartoons…

We have recently finished working our way through ‘Stargate SG1′ (again) and seeing Ben Browder and Claudia Black in action reminded us of the series ‘Farscape’, and the subsequent ‘The Peacekeeper Wars’. I can’t believe we had forgotten about this brilliant sci-fi show! I hadn’t realised that it was a Jim Henson production, but thinking about some of the characters in it like Rygel and Pilot, I guess it had to be.

The Jim Henson website has loads of info about the series, plus of course lots of other cool stuff – The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth (remember David Bowie as the Goblin King?), Fraggle Rock, the list goes on… Sadly, not too much info on there about The Muppets as the rights were sold to Disney back in 2004, so you have to navigate your way around the Disney site to find them.

Time to rediscover one of the best sci-fi series ever made. And Fraggle Rock.

If you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to take a look at the latest interview on the Little Chimp Society with the very talented, award-winning illustrator Matthew Scott. He gives some insightful answers into how he has managed his career so far and responds intelligently to our more… er… playful questions.

Definitely an artist to continue watching in the future – we hope and expect to see Matthew go from strength to strength!

There are lots of lovely examples of Matthew’s work to check out in the interview, but for more take a look at his website, http://www.divinepaperhouse.co.uk.