Buy my New Book!

I must apologise for the very blunt title although my new book is out now and I’m super excited! Look!

It’s also been getting some great reviews, let’s hear some of them.

“mixes pieces of astronomy and science with a slight but utterly lovely story” –Comics Beat

“a sweet, innocent and beautifully touching story” –Big Comic Page

“the most accomplished work yet from a cartoonist I’m enjoying more and more.” – John Lees 

The book is now available from my etsy store for £3 ($5) and books bought this weekend also come signed with 2 free badges! 

The book is also available on Kindle!

Also if anyone would like a digital pdf (ipad friendly) please email me!

Thanks for reading, until next time!

Neil

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Volunteering and me.

 

Jobs. Jobs eh? They’re funny things. I’ve found that a good number of people I know don’t like their jobs and a good number don’t have one and struggle to get one. It’s especially sad to see post-graduate students just out of university with nowhere to go.

Well I don’t have any answers I’m afraid, but I can tell you my story (which may or may not help) through the medium of comics!

 

 

Now, let me elaborate on this a bit. Basically as you can see I was unemployed for a good while after coming out of college and generally was a bit sick of working in shops etc. I knew I wanted to do something creative, either art or music or anything in between.  As people get when they’re unemployed I got a bit figity and felt like I should be doing something. On a whim I called my local community centre and asked if I could come in and help out, not long later I came in and gutted the art room and got started.

After a while I got to teaching kids and old folks arts and crafts and bits and bobs and when the funding came I got some paid work from it, doing I enjoyed doing, fab!

Now in the arts, funding comes and goes so after a year or so that was me back to square one, but with that experience I was now a lot better off to get a job more suited to me.

For the past year or so I’ve been working for a charity, basically I work part-time (doing my own art the rest of the time) with people with dementia and alzheimer’s finding ways to communicate through arts, crafts and music. Although it has its challenges, overall it’s very rewarding and I’m super happy there.

I guess my point here is that I’d never have got that job if it wasn’t for volunteering so if you’re in the position I was in 2 years ago it’s definitely worth a try even for a few hours a week. Even if you don’t feel you need the experience it does make a difference to other people’s lives which is why I still pop into my community centre to this day.

And that’s my wee story.

Take care!

Neil

 

Things about space that you probably didn’t need to know

Hello!

Hope you are well and having a great new year!

As many of you know I get a little bit excited and giddy when I start blabbing about space, I usually get the space bug periodicity around the winter months when the skies are darker and there’s less daylight hours. Anyways I thought I’d make a few pictures about some of the wee bits I’ve learned so far about space and astronomy.

I hope you find them insightful!

Extra fact! The north star’s real name is ‘Polaris’.

Extra fact! In 5 million years our own sun will become a nebula, I am gutted I won’t be around to see it.

Extra fact! From a distance binary stars just look like normal stars, it’s not until you peer through a telescope you can see that it’s actually 2 stars really close together.

Fascinating!

Well I hope you enjoyed my post, as always any feedback is more than welcome!

Take care!

nx

Reviewing my Shopping Spree Books.

Hello!

I’ve missed you! I hope you had a great Christmas and a fab New year if you’re reading this in the future.

As most people do during the Christmas season, I tend to buy just as many presents for myself. So after I got some extra pennies from commissions and sales etc I thought I’d go on a mad Amazon book buying spree! Some books were educated decisions, some I just bought because the covers tickled me and others I bought because I just thought they looked up my street.

And now I’m going to review them before your very eyeses! I realize they might not all be everyone’s cup of tea but you never know! You might read through this and find a new favourite artist or author.

Ok Let’s GO!

Robot… by S.Lem, illustrated by A.Klimoski and D.Schejbal.

Who remembers this google doodle? It was my fav.

This was made to mark the 60th anniversary of Stanislaw Lem’s first book.  Lem was one of the worlds best Sci-fi writers and I’ve been trying to read more of his stuff as well as Asimov’s.

So as an avid robot fan I thought I’d start here.

This wee gem is a graphic novel with 2 adaptations of Lem’s short stories ‘Uranium Earpieces’ and ‘The Sanatorium of Dr.Vliperdius’. What I found upon reading through this was it was far more surrealist than I expected. The stories take place in their own strange universes and deal with some heavy subjects like slavery, revolution and communism. But that shouldn’t put people off as it’s all presented on a fairly innocent level almost like a slightly alternative children’s book. Although don’t read it to your kids as there’s a nudey woman in the second story.

There’s also a lot to be said about the art, I think the simple blockyness lends itself to a distopian feel and reminds me of early surrealist films like Metropolis. So yea, if you into classic sci-fi, robots and/or indie comics this is a good wee read (it’s not as heavy as I’ve made it out to be) and a great introduction to Lem’s work.

Ok next I’ve got I WANT MY HAT BACK by Jon Klassen.

This is one of the books I bought because the cover tickled me, I mean c’mon look at his face! That’s a bear on a mission!

As far as kids books go this was an absolute delight. As you can guess it follows a bear on a quest to get his hat back. He asks tons of animals, even a tortoise! And that swung it for me.

The art is this is very much adorable and the story is short and perfect. It’s also great to read along with kids as there’s plenty of opportunities to go ‘What animal is that?’ or ‘Can you spot the hat?’  or you can just read it by yourself and have a giggle like I did. An ace addition to your picture book collection!

And while we’re on picture books let’s look at Up and Down by Oliver Jeffers my favourite illustrator.

Oliver’s 7th book is a squeal to the penguin based heart warmer Lost and Found. In this one the penguin decides he wants to learn to fly so goes to amazing lengths to fulfill his dreams.

My awful photography doesn’t at all do the artwork justice. It’s very beautiful and at the same time simple and in my honest opinion the book would still work with the pictures alone. But that’s my beef, I’m not a huge fan of this story. Although it’s a great book I can’t help but compare it to it’s predecessors which feel far more unique and entertaining. I’d say if you’re a big Oliver Jeffers fan sure go for it but in my opinion although the artwork is stunning the story doesn’t match up to Lost and Found, The Incredible Book Eating Boy or my favourite The Way Back Home.

Ok let’s do one more and I’ll let you get on with stuff.

Here’s AMAZING EVERYTHING the art of ScottC.

I came upon ScottC through his Tumblr ‘Great Showdowns’  which is basically a blog full of cartoon adaptations of some the greatest good vs evil struggles in all history. And from that I decided to get his book which catalogs tons of his drawings, paintings, doodles and whacky inventions!

The art in this is very funny,very cute and very accessible, which is something I strive for myself. Being an art book it’s not really a ‘read start to finish’ affair, it’s more of a ‘flick through it now and again for a laugh’ kinda thing. So it serves as a great coffee table book, there for your friends and visitors to flick through while your making the tea. Or if you’re creative it serves as a great source of inspiration and motivation as ScottC’s simple style just makes you want to get up and colour something in!

Look there’s Morrissey, he’s dropped his tea bless him.

Right! That’s all from me today, I hope you found my post in some way interesting or useful. I’ll be back in the new year with toooons of new drawings and painting and silly stuff.

Remember I’ve still got some ‘How to be a Ghost’ books for sale here and you can read my last book review post here.

Thanks for reading take care!

nx

Picture Postcards Yes!

 

Hello Everyone!

I hope you’re having a wonderful festive time!

Just a short post here to say I’ve got some new postcards in my etsy shop. They look amazing and in my opinion are the perfect alternative to rubbishy Christmas cards.

The are sold in sets of 6 for £5 ($7).

In fact I’ll be sending some out myself! Look!

 

Also! If you’re thinking about getting the fabulous ‘How to be a Ghost’ book now is the time! Monday is the last day I’ll be shipping them, after that I can’t guarantee they’ll arrive before Christmas so go go go!

That’s all for today. If I don’t post up before Christmas I hope you all have a great one!

Take care!

nx

Ghost Mania!

It’s been a very busy week for our wee ghosty pal!

He’s almost sold his first 100 copies, he’s been sent all round the world to exotic new lands and he’s even had his own launch night!

He’s also been getting some snazzy reviews! Let’s have a look at what’s been said so far…

‘A wonderfully fun little tale that never outstays its welcome.’ 

This comes from a fantastic review and interview from itsbloggerintime.com

‘It’s a lovely little thing.’

A short and sweet review from the music blog ayetunes.

 ‘Suitable for just about anyone’

A lovely article on the book from The Deadliness of Leisure blog.

‘Who would you most like to hang out with in a bar in the afterlife?’

See how me and Campbell answered this question over at Last year’s girl’s blog! 

Fascinating! Here’s a couple of photos from the super cool launch night, in this photo you can see people enjoying cake and activity sheets!

 

And in this photo you can see me and my writer pal Campbell doing a live reading/drawing!

Incredible! Remember there’s still time to get your copy before Christmas and the quicker you get in there the more chance you’ll have of getting one of these original drawings included!

Get yours now from my etsy shop!

Wahoo!

nx

 

11.11.11

I’m very very sorry I havn’t had much time for you mr.blog but I promise I will get back to you soon and plaster you with the posts you deserve.

I’ve just been very tired.

 

Speak soon.

nx

Birthday Blog Competition Winners!

Hello! Hope everyone’s well!

I am excited to announce that I had a great reception from this weeks birthday blog competition and had lots of beautiful entries to choose from.

unfortunately as much as I wanted to I don’t have enough stuff to give away to make everyone a winner BUT because I was so torn in choosing winners I have introduced two 3rd places, and all the runners-up will receive mars bars in the post.

Ok let’s get on to the winners! You want to play this while we do this.

Right in 3rd place is Isaac Lochhead, whom to my understanding is a budding young artist from the Glasgow/Paisley area.

Isaac adds “Happy Birthday Neil Slorance’s Blog!Hope you have a spectacular blogiful time,and you keep up the great drawings!”.

Thank you very much Isaac!(can I call you Ike?) I am extremely fond of this, especially the detail in my moustache and what looks to me like a drunk tortoise, your mars bar and print are on their way!

Also in 3rd place is Erin Kelly, also from the Paisley area.

As you can see Erin’s description is handily inside the picture! It’s clear to see this must’ve took ages to colour in and as some may know I’m a big fan of all things spacey and tortoise related so I could’nt not make Erin a winner.

Well done Erin! Your art and confectionary are on their way to you!

Ok moving on, in 2nd place is Rachael Gillies. Rachael’s entry is actually drawn onto an envelope!

Rachael adds;

Me and my best friend no longer live in the same part of the country so each week I write her a letter and draw her an envelope. Thought I’d send you my favourite one.

a) post is cool and is becoming an endangered species… we’re starting a postal revolution.

b) it’s nice to make your best buddy smile and this is one of the ways I can… a doodle from the heart!

If you’ve never drawn on an envelope before you should try it, it’s a lot of fun. And just think the postyman also gets a lovely surprise on his round. Always good because what if he has just been bitten by next door’s dog or had a Bridget Jones puddle moment.

I couldn’t help but find this entry utterly heart warming and as some of you may know from last years blog birthday, I’m a huge fan of keeping things in writing and using snail mail.

Well done Rachael, the colours are beautiful! Your prizes are on their way.

 Ok guys it’s the big one! brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrm(that’s a drum roll btw) In 1rst place is Aldriana Amir!

 

 I have to say this picture just stunned me, it has everything I could ever want in a picture ever. Robots, penguins, a tortoise, a ghost, a Diplodocus, Spider-man AND a huge cake! But it’s not all about content, I really liked the simple approach that was taken as well as the bright and inviting colours and also the expressions and poses of all the characters.

 A very big well done Aldriana! Your prizes are on they’re way, congratulations :)

 Well weren’t they all fantastic? You all deserve a big pat on the back!

 Now then, let’s have a look some of the runners-up, This entry comes from Katy Penman of Girl Industries.

 

Katy adds ‘It’s called Goodnight and while it has little artistic merit, it has a lot of meaning.  When we say goodnight to our baby Amelia at nighttime, we always point out the star stickers on her ceiling and walls and count some of them, and try to look for the moon and planets hiding amongst the stars, and once she’s a little bit bigger, we’re going to start making up stories about the wonderful creatures who live in the stars, too.’

I was a huge fan of the picture’s back story, Katy your Mars bar is en route.

Next is a drawing from Morven McAlister

 

 I very much enjoyed the use of colour here, especially on the rainbow style brush stroke, I also love the use of ‘like a pro’

 Well done Morv!

 Ok last but least is an entry from Campbell Miller.

Thank you for your square pig Campbell.

 Well that’s it for another year! I hope you all enjoyed taking part, a very well done to everyone! It was a total pleasure hosting this competition and I have to say it was super hard choosing the winners.

 Here’s to another year of blogging!

 Take care

 nx

Draw me a picture it’s my (blog) birthday!

Hello! Hope everyone is doing well!

This month marks my blogs 2nd birthday, and to celebrate I’d like to run a wee competition. Basically as a thank you to all the people who’ve clicked through the blog, left feedback or encouragement I’d like to give you all a present. But I can’t give you aaaall a present so here’s the deal;

I’d like you to draw me a picture. What kind of picture? Any kind of picture as long as you drew it of course.(Please don’t send me willies or nudey bits).

And once you’ve drawn it email me it with a short description and I’ll get back to you if you’re a winner!

I’ll give out prizes for the top 3 pictures, Let’s have a look at those prizes!

1st Prize

3 x Signed Prints.

1 x Original illustration framed.

1 x Signed print framed.

1 x Dinosaur tote bag.

2nd Prize

1 x Framed original illustration.

2 x Original illustrations.

1 x Signed Print

1 x Original panels for JonbotvsMartha comic.

3rd Prize

1 x Signed print.

1 x Mars bar.

1 x Letter of condolence.

Well that’s all the prizes folks! I’ll be announcing the winners (you’re all winners really) on Wednesday so get drawing!

I’d also just like to say thank you so much for coming to my blog and reading my blabble, when I started it 2 years ago I really didn’t think it would last quite this long.

Take care and get drawing!

nx

Jonbot vs. Martha

 

As some of you may know I’ve toying with making comics for a very long time, well after a wee chat with my comic expert/writer Colin we decided to make a weekly webcomic!

How exciting! It’s all about a lady called Martha and her husband Jon who died of a heart attack but then got brought back to life as a robot.

That’s right a robot! And they’re also trying to get a divorce, it’s the perfect pitch for a sitcom if you ask me.

Anyways here’s the first one (click it for a larger size), and you get all the others  here!

 Also I’d like to note that my blog is now 2 years old! woo woo! So In the birthday spirit I’ll be doing a little competition and giving away prizes :) stay tuned!

 

nx