Robin Hood

Last summer, when I first took time to try to develop my freelance career I started with this piece. Robin Hood. My concept was that Robin would be in touch with the forest, he would love the trees and would climb them like Tarzan does - hence the large hands. I also thought about the merry men being a group of trees that he frequently stayed near, a favourite spot! Obviously Little John would be a huge old oak tree! I hadn't really got how the Maid Marion element would work...

After working digitally on all the PODZ creatures, I wanted to use some proper paints again. So, using my old favourites, acrylics, I painted a sketch I had done of Robin... I didn't like the background I had painted with him so, I painted another background separately and composited the two digitally.

It didn't turn out quite as I'd have liked, but I felt under a lot of pressure to develop a new portfolio as I had very little work I was totally happy with. So I moved onto another project in order to keep up my momentum.



As a kid I'd loved the old ITV 'Robin of Sherwood' with Michael Praed as Robin. I really liked the mystical element they gave to the legend. I don't think I've ever really liked any of the other Robin Hoods since... Although Alan Rickman's performance as the sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (despite the rest of the film being truly awful) stands out for me as being how the sheriff should be played!

At some point I'd like to revisit this concept for a new version of Robin, possibly as a storybook...