History Archives | Freelance cartoonist and illustrator

Dinosaur cartoons

Really Nick, more dinosaurs?!

I recently completed a series of 30 (yes, 30!) dinosaur cartoons as part of Jurassic June, an online celebration of all things dinosaur and what better excuse to draw a series of dinosaur cartoons? A little bit of a ‘mammoth’ task, you might say… a new dinosaur every day?!

I wanted to create a set of dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes, and hopefully all recognisable. So we’ve teeth, horns, sails, crests, four-legs, two-legs and everything in between!

I did complete a small run of cartoon dinosaurs last year for Jurassic June and have included a couple of them in this collection too.

Would you like some dinosaur cartoons?

If you’d like some dinosaurs of your own, get in touch with me!

Get yourself some dinosaurs

Ankylosaurus

Baryonyx

Brachiosaurus

Carnotaurus

Cetiosaurus

Chasmosaurus

Dilophosaurus

Euoplocephalus

Gallimimus

Hypsilophodon

Iguanodon

Jeholosaurus

Kentrosaurus

Lambeosaurus

Mamenchisaurus

Megalosaurus

Oviraptor

Pachycephalosaurus

Parasaurolophus

Polacanthus

Procompsognathus

Spinosaurus

Stegosaurus

Styracosaurus

Triceratops

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Udanoceratops

Velociraptor

Wuerhosaurus

Zuniceratops

Would you like some cartoon dinosaurs of your own?

Get in touch with me today and let’s discuss your illustration needs!

Draw me some dinosaurs!

Prehistoric animals

You’ve probably already seen my cartoon Woolly Mammoth and Sabre-tooth tiger, but have you seen any of my other recent prehistoric animals? These were great fun to do – take a look below for yourself!

Ceratogaulus

This was my first real encounter with this critter – Ceratogaulus was basically a prehistoric rodent with a pair of small horns jutting out of it’s nose.

I’m not sure on exact food he would have eaten, but the thought of him throttling a cartoon worm was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Just to complete this composition, and because he’s rather small, I chose to place him on a set of small boulders.

Glyptodon

Another childhood favourite of mine is the armadillo-like glyptodon.

A hairy mammal with a solid, egg-like shell and thick spikey tail – reminds me of a pineapple!

This particular cartoon Glyptodon has a cheeky offspring riding on his back!

I experimented a little here also with the scaley shell pattern – creating a swatch and then repeating across the shell.

Woolly Rhino

This character was immense fun to do, with all of his fur and oversized features allowed for a lot of scope as a cartoon!

I wanted a stark contrast between the body and the face/limbs, so as with the mammoth, I opted for a pale grey.

I then had fun with a custom brush to make the hair look extra shaggy.

Orohippus

Prehistoric horses were very different to those we have today. For starters, they were only about the size of your average domestic dog!

As they are only small, I thought I’d have a pair of them playing together, racing through some foliage.

The most unusual thing I think about the prehistoric horses is that they had toes instead of hooves – those came later!

Paraphysornis

You may have heard the phrase used in Jurassic Park about the Velociraptor being a six-foot turkey? Well, Paraphysornis was exactly this… and then some!

Literally a massive beak on legs, this prehistoric bird chased smaller mammals around Brazil some 23 million years ago.

This one is pictured chasing a rather terrified prehistoric horse for his dinner!

What do you think of these cartoon Prehistoric animals?

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on these cartoon critters and if you’d like some of yuor own, please get in touch!

contact me

Cartoon Pterodactyl

As we’re rumbling through Jurassic June, I felt we needed to add some variation to our dinosaurs with a cartoon Pterodactyl.

Why choose to do a cartoon pterodactyl?

Not strictly a dinosaur, but is synonymous with what we have in mind when we think of prehistoric times. This particular pterodactyl is actually based on one of the larger species, known as Pteranodon.

Pteranodon had a wingspan of over 6 metres and due to a large toothless beak, fed on fish. They lived primarily in North America during the late Cretaceous period.

Other types of Pterosaur

There were many varieties of pterosaur that roamed the skies of the Mesozoic era. I’ve included a few more for you below!

Feilongus

Another giant of the prehistoric skies was the Feilongus.

Feilongus basically translates as ‘flying dragon’ – quite apt when you consider his appearance!

This Pterosaur had two crests on it’s skull – one long and low one in the middle of it’s snout and a second projecting from the rear of its head.

Quetzalcoatlus

With a wingspan the width of a small aircraft, Quetzalcoatlus must have been an impressive sight some 70 million years ago!

This Pterosaur had an unusually long, stiffened neck. Its name comes from the Mesoamerican feathered serpent god, Quetzalcoatl.

Do you need any cartoon dinosaurs or prehistoric creatures?

These are always great fun to draw and I’d be more than happy to draw some for you!

contact me

Cartoonists Club at The Pen Museum

So yesterday was the Annual General Meeting for The Cartoonists Club of Great Britain and was held at The Pen Museum in Birmingham.

It’s always a great occasion, as the cream of the UK’s top cartoonists (and me) gather to discuss the club and upcoming events for the year.

We also had far too much food laid on, but then it was rather good!

Why the pen museum I hear you ask?

Well, probably because it has a lot to do with the creation of cartooning as we know it today.

The Pen Museum is a former pen factory, based in the centre of Birmingham’s jewellery sector and tells the story about the evolution of modern pens.

The museum also celebrates the lives of the manufacturers and workers, who expertly crafted these pens and nibs during the 19th century.

Archaeology cartoons

At a recent networking meeting, I was fortunate to meet a couple who run a local archaeology company.

This archaeology company is aimed at classrooms and workshops for small children to learn about their local history and heritage.

And upon seeing my cartoon work, they were overjoyed at the prospect of me helping them with some quirky archaeological cartoons.

Archaeology ideas and concepts

Upon discussion with the archaeology company, single figures of Stone Age and prehistoric figures would be required.

This would include Romans, Saxons, Vikings and some cave people, which coupled with my usual style should look quite fun.

In time, we hope to be able to create some sing frame ‘gags’ and cartoons, which would be great to share across social media and on their website.

Learning resources

There will also be the scope for learning and educational materials required for the website.

These would include worksheets for the children to complete and colour in and also a Roman soldier, upon which you have to label the various parts of his armour.

Pirate flags

Continuing work on the Pirate deck game with a series of pirate flags to be used to add some exciting gameplay into the mix!

Each of these pirate flags were created initially as pencil sketches, before being digitised, and where possible have a little historical fact behind them too!

Mutiny flag

This illustration was used to illustrate the ‘Mutiny’ card in The Pirate Deck, and closely resembles the classic ‘Jolly Roger‘ flag of old.

The mainstay of this cartoon flag consists of a skull and crossbones, tied to a rotten old flag pole.

I’ve included some patches of different materials, with nice thick stitching to help age the flag.

To top it off, we’ve a plague-ridden little cartoon rat hanging on, wearing a bandana and with cutlass in hand!

Robbed pirate flag

This particular flag is based on that which was used by the infamous pirate, ‘Blackbeard‘, and depicts a devil-like skeleton holding a spear and a bleeding heart.

We’ve also got the cheeky re-use of the skull artwork I created for the gold doubloon (but keep that to yourself shipmate!).

This flag must have fallen into the sea too, as there’s a rather terrified-looking cartoon octopus hanging on for dear life!

Sea monster flag

Just to add some variation to the deck – and as a little ‘bonus’ card for the early sign ups – I created an additional pirate flag for the sea monster!

This card depicts the same theme of a flag, but is held up by a visible slimy green tentacle, covered in tiny little suckers!

The flag itself was great fun to create. My initial design consisted of a worn old piece of green material, weathered and disgusting from years drenched at sea.

I then thought it would be much more fun if his flag were made of seaweed and other bottom-dwelling items. This worked out much better, as it allowed for a greater amount of realism and creativity.

Royal Navy flag

The last flag in this set represents the Royal Navy and consists of a red St George’s Cross on a white field with the Union Flag in the upper corner.

At one time called the St George’s Ensign, due to the simultaneous existence of a cross-less version of the flag is flown on Royal Navy ships.

To continue the theme of a cartoon animal riding on the pole, we have opted for a rather regal eagle!