It’s been a fair while since my last proper post (bar the flowery photos a couple of weeks ago) as I’ve been consumed with project work (more so than normal).

There has been SO much going on behind the scenes as I’ve got my head deeply implanted in a few new games! Exciting stuff!

The main projects that have been consuming my time are a kick ass facebook game for the guys over at Aranim, a suuuper exciting game for the guys at Thunder Game Works and some more epic MMO action for the Haypi team.

I’ve been lucky enough to spend the VAST majority of this time illustrating too.  To give you a rough idea, I’ve probably put together something like 50 new characters over the past few months, people, soldiers, zombies, animals, monsters, dragons, you name it, it’s been bloody marvellous!  I also got to try my hand at matte painting on two separate projects too, something I’ve always fancied a pop at.  It was a steep learning curve but I was exceptionally happy with the final results…I just need the respective projects to launch so I can release them :)

Add into this lots of other smaller projects and you can expect some rather epic updates to FI over the coming months.  I genuinely cannot wait to get all these things out into the public eye!

The other very exciting sideline project I’m cooking up is Fully Illustrated’s first dedicated iPad app!  But watch this space for a dedicated blog post about that soon, it’s shaping up rather nicely!  And note the word app, not game ;)

Catch you all soon.

Mike.

Happy New Year everyone!

Wow, what a fantastic year 2010 was!  I can’t believe it’s over already, it seems to have come and gone in the blink of an eye.

I’m looking back at 2010 to try and pick out a particular highlight (other than the obvious one of becoming a dad!), but I have to say that I was blessed last year with so many superb projects and opportunities.  I guess what’s needed here is a HUGE THANK YOU to all my kick ass clients!  Guys, you all rock and keep me smiling from ear to ear :)

2011 promises some amazing new events for Fully Illustrated too, a lot of which are focused around the iPhone and iPad, but I’m also very excited about my new relationship with the legends that are Microsoft Game Studio.  The Neosaurs project was one hell of a way to end 2010, it’s given me a lot to strive for this year.  I also can’t wait to announce some other BIG relationships that I’ve got in the mix at the moment.  Once I’m able to officially announce more I surely will! I know that sounds very cloak and dagger, but NDA’s have the last word in my book ;)

And last but most surely not least, a big thanks to all the wonderful people that visit Fully Illustrated so often and are kind enough to drop me a mail, it’s great to see you returning on such a regular basis.  I’ll try my level best to keep the site as regularly updated as its always been.

Here’s to an exciting 2011!!!

Mike.

I know I’ve been talking about this almost none stop recently and haven’t posted the final photos, but that’s because I’m too fussy, and am re-art-working the machine as we speak ;)

But, just to appease a few folks, I decided to show the machine as it is now, before I apply the new artwork.  As you’ll see, the room my two machines live in, is our tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny spare box room, just wide enough for two arcade cabs, a bookshelf and little else.  Perfect for a miniature arcade :)

I’ve decided to make the new machine a mock Neo Geo MVS cab, so its going to be a beautiful mix of rich red, black and white…very old school.  Anyway, here’s a few pics of my babies running.  Awwww, dont they look cute together :)

Oh and I’ve gone even crazier since the last post as I got the chance to pick up some truly amazing original arcade boards in bulk…so I bought them…and blitzed that already depleted budget into non-existence ;)  The collection now sits a little something like this…

• Art of Fighting
• Fatal Fury
• Fatal Fury 2
• Fatal Fury Special
• The King of the Fighters 94
• The King of the Fighters 2001
• Metal Slug
• Metal Slug 2
• Samurai Showdown
• Samurai Showdown 2
• World Heroes
• R-Type 2
• R-Type Leo
• Caddilacs and Dinosaurs
• Golden Axe
• Knights of the Round
• Street Fighter 2 – Champion Edition
• Super Street Fighter 2 X
• Street Fighter Alpha 2
• Darkstalkers
• Vampire Saviour 2
• X-Men Children of the Atom
• Carrier Airwing

I’ll post the final, final, final pics when the new artwork is applied and finished :)

Mike.

Hey Everyone,

Just a quick one to let you know that the few video’s featured on the site are now being delivered through the awesome Vimeo.  I decided it was high time to use a service that would allow a more social element to the clips and make them more accessible.  If you’re a Vimeo user feel free to say hello and comment at your will :)

Thanks!

Mike.

Well, that was the first 2 weeks break in over 2 years, and boy was it good!  I’m now fully re-charged and ready for action!

I’ve got a mountain of emails to work through, so if your awaiting a response, I’ll be with you as soon as I can :)

I was greeted back with one enquiry that has really made my day too, from one of my all time favourite old school games companies!  I cant say any more than that for now, but boy am I excited!

I’ve got a whole ream of new releases to get into the portfoio pages too, including trailers, games, websites, the lot, so watch this space!

Thanks!

Mike.

After two and half years since setting up Fully Illustrated, I’m finally finding time to take a much deserved 2 week break! Yey!

I’ve been booking holiday’s in every year since I started, but have always ended up cancelling them due to fun projects coming along (the trappings of absolutely LOVING what you do), but this year I decided that I HAD to have a break and re-charge the creative batteries.

The plan is to have some fun,  eat lots, chill and spend time with my lovely family and friends…but chances are I’m going to end up in a trance like state as my body shuts down for two weeks ;)

Anyway, Fully Illustrated will be a little quieter than normal for this period, but rest assured, I’ll be back with a vengeance in 2 weeks time! (Monday 30th)

Uh oh, I can feel my eye-lids slowly drawing to a close…no, no, gone………………………….

Hey Everyone,

Just a quick one to let you know that all of a sudden I’ve just recieved a whole swathe of great press!  I just had to let out the excitement somewhere :)  My dinosaur character that came to life on my iPad has been featured in .NET Magazine and Mac Format! And to add to that, Voodoo Controllers has been featured in .NET Mag too, scooping site of the month!  What a lovely contrast to all that god awful hacking and copying!

You can take a look at all the coverage over in the press section.

Oh, and I also got a rather lovely mention in the 3 Circle Studio Podcast last week too!  They ran a podcast on ‘The Most Inspiring Creatives‘ and they chose to include little old me (about 33mins in)…flattered is a bloody understatement!  Thanks guys!!

Mike.

Just a quick note to let you know that Fully Illustrated has been under attack recently from some unscupulous hackers and pirates.  This past week has seen the site hacked and copied a number of times.  I’ve got a number of people helping out at Media Temple, WordPress, Codefor plus assistance from a kind friend Ben Hogan, so a quick thanks to you guys for all your continued support and help, its much appreciated!

Fully Illustrated gets ripped off about once a month, but recently the site has been copied no less than 6 times in 4 weeks, which is very annoying and time consuming, as speaking to the relevant hosts, infringer’s, and my solicitor, becomes a full time job.  But rest assured, anyone that copies this site will be followed up via legal channels.

A quick thanks to the kind folks that let me know when they see my work being used elsewhere too!!

So, if you spot any strange goings on, on the pages of Fully Illustrated, it will be down to this, so please bear with us as we sort the issue out.

Thanks.

Mike.

Wow, things have been ultra quiet on the site recently, sorry about that!  I’ve been buried under some sersiously intense deadlines for some seriously fun projects.  Here’s a few specific updates to let you know what’s been going on…

Websites:
I’ve been working on a whole host of sites recently, all of which are awaiting release and most of which (bizarrely) are MMO related!  I’ve gone from doing almost no MMO related games and sites to working on 5! Crazy and immense fun at the same time!

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Games:

Wii:
I’m back to work on the Wii game that I started over a year ago (which was paused for about 6-8months) so there will be loads more info on that beauty as it becomes public.  I’m bloody loving this project!

Steam & X360:
For the past few weeks I’ve been working (hard…very, very hard) on the menu’s, HUD and general UI for a kick ass new game that’s due out on Steam and X360.  This is one of, if not the most amazing project I’ve had the honour of working on, its been a blast!  Again, more info soon.

iPhone & iPad:
Man, this industry is booming right now and the amount of iPhone related enquiries I’m seeing is mind boggling.  At the moment I’m working on (working on also includes completed and as yet un-released) 4 new iPhone games and 1 iPad game with a mixture of companies, all of which have been great to work on!  Unfortunetly, none of them are under the Joystick Generals as JG is on pause for the next few months until both Chris and I can settle our current crazy schedules.

Web:
Yep, I’m dabbling in some web games at the moment, actually, more specifically Facebook games on the whole, creating the UI for 3 MMO’s.  This is fairly new territory for me and has been amazing to work on.  I cannot wait to get them into the portfolio.

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Email Delays:
I know I post this message about every 2 months, but its back again.  Due to my workload there has been A HUUUUGE backlog on my email replies and I am doing all that I can to get back to everyone, so if your waiting, thanks for being patient, I havent forgotten about you and I WILL be back in touch as soon as I can.

Thanks everyone, watch this space, there is lots to be released :)

Mike.

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to post up this bit of promo art I did for the epic new update to Trenches.  As the guys over at TGW put A HUGE amount of work into creating the amazing co-op and vs mode, they wanted to have a new piece of art to promote it, showing the British solider and the German soldier facing off in a true 1 on 1 fashion.  This was great fun!

Also, to go along with the update, they are giving away a free iPad!  If you fancy winning yourself a free iPad, check out the competition over at TGW, as lets face it, getting a free iPad for playing an awesome game is pretty much a no brainer ;)

Here’s the link: http://www.thundergameworks.com/blog.tgw

Enjoy :)

Mike.