Second book in the Bollywood Series

Double Take is now on sale! You can buy a copy from The Bollywood Series website - follow the link at the top right corner of this blog. Both books are also available from Amazon. Here are a few of my favorite inside illustrations from this book...
I had great fun creating these characters - especially Deepa's outfits and accessories!

Double Take

I have just finished the cover for Double Take the second installment in The Bollywood Series by Puneet Bhandal...

This cover was certainly more challenging than the last one, i've had fun experimenting with Pattern brushes in Adobe Illustrator to create the traditional embroidered outfit on the left. I am very pleased with the end result, I think it will look fantastic in print, especially on the larger promotional posters. I am looking forward to starting work on the inside illustrations, ready for the launch date in July.

Business Card Designs

I have been busy designing a Business Card for myself, I'm often asked for my details - so its about time I had some cards printed ready to hand out to anyone interested and all potential clients!
I wanted a double sided card, with both sides printed with colours to correspond with my website and the Candyreef brand. The decision to make the corners rounded was made early on as I felt this suits the soft lines of my illustration style. The Front Design was easy... the back was a more difficult decision.

I tried many designs and loved some of the simpler back compositions with clean lines of text and my logo. This would have been fine If I was promoting my skills as a Graphic Designer but as an Illustrator, I decided that the final card should include elements of illustration! I hope that my name will be associated with the image and style, reminding collectors of my work and what I can do. I used an existing illustration and changed the colour balance to blend with the background.

Starlet Rivalry Book Launch - 31/01/09

Rajesh Asan, Manj Bhandal and Jasi Nandhra wearing promotional T-shirts

I attended the book launch for Starlet Rivalry on Saturday 31st of January, this was held in Waterstones, The Chimes Shopping centre, Uxbridge - West London. I wasn't sure what to expect really and I felt a little nervous and excited to see what all the fuss was about! I was greeted by the author Puneet Bhandal, and piles of books ready to be signed. Puneet had fantastic promotional t-shirts printed for the occasion, modelled by friends and familly.

Author and Illustrator

It was great to finally meet Puneet in person, as we'd only spoken once on the phone before - the commission was carried out entirely by e-mail. The wonders of modern technology!

The launch lasted about an hour and featured a 'dress up in Bollywood-style' competition for younger readers, where the best outfit won the chance to have a character named after them in the next book and a Bollywood goody bag! The event also included a Bollywood Dance Performance, Bollywood Karaoke and the book signing.

Puneet is interviewed for Local Newspapers

Puneet has been busy promoting Starlet Rivalry and the Book Launch, taking part in newspaper and Radio interviews:

The Nikki Bedi show - BBC Asian network,
Dotun Adebayo - BBC Radio Ulster
Joanne Good and Simon Lederman - BBC London

View Newspaper stories and listen to Puneet's interviews at www.bollywoodseries.com or follow the link at the top of this page

Starlet Rivalry

I am proud to present my first commissioned Artwork for a teenage fiction book cover and 10 B&W inside illustrations...

Starlet Rivalry is the first book in The Bollywood Series - a unique collection of books by Puneet Bhandal.

This title was great fun to work on, Puneet gave me a copy of the manuscript with descriptions of the characters and a rough idea of what she wanted for the chapter illustrations. The rest was up to me! I know very little of the Bollywood film industry so this was an interesting direction for me which seems to suit my style perfectly, I have really enjoyed creating the stunning characters in their glamorous outfits.


I will soon be working with Puneet on the next title in the series so watch this space...