• Temple of Terror
  • Gnome
  • Return to Firetop Mountain
  • Removal Giant
  • Frankenstein's Legions - Scots Guard
  • Orcs
  • Curse of the Mummy
  • Frankenstein's Legions - French Officer
  • Blue Mouse Blacksmith
  • Film visualization stuff
  • Eye of the Dragon
  • Unicorn Hunt
  • Headless Highwayman
  • Angry Mob
  • Lycanthrope
  • Frankenstein's Legions - French Grenadier
  • Diabolist
  • Blue Queen
  • Werewolf
  • Film visualization stuff

GALLERY

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About


Hello, I'm a freelance illustrator based in the UK.
I was born in London, and started out in illustration with work for fantasy & horror small press magazines in the '80s, in particular the H.P. Lovecraft-devoted Dagon. My first professional commissions came from Games Workshop for their magazine White Dwarf, and this began a long relationship with the company, illustrating lots of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay publications and the very first Warhammer 40,000 book, as well as many other GW books and boardgames. I've also done game-related material for other publishers, including covers and internal illustrations for twenty-two (I think) of the Fighting Fantasy series from Puffin Books/Wizard Books, and card art for Magic: The Gathering from Wizards of the Coast.

I've also produced artwork for various publishers around the world including Scholastic, Time-Warner, HarperCollins and Oxford University Press, illustrating popular authors such as Anne McCaffrey, Raymond E. Feist and Harry Turtledove, as well as some classics including Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde and The Silver Sword. I was fortunate enough to receive the British Fantasy Award for Best Artist.

I illustrated the book accompanying the album release of Misterstourworm & the Kelpie's Gift, an orchestral work based on stories and characters from Scottish legend. My artwork was used as large-scale backdrops for live performances of the work by The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, with narration by Lord of the Rings actor Billy Boyd.

As an author, I've written some books about digital art including Digital Fantasy Painting Workshop and Digital Horror Art, and edited Fantasy Art Now published by Collins. In addition to work in publishing, I occasionally do concept and production art for computer games (following two years as an in-house artist at Eidos Interactive), and film and television productions which have included the BAFTA-nominated The Magician of Samarkand for the BBC, and most recently Gulliver's Travels for 20th Century Fox.

Currently: October 2015: My latest picture book The Crocodolly was published in hardback by Scholastic last month, and is available in Australia, New Zealand, and soon to be released throughout Asia in English, also with a translation into Chinese. The Crocodolly is something of a companion to my earlier picture book The Octopuppy which has been doing pretty well internationally -- more info at www.theoctopuppy.com  Right now I'm working on my next picture book; so most of my energies have been directed towards my books for children. But I've also just finished another album cover for Axel Rudi Pell, which is the fifth sleeve I've done for his records.  I've also been doing a little bit of work on the Game of Thrones computer game.

martin@martinmckenna.net 

  • List of Published Work
  • List of Clients
  • Merchandise at Wardrobe Of Terror
  • The old martinmckenna.net
  • The Octopuppy
  • Prints at ArtPal
  • Artwork Archive at Flickr
  • News from February 2012

    Fantasy Art: 30 Postcards


    I said thirty postcards, not dirty postcards. A book of fantasy art postcards. Thirty of them. A really nice little production from the folk at Ilex Press, this collects together a selection of (thirty) images from Fantasy Art Now and Fantasy Art Now 2. Nice! It's due out on 15 March...



    Oh and there's a glimpse of the Vampires one there, too. Thirty postcards, also.

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    Pick pocket fantasies


    I know it's not news to you switched-on kids, but this here is Pocket Fantasy Art. A mini version of Fantasy Art Now, with all the same bits in, but at a much more portable size that can easily be secreted in your trendy car coat, or slipped into a carrier bag even if it's already full of liver, so there's no need to leave all this fantasy art behind whenever you go to the caravan. Not this time. It's handy, it's brilliant. Who needs an iPad? Oh, there's a Fantasy Art Now app on its way.



    • reddit.com

    Magazine interview in Russia


    A really good six-page interview with me appears in World of Fantasy Magazine, Russia's largest periodical devoted to fantasy and science fiction.



    It's the No. 4 (80) April '10 issue (I know. I've never claimed to be the most dynamic blogger), but it can still be viewed on the World of Fantasy site.
    "Monthly on pages of our magazine the famous artists share experience with the young counterparts. But some legends of fantastic painting are not limited to short advice within the limits of interview, and spend huge quantity of forces and time to the aid of rising generation of illustrators. Our today's visitor Martin Makkena is those also."

    • reddit.com

    Got my Eye on this car


    My Eye of the Dragon picture is now emblazoned on this car in Austin, Texas. The work was done by Speedpro Imaging, and I'm delighted the client liked my artwork enough to want it all over their motor.



    • reddit.com

    The Lighthouse-keeper


    As a departure from the usual McKenna fare of goblins, dripping fangs and rotting hags in skips, let's turn our attention to lighthouses, puffins, and copious amounts of tea. And beards. But still McKenna-centric. Here's a book about my eldest brother, Gerry. The Lighthouse-keeper himself. This was a book for children published by Hamish Hamilton back in the '80s. Long out of print, I thought I'd make a record of it and whack it up here. Click on the cover, and then 'next' through the sequence to see the whole book. Let's hope the weather holds!



       

       

       

       

       

    • reddit.com

    Spider Queen


    The Spider Queen, one of the thirty-six interior ilustrations done for the Howl of the Werewolf book. And now she's available on a range of merchandise including T-shirts. Also available is a range of posters, framed prints, T-shirts and other items featuring the Howl of the Werewolf cover werewolf, and the Legend of Zagor demon. Early days for the page design and product range, but check out the Wardrobe of Terror.



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