Derek Johnson - Don't dream it... be it!
Exactly that: "Don't dream it... be it!" - the words of Dr frank N Furter in the Rocky Horror Picture Show - great film!
Born and raised on the far off shores of Luton and heavily influenced by the sea... oddly... taking up surfing and windsurfing at an early age before the family packed up their backpacks and emigrated to Weymouth and now married and living in the fabulous resort of Exmouth in Devon.
Between scribbling I am the partner and technology director at Cirrus Design Studio Ltd.
Code and art have often gone hand in hand since Leonardo DeVinci built his first Web App and painted the Mona Lisa way back when so it's not unusual. I started as a landscape painter and cartoonist and my Chibi style aircraft collection was spawned after purchasing a tablet and trying to learn how to draw with the damned thing! Eventually I started getting to grips with it and soon started to incorporate my own illustration skills and techniques into the digital age. Airbrushing was less "dirty" and effects easier to render leaving the door open for what I enjoy most - detail!
As an artist I rarely clean brushes so the digital age has played up to my laziness!
Questions & Answers
Has artificial intelligence been used to create these pictures?
Great question but NO they are all my own work using an Apple Pencil on an iPad Pro with PROCREATE illustration software - my blog has articles on the use of A.I in art. I am personally not a fan of generative art as to me it lacks feeling.
How do I buy your prints?
Firstly just visit my shop - it's in the menu. Choose the picture you most fancy and click 'VIEW'. If you like what you see click the buy button and you will be sent to the Lemon Squeezy site who handle all payments for us ensuring a safe and above all secure checkout process.
On success you will receive a special link where you can find your high resolution version available to download and take to a printer to put on your desired finish from wall art to canvasses and more!
What is Chibi style illustration?
Chibi is a Japanese illustration style where characters are drawn with exaggeratedly small, cute proportions. The word "chibi" (ちび) literally means "short" or "small person" in Japanese.
Chibi originated in anime and manga, often used to depict characters in humorous, lighthearted, or emotional moments, or as standalone "super-deformed" (SD) versions of existing characters. Today it's widely popular in merchandise, mascots, stickers, emotes, video games, and fan art because of its inherently cute, approachable appeal.
The style prioritizes charm and personality over anatomical accuracy, making it both beginner-friendly to draw and instantly recognizable across global pop culture.