- Shaun Gardiner
Latest updates
Exciting News!
Monday, 23 November 2020

Hello everyone!
Sorry it's been a long time since my last update. I have some great news about The Boy with Nails for Eyes which I'm happy to share.
Last year Lizzie Kaye, who commissioned The Boy with Nails for Eyes at Unbound, set up her own publishing company, Cast Iron Books. Cast Iron specialises in graphic novels, and illustrated and experimental fiction. I'm delighted that Cast Iron Books…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
Blimey more sketchbook!
Friday, 24 January 2020

Hi all
Just a quick update to show you a few thumbnails from my sketchbook. These are all plans for volume 2, so look away now if you don't want to see spoilers.
Mary arrives at the Bunker. These are all graphic pen and chalk, and each layout is about 3 inches on the shortest side.
Searching. I realised that the set of panels on the left lacked variety, so I made some adjustments…
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Music!
Sunday, 12 January 2020
First off, a very happy new year everyone. (Is it too late to say that? Also, is it permissible to wish that, given the start the year's had. Ah well...)
I want to share what I've been up to for The Boy with Nails for Eyes. It's been a long time since I've written an update – my fault – and much has been happening in the background.
(Go here to listen on SoundCloud.)
I've been working…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
Thought Bubble
Tuesday, 5 November 2019

Hello all
This week it's Thought Bubble.
(If you didn't know, Thought Bubble is a comic convention. If you did know, you can skip the foregoing sentence.)
I'll be jetting (read: boat-and-training) down to Harrogate to take part - if you're attending, I'll be there on the Saturday. I used to live in Yorkshire, I'm looking forward to seeing the place again.
So - most likely I'll be at the…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
Boo! Halloween discount and sketchbook update
Wednesday, 30 October 2019

Hi everyone
First things first, there's a promo going on at Unbound today and tomorrow - there's 20% off all pledges to Unbound's 'Halloween-y' books, including The Boy with Nails for Eyes.
If you're thinking of upgrading your pledge, now's a perfect time to do it - or if there's someone you know who you think would be interested in the project, let them know that now's the time, if they…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
Illustrating 'Actaeon'
Monday, 5 August 2019

One problem I have is that I rarely have a chance to post artwork here. This is for two reasons. First, I've been very busy with other things - writing, mainly - and haven't been able to do much art lately. Second, the artwork for The Boy with Nails for Eyes is basically finished, and so there's little process going on to share, aside from prep for the next volume - and sharing that has already been…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
Interview about The Boy with Nails for Eyes on Pipe Dream Comics
Sunday, 28 July 2019

Hello all
Just a quick update to let you know there's an interview with me on Pipedream Comics about The Boy with Nails for Eyes. I discuss influences, inspirations for the story, some favourite artists and how the project found a home at Unbound.
Here's how they describe the book:
A surreal and dream like book that mixes the nightmarish world of Guillermo Del Toro with…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
Sketches for Volume 2: Mary [spoilers]
Wednesday, 19 June 2019

[Spoilers for volume 2 below. All the events shown will take place early in the story, so they're not major spoilers. I'm not a spoiler-averse person myself, as a rule, so I'm never too fussed - but if you want to read the next volume of The Boy with Nails for Eyes completely fresh, then read no further.]
Recently I've been carrying on with preparations for the next volume of The Boy with Nails…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
Behind the Scenes: Procession
Saturday, 1 June 2019

Hello everyone
It's been a while since I've published an update - so I should start by saying hello to all the new supporters, great to have you here!
As ever, thank you to everyone who's supported the project so far! The very best thing you could do (beyond your much-appreciated pledge) is to show the project to people you think would like it. The more pledges, the sooner the book goes to print…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
Today only - download the prologue of The Boy with Nails for Eyes for free!
Saturday, 4 May 2019

It's Free Comic Book Day! To participate, I'm giving away the prologue of The Boy with Nails for Eyes, appropriately enough, free.
Without further ado, right-click the link below and hit the save option to get your free copy of the Prologue.
Click here to download your copy.
And if you'd like a quick sample before proceeding, here are the first three pages:
…- Read more...
- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
Donwload the prologue of The Boy with Nails for Eyes for free on Saturday
Friday, 3 May 2019

So, this is pretty self-explanatory.
Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day - an annual event that happens on the first Saturday every May. To celebrate this - and the fact that The Boy with Nails for Eyes now has 100 backers! - I'm going to be giving away a digital download of the story's prologue all day tomorrow.
This is one day only, so if you want to make sure you secure your copy, follow…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
Planning Volume 2
Tuesday, 9 April 2019

Hello all
The campaign recently reached 85 backers, just shy of a quarter funded! As ever thank you everyone for your pledges. If you like the project, please consider showing it with a friend, or posting something online – the more people see the book and back it, the sooner it'll be gracing your shelf.
Chief among my activities of late has been preparing animations for a live reading. Another…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
New trailer!
Tuesday, 2 April 2019
Hello everyone
For the last few weeks I've been getting to grips with OpenToonz, a new piece of (opensource) animation kit. As part of this, I've updated the trailer for The Boy with Nails for Eyes - and here, without further ado, it is.
This scene will also form part of the live reading - with this done, that's a major step taken towards finishing this part of the project. Other stuff has been…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
Animation: 'That night the dreams came...'
Friday, 8 March 2019

Hello everyone
It's been a long time since I've posted any updates here; apologies for that. I haven't been idle, but a lot of the things I've been doing have been technical - coding and such - and hence probably not that interesting, to anyone except me.
Until now that is. One of my dreams is to one day perform a live reading of The Boy with Nails for Eyes, making use of sound effects, music…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
Time lapse: Dreams
Wednesday, 6 February 2019
A very quick update this time - this is a time-lapse video showing the development of the colours in Chapter 2 of the story.
This image took some time to plan (there's significance to almost every detail) and then execute. I want to do a longer post about it in the future from planning (I pored over Alphonse Mucha and other art nouveau artists to prepare), through reference (my wife Anna posed…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
The Burglary (or the time half my art was stolen)
Saturday, 22 December 2018

Hi everyone
Week four just about over, and the campaign’s hit 55 supporters – thank you everyone who’s pledged to the project, it means more to me than I can say. This will most likely be the last update before 2019 – so happiest of holidays everyone, hope the New Year is a good one.
For this update, I wanted to tell a story, a true one.
Back around 2006 we – Anna and I – were living in…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner
The Behemoths
Friday, 7 December 2018

Hello all -
Well, two weeks into the campaign and we've exceeded 40 backers - I'm utterly thrilled with how things are going, and of course a huge thank you to everyone who's pledged! There's a ways to go yet, but it's as good a start as I could hope for. As ever, if you want to support the campaign, then one of the best things you can do (beyond pledging of course) is to share the campaign with…
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- Posted on The Boy with Nails for Eyes by Shaun Gardiner

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