Welcome to Allegra Toon Studio. Freelance Cartoonist and Illustrator in Manchester
Hi, I’m Dan, an experienced freelance cartoonist based in Manchester who creates bespoke, hand drawn, inked and painted the old school way, cartoons and illustrations on a wide variety of subjects- whatever your requirements I can turn my hand to it! My speciality is group cartoon portraits for any occasion, be it a wedding gift for ushers, capturing stag dos, fun corporate portraits or birthday presents with that more unique touch. These subtler caricatures give you the scope to create a highly personalised piece of artwork to be enjoyed by yourself and those closest to you- friends, family and colleagues. My latest work opposite usually showcases a recent example of this.
Even though I learnt my trade with brush and ink, over the recent years I’ve come to produce more cartoons and illustrations digitally- there are amazing software programmes now which capture that ‘hand done’ feel better and better. I also like to work with traditional art mediums such as watercolours and pastels to produce more realistic ‘art’ pieces – see my Just For Fun gallery for examples of this versatility.
I offer a friendly, personal approach to meeting your needs, with frequent communication and feedback to keep the process simple and ensure your artistic vision is realised as quickly and smoothly as possible.
Freelance cartoonist and Illustrator based in Manchester
See my services section for more info on what I do…
A little more about me (click to expand)
A self- taught Anglo-Sicilian cartoonist and Illustrator based in Manchester, I was fortunate to grow up in various cities in England as well as spend lengthy periods in Sicily and California. This exposed my young artistic mind to a wide variety of influences (from classic and independent American comic artists to their more avant guard European counterparts) which over the years have shaped my style, yet also enabled me to adopt a variety of techniques to suit the purpose. From fifties comics inspired single panel gags to more individualistic film caricatures and everything in-between, I always strive to bring my own unique brand of humour to bear on cartoon commissions and illustrations.
This flexibility means I’m able to produce work for a variety of needs- website illustrations, greetings cards; t-shirt/ jumper prints; magazine and character creations for logos, across a wide spectrum of fields- personal; corporate; commercial and educational. I have designed confectionary packet logos, Christmas jumper designs to wall decals and illustrations for financial services website, as well as been published in Bristol’s Venue Magazine, Brittany Ferries magazine not to mention producing illustrations for various independent companies and smaller specialist publications and countless personal commissions for individual clients.
I’m at ease working at a drawing board with ink and brush on paper or with my tablet and pen on an iMac and take immense pride in the craftsmanship of my art form.
Whatever your needs or vision, I can offer you a friendly, dedicated and personal service committed to providing you unique, quality work.
Services I provide (click to expand)
- Bespoke cartoon group portraits for any occasion
- Magazine & website cartoon graphics and illustrations
- Book, leaflet and card illustrations
- Cartoon gags on various subjects
- Pastel paintings for portraits and a variety of subjects
- Hand drawn and coloured work in a variety of styles & mediums
- Digital work and colouring if preferred
Examples of my work
Testimonials
‘I provided Dan with a rough sketch on the back of an envelope and a few photos of my friends and he created a masterpiece that captured their personalities perfectly! I cannot recommend him highly enough’
Olly Gane
‘Just thought I would drop you a note to say thank you and to say how much I love your painting. It is so much better than I thought it could ever be!!! You have really captured the essence of the stag do. Prague 2013 has now been immortalised forever’
Jack Lawrence
'I can’t express enough in words how talented Dan is as an artist/illustrator. Every fine detail, from initial briefing to final art is mind blowing, highly recommend and will be using his services again!'
Tom Simpson
Commercial Director at Insight Print Media
