iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 10/09/2026

Mako Reactor Cores and Data Centres are the same thing. I stand with Barret Wallace. #ffvii

Screenshot of Cloud standing outside the Shinra HQ in FFVII Remake

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 25/08/2026

‘Eki’ means train station, and ‘Konbini’ means convenience store. Both are pillars of modern Japanese city life. A work in progress. An illustrated zine inspired by the sights, sounds, and my own footsteps in Japan. Here is the first chapter, where we start off in Tokyo. Kyoto and Osaka to follow!

051

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 21/08/2026

The busiest intersectional pedestrian crossing in the world in Shibuya, Tokyo. Also a spot for idiotic TikTok trends and an actual location you can visit in a game called Persona 5. Illustrated spread for my Japan zine. #japan #illustration #tokyo

Hand drawn illustration of Shibuya crossing in Tokyo. Featuring the crossing, central street and a character reading a book, and the Hachiko statue

061

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 11/08/2026

Day & Night in Tokyo. From exploring Tokyo National Museum at day and the madness of Don Quijote at night. Illustrations for my Japan zine. #illustration #japan #zine #tokyo

Illustration book spread featuring Tokyo National Museum, Imado-jinja Shrine, and Don Quijote

051

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 07/08/2026

In case you missed the others. The Tokyo chapter is almost finished!

Illustrated page featuring Asakusa in Tokyo

Illustrated page for a graphic zone featuring a double page spread with illustrations of Tokyo Skytree, Mt. Fuji, and the Kirby Cafe. There Eki ink stamps throughout the spread.

Chapter cover illustration showcasing Tokyo. It features a man with long hair, glasses, and tote bag at a vending machine. Accompanied with a Suica Penguin and a Yamanote line train. There are red Tokyo Station Eki stamps and a tile card for Tokyo made out of scrap paper and washi tape.

011

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 07/08/2026

The Don Quijote theme song is a souvenir that is permanently lodged in my brain. (yes they play it on repeat in the stores) Work in progress from my Japan zine. #japan #illustration #zine #tokyo

Hand drawn illustration of a Don Quijote store in Japan blasting their theme song.

243

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 30/07/2026

Asakusa, Tokyo and the Kaminari-mon “Thunder Gate” that leads to the Sensō-ji Temple. An illustration made for my upcoming zine covering my time in Japan. Also pictured is a Goshuin Book, which is a fun activity to complete and a cool souvenir to bring back from Japan. 🇯🇵 👹 #japan #illustration

Illustration of Asakusa and the Kaminari-mon “Thunder Gate”, featuring ski stamps, James holding a map, The Thunder Gate, and a boy and mother. Also included is a Goshuin Book with an inked sheet.

071

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 23/07/2026

I'm tired of Belfast art organisations and galleries posting AI images, then acting like they did no wrong and didn't know any better.

Hayao Miyazaki 'I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself' quote

020

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 21/07/2026

Preparing for the Ocarina of Time remake. Will Navi be just as annoying 28 years later? #zelda #ocarinaoftime #illustration #comics

Hand drawn illustration based on Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Featuring Navi trying to wake young Link from his bed and saying “CaN Hyrule's DesTiNY ReALLY dEPeND ON SUCH A
LAZY BOY?!?”

071

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 12/07/2026

Some work in progress, a couple of pages I made for my Japan Zine capturing the day trip I made to the Tokyo Skytree last month (with a bonus visit to the nearby Kirby Cafe)! I was very lucky and got to see Mt. Fuji (which is only visible about 80 days a year and impossible to see in the summer) 🗻🗼

161

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 02/07/2026

I’m working on an illustrated zine about my time visiting Japan recently, because I’m one of those insufferable people that won’t shut up about Japan! Here’s the Tokyo chapter page along with some behind the scenes. 🗼🇯🇵 #illustration #zine #japan #tokyo

Photo of a sketchbook showing Tokyo Skytree and Senso-Ji temple

Photo of a sketchbook that has collected Eki Stamps in Japan.

0111

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 17/06/2026

Japan sketchbook. Inspired by the Mount Fuji Shinkansen view. Anyone else enjoy looking out of windows on trains speeding by the countryside.

Hand drawn watercolour and ink sketch book drawing. Featuring a man with long hair and glasses looking amazed at Mount Fuji through the window of a train.

011

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 04/06/2026

RIP Marjane Satrapi. Persepolis is one of my favourite books.

Image from the Persepolis animated film. With teenage Marjane wearing a ‘pink is not ded’ denim jacket over her hijab and older women chastising her.

040

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 01/06/2026

Bow Street Mall in Lisburn is looking well these days.

020

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 28/04/2026

I didn’t know Irish property developers were a secret villain in Persona 5 Royal.

Screenshot from Persona 5 Royal. With a NPC text box reading ‘Besides, when a building's this old, it wouldn't be unusual for it to catch on fire, would it?’

010

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 02/04/2026

Junk journaling because they don’t give you physical concert tickets anymore, which sucks. #Gorillaz

A page from a junk journal featuring a messy collab of Gorillaz stickers handwritten lyrics and a drawing of Murdoc Niccals drinking Buckfast.

Another messy collage with hand written lyrics, Gorillaz stickers, and a drawing of 2D and Damon Albarn.

030

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 11/02/2026

Felt like doing a Halloween sketch 8 months early.

Sketchbook ink drawing of an abandoned mall called ‘Spook Street Mall’.

042

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 11/02/2026

Meta has engineered an algorithm that is as exploitive and abusive as the gambling and tobacco industries. It’s disrupted livelihoods and people’s wellbeing. I hope him and Zuck face consequences. Read Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. You’re expected to leave your morals at the door at Meta.

Advert urging users on Instagram to boost their posts by paying money for more views.

000

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 08/02/2026

Instead of using ChatGPT to make a caricature based on me and my job I used my own AI (Actual Imagination) to generate this image of me as a working illustrator (yes, I grew up playing the Ocarina of Time). #illustration #kidlitart #kidlit #zelda

An illustration capturing James as a working illustrator, along with his clothes, tools, and utilities he uses. It purposely looks like a menu screen from Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Menu screen from Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

0105

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 28/01/2026

I was on a train in London recently, I enjoy people watching out the window and all the tall buildings speeding by. My carriage was occupied by commuters and their dogs, and it gave me the inspiration to draw this. My agent thinks it’s brilliant! #kidlitart #kidlit #illustration

Illustration of a train speeding past a city landscape that looks a lot like Battersea in London. With two dogs as the commuters.

031

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 27/01/2026

The second part of my short illustrated graphic novel style story ‘The First Day I Never Forgot’, set to when I was a young child living with my family in a Loyalist estate in Belfast. Currently a work in progress, as I retell my earliest memory at the tail end of The Troubles. #illustration #comics

Comic illustration double spread page depicting a young boy in paddling pool and a soldier landing down in the garden.

1227

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 25/01/2026

Sketchbook drawing inspired by seeing dogs on London trains and th city going by. #london #sketchbook #illustration

Sketchbook drawing of dogs on the train watching the world go by outside the window. City mimics London.

032

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 14/01/2026

I’m in the process of capturing one of my earliest memories among the blurriness of early childhood years in a Loyalist estate in Belfast at the tail end of The Troubles. A work in progress that is getting adapted into a short illustrated story. #kidlitart #kidlit #graphicnovel #comics

Graphic Novel Illustration featuring the Seymour Hill estate in Belfast. There is a a title that reads ‘The First Day I Never Forgot’. There is a colour scheme of red, white, and blue.

A graphic novel spread featuring terraced houses, the Good Friday Agreement ‘your decision’ poster, and a younger 3 year old James getting his height measured by his mum.

0245

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 05/12/2025

Thanks to all that came out to the Illustrators North exhibition. Here’s my illustration inspired by convenience shops (with my previous local shop having a resident cat), and inspired by one of my favourite internet accounts Bodega Cats of NY. The exhibition is on for the month of December!

Hand drawn illustration of a convenience store with a cat loafing in a newspaper rack.

Photo of the cat loafing in a newspaper rack.

Photo of James pointing at his work on display at the exhibition.

051

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 18/11/2025

I’m happy to announce that I’m exhibiting in the very first Illustrators North Annual exhibition celebrating the fantastically talented members, here in Northern Ireland! The exhibition is happening on Dec 4th at the Black Box, Belfast from 6pm! Hope to see you there! Bring a friend! #illustration

Exhibition Poster for Smile Please by Illustrators North on 4th December 2025 at 6pm in Black Box Belfast

Hand drawn illustration of a black and white cat loafing.

042

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 03/10/2025

I was shopping yesterday and it dawned on me that vampires can’t eat garlic bread, so they eat a loaf of dread instead. Here’s a rough sketch I did during the middle of last night. #kidlit #kidlitart

Crayon pencil drawing in the style of a children’s picturebook page with a cartoon vampire in a castle kitchen holding a mouldy loaf of bread and handwriting that reads “Behold! A freshly baked loaf of dread!” underneath

1101

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 04/09/2025

First #kidlitartpostcard for the autumn! I'm James, and I am an Irish illustrator who is currently working within children's publishing. I recently made an illustration of NYC for a kids' non-fiction project. Luddington Creative currently represents me. jamesashestudio.com hello@halfcut.net

0252

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 03/09/2025

Delighted to announce that I am now being represented by Lucie at Luddington Creative. ✨✏️ #illustration #kidlitart #childrenspublishing #kidlit

Hand drawn illustration of James (a man with long hair, wearing glasses and a white T-shirt) drawing at his desk. There is handwriting that reads “I’m now represented by Luddington Creative”

0142

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 29/08/2025

A new double page spread for a non-fiction project. This time highlighting the New York skyline in Midtown Manhattan. I visited NYC before, so this view point is actually based on the observation deck at the Rockefeller Center. #illustration #kidlit #kidlitart #procreateartist #childrensnonfiction

A double page book spread showcasing the skyline in midtown Manhattan with the Empire State Building and One World Trade Center in focus. There is a child on viewing binoculars and a man holding a camera in the photo

062

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 22/08/2025

I met with a terrible fate on Vinted.

Photo of James with a light up model of Majora’s Mask.

010

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 15/08/2025

My own take on illustrating artwork based on the Wednesday Netflix series. Featuring Wednesday, Enid, and of course – Thing! With a book cover for the series’ novelization that taps into the Young Adult fiction market. #illustration #kidlitart #kidlit #youngadults #wednesday #bookcover

Book cover illustration based on the Wednesday Netflix series. The artwork features Enid pulling Wednesday in by the shoulder and waving hi to Thing.

072

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 09/08/2025

Earlier on in the year, I had the opportunity to visit the Poets & Lovers Van Gogh exhibition in the National Gallery in London. I made some sketches then, and I decided to illustrate this for use in children’s non-fiction publishing and my own blog. #kidlit #kidlitart #vangogh #procreateartist

Illustration for children’s non-fiction publishing featuring the Poets & Lovers Van Gogh exhibition in the National Gallery in London. Including 3 paintings which are sunflowers, Van Gogh self portrait, and a chair. There are two spectators looking and gazing in wonder.

042

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 08/08/2025

If you have been to NYC then you know what this means.

021

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 08/08/2025

My illustrated guide to the New York City Subway. Inspired by a previous visit, I created this illustration to show how the subway works as a speculative double page spread for children’s non-fiction publishing. 🍎🚃 Art direction with Luddington Creative.

Illustrated drawing of an MTA subway station in New York City. Complete with an entrance, train car, ticket machine, and passengers.

1122

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 29/07/2025

Another imagined middle-grade book cover, this time it’s David Solomon’s A Beginner’s Guide to Ruling the Galaxy. Brief set by Luddington Creative.

Mock up illustrated book cover of A Beginner’s Guide to Ruling the Galaxy. Set in space with green, white, and purple tones with a boy and girl in space.

032

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 08/07/2025

Hey #portfolioday, I'm James, and I'm currently working on some kid lit artwork, middle-grade book covers, and projects. I'm open for commissions! jamesashestudio.com hello@halfcut.net

A visual biography of James, with an illustrated version of James standing in the centre clutching his portfolio and waving. There are fun facts surrounding James which state 'I was born in the same city as the Titanic', 'I'm gay and autistic', 'I've climbed to the top of the Statue of Liberty', and 'I was in the first generation to grow up after The Troubles conflict'. There's a sentence about James reading 'I'm James Ashe, an illustrator in Northern Ireland with a love for storytelling in my work'.

Hand drawn illustration of a baker and his ginger cat in a bakery. They are baking bread and treats. The baker says “kid, I’m strictly on a knead-to-know basis” and the cat replies “and for the right dough!”. The illustration is in the style of a children’s picture book illustration.

Illustration showing James as an artist both as an adult and child. There are panels showing him at those two different points in life. There are centre panels showing the Good Friday Agreement, LGBTQI+ Progress flag, and the neurodiverse symbol. There is a quote in handwriting reading “The creative adult is the child who survived.”

Illustrated book cover of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. The illustration is of a boy stranded in the woods holding an axe next to a plane crash site. This is a limited colour swatch with dark navy, purple, and orange colours only.

072

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 03/07/2025

Hello #kidlitartpostcard, I'm an illustrator based in Ireland, with a focus on creating story-driven narratives in my work. I'm currently working on some new projects as I transition more into Kid Lit illustration. For now, please enjoy this freshly baked loaf. 🍞🐈 jamesashestudio.com

acrylic painting of a cat posing as a loaf of bread in a bakery setting with the catchphrases 'today's bread today' and 'full loaf please' written on the painting.

1457

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 25/06/2025

There was a time in my life I thought about going into journalism.

Hand drawn children’s style newspaper of ‘Tryin’ Times’

262

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 13/06/2025

Mario Kart World is a blast to play. I might make some stickers soon 🐮🏁 #mariokartworld #cow #switch2 #nintendoswitch2 #illustration

Illustrated version of a driver's license for the Cow in Mario Kart

0236

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 08/06/2025

If NPC characters can drive in Mario Kart, then this implies they hold driver’s licences. 🐄 #mariokartworld #switch2

Hand drawn pretend driver’s licence for the cow in Mario Kart World.

Screenshot of Cow racing in Mario Kart World

1557

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 03/06/2025

Some pencil sketches by the canal. Nottingham has some beautiful parts.

Pencil crayon drawing of Bennerley Viaduct

031

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 23/05/2025

What does Dracula do for a living outside Halloween? He’s an Express Fright courier driver.

Ink sketch of Dracula as an Express Fright courier driver.

021

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 21/05/2025

Throughout this year, I’ve been working on new and exciting portfolio projects while exploring #KidLit. Here's a cover I illustrated of Gary Paulsen’s middle-grade fiction book, Hatchet. Thanks to Lucie at Luddington Creative for the art direction and support as I expand my portfolio with new ideas.

0142

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 18/05/2025

Let's not forget that time Naomi Wolf led the peace talks in Northern Ireland.

screenshot of a tweet from Naomi Wolf: "It was amazing to go to Belfast, which does not yet have 5G, and feel the earth, sky, air, human experience, feel the way it did in the 1970s. Calm, still, peaceful, restful, natural."

073

James Ashe @jamesashestudio.com · 17/05/2025

Corporate wants you to find the difference between these two people.

Photo of James wearing a pink jumpsuit and pink corduroy hat and he’s holding a Kirby plushie

020