Autobiography

MB PAINTBRUSH

Hello and thank you for coming to have a look at my website.

My name is Malou Bonicos. I am an illustrator and creator of intellectual property for children’s television programmes.

Drawing since I was three years old.

My Dad and his Mum, (my Yiayia-Granny) arrived in London from Greece soon after the end of World War Two.

Natural born Londoner and very proud of my Greek Ancestry too. Childhood in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Summers in Greece and North Wales. Family returned to London when I was eleven years old.

Daughter of the late, great Douglas Bonicos. Film and Television News Editor, Entrepreneur and Superhero

I attended Foundation and Degree courses at Chelsea School of Art. Mentored by Sir Hugh Casson.

Worked hard on my foundation and degree courses at college. So happy and proud the day I graduated, gaining a BA Honours Degree in Illustration and Graphic Design.

Just prior to Graduating, I found a tiny studio beside the River Thames and started trading straight away as a Commercial Artist.

I acquired all of my Clients from scratch. I was setting up my business years before the internet, so I travelled all around London with my bulky portfolio by bus, tube and foot to show prospective new Clients examples of my drawings and designs. This was an exhausting but very exciting time, because at long last, I was seeing my dream that I had had since I was a little girl of becoming a professional illustrator become a reality.

As the years progressed, and my drawing and graphic design business was becoming established. I was very happy that I was being introduced to new customers by word of mouth recommendations from my existing satisfied clients.

My first ever commission was a small black and white line drawing for Options Magazine.

Delighted to share with you the exciting news that my NEW Children’s TV Show is on the way!

Raindance Film Festival. Happy and proud to say that Elliot Grove, the Founder of Raindance Film Festival considers me to be one of the Early Raindancers https://www.raindance.org/7-ways-you-can-help-raindance/

Clients

Previous Clients include:

Admirable Crichton

Aim Publications

Autumn Publishing

BBC Jackanory

BBC Worldwide

Billy Zane

Blue Arrow

Blue Swan Films Ltd

Bob Godfrey Films

Bodley Head Children’s Books

Buttons Comic

Campaign Paintball Sport

Cassell Publishers Ltd

Central Independent TV

Channel 5 Broadcasting Ltd

Chelsea Football Club

Chas and Dave

Company Magazine

Cosgrove Hall Films

CRS Records

Ebury Wine Bars PLC

EMI

Endemol

European Event Organisation

Factory Transmedia

Filmfair

Gallery Five Greeting Card Company

Grand Metropolitan Retail

George Michael

Guildhouse

Hassanal Bolkiah

Hit Entertainment

Hot off the Press Printers

IPC Magazines

Joe’s Brasserie

Kallkwik Printers

London Club Awards

London Illustrated News

London Restaurant Awards

Marquees over London

Minet Insurance

Moore Park Deli

Moves

Music Collection International

NAEA

National Magazine Company

Options Magazine

Oracle Teletext

Oxberry Publishing

Pamplemouse Publishing

Paperlink Greeting Card Company

Passport Publishing

Patrizia Wigan

Pippin Comic

Procter & Procter

Queens Park Rangers Football Club

Quitting Hollywood Greeting Card Company

Quo Vadis London

QVC UK Television Shopping Channel

Random House Publishing

Reed Publishing

Royal Academy of Music

Royal Tournament

Saint Mary the Boltons Church

Scribbler Stationery Company

Shell Film and Video Unit

Simply Red

Southern Star Distribution

Strongberg Entertainment

Sunday Telegraph

Tamara Beckwith

Tessa Dahl

The Big Strawberry

The Phone Book

The Savoy Hotel London

Thomas Dolby

Thomson Local Phone Directory

Tony Cuthbert Films

Viacom CBS

Video Collection International

Wellington Barracks

West London Shooting Grounds

Woman Magazine

Womans Own Magazine

Wren Press Bespoke Printers & Stationers

Yellow Pages

Young Lions Publishers

Selection of Children’s Books I have Illustrated and Written:

Map of Play Island

Peter Pockets Adventures on Play Island

Written and Illustrated by Malou Bonicos

MinnieRainstorm

Minnie Hoppa. A LITTLE bus on a BIG Adventure!

Written by John Carr Illustrated by Malou Bonicos

Where does the Queen go on holiday?

Written by Guy Ker Illustrated by Malou Bonicos

Exhibited at:

Institute of Contemporary Arts

Bayswater Road Sunday Art Exhibition

Camden Arts Centre

Chenil Galleries

Mel Calman’s Cartoon Gallery

and last, but by no means least

Mum and Dad’s House

Yiayia and Pappou’s House!

Animated Children’s Television Programmes

My original Map of the Wot-a-Lots Woods on Wot-an-Island

I soaked the paper I drew the Map on in tea to create an antique parchment effect

Wot-a-Lot of Beeps in the snow!

I created, developed, secured broadcaster, funding and co-Executive Produced the pre-school series The Beeps, (originally I named them The Wot-a-Lots) https://www.channel5.com/show/the-beeps

If you would like to know more about my epic twelve year odyssey of creation and subsequent quest to transport my Wot-a-Lots from my drawing pad on to television screens all around the world, then please have a look in “The Beeps Animated TV Show” section of this site.

x65 11 minute CGI Episodes were made for Channel 5 Milkshake!

The show premiered in 2007. Initially broadcast daily in the United Kingdom on the Channel 5 Milkshake! Subsequently sold to over sixty seven countries worldwide by Southern Star and Endemol Worldwide Distribution.

Youtube clip of the Singing Sockroaches singing and travelling High Hill!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghEOyrnXZrg

My original watercolour and ink drawing of the Six Singing Sockroaches “Doray” “Mee” “Fahsoh” “Lah” “Tee” “Doh”

CGI interpretation of my Singing Sockroaches drawing

mb original smell a lot and -his-even-smellier-socks.jpeg

My original pen and watercolour drawing of Laugh-a-Lot and Chirp-A-Lot discussing lovely fresh clean socks with Smell-a-Lot!

Beep-Beep, Teeny-Beep and Brainy-Beep discussing the weather!

CGI interpretation of Beep-Beep, Teeny-Beep having a discussion with Brainy-Beep about the weather.

My original drawing of Wot-a-Well

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CGI interpretation of Wot-a-Wel

The Beeps Colouring In and Activity Page

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Beeps-around-the-World!

The Beeps® were originally broadcast daily in the United Kingdom on Channel 5 Milkshake! Subsequently distributed internationally by Southern Star and Endemol Worldwide Distribution.

Here are some of the countries my lovely Citizens of the World, my Wot-Beeps have visited:

🇩🇿 Algeria

🇦🇴 Angola

🇧🇯 Benin

🇧🇼 Botswana

🇧🇫 Burkina Faso

🇧🇮 Burundi

🇨🇲 Cameroon

🇨🇻 Cape Verde Islands

🇨🇫 Central African Republic

🇹🇩 Chad

🇰🇲 Comoros

🇨🇬 Congo

🇩🇯 Djibouti

🇪🇬 Egypt

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea

🇪🇷 Eritrea

🇪🇺 Europe (Hotbird footprint)

🇬🇦 Gabon

🇬🇲 Gambia

🇬🇭 Ghana

🇬🇼 Guinea Bissau

🇮🇳 India

🇮🇷 Iran

🇮🇪 Ireland

🇨🇮 Ivory Coast

🇰🇪 Kenya

🇱🇸 Lesotho

🇱🇷 Liberia

🇱🇾 Libya

🇲🇬 Madagascar

🇲🇱 Mali

🇲🇼 Malawi

🇲🇷 Mauritania

🇲🇺 Mauritius

🇾🇹 Mayotte

Middle East (Arabsat/Nilesat)

🇲🇦 Morocco

🇲🇿 Mozambique

🇳🇦 Namibia

🇳🇿 New Zealand

🇳🇪 Niger

🇳🇬 Nigeria

🇳🇴 Norway

🇷🇪 Reunion

🇷🇼 Rwanda

🇸🇿 Swaziland

🇸🇭 Saint Helena

🇸🇹 Sao Tome & Principe

🇸🇳 Senegal

🇸🇨 Seychelles

🇸🇱 Sierra Leone

🇿🇦 South Africa

🇰🇷 South Korea

🇸🇴 Somalia

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

🇸🇩 Sudan

🇹🇿 Tanzania

🇹🇬 Togo

🇹🇳 Tunisia

🇺🇬 Uganda

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇪🇭 Western Sahara

🇿🇲 Zambia

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

Angels of Jarm Titles

In the Spring of 2007 the Controller of Channel 5 Children’s Programmes asked if I would like to create and design a whole new world, all the characters, backgrounds and accessories for an exciting new preschool animated series called The Angels Of Jarm.

I was so excited about this lovely new project, eagerly accepted and started creating straight away!

x55 7 minute 2D Animated Episodes made for Channel 5 Milkshake!