Artist's mythical stamps issued

The Mythical Creatures series has 1st class, 62p and 90p stamps Enlarge Image

Creatures from British folklore created by a Kent artist have been published as a set of stamps.

Dave McKean, an illustrator from the Isle of Oxney, was commissioned by the Royal Mail to design the Mythical Creatures stamps and presentation pack.

The six stamps include images of a boulder-carrying giant and a snail-riding pixie.

Mr McKean, 46, has illustrated books, CD album covers and advertising campaigns, and has made films.

He said: "It does really give me a sense of pride that my artwork will feature on stamps which will appear on many thousands of letters.

"It's great for my art to be appearing somewhere new. I've never done stamp illustrations before."

The Mythical Creatures series has two 1st class stamps, two 62p and two 90p stamps.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "Dave McKean's illustrations for these stamps are truly breathtaking. He has created a series of images, which by turn, are beautiful, amusing and spine-tingling."

The presentation pack includes writing by Neil Gaiman, an award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer from East Grinstead, West Sussex who now lives in the US.