working hard...

or hardly working?

Hehe.  Been playing around with Illustrator on my lunch break today.  This was a sketch.  Cleaned it up, added texture/colour.  Click to enlarge.  You could probably use it as a desktop background...it's rather large :)

Calligraphy Experiments

Last week in our "Beyond Desktop Publishing" class we were taught how to make a pen out of a coke can.

BEHOLD!

It's made from a slice of Diet Coke can, masking tape, and a wooden coffee stirrer.

 

The paper i've used is just some blank pages from an Italian diary. 

Click to enlarge images :)

Recent Sketchbook Pages

I see this girl at least 20 TIMES EVERY BLOODY DAY.  Oh wait, no... it's just 20 people who look the same.  Ah I see. 

to be continued...  I think the avocado idea would make a good screenprint.  *strokes beard thoughtfully*

Tourist for a Day

...today I went around Sunderland, touched a cow's face, went to Penshaw monument, saw a man hitting a washing machine with a hammer, got swooped on by two swans, and saw a castle.

I love doing research...

**photographic evidence of cow-touching**

Drawing Tattoos

Here's a sneaky peek at some illustration i've been doing for a friend.  The final images are all coloured up and pretty... this is the third in a series of people-with-tattoos.  Pair one had no tattoos, pair two were "moderately tattooed" and this is pair three, with lots of tattoos. 

I used a tattoo source book fo inspiration, and a lot of reference images from online tattoo forums and websites.  Sailor Jerry was a main influence, and I looked at tribal-style tattoos a bit.  I also used tattooed friends as a primary research tool for placement and style.  Heh.  Exploitation.

...and now for a well-earned sleep :)

First Week Back at Uni

Friday at last!  We've been given all our briefs for this next wave of work...  they're not too bad :)

"Beyond Desktop Publishing" is going to involve designing a typographic style inspired by Futurism.

Dog on a Leash - Giacomo Balla

"Contemporary Illustration" is about really really researching a place so that you can do better illustration.  I chose Sunderland.  WEYY!  I've started a blog to document my getting-to-know-Mackem-land journey.

Enjoy :)

Hello 2011!

Hope everyone had a nice festive period :-)

Santa heard my request for a scanner/printer and I am now the proud owner of a Kodak ESP 3250.  Yey, I must've been good last year.

The above image is a sneaky peek of the work i've been doing for Laura, a 3rd year psychology student who needed illustrations.  It's to do with separation anxiety and stuff.  Now that i've finished all 12 of those drawings i'm moving on to 6 images for ANOTHER psychology student who needs some tattooed people diagrams.

Fun times.  We go back to university on Monday.  I'm excited to see what the next module will be about.