Dec 19, 2013

Chibi Lich King

This project was a commission for a friend and took inspiration from three sources, from Blizzard's World of Warcraft Lich King:



The Chibi style was inspired by models  from the following book- here

And also by the simplified design of this Chibi version of the Lich King by Jeffrey 'CHAMBA' Cruz, see more of his work here.


As my version of the lich king was for a 5 year old I simplified the armour and the presence of skulls was kept to a minimum. 







Nov 29, 2013

Portrait Work

Found a really lovely photograph online, not sure if it is anyone famous or a model- if she is then I don't recognise her, but I liked the shape of her facial features and thought it might be a good way to get back into drawing. I have been a little lapse of late with my art and I'm trying to get back into the swing of it. I'll be using the hashtag #PortraitNovember on twitter to participate in the month long art challenge. 

Here is the reference photo plus progress screen grabs, if anyone recognises the photographer or the woman in the photo, let me know so I can reference it when others have not. 














 

Nov 20, 2013

Christmas Is Coming

I cannot believe that its almost Christmas again. Decided to go for a different aesthetic this year and try a manga style for my Christmas cards. They've been printed (at Vista Print) so check the postbox, I'm sending them out soon. Created in photoshop and drawn on Wacom Intuous 3




Sep 18, 2013

Paint September

This month on Twitter the hash tag for online artists has been #PaintSeptember. As painting takes more prep work than simply finding something to sketch I've been attempting to get a little more familiar with water colours. I think in the second half of the month I will look at using watercolours as part of pen and ink drawings instead of going in cold with paint alone.

The best thing about doing something like this on twitter is that it forces you to do....something. Doesnt have to be the bestest artwork ever, just has to be done and posted. People can choose to like it, ignore it, comment on it or retweet it for others to see. But more important than the feedback is the process of gentle accountability and the feeling that you really should do one more painting for the month.

Here are some of the little studies that I have done for #PaintSeptember







Sep 8, 2013

Logo Design Roughs

Got a call from my brother the other day, he's overseeing the development of a new resort, casino and golf course in Vietnam and needed a logo designed for the on property child minding facility. Based on the brief this is what I have come up with so far, still waiting for feedback before finalising the project.






Aug 20, 2013

Drawing August on Twitter

You will be pleased to know that I have been making small inroads and positive steps towards my career plan and motivation with art and illustration. In my mind I have a germ of an idea for an illustration project to keep me busy- stay tuned for more details.

I've also been participating in #DrawingAugust & #DrawingAugustOz groups on twitter. A very simple but effective idea- submit a sketch each day during the month under the before mentioned hashtags. This means that each day, regardless of how shitty I feel my work is looking I have a forum and a goal. Not only is this global group providing self motivation in the creative process, but I'm also inspired by the artists who submit their work and experiencing artistic exposure (however casual) as my work is retweeted and favourited again and again. 

Here is what the hashtag #DrawingAugustOz looks like when viewed as a collective. 


My scribbles- most of which have been inspired by my illustration project: 















Aug 6, 2013

I have an Idea

So at a time when I least expected it, I was hit with a creative project idea- at about 2:45am to be exact then again at 4am, then finally at 5:36am I wrote it down. I'm not going to go into it in detail here at the moment because it's still milling about in my head. The really weird thing was that it was the title of a children's book that came to me. Just the title.

Coincidentally on twitter I am participating in #DrawingAugust & #DrawingAugustOz open to anyone, basically we are trying to do at least a sketch or scribble each night and using the hash tag allows us to collate them- its great to see what other people do, other people's art is always so inspiring. So I am using the drawing August hash tag to do some studies of elements from my creative project idea. I've also moved away from trying to complete an animated short film as a project and instead have thought about illustration as a means of show casing my skills. Stay tuned. Here are some sketches so far that may give you some hints as to the content of my project:

Digital Sketch

Ballpoint Pen sketch

Jul 29, 2013

Finding The Perfect Bait

I've just finished reading Bobby Chiu's book, The Perfect Bait, a really good read that can be likened to a collection of chunks of knowledge and experiences that have been learnt by Bobby throughout his career as an artist. To see more of Bobby's work please refer to the following links here & here.



Anyone who knows me knows that over the past few months since graduating from a university Honours program in Animation, knows that I have been struggling with finding not only paying work but also my place in the industry and my personal centre and self motivation as an artist. Chiu's book has been helpful in structuring this search and in identifying the process to becoming a more confident and successful artist. Chiu maps out his suggestions for five steps that he believes are important in not only kick starting you artistic career but (I think) more importantly maintaining the drive and hunger for success- regardless of how that success is defined.

The five steps that Chiu outlines on page 6 of The Perfect Bait are:

1. Increasing your skills
2. Motivation
3. Exposure
4. Attracting big clients
5. Financial security

For me, the first and second ones kind of dictate how the rest of them will play out. Luckily I subscribe to the notion of life long learning and am more than keen to learn new skills especially if its art related- my biggest problem, like so many other people, is procrastination. Procrastination is the asshole at the party who drops an inappropriate joke and grinds the flow of conversation to a shattering halt. When procrastination moves in, motivation and the desire to learn moves out and slams the door. So I've decided because I feel like I'm in this creative rut that I'm going to build my art career upon this five step structure- it may not work for everyone, but I like structure and lists and mapping my way through things so I'm hoping it will work.

My five steps will look something like this:

1. Increasing Skills:
- Untutored Life Drawing classes
- Online classes- courses and video tutorials at least once a week
- Have a long term personal project

2. Motivation:
- Vary mediums- digital, drawing, acrylics
- Aim to complete one digital work each week
- Regular catchups with people who inspire me
- Competitions- Enter at least one a month to give short deadlines and focus
- Sketchbooks- maintain a sketchbook draw in it everyday
- Go out to draw anything, everyone and everything
- Make use of podcasts & itunesU short courses
- READ
- Have a long term personal project

3. Exposure:
- Continue with blogging but aim to be more regular and topical in addition to showing work
- Get back to selling traditional paintings online through my etsy store
- Be active in online forums

4. Attracting big clients:
- this step is not something that I am greatly concerned about at the moment, I think it's more important that I get a clearer sense of my place in the industry and a greater understanding of who I am as an artist. My financial plan in step 5 also takes the pressure off getting big clients.

5. Financial Security:
- To take the pressure off myself in the development of my art and art career, I've decided to go back to teaching as a job (supply or contract) not a career. This will allow me to earn a decent income and if treated as a job rather than an all defining career then I will be able to maintain the development of my art career relying on steps 1 and 2 to do so.

For me, Chiu's book helped to give me clarity and reassurance. I like the idea that I have a skeleton framework on which to hang my own personal interpretation of his 5 steps. I also felt like I was engaged in a conversation with a professional in the industry, someone who had been there and pre-empted my questions because they were once his own questions when he started out. More than anything though, Bobby Chiu's The Perfect Bait has motivated me to 'just keep swimming, just keep swimming.'



More information about Bobby Chiu's The Perfect Bait, including purchase information & formats, can be found at the following link: http://www.theperfectbait.com/about.php

Jul 26, 2013

Threadless TShirt Fun

Today I've been painting- traditional with real paint! So tonight I thought I would see what else I could get into and I spied a design competition on Threadless so I thought what the hell have I got to lose? Nothing.

The theme is The Simpsons and here is what I came up with based on their iconic shapes and colours that are instantly recognisable. I haven't heard back whether it has been accepted into the competition, but it all counts as practice so it has a home here for the the time being:






Jul 16, 2013

Fan Art from Game of Thrones

Inspiration comes from many different places, I've just finished watching season 3 of HBO's Game of Thrones- absolutely brilliant. One of my favourite characters, having a penchant for the villains, is Cersei Lannister.

This fan art was based upon the Game of Thrones photo shoot from Entertainment Weekly:


My work in progress and final piece can be seen below: