Supergraph 2015

Hi there, hard to believe I haven't posted on my blog in almost a year (pretty close)! Things have really been quite hectic, particularly of late when I started a new full time job (unfortunately not illustration) in January, which leaves me very little time to do the things I love most.

Still, things are progressing well for me regardless. The first work I have to share with you today is a piece of work I recently did for IA's (Illustrators Australia, of which I am a proud member) booth at Supergraph 2015. Supergraph is an annual event for all things Illustration held right here in fabulous Melbourne.

I had 3 copies of my artwork available for purchase at the booth during that weekend, alongside many of the other great illustrators in IA. A big thank you to the anonymous person who purchased one of my prints, I do hope you treasure it!

If your mental arithmetic skills aren't half bad, you've probably realised that this means I have 2 prints left. They're still up for grabs, so if you're interested, please get into contact with me (since I don't as yet have shop functionality, plans are in motion though) if you're interested in obtaining it/them. Details of the prints follows:

Size: A4 - 210 X 297mm, with a 10mm border for mounting
Paper: 300gsm cotton rag paper
Protection: Cello wrapped and padded envelop
Price: Prints are available for $35 AUD each (Shipping included)
Availability: There are only 2!

Now that I've given you the sales pitch, it's time to see the work itself.

The title is urban evolution, which is essentially the concept as well. Many birds adapt to living in the teeming cities around the world. I decided to take the idea somewhat further, trying to imagine what it would be like for a bird to evolve in a urban setting. Then I started to consider the lack of trees which would make nest materials somewhat scarce. So, what if the mother bird could actually fly around with her babies inside pouches until they grow enough to fly themselves? (rhetorical by the way). I was inspired by Australia's many marsupials, which carry their young in this way.
 

 

Design wise, the bird takes many cues from birds common throughout Victoria, particularly ones which live in Melbourne's CBD. Colour wise, I considered the overall colours of a city. Bluish greys with bright orange yellows (lights). The pattern itself was inspired by sky scraper windows.

Background wise I wanted to have something that was truly iconic of Melbourne. How could one not think of trams? (once again, rhetorical). I didn't want to draw any particular model of tram however, so various parts of the design takes bits and pieces of various tram models Melbourne has had over the last 100 years. For the route number I chose the 86, as it's probably the tram I've used the most and is probably one of the more well known routes. There's even a cafe called the 86, which the tram goes past.

Oh, you may have noticed things look a little different (no, really) when you perused this post? Graphic design for me is a continually evolving skill, just like illustration. For some time I was unhappy with my current logo and really desired a change. I'm really happy with how my new brand identity came out. Evokes all the things I want it to, which was a great challenge by the way. Still not 100% sure of the colours yet though, so don't get too attached, as they may change in the near future.

Still got some big plans for this blog and hopefully a future website too. I'm a bit rusty on HTML and CSS coding but I'm sure it will all come flooding back to me when I start looking into it.

I've now also got my own Facebook page dedicated to my illustration work as opposed to posting on my personal profile you'll now find it there instead. Check it out here

Well that's all now, see you next time.

New Year? and a foppish DI

Hi there, as you probably expect, the reason for this post is to show some new work. It's almost impossible to believe that I haven't updated since April, but that's the truth. So anyway here's the new stuff.
 

This first piece I did for the new year, but never quite finished it for a while. As you can probably guess, 2013 is the year of the snake. As with my 2012 artwork, I decided to keep a somewhat Japanese feel, but I also at the time on a whim decided to incorporate Art Deco elements in the clothing and bottle design. My sister thought the pattern on the kimono looked like stylised bamboo, which I'm okay with. I'm particularly happy with the design on the bottle, though there's probably way too much detail in the label, as you can't even make most of it out at 100%. Still it was fun to do, I just need to make sure in the future that I stop zooming in so close. I've included a detail shot of the bottle. Serpent's Kiss - Seductively deadly.

The second I have for you today is a present I drew for my mum. If there's two things she loves, it's her Tonkinese cat Bashir (As in Dr Julian Bashir) and murder mysteries. Enter DI Tonks! Being a cat I believe he would have a rather foppish dress sense and I also trying to incorporate fish into the design. The tail waistcoat was based on fish scales and the shirt is herringbone. Yes, that's a fez, just because, you know, fezes (what the hell is the plural of fez?) are cool. This was my first attempt at full background in watercolour, so I'm pretty happy.

Number three is my fifth work in my patented 'Quick Concept series,' This time combining a bird (vulture) with a sniper. The limited palette worked quite nicely I think.

Well that's it for now, I've got a few more pieces ready to upload but I'll do that next time
 Bye!