My friend, the ball point pen

Though one of my professors (he/she shall not be named) didn't seem to be much of a fan, I found that the ball point pen was a good friend of mine. I think I'll be using this pen a little more for my own work. I like that it reminds me of tattoos . . . a field of illustration that I really hope to explore more. In fact, I have really been toying with the idea of going into tattooing . . . The cowboy boot project got me thinking "western", so I did a red-tailed hawk, hare, and coyote (which isn't quite finished yet). I did these animals to play around with ideas and kind of get used to the feel of the pen.





The image of the Virgin Mary was actually from a project for my Advertising Illustration class, in which we were assigned different Haiku poems to illustrate. Here's how mine goes: "Biting the orange. Acid drips too easily. A question of thirst." My interpretation of the poem really became something kind of personal to me, as I am finding my work does more and more. I noticed that things tend to come out even better when they're quite personal though. I did this all in ball point pen, and then colored it digitally. I really loved doing this project, but I think I might like it better in black in white than in color.

End of fall quarter . . .

So, it's finally the end of my last fall quarter at SCAD! Well, I'm actually kind of sad that things are going by so quickly. I feel that there's so much to learn that I never want to leave! But now it's winter break and time for me to work on my own some. I think this will be a great production time for me, actually.

Oh! And, I also happen to draw people! Yes, human beings. And, I even like drawing people. These are some gesture drawings from my Life Drawing II class. There are many, many more, but I thought that's enough from my sketchbook.

I had a few projects that I haven't posted yet. The cowboy boots were an idea that I'd been dreaming about for a while now, and I decided to try putting my idea into visual form using Photoshop. It has actually turned out as something that I would really like to attempt to on actual boots. I just need to find a way first . . . 

Sketch book pages . . .

A few photos from the sketchbook; just part of the process. These are some of those sketches I mentioned about 3-4 weeks ago. I used the finches and goldfish for a couple of class projects, but still haven't decided what to do with the horses . . . I'm seeing a personal project on the horizon . . .

Goldfish, Finches, and Galloping horses . . .

I'm working on some more illustration projects, and seem to keep doodling animals. I am deciding not to go against my subconscious and just draw what I'm feeling. So, I guess the next couple of projects will incorporate them in some way . . . Well, I never get tired of them!

Some mid-term projects . . .

Here are a couple of mid-term projects that I finished this week. The first one is an album cover for my electronic illustration class (basically digital illustration). I really like to use drawings that I've done by hand first; it's just not the same when drawing on a Cintiq. I later combined the sketches in Photoshop and colored them digitally. There are layers of various rough papers with coffee stains that I also scanned in for some texture. I chose to do a cover for Spinnerette because I don't think many people have listened to them before, and I happen to really love their music. This image is intended to illustrate the song, All Babes are Wolves, and kind of reflect the aggressive mood of the music. The girl wearing the wolf skin is the singer, Brody Dalle.






This other piece was done for my advertising illustration class. The project's concept is about moving the location of the dinosaur exhibit in the Museum of Natural History. Pretty much what the poster says . . . Dinosaurs! Rawr! It was fun being inventive with the colors. This was done in pen & ink, and all with traditional watercolors. Scanning and printing this thing a b*tch because the colors and values didn't translate that well . . .

Fall Mid-Terms . . .

Mid-term projects have rolled around, so I'll post a couple more things within this week that I've worked on . . . I should probably sleep now . . .

"Tissues for Issues" Advertising Illustration project

For my advertising illustration class, we were assigned to illustrate 4 sides of a tissue box featuring a particular reason or problem the tissues would be used for. I chose allergies, dust, pollen, etc. These were all done in pen & ink, and watercolor. I really like using limited, muted color palettes.

They actually look better closer up, I think.

“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”

Ecclesiastes 11:9 - 12:8

And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. 10 So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.

1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”; 2 before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; 3 in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim; 4 and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly. 5 Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags himself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street. 6 Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; 7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. 8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”

New directions and growing pains . . .

I finally feel like I'm beginning to discover my style in illustration. I think my work is really becoming more linearly defined and more limited in color palette. And, I can't seem to get away from incorporating some kind of natural element . . . I believe this last year at SCAD will reveal my calling as an artist/illustrator, and is hopefully going to be quite a growth spurt.

This started out as a doodle inspired by a dream in my sketch book, but I had fun playing around with the patterns and blue ink.








Nesting
pen & ink
Another drawing that I just decided to develop a little bit more.

Some summer sketches, drawings, and other doodles . . . .

It's been over a month since I last posted, so I thought I would try putting up some things that I've been doodling in my sketchbook since June. Some of these are more finished than others, but they are all done just for myself. Because I usually have a pencil handy, most of them are just graphite, but I plan on working on more colored work this summer. Believe it or not, I do use color!

I was studying the anatomy of a cat skull when I came up with this drawing. I'm not sure what I should call it . . . Cat's Got Your Tongue? A Little Birdie Told Me? Oh well.















The pig with the glasses was just a doodle that I kind of turned into a drawing. I was thinking of Lord of the Flies, and that it could be interesting if it were illustrated. I liked that it went into the spiral part of my sketchbook.
I love drawing animals, and canines are some of my favorite to draw. I'm not finished with this yet, so the story behind it will come later. No image references were used, so I did it just from my head.
Just like I was inspired by the dancers and their movements, I could not help but admore the athleticism and grace in the soccer players of the FIFA World Cup. I'm starting to explore the dynamism in their different movements.

And here is another dancer that I did! I couldn't scan it in, so I had to take a photo of it instead. Thus, the color is really, really off, and it looks really blury. It was done in pen and ink, and marker. This piece goes with the other dancers I did last summer.

I had to take a picture of this one, too, but there is not supposed to be a gradation on the background: just solid white. I wanted to call this America the Beautiful. I did this in reaction to the Gulf Coast oil spill and how it was horribly affected the area. Because it's blury, it is difficult to see the details. The bald eagle clenching onto the hand of America, is oblivious to the blood running down her hand due to its own tight grasp. We are desperate to hold onto whatever profits oil has to offer, regardless of the detriment to the environment and the general welfare of the American citizens. We are ourselves, drowning in oil and a society of greed and consumerism.

Hmm . . .

Unless life also gives you water and sugar, your lemonade's gonna suck.

Back from Lacoste

I've finally uploaded some drawings from my trip in the Provence region of France. I went with the Savannah College of Art and Design off-campus program just this spring. It was truly one of the best experiences I have ever had!