Happy Bloggin' Christmas, Everyone!!!

After waking it up from hibernation, I thought I'd perk up my snoozing blog with a fab festive post!!
To everyone who has looked at, read, commented on, followed, or wept in sheer wonderment in front of my humble blog, I extend the warmest wishes and wish every single one of you a very Happy Christmas and all the best for the year ahead. And to everone else, I wish the same.
Due to a lengthy project at work which involved putting in very very long days, and then coming back to work after five weeks and having to get a handle on everything I'd missed etc, and what with it being a particularly busy time of year..... I sadly must admit I've neglected my blog and my drawing. I have a few aborted attempts at drawings tucked away in my CPU, but this is the first thing I've actually spent any time on or finished in a goodly while. It feels good.

Once again, Merry Christmas one and all, and a Happy New Year. Let's keep our pens and pencils (and keyboards!) busy throughout 2011.

Big love,
Ben
x

Illustration Friday: Spooky

Its proving tricky to find the time for this week's illo, so I've dashed off a quickie.
Klaus Kinski's performance as Dracula in Herzog's re-imagining of Nosferatu is extraordinary and masterful. The toughest bit was finding a shot to draw in a film which is crammed so full of beautiful, melancholy, and dramatic scenes and cinematography. I chose the view of him watching Lucy from the window of his building because there's just something delicious and macabre about that unearthly face and those desperate, talon-like fingers seemingly suspended in space.

Illustration Friday: Transportation

It was going to be a robot wearing a pair of jet planes like skates, zooming through the stratosphere.
It was going to be a robot on a penny farthing.
It was going to be a bunch of robots on pogo sticks.
Whatever happened, it was going to involve robots.
This is what happened.
Its not very good.

Illustration Friday: Beneath

"When beholding the tranquil beauty and brilliancy of the ocean's skin, one forgets the tiger heart that pants beneath it"
From 'Moby-Dick'
Herman Melville

Illustration Friday: Old-fashioned

With apologies to Grant Wood.

Illustration Friday: Acrobat

A nice splodgy illo for this theme. I was going to do a bat on a tightrope, but stumbled across an awesome photograph on Google and felt the need recreate it in part. Though this drawing has a very different feel to it.
Check out the photograph here: http://www.danielforsbakk.com/index.php?showimage=99
its well worth a gander.

Illustration Friday: Proverb

After a bit of a break during which I frantically tried to meet a deadline whilst forgetting to sleep or eat, I return to IF with a welcoming and delicious theme for me to sink my brainteeth into.
The proverb in question is 'A Cat may look at a King' which sprang immediately to mind, as it always paints such intriguing pictures in my headhole. I originally intended to have a wee timid King perched fearfully on his throne, from underneath which an enormous, monstrous moggy glared at him.
I love the way the pen (or electronic pen-substitute) can develop a mind of its own as you draw, and all of a sudden you are a million miles away from your original idea.
And this was the result. A little rough n' ready, as the more I worked on it the more I was ruining it so I decided to quit whilst I was ahead. The title of the piece is:
'A Cat must look at a King (every once in a while)'

Illustration Friday: Satellite

This week, pixel art continues to exert its powers over me. Much better than last week's effort, and much more fun as well.
He is usually naked, but for the purposes of this portrait He kindly agreed to wear an ancient loincloth.

The name of this piece is:
"What I did on my Summer Vacation"

Illustration Friday: Paisley

More pixel art this week, though of a slightly lower standard. I hated the topic with a fiery passion, but then decided I should nut up and force myself to be creative with it.
I played around a bit.
It is very very difficult to produce a paisley pattern in an isometric stylie, I swiftly found.
Played around a bit more, eventually got excited about the idea of tonnes of tiny pixelmen manning a massive paisley-shaped tank. I still love the idea.
But I ended up with a wierd building.
C'est la vie!

Illustration Friday: Trail

This week, a little slice of pixel art for you all.
From the theme, I knew it had to be a snail. I love snails, but found it hard to come up with an idea or a way to draw one that I was happy with.
Until pixel art came to save the day, arriving simultaneously with the idea of racing snails.

Illustration Friday: Equipment

For this week's theme... well, it's just a part of some old assembly instructions I found kicking about at home.
Click the image to view full size, methinks you're going to need to with this one.

Bit of a departure for me, using a different program in a vector stylie. Didn't realise before I started what a long-winded and involved process it was going to be. I'm pooped!!

Illustration Friday: Fearless

For this week's IF theme, Fearless, I've depicted Heracles engaged in the first of his twelve labours, to battle and defeat the dread Lion of Nemea.

Illustration Friday: Cocoon

Here's my image for 'Cocoon'.
It immediately brought the idea of change to mind. This idea and image arose from the feeling of possibly being on the brink of a big change, but not knowing where life is heading. And not being sure what changes are occurring, and what they might engender.
Sometimes it can feel like a risk, leaving behind the world you know in the hope of something new, and you can get caught between wanting things to stay the same, and wanting them to change.
I'm not sure why it came out so creepy, though.
Maybe thats just what its like inside my head.

Illustration Friday: Ahead

When it comes to matters of fashion, Vince is always one step ahead of the flock.

Illustration Friday: Detective

For this week's theme, Detective, I've tried a film noir-style ensemble of the characters from Cluedo.
This isn't really what I was after originally, but its pretty cool!

Illustration Friday: Linked

It took me the best part of a week just to come up with inspiration for this one!
This idea came to me in the wee small hours as I struggled to get to sleep, and struck me as being
something I'd like to do. So I did it.

Illustration Friday: Dip

Yes. Its a Diplodocus.

Illustration Friday: Expired

This week was a great topic which immediately brought to mind one of my favourite characters: Count Dracula. The ultimate bad guy, who swings between eccentric gentleman and dark, animalistic horror. A truly menacing and terrifying creation he is.

I ended up going with generic vampire as it was easier than trying to portray the Count himself.
Maybe next time.....

Illustration Friday: Subterranean

Originally, I wanted to draw a massive robot in the centre of the earth, hooked up to powerlines running down from the cities. It was too difficult and certainly not something i could churn out in a week.
I thought about what surprising or strange things one might find if one dug deep enough, and variously tried
robots, giant newspaper-reading bunnies, another smaller planet earth, and an upside-down version of the city on the surface.
Inspiration failing and frustration mounting, I went and bought a shovel and started digging in my back
garden. When i finally got there, it turned out that what was lying in wait was the enormous skeletons of
dead lava monsters. Kind of obvious, really.
So that's what I drew.

Illustration Friday: Brave

For this week's IF theme, a Native American brave.

IF: Propagate

This week, a fun experiment for Illustration Friday's topic 'propagate.'

Starting with a small circle in the centre, I worked on only a tiny fraction of the image at a time, allowing each pattern to influence the next to see if a pleasing overall design would be propagated.

It was.

Illustration Friday: Muddy

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spread his claws,
And welcome little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws!

Illustration Friday: Wilderness

I've been face-to-face with a tiger. Yes, it was in a zoo but all that separated us was half a foot and some chicken wire. I could have reached out and touched him. (But i didn't!)

It was genuinely awe-inspiring. And, looking into that face and listening to the thud of its paws against the ground and taking in the smell of him, it seemed clear to me - the tiger does not live in the wilderness, wherever it goes, it takes the wilderness with it.