IF: Metamorphosis

So... its really been a year since I last posted! Its kind of hard to believe.
It seems pretty apt as a topic to come back with. The past year has not been without its challegnes, and continues to be difficult.
I've been through a very difficult time, and hopefully will come out the other side stronger for it.
Someone close to me also has been in a difficult place, and the same should be true for them when they reach the other side.

It was a quickie this week, to try and get back into the habit of drawing and posting - both of which have been lacking in my life over the past year.
Its not a great image, but its not bad for a half-hours' work.

Illustration Friday: Jump

The question which would win in a fight between a crocodile and a shark has recently been much contested.

Assuming the crocodile has had ample basking time and they are a size-for-size match, I'm backing the croc. Though I don't know how they fare in open water.

Sharks are still cooler, though.

I didn't draw this for IF originally, but for a friend with whom sharks have been much discussed, and which recently have featured the shark/croc dilemma. 

It just so happens that the topic 'Jump' rather fits the bill as well.

But is it really jumping if a creature has no legs?

Illustration Friday: Asleep

"Shhh! The Birds Are Sleeping...."

is the name of this week's pic.

Most of the time, I'm very anal and perfectionist about drawing. I always want everything to be just so and will spend hours labouring over every inch or pixel. And then almost always dislike the outcome, because of working so hard and ending up with something other than what I envisaged.

So, this week was an exercise in freedom and simplicity. I came up with a concept which I could draw without worrying with the usual (Is the perspective correct? Does that look like a hand? Does it need shadows? and so on and so on). I wanted something quick, clean and simple.

Well.... turns out, over four hours later, it wasn't as quick and simple as I'd wanted!
I got enormously involved with smoothing out lines, and redrawing shapes so they were a little bit nicer than before, even though I told myself there would be no re-drawing.

When you are a child, you draw something and you know what it is. If you watch a small child draw, they are often so decisive and know exactly which scribble needs to go where. Its a wonderful method. And, whilst I'm not attempting to emulate a child's drawing (because its not possible), I wanted to try and recapture some of that feeling. I took a cue from the way children focus on details rather than overall form or shape - so a bird will have a beak and wings, but might well not be bird-shaped, or have any other features.

I think its easy to see which ones I drew first, and which ones were the later creations, more free and loose.

Illustration Friday: Safari

Initially, I was dead keen on the idea of a balloon full of giraffes with cameras going over a city - which would allow for kooky perspective, plenty of little visual details to explore, and the chance to hang accessories around giraffe's necks at various heights . I knew from the off I'd struggle with that, though. Which isn't really a reason not to do it, but I decided to pour my effort into something which is more 'me'.
And so, this.
The tiger is from the olden days - an IF topic of 'Wilderness' - and I loved drawing it and was pleased with the result. So, I thought I'd revisit it and make a little triptych.

My main complaint is that the crocodile looks much more graphic/cartoony than the zebra or the tiger, due to the heavy dark outlining. I wanted to go for a contrast in texture - from scaly smooth, to short fur, to thick and hairy. I'm super-pleased with each piece individually, but I think old Mr Croc is just a bit too disparate in style.

Oh, and yes I'm aware you wouldn't see a tiger in the same place as the other two........

Illustration Friday: Duet

Casey and Dorian's karaoke sets are always legnedary.

Its a quarter of the way through already, and this is my first post of 2011. After post-Christmas settled down, I spent weeks battling (and losing!) against a particularly vicious virus on my poor laptop. And then I got made redundant and have subsequently been concentrating on other things.
Not the most auspicious of beginnings to the year, but its bound to get better from here on in!!

I left some of the guys behind to keep the blog warm for me, so thanks to The Robot, the Box Giant and all the squirrels.

Here's to good thing scoming in 2011.

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: 'Hierarchy'

This is my image for IF's topic 'Hierarchy'.