2017 in a Nutshell

Goodbye 2017! It's been a busy year which is why I haven't been posting as much, but I've taken on alot of illustration projects and jobs which is awesome but also leads to less time for blogging. So instead of just ignoring the second part of 2017's illustrations, I've decided to make a MEGA-POST of 2017's highlights. Here they are:

31 DAYS IN CHINA (minicomic)
Halfway through the year I published a set of 3 minicomics titled 31 Days In China. It was a collection of sketches from a visual diary I kept while travelling through China. I also recorded a series of Podcasts to accompany the minicomics. There's more info, some pictures and a promo video here.

ALNITAK KID COLAB (animated GIFF)
I've worked on a few projects with musician and long time friend Alnitak_Kid, but I think this was one of my favourites! He gave me a 30 second loop and asked me to create an animated giff to accompany it. Check out the video here.

CATEA CANISTER
I wanted something unique and one of a kind to put my tea leaves in when I travelled and after not being able to find anything online that I liked, I decided to make one myself. This was the result...a $2 glass canister that I made a moulded cover for and decorated with a painting of a Chinese Cat. I made a little promo video for it that can be found here.

CHINA MONTAGE
I have always loved collage but never really had an extensive library of images to work with that I had the rights to until I got home from China. I wanted to explore the art of collage while creating an image with meaning and a story, so I began to trawl through my library of images from China and created the picture you see below. It speaks of the chaos, diversity, beauty and intensity of China, a country that I fell in love with. Collage is definitely a medium that I want to continue to work with and explore in 2018! 

DARK GREY SPOT (minicomic) 
In June 2017 I received some bad news from the GP which led to specialists, scans and even a biopsy. Dark Grey Spot is a visual journal I began to work on as a way of clearing my head and processing what was going on. It is a collection of my thoughts and experiences that I put down on paper and turned into a minicomic.

It's free to read online here.

FRAMING PRINTS
A cool piece of gear I got this year is a Mat Cutter for framing. It has meant I can frame all my own prints with custom matting and I've been able to sell a few of my prints without the added cost of sending them to a framer.

PICCADILLY KITCHEN CARDS

My mom runs a cafe in the Adelaide hills called The Piccadilly Kitchen that is adorned with all sorts of foxes. To celebrate Christmas she wanted to create a card with a fox that she had drawn. So in a collaborative project between mother and son, I coloured and laid out the illustration and send it to the printers. The end product came out really nice on 300gsm recycled matt card which sold at the cafe.  

SCHOOL OF CHINESE MUSIC & ARTS
I studied a 10 week course at School of Chinese Music and Arts on the Guzheng (Chinese harp). While there I made friends with the owner and asked if she needed help with some branding in exchange for some more lessons. I presented some ideas and she loved them, so I went ahead with the project, designing a brochure, business cards, a banner and letter heads. This was the result.

Translucent Octopus

I was listening to the creators of Finding Dory speak on The Pixar Podcast and it inspired me to do this illustration. I found myself admiring the incredible storyboards for hours, paying special attention to their treatment of light and colour. I learned a few new techniques as I coloured, my favorite being the glow that comes from the center of this translucent octopus.

Spacegirl

I've been doing a lot of sketching and ink drawings, living in a world of black and white and last week I got tired of it. I wanted to create 80's style, super saturated, colour washed eye candy. I started scribbling some ideas and came up with Spacegirl. I wanted a nostalgic VHS style, Saturday morning cartoon feel that could be a comic cover aswell. Such a fun illustration to colour and I'm real happy with it.

Junkyard Brothers Circus

I went to Cirque Du Soleil not that long ago and came home very inspired. Since then I've been trying to create a picture that showed how amazing it was but nothing seemed to do it justice. So instead of creating a whole bunch of cliche circus imagery I decided to as myself a question..."What sort of circus would I like to see or be a part of?" Then it hit me...a Junkyard Circus! As I was drawing the concept I came up with a backstory that involved three brothers who work at a junkyard by day and run a circus by night in the junkyard. I think it would make a pretty cool cartoon.

One of the brothers using a bike tyre as a circus ring

A closeup of some of the detail in the junk

This shows the way they construct the junk and use it

Future Flight

I was at the library last week and found a book on old propaganda posters. I loved the strong and simplistic nature of them and the portrait they painted of their ideas. I wanted to create a similar kind of feel with this illustration but with less force and a warmer feeling. It gave me a chance to play around with a different style and use some brushes which taught me a few things.

Catz

Sometimes I create an illustration that develops a backstory in my head as I draw...this is one of those illustrations. The backstory usually begins and ends in my head but this time I wrote it down and I'm slowly putting it together which means it may end up as a comic. So for now I'll claim this as a teaser for whats to come...maybe?

The Infinite Word

The more time I spend in the Bible the more I realise I will never fully understand it! Every word is intricately connected to another and each carries specific meaning and translation in it's own context. I could devote a lifetime to deciphering a single biblical principle and still learn something new on my dying bed. It is this infinite nature that gives me perspective on how small I am.

Mystery Traveller

I love illustrations that tell a story, or better yet, illustrations that you can form your own story around. This is one of those illustrations. As I was drawing, I was forming a story in my head. When I say story, I really mean questions. Questions like where is this guy going? Where is he coming from? What's in the bag? All questions which I hope you can answer in your story of the Mystery Traveller.  

Words

Words are a truly powerful weapon. They have the ability to start wars and to end them. They can be manipulated to change our perspective on just about anything and even alter the way we think of ourselves and others. The words that people speak into our lives cause us to talk to ourselves and question our worth measured against those who spoke them. Words are a truly powerful weapon. So in a moment of a thousand words trying to make their home in my life, I choose to listen to God instead.  

Future Hiker

There are alot of future concepts out there. Concepts for cars, for technology, planes and just about anything...but when I looked for hiking gear there was barely anything. So with this in mind I designed what I think the future of hiking may look like.

1. Solar Fabric Backpack- Made from a solar material that collects energy from the smallest amount of sunlight and powers all of your gear. The backpack also stretches into a tent.

2.HeadMap- A device that transmits images of your map into your sight. It also displays an Altimeter, Barometer (with weather predictions) and Navigational tools.

3. Thermal ReGulator- A computer that keeps your core temperature warm in cold weather and cool in hot weather. It also regulates your hydration levels.

4. Battery Pack- The energy generated from the solar fabric is stored in a super lightweight battery pack that powers all your gear and doubles as an emergency transmitting beacon.

5. Legergy- These straps enhance your leg performance to help you walk far longer than you normally would and aid in muscle recovery.

6. Feather Boots- Incredibly strong, lightweight boots that mould specifically to your feet and walking style.

I hear you saying that the point of hiking is to get away from it all, including technology. Well, it doesn't matter anyway because all these ideas are going to be stolen and weaponized by the military and never released to the public...hehehe.     

The Spirit

Us humans are a curious bunch. Always looking for answers to questions, trying to discover how things work and why things are the way they are. We love things that we can see and touch, but what if we were to discover a Spirit. What if God showed us what the Spirit looks like. I wonder if we'd spend more time trying to discover how it worked rather than just appreciating it's beauty and mystery.

Code QR

Looking around, I have started to notice more and more QR codes appearing. These strange geometric codes can be found on just about anything and it's making me question what the future will really be like? The technology around us is starting to define our identity and shape the way we act and behave. Is it making our life easier or is that what we're supposed to think? I have no idea!

Plugged In

A snapshot of the future. That's all I could think of when I finished this illustration. People walking around with screens attached to their heads being fed information all day. Being entertained constantly and removing themselves further from the world around them. It's not too far from where we are already.

Goldilocks Gig

Sometimes I wonder what the bears in Goldilocks And The Three Bears were doing while Goldilocks was raiding their house. Since it doesn't really specify in the books that I've read, I decided to make up my own side plot. I figure the logical explanation is they must have been at a punk gig. Papa Bear is the singer, while Momma Bear and Baby Bear are in the crowd, pumping their fists for moral support.

I Smell A Rat

I heard a news report a few weeks back revealing the Dutch police force was training rats to aid in their investigations. The idea of rats in the police force completely captivated my imagination. I started researching more into the story and found they were already being used in war torn countries to sniff out landmines. These tiny detectives are my new heroes.

Future Ball!

I don't know what the future of sport holds, but I sure hope it's rollerblading robot suits kicking and throwing metal balls at each other! I imagine Dub-Step would be playing through the entire game, every robot's favourite genre of music.Whether or not this dream comes true, it's nice to imagine how it might look.

8-Bit Viewer

After watching Wreck it Ralph I got inspired to do some 8-Bit art of my own. It got me thinking how cool it would be if you could just hold up a screen in front of you, turning everything around you into an 8-Bit video game. Even cooler, a game that you could play! That's when I decided to put my idea on paper and this was the result.

Mechanical Bull

I’ll never forget my first ride on the mechanical bull. Gripping the saddle so hard it felt like my arm was pulling out of my socket. All I could see was a blur of faces circling  me and the “master controller” sitting in the corner with an evil smirk as he watched me wrestle with the mechanical beast! I was sure the master had cranked up the adrenaline just for me....until I watched him ride the bull. It was like he was born with the West in his blood, gripping the belly of the bull with his feet and the saddle with just one hand!

Embrace

The feeling of being embraced is something that I cannot express in words, in fact, it says more than words can in most cases. Being held and comforted by someone you love seems to make everything that is plaguing  your mind disappear, as if the sound of someone else's beating heart synchronises with yours, if only for a moment. I've tried to capture a fraction of this feeling in this illustration...Embrace.

Think Machine

A robot that reads? One of life's many mysteries and the inspiration for my latest illustration. It seemed like such an interesting concept to me. What is he reading and why is he reading? Questions which I don't have any answers to, but I've always loved a good mystery. He started coming alive the more I drew him, taking on an almost detective like persona.The detective personality seemed to match the encrypted background and trench-coat with the pulled up collar.

This was the initial sketch of Think Machine which kicked of my imagination.