No Idea

Sometimes I just want to draw...but sometimes trying to figure out what exactly it is I want to draw is an entirely different scenario. It's these moments you sit in front of a blank page trying to force an idea out and end up drawing yourself thinking of an idea.

Illusionist

The distortion of reality by an illusionist is something that has captured peoples imagination for centuries. A simple distraction of the eye for a split second is all it takes to leave you scratching your head for days, trying to figure out just how a person vanished into thin air. The worst part is wanting to know so badly how the trick is done, but knowing that mystery makes the magic.

Aang The Airbender

I don't usually delve into the fan-art side of illustration, but after watching Avatar The Last Airbender, I was curious to see what it would look like if the series was drawn by me. I put my curiosity to rest after I attempted this portrait of Aang, the main character of the show. It seemed strange converting a character that is drawn in an anime style to a more western form, considering it usually happens the other way around. Even with the simplification of lines I think I was able to maintain his curios, kind and playful childlike character.

Rock'nRoll

You know those people you see that you swear have grown up in the wrong era. I recently went to a gig where there was a guy that looked like he walked off the set of Wayne's World. He had the biggest hair I've ever seen and a denim jacked with cut-off sleeves. I'm pretty sure he somehow gained access to The DeLorean from Back To The Future and rocked his was to 2012 to make our ears bleed with his insane riffs!

Christmas Pageant

Illustration Commissioned by Community CPS for the 2012 Christmas Pageant

This is an illustration that was recently published in The Advertiser newspaper and was commissioned by Community CPS for the 2012 Christmas Pageant. I've posted the illustration in it's raw format without the added text or logo. I don't think I've ever done an illustration this intensely populated by so many different characters and colours. It's filled with many of Adelaide's most famous floats and well known characters, designed to be a feast for a child's eye. I spend many hours finding the right colours to complement a Christmas themed pageant making sure to steer clear of the cliché'd red green and white that seems to plague every other Christmas poster. I've posted a few close-up's of the illustration below to show some of the detail that went into creating the illustration. 

"Penguins grooving to the sound of the marching band"

"Clowns doing what they do best.....scaring young children"  

"Elephants, snowmen and jesters finally living in peace"

"Unicorn's making an appearance after years of extinction"

Barndance

Nothing lifts my spirit like seeing a group of people enjoying themselves. The type of enjoyment that is infectious. It spreads through the body, causing your feet to tap and your head to bob. You find yourself joining in, so caught up in the moment. From my experiences, a lot of people seem to find this at nightclubs, which is cool......but give me an old fashioned barn dance any day.      

Baddies on Bikes

I grew up watching 80's and 90's cartoons like Biker Mice From Mars and credit a lot of my drawing skills to the amazing hand drawn nature of those 2D animated episode. They overflowed with fresh inspiration in each frame. There's many thing's I think kids are missing out on in the modern cartoon, but I'll just focus on one......BADDIES ON BIKES! Baddies that would throw smoke grenades behind them while reaching incredible speeds through alleyways, escaping the grip of the good guys once more. The bad-ass image of motorbike's has died down in the last decade, which is why I decided to pay tribute to those golden years with this illustration. 

ROCK AND RIDE!

Stuntman!

I have always held a deep respect for those few humans who completely break the boundaries of possibility and embrace their inner adrenalin fuelled being. I distinctly remember being that kid you see building a crooked, barely legal ramp on the side walk. The kind of kid that put a card in the spokes of a bicycle to make it sound like a it had a motor. When the time came to jump I would approach the ramp reaching speeds just above walking pace, achieving not even a rulers length off the ground after I had hit the ramp. To onlookers I must have looked like a complete spanner, but I felt like the greatest stuntman the world had ever seen.

Edward Norton

Creating a celebrity portrait is no easy task. I learned this when I decided to attempt a portrait of one of my favourite actors, Edward Norton. His recent role in Moonrise Kingdom as Scout Master Ward completely captivated my imagination. After sketching over 50 studies of his face, I finally came up with one that I was happy with. I tried to capture that same vintage, yellow, filtered look that Wes Anderson achieved in the film.

Good Morning Summer

The sun beamed through my window for the first morning in months and it was like summer had stopped by to say good morning. The feeling could only be described as being embraced by a loved one who has been gone for what feels like forever. SUMMER IS ON THE WAY!

Mapped Out

There is something completely inspiring about seeing and hearing stories of expeditions and the people that push their mind and body beyond the limit to achieve their goal. Constantly breaking the boundaries of human possibility and survival. They range from treks through the hottest of deserts to ice climbing the coldest peaks. It's the diverse nature and storytelling attached to expeditions that inspired this illustration.

Computer Problems

Computer PROBLEMS! They are as wide and diverse as the earth itself. 

BirdWatcher

My trip to South Africa earlier this year rekindled my childhood past time of bird-watching. Now, at age 24, I find myself crawling through bushes and reeds, getting as close to wild birds as possible, to try and get that one in a million shot. Its amazing just spending time in nature, it gives you a lot of time to think and it's especially easy to lose track of time when everything is perfectly still and you find yourself just gazing. I really enjoy watching birds but getting the perfect photo of them is what I like most. I guess I like collecting birds like people collect cards, some are rare and others just plain and common.......but I haven't seen any holographic birds yet.  

Where do fish go to dance?

I recently asked myself the question, where do fish go to dance? Such smooth moving, groove filled creatures have got to learn their moves somewhere and I know it's no from their parents. I'm still unsure of the answer to this illusive question, which I'm sure has baffled scientists for decades, but I'm pretty sure that if we explored the ocean floor thoroughly enough we would discover some sort of super layed back club with an octopus as a DJ and it might look something like this. 

Rave on my FELLOW FISHY FRIENDS!!!!

Anatomical Guide

I thought I might go back to the foundations of drawing, studying what gives the human body its shape. This study of muscles has helped to refresh my understanding of where to put my lines when drawing the human body, instead of just guessing where they might be. No matter how much you learn, there's always more to learn, and there's no better way to do that than going back to basics.

Superhero

I remember spending a lot of my time as a kid making up superheroes and bringing them to life with my pencil  and paper. I re-kindled some of that passion recently, when I sat down and sketched this character. It gave me a chance to push my lighting and colour techniques and explore how different colours affect each other. I don't have a name for this character and judging by his gear, he probably doesn't even have a superpower, he's probably more of a gadgets man.    

A Farmers Work

A farmers work is never done. This is one of the many things I figured out about farming when I had the chance to experience a week on the farm with my uncle in South Africa. It seemed that even when he was at home there was still things to worry about and still work that needed to be done. I came back with a renewed respect and understanding of the sheer amount of time and effort that goes into producing our food. This illustration is basically a representation of the farmers mind that never sleeps.

Facial Studies

I recently bought a facial expressions reference book so I decided to brush up on my skills by doing a few studies. I made my marks with ink straight onto paper with no pre sketching, so I could capture what I saw, even it it was a mistake.

Autumn Roller Session

The amazing array of colours that Autumn puts on display makes it my favourite season of the year by far. I couldn't think of a better way to spend this beautiful season than gliding through the leaves on eight wheels strapped to a pair of shoes. The sense of freedom that I feel when I rollerblade coupled with the colours of Autumn clear all the worries I have built up over the week and makes me wonder why I was worrying to begin with.

High Roller

This is just a pen and Ink preview of an  illustration that's going to be posted later this month. I found my rollerblades the other day and decided to go for a skate and now I cant stop drawing pictures like this. Come back soon to see the finished product which probably be an evolved version of this illustration.

Out Of The Atmosphere

The journey beyond Earth's atmosphere has captured peoples imaginations for years including mine. The curiosity of what lies beyond prompted man to venture into space and that same curiosity inspired this illustration. Not even I know what this astronaut has discovered but the look on his face says it all.

Lego Chest

Have you ever had a moment when you discover something from your childhood that lights up your imagination and take's you back to being a kid? If you've ever had a moment similar to this you could probably understand my excitement when my dad discovered my old Lego chest in the ceiling. I felt like a pirate who had just found the treasure he had been tirelessly searching for all his life. I began rummaging through the chest discovering things I had built 10 years back, it was like searching through a visual history of my imagination. I tried to capture that sense of amazement in this illustration which gave me the opportunity to play with light and how it affects mood. I'm happy to say I spent the rest of the weekend playing with my Lego. 

Pascals

A couple of weeks back I went to WOMADelaide, a world music and dance festival that brings out my inner hippy every year. I made my rounds of the stages and was on my way to see a band I had heard on the radio, when suddenly, my ear was caught by a strange and amazing mix of sounds emanating from the distance. I couldn't help but divert my path and find the source of this beautiful sound and when I did, nothing could break my trance like state. A 16 piece Japanese band playing the most unique blend of instruments I have ever seen and producing sounds that felt like zero gravity. I created this illustration as a tribute to the Pascals music, not as an accurate portrait, which is why some of the band members are missing, but my aim was to capture the indescribable energy of the performance.

African Time

My recent visit to South Africa inspired this illustration. All throughout the country I encountered workers dressed just like this one, in blue overalls wearing hard hats (even if there was no danger of falling objects from above). Alot of the workers seemed to be on break most of the time, but African time is your best friend when you're not in a hurry. I referenced this particular worker from a photo I took on the waterfront of Cape Town.

Drum Machine

I've always been fascinated by the process of animation from the beginnings of scribbled ideas on paper, character designs and storyboards to a final, fully coloured and rendered moving image. I am currently in the beginning stages of creating a short animation and I'm learning fast just how big the process is and how time consuming animation can be. This is one of the characters that is featuring in the animation, it's a wind up drum machine and after pages of concepts I narrowed it down to the illustration at the top. I'll keep you posted on the progress as I complete each step on my way to the final animation.

Feedback!

I thought I might introduce the new year with my first sketchbook entry of 2012. I've been watching a heap of cartoons recently and loved the expression that animators can give a 2D character. I tried to capture that same energy and expression in this character and though this is a static illustration, you could imagine what he would be doing if he was moving......and if you can't, it means you need to watch more cartoons.