Wrestle Your Illustration

My best illustrations are the ones I spend most time wrestling with. This is something I've had to learn to embrace in my years of illustrating and something that is not often taught. The old quote of "nothing good ever came easy" applies as much to illustration as to any other facet of life.

The art of successfully wrestling with an illustration boils down to these two principals: persistence and perseverance. Without these principles you'll stay stagnant, never progressing in your skill or understanding of how an illustration truly works. I don't say this as an illustrator who has it all worked out, far from it. I still have a mountain of things to learn, but each time I finish a piece I learn something new, even if it's how not to do an illustration.  

Here are three things to help you wrestle better!
Don't be scared to start over. If you find your illustration just isn't working, go back to the drawing board. Produce some more thumbnail sketches experimenting with composition and colour pallet.
Strengthen your weaknesses. If you stink at drawing hands, find resources to help you draw hands. If you don't understand colour, find a video that explains colour. The internet is filled with thousands of resources to help strengthen your artistic weaknesses.
Finish the Fight. Lastly, if you start it, finish it! Each time you wrestle an illustration you will become stronger and quicker until you find yourself winning all the fights.

TrailRun Magazine

At the end of 2016 I was approached by TrailRun magazine to do 6 illustrations for 2 articles. The first article titled The Revenant was written by adventurer and runner, Beau Miles. He wrote about his imaginative thoughts as he traveled by plane, overlooking the land where The Revenant movie was set.  

The second article required 3 illustrations and was about runners nutritional needs. Every illustration for these articles posed a new challenge and pushed my skills as an illustrator. I'm thankful for the experience and the free shirt they chucked in with my magazine! TrailRun magazine is available here.

Clean Your Studio

Over the years I've come to realise that having a consistent process in illustration makes every project so much easier. One of the main contributing factors to that consistency is having an organised, clean studio. I've spoken to many illustrators and artists over the years that say they can't start working until they have a clean space to work. 

For me, having a clean, organised space not only helps my process, but also my headspace. An organised studio makes me feel like I've organised my thoughts. This isn't to say my workspace never gets messy, I think you have to get messy sometimes, especially in the heat of creativity! My studio usually looks like a bomb has hit it by the end of the day, but if you take some time to sort it all out when you're done, you'll be rewarded with a space that's easy and enjoyable to work in.

Art of Audio

Illustration is one of those practices where you spend big blocks of time with your eyes fixed to a sketchbook, canvas or computer screen. This leaves your ears wide open with nothing to do, so why not fill them with knowledge. I've always listened to music or had the TV on in the background while I illustrate but I've recently taken to listening to podcasts, audiobooks and sermons instead. Like many illustrators, I like to be efficient with my time and work process, so it just made sense to learn something audibly while I was drawing and colouring.

With an overwhelming amount of podcasts online, it's hard to know where to start. The best advice I can give is to find out what you're passionate about and see if there are any podcasts or audiobooks out there that can feed that passion. Try and pick a few different topics that interest you to keep your ears from getting bored. With enough searching you're bound to find something you like and when you do, you'll be hooked!

These are some podcasts I draw inspiration from:

• Pixar Podcast
• Ted Talks
• Animation Mentor
• Illustration Age

Enjoy!

Everything is cool!

I love seeing happy people walking around, they are always the ones who make my day. This guy shouldn't be happy! It's minus 5 out and he looks like he's on his way to some sort of school. Maybe it's the tunes he's listening to or maybe he's in love. Whatever it is, his cheerful face is contagious and I just want to say hi.  

Surgeons Overworked

This editorial illustration accompanied an article on the dangers of overworked doctors. It stated that the Australian Medical Association found the longest recorded shift by a doctor had increased to 43 hours straight. I came up with this idea to show the severity of the smallest mistake when surgeons operate after long shifts.

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.     

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.

Flow Mountain Bike

At the end of last year I was approached by Flow Mountain Bike magazine, who asked me to create a series of editorial illustrations to be published in their second issue, released in January 2013. The magazine reads more like a coffee table book and is published throughout Australia and New Zealand, so I jumped at the opportunity to get some publicity.

Stand-Off's

In this article Garry Sullivan tackles the nature of riding wild trails that stretch through New Zealand's wilderness. In the years that Mountain biking has spread though New Zealand, so have signs that clearly communicate 'bikes not welcome'; but that's all beginning to change with the realisation that most mountain bikers are conservation-minded and trails that were once off limits are being put on trial periods.  

Death From Above

A feeling that many bike riders in Australia would have experienced...the deadly magpie SWOOP! This was the focus of the article written by Chris Southwood. I encountered the ferocity of the magpie on a bike trip when I was younger, so illustrating this article dug up some old wounds but also helped me to bury my ghosts. hehehe

Can The Nerves

In this article Kath Bicknell talks about pre race nerves and overcoming the fear and pressure you put on yourself. This was a real tricky article to illustrate. I tried to capture the intense nervousness and pressure by illustrating Kath being scared out of the frame and pushed down by the large crowds and media.

Below are the illustrations in their context:

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"

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.

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.

Tigermoth

I was recently approached by Adelaide Biplanes, who gave me a brief outlining a poster design for one of their classic planes, the Tigermoth. I wanted to create a professional looking illustration while keeping my single line, loose style. My plan was to create a poster that would appeal to both aviation enthusiasts and the general curious eye. I used classic colours and a brown paper background to reflect the themes presented on the Adelaide Biplanes website. This is just one of the concepts and still needs text but I wanted to present the poster in it's true illustrative form.

Peace Of Mind (Watershed Art Prize)

This is an illustration I recently finished for the Watershed Art Prize. The brief was to create an artwork depicting wetlands, biodiversity and water sustainability. I approached this brief with an idea that would appeal to kids and promote thought in adults. The title of the artwork, Peace Of Mind, embraces the concept of being conciouse of the environmental impact you make during day to day life and the incredible sence of peace that can be found in nature's wonders.

DNA Police

This is an editorial illustration for an article on the modern uses of DNA, and their value to the police.

Franklin Goes to School

This is a cover illustration for Franklin Goes to School, I am creating a double spread cover for an illustration project at Uni.