Today's Word: Noodles

The mandarin word for today is NOODLES! I'm guessing knowing this word will come in handy throughout China. Written out in pinyin it looks something like this: Miàntiáo. I spent a bit more time on this illustration because I wanted to get that manga watercolour feel. It was real fun to draw and learn.

Today's Word: Fruit

I've been attempting to teach myself some Mandarin before I head to China in November. To help me out I've decided to pick out a word every few days and draw a picture based on that word. I'm hoping this exercise will help me to grow in both Mandarin and illustration. As you can see, today's word is FRUIT .  

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.

Punk Racer

I have been studying a few different aspects of manga technique to try and build upon my style and understanding. One thing I love is their ability to balance a black and white image with good line, tone and contrast. I decided to use my new understanding of theses principals and apply it to my own style. What better way to put principal into practice than drawing a punk kid with a bike!

Creative Congestion

As an illustrator it’s easy to get engrossed in your work and happily spend hours perfecting an illustration. It’s also just as easy to spend hours battling an illustration until you get so frustrated you throw your sketchbook as far as you can and vow never to draw again. I call this second scenario creative congestion, because it’s similar to the feeling you get when you’re stuck in traffic and you can see where you want to be but you can’t get there. If you’ve never experienced creative congestion, you’ve probably mastered the art of giving up, because it is something every successful artist I’ve encountered struggles with constantly!

Getting frustrated and battling with your creativity is often a sign of growth in your ability and shows that you care about your work. So don’t give up! Instead try and find ways of overcoming these frustrations, because they’re always going to be there. For me, the solution is found in three words…CLEAR YOUR HEAD! Go for a walk, ride your bike, go to a café, exercise, just do something that you enjoy that’s away from your work-space. Don't give up, just take a break! 

Fillmore, I'm on it!

If there was ever an award for most underrated animated series, Fillmore would take the prize and then some! It's a show filled with the most creative chase scenes around and manages to poke fun at adult crime shows in such a way that is both funny and true. But the thing I love most about it is that it's real! It's what being a detective in school would really be like. No gadgets and outrageous scenarios of world domination, just two kids being kids. So this is my tribute to you Fillmore!

Soldier of Winter

Sometimes I sketch all night trying to come up with different ideas for new illustrations and end up frustrated. Last night was one of those nights. I drew tons of thumbnail sketches and the more I drew the more frustrated I got. I just started scribbling in the corner of the page and this illustration was the result. After a whole night of trying to create a structured illustration I went with the unplanned scribble that had more life and character than any of the others combined.  

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.

Fox of The Orient

A handful of artist were selected to create fox themed art to celebrate the opening of local Adelaide hills cafe, the Piccadilly Kitchen. We could do whatever we wanted as far as mediums, so I decided to switch things up a bit and merge ink, cut paper and photography to create my oriental fox. I picked up a newspaper from Chinatown and used that as the backdrop.

Chinatown

I spent an evening at Chinatown last week and had some time to kill, so I pulled out my sketchbook and looked for an interesting position to sit. I found a spot, ordered a tea and started on this study of a couple sitting across the road. I didn't realise it was right next to a red light so cars kept on blocking my vision as they stopped, but I managed to fill in the details in a sporadic manner as the lights turned green.  

Dog Sitting

My wife and I adopted a dog a few months ago. Her name is Licci and she came from a family friend named Henry who has gone into hospice while battling with cancer. We take Licci to the hospice every now and then to visit him and he loves seeing her. There is just some things dogs can say that humans can't, it's amazing to see how she can lift his spirit. I wrote this comic for Henry to assure him that Licci is in good hands and to read whenever he's down. 

 



Kingfisher

I recently bought myself some Chinese calligraphy brushes which I've been playing around with over the past few days. I have never known such a deceptive medium, it looks so simple and easy but it's the complete opposite. The ink is so easy to overwork but I think I'm getting there, it just takes practice.

Tea Time

I visited chinatown last week and for some reason it felt really nostalgic. I downed some dumplings and wondered through an asian grocer, picking up some special gunpowder tea (my new favourite). I even tested my skills on some chinese instruments and ended up signing up for classes. It was a really good night and when I came home I channeled my new love into this illustration.  

Nativity

When I think about Christmas I think about family, food and presents. I wish I could say that the first thing that came to mind was celebrating Jesus, but I guess he's been pretty well disguised under all the brands and bargains that adorn this season.

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!

Caffeine Christmas

I love the lead up to Christmas! I especially love seeing different peoples traditions and how they celebrate. There's one tradition that I've embraced from a coffee shop I visited years ago, which is adding 100% pure Canadian maple syrup to coffee during the Christmas season. I've exaggerated the amount of syrup I add in the comic to pay tribute to my favourite Christmas friend, Buddy the Elf, who puts syrup with everything!

Dude Design

I was flicking through some of my animation art books the other day and just soaked up their character designs. I love the diversity of artists that work on each animated movie, bringing their own interpretations of the same characters. Each artist seems to have their own way of treating lines, colour and texture. I took that inspiration and condensed it into my own character that you see above.

Winter Surf

I watched a documentary a while ago that had a few really brave surfers catching waves in some of the coldest waters in the world. My respect levels for those surfers is through the roof. When I swim in the ocean I generally go purple!  

Field Study: Crows

I LOVE BIRDS! The crow in particular has captured my imagination for years. I love their unassuming intelligence and character, along with their ability to adapt. On two occasions now I have been lucky enough to see a crow bury it's food and mark the spot to consume it later. On one of those occasions the crow picked up a stale piece of bread and took it to a trough filled with water, it dipped the bread into the water to soften it, then ate it. Crows are cool!

Gangster Pen

I have many moments where I open a clean white page of my sketchbook and have no idea what to draw. When this happens I just start to draw lines and whatever happens after that is anyone's guess. This time I was just looking at my hand analyzing how I hold my pen and then I thought, I wonder how gangsters hold their pens?