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?

Mountaineer

I've spent the last few weeks listening to the audiobook Into Thin Air, which recounts the disaster on Mt Everest in 1996. Since I was listening to the book it freed up my eyes and hands to do some drawing. As I was drawing and listening, my mind began to drift back to Nepal where my wife and I attempted Everest Basecamp. It was all really inspiring and topped off by seeing the Everest movie the day it came out in cinemas. Everything culminated into this ink illustration that I call Mountaineer.  

About Me!

Over in America they've just celebrated Artist Appreciation Month and I was approached by fellow artist and creator of unique ornaments, Patience Brewster to get on board. You can check out some of her Christmas ornaments here. In an effort to get to know the artist behind the art I was sent a set of 5 interview questions. It took me a while but I've answered them all and even got a chance to draw a few accompanying comics.  

1. As a child, do you recall a significant moment when you felt truly affected or inspired by any particular artwork or artist?

I can't pinpoint exact moments that truly affected and inspired me along the path of illustration but the cartoons I watched had a lot to do with it. I loved Nickelodeon cartoons like Rugrats, Fairly Odd Parents, Hey Arnold and Rocko’s Modern Life. So in that sense I guess it was more a company of artists that inspired me rather than a single person.

2. As an artist, what do you hope to convey with your work?

As an illustrator I am always striving to convey emotion, life and simplicity in my work. I want people to be able to see the world through my eyes and feel something when they see it. I love making people smile or laugh or just ponder. There is no way to describe the feeling I get when I see an emotional response to my work, it’s just something money can't buy.

3. What memorable responses have you had to your work?

Probably the most memorable response I've had to my work was when I travelled to Nepal. I would go to the same coffee house in Kathmandu every day. On my final day I sketched a little picture to give to the people that worked there and they were very grateful. But the actual memorable response was a few months later on Facebook when a friend I had met in Nepal sent me a photo he had taken. It was a photo of the same sketch I had given the coffee house but it was hanging on a wall in another coffeehouse 100 km away. I’m not sure how it travelled that far but it was amazing to think that such a small gesture went such a long way….literally.

4. What is your dream project?

My dream project would be to have a small studio where I could teach and mentor young illustrators one on one and have other experienced illustrators come and mentor myself and others. I would love for it to be a place where people could just come and draw and work on their projects.

5. What artists, of any medium, do you admire? (Famous or not)

There are too many to name, but if I had to pick one it would be Charles M Schulz, the creator of Peanuts. I admire a lot about him. He managed to create these amazing characters filled with such life using only a few simple lines. He was an amazing storyteller and created a prolific amount of comic strips that are still relevant nearly 60 years on! I hope my work stands the test of time like his has.

 

Glory Road Motorcycles

I was recently approached by Glory Road Motorcycles to design their business card. They approached me with a solid idea of the text "Find the Glory Road" and the rest was up to me. The card is designed to promote curiosity in the reader, to make them turn the card over and find out what exactly the Glory Road is. I really liked the idea of a portrait business card because there are so many landscape ones out there.

This is an alternative concept that I offered. 

A photo of the final product.

Springtime!

There is no other feeling like waking up to the sun beaming into your bedroom and the birds chirping all around you...especially after a long winter. To celebrate the birds finally waking up and the sun appearing from those dark clouds, I decided to draw a little comic...HAPPY SPRING everyone!

Letters

In my spare time I create music under the alias jPEG invisible. I recently made a song called Letters where I tried to capture the feeling of receiving a handwritten letter. After I had finished the song I began mapping out an illustration that reflected the ideas in the song. A few days earlier I just happened to find a pile of old postcards that my wife and I had collected from op-shops over the years. I took a photo of them, which became the backdrop of the illustration. The foreground image is one of my old illustrations that I recycled titled the storm. They worked so well together in creating the feel that I was after that the only other thing I did was add the title.      

 I created a stamp inspired title to blend in with the postcards

The collection of postcards that formed the backdrop of the illustration.

CLOUDY!

I dont think I need to say much more...but I will! I feel like I haven't seen the sun for months now and it makes me sad. Dont get me wrong, I love clouds, but I wish they'd give the sun a turn for a bit. Cant wait to see you again sun.