Fifi and the Jam Jar (Animation)

Fifi struggling to open a jam jar...

As part of my second-year Animation course at University of Wales, Newport.

Fifi is now about 16-17 years old. Her design has been changed slightly too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PEq7M9UTH4

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Little Girl Design

This little character popped up whilst sketching (for a very exciting project I will be telling you all about soon) last night...



She's inspired by the new range of clothes designed by Stella McCartney for kids - http://www.stellamccartneykids.co.uk/page/lookbook.htm

The first girl that appears when you go to the link is who the illustration is based off. (Maud) <- Who's name is SO adorable. I love her hair, isn't she cute?

The clothes are amazing! Aren't the colours lovely? I love it all so much!

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Maxine - Progression

A "Start to Finish" progression of a piece I did for my uncle's birthday.

I started another piece about a year ago, but never finished it. I finally got round to completing this about a month ago. It took me 3 days.



Inspiration by Alphonse Mucha of course! Who else?! :D
Specifically inspired by this illustration of his, from which I based the pose and background: http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/2218/mucha25.jpg

From Left to Right:
First initial rough layout sketch, Pencil sketch, Inked stage, Photoshop practise colouring, Letraset(greys) marker colouring, Final framed picture

I've had to keep off from uploading this until I knew they'd seen it! I got a message from my auntie today saying how she loved it :)

So here it is!

Art (c) Me (with inspiration/reference from Alphonse Mucha)
Time: 3 days
Used: Pencil, Pilot 0.4 Black fineliner, Photoshop CS5, Letraset (Greys) marker pens.

Zoom in for a closer look!

Spirited Away...(a request)

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Some Digital Drawings (requests) ...

I've been practising a bit more in Photoshop as of late... I decided to try and draw some requests asked of me by some deviantart followers... I love monochrome colour schemes. Inspired muchly by "ktshy" and "B1nd1" on deviantart, style-wise.






3 more requests to keep me going on the mental "to-do" list... I hope to experiment a bit more in time :) I need to seriously start finding a style that fits who I am and what I want to say.......... /isn't everyone? And get a hand of technology in general. Blahhhh.

Back at uni now, starting 2nd year Animation! WOOP! Cannot wait to get stuck into the course again. First project is a "soundscape" task (I think)... I hope it's not too "abstract"...I really want to continue with character animation! I'm sure I'll most likely be stubborn about the task and just end up being completely literal again :P Ho hum.

Star Wars Characters - Quick drawings

A very rushed few sketches of 6 Star Wars characters for my mum's friend's son. It was his birthday a few days ago, and the present my mum had ordered for him on the day of his birthday hadn't arrived in time. So she asked me to quickly draw some simple and cute Star Wars characters for him instead of waiting.

I have watched all the films, but I was never really "in" to Star Wars as a child. I just didn't like Sci-fi much. I'm slowly getting more into the genre now (with Doctor Who) but I don't know if that's in the same "league" as Star Wars(?) Maybe? So excuse my inaccuracies!!! (My friend who's a BIG-TIME fan of Star Wars says my Yoda is inaccurate as he only has a lightsaber in the newer films, as supposed to all the other characters drawn are from the older films...) :P Oh well.

Quickly drawn in pencil and coloured with Copic marker pens.



My mum told me that her friend's son absolutely loved it though. Which I was happy about :) But now his younger sister wants me to draw her some Disney characters for her!! Better get to work again then!

Disneyland Paris! Sketches

I went to Disneyland Paris over the weekend. We (quite literally) had the whole of Saturday at the park. It was fantastically knackering. 12 whole hours at the park, my friend and I deserved a medal!!

I didn't have time to draw whilst at the park, so the next day (on the coach coming back) I decided to sketch some things I remembered in particular from my day there. The people I drew really stuck in my mind, (some comically, and some aesthetically speaking).



I've written notes beside each drawing to explain why I had remembered and drawn them. My writing's quite bad, so I'll write it up now for clarity...

(Top left drawing) - I remember walking past this guy in the Disney Studios Park quite early on in the day. He was asking a cast member for directions (I didn't draw the cast member as I couldnt specifically remember what he looked like.) The guy was casually holding a cigarette in one hand, map in the other and Minnie mouse ears on his head, completely non-chalent. I thought it was hilarious! :)

(Bottom left drawing) - A cast member in the old hotel uniform for the "Tower of Terror" ride. He was really creepy and cool. You could tell he loved freaking everybody out. He was awesome. He helped me get my fast pass ticket for the ride earlier in the day, and then recognised me and my friend again as we walked onto the ride when it was our turn. (My friend and I were wearing quite distinguishable clothing apparently). He was cool, so I drew him.

(Middle large drawing) - Walking around the park, it was a shock NOT seeing peole putting effort into what they were wearing. It was a sea of black, grey and white clothing!!! How boring!!! It was all very "casual" which I was surprised at. Surely if you knew you were going to Disneyland you would make some sort of effort into having even just a bit more colour in your outfit for the day????!! Apparently not...

This girl stood out in the crowd though. Her outfit was very simple but really chic. A light yellow slightly fluffy knitted jumper, light brown tailored trousers with cute shoes and a short bob of blonde curly hair with Minnie Mouse ears on her head. She was so cool. It was so nice to see! Such a breath of fresh air in a sea of boring clothing!!! I instantly "etched" her in my mind so I could draw her later on.

(Middle bottom drawing) - Little girl probably about 5 or 6 years old. Perfectly blonde, long curly hair and blue eyes. She was wearing the whole Minnie Mouse costume and she looked so cute. White tights, little "Alice In Wonderland" black shoes and the Minnie Mouse red dress with white Polka dots and belt, and of course the Minnie Mouse ears. So sweet!

(Bottom right drawing) - Another little girl wearing a Belle dress. This was about 7:30pm on the day. My friend and I had grabbed a bench to sit down and relax for a few moments. I noticed this family nearby. The little girl (no more than about 8 years old) had just been spoken/shouted at quite loudly by her dad.So she went and sat down on a bit of wall and put her head in her hands and started to cry. I don't know why I remembered it, but I just did. I suppose it's just how children are when they get over-whelmed by having such a fun-filled day. I think she must have been very tired. Poor thing. I think she was better after a few minutes though. It's all very short-lived with children isn't it? (My youngest cousin's favourute tactic for sympathy is "crocodile tears" if he wants anything.)So maybe the little girl was wanting more fo smoething and her dad denied her request? I don't know. Still, the image of her crying in her Belle dress still stuck in my mind.



On this page I skecthed myself and my friend's outfits for the day. (I'm the bottom one)

Also, the top right sketch was another remembered moment from Disneyland.
This was on the Main Street USA where, in the centre, they have "Meet and Greet with Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen". There's a white gazebo/band-stand hut (I don't know what it's proper name is) and this is where the characters stand. Three of the sets of stairs that lead up to the gazebo-hut had the parents with their children queuing up infront of them. So three separate queues of parents and chldren. The child would go up, meet Tiana and Naveen, who would then pose for a photo with the child. Once the child's turn was up, they would go back to their family and Tiana and Naveen would automatically walk over to the next "entrance" of the gazebo to await the arrival of the next child. I don't know if that's clear, but it's just how Tiana and Naveen would, still smiling and perfect - all in character, move simultaneouly/robotically to the next "entrance". It seemed quite amusing, so I remembered it and drew it! (Does that make sense?)

But all in all, I had a wonderful day. Tiring, but really wonderful. :)

Cowgirl Thank You Card

I've been really inspired by the amazing Mary Blair as of late. I recently received the book; "The Art and Flair of Mary Blair" which is completely inspiring to me at the moment and motivating me to push my style somewhere different.

From painting the box for my friend as seen in my previous post, I decided to paint my "Thank You" card design (I recently turned 20 )for my friends and relatives too.

It doesn't live up to Mary Blair at all, but I was nonetheless inspired by her.



Painted with acrylics
Time: 4-5 hours

A Painted Box: Disney-style!

My dear friend is going to uni tommorow. So I wanted to draw something for her. I found these really fantastic boxes in Paperchase and decided to paint one for her!
If I'd have had more time I would have decorated the whole box...but oh well!

I asked her for her favourite Disney characters, and then designed them and arranged and painted them on the lid of the box!



I recently received "The Art and Flair of Mary Blair" book for my birthday, and I am literally in LOVE with it! She's so inspiring. I adore her style as well as herself as a dedicated artist! She's amazing. So she was the inspiration behind the style of the characters I painted on the box :)

It was so much fun. I'm now in a complete painting phase!! - I love it! More will come soon! :D

Also, this is the front/side of the box. I painted a few little things here too.
From left-right: Wagamama Chicken Katsu Curry, shoes, Jason Shwartzman, flowers in a vase.



More will come soon!

Gallery Sketches - 28.08.10

I had to go 'man' the gallery where some of my work was exhibited last month. (mentioned in previous posts) It's a very small gallery, but even so, it was oddly quiet for a Saturday... The day before I had popped in for the last 2 hours it was open and the place was insanely busy!
So on Saturday, I brought along my pad of paper and sketched in quieter moments throughout the day.

I printed some little business cards off too...a few people did take them which was cool. I spoke to one lovely lady who came in with her husband and young child. She said she was an animator herself! We talked for a while, and she said she'd worked on lots of pre-school television animation shows for the UK which was awesome!(Something I definitely wouldn't say no to in the future!) So she took one of my business cards. Her husband was saying stuff to her like "oh you could sort out some work experience..." etc, which was sweet, though I highly doubt anything will come of it seeing as it was somewhat of a 'fleeting' visit. But it was still great to speak with a female animator in the flesh!! Definitely very cool :)

Anyway, the gallery has two large bookshelves filled with art books. I couldn't help but have a nose through some of them. There were a lot of Alphonse Mucha ones, so I drew a few characters on this page which represent his style somewhat...
How great is Alphonse Mucha? So timeless. I will always admire his artwork.



The sketch top-left reminds me of "Phobs"' style on deviantart. (I LOVE how he draws 'noses')

The bottom right one is of Mia Farrow from the film "Rosemary's Baby", which I watched the other night. It's supposedly one of Wes Anderson's favourite films, so my friends and I had to watch it. I liked the amount of yellow used in the film (that was very "Wes" :) )

There's also a little sketch of 'Wendy' from Disney's Peter Pan in there too.

Friend Sketches - 23.08.10

Sketches on the left were drawn on the train to London a few weeks ago.
We went to see "Deathtrap" a new Thriller/Comedy play at the Noel Coward theatre in London. It was really good! We met Jonathan Groff afterwards!! :)

The images on the right-hand side are in my friend's house afterwards on the sofa - and some quick sketches of her cat, Rupert :)

Fashionistas

I love drawing model-poses :)

Portugal Holiday Sketches '10

Some life drawing sketches from my recent holiday in Portugal.
Hot hot weather! Beautiful towns, scenery, climate, people. It was a fantastic holiday. I hardly made enough time to capyure it on paper though...*kicks self*

The first sketch page was drawn from memory after a day in the town of Portimao.



These next set of sketches were done at Marihna Beach. (I dragged myself and my family down to there so I could actually get some life drawing done!) It was brilliant. I'd forgotten how much I love life drawing. And of course, a beach is a life-drawer's paradise. It was such fun.





I also got my dad to do some life drawing too! He hasn't drawn since his O-levels he says, but I think he did EXTREMEMLY well for a first-timer!!! I've put them together, don't you think they're fabulous?!? I'm going to try and force my dad to take life drawing classes :)



What do you think!?

London Aquarium Visit - June '10

These sketches were from June this year. I just never got round to cleaning them up and posting them! Only a few. I regret not writing down every (fish)'s name.





I may go back and use a few Copic markers to colour them briefly in places so they're clearer. If/when I do, I'll re-post.

"It's Got to be Funny!" - Breakfast In Bed

My third piece for the Roald Dahl staff-art exhibition! (Full details in the "It's Got to be Funny - Pick Your Own" post)

I doodled this sketch really quickly (but have forgotten to scan it D: ) and quite liked it. Had a nightmare drawing the cat. I don't have any pets and I really don't draw animals enough :P *mental note: MUST draw more animals!!!*

Little sister and brother making breakfast for their parents. Making a mess while doing so. Obviously :)

Unconsciously made the boy look a little bit like Sosuke from Ponyo! :P

"It's Got to be Funny" - Like Father, Like Son

This is my second piece for the exhibition I'll be showing some work in later this month! (Details in my previous post)

After initially thinking of the idea, I had to design some "father and sons", as I don't usually draw men very much. This was really fun though.



I liked the guy with the beard the most, so I then designed some clothes for both the son and father to be wearing. I wanted them to be dressed casually. Also: the sofa is based on my sofa at home :P



And this is the final illustration! Done with a Pilot brown 0.4 fineliner and Copic Marker pens.



The father's eyes in the last panel will be fixed. An error occured, I will fix it soon!

"It's Got to be Funny!" - Pick Your Own

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in the UK --> http://www.roalddahlmuseum.org/ is holding a small exhibition showcasing its staff members' work.
As I used to work there, I was contacted by a colleugue who remembered my drawings! I agreed to do it, so here's my first piece for the show!

The title of the exhibition is "It's Got To Be Funny" (in keeping with one of Roald Dahl's old sayings) :)

I live in the next village to where the museum is situated. In my village there is a relatively big farm which, every summer, opens its gates and lets people come and pick fruit and vegetables. (I actually went a few weeks ago to pick strawberries myself - They are AMAZING)

Strawberries are always the most popular fruit to pick :D When I was there, I noticed a lot of children picking the fruit and eating it straight away which made me chuckle :)

So here, the children have all finished picking their strawberries, but having eaten them on the way round, have hardly any strawberries to declare/pay for at the end :D

First, here's the rough layout sketch:


And here's the finished piece! Done with Copic markers and brown Pilot 0.4 fineliner.



I may make prints of this if it proves popular! All pieces will be for sale in the gallery, I hope it sells! :P

If anybody's in the area, do come by and have a look! http://www.onechurchstreet.com/index.php?/exhibits/its-got-to-be-funnyquote-from-roald-dahl/

It's only a small gallery but there'll be a lot of excellent work on show!! I can't wait! :D (I'll be taking photos of my work on the walls there and then probably uploading them here) :D :D :D

Can you spot a special someone in the picture? :)

Another bday card...

Another birthday card for a friend who's 19 today! :)

She loves bright colours (especially orange) and maxi dresses :)

A sketch:colour comparison.



Done in 45 mins. Used: Pencil, Pilot 0.4 brown fineliner, Copic marker pens

Sketches...

Just some sketches done a week or so ago in spare moments...

I had a subscription to Vogue magazine for 2 years, so have collected a good stack of reference material for drawing clothes/styles/fashion for characters. I really love going through them, getting inspired, and then drawing characters in the clothes or style of the photos.

For most of this page of sketches, I was on a particular page in a Vogue magazine which showed "night-wear" outfits...they're really fun to draw :)




I can't remember what page I was on for these sketches...I have a feeling I was just choosing a page at random and then drawing whatever.
I also drew a little sketch of Grace Kelly from "High Society" which was on tv one lunchtime. It was a scene where she was by the pool in a beautiful swimming costume and "dressing gown". She was so elegant and beautiful, I felt absolutely compelled to draw her.

B-day Cards

A Sketch to Colour comparison.

Two birthday cards drawn and coloured yesterday. I used colour pencils for the outline and Copic marker pens for the colour. I wanted to draw some cute characters in a summer fashion.

Fullview for bigger and clearer image!




More sketches will be uploaded soon!