I always seem to be complaining and bitching about the same things recently... that I dont feel as if I am creating any work that is truly my own and that I dont get chance to do the things i want.. (creating characters, working in 3D or screen printing)...
I've finally decided to try and do something about this... (again)... either if it means just taking a couple of hours out of my day in the evening to draw/create something that isn't course related. This has come about since my tutor told me to bring the things i like into my work and to find a way to fit the briefs we're given to the ways I want to work...
I still feel a little bit like I have developed a way of working that is aimed more at professional practice (clean cut graphic like illustrations) rather than the sketchy and cartoony styles I feel more comfortable with.
so I thought I'd put up some reference to things I like and what I feel got me interested in illustration in the first place....
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I've finally decided to try and do something about this... (again)... either if it means just taking a couple of hours out of my day in the evening to draw/create something that isn't course related. This has come about since my tutor told me to bring the things i like into my work and to find a way to fit the briefs we're given to the ways I want to work...
I still feel a little bit like I have developed a way of working that is aimed more at professional practice (clean cut graphic like illustrations) rather than the sketchy and cartoony styles I feel more comfortable with.
so I thought I'd put up some reference to things I like and what I feel got me interested in illustration in the first place....
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like most kids, i grew up copying my favourite characters from either cartoons or computer games...which is pretty much how i learnt to draw... i particularly remember that I loved to draw Sonic .... and I think this is why I still enjoy watching cartoons at the age I am now... theres something about it that lets me keep ahold of my childhood but also my imagination...
Growing older though, this has spread to feature length animations (both digital and traditional) like Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Wall E and Kung Fu Panda... as well as modern cartoons such as Samurai Jack and Spongebob Squarepants, but I'm also now interested in comics... I never read comics as a kid purely because cartoons were more accessible to me but now I find comics more enjoyable than watching most movies due to the stories being aimed at a more mature audience and also on the shallow basis of their artwork....
If a comic doesnt have interesting artwork then I often don't end up reading the story but I keep trying to pinpoint why I like cartoons and comics so much... the only reason I can come up with is they all have black outlines around the drawings... I remember being told off for this in school as things in the real world don't have big black outlines on them... yet its taken me so long to realise all these rules I've been taught about "art" are quite subjective....
If a comic doesnt have interesting artwork then I often don't end up reading the story but I keep trying to pinpoint why I like cartoons and comics so much... the only reason I can come up with is they all have black outlines around the drawings... I remember being told off for this in school as things in the real world don't have big black outlines on them... yet its taken me so long to realise all these rules I've been taught about "art" are quite subjective....
Most popular comic artists have also launched successful art careers branching out into fine art and a range of other products such as James Jean, Ashley Wood and Jim Mahfood.
What I'm trying to get at is that all my favourite images, by any and every artist, often includes a black outline around them in a comic book kind of style. This has also been imprinted in my mind through the social scenes I am a part of too... such as snowboarding, and motorbikes and even when I was a skateboarder. The most popular brands and designs during the early 00's employed this very same art style...
not only that, but this has been used for years within the skateboard industry since it made it made its migration for surfing graphics.
Classic companies such as Santa Cruz, H-Street and Powell have been using this style for years, most likely influenced from early comics too...
but even to this day, the work of Jim Phillips is constantly being adapted to modern brands from his iconic screaming hand...
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I feel using this style I can actually incorporate all the different things I want to do... as in I could firstly draw a design/character in my cartoony way, then refine it in illustrator before screen printing it...
I feel using this style I can actually incorporate all the different things I want to do... as in I could firstly draw a design/character in my cartoony way, then refine it in illustrator before screen printing it...
and then I could also reference Mahfood in order to practice more contour drawing :D
Taking an hour or so out of the day to indulge in personal projects is perfectly fine, and if you take that time seriously you might find you can take it to higher levels.
ReplyDeleteI loved your work in first year, the stuff you were doing in the style you were referring to was very humorous as well as modern and classy. What makes you think that you can not apply that to your illustration breifs? theres a million and one differnt illustrators, in terms of individuality im sure you wouldnt look out of place (in a positive way) for being an illustrator with a taste for comic/cartoon influenced work.
or if your like me is it that you want to keep the two seperate in fear that your prefered style might become tainted by the constrictions and expectations of working breifs? if im not making sense let me know.
Marco.