some quick portraits

I've been very lucky recently, because I've been able to invest in some fancy new toys - a brand new MacBook Pro and a Wacom Bamboo tablet! I feel very spoilt and happy! These are some of the first drawings that I've done with the tablet, they are not perfect, but I like them. Was going for a quick, rough look anyway. They are actually faces of my target audience, for a moodboard that I've had to put together for a presentation tomorrow... hoping it goes well!

editorial

Some quick and silly doodles I did in my new magazine that I bought to pass the time this long long weekend! It's nice to be drawing again, even if it's just something basic like this. I know these drawings are weird, don't judge me ok!

No Kak in our Coffee - print elements

Now that the Sustainable Design Showcase is over, I think it should be safe to publish this! These are part of the final submission that Lisa and I sent through to the competition.  These are the printed items, but we also designed a website and created an informative stop-motion animated video.

ahoy there

Hello, let me introduce you to a new friend of mine - 

his name is Mr Glenryck, or Sailor Glen, as he prefers to be named.
Sailor Glen is about to become the new face of a brand of tasty pilchards. 

Makes a lot of sense doesn't it... 

I promise to explain further very soon - 

sometime after Friday to be more exact.

a little experiment

Hello!

Here is another illustration that just finished. I guess you could call it a self portrait. Kind of.
I made the original sketch for it months ago and until now it had just been taped to my wall, sitting in the "future projects" bank - I'm sure lots of people have "future projects" or "things in the pipeline" or as the other list on my noticeboard says, "personal creative projects"...

This is something that tends to happen a lot while you're studying (or at least it happens to me a lot), you're always so busy with college briefs and assignments that you don't really have much time or energy to do carry through your own, personal projects.

This weekend was the first in a long time that I had no homework. Nothing due in. Or at least nothing immediate... So I jumped at the chance to do something with this sketch.

A pretty literal take on how I feel a lot of the time. Drained.

Okay okay, enough rambling!

Here is one of the original, 'planning' sketches.

badly drawn people

Some progress shots of the visual diary I submitted for the mid year assessment.
Please excuse the bad lighting, as these were all taken at late at night, as they were being drawn.

All of these are about mental illness and the stigma attached to psychiatric conditions.

long time no blog, so here's a nice long post

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I have really been neglecting this blog lately, just because so much has been going on.
The Sappi project is over at last, but things have been still been pretty chaotic. But i mean that in a great way, good chaos!

i moved into a much smaller room, so had a big decluttering, dejunking, proper and much-needed clearout. Then it was time to submit our portfolios for midyear assessment at tech, then it was the start of a three week holiday, but it wasn't really a holiday because of all the assignments we were given.

I have also been spending time at one of the country's best advertising agencies, The Jupiter Drawing Room, for the past week and a half, as part of our industry placement project. I've really been enjoying it there and will be a little sad to leave. It's a very inspiring place, filled with great people. Everyone I've met so far has been nice to me and I''ve been able to work on some great projects. Their in-house illustrator is away on holiday, so I've been filling in for him. I'm really in my element there, because it means that all i have to do is draw all day! I've also been working with a copywriting intern on another project, which we will be showing to the client later this week, so I think I've really gained some very valuable experience.

We have to write a comparative report, comparing two different studios, agencies or designers, so next week I will be visiting a freelance graphic designer and illustrator, whose work i have admired for quite some time, so I'm very excited about that as well!

We also have to write an article and take some photographs for a design magazine of our choice, and then design the layout, write the copy and take the photos in the style of that magazine. This needs to be nearly done by the time we go back to tech in two Monday's time. I'm going to go with It's Nice That or Creative Review, but haven't fully decided yet.


Phew! With so much going on, I think I should take up smoking to curb the stress.
No no, only joking!

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ps. smoking lady image is from scotch & scones

we so hot we burn your eye

This is Steve and next to him is me. We are not so cool, but maybe if we were, we would look something like this! haha...

Dickens in progress

Ok, so I didn't mange to finish Charles Dickens on Friday, but I have made some more progress... will definitely be done by tomorrow...

What the dickens?

Work in progress for Charles Dickens portrait... will hopefully be done by tomorrow!

Portraits

Charles Dickens

Vivien Leigh - ink

Vivien Leigh  - pencil

Some sketches for portraits of famous people who suffered from some kind of mental illness - will explain in more detail soon...

Thursday's medicine

click on the image for a larger view

I've been working on this for a while now, and I think it's done!
I think this version is a LOT better than the first one, but maybe it still needs a typographic element?
It's basically an adaptation of the previous Intwasa Sangoma Starter Pack promotional poster, but this time it's much more abstract. The main face is meant to be a sangoma in a state of trance, with all the little elements spinning around his head as if they are from one or many of his visions. I used my left hand to draw them, since I wanted them to look like they had been roughly drawn by the sangoma while in a trance. Some helpful comments here would be great!

goodbye, everything

where did it go?

Some drawings I did yesterday, using watercolour pencil crayon.

Heartbreak sucks, but might as well do something useful with it, 

like making some artwork...

Sangoma Illustration

final poster design

Colour study before doing the final one. I actually think I like this more than the final!

preliminary sketch

I just completed this A2 -sized poster illustration. 

I'm not so sure about the end result and am keen on making some changes.  

Any advice or comments here would be great!

The Ink-O-Matic

click for a larger and clearer view

This is a third year project that I just completed recently. The brief was for us to design a fantasy machine using four or more existing machine parts that wouldn't usually be found together, with the resulting invention being something really original and unconventional. 

So after spending days feeling incredibly stuck and uninspired, I suddenly came up with this little invention - it's a "Self Automated Tattoo Device" - I've included the design rationale just to explain things a little better...

                                                                                                                                                                        

This new invention is, as the name suggests, a self-automated tattoo device and is aimed at
image-conscious individuals with a fast-paced lifestyle, who generally prefer a more alternative and independent perspective when it comes to style and fashion, but it really could also be suited to anyone interested in getting a quick and convenient, but still permanent tattoo.
 

Someone who is considering a tattoo might be wary of conventional tattoo artists, due to the
unpredictable nature of the tattooing process - the finished piece is literally in the tattoo artist’s hands and if you happen to choose the wrong person for the job, then you will be stuck with an unsightly creation on your body for the rest of your life! But luckily the Ink-o-Matic solves this problem. Affordable and easy to use, nobody needs to risk having a botched tattoo ever again.
 

The Ink-o-Matic is a combination of many different mechanical entities, namely a tattoo
machine, a Chinese Suction Cup, a USB Port, a Lithium Ion rechargeable battery and various
Camera components, including the ON/OFF switch with shutter release button, which is typical in Nikon models, a knob for winding film (which in this case is used to adjust and control the suction pressure) and a customised preview screen for a final check before pressing the shutter release/ START button.
 

Instructions
1. Switch the device on via the ON/OFF switch on the exterior casing.
 

2. Have your desired image ready. If printed, hold it about 10 centimetres away from the Compact High Definition Image Scanner and wait for approximately 5 seconds until your image appears on the Preview Screen. If your image is in digital format, simply plug in your drive into the USB Port and wait for your image to appear on the Preview Screen.
 

3. Turn the Suction knob (located below the ON/OFF switch) until the suction pressure is firm, but not painful. The device should be completely stable, without any pain or discomfort to the dermal area.
 

4. Once the device is completely secure, hold down the START button for approximately two
seconds. The tattoo machine will now begin to render the image directly into the skin. The time will vary for each piece, so be patient.
 

5. Once the tattoo machine has finished, turn the suction knob to release pressure.
 

6. Remove the device and marvel at your perfect new tattoo!
Please note that when fully charged, the battery should be sufficient for 4 hours of tattooing
time. To recharge, simply plug the power cable into the USB Port and connect to a computer or any other power outlet.

This was probably the best part of the whole project - I had so much fun drawing the model/ before and after photos. I couldn't find any reference images with a guy in the right angle, so I just took reference from a photo of a girl applying body lotion!

See the resemblance?