Monsters!!!!

That last post got me thinking about monsters of all shapes and sizes!

IF: Legendary

What a great word! I instantly thought of mythology, and one of my favorite characters has always been Grendel from the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf.

IF:Intricate

For this word, I decided to do some endangered animals that have been hunted because of their intricate, beautiful coats. The word has an additional meaning here, because the intricate balance of an ecosystem is devastated when just one member is no more.

"Intricate" round one

Here is an attempt at the Illustration Friday word "intricate." I was going for some kind of neron, transmitter thing, but I felt it wasn't going anywhere. This process did, however, bring me back to making shapes with watercolor and blowing the color around as it dries. This lead to some neat characters!

jelly, ostrich-llama thingie, transcendent crane, spooky ghost, pondering dodo, jumpin' jehosaphat!

Two fantastic European children's magazines

I've come across these two publications recently, and they are stunning examples of fun, sophisticated design. Anorak is from the UK and is full of hilarious, graphic illustrations, comics and kids' fashion.

Milk is from France, but thankfully has some English translations in the back. It features amazing styling, art, and a very interesting fashion spread that would never fly in the in the states. Look closely in the fashion photo for bloody knife and flaming plane images. Even the styling of the kids, with their vacant expressions are "scary" by U.S. standards. On a more local note, "Cookie" magazine has a great, but short interview with one of my favorite artists, Ian Falconer.

Sunday is Pancake day!

Wise owls and wiser words!

My friend and I went to this great panel:

http://www.spd.org/speaker-series/2009/02/dwi-do-it-with-illustration.php#more

here are some of my favorite parts:

-Tim O'brien is hilarious!
-Recessions are actually not a bad time for illustrators, as a drawing is cheaper than a set up, styled photo!
-The word "style" is dumb and one should just do art that feels like themselves. Finding this way of working can take years and lots of failed attempts (phew, am normal!)
-Getting published in an annual is pretty important
-sketches are important and should be good
-Juliette Borda has blond hair, and I always for some reason envisioned her as a brunette
-Rather than looking at other illustrators for inspiration, try fine art, fashion, cultures, etc
-thanks to computers, there are rarely "original" illustrations
-personal work, personal work
-Chris Silas Neal is cute and used to go to music school, but didn't say much

IF: Breezy

I wish I could be like this bunny, watching a dandelion blow away on a warm spring day!