Mercer Draws Things(What A Waste Of Gravity)

EMP Poster 1: Big Trouble In Little China - James Hong

2012-01-30T08:27:00.000-08:00

EMP (extended major project) has begun.

I am producing a series of highly detailed, illustration movie posters for some weird and wonderful movies.

The first I picked was 'Big Trouble In Little China'.

Here's part 1 - James Hong.

Close up.

Full.

Gradient, blend & a lot of time on illustrator.

Next: Kurt Russell.

For Asgard - Time Lapse Illustration Video

2012-01-25T04:40:00.000-08:00

It's all about time lapse these days.

Music by Our Time Down Here.

Hand Drawn Kinetic Type #3: The Great Repetition - Complete

2012-01-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

The 3rd video in the series has been a little while coming but it's finally gone live.

It's a little different from the first two, we're trying to move it forward.

I hope you enjoy it.

Props to Ben Darvill for all the help http://www.bendarvill.com/

End Transmission.

Condolences

2012-01-11T16:05:00.000-08:00

Little sketch.

Illustration - The Balance - By Ben Mercer

2012-01-10T16:22:00.000-08:00

Here is my dissertation. I wrote it. It got rave reviews already:

'That was a brilliant read!!!! thank you for sharing it brother' - Godmachine

'A pleasure to read.' - Paul Roberts

'Was alright i guess' - Ben Darvill

Abstract

What is the most important factor in contemporary illustration; is it style, or is it substance? Why has there been such a decline in what might be referred to as ‘traditional’ illustration, whilst authorial illustration is booming? And how can a contemporary illustrator best utilise the current environment to ensure long-term, gainful employment? Understanding and exploiting the answers to these questions is vital to the contemporary illustrator; to be aware of the occurrences in the field is key to being successful.

I will be analysing each of these questions, and more, to determine my own answers and understandings by looking at both the writings and the illustrations of contemporary illustration practitioners. I intend to surmise the pros and cons of client based illustration and authorial illustration and ascertain, if possible, the balance of the two which would be most beneficial to creativity and development, as well as finances and popularity.

Illustration – The Balance

In this essay I will be looking at a few elements of contemporary illustration practise including the introduction of new technology, promotional tools, style, authorial illustration and commissioned work. In particular I will be focusing on the surge of new authorial illustration work and the importance of the balance between this ‘free work’ and the more traditional client based work as well as the implications of doing so through examining the work of illustrators, interviewing illustrators and comparing texts on the subject.

In recent years there has undoubtedly been an increase in the amount of self-initiated work coming from illustrators worldwide and there are many reasons as to why this might be.

One of the most prominent, and certainly most written about reasons is the development of technology and the blurring of lines between the roles of ‘illustrator’ and ‘designer’. Heller (2000, p.23) states that in particular he finds the PhotoShop development to blame for this, saying that ‘Once, graphic designers depended on the rendering skills and conceptual acuity of illustrators. Now they can assemble ersatz illustration-collages by themselves,’ meaning that there are fewer opportunities for illustrators to work in the traditional manner. However, Vienne (2000) makes an interesting point that this can swing both ways, whilst designers might be learning more of the skills which allow them to illustrate, illustrators are learning design skills. ’The trend is profitable to illustrators in particular. They are brought into the creative process earlier, and their signature style is now considered an “integral component of the visual strategy.”’

An extension of this problem comes from the internet and the wide range of stock images now available. With the exception of some publications more and more stock imagery is being used. As Sterman (2000) says:

...after all, if one can rent a decent if generic picture, free of risk because it already exists, at bargain rates, with same-day delivery via e-mail...

This option is now considered an accessible, inexpensive, and hassle-free alternative to commissioning original illustration (Heller, 2000, p.23).

These revelations in the design industry mean that less traditional illustration work is published. This in turn has lead to a vast reassessment of terms. The title of ‘illustrator’ is constantly being reassessed and developed to encompass new areas of work, media and styles that were previously unthought-of or simply did not exist and this surge in authorial illustration is no different. It has come about due to a decline in work and a need for new outlets of work for illustrators.

While the drawn and painted (and computed) image has entirely reasserted itself in animated films, illustrated novels, and cutting-edge comics, and surfaces of skateboards, snowboards, and other paraphernalia of youth culture, editorial illustration, which once formed the spine of the art, suddenly seems to have become part of our history... (Sterman, 2000, p. 29)

This could be due the fact that illustrators realise that they are likely to get more exposure among a certain crowd by aiming at these new types of brief and so tailor their work to fit, rendering their styling less suitable for editorial illustration. Or possibly whereas the subject matter in editorial illustration is rigid and restrictive, the content of the ‘paraphernalia of youth culture’ gives the opportunity for creative freedom which could offer an illustrator a sideline to break away from the limited briefs of regulated editorial work.

The responsibility for content in authorial projects has allowed illustrators to embrace the many possibilities presented by new media (Noble, 2003, p.12) and is favourable as it gives a lot of freedom to experiment with techniques or content that might not be suitable for their existing client base. If an illustrator wishes to sustain any great period in this direction they must, of course, capitalise on it and so the development of this authorial school of illustrators has lead to a need for not only a client base, but also a fan base. In the traditional system an illustrators work would be shown, by an agent, to clients. Alternatively it could be sent straight to art-directors, published in annuals or seen at exhibitions. However in these modern times, more promotion is needed to draw greater attention to your work and propel you above your peers.

‘i pretty much just rely on the internet now, i dont really do any promotion except for online.’ (Mumford, 04/11/11)

The internet and current speed of communication has also brought about an increase in speed of changes within illustration. Trends can change so quickly now since images are now instantly viewable online and could be uploaded within minutes of an illustration being finished.

This seems to be the trend among illustrators created authorial work. As there is no client, the work is not being used in publications or campaigns and so isn’t reaching a wide audience on that level, instead portfolio sites, blogs and social media have taken its place, creating an online network of creatives and bringing a new demographic of art buyers to illustration. As Zeegan (2005, p.80) says ‘No longer indulging the needs of dull business-to-business corporate clients, a savvier, more fashion-conscious, streetwise illustrator had started to create images for an audience made up of its own peers.’ Of course some traditional methods are still used, such as exhibitions and magazine articles, but they pale in comparison with the possibilities of promotion on the internet. Noble (2003, p.26) writes that:

The traditional ghetto of self-generated work is reinvented through these electronic means, allowing not only new forms and approaches to emerge, but also providing some form of guarantee that the work will be seen.

These new viewers are important for illustrators as, for the first time ever, it is getting easier to become a well known in the illustration world. ‘People are able to be stars from their bedrooms with their cracked copy of photoshop, they can school themselves, get clients and make a name for themselves.’ (‘Godmachine’, 03/11/11). The upshot of this is that the wider your audience, the more likely you are to sell some work, and once this has begun you can develop wider ranges of work for sale, such as monographs, clothing and vinyl toys which are all popular items to develop amongst contemporary illustrators.

However, there are still certain elements which will propel you towards popularity faster. The main one being style. If an illustrator’s style is currently fashionable, then it is much more likely to move about social network sites, receive more views and ultimately claim more profit. The problem with this, Heller (2004, p.64) writes, is that

...the style of the moment, whatever it may be... has a proscribed shelf-life before going stale or turning rotten. So the danger for an illustrator in relying entirely on style as his whole equity is that when it falls from popularity (and it will) the paying work will doubtless dry up too.

There are of course, exceptions to this rule, where the illustrator (or their style) has become so well known that his/her style will sell at any time. Take for example Fig 1, an illustration from 1970 by certainly one of, if not the most recognisable name in British illustration: Ralph Steadman. Steadman’s use of linear shapes and cross hatching coupled with grotesque imagery and ink splots are instantly recognisable. Here we can see a jockey on a race horse with the reigns being held by the owner, whilst a crowd looks on from the background. The first thing to notice is the proportions of the image. Although jockeys are small and race horses are enormous, Steadman exaggerates this size-gap even further in order to commentate on the relationship between the two in a humorous fashion.

Fig 1.

The proportions of the horse itself are also exaggerated, with an extra high rear end and stick-like legs to comment on the breeding of thoroughbred horses for particular traits. An element of humour and risqué is added to the imagery through the addition of a large penis to the horse. The owner of the horse is of a blue-print Steadman character, reused in many of his works; suit, tie, bulbous face and cigar hanging out of the corner of the mouth. This ‘Fat Cat’ character is repeatedly used to mock those in positions that Steadman finds pompous and corrupt. All of these elements are indicative of a Steadman work, the thought process and representation of character and ideals within images is as much a part of his style as the physicality of his marks. The clean lines of the back of the horse fade out into a crosshatched, watercolour front end and on to a heavily hatched owner, building the detail and colour around the most prominent point of the image. The remaining image is roughly filled in with hints of faces, simple lines and a dash of colour. This technique of pulling focus to important points through density of line and colour is classic Steadman, and runs through a lot of his work.

Fig 2.

Look now at Fig 2, another illustration by Ralph Steadman, this time from 2011. This first detail of note is that though the images of Fig 1 and Fig 2 were made 31 years apart, and there may not be so much open space and cross hatching as the Derby image, the inherent style and feel of the work is exactly the same. The scratchy lines of the bird’s legs mimic those of the horse. The grass and bodies of the birds are loosely coloured, giving a vague impression, whilst around the heads of the bird the detail comes into play; again Steadman focuses the eye on the important areas through the use of density of colour and detail. The loose style of the flicked feathers and the ink splots in the background are intrinsic to his work. Heller (2004, p. 65) writes:

Ralph Steadman’s violently splotchy, linear style if not just an incredibly expressive way to vent his rage against cultural and political bêtes noir; it is an extension of himself, or, to put it concisely, it is his voice. When style is a voice it is not to be turned on and off capriciously. It is something that is endemic to the persona of the artist.

This is the reason that I believe has allowed Steadman’s work, and also his style, to stand the test of time. It is so organic to the artist and is not at all contrived to be in trend. Subject matter is also a constant through Steadman’s work with continued references to corrupt politicians, the ugliness of society and making jibes and snaring remarks about those he finds disreputable. His work was propelled into the limelight when he began to work with Hunter S. Thompson where the madness of Steadman’s visuals matching the story-telling of Thompson the two meshed together perfectly and over 40 years later the pair still have a following which no doubt has helped to keep Steadman afloat.

So we can see already that style isn’t simply about the visuals, it can also be about the thorough processes behind the work, and the way that thoughts and opinions have been portrayed. However, this is much more common with the older generation of illustrators. One issue that has arisen because of this trend towards authorial illustration is the lack of content or context in imagery. Previously an illustrator’s task was to visually describe a subject, such as an event or an idea, giving them the context and ideas behind the work. But with the imagery becoming the focus of the process, there seems to be a lacking in context, ideas or points of view being hidden within contemporary illustration work. When asked the question ‘Would you agree with the statement that illustration has become a lot more focused on style than on the ideas/context behind the imagery?’ Godmachine (03/11/11) replied:

I think this is so true. I think its because people today are lazy and fucking moronic. They dont want to stand in front of a picture and ask why the artist is using 3 magpies and what the position of the lady may suggest...

This seems to be the general consensus with most illustrators, with Mike Giant (08/11/11) adding ‘I think that's just symbolic of our world in general. People rarely look past the surface in our time.’ Conversely, Dan Mumford (04/11/11) takes a different stance on this matter. When posed the same question he responded that he felt the content becomes less important when it is for a client (as it is less personal to the artist) and the money becomes more important. Whereas if you are doing the work for yourself “then it is probably 100% all about the idea,” which gives a very different work ethic, showing that some illustrators may push themselves harder to create interesting content and portray their points of view when they feel that the work is more representative of themselves. This is understandable as client based work would not always allow for an illustrator to put forward their own motives. Heller (2004, p. 63) says ‘style must not be viewed as the be-all or end-all but rather a function of art, not the reason for it.’

But forming this unique style in itself is a difficult balance. Firstly an illustrator must find a suitable medium that is organic to the way that they work and does not feel forced. Ideally the style should be instantly recognisable but at the same time must develop and usually try to keep up with technological or industry based developments. However, an illustrator must be careful when developing their style and although trends may help to forefront your work for a little while, due to the speed of change in illustration trends you can be out of favour quite quickly. Godmachine (03/11/11) suggests that whilst it is important to keep up with current trends and popular culture within the industry, in case some of it applies to you, you should not let it affect your work. ‘you see so many artists changing their styles on a dime- and they get a lot of work for it- its a handy skill to have but I doubt you will make a name for yourself’. Whilst being flexible and versatile in your work can be a good thing, using too many different visual languages will lead to an inconsistent portfolio, leaving clients unsure of what they would receive on hiring you, and the public unsure of whether they like your work. Finding that balance is essential, if an illustrator’s work is too different, it may stand out from others, but will also go past the point of saleability, whilst if it is too neutral, it will not stand out enough (Heller, 2004, p. 64).

Take for example, the work of Han Hoogerbrugge (see Figs 3 & 4). His work is consistent in style no matter the brief. Hoogerbrugge (cited in Zegan, 2005, p. 116) says:

My personal work and commercial work are often close together. I get asked for commissions because of what i do with my free work and I can only do commercial jobs if they relate to my free work.

Fig 3.

Fig 3 is an image of some of Hoogerbrugge’s ‘free work’, made for personal use and promotion. We can see that the style used is very flat and graphical. Thick, bold lines surround areas of flat, block colour in a monochrome format on a plain background. The juxtaposition between the flat white of the shirts and the black of the trousers creates a striking image, despite their simplicity. A small amount of detail is given with concise marks to emphasise some areas and bring out the features in the face. He is an illustrator of the same line of thought as Dan Mumford, as Hoogerbrugge (2007) gives some complex explanations for the content of this work, writing about his created character:

…The internal battles of a stand alone man. He tries to deal with the outside world by creating a world on its own. In this personal universum he is free to explore his feelings and fears… A modern man with cultivated tastes and primitive senses that one senses is equally comfortable holding a Martini or a machete…

Fig 4.

Fig 4 is an image of a commissioned piece by Hoogerbrugge for the cover of ‘DAMn’ magazine. There is a slight change in aesthetic but this is only to be expected over a five year period. The basis of the style however, remains the same. We see the same thick, bold, lines encompassing the face of the figure on the right hand side, the same block colouring for the clothing and another plain background. The strength of the large sections of pure black set against the white of the background and incorporating the white of the hands and faces makes for an incredibly bold image in the same way as Fig 3 does. We have a little more detail in the face and hair than previously but it is still fairly minimal. The main difference seen between the two pieces is the addition of colour into the work through the tie. This has been chosen to match the colour palette of the title and to tie the whole cover in as one piece rather than separating the type from the imagery. This pair of images are an excellent example of how both authorial work and client-based work should inform each other.

Hoogerbrugge (cited in Zegan, 2005, p. 116) goes on to say that he thinks that his consistency in his work is one of the main reasons that he gets a lot of commissioned work, art directors know what to expect from him. But on the subject of preference he states:

‘...if I could make enough money with my own work I probably wouldn’t do commercial stuff.’

This seems to be a very common outlook on the illustration business, that whilst commercial work might provide the money and publicity required to continue working as an illustrator, if it was possible, many illustrators would prefer to take the self initiated route. However, he goes on to say

‘On the other hand, it’s nice to do something else every once in a while. Working on your own stuff all the time can make you blind. Commercial jobs can create a healthy distance between me and my work, and give me a better perspective on what I do.’

Finding a balance between these two hemispheres of work is what will ultimately make for interesting and informative work. ‘... Coming from much self-initiated work are spin-off commercial projects. These commence because of an illustrator’s desire to work in new and different areas of interest...’ (Zeegan, 2005, p. 114) The self-initiated work brings new ideas and techniques out which can then be used within the commercial pieces, which can sometimes force ideas that might not have been forthcoming, had the illustrator been left to their own devices, although there are many viewpoints on this subject.

Weaver (cited in Arisman, 2000, p. 12) argues his approach, saying that ‘Concept and problem solving for clients is of no concern for me. I am trying to tell a simple story in an interesting way... That is what separates illustrators from art directors, designers, and photographers. You are not a co-worker. You are a collaborator. This is an important distinction.’ By separating himself from the group and not allowing himself to be put under the jurisdiction of others, Weaver turns client based work into something far more personal and closer to authorial work, allowing him an input of his own ideas and views into the process, rather than just representing others. On the other hand Godmachine (03/11/11) takes a more straight forward approach to his balancing of the two, suggesting that client based work helps you to gain a better understanding of the art world, the finances, clients, art direction, styles and trends, whilst authorial work is simply for self expression and development. He also makes the point that authorial work is perhaps more to do with being an artist than being what is coined as a traditional illustrator, whilst Dan Mumford (04/11/11) uses self-initiated work simply to stay motivated and engaged with the illustration world. So we can see that there are many different approaches and views on the line between commercial and authorial work and each illustrator must find the balance that is right for them. Whether one informs the other or you prefer to separate the two, or simply try to follow one as much as possible, the key to success is to develop your work but be consistent in your style.

Whilst it is good to be consistent in this way, it never does well to be too consistent and to have your work overexposed as illustrator Jean-Philippe Delhomme discovered after an advertising campaign for Barney’s (Vienne, 2000, p. 6). His work became so well known that offers of similar work came flooding in. Delhomme (cited in Vienne, 2000, p. 6) said ‘I was terrified, this was the end for me. I was branded!’ In Fig 5 we see an example of Delhomme’s work from the afore mentioned campaign and we can begin to understand why it was so easy for him to become branded. His style is very unique, using painted imagery in quite a childish fashion, combining simplified form with flat colours whilst maintaining the essence of the characters and a mature feel through his use of slight details, composition and body language. In the words of Vienne (2000, p. 6), illustrators ‘are finding that developing a new persona once you’ve played a successful role is a daunting task... as soon as they become icons, their illustrations, however provocative, lose their ability to delight, intrigue, or even offend the viewer.’ All of these aspects that are lost are what traditionally made illustrations unique and built the foundations of the industry. However, with this, as with anything, there are the exceptions.

Fig 5.

In some areas of the illustration field it is acceptable, even important and profitable, to develop a style that is so well known that it is commissioned, or at least bought, over and over again. A prime example of this is in graphic novels or comic books, where repeated artwork and characters gather followings. This following can help propel illustrators into the limelight, such as Spiegelman, the creator of Maus which was originally ‘published in instalments inserted in the groundbreaking magazine, RAW, designed and edited by Spiegelman and his wife.’ (McCloskey, 2000, p. 94) What started as a humble illustration project has rocketed to success and fame, being the only comic book ever to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Alan Moore (cited in Wikipedia. (2011). Maus. [online].) claims that ‘Art Spiegelman is perhaps the single most important comic creator working within the field.’

A very different example of an illustrator breaking away from traditional work completely and divulging themselves purely in their self-initiated work can be found in Fig 6 and the work of Sheperd Fairey. Fairey’s Obey campaign began solely as an underground movement to capitalise on the recognition of style in modern culture. In Fairey’s own words:

Fig 6.

‘The Giant campaign simply pokes fun at the process by teasing the consumer with propaganda for a product which is merely more propaganda for the campaign.’

In other words, Fairey, unlike other illustrators is purposefully attempting to become known for working solely in one style. This flat graphic style visible in Fig 6 can be seen throughout all of his work. The use of strong, bold colours taken from the constructivist era, particularly the red and beige, are often repeated as is the use of line and type. All of these thing combined create a style which is instantly and irrefutably recognisable as a Fairey piece. The final nail is to add the ‘Obey’ logo to any piece. Fairey’s style has developed over the years to use more detailed work and different content, but has done so slowly so as not to lose his audience. Fairey has created, in his own work, a brand which is now extremely fashionable to buy as clothing items, prints and other merchandise simply by playing off of society’s nature to obtain anything that is deemed fashionable. By creating such a solid fan-base through unusual means, he has eradicated the need for traditional illustrative work and can be completely authorial in his work.

The question of balance within illustration is a large one that encompasses many aspects of the industry. The argument of where to draw the line between illustration and design, if indeed we should draw one at all, is prominent and ongoing. I think that the answer to that question is individual for each illustrator and what he/she perceives as ‘illustration’ at any given time due to their background and their influences. The merging of design with illustration will either be accepted or rejected by each, depending on whether they consider progress and development to be key, or whether they champion tradition. The balance between authorial work and commercial work is a prominent talking point in the field more so now than ever. As shown there are many viewpoints on this topic and again each illustrator must choose what is right for them and take into consideration the trajectory of their career and where they want to end up. Style will never cease to be at the forefront of any illustrator’s mind. Considerations must be made all the time with regards to media, line, colour, tone, but most importantly how to find that balance between recognisable and repetitive, between over the top and too bland, between popularity and trend follower. As for myself, I think that it is important to have client-based work in order to gain larger exposure to further clients, authorial work should be used to not only create a distance between you and constrictive assignments but to also explore your own ideas and further your style which should be organic to each individual illustrator, but also be adaptable without compromising it, in order to hit different briefs. In short, I agree with Rees (2000, p. 39) who writes:

I believe that the continued relevance of illustration lies in the intelligence brought to bear in picture making and in the ability to embrace continuing change... The greatest threat posed to illustrators and their livelihoods is in continuing traditional thinking in this greatly changed arena of activity. The “new” fashionably pixelated illustration may be today’s darling, but the future of illustration belongs to the mutants.

Girl Girls Girls

2012-01-10T14:32:00.000-08:00

Girls & that.

Venom: Work In Progress

2011-12-29T15:39:00.000-08:00

As usual Christmas sapped all of my drive to make anything.

Time to get back down to it.

Gypsy Medusa Woman Drawing.

As always colour to follow.

For Asgard - Finished

2011-12-19T04:38:00.000-08:00

Many layers. Many textures. Many brushes.

It's taken some time for me to accept the validity of Photoshop for anything other than photo editing.

I'm coming round but I think I still prefer Illustrator.

For Asgard - Work In Progress

2011-12-13T15:21:00.000-08:00

Basically I watched Thor and then decided to do a drawing.

One informed the other. Went pretty heavy on the hatching.

Next step colour, and sorting out the dodgy lettering.

New Print - Lost Soul A2 Poster Print now available online.

2011-12-05T03:02:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Christmas, why not get yourself/someone else a sweet print?

http://mercerdrawsthings.bigcartel.com/product/lost-soul-a2-print

Lost Soul A2 print on silk finish paper. It's tight.

£12.50

Hand Drawn Kinetic Type #3: The Great repetition - Progress

2011-12-01T16:38:00.000-08:00

Okay. So due to recent developments with this project I'm taking a lot more time, care and effort about the outcome, I'm making, working, scraping, re-making, re-working and occasionally re-scraping what I've done. But I'm fairly happy with what is below.

Got some 3D paper type and stuff.

These take about 20-30 minutes to make EACH, depending on which letter it is (except for 'I' which is easy).

I made 24 letters. Only 3 of which were 'I'. You do the math.

All Teeth Shirt Designs: #3 AKA. Back Muscles

2011-11-26T16:55:00.000-08:00

Draw it.

Scan It.

Edit it.

Colour it.

Simplify it.

Type it.

This ones not finished. And the colours on the final image have gone weird.

This will include the lyric:

"Turn me inside out and find no trace of you.

Every day for you will end the same."

All Teeth Shirt Designs: #2 AKA. Thirsty Fangs

2011-11-26T16:48:00.000-08:00

Not too much to say about this one really.

It's some drippy ink type.

Oh, how I love drippy ink type.

All Teeth Shirt Designs: #1 AKA. Gloom Kids

2011-11-26T16:46:00.000-08:00

So after responding to a message from hardcore punk band All Teeth

http://www.facebook.com/AllTeethCalifornia

They asked me to do some shirt designs for them.

Here we go then.

Teeth #1

Teeth #2

Gloom

Teeth #3

Gloom Kids in Red

Gloom Kids in Green

Hand Drawn Kinetic Type #3: The Great Repetition - Start

2011-11-21T07:56:00.000-08:00

Touche Amore Video #3: The Great Repetition went into production today.

Here's a hint at something new I'm doing with this one.

There have been some fairly exciting developments in relation to this project, although I'm gonna keep that under my hat for now in case it doesn't work out. Chow.

Hand Drawn Kinetic Type #2: Touche Amore's 'Pathfinder'

2011-11-18T09:49:00.001-08:00

Track 2 of 'Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me'.

See part one in an older post.

Hand Drawn Kinetic Type #2: Touche Amore's Pathfinder - Work In Progress

2011-11-16T15:51:00.000-08:00

So after the delight I had after finding out that actually, not only was making hand drawn kinetic type ( with a dodgy camera I ordered on eBay from Honk Kong) really fun, it looked pretty cool and other people actually like it. Ergo: make more. I've decided that I'm going to work my way through the album and see if I can do the whole thing. The first one was scratchy and unplanned. Change that. Think about this more. The second track 'Pathfinder' is about half done now and looking sweet. Not going to post it yet but here's some light typography.

Mmmm. Light Stencils.

Frankly, these were some happy accidents that occurred when I was moving all the stuff off my table. But they look sweet, so I'm going to immediately upload the 2nd one to my website.

Got Featured. Count It.

2011-11-15T16:03:00.000-08:00

Managed to get myself a feature spot on up-and-coming creative blog: "The Young Creatives".

These guys are doing some real good work to promote unknown creatives. Get Supporting.

http://theyoungcreatives.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/ben-mercer/

Hand Drawn Kinetic Type Time Lapse of: Touche Amore- Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me

2011-11-12T14:31:00.000-08:00

I bought a little camcorder about a week or so ago.

This is the first thing I've got round to doing with it.

Hand drawn kinetic type of one of my favourite bands - Touche Amore

. It was just something fun to play around with.

To be honest I thought It wouldn't work at all but in the end it turned out alright.

Check out Touche Amore.

http://toucheamore.com/

Typography: What (not) To Do

2011-11-11T03:23:00.000-08:00

Short type project.

Read but don't look.

Los Muertos Y Sin Dios V.s. The Lost Soul

2011-11-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

Getting down with The Dead And Godless. I love this typeface. I want to use it for everything. Logistically, stylistically and aesthetically that's either impossible or a really bad idea. But it'd be fun to try.

Lost soul.

Simple.

Take an older piece of work.

Vectorise it.

Introduce a black background.

Add a set of tiny upside down crucifixes.

Put your web address at the bottom.

Send it to the printers.

Coming soon to www.mercerdrawsthings.bigcartel.com

The Dead And Godless

2011-11-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

Still busy being Mexican.

More flash elements for repeated usage.

One Life, One Chance

2011-11-05T17:05:00.001-07:00

Occasionally it's nice to draw things completely by hand again.

'Dear Godmachine' Or 'Dead By Dawn'

2011-10-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

Finally finished.

This probably took the longest out of anything I've done this year.

Loving the little extras here and there & definitely need to get involved more with that typeface.

'Dear Godmachine' - Work In Progress 3

2011-10-31T08:24:00.000-07:00

It's getting fairly large now and is taking ages to do anything.

More colours. More additions. More more more.

Dead By Dawn Flash Sheet

2011-10-31T05:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween and all that.

Weird flash-sheet-type-thing. For re-usable elements in vectors.

Big Cartel Now Open - Available Prints

2011-10-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

Full site. Shipping to UK only.

http://mercerdrawsthings.bigcartel.com/

Blue Skies & Adventure A2 Print.

£8.00

http://mercerdrawsthings.bigcartel.com/product/blue-skies-adventure-a2-print

Love Is Blind A2 Print.

£15.00

http://mercerdrawsthings.bigcartel.com/product/love-is-blind-a2-print

Zombie Girl A2 Print.

£8.00

http://mercerdrawsthings.bigcartel.com/product/zombie-girl-a2-print

Support Your Local Artists.

Year 3 - Project 2: The Future Of Illustration - Illustration: The Next Ten Years | Twenty Twenty Two Photos

2011-10-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

Some photos of my little book.

8 page book held in a card sleeve, stitched spine.

Year 3 - Project 2: The Future Of Illustration - Illustration: The Next Ten years | Twenty Twenty Two

2011-10-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

Report for the future of illustration project.

I felt like doing something type based. I kept it really plain and simple. Hopefully in an elegant way.

Front cover. Font is OPS DIN.

Pages 1&2. Outlining the early steps of the project.

It looks a little odd when it's spread out like this on a flat design because you don't get the fold and the two sides sort of merge together. It looks better in the real book. I'll get some photos up.

Pages 3&4 in which we find the script for the voice-over.

Pages 5&6. Outlining the later stages of the project.

Throughout the book I used different point sizes to emphasise some words and different tracking and spacing to make the layout and type seem a little erratic and free-formed in the same way that the illustration was. I think the coloured bars hold it together well.

The back cover is plain so I'm not posting it.

Here instead is the jacket for the booklet.

'Dear Godmachine' - Work In Progress 2

2011-10-22T15:50:00.000-07:00

I've been busy a-vectoring.

I know using flares is a sin. But I like them sometimes.

Still a lot of work to do here.

Eyes, more colouring layers on the face, teeth, cross details, more colouring on the hair, gradients on the swirls, background, extras. Stay tuned.

Awesome Book Covers

2011-10-20T05:33:00.000-07:00

I very rarely, if ever, post anything which doesn't have some element of my work in it.

However, whilst looking for some cool book covers for the newest project I found a multitude of blog posts featuring a plethora of average book covers. So I decided to make my own list.

I did not make any of these. I just reposted them.

Year 3 - Project 2: The Future Of Illustration - Set Up Photos

2011-10-19T04:36:00.000-07:00

Photos of time-lapse set up. Mostly with Holly's thumb in the way.

Year 3 - Project 2: The Future Of Illustration - Time Lapse Illustration Video

2011-10-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

Group meeting 2 had some massively productive outcomes. We smashed the whole project in one day.

More ideas, sketches, set up and production. Here it is...

Enjoy.

Year 3 - Project 2: The Future Of Illustration Part 1 - The iSlab

2011-10-16T15:54:00.000-07:00

6 day project to 'imagine where Visual Communication might be in 2022' focusing on illustration.

Didn't initially like the brief, but once I started getting some ideas on the go it became enjoyable.

Here's the first one I've put together. It's an A2 tablet used for drawing that essentially would allow you to create piece that look genuinely hand drawn in a digital format by having paper texture settings and things like that. More info on the image.

I have no affiliation with Apple, iPod or iPad. There are no plans to put this product, or anything similar, into production as far as I am aware. Just in case anyone gets confused. Although it would be fun to start a rumour that Apple are bringing this out.

'Dear Godmachine' - Work In Progress

2011-10-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

Been perhaps a little obsessed with the work of Godmachine lately.

If you don't know him check him out. http://godmachinedesigns.blogspot.com/ He's got mad skills.

Year 3 - Project 1: VisCom Poster - Full Poster First Draft

2011-10-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

Ox. Diamonds. Dots. Stars. Swirly Bits. Type.

Year 3 - Project 1: VisCom Poster - Diamond

2011-10-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

Diamond for poster design.

Draw.

Then Vectorise.

Year 3 - Project 1: VisCom Poster - Work In Progress

2011-10-10T07:21:00.000-07:00

Back to uni for my 3rd year of Visual Communication.

The first project out of the bag is to create an A3 poster which promotes VisCom to prospective students whilst delivering both my own take on the course and also presenting my specialism. Obviously illustration is my specialism so the only thing left to do was come up with my take on the course. After some thinking I came up with "Difficult But Ultimately Rewarding." To me that pretty much sums it up. Here's what I'm working on.

Musk Oxen. Ox's are stubborn and therefore represent difficulty.

Vector Musk Oxen.

With a side order of diamonds to represent the reward.

More to follow.

Lisargh Vector

2011-10-05T10:26:00.000-07:00

Really speedy vector of Lisa.

I felt like doing something today only I didn't feel like putting in a lot of effort or concentration or time.

Beware The Wolf

2011-10-05T04:56:00.000-07:00

The cusp of defeat, she beckons now,

A bridge to darker shores and she’s

So appealing, how appealing to feel that tender kiss,

To feel the warm breath of your neck as you,

So unthinking, unassuming,

Taste and sip and drink of it,

Hack and slur and splash about,

Within the lucid waters.

The river runs deep, oh so deep,

As on these nimble feet you skip across the bridge,

To lay your weary head to sleep,

Upon the greener grass.

But somewhere in the wilderness,

A howl so frightening yet so quiet,

Ripples through your bones,

And you are suddenly alert.

The very sentience of your mind starts screaming,

Writhing, twisting, screaming,

Burrows deep beneath the earth,

And you are left alone.

And you’re rooted to the spot,

A moss encrusted oak,

That drips with weary and contempt in this,

So unthinking, unassuming,

Simile of life,

As it starts to rot within.

A second howl but this time closer,

Shakes you through and through,

The rain drops start to pour on down,

A cacophony in misery,

And suddenly its night,

As dark as the gaps between the hells.

The leaves are blowing from your branches,

As you see those beady eyes approach,

And you know your time has come.

Beware the wolf, for he comes for you tonight,

The sand of time in his teeth he bears,

A heathen, A harbinger,

Despair, oh child, despair,

The wolf, he comes for you tonight.

Love Is Sweet - Digital

2011-09-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

She's done.

Wanted to make it a little more subtle than 'Blind' so I didn't go in for all the crazy amount of detail in ruffles and highlights. Kept it simple, kept the shades closer together as well.

Green eyes. Always green eyes.

Ever seen 'Big Trouble in Little China'? No? You should.

Love Is Sweet - Work In Progress 2 - Nearly Done

2011-09-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of things left to sort out. But pretty much finished with this one.

Until I find imperfections and spend ages more on it probably.

Love Is Sweet - Work In Progress

2011-09-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

Another peek at a new digital piece.

Bubblegum.

InCiders Shirt Designs Again

2011-09-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

A few tweaks and such on the InCiders' designs after comments were passed back and forth.

.1.

Exactly the same as before only white on black.

.2.

A different font was mentioned. Here I've gone for the same font that was used on the real Black Flag shirts and set it in the same position as the text was on them.

.3.

Could have the logo on the back? One on the sleeve as well would be pretty sweet.

.4.

Logo added to the top of the writing. Now that I'm uploading it the logo looks a bit weedy compared to the chunkyness of the rest of the letters. It might just be the size/res. If not I can always set it so "InCiders" comes level with the rest of the type and "the" hangs off the left hand side.

The InCiders: T-shirt Designs

2011-09-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

So some friends of mine collectively known as The InCiders, ( http://www.theinciders.com/ ) a local hardcore/punk band (See previous sets of concert photos) asked me to do some shirt designs for them. I was supposed to do the album cover but I did something else instead.

.1.

Black Flag.

There's a lot of mock Black Flag shirts going around and it annoys me a little bit because they're all just using the logo with different typefaces and it's become really cool and stuff. You can bet half the kids wearing the shirts have no idea who Black Flag were. So in this case the logo's turned to coffins and straight outta the InCider's lyrics "You Stood Back And Watched It Die". The songs about the hardcore scene being taken over by scene kids. Just in the same way that the t-shirts were taken over by hipsters.

.2.

Coffins.

Nowhere near as much thought in the processing of this one but I think it looks pretty cool. Just took the Black Flag coffin pattern and extrapolated it, changed the position of the type at the bottom.

.3.

Welcome To The Age Of Stupid.

Another line straight out of The InCider's lyric book for the latest E.P. It's either the line before or after references the dawn of the dead which is where that hand came from. Birds are just for effect. Enjoying the jumbled up letters with just "stupid" standing on it's own. Let's see if that confuses anyone.

Dead Girls Don't Cry - Redo Again

2011-09-05T13:06:00.001-07:00

The composition was still annoying me. I'll probably change it again in a couple of days.

Love Is Blind - Digital

2011-09-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

Finished rework of a piece from last year. Colour is good.

Love Is Blind - Work In Progress

2011-09-01T05:34:00.000-07:00

Another sneak peak at a work in progress. Regular readers may recognise this one, it's a piece I did almost a year ago that I always wanted to do something else with but wasn't quite sure what. And after 'Dead Girls Don't Cry' the idea pretty much slapped me in the face.

Nowhere near finished. Just about done working on the skin.

Dead Girls Don't Cry Poster

2011-08-30T01:20:00.000-07:00

I don't know WHAT I was doing with the composition on yesterdays piece. I must of been knackered. As soon as I left it alone I realised how bad it was. Here's a new one. Threw in a little extra transparency and a rejiggle of elements. Also cleaned up a whole bunch of small overlap errors and areas where the strokes weren't quite right and stuff. Much better.

On a poster-print?

Dead Girls Don't Cry

2011-08-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

This took all day. Lots of little bits of colour, gradients & transparencies. I'm not sure I'm totally happy with it, but I've spent 10 hours on it today and it's reached the point where I can't even tell if it's good or not because I've been staring at it for too long. There's loads of detail there if you want to zoom right in. Have a look see.

This on the other hand took no time at all but I thought it looked pretty cool.

Horror Crew - Haunting Houses - Videos

2011-08-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

So sometime a bit earlier this year I went to an abandoned hotel with some people from Horror Crew (see photos in an earlier post) and at the time I couldn't get the videos to upload. Now I have better internet.

.1.

.2.

.3.

.4.

.5.

.6.

.7.

.8.

.9.

.10.

.11.

Enjoy.

Dead Girl - Work In Progress

2011-08-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

So here's a little peak at what I'm working on at the minute. It's taking forever and I wanted to post something.

Pretty much just done the skin at the moment.

Honour Over Glory - The Return To Blogging

2011-08-20T05:53:00.000-07:00

So I've been absent for a little while what with going to America for 3 weeks, not having the internet, going to a festival and generally being lazy. Small piece of advice though - if you don't currently have a phoneline connected, do NOT sign up with talktalk, no matter how cheap it looks, it took nearly 6 weeks to get a phoneline that actually works put in. Ridiculous. Anyway. Now that I have the internet I can post pictures again.

Gypsy Girl as standard. Where would I be without them. The 'Honour Over Glory' comes from this clothing brand that were selling merch at the festival I went to. I liked the name so I stole it. Acrylic, pen, ink & cut out paper on paper.

In The Land Of The Blind, The One Eyed Man Is King

2011-06-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

Last February I drew this tattoo design for a friend & he got it done about a month or so later.

Since then he's been hassling me to draw him up something else. But never gave me any ideas so I didn't draw anything up. Couple of days ago he says: "hey, draw me up a tattoo." As per usual I ask him what and expect no ideas. "I like that last thing you drew on your blog." And since I already wanted to redraw it I got onto it.

Drew this up. Got the eyeball & bones from the last picture. The hourglass is 100 times better, time & effort were taken on this one. The runes spell out "In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king". Added in some weird markings to fill in the circle.

Edit: spun the image through about 30degrees.

Rotate the eye back to the right way up.

Made the hourglass bigger.

How they fit together.

Beware The Wolf, For He Comes For You Tonight

2011-06-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

Beware the wolf, for he comes for you tonight,

The sands of time in his teeth he bares,

A heathen, A harbinger,

Despair, Oh, Child despair,

The wolf, he comes for you tonight.

Trying out some new style ideas. I'm feeling the colour on black situation, the eyeball amulet, chain, hourglass, bones, bandages and the circle with the runes in are all working for me. The wolf head I don't think is quite as strong. The crosses and spikey bits I should of spent more time over. If it was just the amulet & hourglass with the bones, and then the runes around the eye I think it would work. Might draw that up.

Horror Crew - Haunting Houses Project - 06/06/2011

2011-06-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

So I see a post on facebook, "any guerilla photographers/videomakers about tommorow? golden opportunity" and i'm intrigued. Hooked it up. The next day i'm off to meet the Horror Crew near my flat. Off down the road & round a corner, through a gap in a bush and over a kicked-down piece of wire fencing and try and look for a decent entrace to this place. When we got inside, this place was a state. Broken windows, crumbling walls and ceilings, all the floors had been ripped up to try & stop people going in, but obviously it hadnt worked, there was some make shift beds, beer & aerosol everywhere. So, we spent a while exploring the place, up and down stairs to try and find some decent walls. We set down our bags, I set up my camera and the boys got out their paint.

Here's one of the bigger rooms downstairs. As you can see, it was pretty wrecked. That whole in the middle of the floor is from where the basement roof had caved in.

More carnage & a fire extinguisher.

Obviously there had been some previous intruders.

Second floor. Not so much floor.

More second floor.

Makeshift Bedding.

Downstairs fireplace.

The view from the front room down into the basement.

Paint.

Shooting through the floor above. This was dodgy as hell to take, for a start the section of floor next to the stairs was being supported by a wooden beam that had been bodged in. Then i'm squatting down, balanced on two, thin beams with nothing but air and plasterboard on either side. Nearly fell through a couple of times, but its all good.

Check out the ceiling in this. Thats where I was crouching above to get the shots through the floorboard. Also you can see the makeshift support beam.

At this point my camera started coming up 'ERR 001' everytime I tried to take a photo. So I had to quit with with that and switch to only using the video camera on my ipod. I also shot some fisheyes but there wasn't enough light in the place for them to work. I would post the videos at this point, if the upload video tool was working. I'll have to hook it up in another post.

House: Haunted.

(I would like to point out, although it should be obvious, that the artwork in the photos is not mine.)

Amur Leopard Boy

2011-06-13T04:57:00.000-07:00

Another big cat for my collection. Went for a full situation rather than just the head. Think it works well. Was a bit lazy on the background, probably should have taken a little more time over it.

Sponsor an Amur Leopard like I do. They're all rare and stuff.

Speak No More Evil

2011-05-31T01:42:00.000-07:00

I remembered that I have ink and a nib pen. It was fun.

Boat A2 Print

2011-05-28T03:03:00.000-07:00

The Boat is now available in an A2 print.

Directly from me of from 'On The Rocks'

http://www.facebook.com/pages/On-The-Rocks-Lounge-bar-music/187807677925345

£8

Email me for details.

mercerart@hotmail.co.uk

Zombie Girl A2 Print

2011-05-28T02:58:00.000-07:00

Zombie Girl is now available in an A2 print.

Directly from me of from 'On The Rocks'

http://www.facebook.com/pages/On-The-Rocks-Lounge-bar-music/187807677925345

£8

Email me for details.

mercerart@hotmail.co.uk

Wolf Woman Double Face Heart Padlock Gemini Drawing

2011-05-25T04:52:00.000-07:00

Just for the fun of it. Colour pencils.

Atomic Legdrop - 14/05/2011 - InCiders E.P. (Megakill V.2 Turbo) Launch

2011-05-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

Photos from the latest Atomic Legdrop night.

Double Cross

Sully.

InCiders.

Nick.

Alf.

Bruise.

Nick.

Nick & Ciderman.

Full set on facebook somewhere.

Vectorise This

2011-05-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

My idea of fun is sitting around turning loads of drawings into vectors. I was mostly thinking about t-shirt printability when I made these. Some I did just to mess about. But mainly for t-shirts and that sort of thing. Some worked better than others.

1. Worked really well. Thick lines. Detail remains. Possible shirt.

2. Blown up big on a shirt with some type.

3. Sort of worked... unsure. Blown up with the right typography could work really well.

4. Pretty much exactly as the drawing was only with black lips. Would work.

5. Hasn't really worked too well. Don't think this is strong enough compared to the others.

6. Love it. Might get this printed on a shirt just for myself. Again, blow it up large, full front of shirt, and put some type across the top.

7. Not so much for shirts. Was just playing about with the 'Love Is' set. Stylised them alot.

8. Not as strong as the last one, but that's because the original drawing wasn't as good.

9. Love this. Clean lines. Very, very clean.

10. Just because Sad Bear is awesome.

Work In Slapdash Magazine

2011-05-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

Few bits of my work have been printed in Slapdash Magazine. The layouts not fantastic for the best presentation of work. But it's still printed in a magazine. Better than not being printed right?

Half Face Skull Girl

2011-05-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

Another drawing in my ever growing series of girls with tattoos.

Professional Project Book Photos

2011-05-05T03:48:00.000-07:00

The book has been printed. Here it is, I haven't photographed every page. If you want to see it all you'll have to buy one. Very happy with the quality of the print. Final Spec: 180gsm Premium matte paper, Hardback, perfect bound, image wrap, full colour, charcoal grey end papers.

Front Cover

End Paper

Title Page

Intro & Process

Subject Introduction

Blue Skies & Adventure

Threats & Eagles

Back Cover

If anybody wants a copy you can get it direct from the printers (so no extra charge added) here:

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2132461

New Fisheye Photos

2011-04-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

Swing Chairs Thing 1

Swing Chairs Thing 2

Tombstone 1

Tombstone 2

Trees 1

Trees 2

Flower 1

Flower 2

Washing Machine In Braches

Bottle 1

Bottle 2

Other Bottle

Old Couple 1

Old Couple 2

Old Couple 3

Old Man's Sweaty Back

Professional Project: Layouts And So Forth

2011-04-14T03:43:00.000-07:00

New Front Cover featuring the photography hand C.

End Page 1 & Title Page

Intro Pages

Intro to new Subject Matter for Illustration

Professional Project: Illustration Number Nine - Roman Army (Revisited)

2011-04-07T03:43:00.000-07:00

I didn't like the last version. It was far too simple, I didn't spend enough time on it, just tried to get it done so I went back to it and spent more time and thought about it more. Incorporated a banner, the crossed swords & wreath, the S.P.Q.R of the Roman army, changed the 'Disobey' to simply 'Obey', added a little motto to the bottom and generally worked off of the Obey poster style and colour palette. This is a hundred times better. Aesthetically it is much more pleasing for a start, it also holds a lot more information than the previous version. It's been a good morning.

Professional Project: Front Cover Mock Up

2011-04-05T17:21:00.000-07:00

One of the ideas that arose at the last crit was a front cover idea. Basically since I've used so many styles & techniques of illustration in the project, to reflect this in the cover design by illustrating my name using various methods/styles of typography. Sounded good. Here's my letters.

Here's the end result that took far too long. This would be printed onto brown paper/card/backing so it wouldn't seem quite as plain as it does here. I think I worked this one out quite well considering types not really my fortay. Got a mix of hand rendered and digital characters, bold and weaker, positive and negative, pencil and pen, simple and ellaborate. I might play around with it a bit more as at the moment the central 'E' is a little bit lost in between all the bolder letters, could sort this out by dropping some of the blacks to greys to give the type as a whole some more mid-tones. I'm also playing around with some photo work which I might substitute in at a later point for one of the letters. But for now, this is what I've got.

Professional Project: Illustration Number Ten - Hessonite

2011-04-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

Hessonite is a semi-precious stone. So I immediately thought of jewelery and then fashion illustration. So that's the style I went for.

Sketch

Add ink/watercolour

I thought the hessonite should stand out more so I desaturated the clothing. Not sure if I like it.

Removed the splodges. Not sure if I like this either. I'll pick one later.

Swimming Lessons

2011-04-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

Acrylic, gouache, ink and watercolour on some good quality paper.

In between uni work, money work, living, sleeping and the copious amount of time I spend eating I like to find some time for finger painting. There's some brush work in there, the face was brushed in & the outline of the armbands and stuff like that. The rest was finger painting fun. If you wanna throw down your finger painting skills against me come be my guest. I will crush you. Ha. Thick.

Professional Project: Layout selection

2011-03-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

After looking through a bunch of illustration/art/design books, analysing and logging the various layouts I came up with a fair few spreads or pages that I felt were quite effective. Obviously they will need to be edited and adapted to fit on one grid otherwise the flow of the book will be quite strange. But here are the ones that I've pulled out of books that I think work well.

This is the selection I will be using to set my work & my text on. I'm not sure how to choose at the moment. It was suggested that I devise a random process similar to the process I'm using for subject matter to choose to give the book a completely random element. That could work well if I structure the beginning to introduce it properly before giving over my design to chance.

Smoking Girl

2011-03-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

Letraset pens, fineliners, ink, brush, pencil, water.

The hair could be better.

Professional Project: Illustration Number Nine - Roman Army

2011-03-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

The Roman Army came up as my subject matter for illustration. I had a massive block on this one and just couldn't get started on it. Eventually I just grabbed something and ran with it. If an army was disobedient the generals would execute every tenth man. The Roman armies symbol was an eagle. Hence the work.

This is the first eagle I drew up. At actual size the tail feathers had no detail so I had to drop some of them out and make gaps bigger so they could be seen clearly. I did two versions of the piece.

Of the two I prefer the black on white rather than the white on black. I think the lines are cleaner and therefore bolder, the red stands out better and in particular on the red eagle the detail gets lost in the black. The type is a reference to the famous OBEY poster work.

Sad Bear

2011-03-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

I never just draw in pencil. I drew this while red nose day was on the TV. Probably where the sadness came from.

Professional Project: Illustration Number Eight - The Age Of Discovery

2011-03-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

My eighth random subject matter was The Age Of Discovery. Which, after some research, turned out to be comprised of a lot of people sailing around the oceans with no particular destination in mind. They were just trying to find somewhere new. Later this created trade-routes and things like that. But what struck me most was the vast amount of sailing that happened. So I decided to draw a boat. Above is the original drawing. Rendered in Letraset Markers, coloured pencil and of course, fine liner pens. I think this worked really well as the markers allowed me to blend and give some detail to the sails. But I felt it was a bit bland on it's own...

So I did this. Simple border (fineliner and markers) remeniscent of old pictures etc. Since the subject matter was all about discovery of new things I decided to go for a multi-media effect, using some torn paper with some lines draw on it to create the sea.Some simple dodge and burn gave it some perspective. Then I went for the photographic sky and clouds to get the really deep blue and the detail.

Professional Project: Illustration Number Seven - Alfred Nobel

2011-03-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

Alfred Nobel was the man who invented dynamite, amongst many other things, and founded the Nobel Prizes in his will. I decided to go a different route with the illustration through and looked at his love life. He never married but had three deep relationships, the last of which was with a flower girl called Sofie Hess from Vienna. They were together for 18 years until she fell pregnant by another man. Hence the image. Watercolour & fineliner. I wanted to keep it quite simple & stylised and tried to work in sepia type tones in the yellow and browns, due to the time period, but felt that it would be altogether too monotone if it was ill in this shade. So I left in some white highlights and added the blue to the faces and colour to the flowers to pick them out.

Always Looking Toned

2011-03-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

I've evolved my style to encorporate skin tone which I think makes it look so much better. Especially with the tone that sits around the chin and stuff. Next time I'm thinking about going for full colour on the tattoos as well just to make it brighter. But that requires a lot of patience which I don't have much of. But as for this, I love it. This is probably my favourite draw I've done this year.

Always Looking Envious

2011-03-11T15:13:00.000-08:00

I've abandoned the dating system. Another piece that I found time to draw in between spending 14 hour days on Illustrator. This is one of my favourite pieces that I've done recently. I think that the face has worked really well, the red and the green are subtle but highlight the areas well and the tattoos just give detail.

Always Looking Shaded

2011-03-11T15:01:00.000-08:00

Got around to doing some of my own drawing for the first time in a while. Still using the same style but this time I went for a bit of shading with some grey brush pens. It's payed off on the face but I think i went a little bit overkill on the torso.

Professional Project: Illustration Number Six - Astronomy

2011-03-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

This illustration took what is known as forever. Too much time on illustrator. I changed the Earth to a live traced version of a photograph, I also used this technique for the other planets. It just makes them seem a lot more realistic and less tacky. I'm pleased with how this turned out, I think it's quite effective to have all the squares black with the various images set inside them. I chose a font that I felt complimented the images and set it where I felt was appropriate given the flow of the imagery. I think the arrows work really well to give flow and direction to the illustrations and help to explain it.

Professional Project: Illustration Number Six - Square Two

2011-03-11T07:17:00.000-08:00

I jumped right passed square one, because that requires a completely new illustration, and just went for one that involves the MESSENGER craft.

I think this works well, I tried not to use any black in the craft so that it would stand out from the black background, I put a couple of gradients on the Earth to make it look a little more spherical. I think the colour of the arrow works well also, taken from the colour of the ones in 'Instructoart'. The typeface is bold but unobtrusive and I think I will have all of the text sitting in this position if possible.

Professional Project: Illustration Number Six (The Beginning) - Astronomy

2011-03-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

Subject matter for illustration Number Six came out Astronomy. I researched this and it seemed like quite a difficult subject on the surface and all the information was really generic and dull. I delved a little deeper and looked at what is currently happening in the world of astronomy and discovered that the MESSENGER craft, launched six and half years ago, is nearly at it's destination of orbit around Mercury. This seemed much more interesting so I looked into this and found loads of facts like it's travelling at an average speed of 133,200mph and on entering orbit will have travelled 4.9 Billion Miles. Thats pretty far. So I'm illustrating it's journey with some of these facts thrown in. Here's my messenger.

It's not entirely accurate obviously as the real craft has so much on it and I needed it to be simpler.

Professional Project: Illustration Number 5 - Heathrow Airport

2011-03-10T05:46:00.000-08:00

My process for creating random subject matter threw out Heathrow Airport. Which I though was a really boring subject to illustrate and I literally couldn't think of a single thing to do for it for ages. I tried to find some stats on lost luggage and cancelled flights but couldn't. In doing so I came across a couple of waiting time stats, I researched further and found a few more that I thought would make a good little illustration.

The times are:

31 Minutes wait before you can check-in.

24 Minutes wait before you can go through security.

98 Minutes after that before you can board. (Based on arriving 3 hours before your scheduled departure as Heathrow advise and an average delay of 18 minutes.)

45 Minutes wait on the plane before it takes off.

As these were all at different point throughout the process of going through an airport I thought a sort of guide of wait times could be created in a sequential format. Which is exactly what I did.

I think the icons have worked quite well. I spent a long time changing the check-in icon over and over, i'm still not entirely sure about it but feedback seems to be that it works well in the context. Having the colour as grey I think is effective as it doesn't overpower as black would. I tried to keep the icons as simple as possible and I think this has worked well with the strip format.

Professional Project: Illustration Number Two - Richard Bartle & The Bartle Test

2011-03-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

Managed to finish up illustration two from my series.
The reasoning behind the imagery is thus. Richard Bartle put forward a theory that there are four groups of people who play online games. These were Killer, Socialiser, Achiever and Explorer. Each group was interesting in different aspects of playing online. A test was then divised to see which of the groups someone fell into and depending on the percentage of their answers they fell into the categories as shown in the image.

It took about 10 times longer than I ideally would have wanted but in the end I'm pleased with the outcome. I think it looks quite a lot like the old school game graphics - pixelated, limited use of colour etc. In particular I like the wine glass as I think the shading works well across it. The medal also works well, although I've just realised where I set it against a background the part of the ribbon that supposed to be white isn't so that needs fixing. But the wreaths around the 1 looks really good, simple use of two shades of square. I think the percentages also work well, I like how the numbers aren't quite perfect, it gives them a little bit of character.

Professional Project: Illustration (set) Number 4 - Bushido

2011-03-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

Bushido is the name for the code of conduct that Samurai warriors adhered to. It was comprised of seven main virtues. If a Samurai was to break the code and disgrace himself, the only way to regain his honor would be through ritual suicide. The seven virtues were:

Honesty

Rectitude

Courage

Benevolence

Loyalty

Respect

Honor

The process for coming to this subject matter was:

Date: 02/03/2011

Book: Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Page: 3

Word: (11th word) "Mortals"

Wikipedia: "Gods and Mortals"

Batman

Frank Miller

Ninja

Samurai

Bushido

The symbols on each illustration are the Japanese symbols for each of the virtues. I wanted to keep the colour scheme really simple to reflect old japanese art. The style is also picked to reflect this, although I decided to use less detail so as to leave block areas of colour. I looked at old Japanese drawings of Samurai and took the poses from these.