Katie Chappell Illustration & Design

Heaton Perk

2012-02-15T21:51:00.003Z

103-105 Heaton Park Road

Mon - Sat 8am-6pm Sunday 11am-4pm

This is the second illustration for my Final Major Project, "An Illustrated guide to craft fairs in the North East." If you are ever in Heaton, do pop in for a cuppa and some cake.

THEY HAVE SCRABBLE.

Final Major Project

2012-02-15T11:52:00.007Z

Final Major Project is well underway now. We are over a month into it (aaagh) ...maybe even two months in - i'm too scared to look - and i'm feeling a bit behind. (aaagh)

What i'm planning to do, is create a set of illustrated greetings cards, bags, pocket mirrors etc. to sell in an Etsy shop. I like puns, so there will be very bad jokes illustrated onto them. In addition to this I am going to rebrand my whole website and business cards and all that, and make a kit for selling at arts and craft fairs in the North-east. I'll be nice and prepared for being freelance when I graduate. (aagh)

I'm also going to create an illustrated guide to arts and craft fairs in the north-east. Not sure what to call it yet, something along the lines of "Crafty Geordies" or a more boring approach such as "arts and crafts north-east : an illustrated guide". It's all still very explorationy and developmental. I'm trying out different techniques for printing bags, visually working out how I want to illustrate the cards, and researching prices for printing everything.

The guide itself is going to be a sketchy little cute illustrated thing, possibly with interactive things like lift-the-flap and maybe some cut-out sections with coloured acetate or something to make it more interesting. I want to end up with something that people will keep and read and enjoy. I'm taking inspiration from zines and little self-published things that crop up here and there around the crafty scene.

Enough rambling. I'm off to do some work on it.

p.s. I have a Facebook Page now!

Happy Valentines Day!

2012-02-14T08:00:00.001Z

Blog Header Designs

2012-01-30T18:26:00.004Z

I was recently commissioned by Laura Budd, (AKA blogger of A Daisy Chain Dream) to design a new blog header and some illustrations to post in a blog. The blog is mainly fashion-orientated but also reviews food, nail varnish and lots of other bits and bobs.

It was great fun to do, and the comments were wonderful. Thanks, daisychaindream readers! You made me blush.

If YOU are a blogger and would like an original illustrated header then get in touch to discuss designs and rates. Any dimensions and requirements can be catered for.

Fashion Illustration for Emma Shipley

2012-01-30T18:17:00.000Z

Emma J Shipley is a designer and illustrator of beautiful luxury scarves :) She graduated from the RCA with an MA in textiles and has set up her own label.

There was an interview with her in Amelia's Magazine, for which I did an illustration - do have a read!

All hail the ginger gorillas!

Plucked

2012-01-25T16:32:00.003Z

I created an illustration for Amelia's Magazine - you can view the article here.

It's a scary puppet-dog from the new company, 'Invisible Thread'. He is described as a "wolf with a detachable penis that looks like a hallucinogenic mushroom."

Ahh, lovely!

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-06T15:26:00.000Z

mrrrrraw?

It's 2012's first Friday and it is time to reflect on what 2011 had to offer...

Stuff to take from 2011

My first paid freelance jobs happened in 2011, so i'd like to take that experience and confidence (and money!) I gained along with me into 2012.
Work placement at DiFFERENT-UK, and all the knowledge I gained from that.
Self-promotion experience. I got featured on lots of blogs, I made a new website and printed a lovely batch of business cards. I'd like to carry on with this so that i'm ready for "the real world" when I graduate.
Social networking. I loved social networking so much in 2011 that I chose to write my dissertation on it. I have met so many supportive, inspirational and wonderful people through Twitter and Facebook.
Being in love with illustration. I want to stay in love with illustration. To make a living from something that I enjoy is "The Dream". Studying illustration at uni and getting the odd commission has been fantastic, and to keep on doing that forever, enough to support myself financially would be lovely. I really like working from home, working hard to strict deadlines, and being able to choose what work I accept and what work I decline. That freedom is mint.

Stuff to leave in 2011

Fraudulent commissions. (Bible study magazine in Africa, anyone?)
Procrastination
Unpaid work. There will definitely be less of that in 2012.
Fear of rejection. Just because a client chooses not to use your work, does not mean you are a complete failure and the world is ending.
Fear in general. Nowt to be scared of, innit?!

Children's Book About the Riots "Glen Does His Bit"

2011-12-02T17:45:00.001Z

Hello! Merry December :)

Here is my latest project for uni. We were asked to make either a graphic novel or a children's book about the London riots that happened this August.

It's a short story about a little boy called Leo, who's dog goes missing.

The actual book will be pop-up, but this is just a proffessional-looking version to hand in to accompany the not-so-proffessional-looking one that I am going to bind in the next couple of weeks.

In addition to uni stuff, people have ordered pet portraits for Christmas so i'm aiming to get them all finished and posted off this weekend too. Yeee!

Glen Does His Bit by Katie Chappell | Make Your Own Book

Moustache Wax

2011-11-04T16:02:00.004Z

My friend Wooh (that's Madame-Wooh to you) has invented some moustache wax "Chap Wax" and kindly asked me to design the packaging.

Here's the final design! Each pot costs £7.50 and £1 goes towards Mo'vember charity goodness. It has lovely natural ingredients, including beeswax from north Yorkshire, organic essential oils and incense powders. Mmm. The wax also washes out, unlike a lot of other waxes. No more sticky moustache woe.

Are you growing a 'tash this month?

Illustrations for Sunderland University's Media Centre

2011-11-01T18:22:00.002Z

My friend Jamie and I have been commissioned to illustrate a series of 14 media-related quotes. We've spent the last week or so getting them done and dusted and they are going to be printed onto big foamex boards and mounted on the walls of the media building.

Here are wor illustrations like pet!

"We now assume that when people turn on the evening news, they basically already know what the news is. They've heard it on the radio. They've seen it on the internet. They've seen it on one of the cable companies. So that makes our job a bit different." -Bob Schieffer (illustrated by me)

"Newspapers are unable, seemingly, to discriminate between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilisation." -George Bernard Shaw, 1931 (illustrated by me)

"When we change the way we communicate, we change society." -Clay Shirky (illustrated by me)

"A free press is not a privilege but an organic necessity in a great society." - Walter Lippmann (illustrated by Jamie Ludlam)

"Our job is to give people not what they want, but what we decide they ought to have." -Richard Salant, president of CBS news. (illustrated by Jamie)

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square hole. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you cant do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." -Apple Computers Inc. (illustrated by me)

"I find television very educational. Every time someone switches it on I go into another room and read a good book." -Groucho Marx (illustrated by Jamie)

"Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar." -Edward R Murrow, broadcaster. (illustrated by Jamie)

"The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses." -Malcolm X (illustrated by Jamie)

"When you get something like MTV, it's like regular television. You get it, and at first it's novel and brand new and then you watch every channel, every show. And then you become a little more selective and more selective, until ultimately... you wind up with a radio." -David Lee Roth (illustrated by Jamie)

"The news media are, for the most part, the bringers of bad news... and it's not entirely the media's fault. Bad news gets higher ratings and sells more papers than good news." -Peter McWilliams (illustrated by Jamie)

"A petty reason perhaps why novelists more and more try to keep a distance from journalists is that novelists are trying to write the truth and journalists are trying to write fiction." -Graham Greene (illustrated by me)

"Privacy is dead, and social media holds the smoking gun." -Pete Cashmore (illustrated by me)

"Television! Teacher, mother, secret lover." -Homer Simpson (illustrated by me)

Birds of the North East

2011-10-11T17:43:00.002+01:00

I finished these six birds a couple of weeks ago. I'm getting prints made of them to sell at this weekends Make Ends Meet Bazaar at Heaton Perk (in Heaton...) It's on Saturday evening from 4pm 'til 7pm and everything is under £10. BARGAIN TIME!

Buy your very own 'Bird of the North East' for just £8. Printed on high quality Somerset Enhanced paper, and comes with a little mount so it'll look nice and posh in a frame. Oo-err! Suits you.

Pet Portraits

2011-09-06T18:37:00.001+01:00

I am now doing pet portraits. If you would like one for yourself or a friend (they make lovely gifts) then just drop me an email! They'll be available from my Folksy and Etsy shops soon, too.

katiedraws.hello (at) gmail.com

All The Advice New Students Will Ever Need

2011-09-04T12:16:00.001+01:00

Here are a series of illustrations I did for Harry Slater. He's a student at the university of East Anglia. Check out his Twitter here.

The blog where my illustrations are featured can be read here.

Here are the illustrations nice and big and colourful so you can feast your eyes :)

Mini break.

2011-08-24T17:52:00.000+01:00

Long time, no update!

I'd love to say that i've been churning out illustrations and been too busy to upload them...but alas, I've just been working a lot and packing for moving house.

Here's a brief update:

The NE Illustration 2011 exhibition went well.

I'm still drawing everything I eat this year.

There are only 4 weeks left 'til I go back to uni for my final year.

Aye, that about sums it up. Boo to working for minimum wage and not having/making time to draw. Hisss, boo etc.

Illustration Bandits Catch-up Week

2011-07-24T22:58:00.003+01:00

This week in Illustration Bandits we're having a catch-up week. Meanwhile, here's all my submissions for the previous weeks' themes.

Logo design for Illustration Bandits

Self-portrait as a Mexican bandit

Mexican Animals

Mexican Wrestlers

Sombreros

Tattoo Designs

2011-07-20T18:33:00.001+01:00

Recently I've had a few people asking me to design their tattoos. Here's the most recent tattoo mission i've completed. Drawing the letter forms and concentrating on the calligraphy was very satisfying.

Mmmm letters.

Tattoo design for E's spine. It's the initials of her family in a twiddly nature-inspired pattern with some hearts an' that.

...and this one is for her Mum's wrist. Same idea with the family's initials, but a bit more compact and wrist-friendly.

Dia de los Muertos

2011-07-20T18:01:00.000+01:00

My submission for this week's Illustration Bandits theme.

Join the Facebook group here.

Fair ohs

2011-07-19T16:28:00.004+01:00

I was lucky enough to score the opportunity to illustrate an interview with London-based band, Fair Ohs.

You can read the interview here.

Their music is mint. Check out the music video for 'Everything is Dancing'.

Self-portrait as a Bandit

2011-07-14T10:48:00.000+01:00

Click to see large version.

Illustration Bandits is coming along swimmingly. This week's theme was self-portrait as a Mexican Bandit. We've had lots of entries and are up to 50 members... plans are underway to get the Bandits in PRINT!

Very exciting.

You can join the Facebook group here.
Follow the Bandits on Twitter here.
Have a read of the blog here.

Enjoy!

Illustration Bandits Entry

2011-07-07T18:02:00.002+01:00

Axolotl

Here's my entry for this week's Illustration Bandits theme "Mexican Animals".

It's an axolotl :) A walking fish! Or a salamander... Here's the official blurb from National Geographic:

"The Mexican axolotl (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) salamander has the rare trait of retaining its larval features throughout its adult life. This condition, called neoteny, means it keeps its tadpole-like dorsal fin, which runs almost the length of its body, and its feathery external gills, which protrude from the back of its wide head."

Illustration of Vandaveer for Amelia's Magazine

2011-07-05T14:03:00.001+01:00

My illustration of folk band, Vandaveer.

Vandaveer

Click here to see it in the article over at Amelia's Magazine.

Illustration NE Exhibition

2011-07-05T11:22:00.002+01:00

I'm going to be exhibiting alongside these talented people :) Come along and buy some of my work! I am toying with the idea of selling a couple of originals, as well as prints. Ooooooh!

Darren Cairney – www.darrencairney.co.uk

Plumleaf Hoang

Jamie Ludlam – www.sly-stalker.deviantart .com

Paul X Johnson – www.paulxjohnson.com

Lucy Farfort – www.lucyshappyplace.com

Simon Howard – www.sghillustration.design binder.com

Robbie Drewbert Dixon – www.rob-bees.blogspot.com

Pete Burn – www.peteburn.co.uk

Neil Barraclough – www.flickr.com/photos/used tobeaking

Alicia Yolanda – www.aliciayolanda.com

Peter Falkous – www.circa77.co.uk

Laura Cartwright – www.lauracartwright.com

New Website

2011-06-29T17:24:00.001+01:00

Behold! The new www.katiechappell.com is now up and running. At the moment you can only see it by clicking onto http://katiedraws.moonfruit.com

Soon it WILL be katiechappell.com though, so keep yer eyes peeled.

Enjoy!

(click below for a peek!)

KATIE CHAPPELL ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN

http://katiedraws.moonfruit.com/

p.s. I've now got a Facebook page too... all "likes" greatly appreciated. Katie Chappell on Facebook.

Dr. Sketchy's Comes to Newcastle!

2011-06-27T13:51:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I was lucky enough to snap up a ticket to go to the COMPLETELY SOLD OUT Dr. Sketchy event in Barkollo, Newcastle.

You can read more about Dr. Sketchy's here. (It's an exciting world-wide thing!)

left-handed scribbles

Illustration Bandits

2011-06-15T10:13:00.000+01:00

Jamie Ludlam and I have started an illustration magazine called Illustration Bandits.

Links:
Join the Illustration Bandits group on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter: @drawing_bandits
and last but not least, have a gander at the IB blog

The first competition was to design a logo, and the winner was announced this morning. (People voted on Facebook for their favourite.) Here is the winning logo design:

It's by Chris Folwell!

Chris is one half of Beware the Black Rabbit and has just graduated from Teeside University with a degree in Fine Art.

Chronic Fatigue/ME Book

2011-06-09T00:02:00.002+01:00

A sneak-peek at some illustration work i'm doing for a book on ME/chronic fatigue syndrome.

drawing everything I eat...

2011-06-08T15:20:00.002+01:00

Pssssst! My blog is now mobile-internet friendly.

Hello iPhone users and other people with smart phones.

In other news, i've just set up a new blog for my current project of drawing-everything-I-eat-for-a-whole-year.

Check the new blog out here.

Stephen Hawking

2011-05-30T19:51:00.001+01:00

Aye, Stephen Hawking reckons yer brain is just a computer, so I drew it.

(You can read the article about it by clicking the link below.)

'heaven is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark'

Fire In Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne...

2011-05-19T16:46:00.002+01:00

Pigment fineliner and Copic Ciao markers on watercolour paper.

Live Briefs and Competitions

2011-05-19T09:29:00.002+01:00

I've stumbled across (and been told about) a few competitions recently. Thought i'd share the links on here...

Please share any that YOU have come across. University holidays start on the 3rd of June, and if I dont keep drawing my hands might drop off.

Tigerprint Gifted? Competition - The Brief - deadline is July 30th

Word-Up_Competition-Brief.jpg 595×1161 pixels - deadline is May 26th (that's just next week!!)

In addition to those, i've signed up for the Art House Co-op's 2012 World Sketchbook Project.

I've chosen the theme of "The Companion Books". Not quite sure what it means... friendly books? There are loads of different titles to choose from. My sketchbook arrived a couple of days ago.

COMMENCE!

Jon Burgerman

2011-05-17T18:28:00.000+01:00

As part of the "Burgered" project here is the portrait Jon Burgerman drew of me:

...and here is the one I drew of him :

"Burgered" is a group on Facebook. Here is the blurb about it

Upload a good photograph of yourself to this group and I, Jon Burgerman, may draw you and upload the drawing to the group.

Preparations for 'Make Ends Meet in May'

2011-05-13T18:00:00.000+01:00

It's happening TOMORROW! Come along :) There's free Etsy tote bags and Tunnock Teacakes. Everything is under a tenner too, so it will be bargainous.

Heaton Perk, on Heaton Park Road.... in Heaton, Newcastle. 4pm 'til 7pm.

Posca marker on MDF board

nice blurry photo of a hand-made strawberry brooch.

A Message from Heaton Perk...

2011-05-11T16:40:00.002+01:00

Heaton Perk

3 days to go!

Hi everyone!

Just 3 days to go until the Heaton Perk Make ends Meet in May event!!! Please come and support local designer/makers who are graduate or emerging onto the creative scene. There are free tunnocks tea cakes and some www.etsy.com tote bags up for grabs. All items will be for sale for £10 and under, come and grab yourselves a bargain!

Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday!

x

Birthday Cards

2011-05-10T15:09:00.000+01:00

It's neeearly my birthday, so I designed a birthday card.

I'm going to be selling them at the Make Ends Meet £10 Bazaar at Heaton Perk (on Heaton Park Road) this Saturday at 4pm - 7pm.

There will also be non-birthday cards, and a few prints of my work. Everything under a tenner.

Bargainous!

Oh, hello business cards!

2011-05-09T11:54:00.000+01:00

Round-edged, lime-green and printed on recycled environmentally friendly card.

I approve...

The Great & Good of Natural History

2011-05-03T18:11:00.002+01:00

(click to enlarge)

Work in progress... For my elective module this term i've chosen Natural History, and we've been asked to create an A1 poster. It's going to be full colour and printed on watercolour paper.

Edit**

Here's the finished beast!

Click to enlarge...

Make Ends Meet Bazaar

2011-04-29T11:03:00.000+01:00

I've been invited to have a table at the Make ends Meet bazaar. 14th May, @HeatonPerk 4pm 'til 7pm.

I'll be there selling prints and possibly knitted goodies.

(Rumour has it there will be teacakes, too. Yes.)

Come and eat cake and buy things!

Urbanity Magazine

2011-04-28T22:11:00.003+01:00

"a street style photography magazine featuring interviews with new and emerging creative talent"

They used my illustrations throughout and did a nice double page feature/interview

Lovely jubbly.

A screenshot :) P. Cavender has done a crackin' job. Follow her on Twitter!

Interview with "Katie Chappell" ...who is she?

More Fashion Illustration

2011-04-18T17:40:00.001+01:00

More illustrations for Paula Cavender's FMP...

New York Mural (final)

2011-04-16T18:24:00.000+01:00

New York Skyline Mural (the making of)

2011-04-16T18:18:00.002+01:00

**click images to enlarge**

Soo, after lots of planning I got all my bits together. The brief was basically to do a skyline of New York, and include the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Chrysler building and the Empire State building.

I did a few sketchy plans, and one photo/collage with bits scribbled in. (The Chrysler and the Empire State and the Statue of Liberty weren't in the right place...so I moved them,) The plan above was mainly for an idea of colour...

Daunting massive blank white wall. To start, I drew a grid onto my plan, then drew a grid onto the wall as a guide to help pencil the design up accurately.

SKY! This bit was fun. After the whole skyline was pencilled out, I got the roller out and slapped on a load of sky blue paint. The paints I used were just normal DIY decorating paints. Crown, if you were wondering. You weren't? Oh well..

Brooklyn bridge painted in, and the little bit of grass below, and the STATUE OF LIBERTY. The acrylics came into play here a bit. I didn't have any white house paint with me, and acrylic worked well anyway.

Got a bit of shading done on the ol' statue there.

...next step was to fill in some building detail using a blue Posca marker. I also masked off the Brooklyn Bridge to create the shadow and light effect.

Bridge details penned in using Posca and good old fashioned permanent marker.

More grass and buildings and detail...and VARNISH! Varnishing was trickier than I expected. It was at this point that I realised the markers i'd used to detail the Statue of Liberty totally smudged when the varnish went near them. I got around this by just leaving the statue with a matte finish.

Fashion Illustrations

2011-04-13T23:27:00.002+01:00

These are some freelance illustrations i'm doing for Paula Cavender, a fashion student from Southampton. They're going to appear in a fashiony magazine for her FMP. Follow her on twitter!

Meanwhile, i've been painting a wall mural of the New York skyline. Photos to come! Should be finished by tomorrow afternoon :-) Lots of portfolio-building going on this month. Exciting times.

Naked ladies

2011-04-11T22:38:00.003+01:00

Naked ladies, a work-in-progress for www.soeffingcool.co.uk ...

//edit
the finished illustration! It's on the website now. Go take a peek :-)

...voila! The illustration in context :)

Effing Cool Illustrations

2011-04-09T09:15:00.000+01:00

Last week I got a commission to do some illustrations for soeffingcool.co.uk. Here they are! in context.

"Is controversy cool? Is shock value striking? Where do the boundaries lie?

Im So F*cking Cool is an online playground where readers can indulge in the most extravagant, shocking and conspicuous formations of fashion, art and culture. It unearths the most boundary-pushing work emerging from the creative industries and presents the subsequent issues that arise to the less-than-conformist readers. It allows the reader to form their own opinions, deciding whether the controversial topics are the work of genius, or just the work of a genius-wannabe. "

-soeffingcool.co.uk

Follow soeffingcool on Twitter by clicking here. Or like them on Facebook by clicking here.

Seeing my work online is WELL exciting. Also, earned enough pennies to get myself a haircut and drink a well-earned pint of cider in the sunshine.

Happy days.

Pattern

2011-04-05T13:27:00.000+01:00

A sunderland-inpired pattern. Little council houses from Sunderland...in the football strip's colours.

Galapagos Finches

2011-04-01T17:13:00.001+01:00

These are the Galapagos finches that Darwin discovered... they're all finches but have different beaks.

'As many more individuals of each species are born than can survive, and as consequently there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it vary however slightly profitable to itself... will have better chance of surviving, and thus be naturally selected... The preservation of favourable individual differences and variations, and the destruction of those which are injurious, I have called Natural Selection.'

-Charles Darwin

New York, New Yoork

2011-03-28T16:03:00.002+01:00

Here's a sneaky peek at my latest project. I've been commissioned to do a wall mural in someone's house. This is the first sketch. I've been playing around with composition and colours. Planning to use normal wall paint for the areas of colour, and Posca paint markers for the line details.

If you hadn't guessed... it's New York.

Watch this space for more pics!

Deer Watching...

2011-03-28T11:36:00.002+01:00

Some illustrations for a BBC Nature magazine article on deer watching in Great Britain.

Great Britain. With spots indicating where ye can see some deer an' that.

...you can see up its nose :)

Drawing Sunderland

2011-03-22T10:39:00.001Z

Just a few sketches from in and around Sunderland.

Click to enlarge.

Paper Cranes

2011-03-18T11:49:00.000Z

Origami cranes (folded from post-it notes) strung onto thread and tied to the curtain poles.

The light catches them nicely.

Branding (part 2)

2011-03-11T12:42:00.000Z

Self promotion and branding sneak peek :-) This is the design for my CD label. Exciting stuff!

Stalker sketches

2011-03-07T11:35:00.001Z

I love drawing people on the bus. Bwahaha.

Penshaw Poster

2011-03-01T22:56:00.001Z

Sneaky peeek at a poster i'm working on. The hand in is tomorrow morning. Full steam ahead. Tea galore, cosy jumpers at the ready etc etc. I have my deadline technique PERFECTED. Haha.

Woodcut Printing

2011-02-28T20:47:00.000Z

Woodcut in progress...
First things first - I coloured in the bits NOT to chisel off. (and yes, that is a pine shelf from B&Q that i'm hacking into)

the wood block itself, all inked up and masked off.

experiments (amount of ink, pressure, various paper types)

the theme was "tension" ...but this is a bit too horrific. Oh wellllll.

Printmaking... I do not love it.

Branding Fun

2011-02-28T11:36:00.001Z

Initial Ideas. Crisscross tea and cake, making the letter A into a teapot. Genius!

Slightly cleaner version. Typography is pitiful... decided to trace over printed out letters.

Tea... no cake. Hmmm. I'm not sure about this colour scheme. We've been asked to use 2 colours. Maybe green and brown would work better together. Tracing the letters looks okay - still hand-drawn but not too scruffy.

Here's my branding from college. I still love pipit so I might just ask how to convert the image to a two-tone colour and then i could just recycle it.

Penny Farthings

2011-02-26T09:23:00.006Z

Made a quick 50s style dress this morning :-)

BEHOLD!

The pattern is just a clipart style image of a penny farthing, duplicated and rotated a bit. I'm going to make a few different colour varieties and make them look like a screenprint. *yawn* Coffee time.

(click the image to see a better quality version)

Character Totem

2011-02-18T10:14:00.001Z

Timothy the distressed bird.

(my entry for Inky Goodness' Character Totem competition)

Best entries will be displayed at the Character Totem exhibition at Pictoplasma.

GET INVOLVED!

Logo Design

2011-02-10T10:26:00.002Z

Exciting blog-scovery of the day!

A post about the evolutions of 20 of the world's most popular logos.

...and now for breakfast.

Waist Deep in Typography

2011-02-09T23:57:00.000Z

I AM SO TIRED.

Good news though... I can finally see the light at the end of this typography-shaped tunnel.

I've been getting lots of ideas for fun illustrations, however I'm totally lacking the spare time/energy to do them. I'm going to put them in a 'Summer Projects' box.

Busy Sunday (not)

2011-02-06T23:26:00.003Z

me, at work today... the shop was a bit quiet.

Why is it always deadline week!?? Bah humbug.

The Typographic Pledge

2011-02-05T10:49:00.004Z

I love this packaging design/typography/fish illustration. These spicy sardines will not get eaten for a long time.. They're too pretty.

Ahhh, typography. I've been up early this morning getting my research and experimentation done. There is SO MUCH INFORMATION on typography. I'm a bit overwhelmed.

The Typographic Pledge

View more presentations from Timothy Su.

The Birthday Owl

2011-02-04T10:23:00.001Z

Here's the wee owl I made to celebrate Jill (my flatmate, and partner in crime) turning 21 last Sunday :-)

Crochet with chunky wool, teddy bear eyes, and a bit o' ribbon to make him look smart for the occasion.

My Wall

2011-02-01T06:45:00.001Z

Started up an account on Wall Collective yesterday :-)

Here is my wall, go and check it out!

Here's a screenshot for you lazy non-link-clickers:-

working hard...

2011-01-31T13:23:00.002Z

or hardly working?

Hehe. Been playing around with Illustrator on my lunch break today. This was a sketch. Cleaned it up, added texture/colour. Click to enlarge. You could probably use it as a desktop background...it's rather large :)

Calligraphy Experiments

2011-01-27T14:22:00.002Z

Last week in our "Beyond Desktop Publishing" class we were taught how to make a pen out of a coke can.

BEHOLD!

It's made from a slice of Diet Coke can, masking tape, and a wooden coffee stirrer.

The paper i've used is just some blank pages from an Italian diary.

Click to enlarge images :)

Recent Sketchbook Pages

2011-01-25T22:56:00.004Z

I see this girl at least 20 TIMES EVERY BLOODY DAY. Oh wait, no... it's just 20 people who look the same. Ah I see.

to be continued... I think the avocado idea would make a good screenprint. *strokes beard thoughtfully*

Tourist for a Day

2011-01-18T20:28:00.002Z

...today I went around Sunderland, touched a cow's face, went to Penshaw monument, saw a man hitting a washing machine with a hammer, got swooped on by two swans, and saw a castle.

I love doing research...

**photographic evidence of cow-touching**

Drawing Tattoos

2011-01-17T22:36:00.001Z

Here's a sneaky peek at some illustration i've been doing for a friend. The final images are all coloured up and pretty... this is the third in a series of people-with-tattoos. Pair one had no tattoos, pair two were "moderately tattooed" and this is pair three, with lots of tattoos.

I used a tattoo source book fo inspiration, and a lot of reference images from online tattoo forums and websites. Sailor Jerry was a main influence, and I looked at tribal-style tattoos a bit. I also used tattooed friends as a primary research tool for placement and style. Heh. Exploitation.

...and now for a well-earned sleep :)

First Week Back at Uni

2011-01-14T13:03:00.000Z

Friday at last! We've been given all our briefs for this next wave of work... they're not too bad :)

"Beyond Desktop Publishing" is going to involve designing a typographic style inspired by Futurism.

Dog on a Leash - Giacomo Balla

"Contemporary Illustration" is about really really researching a place so that you can do better illustration. I chose Sunderland. WEYY! I've started a blog to document my getting-to-know-Mackem-land journey.

Enjoy :)

Hello 2011!

2011-01-06T12:23:00.000Z

Hope everyone had a nice festive period :-)

Santa heard my request for a scanner/printer and I am now the proud owner of a Kodak ESP 3250. Yey, I must've been good last year.

The above image is a sneaky peek of the work i've been doing for Laura, a 3rd year psychology student who needed illustrations. It's to do with separation anxiety and stuff. Now that i've finished all 12 of those drawings i'm moving on to 6 images for ANOTHER psychology student who needs some tattooed people diagrams.

Fun times. We go back to university on Monday. I'm excited to see what the next module will be about.

Photos of the book.

2010-12-20T19:46:00.000Z

End papers :-)

My squishable nephew and niece.

It's a bit exciting, like.

Drypoint Printmaking

2010-12-20T19:07:00.001Z

I'd never done this before... it was SO FUN :-) yaaargh, mess!

Black ink mixed with green ink... makes dark-green ink.

...mixing it aaall up with a knife.

Spreading it onto the drypoint card with another bit of card. I really rubbed it into the scratched-off bits.

The "scrim". A bit of muslin cloth used to scrub the ink about and push it into the scratches. Also takes off the excess ink.

Polishing the drypoint, taking off excess ink.

I used a bit of tissue paper to clean off the bits of ink that I didn't want to print. Behold! The shiny ready-to-print drypoint!

Some drypoint prints drying.

The finished piece! A dark green beard.

Finishing the Book

2010-12-14T08:38:00.002Z

**click images to englarge**

Here are some pages from the final book :) All that's left to do is print it out and bind it!

Book-binding is NOT something I am v good at, so it might all be downhill from here :-P

Merry Tuesday!

Slaving awaaay

2010-12-08T21:30:00.001Z

I am not a winter person... I think i'm meant to live somewhere where it is always sunny and about 20 degrees celcius.

Anyway, just over a week 'til the deadline and I still need to draw:

Auntie Hannah singing in the yard
Chinese lanterns
Spooky house
'eskimo footed marksmen'
a telephone box
a snowman
Family sitting around the table eating christmas dinner
Keyhole

I've already filled 2 sketchbooks. It's getting silly now.

My plan for the next week

2010-12-02T14:34:00.001Z

Draw draw draw, scan scan scan. Eat a sandwich. Draw draw draw, scan scan scan. Have a massive strong coffee. Draw draw draw, scan scan scan.

Repeat until too tired to draw/scan, then sleep.

Really, though...only two weeks tomorrow 'til the deadline.

Snow Day

2010-12-01T10:52:00.000Z

Here's a nearly-finished Child's Christmas in Wales illustration. Getting there!

Cant get to university today because of the metros. Working from the sofa today... drinking more coffee than is healthy.

Recent Sketchbook Pages

2010-11-29T15:05:00.001Z

Do not listen to the pushy-sales-whale.

Beard-spotting in York.

IIIIINK!

2010-11-25T13:16:00.002Z

I love scanning things in. Hah. All hail the almighty A3 scanners.

A Welsh Street

2010-11-24T13:32:00.002Z

HOUSES!

This is the image for the half-title page of A Child's Christmas in Wales.

It's nice working in pencil :) I do NOT enjoy scanning A3 images with an A4 scanner. What a faaaaff.

Burning

2010-11-19T13:14:00.002Z

Ok, i could've SWORN the Illustration Friday topic of this week was burning... I was clearly dreaming.

But anyway, here is my non-entry for "burning".

*sulks*

Same as usual: just click on it to make it bigger.

Recent Experiments

2010-11-09T18:52:00.006Z

Does anyone else think the weird things hanging in the centre of Newcastle look like sparkly whales?

...just me then.

Playing around with a sketch I did one morning of the roofs we can see from our living room window.

...and here are some wee sketches from my Italy sketchbook. *sigh* I really miss Venice!

bidone

cuscino

scarabocchi

perduto

matita caso

p.s. it's the same old "click-to-make-the-picture-bigger" situation. Quality is bad because these are just photos... no scanner this week! :(

"Spent" Illustration Friday

2010-11-04T15:37:00.000Z

That HORRIBLE situation where you've spent your bus money and have to walk home with loads of shopping bags.

All hail the almighty bus pass!

Mrs Prothero...

2010-11-01T14:24:00.001Z

Initial sketches/ brain-spew for Mrs. Prothero. On this page she is flapping about because there's a fire.

DEAD PIGEON!

2010-10-28T16:20:00.000+01:00

I ate a chicken leg for lunch and drew a dead pigeon at the same time. Ew. Did not realize the gross-ness of this until after i'd finished eating the leg. **feels a bit ill**

Torn up newspaper, glue, watercolour and biro.

I think it goes BIG if you click it...

YUM.

Sketching

2010-10-20T19:50:00.001+01:00

My favouritest nephew, Leo the lion...

Audrey Kawasaki

2010-10-10T19:39:00.000+01:00

Audrey Kawasaki is a Fine Arts Painting graduate from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

Here's the shpeel from her website:-

The themes in Audrey Kawasaki's work are contradictions within themselves. Her work is both innocent and erotic. Each subject is attractive yet disturbing. Audrey's precise technical style is at once influenced by both manga comics and Art Nouveau. Her sharp graphic imagery is combined with the natural grain of the wood panels she paints on, bringing an unexpected warmth to enigmatic subject matter.

The figures she paints are seductive and contain an air of melancholy. They exist in their own sensually esoteric realm, yet at the same time present a sense of accessibility that draws the observer to them. These mysterious young women captivate with the direct stare of their bedroom eyes.

Angry Cats

2010-10-06T10:22:00.003+01:00

Recent Things

2010-10-04T20:27:00.000+01:00

I've started uni now, and the current project involves illustrating a story. I chose 'A Child's Christmas in Wales' by Dylan Thomas.

Awful picture quality...oooh dear! Blame the macbook.

Final Show

2010-06-19T18:24:00.004+01:00

It's taken me way too long to upload these! Have neglected my blog a bit in the post-college whirlwind. In the past two weeks I have moved all my stuff out of Byker, done the final show, and scooted off to Venice to be an au pair/nanny for 3 months.

Everything here is amazing! Have been drawing a lot of cartoon characters, mermaids, fairies and princesses for the 6 year old girl i'm looking after. Also planning to do more art for ME once I get more settled in.

Ciao!

p.s. thankyou to Jill Johnson and Lynsey Grey for awesome photo-ness!

Work Plan for Final 3 Days (and the 2 weeks after)

2010-05-11T19:15:00.000+01:00

Tonight (4 hours)

Research and development brainstorms
Create new bg's for Pipit book
Get portfolio images ready to print
Write cover letter for CV
Order moo.com business cards

Wednesday (also know as TOMORROW)

Print off cover letter, research and development pages for Pipit, self-portrait and Colour of the Earth.
Scan in Cocoon illustration and print it A3 for portfolio
Print portfolio images
Go through blog print-out and reference all the video links (URGHHHH)
Print Oxjam posters A3 for portfolio
Scan in Pipit backgrounds and add them to InDesign book
Print off Pipit book
Bind Pipit book

Thursday morning *4 hours-ish* (my hand-in day)

Add finishing touches to Pipit Builds a Nest
Print off last pages of blog
Put everything in a big pile and set fire to it

(nah, not really)

Friday, and beyond

. ...design knitted characters for final show
spend 234435234554136 hours knitting
take photos of knitted characters on the bus, in the pub, having a picnic, etc.
get photos printed
set up final show
get drunk

Weekly Update

2010-05-09T22:57:00.005+01:00

This'll be my last "PROPER" weekly update...because the final hand-in is on Friday and then there's no more college! *sad face*

I'm still going to keep my blog updated though. It's a nice way to record what i'm doing and look back on how my work is changing and what stuff is influencing me.

Progress & Time Management
I'm feeling okay about progress this week. I think knowing that I have to hand in a day early has made me panic that little bit more, resulting in lots more work getting done. Time management-wise i've been okay too. I made a big list of what was left to do and have been updating it whenever I finish a task. I estimated how long each task would take, and that has really helped. It's meant that i've had realistic goals and had a rough idea of how long i've needed to work each day to make sure my stuff gets done.

Images & Videos
Here's my shortened show-reel... It's uploaded as a really bad quality video, but it took about 3 hours to upload so i'm saying NOTHING.

If I had another week or two I would create a different ident for myself. I like the circles, but I'd change them to more earthy colours, and get a different font (American Typewriter) for the website address/Teacake name. I'd also take the time to properly fix my self-portrait Flash animation. Bit's of the animation stick a little and come through on frames where they shouldn't. Very irritating but I'm running out of time so I'll have to leave it (for now).

Strengths & Weaknesses
This week i've had good time-management skills... not been so hot on the written work side of things though.

Skills Development in Relation to Future Careers
I've been using my posh marker pens this week, and was really pleased with the 'Cocoon' illustration I did for Illustration Friday. I'm going to use them more often now... actually I did a quick drawing of Cornelius yesterday using my markers:-

:) Awwh

I also completed a tutorial in AfterEffects this morning, and i'm very annoyed that it's taken me THIS LONG to even look at Aftereffects. Typical! It's the last week of the course, grnnggghhh.

I completed the "Pipit Builds A Nest" book using Adobe InDesign this week, so that's another software package that i've got the hang of.

Also, re-visiting Adobe Flash this week was helpful. I found online forums and tutorial videos very helpful when I got stuck or didn't know how to do something.

Goals & Aims for the Week
Complete all my work for the final hand-in!!!

Illustration Friday: Cocoon

2010-05-07T22:44:00.000+01:00

Little girl in her sleeping bag :-)

Entering the Twitterverse

2010-05-05T23:49:00.001+01:00

Last wednesday me and Jill went to a lecture at Northumbria all about Twitter... I didn't know what to expect but it was really interesting! It's got me using my Twitter account too, which can only be a good thing.

**click images to enlarge**

There. Have a read of my notes :-P

...and then follow me on Twitter!

Pipit Builds a Nest

2010-05-05T23:10:00.001+01:00

It's finished, at last! I just need to tweak the font colours for the really leafy pages...white is hard to see against a green/brown background.

I am looking at different ways of binding the book once it's printed. I saw a leaflet today which looked and felt good; it was half a strip of A3, folded in the middle and stapled. I am thinking I could easily do that myself, and it'll look okay so long as I print Pipit onto good quality matte bond paper.

Learning Stuff

2010-05-05T22:59:00.000+01:00

I've been making posters for my dear friend Wooh again today. I didn't read the word document properly the first time around so bashed out the usual picture + words scenario. Voila:-

THEN I realised i'd ignored the last bit of the email which had the idea of adding Dymo labelling-style font... observe inspirational image below...

Aand, so then I had a mess around on Photoshop to see if i could make my own Dymo tape. By adding emboss to a plain black rectangle, and increasing the depth of the structure, then moving each letter (American Typewriter font) a wee bit off, it looked quite Dymo-esque. BEHOLD the final result!

And now... bed.

Time-Management

2010-05-03T16:34:00.002+01:00

I just wrote a to-do list of all the remaining tasks before the FINAL HAND IN. Dun dun duuun.

I've estimated how long each task'll take me, added it all up and it came to 28 hours. I'm handing in on the 11th (because I have to go to a wedding on the 12th till the 15th) soo this means:

3 and a half hours work, every day, for the next 8 days, and I will get everything done.

BISH BASH BOSH!

Playing around with colours

2010-05-03T15:15:00.001+01:00

Here's the Colour of the Earth images with earthy tones instead of scary primary colours...

If I get time I will change the kangaroo's body and tail shape, and add textures like felt and leather and stuff so that the animals are more interesting to look at. If I don't get time then I'll be able to write about all that in my evaluation :)

Illustration Friday - "Ahead"

2010-04-30T09:54:00.004+01:00

Not really sure what was going on here. I was in a colouring-in-graphics-tablety mood... and this is what came out.

Little boy...jealous of his Dad. His dad is ahead of him by 30ish years?? (and looking smug about it)

"army of ginger children"

Hah.

Posters...

2010-04-29T08:28:00.001+01:00

I don't think I've posted these on here yet... I've made 3 so far. They are for a monthly charity gig at the Oxfam Bookshop on Hood Street, Newcastle :-) You should come along to the next one - there's tea and cake!!!

To Do Listage

2010-04-28T11:06:00.002+01:00

Tues 27th Apr
~~Do backgrounds for birds illustration~~
Do greyscalegorilla research for "home sweet home"
Set up knitting animation

Weds 28th Apr
1pm = tutorial
2pm = book robes and tickets for graduation
Sort out colour palette for Colour of the Earth brief with Jill
Finish off research for COTE brief

Thurs 29th Apr
Write portfolio commentary

Fri 30th Apr
Start making PPD stuff look vaguely organized.