Had to share this video because I LOVE Sophie Blackall, she has become one of my all time favourite illustrators. Her work is just so filled with exquisite little details. Watching this video is worthwhile for a number of reasons, but in particular for what she says about drawing animals (I feel the same way).

I don’t yet own her Missed Connections book, but I plan to. However, I’ve been waiting for the serendipitous moment when I come across it while out and about. I think, given the subject matter, serendipity is far more appropriate than boring old ordering it online, don’t you think?

What am I up to these days, you ask? Not a whole lot. Still slogging away at my personal projects (I may have some things to show on that front quite soon). January tends to be slow here in Toronto, I think everyone just hibernates until about mid February. This has been an abnormally warm and brown January as well, and that has put me in a dreary state of mind – the one thing I can usually count on is some sparkly, fluffy white snow to pretty things up a little. No such luck this year.

I do turn thirty at the end of the week. Not entirely sure how I feel about that. I may even be looking forward to my thirties – I think it’s quite possible I’ll be able to accomplish a lot more in my life with my twenties out of the way.

I’ve found one of the merits of being an artist is being able to work on what you want, when you want.

It is also one of it’s pitfalls, of course.

I have other things I should be working. There are projects which are farther along, which would be even farther along if I just sat down and committed myself to then, but this week I’ve been working on this different thing. I don’t know if it has any commercial appeal, and I don’t know if it will get me anywhere, but I find myself drawn back to it whenever I do sit down to work.

I don’t really even know what it is yet.

I know I’ve made some really cute sprites and they deserve a world to wander around in. I have some ideas about that world, but I don’t know what all these things converging will look like if I put them into a game.

This almost seems like something my brain is doing, despite itself. This is a combination of frightening and exciting for me – the muses seem to be speaking to me for once, which could take me someplace very interesting, but my rational mind tells me they also might just be leading me down a garden path, away from the other, more reliable things I should be working on.

So the one thing I have so far to show for it is these gifs, which I’m quite proud of. A non-crappy walk animation! From me! I really am getting better at animating!

This alone might actually be proof that the muses are being helpful (and not just naughty ). Even if this character never turns into a game, just the fact that I’m getting better at animating is going to make all the games I make better in the long run.

Perhaps therein lies the moral I should take away from my own story…

(via Design*Sponge)

I think one of my favourite things to see in interior design, is when a space is throughly imbued with the style and personality of their inhabitants.

It’s why I have very little patience for celebrity homes – no matter how beautiful – they pretty much never have anything to do with the person who lives in them. They often feel cold, and inauthentic.

This home of a designer from Fossil (which has long been a favourite company of mine, design-wise) is a great example of that.

In particular, I love to see artists whose art lives as a part of the decor itself, not just hung on the walls. These saturated-pastel, illustrated, studio doors make me swoon a little.

(via tiny showcase).

Jen Corace is surely becoming one of my favourite illustrators. Just look at the way she draws those chubby, little diving feet. Adorable.

Proceeds from the sale of this print will go towards the gulf of Mexico, which we all know needs a little bit of help these days.

paper curlicues

(via Yulia Brodskaya)

Isn’t this illustrators work just breathtaking? I love any kind of cut-paper work, but this is so much more than that. The obsessive amount of time and effort that must go into creating these is awe inspiring.

poppytalk: Nicole Lavelle for Willamette Week

I think this kind of photographic-illustration-collage-mash-up is becoming my favourite.

Necklace (by Eating ghosts)

The red on this tee is so juicy and that necklace is so teensy and darling. Both makes me want to own more things with little illustrations hidden on them (perhaps even my own).

Carnival – Envelop

This would look soooooo cute on my couch. I wish I wasn’t firmly committed to sewing my own throw pillows. *sigh*

grain edit · Julia Guther

gorgeous paper cut illustrations

Envelop

How have I never heard of this site before? Lovely, quality illustrated goods of all varieties? Yes please!

(via marcinéma)

Holiday shenanigans :: Loobylu

I love getting glimpses of Claires adorable, simple little drawings.

I’ve been realizing something: there are only 3 months left to the wedding. So I’ve also been realizing: it’s time to get cracking!

These past few weeks I’ve been trying to focus on the invitation. As an illustrator and a designer, this is probably one of the most important elements for me… Therefore it is also the most nervewracking! It may just be ephemeral to some, but to me ephemera is so so important!

I’ve been letting ideas steep in my mind, but rather than infuse me with inspiration, they’ve kinda overwhelmed me.

Thankfully, I think I’m finally on to something via Anna Melcon Bond’s lovely Rifle Design.

She. Is. Amazing.

She does some of the most adorable, pretty, illustrative, invites I’ve ever seen, and opened up a whole new world of what an invite can be to me. Check her out! She may just blow your mind too (and her blog is pretty darling as well)

Now I’m excited. This is gonna be good guys. You’re going to like what I’ve come up with!

A few recent finds:

1. Random noodle soup generator.

   You know my allegiance to noodles. Second only to my loyalty to dumplings. You can pry carbohydrates away from my cold, dead hands.

2. Awesome Mad Men illustrations.

   Pretty up my alley, don’t you think?

3. Everyday Minerals

   A great sounding mineral makeup company. Vegan, enviromentally friendly, super inexpensive, safe for sensitive skin, tons of colours, cute packaging… Need I say more? Oh, ok then, there are free samples to be had (free! I know!). Go. Run. Get some.

4. Shopsin’s General Store

   An amazing sounding diner cooking hardcore American comfort foods – but always with a twist. There are over 900 menu items! This place sounds like priority number one for when we finally make it to NYC. The cookbook sounds amazing too.

5. Moop bags

   I’ve been looking for a cute bag for a long time, and I’ve finally narrowed it down to a Moop duffel in black. The bag is sturdy, has lots of pockets and is water resistant, the companies run by an awesome lady, and everything is environmentally friendly, handmade and designed from scratch. What can’t you find on Etsy?

I’m pretty much firmly entrenched in a “Don’t look at me! I’m hiiiiideous!” moment in my life right now.

Don’t worry, it’s more a ugly on the inside that I’m feeling (not that I’m feeling top notch on the outside – but my haircut is growing out pretty cute, and I just got all dolled up for my cousins wedding last week, so my self esteem on that front is at least higher than it is low right now).

It’s mostly just a vast feeling of insecurity about my art skills. And the only reason I feel so insecure about them is because I, quite frankly, don’t feel much like flexing or using them these days.

I mean, look at that handsome man up there in the picture. You see that cute little tee he’s wearing? With the little retro teevee? Yep, that’s all me. I designed the little logo, and ironed it on to a colour co-ordinated shirt. I made it and it’s pretty awesome.

I do good work. Work that impresses people. They tell me so. I mean, we all know that the reason that I quit OCAD had nothing to do with marks (even if most people think it’s crazy to quit something you’re doing well at).

But for the past few months I’ve been having trouble actually doing any.

Work, that is.

I just can’t force myself to sit down and draw right now.

My brain won’t do it even though it also knows I won’t get any better, and indeed will actually start to go downhill in my suckage if I don’t pick up a pen to retain my hand/eye co-ordination (let alone my life drawing/proportion/line control skills).

Worst of all, I’m letting myself be totally intimidated by people who in other times would have simply inspired me.

There are the Team Machos of the world who balance incredible technical skill with mind-blowing creativity and an intensely obscure and mind-boggling sense of humour.

Not too long ago I got to sit in their studio, and sift through their work, and stare at their wall of wacky found art and inappropriate polaroids and pat their twenty three toed feral cat (named Punchy). Tell me that’s not completely overwhelming. And I got invited to come study with a member of the collective for a session or two – but I totally chickened out.

Then there’s all the Hopes, Roses, and Lucys of the world. Incredibly talented and incredibly YOUNG girls- way younger than me even, and they’ve all already graduated from incredible schools and had amazing jobs and/or published work and/or critical acclaim. And they’re girls in a (until very recently) incredibly male dominated industry. Way to rock that boat!

Which says nothing of how much I respect their drawing abilities – the strong, clean, beautiful and very personal images they create. I would give anything to be able to use line the way they do.

Although to be honest, I know I could do the same if I just WORKED at it.

But I let myself get intimidated instead.

In short: I suck!

I kinda knew that it was going to be even harder to motivate myself to work after dropping out of school than it was while was in school, so I could see this coming really (no terms or deadlines to encourage me – not that they ever really did a great job of doing that in the first place).

And I’m in this for the long run, so on the short term I feel like this is a moment in my life I will totally overcome.

But looking at the long term I know I’ve got to WORK to find a solution to this. I can’t just let this moping become my life.

I spent an afternoon at the book store (with a nummy gingerbread latte), and solved some of my confuzlement issues – as per usual, I was on the right track all along.

Since I liked his first book so much, I flipped through, and actually ended up purchasing Making Comics by Scott McCloud.

Yes, it’s a book about making comics – not illustration – of course. But I happen to be very interested in comics, and illustration is really just a single panel comic most of the time. I think there’s a lot they can lend to each other. Illustration is non-sequential-sequential art to comics sequential art, if you will. Ok, that was confusing… point is they have a lot in common.

This book talks about everything I could have hoped for, AND it’s got contemporary examples that I actually recognize this time around (O’Malley, Larson, Ware etc) AND it’s got exercises for me to play around with AND it’s got a meaty bibliography at the back AND it’s exactly as pragmatic and irreverent and practical as I’d like it to be.

I especially like how helpful it is when it comes to talking about depicting the things that readers/viewers/the audience picks up on, and needs to be drawn in to an image, or story. It seems to be based on some solid psychology/evidence of what has worked throughout comics history. That’s going to be really helpful, whether I’m illustrating or comicing (And I plan to do both, actually).

I think the only reason I don’t see it recommended everywhere, is that it’s really new – 2006 publishing date, to be specific.

However, I also really appreciated the pointing in the direction of Ed Emberly. His stuff is adorable, and awesome and soooo much fun – I’m probably gonna order some real soon (they only had one book, and it’s cheaper online). He’s gonna be a good distraction and reminder that I don’t always need to complicate things unnecessarily. Simple is definitely best a lot of the time. So thanks for that, Travis.

I haven’t slept in days.
So now that my classes are almost (so close) over, right now I’m looking up my professor’s websites.
(The internet is a wonderful thing.)
Check out some of my Design Process prof’s stuff here. As someone who grew up visiting a ridiculously quaint and pretty much iconic little 100 year old log cabin cluttered with mid-century-design cast-offs, ancient (museum-quality) comestibles, lost cross-country-skis and rock collections – I gotta say I really love the idea of riffing on cabin culture as an aspect of Canadian identity. So I think this is a great idea for a collaborative/concept design show.
And my very own, Prof. Erdmann’s designs are pretty much the best ones.
And his head-shot makes him look ridiculously adorable (which I don’t remember from his class).
Now I understand why he gave me such good marks. I think we have a very similar approach to designing things. He’s all about repurposing and whimsy, and being self referential, while at the same time juxtaposing contrasts. Mee Too (for example: I just did a project in my Graffiti class, where I stuck Marie Antoinette on a skateboard – figuratively and literally. It was a skateboard design, so I put her on a board, and gave her a little I *heart* sk8rs* t-shirt and pink converses, and drew her in the style of Mary Blair).
Sometimes, Liam works with my Graffiti prof’s design studio, and doesn’t even realise it, which is weird. They both do treatments for the same production company. What’s also weird is how corporate a lot of their design work is – nice clean graphic work for big companies – but he’s teaching me Graffiti. Although, I think he keeps trying to push old school methods (like not using a computer for anything and actually breaking out a pen and paper) on us ’cause in the real world he’s forced to go digital so often. Vector work is technically convenient and is pretty hot right now, but it lacks soul – and again this is where he and I get along very well.
I’ve spent the last 2 months thinking of nothing but how I can get myself out of Art School, but occasionally I am reminded of it’s advantages… Even if it is that I have more in common with my Professors than my fellow students…

Check out that link to my portfolio over there on the sidebar. I’ve switched up a few things, and added in a completely new category – one that should put any questions about what on earth that “Very Big Project” is at rest. Yep, as I’m nearing completion I’m keeping it a secret no-more. It’s too pretty to keep to myself. Just look for the hot-pink button, and the mystery will be (mostly) divulged.
Last night we made pizza and settled in to a long night of finale hotness.
I try not to talk about tv too much (or ever) cause most of the time there just doesn’t seem to be much point… but… Lost! Ahhhhhh! So good! They explained just enough to make it a season finale, and yet much too little to satisfy me. I want more! Those writers know what they’re doing. I’m totally tuning in for the rest of eternity.
It’s also fun to come up with ceaseless conspiracy theories on the true plot behind all the mystery.
My current personal theory (which I’m quite happy to be left with, even if it is for an entire summer) involves a diabolical genius in a nehru jacket and an army of minions in moon-suits living in subterranean super-futuristic bunkers deep beneath the artificially created island. The “numbers” are simply their project name, that involves some kind of apocalypse/world domination. The boy is the key to their plan, or maybe just the Antichrist.
How else to explain all the biblical references?
Today should be fun-filled with Brock related errands, crafting, possibly some sewing, and maybe even some trifle making. Advantageous, I know, but I have a lot to get accomplished before I go home for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival! Yay!

I am a chronic avoider of sketching. I have to be pushed into doing it. This is why I am trying to participate in Illustration Friday every week, it gets me working. Not that working out illustrations on the computer is really the problem.
It’s getting a real pen on real paper.
I don’t lack confidence, or inspiration. I just don’t draw.
I occasionally feel guilty when talking to fellow artists who have spent their days, their entire lives, with their nose stuck in a sketchbook. I get a little rusty from not being in constant practice, but for the most part I’m not bad at all.
The way I rationalize it is that I am an observer, rather than a recorder.
I am the type of person who will sit and look at something for a very long time, soak it all in, before I start work on it. I pay attention to the things around me, the colours, the shapes, the light, the surfaces.
I’ve heard that that’s the way the ancient Japanese painters worked. They would contemplate something for a very long time, years even, before picking up an implement. That is how they created such precise, graphic and minimal images. They had studied there surroundings for so long they could condense things down to the most absolutely necessary detail.
I think it also has something to do with my near-sightedness.
Which sounds odd, but I’ve also heard somewhere that being near or far sighted can have an very real effect on the type of art a individual produces.
I believe it, because I am very focused on the foreground, the small details, people and objects. Which makes sense if you think that when I take off my glasses, that’s all I can see.
Working on this Very Big Project means that I have to literally go back to the drawing board.
And the weird thing is… I’m enjoying it. Doodles, storyboards, sketching and re-sketching the same elements over and over again until I’ve perfected them… I don’t mind it at all. And best of all I can actually see improvement in the confidence of my lines and shapes over a few pages.
I may just have to change my tune about this whole drawing thing.

Today has been a non-icky day.
A terribly exciting day, actually. I have my first official client, and my first official project to work on, and I am super-super excited.
It sounds like its going to be a lot of fun to work on too, and give me a lot of good experience in exacly the kind of fields I want experience in.
I think I’m gonna keep it mostly under wraps, the specifics anyway. Just because of the nature of it. It will work out better in the long run if it’s a big suprise for its intended audience. Although I plan on sharing my trials of working with a demanding client for the very first time, and how well forced creativity on a deadline goes.