The Varmint from Vermont

I've been at the new flat for over a month now and have gotten to know my Landlords pretty well, their a lovely old couple who have been very kind and helpful towards my boyfriend and I, what with this flat being our first n'all.

I graduated on Nov 16th,and they were very keen to hear about my course when I told them I'd studied Illustration.

It just so happens that Don (the husband), is in the book business and has written a series of 6 children's books and needed an illustrator! Of course I offered my talents at once!

So here are the first few designs for a character that is known as the Varmint!

The Fruits of Labour - On set photos!!

It's been a while since I've had any come back from the Fruits of Labour shoot, things on set must have been pretty darn hectic. But here are a couple of photos that I've been sent showing my illustrations and how they were used in the film!

Once the film has been finalized in the editing process and is ready for public viewing I shall be able to see my work in it's full glory and obtain my own copy on DVD, and with permission take screen shots featuring my work in full!

Christmas is officially here!

Drawn on the 9/12/10

My boyfriend, Alex and I decorated our flat for our first Christmas there!

He being as big a geek as I am, could not resist putting a picture of David Boreanaz as Angel on top of the tree!

Our Christmas Angel!

Misty Morning

Drawn on the 6/12/10

The view out of our Living room window before I left for work!

Stops and Starts

Drawn on the 5/12/10

Here is a typical Sunday morning at work....

Blog back from the dead!!!

I am very very very very sorry for my recent blogging silence!

I've been without any internet connection whilst my boyfriend and I are going through the motions of moving into a new flat!

BUT never fear! I shall be back very very soon my friends, with loads of tasty arty treats to wet your appetite. I have a few potential projects lined up that I am eager to share with you!

So please stay tuned for I shall be back to regular blogging once our internet is connected in 2 weeks time!!

TTFN xx

Autumnal Showers

This doodle was inspired by my wooded path sprint in the rain to the bus station in Wells last saturday.

Apologies for not posting anything for ages, I have been rather caught up with all those boring grown up necessities of life. Working full time at my day job now that university has finished and hunting for a new place to live has kinda taken up most of my time for the past month.

My boyfriend and I are currently going through the motions of applying for a flat, we're awaiting the results of our credit checks and the landlords decision. Fingers crossed we get the place!!

So I may hopefully be able to settle into a proper routine of work and art and make my posts on here more regular again, once those boring necessities have settled down!

The Fruits of Labour - The Girl with backgrounds

As an example of what the previous drawings of the girl would look like in the context of the film, I've printed and torn out copies and placed them into the appropriate backgrounds.

These are photos of how the final images will come together, showing both the drawn and erased versions.

The Fruits of Labour - The Girl

The artist character in the film meets a girl and falls for her. He draws her and places her into the drawings on his wall of where they both go; The Cave, Lake and forest.

I had to do two versions of each drawing, as the artist character's father does not approve of his sons infatuation with this girl and erases her from his pictures. I had to do versions of the girl semi-erased and smudged.

The drawings have outlines drawn around them as a guide for when they are to be cut or torn out and put into the appropriate pictures, this is to ensure that the paper shapes of each drawing match and there are no continuity flaws between shots of the drawings whole and erased!

The Fruits of Labour - The Cave and Lake

These two paintings are locations being used for various scenes within the film.

The Fruits of Labour - The Red Berry Tree

This red berried Rowan tree plays quite a major role in the film. For this set of illustrations I was asked to provide at least 2 versions.

One unfinished to be used as part of a scene where the artist character is sat drawing it in his room.

And another finished version to be seen tacked up on his wall with the other drawings. I did two finished versions, one just pencil and the other with the red berries coloured in to just enhance the importance of the role in which they play.

The Fruits of Labour - Forest Landscapes

I had quite a bit of practice for these illustrations with my 3rd year Uni project, notice my trademark trees!!

The Fruits of Labour - Plant studies and Squirrels

The Fruits of Labour - Blackbird studies

These pencil studies were the beginning of many Illustrations I was recently commissioned to produce for a short independent film titled 'The Fruits of Labour'.

One of the lead characters in the film is a fledgling artist and draws the environment around him, these drawings will act as the ones that the character has done and decorated his room with.

Of Swallows tails and Vapour trails

Sky Giant

This rather threatening landscape was inspired from our drive home from Exeter last Thursday. All around us there were huge dark clouds building up and massive storms brewing, we seemed to be driving in the wake of it as all around the countryside bore signs of heavy rain and strong wind, though we never got caught in it!
The storm clouds were piling up so high it just made me wonder how tall they actually were!

Studying magic by night!

Re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows... Such a good book!

Octopus E sting, another UPDATE!!

Last time I left you, I was waiting for a more definitive answer on when or whether the E Sting competition was happening this year.
A week later and I still hadn't heard anything back, so I decided to contact them again!:

Thank you very much for your prompt response to my email!
I am contacting you again to ask if there has been any further information regarding the launch of the E Sting competition.
I notice that a few more people have commented on the E Stings page since the comment I left before contacting you directly. It seems that there are plenty of people willing to participate in this annual competition and would very much appreciate some information on if or when it is going ahead this year.

Thank you for your time!
Sara Dunkerton

And just today I have received this in response!!!

The annual e-stings competition has not started yet but should be launching over the Autumn/Winter period of this year.

Okay, so it isn't an extremely informative answer, but at least it's some confirmation that the competition is indeed going ahead this year!!

So as always, stay tuned!! :D

On the Moat

Today's doodle is inspired by my trip to visit friends in Wells on Saturday, a favourite spot of ours is right by the moat.

The terrible two

Inspired by my mum cutting up the leftover roast chicken and the animals watching her expectantly. And another incident where the lure of unsupervised food was too much for one certain feline, though I don't think she shared it with the dog at the time...

Octopus E sting UPDATE!!

Okay so, I have been keeping regular tabs on the E4 website for any news on the 2010 launch of the E sting competition, and so far have had no luck!
I've commented along with many other people on the E4 E stings page:

Posted on: Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 06:46 pm
Comment: I'm sure the competition last year launched in July and closed in August. Could someone from E4 please let us budding Sting-makers know!! We're dying here!! >.<

And there was no further response... So I found a contact on the Channel 4 website for asking direct queries and sent them an email, this is what I said:

I am interested in entering an animation for the annual E4 E sting competition. I wonder if it is possible for someone to contact me and let me know if the competition is going ahead this year. I have started animating my entry despite there being no news of when the competition launches for 2010, and regular checks to the E sting page on E4.co.uk has yielded no further information! As the competition launched in previous years during the summer months I am concerned that it might not open at all this year! Please could you let me know if this is so. Thank you!!

And this is what they have replied:

Dear Sara,
Thank you for contacting E4.com with your enquiry.
I have escalated this issue to the site producer and await a response.

So I am still waiting for a definitive answer on what is going on... BUT in the meantime I am continuing with the animating regardless!!
I estimate that I am about half done, and am pondering on the best way to give you all a taste without revealing too much before the competition (if there is a competition...)

Stay tuned!!! :D

Watching the world go by...

This trio of doodles are for my many hours spent traveling yesterday.
I was invited to spend the weekend at my boyfriend's dad's house in Bedford, which is a 3 hour drive from Bristol (depending on the traffic). And Bristol is in turn about an hour and 45 min bus ride to Glastonbury, and Glastonbury is about another 20 min drive to home.
Lets just say that by the end my legs were in need of a serious stretch.

Pet's play time

A cute moment that happened yesterday while I was playing with my cat.
Monte started to feel left out, so I tied the shoe lace I was playing with to his tail.

This doodle is only a quickie because I am currently in full flow animation!!
The Octopus E sting is probably about a 3rd done, but still there is no sign of the competition opening for this year.... I'm debating whether to wait for the competition to launch before posting the finished thing on here and YouTube, or to just sod it and put it up for you all to see right away...

Messing about on the river

Okay, so the semi-daily doodles went steady for a while but they deteriorated partly with that nasty cold I caught from cycling in the rain and party with holiday laziness...

So to kick start my butt back into gear here is a doodle inspired by today's kayaking down the river, and the massive fish that splashed in the water right in front of me.






Also!!! Some animation news!!
I'm working on the Octopus E sting, finally.. though there has been no word on the launch of the competition (damned E4...) I've decided to get on and animate it anyway!!
So stay tuned!!

Me!!? A hardened criminal!!?

These photos were taken by my younger sister, Gemma Dunkerton. Shes putting together an online portfolio (see links below) and a couple published collections of photos as part of her second year at college. For this trio of photos I volunteered myself to play a part in her collection of mug shots depicting her family and friends.
Shes a keen photographer and took these photos with her very own Sony DSLR with Fish Eye and Zoom lens!





































































Along with my name, date of birth and height (yes, I'm that short...), the board also features a string of numbers and letters, which on authentic mug shots would refer to the prisoners serial number etc.. But in this case they refer to the year and location of when Gemma first met the person in the photo. In my case she first met me in the year of her birth (1992) at the place of her birth (Yeovil District Hospital).
Gem intends on getting this collection of mug shots published with Blurb by the end of august, and already has a book packed with previous photographic works of art under her belt! (To view/purchase this book see the link to her blurb profile below!)

I've asked her permission to put these pics up on my blog, not only because shes managed to find a camera that actually works for me, but because shes genuinely into making a career out of photography and that's awesome! What more could an older sister do than pimp her work out on my blog!
Now, on with the obligatory list of links!

Website - Le Petit Photographe
Gemma MayPhotography Facebook Group
Gemmayy Blurb Profile

Sun! Rain! Sun! Rain! Sun! Rain!

Taking Monte out for a walk in about the only half hour of sunshine we had yesterday.
I am so very glad I came prepared to avoid what could have been my 3rd soaking in about as many weeks, especially when I noticed a raincloud over Glastonbury moving towards me... Pretty rainbow though!

Cloud shapes

Swinging Fun!

The amazing Trapeze artists, mid-air acrobatics at death-defying heights! It's like their really flying!!!

How I caught my cold...

Although this is today's doodle, it is a depiction of a situation I found myself in yesterday!
I really should have taken the previous "Feeling Squodgy" doodle as an omen that the weather would not improve. Come the afternoon however, when it started to look as though it was brightening up, I decided I would take the opportunity to get out on my bike... BIG mistake... 10mins into my ride it started to drizzle, so I though okay I'm cutting this route short and coming home if it carries on. 10mins from home and it literally pissed down! I got utterly drenched!
Funny thing is, when I reached my lane it stopped and the sun started to peak out again!

Bloody English summer!!!

Contortion

More sketches for Aegis, Contortionists this time!
These Contortionists are incredibly flexible, even by human standards.... it could be because their mutants with cartilage bones!!

Next up the High-wire and Trapeze artisits!!

Feeling Squodgy

Don't you just love listening to it pouring down with rain outside while your all warm and cosy inside, wrapped in a duvet with a hot drink!
It makes me feel all squodgy!

Clowning Around!

Today's doodles have been supplemented for some Clown character designs for another comic I am currently working on: Aegis!
This comic is set within a multicultural, Victorian mutant circus! The acts may appear to be just acts to the watching audience, but back stage they know that the Trapeze artists can really fly, the Lion tamer is "taming" an animorph and the blind Knife Thrower, who has extra-sensory abilities is throwing knives at his totally impervious assistant!

These Clowns may appear your average run of the mill funny guys... but are those fake noses? Are they wearing masks to hide mutant deformities? Is the Fire Eater breathing fire for real? And is the tall guy actually standing on stilts??





































I've pulled a lot of reference from Victorian circus posters, Carnivale pictures, and Masquerade!