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!

Optometrists commission - Sketches

A while back now I mentioned that I was asked by my neighbors in Bristol, who recently bought a second property for their optician's practice, to design something to be painted onto the shutters covering the shop front.
Unsure as to how I would undertake this task as it is not the most typical form of illustration, I have decided to treat it as a a typical Illustration promoting the practice and then adapt it to the shutters.
This way, if Lynne and Gereard decide to, a decent print will also be available to place inside the shop (rather than a photo of the work) and I'll also have something more for my portfolio!

So here is my initial idea! (please click to enlarge!!)





Okay there is lot of smudgy pencil there... so, let me talk you through it!
I've selected four types of spectacles usually associated with certain types of people; so you have the small rectangular frames for the sleek businessman, big round frames for children, large frames (possibly bi-focals) for the elderly, and thick framed designer specks for those trendy people.
The locations behind each person reflect their personality, and are also Bristol landmarks!! The businessmen are at Temple Meads, behind the children and the old lady is the Suspension Bridge, and the young lady with her shopping bags is in Cabot Circus!

Now as you can see there are glasses drawn over the picture, the idea behind them is that your looking through the lenses at the people that they belong to. The areas outside of the glasses will be either blurred or mono-tone, and the areas where you'll be looking through at the world will be in full colour!

Here are some more rough sketches.































The next thing to consider will be exactly how well this idea can be adapted to metal shutters, and to research what materials would be best to use when painting on them!

Riverbank Walks

Another thing I miss when I'm in Bristol is my dog Monte!! I envision plenty more doodles featuring this lovely Lab!

Summer Doodles

Recently I have been rather relaxed in my approach to art making.. I blame the atmosphere at home with my family. It puts me in mind of days when I was at school and would put playing PS2 games, riding my bike and reading in front of anything pro-active curricular/career wise.
It's a habit I need to snap out of!
So to help me kick the habit I have decided to try and keep up a run of semi-daily doodles, these should help me warm up and get my creative juices flowing to allow me to get on with some of the many projects I have on the go!!

So to get the ball rolling I have 2 images for you! I spent no longer than roughly 45mins on each.
This first one is what I was up to on Monday 9th August. The title of the post says Summer Doodles, but y'know this pic here would be rather familiar to any British summer!
One thing I love about being here in my family's house is that it's out in the middle of the countryside... not great if your a teen with the need to socialize, but perfect if you need to get out and just ride on your bike to get away from it all! At Bristol, with the busy roads, it's difficult to enjoy a decent bike ride without the fear of cars and busses cutting you up!
So Monday I decided to get out and trace my old bike route through the village, though I really should have paid attention to the forecast.. needless to say I got a little wet...





















This second doodle was for today's antics, and just goes to show how... surprising a British summer can be! It really was a perfect day, and I found myself falling asleep while reading a book and sunbathing in the back garden. Oh, and to be sure a couple hours after this I defiantly made the most of today's better cycling weather!

A Blast from Animator's Past!!

It's officially summer for me now, no more uni and no work for 2 months!! So I've left the land of Bristol to stay with my parents for the remainder of the holiday, and whilst sorting out the dumping ground that my vacated room had become I encountered a blast from the past, a glimpse at where my bug to animate actually came from!

In the last year of the National Diploma in Fine Art course at college, I was able to write my own brief for the Final Major Project. I chose to Illustrate the Children's novel Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, and along with the series of illustrations for the book I decided to try my hand at animating one of the characters!
I took the centaur character; Foley, and researched Muybridge's series of photographs of a horse in motion and coupled it with his photos of a man running to create a run/gallop cycle for a centaur!




























Prior to this I had not animated anything more advanced than a simple flick book, and with no instruction on the basic principles of animation, I dived right in! Looking at this snippet now I can see PLENTY of faults in both movement and timing, but back then when seeing it in motion for the first time I remember getting this magical feeling of seeing a character I had created, that had previously been nothing more then a static drawing on a page, suddenly leap to life!
And I still get that feeling even now, with any animation I do! It is that feeling that got me hooked!

Sick Wax Album cover - Sketches

Last friday I attended this wedding and while listening to Sick Wax (the bride's son's band) play, I sat at one of the tables doodling on a scrap of paper. Afterwards I got chatting to Sam Wilson (guitarist/singer in the band and my boyfriend's cousin) and I half-jokingly said that I should do his album covers!

Sam it turns out was actually looking for someone to do just that and briefly told me about the idea he had for his next album. He envisioned it to have a Judge in full black robes with the long white wig, begging, with loads of homeless people carrying blue plastic bags walking on past.

So here I have sketched out a couple of ideas based around that description.

The Judge's pose from the first drawing is inspired by the very very end of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, the Judge is flat out begging with is wig out in front of him for money to be thrown in.

However it didn't think it was instantly obvious with this pose that it is a Judge who is begging, so I tried a different angle with the second drawing. The Judge sat holding a sign saying "Don't judge me!" and his court hammer, being viewed from between the legs of the passing homeless crowd.

Before taking these sketches any further I'll discuss them with Sam, see if he has any comments for improvement or things to add, etc. The style and colour will also need to be considered, I reckon it's important for the look of the illustration to reflect their style of music!

Another concern is the text, wether the band already has a logo for their name or if I'm free to work it into the illustration, also is there a name for the album to be placed on the front also....

Just for fun, here is a quick snapshot of the doodles I was doodling of the band as they were playing!

Keep posted for developments!!

Octopus E sting - Developed concepts

Finally, here are the finalised concepts for my E sting idea. I've had many a distraction from getting these concepts done, including two separate commissions within about as many days!

One is for the couple next-door who are opticians and have recently bought a second shop that needs some sprucing up. They have asked me to do an illustration for a print to hang in the reception and also to be adapted for the shutters on the shop front! I shall need to investigate the best materials to paint on metal and possibly get myself acquainted with spray paint, which will be interesting...

The other commission is from my boyfriend's cousin; Sam Wilson, who's band (Sick Wax) is looking for someone of a creative mind to design their album cover! I volunteered myself straight away and am working on sketching up the ideas that Sam had for the content of the cover. He said he hopes that the album will be ready to release in about 2 months so you shall see sketches for it on here very soon!

In light of all these new projects I have going on, I have made a new addition to this blog! You'll now find an 'About Me' page on the sidebar where you'll be able to browse through a whole list of projects currently in development, I'll be updating this page when projects are completed or new ones are added so all of you (and myself) can keep track of all my work in the real world!