Don't read a single post up here. Seriously. Unless you like prittle-prattle about artstuffs, which can be a little boring to those of you who don't have fried retinas from staring at light-tables/computer screens or permanently stained hands or a good outfit shrink-wrapped in the back of your closet because you've learned, the hard way, that GESSO IS EVERYWHERE.
So you, for those of you who got here via my Facebook, go to the links. The links, I tell you! Click "See more of my stuff here" and it will bring you to my flickr. All the other sites are worth a look-see too, that's why they're so conveniently out there.
Enjoy!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Durrrr central image for spread
Oops, forgot one. Here's the central image (sans text and title) for my bird project. It features an ivory-billed woodpecker trapped in a net because certain bird watchers would have it that way. Assorted wet media, Sharpie (my love) and some digitizing--namely the eraser tool with diminished potency. Photoshop, I'm so glad we got to know each other. To the rest of you, enjoy!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Happy summer!
Just wanted to say good-bye and good luck to all of you, my lovely classmates. Be free! Enjoy! Draw pictures!
Final Illustration project--one last (belated) yahoo!
9 trading cards. 1 large spread. A lot of fighting with InDesign (don't worry, we're cool now). In the end, I think I ended up with a fairly solid piece. And I even got a chance to use all the cards I wanted. In the future I'd rework the text so that it fit with the images better. The format as you see them only came about after it was too late because I never considered pairing the cards by dominant color. But better late than never, I didn't like how they came out otherwise.
Page one and two--the whole nine yards picture-wise. And a little Eurostile, for the fun.
Page three and four. Something red, something blue. All I can say is, thank you InDesign and your flexibility. I love you. <3
And last but not least, lovely yellow page three. Some blatant space-filling at the end there, but hey, at least it's informative.
Page one and two--the whole nine yards picture-wise. And a little Eurostile, for the fun.
Page three and four. Something red, something blue. All I can say is, thank you InDesign and your flexibility. I love you. <3
And last but not least, lovely yellow page three. Some blatant space-filling at the end there, but hey, at least it's informative.
Spot Illustrations!
Here are my nine "artist trading cards," to be used as spot illustrations in my final bird project. The cards can be divided into three sets: the colored-background cards depicting opression, the white-background cards that feature many visceral things (a heart, guts, bones), and the cards that feature nets. You'll see how they interact in the next post.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Fork Project!
Not quite the same direction as my comp would indicate, but I'm certainly happier with this version. Not only does it feature a TV that John O'Donnell would be proud of, but also a fair amount of googlie eyes. I think the TV glow really works here, too. All in all, a significant improvement from the complicated mess I had before. This also benefitted from Pro-white. Just use it.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
the birdpeople
My room is full of plants. Literally. It takes me a good twenty minutes to water all of them. My roommate claims to like them, although sometimes I think she wishes I would be into stamp collecting or some other compact hobby. I also have a pet fish named Fish, and a couple of cats. So I really can't claim to be on the anti-domestication side of the spectrum. However, watching this strange little movie today called "the birdpeople," I can't help but feel completely repulsed by the actions of birdwatchers towards their bird "friends." I believe that there is a point between being protective and being entirely bat-shit crazy.
My cats, or Fish, for that matter, would die in nature, as they have been bred to live in enclosed spaces. I hate considering them as my property, but alas they are, and always will be, and I will shelter and nurture them until one of us dies. That kind of relationship with other species, I think, ends where your property does. A bird in a forest, on the coast, in a field, or in a park has learned to hunt, seek food, and avoid predators. It knows the premises, and probably knows to avoid urban activity. So when a group of these "birdpeople" actively seeks out a species to capture it, bands it, or even takes it in for study, especially in the interest of its own good/protect it from humanity, I can't help but think that these actions are overly paternalistic and contradictory. They show birds contorted and helpless after being stuck in a net; perhaps this bird will help a bird group gain a statistic in the favor of wildlife. But that bird is more likely traumatized than grateful, and should not be the object of torturous investigation to the of the cause. Why not get on the asses of corporations that pollute the world, or fund more ecological research ?
I also find it absurd that birds are the most popularly watched species. Why ? Because they're pretty ? Because they happen to make convenient symbols for human ideas ? Or perhaps it is because they are so visibly fragile--think of Janet Pritchard's dead cardinal, broken and ruffled on the glass. While birds are so sensitive to changes in the world and so lovely to the artist's eye, it doesn't mean that they should get special attention over other animals. Take Fish--he's kind of stupid. However, his distant relatives, the salmon, also get battered around by humanity to a similar extent as the birds.
To be sure, once the politics get removed, birds are objectively superb to watch. The strange hybrids--hybirds ?--photographed by a scientist in the CAG appear specter-like, like the images of eagle-eyes we saw in the presentation. In the movie, a creepy voice-over says "I watch you like I watch a movie," and yes, birds are such elegant creatures that they at times seem other worldly. However, the second their beauty causes us to form an obsession with them, I think that there is a greater chance that we put them at harm. My favorite piece in the show was one where a bird-smuggler thanks its quarry, a rare species found through Google. A humorous depiction of killer trade, I think it was probably one of the strongest pieces in the show.
My cats, or Fish, for that matter, would die in nature, as they have been bred to live in enclosed spaces. I hate considering them as my property, but alas they are, and always will be, and I will shelter and nurture them until one of us dies. That kind of relationship with other species, I think, ends where your property does. A bird in a forest, on the coast, in a field, or in a park has learned to hunt, seek food, and avoid predators. It knows the premises, and probably knows to avoid urban activity. So when a group of these "birdpeople" actively seeks out a species to capture it, bands it, or even takes it in for study, especially in the interest of its own good/protect it from humanity, I can't help but think that these actions are overly paternalistic and contradictory. They show birds contorted and helpless after being stuck in a net; perhaps this bird will help a bird group gain a statistic in the favor of wildlife. But that bird is more likely traumatized than grateful, and should not be the object of torturous investigation to the of the cause. Why not get on the asses of corporations that pollute the world, or fund more ecological research ?
I also find it absurd that birds are the most popularly watched species. Why ? Because they're pretty ? Because they happen to make convenient symbols for human ideas ? Or perhaps it is because they are so visibly fragile--think of Janet Pritchard's dead cardinal, broken and ruffled on the glass. While birds are so sensitive to changes in the world and so lovely to the artist's eye, it doesn't mean that they should get special attention over other animals. Take Fish--he's kind of stupid. However, his distant relatives, the salmon, also get battered around by humanity to a similar extent as the birds.
To be sure, once the politics get removed, birds are objectively superb to watch. The strange hybrids--hybirds ?--photographed by a scientist in the CAG appear specter-like, like the images of eagle-eyes we saw in the presentation. In the movie, a creepy voice-over says "I watch you like I watch a movie," and yes, birds are such elegant creatures that they at times seem other worldly. However, the second their beauty causes us to form an obsession with them, I think that there is a greater chance that we put them at harm. My favorite piece in the show was one where a bird-smuggler thanks its quarry, a rare species found through Google. A humorous depiction of killer trade, I think it was probably one of the strongest pieces in the show.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
DROOL OVER MY INCREDIBLE DROP-SHADOW ABILITIES (and by drool I actually mean weep, hard. very hard.)
Well, if you promise not to give this the full view I think this can look good as an impressionistic rendition of my least satisfactory idea. Also :
a) CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT BLOGGER DID WITH MY COLORS ???? It was gold and periwinkle, not aqua and coral !!!
b) the forks will have name tags and facial expressions as if they were at an awkward family gathering. Actually, that's where they're supposed to be !
In any case, the work will be better when my scanner stops veto-ing my other sketches. Until then, please help me out by answering these questions :
1. Should the "Fork Family" be in a table setting rather than a living room setting ?
2. Complementary color scheme--yay or nay ?
3. Is there anything that could add to the clarity of the image ?
That's all. Stay tuned for the scanner hostages !
Thursday, February 14, 2008
SMITE ME O MIGHTY SMITER !
This is a design for a bookplate. It features a cross-section of a pair of lungs (based on an illustration in Frank Netter's Atlas of Human Anatomy) where with bronchioles spell out "EX LIBRIS ALEXIA LALANDE." The banner along the bottom reads "SMITE ME O MIGHTY SMITER," which appropriately conveys my outlook on life. Enjoy !
Thursday, January 24, 2008
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