A Lonely Bear

(2011)

An illustration from memory, of a teddy bear that I always used to visit in my grandad's house :)

More Experimentation

Above is a fairly quick experiment with my new puppet. I wanted to really show emotion in this piece and I'm really pleased with how the layers have worked together to create quite an abstract and perhaps unsettling emotion in the image. However, the puppet sort of goes to waste a bit as you can't fully see him..perhaps I'll continue experimenting with another composition or full body photograph.

When creating this image, I had a lot of inspiration from my grandad's work which I recently looked through..unfortunately he isn't here to ask what the majority of it is about! But I really like the abstract element in his work and a lot of his stuff was inspired by constructivism.

I tried to bring this element into this piece, by using lots of digital collage and building the composition up with shapes.

When taking a second look at the piece, I decided to make the colour scheme more vibrant. It is based on the Man in the Moon, so I changed the black and white background to a deep blue like the night's sky. I made the red part - which is actually a heart shape - more vibrant. I wanted to show the man's longing to visit the world below, and loneliness.

I'm really happy with all the textures coming through in this image and the distorted/abstracted content. I think there is just enough information (the face, heart etc.) to be able to look at it and be able to guess what it might be about. In other words, it isn't so abstracted that it means nothing - which is a bonus!

Please let me know what you think if you read any of these posts lol it's always nice to get feedback! And don't forget to follow me on Facebook, Twitter etc!

Finished Puppet and Illustration Experiment

Random experimenting with the finished puppet...

It's rubbish!! Haha need to try photographing him better..once I've mastered that I might turn in into a sort of storybook/graphic novel so I can do close ups and things, as the facial expression isn't very clear on this one...

Clown Puppet Update

Attached head and collar thing..This is the largest puppet I've made so far, measuring roughly 14 inches from head to toe :)

Clown Puppet!

Currently working on a clown puppet! Above is the head (obviously) which looks a bit weird at the moment, but hopefully will look better when it's all painted. Going for a sort of Pierrot look for this figure..I love the whole look of Pierrot and mime clowns :) 

My main inspiration for this puppet has come from a story called "The Man In The Moon" by Frank L. Baum (read it here). I imagined the main character to look like one of these clowns..I want to produce an illustration with quite a lonely, melancholy feel to it. I want to communicate the emotion of loneliness in the character through the puppet's body language and expression.

The body is made of a sturdy wire armature which will enable me to bend the puppet into various positions...and covered in a fabric suit which I handmade and padded out a bit to give his torso a bit of shape :) I wanted him to look like he was in a sleep suit! But I dunno if it looks like that..

Updates will follow :)

Lost Voices

A little illustration I completed today. It is based on a magazine story I once read about someone who appeared to be unconscious in hospital, but their mind was alert to what was happening around them. Hearing people talk about them as though they were dead I imagine is horrific! People thinking you are dead and wanting to scream out that you are still alive...trapped inside your body.

ENJOY! :D

Meet Me In The Hollow

Ok, so here was the initial sketch I did for the current illustration. (Yeah my sketches are pretty gosh darn awful but at least I know what I'm doing!) I did this right after I'd finished making the puppet's head; instead of starting with a storyline/subject I started with the puppet and worked backwards to give her a story. Seeing as I'm just experimenting with the making, it is easier to work from the puppet as I'm never certain how they will turn out and what sort of look they will have. When I'd finished the head, this one had a sort of elf-ish woodland feel to it. 

I've started experimenting with this now, and it's taken me a while to get the lighting and stuff - it's probably not as good as it could be because I'm not perfect!! Also I got a little angry with it towards the end so I'm leaving it like this for now!

"Meet Me In The Hollow"

2011