Daniel Atkinson

Officer Johnson

2011-11-28T04:48:00.000-08:00

It's Loopdeloop time again! This months theme was condoms. It's an interesting theme that has resulted in a few lively responses. As always the animations will be screened at the Loop bar in Melbourne on the last Tuesday of the month, which is actually tomorrow. So come on down people and check out some animated condoms! Good fun for the whole family!
In the meantime here is a link to my animation, titled Officer Johnson.

daniel atkinson CONDOMS

9x5 2011

2011-10-05T05:49:00.000-07:00

The annual Illustrators Australia 9x5 exhibition is just around the corner. The theme for this years exhibition is rapture. I decided to explore the dictionary definition of rapture, which is intense delight. My interpretation of intense delight was to show a pair of Hyenas feasting on a dead animal.

I thought it was important to show how an image that may initially seem dark and unpleasant can be seen by others as a source of great comfort or pleasure. In the case of the Hyenas in this image they are in their own way experiencing a sense of rapture as they satisfy their hunger.

War

2011-09-13T05:45:00.001-07:00

This is just a quick digital painting I did for the Houdini blog. The theme for last weeks topic was war. I did not want to spend too much time on this piece. I wanted to keep it quick and fresh. Like a great salad!

Mask Loop Animation

2011-08-29T04:26:00.001-07:00

The next loopdeloop animation session will be tomorrow night at the Loop Bar at 23 Meyers place, Melbourne. So if your in town check it out. Kick off at 7:30pm. This months theme was masks!

I manage to think of a superhero connection for this subject. To check out my animation, just click on the link below.

Cheers.

daniel atkinson MASK

AFL Illustration

2011-08-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

Here is an illustration I completed earlier in the week. I am thinking of submitting it to the upcoming IA source book.

Monster of an animation!

2011-07-29T16:22:00.000-07:00

Staying in theme with my last post, the topic for this months Loopdeloop animation screening was monsters. There was a terrific batch of animation at the screening and it was great to have a chat with some of the talented animators who created some of those animations. For my response to the theme I had a crack at animating the walk cycle of a couple of four legged monsters. Check out the link below to see my animation.
Cheers!

daniel atkinson MONSTERS

LOOK SOTP SHOP Diorama

2011-07-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Illustrators Australia has team up with the Melbourne based Hill of Content Bookshop to present a group exhibition titled Moving Stories.

This exhibition is part of the LOOK STOP SHOP 2011 program, which is part of the State of Design Festival (20th-31st July).

The exhibition will display a collection of small dioramas, all of which include a basic light box based animation display. Some of the participants in this exhibition included noted illustrators such as Ben Sanders, Andrea Innocent, Anna Walker, Sonia Kretschmarand and Michael Weldon.

These dioramas will be on display 24hours a day in the windows of the Hill of Content Bookshop for the duration of the Festival.

The LOOK STOP SHOP 2011 program, will offically launch on this Wednesday (20th July).

If you can't wait till then, I have included some images of my diorama in this post. (For those who might be interested, the animation in my diorama shows a flame leaping out of the creatures mouth.)

Cheers,
Daniel.

Loopdeloop...Again!

2011-06-27T23:37:00.000-07:00

Well it's happening again!
The second LoopdeLoop animation screening is on tonight. I managed to pop out a quick little animation for this screening. Unfortunately I did not have time to provide any sound. Still the animation is not with out it's charm.

Check out the link to the animation below!

Cheers,
Daniel.

daniel atkinson OPPOSITES

Houdini's Last Escape

2011-06-16T04:53:00.000-07:00

I regularly contribute to another group blog, titled Houdini's Last Escape. As I may have mentioned in previous post, the founder of the blog picks a subject for the week and those who have been invited to submit to the blog can produce and illustration in response to the theme. I can hardly believe it, but this week marks the one year anniversary of the blog. Whist I have not been able to contribute to the site every week, when I have had the chance to contribute, it has been a blast!

So in commemoration of this wonderful anniversary I thought I would post my latest submission to Houdini's! The theme for this illustration was the comic character Hell boy. Enjoy!

Rabbit Tribesman

2011-06-14T07:28:00.000-07:00

Here is another random illustration I completed a little while ago. Originally I had planned to do a silk screen print of this image, but the line work proved to be too fine. So rather than abandon the image, I finished it off by adding a bit of colour to it. Enjoy!

IA A3 SHOW

2011-06-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

The annual IA A3 show is back, and like last year it continues to be part of the Northern Exposure Festival. The Exhibition kicks off this Friday night at 6pm on the 17th of June. The exhibition will be held at the Northcote Town hall at 189 High street. The exhibition will also be open on the Saturday and Sunday, between 10am and 4pm.

There are some great pieces in this year's exhibition, so if your in the area during the show come on down and check out some beautiful illustrations by some of Australia's best illustrators.

To check out some of the pieces that will be on display, head to
http://www.illustratorsaustralia.com/events/2011_a3_show

Above is one of the two piece's I will be submitting to this year's show. It's title is Tiger and Ghost.

John Caesar

2011-06-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

Above is a painting I completed on an old tin tray. The painting is based on a man named John Caesar. John was of African parentage and arrived in Australian in Botany Bay with the first fleet in 1788. John had been sentenced for transportation for seven years after he was found guilty of stealing 12 pounds.Upon arrival in this new colony John consistently escaped custody or attempted to escape.

John eventually escaped from authorities for the last time in December of 1795. During this period he lead a gang of fellow escapees and wanders. Thus becoming one of Australia's first bushrangers!

John was eventually shot and killed in February 1796.When I heard this guys story, I just had to do a painting of him! What a ripping yarn!

Shrine

2011-06-10T02:33:00.000-07:00

I moved house a few months ago. In my new place is a beautiful arched space above one of the doorways. A few weeks ago I decided to use this amazing space and make a make-shift shrine. I went to a range of two dollar shops and opp shops and gathered the most interesting collection of items I could find. The result is the image you see above. I particularly enjoyed painting the tribal patterns of the baby doll I found. The shrine is not dedicated to any particular faith or god. I just think the shrine brings a general positive energy to my place. The shrine looks particularly amazing at night with the fairy lights on.

Samurai Bear

2011-06-09T06:36:00.000-07:00

This is very quick sketch I knocked up a while ago. It is of a Samurai Bear. I am not sure what inspired me to do this piece, the image of the bear simply popped into my head. I experimented with a dry brush technique in an effort to give the illustration a more impressionist quality. I think I achieved the feel I was after in this one. Let me know if you think other wise world!

Loopdeloop

2011-06-08T06:19:00.000-07:00

Well my ever industrious friend Neil Sanders is at it again! After being struck my a sudden idea whilst riding his bike a few months ago, Neil decided to create the Loopdeloop blog. This site allows people to submit looped animation to a nominated theme. At the end of the month all animations that have been accepted on to the site are then viewed in a group screening at the Loop bar in Melbourne.

The first screening was held on Tuesday the 31st of March and the theme for these looped animations was launch. The night was a complete success, with isobel knowles being declared the winner! (www.isobelknowles.com)

The theme for the next animation challenge is OPPOSITES. So if you feel like an animation challenge head to the loop site and submit some work I say!

By the way here is a link to the animation I submitted to the site! Enjoy!

daniel atkinson LAUNCH

2011

2011-01-11T01:21:00.000-08:00

I feel a little sheepish writing this post, as it has been an incredibly long time since my last post. But for those who have shown patience and continued to follow my blog, I thought I would reward you with some images from the journal I created whilst I was travelling in Japan almost a year ago now. Enjoy!

Look at that Thing go!

2010-06-08T06:11:00.000-07:00

That's right look at the Thing go. For those of you who may not be familiar with this fella he is Ben Grimm, other wise known as the Thing from the classic marvel comic The Fantastic Four.

A friend of mine has set up a blog titled Houdini's Last Escape. Each week he sets a new theme and asks myself along with a few other contributors to create an illustration on this nominated theme.

So to check out more wonderful things head to
http://houdinislastescape.blogspot.com

Diana

2010-06-06T16:07:00.000-07:00

This is an illustration I submitted to a magazine that was publishing an issue based on the theme black. The illustration did not make the cut, but it liked it.

It is loosely based on Diana, the Ancient Roman Goddess of the Moon. She was also considered the Goddess of the hunt and was often associated with woodlands and animals.

IA A3 SHOW

2010-05-30T17:40:00.000-07:00

Good Gravy! It has been too long since my last post. It is amazing how quickly time can appear to pass.

Well seeing as it is nearly mid way through the year that means the annual North Exposure Arts Festival is on again in Northcote, Melbourne.

As part of this years festival, IA will be hosting THE A3 SHOW in the Northcote Town Hall. Kick off will be at 6pm on Friday the 18th of June. The show will run till Sunday the 20th of June.

The exhibition is a collection of IA members’ work printed on high quality paper.

The IA branch in NSW originally displayed the show in Sydney. Due to the shows success the Victorian branch of IA decided to bring the show to Melbourne.

So if you’re interested in seeing great Australian illustration, then head on down to this exhibition!

Tim Cahill

2010-01-19T03:34:00.000-08:00

Well this time I have opted to do an illustration the football magazine FourFourTwo. This illustration was a response to a letter submitted by a reader, who was displeased that Tim Cahill had been excluded from the magazine's list of the 100 Best Football Players in the World. The letter was titled In the Tim Bin. In my illustration I included the image of a sideline bench marked with the name Tim Bin. I also placed the number 101 on Cahill's jersey, implying that he was just short of making the list. Cahill's displeased expression is a reflection of the author's own displeasure that Cahill was excluded from the Best 100 Footballers in the World list.

Hayden Illustration

2010-01-14T03:21:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the assignment I gave myself a few days ago, I have completed another illustration based on an existing article. This illustration is for an article titled The Opener Closes. The title is in reference to the former opening Australian batsman Matthew Hayden talking about the ending or closing of his career. In this illustration I went for a rather literal illustration showing Hayden closing a door behind him as he starts his new life after a career in international cricket. In this illustration I attempted to combine a painterly background with my typical graphical style for the figure. I think these two styles are working well together.

X-factor

2010-01-12T19:29:00.000-08:00

In an effort to build up a body of consistent work I have been doing a series of illustrations in response to articles I find in current magazines. This illustration was my response to article on upcoming Australian batsman Phil Hughes. The author of the article David Sygall commented that he felt Hughes has an X factor that seems to set him apart from other batsman from his generation. I decided to retitle the article X factor and design and illustration that would fit into that title.

Hussey Illustration

2010-01-06T22:12:00.000-08:00

For those of you who follow the cricket you would have notice that Australia grabbed a miraculous victory yesterday at the SCG against Pakistan. One of the main contributors to Australia's unlikely victory was Michael Hussey. Hussey scored 134 not out and with Peter Siddle created the fourth highest ninth wicket partnership in test history. In a strange coincidence I began work on an illustration of Hussey the day before his incredible batting performance. I thought given the historical nature of Hussey's performance that it would be appropriate for me to display the illustration I completed of him just today.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post up a Christmas themed digital card that I have been emailing to some friends and family. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all! Cheers!

Action Illustration

2009-11-30T05:41:00.000-08:00

After completing the rotation animation, I am now heading back to the original task I set myself of doing a series of action shots of Nick Carle. The figure I depict is to be based on the character style guide I created for myself. This is my first attempt at such an illustration. While I like the dynamic movement suggested in it. I am not sure I have got the likeness of Nick completely correct yet. So I better keep on drawing then! Cheers everyone.

Animation test

2009-11-25T16:31:00.000-08:00

Well to say it has been a while since my last post would be an understatement. But there has been a reason for my long absences from the realm of blog land. I have been working on a basic animation exercise. A few weeks ago I started doing some character studies based on the Australia football player named Nick Carle. After completing these drawings I realised I had the key frames to a basic 360-rotation animation. Over the following weeks I drew the remaining frames needed to complete the animation. I then coloured and assembled the frames. The final result is this cheeky little GIF.
To see my basic animation in action just click on the image above and watch it rotate hypnotically.
I have never done an animation like this before, so if anyone has any comments or suggestions please do not hesitate to drop me a line.

New Painting

2009-10-05T17:41:00.001-07:00

Well I liked the prom night lover image I did a little while ago so much that I decided to do an acrylic painting version. I completed the painting on the back of an old tea try. I like painting on these trays as it allows me to be as rough as I like with the canvas.
The trimming on the edge of the tray act as a really nice self contained frame for the piece. I think I will do more of these tea tray pieces. Hope you all enjoy it!

Illustrators Australia 14th 9x5 Exhibition

2009-09-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

Its that time of the year again were IA host their annual 9x5 exhibition. All IA members are invited to respond to a given theme (this year the theme was 20, in reference to IA's 2oth anniversary) on a piece of wood, 9x5 inches in size.
This year’s 9x5 is officially part of the 2009 Melbourne Fringe Festival. The exhibition itself will be held at the Space 39 Gallery, on Level 2, 39 Little Collins Street, Melbourne. The opening night will be on Friday the 9th of October, between six to nine PM. The show will also run on the 10th of October between ten am and four PM.

So if you are in Melbourne around that time pop in a check out some pretty neat looking illustrations!

Above is my entry into this year's 9x5.
The piece is titled 20cent Amusement.

Prom Night Lover

2009-09-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a bit of spare time this afternoon, so I took the opportunity to finish off an illustration I have had on the back burner for a long time. I had originally intented to use this piece in a group exhibition a few years ago. I ran out time to finish it. I decided today was the day to finish it off, so I traced it in illustrator added some colour and some banners and done!
I am not sure about the font in this piece. Generally speaking I am still happy with it. Hope you all enjoy it!

Illsutre 2009

2009-08-31T02:33:00.000-07:00

The second year Diploma illustration students from the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE and Chisholm Institute of TAFE will launch their annual exhibition at the Chapel off Chapel gallery in Prahran, Melbourne this coming Wednesday on the 2nd of September. The launch will run between 6pm to 8pm.

I had the privilege of teaching the second year students at NMIT for a short while. They are a very talented group of students and I am sure this upcoming exhibition will be an amazing event.

If you are unable to make it to the launch do not fret, as the exhibition will run until the 20th of September.

So if you are in Melbourne during the running of this exhibition head on down to the Chapel off Chapel gallery and check it out!

For more information go to http://www.illustre09.blogspot.com/ or http://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/0284_Chapel_off_Chapel_News_Aug-Sep.pdf

Create Awards 09

2009-08-26T01:07:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that I have been nominated for the Original Illustration award at this year’s Create Awards. The pieces that got me the nomination are the illustrations I did for the Race to the South Pole textbook published Cengage Learning.

The award ceremony will be held on Friday the 28th of August at the Forum Theatre, Melbourne.

Tickets to the event have sold out so it should be a good crowd. If you would like more information on the event go to http://www.createawards.com.au/

Below I have placed some more samples from the Race to the South Pole book, which as I stated earlier got me the nomination for the create award.

The evolution of the evil plant!

2009-08-13T02:25:00.001-07:00

Hello again,
I had a brief discussion with a fellow illustrator the other day about the number of revisions we would give to a potential client. This conversation got me thinking about a job I did a month or so ago. Whilst the bulk of the project went very smoothly, there were one or two issues with the design of the villain or evil plants the featured in a book that I illustrated.
The evil plants went through quite a few different looks, ultimately a venues flytrap style design was decided upon. Out of curiosity I thought it would be interesting to knock up a quick file showing the evolution of this evil plant character.

It is interesting to see how is evolves from a reptilian like creature into a human like form and finally transforms into something that is clearly plant like.

Stuck me as interesting!

Google Library Project

2009-08-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

I wrote a small article for the quarterly IA magazine Outline a month or so ago about the Google Library Project. The out come of this case will have some serious ramifications for many authors, illustrators and publishers around the world. Given the gravity of the case I thought it was important to share what I had learnt about it with as many people as possible. So here is a slightly edited version of what I featured in the last issue of Outline.

I wish to thank the people at CAL (Copyright Agency Limited) for double checking the facts I have included in this piece.

In 2004 Google commenced its Google Library Project. This project is being run in partnership between Google and various libraries from around the world.

The Google Library Project involves Google scanning or digitising all the books that are stored in the various libraries it has formed partnerships with. Some of these libraries have only allowed the scanning of out-of-copyright books.

So far Google has scanned over seven million books. Currently people can go to the Google Library Project website and view varying levels of pages from these books. Google then provides a link to store where the user can buy an actual copy of the book.

For books that are still in copyright, Google will only display a snippet view, unless they have permission from the rights holder.

On the 20th of September 2005, the American Authors Guild filed a class action against Google.

Then on the 19th of October 2005 the Association of American Publishers also filed a similar class action against Google.

Both the AAG and the AAP claim that Google was using the display of sections from in copyright books to entice internet users to visit it’s Library Project site. The AAG and AAP claim that this increase in traffic to the site would allow Google to make a larger profit from selling advertising space on this web-site. The AAG and AAP were concerned that both the authors and publishers were receiving no remuneration for the use of their books on this site.

The case between Google and the AAG and AAP carried on for another three years.

In October of 2008 the parties came to an agreement on a settlement which, if given final approval by the US District Court in New York, will have repercussions for both authors and publishers who possess copyright for books released in America.

The terms of agreement reached by Google, the AAG and the AAP allows Google to continue scanning and producing digital copies of books from the collections of the libraries it has formed agreements with.

Once these books have been digitized Google will have the right to do the following with these digital copies:-

• To sell subscriptions to it’s newly formed electronic book database to institutions.
• Sell users online access to specific books.
• Sell advertising space on the pages from the scanned books.
• Create new means of generating income from these digitised books.

In exchange for these uses Google will pay 63% of the revenue from these services to a Registry.

This Registry shall be comprised of an equal number of representatives of authors and the publishing industry

It will be responsible for distributing any income generated by the Google books project to the rights holders of the books.

As part of the settlement Google has agreed to provide $34.5 million US to set up this not for profit Registry.

Google also has agreed to set up a fund of $45 million US to provide compensation to authors and publishers whose works were digitised by Google on or before May 5, 09.

The minimum that a copyright holder will receive from the above mentioned fund for the digitisation of a book will be $60.00 US and $15.00 US for inserts.

Those who are eligible and wish to receive this one off payment must agree to participate in the Google settlement and fill out an application form found online.

The deadline to submit this form is on or before 5 January 2010.
The deadline for people to decide whether they would wish to participate or opt out of the Settlement agreed upon by Google, the AAG and the AAP is on or before the 4th of September 2009.
An unnerving aspect of the agreement is that illustrations and other pictorial works, such as photography and maps are not included in this class action brought against Google by the AAG and the AAP.

There are exceptions though. The first exception being if the owner of the copyright of the book is also the owner of the copyright for the illustrations in the book, then they will be entitled to the payments outlined in the settlement.

The other exception is if you own the copyright to illustrations that feature in a children’s book. Under the terms of the class actions these illustrations will be considered inserts and be claimed as such by the rights holder.

Aside from these two exceptions there is no obligation for Google to extend any payment to the copyright owners of illustrations, photographs maps and other similar material under the terms of this agreement. (With the two exceptions mentioned in the paragraphs above.)

The terms of the class action also make it clear that this agreement does not prevent or provide Google the authority to use such illustrations, photos and maps etc. The document also seems to leave open the door for those who may wish to make a claim against Google for the display of their illustrations or imagery on the Google Books Project site, not already covered under the terms of the current proposed settlement.

The final fairness hearing for this agreement will be on the 7th of October.

For more detailed information on this case check out these links: -

http://www.googlebooksettlement.com
http://www.copyright.com.au/Latest_News/Google_book_settlement_1.aspx
http://www.authorsguild.org/advocacy/articles/settlement-resources.html k

Space Book

2009-07-12T22:58:00.000-07:00

Here is some work from a more recently completed project.
This time I was asked to illustrate the story of a group of astronauts that land on a planet inhabited by a bunch of crazy plants. So are good and some are not so good.
One of the astronauts are attacked by the not so friendly plants and is colleagues rescue him with the help of some strange looking parrots.
Here are some close ups from the opening double page spread in the book

Race to the South Pole

2009-07-06T01:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some images that I did for a book late last year. The book is titled Race the South Pole. It's an educational book for early high school students. I have been told that it is due for release very soon. I particularly like the atmosphere of the last illustration. It really looks quite warm as cosy.

SketchUp Model

2009-02-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

Well it's been ages since my last entry. I have actually been busy doing some pretty cool illustration projects, which I will hopefully will be able to show some examples from shortly. In the meantime, I thought I would show off this model I made in sketch up. I needed reference for a military vessel in an illustration I worked on. So instead of using some low resolution photo reference, I thought it would be more useful to just make the model. This allowed me to view the ship from any angle I wanted. It was a great help to me! I am very glade I did it. Enjoy!

Year of the rat

2008-09-10T17:58:00.001-07:00

I have just completed my entry into this years annual Illustrators Australia 9x5 exhibition. This years theme is Year of the Rat. As you can see I went for a rather dark interpretation of the theme. I used this painting to explore some stencil techniques. I ended up using a couple of A4 sheets of Frisket Film brand low tack masking film. This stuff was great! In the past I had used over head transparency sheets stuck on the canvas with glue stick glue. Using the low tack masking film was easier, quicker and cleaner. Three big ticks from me!
By the way this years 9x5 exhibition is being held as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival.
The exhibition launch will be held on Thursday the 2nd of October at Space 39, Level 2, 39 Collins Street, Melbourne. So if your in the neighbourhood around that time come on down and check it out! Peace out!

Magic Marker Art

2008-07-31T17:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some A2 sized pieces I have done for an up coming group exhibition.
A whole series of artist, designers and illustrators have been asked to create a series of image for the exhibition. There is no theme to the content as long as the main medium used in magic markers. I am not sure when this exhibition will be held, but I believe it will be some time in late August. I'll keep you all posted on that.

Rugby

2008-06-28T22:50:00.000-07:00

Here is another sporting sketch I did. This piece is based on an image I saw of a rugby player "spear tackling "his opponent. It is interesting to note the effect of gravity on facial expressions. You can notice the force of gravity dragging the face of the player doing the tackling downwards towards the ground. I must say I am enjoying doing these sporting based sketches, it really helps focus the mind and eye on depth, shape and character interaction.

Images of IA Northern Exposure window

2008-06-23T01:10:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, I thought I would post some images of the IA display window, which featured in this years Northern Exposure festival. I have also posted some images showing various members of the IA committee constructing the display. I must say the people I worked with to get this baby done worked bloody hard! Well done Matt, Sonia, Chris, Jodi, Jeremy and Andrea!
Hope you like the photos!

Action illustration

2008-06-16T03:11:00.000-07:00

I felt like doing a action illustration, so I did this illustration based on a photograph I found of two football players.

IA display at Northern Exposure Festival

2008-06-16T02:22:00.000-07:00

During the last weekend I worked with other members of the IA committee to create a display window for the upcoming Northern Exposure Festival. Below is an email that IA is circulating to its members, if you can make it you should come on down and check it out!

ILLUSTRATORS AUSTRALIA @ NORTHERN EXPOSURE 08

As part of the annual Northern Exposure Arts Festival taking place in
High Street, Northcote on June 20 - 22, IA have taken over a shop front
at 241 High Street. Take a stroll around the galleries and wander past
our fabulous installation (on display for that weekend only).

Official opening Friday 7pm June 20 at the Northcote Uniting Church -
hope to see you there!

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS INCLUDE:

Daniel Atkinson
Matt Clare
Lisa Coutts
Beth Croce
Andrea Innocent
Sonia Kretschmar
Jeremy Ley
Jody Pratt

For more details visit http://www.northernexposure.org.au

Character Style Sheet

2008-06-05T22:02:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
I finished a character style sheet last night for a medieval foot solider character. I thought I would share it with the world. I completed the line work by hand in pen and ink and then coloured the piece in Corel Painter. Enjoy!

Steal-Life

2008-05-25T05:38:00.000-07:00

I was invited to display a slide show of my illustrations on the web-site Steal-Life.com
This is a great website that contains a huge collection slide shows from some very talented photographer and artists. It's well worth checking out. Of course while you are there you can check out some of my work on the following link. http://www.steal-life.com//showitoff_slideshow.php?ssdir=6b70710d6efc87bf36cf842acc87672d
Hope you enjoy it.

Good Folk Exhibition

2008-05-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

My apologies for the huge amount of time that has passed since I last placed a blog.
It's been several months and quite a bit has happened since I last placed a blogged. It is these events that have kept me so distracted that I have struggled to find the time to keep regular entries on this blog.
First of all I have been involved in a group exhibition that ended earlier this month on the 4th of May. It ran only for a week, but it was great fun to display some work get some very positive feed back from the public. I would like to send a big thanks to the other very talented illustrators whom I shared the exhibition with, they included Helena Babic, Sam Quan and Neil Sanders. Many thanks guys!

Story board art

2007-12-08T23:38:00.000-08:00

I have been approached by a company called drawasyousnore.
They expressed an interest in promoting me on their website as a story board artist how they could outsource work to. These are some of the story board images they will be using to promote me on their site.

IA conference

2007-12-08T22:55:00.000-08:00

Well it may have quite some time ago now, but I do feel its worth discussing the Illustrator Australia inaugural Illustration festival. The festival included the launch of the 10th edition of the Illustrators Australia book. This occurred on the October the 26th an was held in conjunction with the 9x5 exhibition held by IA members.
The opening night was a raging success with about 31 of the 64 paintings on offer selling!
The opening night was followed by a weekend of lecture. The subjects included legal issues regarding ownership or art work. Financial entitlements illustrators and authors of material that is used by schools and libraries regularly are entitled to.
Various established and up and coming illustrators also discussed the approach they have taken to pursue a career as a freelance illustrator.
Other speaker included accounts and agency representatives.
The two days of speeches were finished of by a discussion panel of industry representative hosted by Ned Culic.
This kind of event had never been attempted before in IA, and was a brilliant organised by the IA committee.
Well done I say!

9 by 5 Exhibition

2007-10-23T23:08:00.000-07:00

Illustrators Australia are launching their latest exhibition titled 9 by 5. Each member of the IA was given a small plank of wood 12.5 cm by 22.5 cm high, and asked to create and illustration based on the theme connected. Being a member of IA I was given the oppurtunity to submit a piece and it seems to have made the cut.
All of art works will be auctioned off on the 25th of October at the Gallery Space 39. The event kicks off at 6pm. So if you are in Melbourne this Thursday come on down to level 2, building number 39 on Little Collins Street and check out some art.
The auction is part of the launch party for first annual Illustrators Australia festival. The night will also see the launch of the newly upgrade IA website and the launch of the 10th edition of the Illustrators Australia Book.
So a fun time should be had by all. I have uploaded my image for the exhibition. If you would like to check out some of the other works that will be on display on the night check out the link to the IA website! http://www.illustratorsaustralia.com/cpg/

Picturesque launch

2007-10-04T17:46:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night was the launch of the Picturesque Exhibition.
It was held at the North Melbourne town hall, and it looked great!
The exhibition is a collection of works produced by past and current North Melbourne Institute of TAFE students. As I mentioned in my last post all works relate to the theme of identity.The exhibition has a real circus / carnival feel, which really suited the complimentary performances, held on the night.

The exhibition is layout out with 16 large panels (80 cm by 200cm) all standing side by side in a slight arch. This ark of panels encircles two display cases that look like miniature circus tents. These display units have a colourful collection of dioramas and painted dolls.

The show is open till the 12th of October, so check it out!

Mural Painting for Picturesque

2007-09-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

I finished a painting a large piece of board for the upcoming exhibition Pictureaque. This exhibition shows the work of current and past students from the Diploma of illustration course at the North Melbourne Tafe.
Pictureaque is part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival program this year.
The theme for the upcoming Pictureaque exhibition is Identity.
My painting shows a super hero taking off his mask revealing his true identity.
From the other works I have seen the exhibition should be a cracker. There will be more small murals like my own, along with a series of old cigar boxes painted with designs and illustrations relevant to the theme of Identity. Roll on the Fringe Festival, I say!

Hung by the Sticky Bits

2007-09-15T20:30:00.000-07:00

A little over two weeks ago I moseyed on down to Hosier Lane in the Melbourne CBD to check out the launch of the Hung by the Sticky Bits exhibition. A friend of mine called Rebecca Wheeler is the curator of the show. The exhibition included an international cast of concept artists, animators, graphic artists and illustrators.
It is an incredible show with the contributing artists offering a fantastic mixture of styles. Two stand-outs in the exhibition for me are the French commercial artist/animator Stephane Tarelin and the Swedish senior game designer Mattias Adolfsson.
Tarelin's sketches seem uninhibited, producing spindly and expressive forms that remind me of the work of Austrian artist Egon Schiele.
In contrast the work of Mattias Adolfsson is riddled with detail, often depicting highly detailed city scapes and crazy contraptions.
Exhibition also includes the work of Mark Moget, Taco Sipma, Hobo Divine, Flask, Miss Lotion and the curator of the show, Beck Wheeler.
This is a great show and as is very much worth a look if you are in the CBD of Melbourne over the next few weeks.
Hung by the Sticky Bits is running till the 29th of September at Until Never at the second floor, three to five Hoiser Lane, Melbourne.

Pixar Exhibition

2007-08-31T22:37:00.000-07:00

I finally got my self to the Pixar Exhibition, Pixar: 20 years of animation.
It was an amazing experience. The Exhibition is a massive collection of original concept art, sculptures, storyboards and colour scripts. The exhibition also feature interactive screens that allow you to gain an insight in to just about facet of the film making process.
There is also a collection of short films by John Lasseter (one of the founding fathers of Pixar.) The exhibition also gave visitors the chance to draw some of there of characters or crazy environments with pencils, paper and computers with Corel painter available to use.
If you are remotely interested in animation, then do your self-a favour and go see this exhibition! Pixar: 2o years of animation ends on the 14th of October, and is at the ACMI at Federation Square.

Geelong Print Awards

2007-08-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I made my way to sunny Geelong to check out some art. The Geelong Art Gallery was launching several exhibitions. The first of which, were the finalists’ pieces from the Geelong Print Awards. These pieces consisted on the top 42 prints decided upon by a team of judges. The only stipulation in this competition was that the arts work must be a print of some sort (ie lithograph prints, etchings) I found this body of work great, with a great mixture of style and content. This collection will be on display until November the 18th. This collection is definitely worth a look, if for some reason you suddenly find yourself in Geelong…..it could happen!
The other collection being launch at the Geelong Art Gallery included the work of Mark Schaller. Mark was commissioned by a local collector Rudd Munday to paint various land marks from around the Great Ocean Road. The only element of Mark's work that caught my attention was his use of vibrant colour. Mark’s work will be on display until the 16th of September.
For more information on these and other up coming exhibtions at The Geelong Art Gallery go to
http://www.geelonggallery.org.au/index1.htm
The image above is detail of View of Geelong toward great, great great grandmother Stinton's garden (lino cut) by Mario Manifold

Pixar Lectures

2007-08-23T05:10:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a long time since my last post. Lets hope I can make it up with some interesting reviews of some events and exhibitions I have been to over the past few months.
In late June to coincide with the launch of the Pixar exhibition "20 years of animation." Three staff from Pixar came to Melbourne and presented some lectures on their individual roles in the company.
Firstly there was Elyse Klaidman. Pixar hired Elyse originally to give drawing lessons to the non-creative members of the Pixar Company. Later Elyse's role in the company grew into in house curator for in house exhibitions Pixar hold with in their studio.
Jerome Ranft spoke on the second day. Jerome is hired by Pixar to sculpt various proposed character designs for films in development. Jerome's work allows the director of the film and other staffs have a better understanding of what characters will look like in three dimension.
Paul Topolos spoke on the following day and he was by far the most interesting of the speakers. Paul creates beautiful digital paintings for Pixar. These paintings are used as backdrops for scenes or alternatively for the textures on digital created 3D virtual objects.
One the final day all three speakers’ answers questions from the crowd in a panel style arrangement.
All in all it was a great four days of informative and interesting speeches.

Art for Costa Rica

2007-06-21T02:27:00.000-07:00

I just did an illustration for a publication called Revista Colectiva. These guys are based in Costa Rica. I meet them while I was working at The Hungry Zine, which was a similar publication I work on for about a year and a half with some fellow creative mates.

Revista Colectiva explores a new topic each issue; this upcoming issue will be games. I chose to do a piece about the board games my sisters and I would play as children. We played the classic games like Monopoly and Cluedo. Both of these games can be viewed as rather negative really; Monopoly encourages kids to be greedy and bankrupt their mates. Cludeo on the other hand is a light-hearted romp through a murder mystery, where every character in the game is a possible suspect. Well, so much for the innocence of childhood. Let me know what you think of the illustration world. By the way check out the Revista Colectiva at http://www.revistacolectiva.com

Hello World

2007-06-03T05:26:00.000-07:00

Well it took a while, but I have finally created my own Blog. My main interests lie in illustration, graphic design, fine art and animation. I must say that while I may have a great interest in animation I am only now beginning to study it in-depth in my spare time.

As you could guess I am trying to churn out a living as an illustrator/ graphic artist.
It was only a month ago that I quite my part time job at a printing store, and decided to solely do freelance work.

So this Blog is not totally boring to the general public I have posted a sample of an illustration I did a while ago for a Melbourne based publication called Is Not Magazine. The theme was bigger is/is not better.
There it is my first entry for this Blog! Let’s hope I can maintain some form of discipline and make regular entries to this site. Thanks for reading.