Festive Cat

Drew someone's cat for a Christmas card

Tablets

Got a Wacom tablet for an early Christmas present, here is the first masterpiece.

Really excited about figuring out how to do fancy Illustrator things with it!

The Return of Cat Moon

All hail Cat Moon

Rough&Laugh

Another amazing bit of abstract animation, I have absolutely no idea how this was created (although I wish i did!), paint stop motion?! I love Vimeo.

Rough&Laugh kz remix short-version from TYMOTE on Vimeo.

PEGASVS

This video / song, just wow ~~~~~~~

PEGASVS 'La melodía del afilador' from CANADA on Vimeo.

Epitaph For My Heart

I've just finished a lovely commision to illustrate one of my favourite Magnetic Fields' songs, Epitaph For My Heart.

Scribbly Self Portrait

Dziga Vertov

Before making the cat moon below, i went to see a screening of Dziga Vertov's "Man with a Movie Camera" which was showing in The Holden Gallery as part of their Screen: Artist Film Series week. I thought this film was absolutely stunning; hypnotic, and at the same time both intricate and vast. The whole film (with the 1996 score, the version I saw was the 2003 one I think) is also on Youtube!

I will more than likely be heading down to the Holden Gallery again this week to see some of the other films since this one was so fantastic.

Cat Moon

I decided to try out using the large format printers at uni yesterday, so I printed a giant moon and lots of cat faces and this was the result, truly majestic. It is now gracing my living room wall.

Geekin out

As part of my Contextualising Practice coursework for the Narrative Word and Image module I'm taking, I had to produce a map of a well known narrative using no writing. Obviously I chose to do Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone because I am a ridiculously enormous HP geek.

I did this really quick and sketchy but it was super fun to draw.

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More Amazing Animation Inspiration

by Hiraoka Masanobu

Annoying Couples

Quick illustration I did of me and my boyfriend Jack

I was genuinely disappointed there wasn't more colourful colouring in for me to do, goff lyf.

Animation Beginnings and Stills

In the last week or so I've finally started drawing out the first frames of my animation after lots of visual research and planning and learning new software. Here's the first animatic loop which I'm currently illustrating my characters over. I will probably add a few more inbetween frames to the run animatic whilst I'm animating my characters.

Here's a still of one of my characters over the running loop!

'When The Day Breaks'

Just seen this amazing animated short and it's semi-paralyzed me it's so good! 

Animation Beginnings and Inspiration

For my Defining Interactive Practice module at university we have until February to do basically any project we like, whether it be a continuation of previous work or something entirely new. I've decided to really concentrate on animation (utilizing illustration along the way) and finish off a project I started last year, although changed around a little bit.

So far I've been drawing down a lot of ideas and loose draft storyboards in my sketchbook, as well as trying to teach myself how to use Adobe After Effects. I definitely want to continue with 2D, hand drawn frames scanned into the computer as opposed to experimenting with 3D computer generated animation. 

I've also been looking at existing animations to try to work out how they were achieved and put together, here are some of my favourites.

Music video for 'No Turning Back' by Sarah Blasko, directed by Celeste Potter (not sure if she was responsible for creating all the animation) I think this is just stunningly perfect and wonderful!

'Howard'  by Julia Pott. I absolutely adore all of Pott's work, both animation and illustration

'Pipelines: Here, There, Everywhere?' by Daniel Gies / e.d. films. An educational film about pipes and plumbing systems but the animation is totally gorgeous.

Music video for 'Full Moon Reggae Party' by Tigercats by illustrator and Tigercats' lead singer, Duncan Barrett

Music video for 'Hide' by Kris Menace featuring Miss Kittin, animated by Mathieu Bétard, Pierre Ruitz and Jonathan Djob Nkondo.

Music video for 'Feels Like We Only Go Backwards' by Tame Impala directed by Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling.

Dance Yrself Fitter Artwork

Here's the poster and flyer that I designed for mine and my boyfriend's clubnight at The Star and Garter in Manchester, featuring Siouxsie Sioux and Lizzy Mercier Descloux! I used the same cut n' paste trad fanzine style that I used on my Typical Girls posters because it's super fun and fairly quick to do and I really love the aesthetic that you get with it. The first night went really well and I've already started organising the next one!

Underachievers Hooded Fang Poster

My most recent poster commission was an updated version of a poster for Manchester clubnight Underachievers Please Try Harder advertising their Hooded Fang gig at The Castle in Manchester's Northern Quarter. 

While I'm on the subject of Hooded Fang, I absolutely lovelovelove this single and the amazing animation that goes with it!

Sadly I didn't actually get to go to this gig as I was at the clubnight that me and my boyfriend organise, artwork for which will be in the next post!

Font Bag

Was asked by a bar called The Font to design a two colour tote bag that they could give out on the streetz of Manchester over freshers week, this is what I came up with. Font is super lovely and are amazing at supporting emerging artists and illustrators (as well as having the best cheap cocktails in the entire world ever).

Hustlin

After a couple of weeks off ~tRaVeLlInG~ and moving in/out of various houses, I've just started drawing again. I did do some drawing while I was away, particularly of the amazing buildings in Amsterdam, but nothing super fancy.

I've got a few exciting things in the pipeline but for now here's my first-interview-ever that I did with Eardrums Pop a month or two ago. They're are an awesome netlabel that collaborate with illustrators for the single covers and are lovely in the extreme.

Interview here.

Tender Trap / September Girls / Cosines

Gig poster for Beautiful Strange. 

Standard Fare / Tigercats / The Birthday Kiss

Another gig poster for Underachievers Please Try Harder.

Laura Redburn

I've followed Laura Redburn aka Cardboard Cities on Flickr for ages and there is seemingly no end to how gorgeous her amazing collages are. Her colour schemes make me swoon. You can find loads more of her work here.

Eardrums Pop / Sun Sister

Single cover for Sun Sister on EardrumsPop Records.

Shrag

Shrag / Evans the Death / Chips for the Poor gig poster for Beautiful Strange.

Nothing Matters When We're Dancing

The loveliest personal commission ever! Illustration of the Magnetic Fields' song Nothing Matters When We're Dancing from the first disc of 69 Love Songs. To sound really melodramatic, I can't put into words how much I love The Magnetic Fields or how much of an effect their music has had on me in the last couple of years. I saw them play at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester a few weeks ago and was swooning all over the place.

Shura

Another poster for Beautiful  Strange. Shura describes her music as "night-folk" which I think is one of the loveliest names for a genre that I've ever heard ever.

Discount Horse

Flyer for Discount Horse Records.

Hello From Manchester

I've been wanting to do either a Sheffield or a Manchester postcard for a few months now but had never got round to it until tonight. Going to put this in the end of year exhibition tomorrow I think since the last project was loosely based around Manchester. 
I guess it's a good piece of work to round off my first year of university with too. It's been majorly up and down (like I guess most peoples' first years are) but overall I've loved it and I totally adore Manchester as a place to live.

(Buildings L-R!: Cornerhouse, Manchester Wheel, Chinatown arch, town hall, Manchester Art Gallery, Salford Lads' Club, Frank Sidebottom graffiti in the Northern Quarter, Palace Theatre, Manchester Museum, Craft and Design Centre)

More School

Here's a quick portrait I did of Liz from The School which I was going to use for the Pull Yourself Together poster (before I obviously changed my mind). Thought I would put it up here just because.

The Middle Ones

Flyer advertising The Middle Ones' new album, Slow and Steady, for the super wonderful Discount Horse Records.

Vapid Kitten Extravaganza

While we were exploring the Zine Fair yesterday we also contributed to Vapid Kitten's wonderful 'Zine in a Day' project, which aimed to produce a fanzine in the time the Zine Fair was open for, this time with the theme of 'Collaboration'. They set themselves a pretty tight deadline, to get all submission ready by the end of the Fair at 5pm, but they totally pulled it off.

"Feminist duo Vapid Kitten invite visitors to contribute creatively to a special edition of the fanzine Vapid Kitten... [will be] aiming to include a big mishmash of experiences, words, drawings, collage and poems ...and would like to get as many people involved as possible."

And here's the finished zine!

Manchester Fanzine Convention 2012

Yesterday afternooon myself and the lovely Hebe went to check out Manchester Fanzine Convention, I'd been wanting to go for the last couple of years so I was super excited! It was at Victoria Baths near Rusholme, a beautiful old disused swimming pool.

As well as the stalls selling all kinds of artists' books, fanzines, screeprints, crafts, etc, there was also an exhibition called 'Shape & Situate: Posters of Inspirational European Women' which was incredible.

I also managed to catch a bit of Salford Zine Library's film 'Self Publishers of the World Take Over' (chapter called 'Freedom of Self Publishing' below!) while Hebe did a linocutting workshop.

Wonderful!

Glossop

Busy getting my degree in Flyin'  Kites.

Pull Yourself Together

Gig poster for Pull Yourself Together. This is the second poster I've done for The School, but hopefully this one's a bit better!

Cream Soda Grrrl

Cassette tape cover for the Joanna Gruesome and Playlounge split EP.

Alcopopalooza

Gig / alldayer poster for Alcopopalooza 4 for Alcopop! Records and DIY Magazine. Credit for the tote bag idea goes to my beautiful bro Josh. Soz for the typo, Sam Isaac.

John Dilnot

I was recommended this artist by my uni tutor at my last tutorial and oh my are they lovely! John Dilnot is a British printmaker and illustrator who produces mini artist books and box works as well as larger scale screenprints. I love his use of colour!

Thanks Sandbar!

Oh look I'm this Friday's Featured Artist on the Sandbar website! Sandbar is a lovely little pub really near my flat, they hold life drawing afternoons and film screenings and other such wonderful things, I'd definitely recommend it.

Flying Machines

Spent an afternoon drawing planes at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Party Hard

Poster for a new Manchester ~pArTy~ clubnight called Party Hard at The Star and Garter (one of the loveiest pubs in Manchester).

WeePOP! Bag

Tote bag design for WeePOP! Records.

This is the Kit

Owen Pomery

I've already posted about 69 Love Songs, Illustrated (I don't think my brain could handle a combination much better than illustration and The Magnetic Fields) but they've reopened submissions this week and introduced me to Owen Pomery's work. He did an amazingly simple and pretty much perfect comic for I Don't Want to Get Over You (one of my favourite songs ever, ever). Swoon!

I really, really want to submit some work to the project, especially since some of my favourite songs are still available, but I've know idea how I'd produce anything even close to the loveliness of everyone else's work!

Winter Beats

If I could animate any song in the world, it would be Winter Beats by I Break Horses. Just a shame it has such an amazing looking video already, sigh. ONE DAY.

This song gives me ~all~ the feels!

Delta / Alaska

Another gig poster for Beautiful Strange. 

And here it is three quarters of the way through drawing, just because.

The colouring took exactly four Mountain Goats albums, just so you know.

March at The Whitworth Gallery

After another afternoon of drawing old buildings around the University of Manchester campus, I dropped by the Whitworth Gallery for the first time in a while to see their newest exhibition, Cotton: Global Threads. 

The pieces I most fell in love with were Lubaina Himid's illustrated kangas. 

(The kanga  is a colourful garment worn by women and occasionally by men throughout Eastern Africa. It is printed cotton fabric, about 1.5m by 1m, often with a border, and a central part which differs in design from the borders. Kangas are usually very colorful and commonly feature a message often in the form of riddles or proverbs.) 

I also managed to catch the last couple of weeks of Dark Matters which was wonderful. My favourite pieces included were Paula Rego's super creepy and totally amazing etchings of famous nursery rhymes.

Papergirl Manchester Logos