Illustration

Core Portfolio: Illos 5

2009-04-29T02:13:00.000-07:00

Promotional Package material

2009-04-08T02:12:00.000-07:00

A post card and a business card. Here are the first few images I will send out to the professional world. Gulp.

Interview with Francis Vallejo

2009-04-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

Mario or Sonic? Godzilla or King Kong? Robo-cop or Terminator?

Let's see...Mario, Godzilla, and Robo-cop (since he's from from Detroit)...clearly!

Okay seriously, what was your art training like at Ringling? What was your biggest revelation in school?

It's a great school, but probably the biggest revelation was that if I only did my homework I'd be in for a tough ride. I really try and do my own research and studies outside of class, along with outside gigs to keep me honest. It's easy to only do the required work and worry about "real" jobs after you graduate, but the students that seem to surround themselves with other hard-working, inspired students, and always have a bunch of projects in the works...have a good head start. By far and away, the best thing I've done is take every figure-orientated class that Ringling has to offer. This semester, I've hired my own model and am working on a 80-hr pose...sort of a culmination of all that I know about the figure. I hope to come out of it with a solid, complete painting.

You started Ringling as a computer animation major. Do you plan to return to any kind of animation in the future. Why did you decide against it?

Honestly, no, I won't be doing any serious animation work in the future. I've been thinking of doing a straight ahead, traditional animation of a figure in action, just to improve my drawing skills. But as far as a serious short, or working for a studio....no, that's not my thing anymore. I originally enrolled in animation, because at the time, I naively thought I would make the most money in that field, and it would be the most secure. I also had done animation throughout high school. But the program here is very set in their ways, and many of my ideas didn't work to well with the curriculum. In more words than one, I butted heads a lot since I wanted to make a moving illustration, and they wanted work less based on the art, but more on the technical aspects. So a week before classes of my senior year of animation, I wildly decided to switch majors, and haven't looked back. Very happy with the decision. I'll be graduating from the illustration department this May.

***disclaimer: Not trying to sound overly negative about the program. But it wasn't for me. It actually is very well run!!***

What aspect (technique, concept, etc) of the artists that influenced you do you think made the biggest impression on you? Ilya Repin for instance?

I always try and figure out why I like something. I think I finally figured it out..haha. I like it when an artist feels like he MEANS what he's doing. Rockwell meant it, Repin meant it, Alma-Tadema meant it. Those artists are truthful in their art. In music too...you can tell when a musician is making music for a label, or is making music to preserve the rich tradition they are part of, and leave their unique mark. I am pretty unhappy with my portfolio right now. I hope to have a completely new portfolio by the end of the year. I feel like my images rely too heavily on gimmicks and tricks that are "cool." Hopefully after I post my newer images, you can see the new direction I'm heading.

Besides art, I know you like Hip hop. What about it inspires you?

Yeah, my life is art, my family and loved ones, and hip-hop. It's an enormous aspect of my daily life. I listen to at least 12 hours of music a day, a majority of it rap. I grew up on a tough block in Detroit, and all around me I could hear the bass of cars with speakers that cost more than the car itself. My dad was in a band for 10 years. My mom always was jamming to some sort of album, so they always emphasized the importance of music. I love the creativity and bravado that the good rappers possess. A good jam can really help me to get into the zone while I'm drawing/painting. Being completely honest, if I didn't illustrate, I'd rap.

Right out of college, how did you initially promote yourself?

Well I'm still working on graduating, but I have quickly learned that it's not who you know, it's who knows you. You have to put your face in as many places as possible. A client is much more inclined to hire you if they have had a beer with you, and enjoy interacting with you. So other than the online promotion, traveling a lot has really helped. I've built so many amazing relationships from my travels. It is was worth the hectic hustle of raising the funds for the trips, which is tough for a college student.

Do you have a preferred medium?

Oil and ink. I think they are the purest mediums.

Did you have to train specially to learn the practice of caricature art?

Sort of. About 3 years ago, I needed to get a job in the summers between semesters. I knew I wanted it to be art related so caricaturing seemed to be a good fit. I just sort of showed up and my boss unleashed me on some folks. I did free caricatures for a few days, to sort of learn the ropes. I was terrified, but I picked it up fairly fast. Unfortunately, I haven't done any caricatures in quite some time, but I may pick it up again.

Do you get time to work on personal projects?

Yeah. My thesis is one big personal project. Once I graduate...probably not so much, so I'm trying to take advantage of my last few months of freedom!

If you could adapt any form of literature for an illustration project what would it be?

I'd like to work on a series of illustrations for a children's picture book. Later this year I hope to pitch a super-secret project to some publishers, in hope of landing a book deal. I'm real excited about it.

How did you come to understand your style and be comfortable with it? What processes were involved in developing your visual vocabulary over the years?

Maaan.... I have no idea what my style is. My work is very all over the place. The only thing keeping it somewhat cohesive is the way I draw. I used to do digital work, but I gave that up. Now I work traditionally. But I always viewed style as something that happened naturally and over time. I'm not too worried about it. I'm sure that as I keep cranking out pieces, my work will begin to become more "me."

If you could work collaboratively with any contemporary illustrator/s in the field,who would it/they be?

Good question...haha..Hmmmmm. I would be scared to death to work with him, but working with Daniel Adel would be amazing. It would be fun to do a piece with Sam Weber. Doing a piece with Frank Stockton would be fun, since we share the same ways of thinking. And, of course, my teacher George Pratt..he's an art beastmaster!!!

On your website you ended your biography saying "trying to make a difference." How do you personally feel about the stance that 'commercial art' has taken over the last years. Is commercial art's influence on today's popular culture the reason you chose the field of illustration (Besides having an obvious passion for it)?

This has been a hot topic for me lately. I'm a little bummed with the way illustration is being handled now. It's not that we aren't as talented as the old school guys...it's just that we don't have the time to do work as meaningful as they could. In a time when everyone wants a piece yesterday, it's tough to really invest some serious time in a piece. Which is why digital is so popular. It's so fast. I have a little beef with digital in that so many people use it. It's a medium like anything else. So if a large group of people use the same medium, all that work is going to sort of look the same, among other things. I'd like to see illustrators receive the notoriety that they did back in the Golden Age. I have a secret agenda to bring that back, with some big plans..haha. Or at least, I hope to shake things up a bit.

Visual Essay No. 2

2009-03-31T22:50:00.000-07:00

For my second visual essay I am presenting still frames of animated short film. These frames are beauty renders that will set the standard for the finished look of the animation. The animation is title is Iwa and the visual essay images are key narrative moments in the piece.

Illustrator Promo Research

2009-03-25T04:34:00.000-07:00

The artist shown below all possess abilities I admire, and all of them have been listed in my Illustrator research at some point, but they have been chosen here again because of their relevance to my career pursuits and the ideas they can offer in self promotion.

Jessica Hische
Hische often gives customized fonts to her illustrator and designer colleagues and friends for use in their work. She doesn't get paid for it, but gets a vital credit that shows off her signature style of design.

James Jean
The mere fact that he has ventured into various kinds of media such as album covers, comics, the gallery circuit is awareness in and of itslef, however James Jean also promotes his work outside of the standard illustration/ art world through more commercial avenues such as his work for Prada clothing; creating both murals and concept work for an animation that incorporates his illustrative style. His art books, post card books, and blog are also key elements of promotion.

Sam Weber
Weber enters his work into galleries that host events like The Tortoro Forest Project that have charitable goals , which produces good will for him and of course creates more awareness for his name and work.

Scott Morse
For me the production of books and graphic novelsas well as the work as a designer/ animatoris the attraction to Morse's career. Scott Morse uses his blog as a way to promote any project or news in his life pertinent to his work that may interest potential clients or potential customers. He also visits comic conventions like the San Diego Comic-con every year to sell and promote his work. He also owns his own publishing company called Red Window. He also makes sure he makes and keeps contacts withing the publishing circuit such as Adhouse books' Chris Pitzer. He does this while keeping a full time job at Pixar.

Cory Godbey
He works at Portland studios in South Carolina as animator and painter. His blog is the aspect of his self promotion that I considered worth looking into. He lists several tutorials sharing knowledge and tips about how to work with methods and media that make his work successfull. He also has another side blog that posts tutorials for experimental techniques as well as a Portland studios blog which post videos of various techniques.

Visual Essay no. 1: Niger Pipeline Timeline

2009-03-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

The purpose of the visual essay was to depict escalation as it has occurred in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The main character is none other than Esu, the Yoruba god of discord. He is dressed, equipped, and acting in the manner of the militant group, MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta). The color scheme and patterns are a reflection of Esu's androgynous nature, and symbolic of the ethical gray area some consider MEND's actions. However, the violent and morally deplorable actions presented in the images are contrary to the effiminate manner in which they are rendered, a reflection of what I think the situation has come to in the Niger Delta.

Illustrator Research 45:Taiyo Matsumoto

2009-03-12T06:38:00.000-07:00

Matsumoto is a comic book artist born in Japan in 1967. Some of his comics include Blac and White which was adapted to Tekkonkinkreet, as well as Ping Pong, and Blue Spring. Matsumoto's visual style reflects both Japanese and European styles (seen in his color pallettes). He is well known for his surrealist proclivities as well as a sort of shaky line quality that tends to give his characters and scenes a sort of unsettling under current of chaos.

Illustrator Research 44: Guy Davis

2009-03-12T06:07:00.000-07:00

Guy Davis is an American illustrator and comic book artist born in 1966 best known for his runs illustrating B.P.R.D. and Sandman Mystery Theatre. He has created his comics called The Marquis and Nevermen. His visual style tends to lean tonally toward the dark and foreboding along with the subject matter. Davis is self taught illustrator. His site is here.

Illustrator Research 43: Kazu Kibuishi

2009-03-12T05:07:00.000-07:00

Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1978, Kibuishi is an American graphic novelist and comic book creator. He is best known for his work on the online comic Copper, Amulet, and the comics anthology Flight. He studied at the University of Santa Barbera and after graduation he worked as an animator for Shaded Box. Most of his work is done with India Ink on Bristol Paper as well as digital painting. His site is here.

Illustrator Reserach 42: Jessica Hische

2009-03-12T04:55:00.000-07:00

Hische is a designer and illustrator living and working in Brooklyn, New York. She works on editorial illustration and book cover illustrations with clients like AIGA Philedelphia, American Express, Bath and Body Works, Scholastic, O Magazine, Chronicle Books, etc. Her work is simply put, just adorable, and I don't use that description lightly. Her work looks like elaborately cut and sweetly lit cut paper. She also makes the most lovely an fancy customized type fonts for her illustrations. Her type work is actually in demand from other illustrators in the field like Sam Weber for instance. Her site is here. Her blog is here.

Illustrator Research 41: Dave Stevens

2009-03-12T04:39:00.000-07:00

Stevens was born in 1955 in California. He was an illustrator and comic artist famous for creating the comic book icon, The Rocketeer, whose visual design and adventures have been envied and admired by almost every illustrator I can think of. He is also famous for his Bettie Page pinup illustrations, helping to revitalise the model's image as a pop culture icon. Dave Stevens was the first to win Comic- Con's the Russ Manning Award for the Most Promising New Comer in 1982. Stevens died in 2008.

Illustrator Research 40: Doug Wildey

2009-03-12T04:27:00.000-07:00

Wildey was a cartoonist/ illustrator born in New York in 1892. He is most famous for co-creating the original television series Johnny Quest in 1964 for Hanna Barbera. He also co created several other television series like Jana of the Jungle and Herculoids. His work can also be seen in comics like Tarzan, Sgt. Rock, and Return to the Planet of the Apes . He died in 1944.

Illustrator Research 39: Pierluigi Longo

2009-03-12T03:55:00.000-07:00

Longo was born in 1969 and lives an works in Italy. He attended the European Institute of Design, and in 1993 began to work as a freelance illustrator in Milan. Since 200 he has been working for the design agency Airstudio. His site is here.

Illustrator Research 38: Matthieu Bessudo

2009-03-12T03:27:00.001-07:00

Bessudo also known as McBess, was born in 1984 in France, but lives and works in the Mill in London. He attended the world renowned Supinfocom school of France. His work has a signature look, like old time Fleischer rubber hose animation,and quirky humor. He works mostly with a pen and ink, and occasionally paints. He also works with 3d animation in the style of his illustrations and the same strange sense of humor. His site is here.

Illustrator Research 37: Frank Gonzales

2009-03-12T01:45:00.000-07:00

Frank Gonzales is a painter and illustrator born in Mesa, Arizona. He attended Laguna college of Art and Design . He's had several exhibitions in California, Atlanta. Pittsburgh, New Yorrk, etc. He has also done some comic book covers and album covers like Moving Target. His wor is a great blend of graphic floral imagery, drawn elements, and painted subject matter. I took an interest in his work because of his color use and great painterly textures. His site is here. His blog here.

Illustrator Research 36: Roz Stendahl

2009-03-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

Stendahl is an illustrator, graphic designer, and writer that attended University of Missouri and received an MAin English at the University of Minnesota. She owns her own design company called Dapper Design mainly designing college textbooks and magazines. Stendahl also teaches classes in writing, literature, book arts, etc. I came across her work in the book An Illustrated Life by Danny Gregory where her visual journal illustrations are collected. Her website is here.

Illustrator Research 35: Gary Baseman

2009-03-07T14:04:00.000-08:00

Baseman is an illustrator, artist and cartoonist born in 1960 in Los Angeles, California. He has also worked on the Emmy Award winning television show series called Teacher's Pest as well as many other fields of commercial art. His visual vocabulary includes a long laundry list of oddities, strange characters, and slapstick actions. His inluences are Japanese popa art and Heironymous Bosch. He has worked with clients like Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Esquire, The New Yorker, Time, Reader's Digest, etc. His site is here.

Illustrator Research 34: Marilyn Patrizio

2009-03-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

Marilyn Patrizio is a an illustrator and soft toy designer that was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts NY with a BFA in Illustration in 2000. She began working as a freelance illustrator in 2004 after spending time as a staff illustrator at a children's educational software company. She makes oil paintings she sells on her site as well as crocheted soft toys that reflect her Adobe Illustrator illustrations. Her clients include Club Med, Silicon Alley, Reporter. Alfy.com, etc. Her blog is here. Her site is here.

Illustrator Research 33: Josh Cochran

2009-03-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

Cochran was raised in Taiwan, Canada, and the U.S. and now currently lives in New York. He attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. His process includes using Photoshop for composition and design, traditional ink line work, silkscreen,and sometimes Adobe Illustrator. He is mostly influenced by old vintage children's book illustrations. Some of his clients include Atlantic Monthly, American Airlines, Bugaboo, Cramer Krassel, Discovery Channel , EA Sports, EMI Music, Entertainment Weekly, ESPN, Esquire, Fantagraphics Books, Faber and Faber, GQ. His site is here. An interview here.

Illustrator research 32: Christopher McCulloch aka Jackson Publick

2009-03-05T00:20:00.000-08:00

McCulloch is an American writer and illustrator born in 1971. He worked as a story border, writer, and penciller for the TV show The Tick inder Ben Edlund. He also worked on Sheep in the Big City, PB & J, as well as Doug. He is best known as the co- creator of the Venture Brothers, along with Doc Hammer. McCulloch also goes under the pseudonym Jackson Publick for which he is credited for creating the show and does voices of several characters on the show, most notably the Monarch and Hank Venture.
His blog is here. An interview here.

Illustrator Research 31: Cory Godbey

2009-03-04T23:40:00.000-08:00

Godbey is an American illustrator that lives and works in South Carolina working for Portland Studios. The work he creates is a great blend of line work, ink washes and digital color comp overlays. He not only works in illustration, but also does animation for Portand studios. He has several documented stages of his illustrations on his blog which are really helpful. His blog is here.

Illustrator Research 30: Paul Davey

2009-03-04T23:09:00.000-08:00

Paul Davey is a freelance illustrator and comic book artist based in Miami, Florida. He was born in Manchester, Jamaica. His work is mostly digital using Painter, but works occasionally with acrylics. He creates imagery that seems grounded in believable social encounters with ethereal imagery which always oddly seems cohesive. He is currently working a graphic novel. He has a deviantart web page here. Interview with him here.

Illustrator Research 29: Asaf Hanuka

2009-03-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

Asaf was born in Tel Aviv, Israel where he lives and works currently. He has been working in editorial illustration since 1995 and has collabrotaed with his brother, Tomer on numerous projects. He recently contributed art for the award winnin animation, Walt with Bashir. He has been nominated for an Eisner award and for his graphic novel Pizzeria Kamikaze, written by Etgar Keret. For the past for four years he has been teaching illustration at the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Tel- Aviv. His blog is here.

Illustrator Research 28: Tomer Hanuka

2009-03-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

Tomer Hanuka is an Israeli born illustrator and a cartoonist based in New York City. At 22, after his mandatory three years in the Israeli military Tomer moved to the U.S. to study at the School of Visual Arts in NY. In 2008 he won the British Design Museum award as part of the Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions. He also frequently collaborates with his twin brother Asaf on projects like Bipolar book series. He has won several Society of Illustrators Gold Medal as well as Harvey and Ignatz awards. Currently he teaches at the School of Visual Arts and is working on a graphic novel with Asaf. His clients include Time, The New Yorker, Spin, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, etc. His blog is here.

Illustrator Research 27: Illustrator Research

2009-03-04T16:49:00.000-08:00

Ilya Repin was born on August 5th 1844 in Chuhuiv, Ukraine, although he is considered Russian because of the Russian Empire. He is one of the old masters so its no surprise he sculpted as well as painted. His work is famous for its ability to express the tensions between social strata in that period of Russian history. His paintings strike me most because of the complexity of body language and interaction of characters in them, which I believe is the reason his paintings are so successful as social critiques. He died in 1930.

Illustrator Research 26: Sergio Toppi

2009-03-01T22:04:00.000-08:00

Wow, I just found this jewel of an incredible older illustrator called Sergio Toppi. He was born in Milan, Italy and started out in editorials and animation. Toppi possesses a style that can only be experienced to be appreciated. His aesthetic is a unique honesty that comes from years of experience, and probably years of toiling with the brush and nib. Also the wealth of mark making techniques Toppi posseses is truly inspiring. His work has appeared in several Italian and French publications and has created comics such as Sharaz-de and Il Collezionista. I couln't find too much information about him, but the little I found has inspired me to find more. Also I just checked for some art books pertaining to Toppi and they're all horrendously expensive. He's pretty well respected.

Illustrator Research 25: Tim Biskup

2009-03-01T21:50:00.000-08:00

Born in 1967 in Southern California Biskup is a fine artist that has been exhibited all around the world. His work seems reminiscent old 50s storybook illustrations and jazz art, and is often classified in the pop surrealist category of art. He experiments with a lot of processes like silkscreen, rotocast vinyl, textiles and of course various forms of painting media. He has contributed work to clothing lines like GAMA_Go, and has several art books. His website is here.

Illustrator Research 24: Scott Morse

2009-03-01T21:13:00.000-08:00

Scott Morse is an illustrator, designer and storyteller that works at Pixar in California. He also illustrates books prolifically in his spare time. Books such as The Ancient Book of Sex and Science, Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! as well as a host of many others published by scholastic. He also runs his own publishing company called Red Window and is usually distributed by Adhouse. His blog is here.

Illustrator Research 23: George Pratt

2009-02-22T10:21:00.000-08:00

Pratt is an illustrator that has taught in New Jersey in the Joe Kubert School, Savannah College of Art, and SVA. He was born in Texas, but moved to New York Institute to study at the Pratt Institute. Enemy Ace: War Idyllic won Pratt a Harvey Award and an Eisner for best Graphic Novel. He is greatly influenced by Blues music, and a lot of the color pallettes and subject matter often reflect this interest. His website is here.

Illustrator Research 22: Marshall Arisman

2009-02-22T09:40:00.000-08:00

Arisman is an American illustrator and painter born in 1938 whose work has appeared in several galleries around the world including being the first American artist in 1999 to exhibit in mainland China. His work is also in the permanent galleries of the Brooklyn Museum and Smithsonian institute. He has done editorial work for Time, The New Yorker, etc. Arisman got an MFA from School of Visual Arts where he is now the chairman of MFA degree program. His work is evocative of the transcendental, using surreal colors and textures. I especially enjoy his drawings which employ expressive repetitive contour lines to define form. His website is here. An interview here

Illustrator Research 21: Peter Hoffman

2009-02-20T20:39:00.000-08:00

Hoffman is a German illustrator and designer. He studied at the Trier College of Applied Sciences in Germany as well as the Savannah College of Art and Design. Some of his clients are Gollenstein Verlag, Charleston Magazine, Visions Magazines, Fast Company Magazine, etc. His work features a lovely blend of line work and watercolor graphic styles. His website is here.

Illustrator Research 20: Guy Mckinley

2009-02-20T20:16:00.000-08:00

McKinley is an English illustrator. He usually creates work for galleries and mural spaces. His process involves a blend of ink line work and various printmaking techniques. His blog is here.

Illustrator Research 19: Andrew Zbihyj

2009-02-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

Andrew Zbihyj is an illustrator that lives and works in Toronto. He works mostly in collage, combining acrylic, ink and several experimental processes like controlled chemical burns and manipulated photographs. The result is a style that is unexpected and always charged with energetic line tempered with moments of smooth rendering. A lot of his work is politically charged on the pages of editorials such as Harvard Divinity, Esquire, Vibe, Legal Affairs, but mostly he creates work for galleries. His website is here. An interview here.

Illustrator Research 18: Jamie Hewlett

2009-02-19T21:27:00.000-08:00

Hewlett was born in 1968 on April 3rd in West Sussex England. He is best known for co- creating the comic book Tank Girl with Alan Martin (recently drawn by Ashley Wood) and co creating the animated band, The Gorillaz. His major influence was Brendan Mcarthy while he was in college drawing Deadline Magazine. His style is heavily influenced by Punk art and surrealism. His characters are zany, offbeat and sometimes don't make any sense, but in a good way that mesmerizes. He has worked independently, in conjuction with several UK bands, for 2000 AD, DC and with Hollywood making the Tank Girl movie which he describes as an unpleasant experience. An article about him can be found here.

Illustrator Research 17: Matt Rota

2009-02-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

Matt Rota graduated from the Maryland Institute of Art in 2003 and then went on to graduate with an MFA at the School of Visual Arts. His clients have been La Weekly, Russian Esquire, Science News, New York Times, etc. Rota's work impresses me because of his unique ink line rendering as well as his ability to stage dramatic compositions. Some of the colors and methods of rendering he employs sometimes are uncannily creepy at times. Rota also taught at the Maryland Institute of art for a short period, but lives and works in New York. His work is here.

Visitng Artist Lecture: Gary Panter

2009-02-15T17:54:00.000-08:00

I got to the lecture about five minutes late because I had a Human Evolution class. The auditorium was packed with a very narrow path to get through the bodies that obstructed the entrance. The atmosphere seemed so relaxed and jovial as Gary Panter was conversing with the crowd about how his daughter liked the Spice Girls and the fact that the youth should stop watching so much TV. His 'theme' for the lecture seemed to be advising young artists to find a voice outside the realm of popular culture. That media should not define who we are as individuals, as he gave the example of Chris Ware who doesn't watch TV, or read stacks of popular culture, instead he draws his cartooning reference from literature and personal hobbies like old period ragtime music magazines.

Panter's father was devout Christian and was frightened by his child's propensity toward the bug-eyed characters he mimicked from Low Rider Magazine art. He said "there's something about cheapness and lowliness in art that I enjoy." He worked as a janitor right after college, allowing him to draw on the clock and produce mysterious fr0g drawings for a lady that still doesn't know he drew them till this day. After that he got hired by a print shop and learned how to do 4 color separation. He encouraged all of us to learn the original traditional media first before relying solely on a computer, which I couldn't agree more with.

Some of the work he talked about included a pretty fascinating collaboration with an artist whose inking style was quite different from his. Charles Burns was an underground artist whose inking was so tight and methodical that Panter described "Charles would chuckle as he inked, knowing he was better than everyone else." They created Facetasm which I would very much like to pick up now. Aesthetically, it is a Jekyll and Hyde type book, with cross sections of faces drawn by both Burns with his tight inking style and Panter's looser more aggressive approach. He mentioned the Winsor Newton No. 2 series 9 brush as being the pinnacle of its kind. He also talked about how over the last few decades he's been trying to re-evoke the 60s through 'magic.' He started off with Psychedelic posters for light shows that he staged by himself. He produced these 45 minute light shows for several years and eventually ended up taking them to galleries in New York once he met up with a pretty prominent light show maker from the 60s where they garnered more attention. They looked like really surreal and atmospheric experiences in the slide, and I'm sure they are even much more in person, probably very mind boggling.
Rounding up the lecture he talked about how he like's to cut up random things and stick them in his sketchbook, like a "where's the beef" sticker. He mentioned some of his influences like Peter Saul, Oyvind Faulstrum, Yasuji Tenuoka,Jim Nut, James Brooks Eduardo Paolotzzi, etc. He advised us all to be makers of things instead of receivers, to Google Bower birds (with which somebody actually gave a Bower bird call out of the blue), and he said that sometimes "thinking coherently isn't a bad thing."

Illustrator Research 16: Francis Vallejo

2009-02-13T16:00:00.000-08:00

Vallejo is an American illustrator born in Farmington, NM, but grew up in Detroit. He attended Ringling College of Art in Florida, majoring as a Computer Animation major, switching to Illustration after his third year. He graduates this may. Vallejo's style is a blend of caricature expressionism and painterly mark making. His work interests me because of the seeming ease his work embodies. His color choices are smart and unexpected and always seem to evoke the unique moods and tones. Some of his influences include Ilya Repin, George Pratt, Jason Shawn Alexander, Nikolai Fechin, etc. His clients include Moloko+, Vibe, Push LLC, 2d Artist, Fly Cards. His website is here.

Visual Essay: Current Debate

2009-02-11T01:19:00.000-08:00

"We want oil here. It will make everything better."

I've decided to carry out my visual essay on the ongoing issue of the conflict in the Niger Delta. It might seem like the obvious choice, but for a while I have felt pretty strongly about it for a number of reasons. I have tried to tackle the issue before in some of my other classes and work, but no attempts have come close to expressing my opinion as effectively as I intend. There are so many subjects to address withing the scope of the issue, but I've read more extensively about the subject and believe I've realized the core of my voice in the issue.

I first heard about issues relating to the Niger Delta about ten years ago. At the time the country was undergoing serious governmental transitions, there was hope as Nigeria was finally free of the unyielding tyrannical thumb of military dictatorship. Everyone's eyes were on the government and the dire need for deep rooted change. While we all waited for things to improve, certain things gradually regressed. Ongoing reports of inter- tribal war, Northern Nigeria conspicuously adopted Sharia law and more or less isolated themselves from the rest of the country, and gradually the Niger Delta became a trouble spot. There were continual reports of desperate poverty stricken indigens of the Delta cracking open pipelines, tapping oil to sell on the black market. Of course there were instances where the pipes would explode, killing hundreds and contaminating the environment. These were all events spurred by decades of maltreatment to the indigenous Ogoni and various people of the Niger Delta.

The issue has since taken center stage today because of its obvious ties to a more global problem; crude oil. The region has become, poorer, more environmentally unstable, and even more serious problems have risen in the form of militant groups claiming to fight in the name of justice. Their activities first came known to me while listening to the radio in Lagos in the summer of 2007. The radio host was talking about hostile groups in the Niger Delta kidnapping children of expatriate oil workers demanding a ransom to repair some of the damage done to the region and its people. He spoke about it as if their actions were a valid subject for debate, which shocked me because I thought the answer was clear. Of course two years later and a militant group now called MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) have begun resorting to terrorist activities, bombing oil rigs and raiding convoys of oil company workers. As far as anyone knows they use the money they extort from the oil companies to further their own personal gain, buying more weapons and recruiting. The sad truth is that these groups utilize the frustration of the youth in the region as their fuel, ensuring a constant stream of manpower to aid their 'just' cause. You could argue that its an extreme reaction to an extreme situation, but history and current events have shown that these groups always end up detrimentally transforming the physical landscape into a wasteland and perverting the spirit of the people that live in these regions.

My visual essay will focus on the effects militant groups like MEND and the Ogoni Youth Council's perverted doctrines and the effects they have on the youth of the region and how they are obviously deteriorating the situation in the Niger Delta. I am considering making a series of satirical recruitment posters.

Vissual Essay 1: A Current Debate

2009-02-11T00:40:00.000-08:00

List 10 debate topics
1_Real News or the Daily Show/ Colbert report?
2_White chocolate or Regular milk chocolate?
3_The Chicken or the Egg?
4_The Crisis in the Niger Delta.
5_The effects of America's popular culture on the world
6_ Are video games an art form or can they be?
7_Stem cell research
8_The Morality of Euthanasia
9_Religion in Public schools
10_Am I on the internet way too much?

Illustrator Research 15: Gina Triplett

2009-02-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

Gina Triplett is an American illustrator whose commercial work can be seen almost everywhere, with clients like Apple, Target, Converse, Macy's, IBM, etc. She also works on editorial illustrations like Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and occasionally book publishers like Chronicle Books. Her work comprises of vibrant worlds crammed full of personalized pattern and ornament. She is also unique in the practice of frequently collaborating with her husband and fellow illustrator, Matt Curtius on a lot of projects. She shares a website with him here.

Illustrator Research 14: Adam Ford

2009-02-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

Ford is a video game level artist that works in Lehi, Utah for Avalanche Software. His career entails that he draws and paints a variety of character and environment illustrations. His work has a great sense of humor with interesting stylization methods. However his most interesting work to me are his life drawing sketches that he regularly posts on his site. His blog is here.

Illustrator research 12 & 13: Zelda Devon and Kurt Higgins

2009-02-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

Devon and Higgins are illustrators that live in Brooklyn, New York. They work collaboratively to create illustrations for clients such as Dover Publishing, Scholastic Inc, Honest Tea, The L Magazine, etc. There work is a great blend of ink, watercolor, and digital color. They tend to generally work on fantasy stories with great combinations of muted backgrounds and prismatic colors. It is also quite impressive that two artists working on one image can achieve such unified visions. Their website is teetering bulb.

Illustrator Research 12: Mark Verhaagen

2009-02-06T18:23:00.000-08:00

Veerhagen is an illustrator/ animator that lives and works in Rotterdam, Holland. He does some great doodle ink drawings, however his finished print illustrations are some of the most detailed vector illustrations I've come across. Most of them look like they have ink wash treatments and are always packed full of interesting characters and narrative moments. Some of his clients include Computer Arts Projects Magazine, Vodafone UK, MTV Networks, Nickelodeon, Laidback Luke, etc. His website is here.

Illustrator Research 11: Peter Chung

2009-02-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

Peter Kunshik Chung was born in 1961, Seoul, Korea, but now lives in LA. He studied experimental animation at Calarts from 1979-81. Chung is renowned as the creator of Aeon Flux which aired on Liquid Telivision during the ealry 90s. Since then he has worked on several other animation projects including Rugrats, Matriculated, The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury, the Phantom 2040, and Tomb Raider. His signature character design is heavily inspired by the works of Austrian artist Egon Schiele. Howver the really striking aspect of Chung's animations tend to be the narratives. Especially Aeon Flux, which featured non sequitur and non linear storytelling, plot ambiguity and many unorthodox narrative styles rarely seen in animation. He has an interesting discourse featured here.

Illustrator Research 10: John Buscema

2009-02-05T12:05:00.000-08:00

John Buscema is an American comic book artist born in New York in 1927. His work featured mostly during Marvel comics silver age of illustration in the 60s and 70s drawing major series such as Silver Surfer and The Avengers, Thor and the Fantastic Four among many. He also had a long 200 issue run on Conan the Barbarian. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2002. His brother Sal Buscema was also a successful comic book artist for Marvel.I first came in contact with his work with the book How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. I borrowed it from a friend when I was a kid and never returned it (to my glee and shame) because I loved comics and the book taught you to draw the way I was interested in drawing at the time. When my dad (who is an art teacher), found out the drawings were done by his favorite comic book artist John Buscema he encouraged me to stick with the book and also told me about fun times he had reading about Thor and the Submariner in the Fantastic Four when comics still cost practically nothing. I studied the book over and over, because I loved it and sadly in Lagos at the time you simply couldnt find how to draw books. Back then I garnered most of the tricks of drawing human anatomy and perspective, but always skimmed over the inking parts, which is probably why I struggle with it today. I still have the book, and once in a while I enjoy flipping through it. Anyway John Buscema's work is here.

Illustrator Research: P. Craig Russell

2009-02-05T03:25:00.000-08:00

Phillip Craig Russel was born in Wellsville, Ohio in 1951. He is a well respected illustrator that achieved his first taste of success in 1972 with a comic book series called Amazing Adventures and later on the graphic novel Killraven. He has received multiple Harvey and Eisner awards. Recently worked with Neil Gaiman on the illustrated book of Coraline and notably the highly regarded Sandman issue called Ramadan. His work is quite impressive because of several reasons. He references a lot of art history, paricularly Art Nouveau, which his aesthetic, for instance, line quality seems very decorative and is obviously reminiscient of the movement. Russell always uses odd color schemes that make his worlds unique and memorable. Russell's work is compiled in a gorgeous artbook called The Art of P. Craig Russell which unfortunately costs an arm and a leg. His website's here.

Illustrator Research: Jason Shawn Alexander

2009-02-05T02:40:00.000-08:00

Alexander is an painter/illustrator born in Portland, Tennessee in 1975. He lives and works in California , LA now with a degree in Fine arts. I came into contact with his work reading Abe Sapien's The Drowning, a graphic novel written by Mike Mignola and illustrated by Alexander. Alexander's style seemed tailor made for the dark often humorous world of Hellboy, but it was the consistency of mood, atmosphere and strong visual communication that impressed me most in his work. Alexander's ink technique is also what drew me to his work. His drawings are done entirely in ink so they retain an immediacy and spontenaity that would otherwise be lost say with pencil sketches. He has also worked on books like Empty Zone and done covers for Dark Horse's Conan. Of course being a painter he has has several solo and group exhibitions around the country. His website is here.

Illustrator Research: Isabelle Arsenault

2009-02-05T01:47:00.000-08:00

Arsenault is an illustrator from Montreal, Canada. She works mostly on children's books such as My Letter to the World in 2008 and Mr Gauguin's Heart in 2007. Her visual vocabulary is rich with fun, unique shapes and unusual but succesful blend of muted chromatic grey color pallettes that one would think would be incongruous to a children's illustration, but is actually well suited to the format. Her website is here.

Illustrator Research: Andy Hixon

2009-02-05T01:08:00.000-08:00

Hixon is an illustrator/animator/and sculptor. His work is reminiscent of Dave Mckean a little with less collaging however. He uses photographed sculptures, which are made from polymer and clay set against painted canvases, then finished with Photoshop and Painter to complete his unique illustrations. Some of his clients are Orbe (music Cd cover) and Evergreen Terrace (Band Poster). His website is here.

Illustrator Research: Frank Stockton

2009-02-05T00:15:00.000-08:00

I could not find much biographical information on Frank Stockton, but his blog has tons of information about his process and the clients he engages with. Some of his clients are Esquire Russia, Fantagraphics, More Magazine, Penthouse, The New Yorker, etc. He uses a very clean line with exaggerated perspectives, offering dramatic solutions to the narratives he illustrates. His use of color is also quite interesting. Since I took the color studies class last year I have been paying close attention to artists that use color in a manner out of the ordinary, especially artists that use it to aid storytellng.

Illustrator Research: Eyvind Earle

2009-02-04T16:46:00.000-08:00

Eyvind Earle was and illustrator/ author born in New York in 1916. His most noted work and the manner I first came in touch with his paintings were through Disney movies like Sleeping Beauty. He created background paintings that were unlike anything seen in animation at the time altering perspective and bending nature into shapes that created interesting rhythmic and geometric arrangements. His watercolor paintings are in permanent musuem collections across America such as the Musuem of Modern Art, NY. His website is here.

Illustrator Research: Craig Thompson

2009-02-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

Craig Thompson, born in Michigan, America in 1975 is an award winning graphic novelist and illustrator. He has won two Eisner awards and two Ignatz awards, and is probably most famous for his work on the graphic novel Blankets, which I have only partially read. However I have read his illustrated travel diary Carnet de Voyage, which was quite impressive. The sheer amount of visual information he was able to capture in the book was outstanding, plus it had a good sense of humor and an honesty that I felt familiar with (being a traveller in a strange land myself). Technically though his brush work, specifically his use of br scumbling ush is what really caught my attention with his work, oh and he is also quite meticulous. His blog is here.

Illustrator Research: Adrian Tomine

2009-02-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

Tomine is an American cartoonist and illustrator born in on May 4, 1974, best known for his comic Optic Nerve and several New Yorker covers. He is often compared to Daniel Clowes who he is good friends with. They both employ similar 'clean line' sytles of illustration. Tomine's work looks interesting to me because he is able to take mundane looking characters and imbue interest in them through the use of economic but expressive line work as well as unexpected color choices. Tomine's site is here.

Illustrator Research: Gary Panter

2009-02-02T17:46:00.000-08:00

Gary Panter is an American illustrator, designer and part time musician born in Oklahoma in 1950. Panter's work looks brazen in both aesthetics and general content. He uses a lot of colors that people don't consider 'beautiful,' and his drawing method has been described as 'ratty,' and always evoking the raw emotion of the subject being portrayed. Panter is supposedly best friends with Matt Groening. He has worked for Raw magazine, Time, doing set designs for the Emmy award winning Pee-Wee's playhouse, and comics such as Jimbo and Cola Madness. From 2005- 07 Panter was among the traveling exhibit "Masters of American Comics" along with Chris Ware, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Robert Crumb. Gary Panter's site is here.

State of the Union: Part 6

2009-01-25T21:33:00.000-08:00

Review your responses to the above questions. What sort of an illustrator are you?
One with lofty goals and aspirations, that are probably more achievable than I realize now, maybe. I think of myself primarily as a storyteller first, using illustration and animation to get my voice heard and hopefully having fun in the process. I think right now I'm really trying hard to find a comfortable working process and within this process a skill set that I'm continually sharpening. I'm also trying to learn as many ideas and techniques (traditional and digital) that may help me along the way.

What sort of career do you want to have?
One where I can switch work on both graphic novels and animation and hopefully because of the nature of my career I'll get to travel to places a little bit. I care very much about West African stories and history so I'll probably be devoting my career to achieving some awareness of that material.I know for certain that I wouldn't mind earning my stripes in an animation/ production or video game studio for a while, but as soon as I feel confident enough, I'd like to start my own personal self directed projects. Eventually, when I am old and gray and somehow have the means I'd like to start a decent specialized Art school somewhere in Lagos.

Does your present body of work reflect your aspirations? Could it do so more strongly?
Right now going into my final semester, I feel I need a handful of highly polished finished illustrations to get my foot in the working world. I have some I consider usable, but not enough. I'm also unclear in deciding if I should make the subject matter range broader or more personal. Also it wouldn't hurt to finish the animation I'm working on soon, at least before graduation, so I can start sending clips off to studios.

List ten images/themes/techniques/subjects/formats that your portfolio needs in order to become more in line with your aspirations.
_Concept character illustrations (digital)
_Concept environment illustrations (digital)
_More Illustrations involving a group of people interacting with an environment
_more loose quick studies of subjects like movement studies (traditional)
_a polished comic spread
_some handmade books?
_a z-brush beauty render sculpt of a character
_more color key studies of illustrations
_a couple of illustrations without scanned in textures.
_maybe more science fiction/fantasy themed illustrations (nothing kitschy I hope)

State of the Union: Part 5

2009-01-25T17:43:00.000-08:00

If you had to spend the rest of your life illustrating one book, what would it be? Why?
I suppose I'm sort of a one trick pony, but if it was for the rest of my life it would have to be some sort of compendium or collection of West African/ Yoruba myths, tales, and legends type of book. I would be able to work on it with my brother as both of us have already discussed such a project. It would be a great alternative to animation, although it might not reach as wide an audience as I'd hope, and it would be a great way to showcase aspects of a culture and its nuances that I haven't seen in much of any worthwhile media at all. I suppose that part of the allure is that it is pretty much an untapped goldmine and their seem to be no limitations besides my own imagination and effort that could possibly ruin the venture. Finally I'd like it to have a style that's unique to me or my brother, something that doesn't say 'Africa' in the stereotypically depressing sense. I expect it would have a great balance of humor and light-heartedness interspersed with some socio-political problems that face the countries of West Africa. Also it would take on experimental graphic novel formats as well as encyclopedia/compendium style illustrations and info about intersting characters, history and places in West Africa. If it got good enough, i definitely wouldn't mind hiring guest artists to illustrate some stories or characters e.g Jason Shawn Alexander. I think I would like the magazine to be called Ase, which is Yoruba for life force/soul/ spirit.

If you could go apprentice with any two artists in the history of the world, who would they be? Why?
August Rodin because of his unique insight into the human form and it's expression on paper and in sculpture and Edmund Dulac to understand his color theory and most of his techniques.

If you were banned from the art world, but could have any career you wanted that wasn't in art, what would it be? Why?
Architecture is art so that's out of the question, so probably archeology, which was actually one of the first ever career aspirations I developed in elementary school. I guess its part romanticism, part love for all things history and science, plus I'd get to travel.

Describe the project you would propose under the following circumstances. Describe the project in detail: what would it be, how would you spend the money, how would you schedule the time alloted, and how would the work be presented upon completion? 1) You have one month and one thousand dollars (all of which must be spent on art expenses). 2) Six months and ten thousand dollars. 3) One year and one hundred thousand dollars.
1. I would create a large wall sized banner (10x30) consisting of illustrations of unique scenes in Lagos and its denizens in one of the major markets in the 90s. Either Oshodi, Tejuosho, Mushin would be depicted with heightened reality (mental exagerations) highlighting positive and negative aspects of society all set against the backdrop of the tumultuous time of Military government. First I'd buy a large HDMi 30 inch monitor ($400), then I'd hook it up to my existing computer, buy some good paper ($50), a $150 scanner and then the rest would be for its printing. I would spend a week doing research and sketches, then execute the piece in 2 weeks, and leave the rest of the time for printing and set up hopefully presented in a safe public space that is not a gallery.
2. A 2 part 200 page graphic novel based on the life of the two historic kings of Mali, Sundiata and Songai. I'd spend the first month traveling to Mali, taking reference pictures, buying books, visiting relevant sites and the history relating to the story doing preparatory sketches along the way. That whole trip would cost about $3500 or so. I'd spend 2 weeks writing the story, revising it if need be over the months. I would send the script, research and sketches to publishers at this point. Upon approval or interest from a publisher I'd spend $3000 on materials (computer, software, ink, paper, paint, etc) and get to work over the next 4 months. I'd spend the rest of the money on replenishing materials and printing tests of the book. Hopefully if there would be time and money left I'd make more sketches and presentation illustrations that could accompany the book. I'd send off a test copy to the publishers relating to them that I'd like to overlook the presentation of the book, cross my fingers and hope for the best.
3. A 20- 35 minute animated short of course, based on a story that I've been writing recently about a girl from a middle class Lagosian family who gets kidnapped and apparently left in a ancient forest of spirits outside of the city. The first 2 months would be used for the script, concept art storyboard and animatic. The next 6 months will be used for animation, modelling, and the final four months will be for rendering, lighting, sound, and post production work. I would need to acquire equipment and software needed for the project ($25000). I'd need to hire three animators, a concept artist, a sound technician, and composer, which would require 11 months of salary for the animators and concept artist ($1000 a month), and 6 months of pay for the sound technician ($1000 a month) and $1500 for 3 months for the composer's services ($43500 in total). $6000 for a year of utilities, $8000 for lunches and other activities throughout the year, and $2000 to backup information on external and secure servers. The $15500 left would be used to find market and generate interest in the animation, and entering it into film festivals and competitions world wide trying to get it as much publicity as possible. Hopefully it'll end up in enough theatres in the world to generate interest for a DVD/ Digital distribution release.

State of the Union: Part 4

2009-01-25T12:31:00.000-08:00

List ten illustrators whose work you admire, or whose career you would like to emulate. Who are their clients? What sort of work do those clients look for?
1. Mathieu Bessudo is an illustrator whose work I greatly enjoy because others in the past have tried to work in a similar style that he does ( the crazy rubber hose animtion look), but none have achieved the easy and zany nature of his that defines his work. Plus he does animation as well, which is what I want to do. He works for The Mill in England as an animator and freelances with Heaven Paris

2. I recently found Frank Stockton's work while looking through a group of artists with similar styles. I greatly admire his line quality and use of flat colors. He also experiments with various media making him quite versatile. Some of his clients are Boston Magazine, Esquire Russia, Best Life Germany, Mens Health, etc

3. I recently happened upon the works of Polish surrealist Jacek Yerka. His handling and rendering of environments is quite unique. He bends perspective and planes of objects to create more outlandish worlds. He does book covers occasionally, but sells a lot of his paintings directly.

4. I first encountered Eyvind Earle's work in the Disney's Sleeping Beauty (he did the background) when I was about 5 or 6 yrs old. A couple of months ago I stumbled across his website and I think he is one of those artists that will inspire me till the end of my days. Eveytime I see his paintings I just have to sit and study them for a little bit. He has worked for companies like Disney and Universal Studios, but only on commision, he sells his art in galleries.

5. Russ Mills is a British illustrator whose work is interesting, but for a while now doesnt have very much depth to it. His use of paint splatter and loose paint strokes to define form is great, but he never uses it for anything but figures it seems. His past clients are Them London, US Playstation Mag, The Royal Court Theater, etc.

6. Mike Mignola is an artist I've greatly admired for some years now. He has worked on his own comic book creation for years now (Hellboy) with a signature style and has managed to have time to work on movies and animation. He has worked for DC, Dark Horse comics, Disney, etc

7. Everyone's favorite illustrator Jam es Jean. He must have a timeless void that he retreats to, to be a ble to produce work so prolificly. He has worked with DC/ Vertigo, Rolling Stone, Atlantic Records,etc

8. Sam Weber is a great guy and an artist whose work seems mystifying and never ceases to surprise me. He has worked for The New York Times, Soul Pepper theatre, Time Magazine, The New Yorker, Scholastic, etc.

9. Emanuel Malin is a French artist that uses flat shapes and textures in a manner I've never seen before. His clients include Imagine FX magazine, Brandweek Magazine, and illustrations for Spicy horse Studios, and Wanda Productions.

10. Sylvain Chomet is a French animator and illustrator whose work seems to be a technical paradigm of what most would call European style illustration. However, it's Chomet's storytelling and quirky humor that sets him apart. Has created commercials for Swissair, Renault and Principality, but has since formed his own animation studio called Django Studios

Find ten magazines you think you could work for. Consider both the content of the magazine and the type of illustration, if any, that they use.
_Juxtapoz
_Time
_National Geographic
_Computer Arts Magazine
_Itsart Magazine
_Digital Arts Magazine
_Hi Fructose Magazine
_EGM- Electronic Gaming Monthly
_3x3 Magazine
_Frames Per Second Magazine

If you were starting your own magazine and your livelihood depended on it selling well and your sanity depended on it being something you wanted to spend all your time on, what would it be? What sorts of writers and artists would you hire? What subject matter would it deal with? How would you want it to look?
Well, first of all I'd really be scared for my lively hood because not many magazines make it today due to the internet, and most of them have internet counterparts anyway. It would probably be a magazine of short story collections (those already exist right). They could take on any format as long as they could fit within alotted pages. All short stories would have to have at least one illustration accompanying them. The Subject matter would be African myth and culture (contemporary and historical). I would hire writers from a broad range of genres whose work I admire such as Wole Soyinka, Philip Pullman, mayber even Chinua Achebe, if literary greats like that cared about small fry stuff. I'd like artists like to work with a lot of the artists above, but mostly to see what kind of spin they'd put on the visuals of an African tale, but mostly I'd like to start a program seeking out indigenous skilled African students. I'd be willing to experiment with its format and aesthetic, but I would be a huge stickler for the way it would be printed and bound.

List ten non-magazine clients that you would like to work with. Why are these dream clients?
1. Naughty Dog- this is a video game company based in California that have been making some of my favorite games for the past decade. I love their concept art team's art direction and their animation is second to none in the industry.
2. Team Ico- A Japanese development team that created my favorite video game of all time, Shadow of the Colossus. Really great, original, character design along with phenomenal animation.
3. Dark Horse (Abe Sapien)- Wouldn't mind doing a run on the newly created Abe Sapien comic. Mostly because the Hellboy series and its spin off have elements of the supernatural storytellin and humor that I enjoy.
4. Working on a Pixar production. I thoroughly enjoy and respect their movies, but I'd mostly like to work for them because of the experience.
5. Designing a new Lego toy line! Of course because Lego was my favorite toy when I was a kid and I still think its brilliant stuff.
6. Doing architectural concept drawings for any one that has enough money to fund the project. Architecture is a second love of mine.
7. Working on an illusrated version of the his Dark Materials trilogy. I love the stories the worlds and the characters in the book.
8. I'd like to work on a special issue of Tintin, mostly because of nostalgia. Tintin is a character whose history has been criticised and adored, however despite obvious flaws found in the comics, it was one of my favorite books as a kid and I still enjoy it.
9. I'd like to someday do a mural with my dad and brother.
10. Work with a ad agency/organisation in Nigeria to come up with a marketing plan that raises awareness of African history and culture. I feel that government eduaction in many parts of Africa is not doing enough to educate the youth in society. My idealistic thinking is that good worthwhile media can help to soften that blow till the eduation system is organised.

State of the Union: Post 3

2009-01-24T17:47:00.000-08:00

Describe your typical creative process, from getting an assignment to finished piece.
The first step I take is to sketch a couple of notions that are rattling around in my brain based on the problem. I started doing this to compare them to my informed concept sketches based on research. Sometimes humor or methods to play with that naivety are put to good use. The second step is to do as much internet and library based research as possible. This of course helps me understand the subject better, dispel misconceptions, and most importantly (I think for me anyway) helps me develop an augmented visual vocabulary that aids communication. The next step is to play around with compositions and the acquired ideas and visual references to not only communicate the ideas but also to express my own personal voice and perspective. After the sketches and thumbnails have been narrowed down to the strongest I decide based on what I would like to draw most. Next I execute the piece in either charcoal or ink wash depending on whether I need precision or atmosphere. After that is done, I scan the piece in and color digitally make corrections and touch up the composition and lighting. Also because of my personal illustrative aesthetic, I use scanned in images and textures to add a little visual interest to pieces.

Describe what you think your creative process should be like?
I wish I would include color key sketches into my process and I have seen artists like James Jean using a light box to refine sketches and iron out problems and add flourishes via this method. I would like to use these processes but I often get impatient and end up ignoring them.

Research and describe a professional creator's creative process.
Sam Weber's creative process is one that I've admired for a while because of the process and how consistent his final illustrations are. Also I have found that his creative process is similar to mine, and have found several different methods of his that I have tried to apply to my illustration. He starts sketching after a little research because he says he doesn't want to limit his own imagination. He finds his own sketching (which he does with ink or ink washes) his strongest ability and bases his final illustrations on the experiments, general shapes and spontaneity of his sketches. The most amount of technical energy goes into this step, as Sam Weber says without this vital foundation the digital step doesn't not work at all. He then takes this final ink illustration and adds accents of color or and and adds muted color overlays to the rest of the image. To add a layer of visual depth and atmosphere he then uses textures and 'accidental' marks to add the human touch back into the image. However Weber mentions that recently he has been trying to distance himself from using the computer in many aspects of his work.

State of the Union: Post 2

2009-01-23T18:44:00.000-08:00

Choose five doodles or sketches that you like as much as any of your finished pieces.

Of the artwork you have done, what is your personal favorite piece? Why do you like it?

I recently worked on a series of illustrations for the bazaar. I enjoyed working in this specific style technically because I was able to explore my tendencies toward flat shapes and line interacting with textures. I also got to use color more intentionally and with more awareness than I ever previously did. Lastly the free choice of subject matter ranging from abstractions of Nigerian Egungun masquerades to fanciful Hausa pipe players. My favorite in the series was the illustration below, mostly because I enjoyed the process of doing the actual charcoal drawing, the flatness of the final piece, an aesthetic I have begun leaning toward.

What piece do other people like most? Do you agree? Why do you think they like it?

Out of the series mentioned above I got the most positive criticism from this illustration. I think it garnered good responses because of the textures and the way they interact with the flat shapes to create motion and an interesting composition. Also I think stylization of figures adds a layer of visual interest to the image.

What piece surprised you the most?
A piece I did in Drawing and Composition about 2 years ago surprised me because I had never really considered 2 things ever working effectively: two picture planes merged to create a more interesting composition and using several overlapped drawings within one picture plane to create layers of visual interest and otherwise unexpected shapes in a composition

State of the Union

2009-01-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

Illustration 5 is here! and to begin we have the State of the Union. A series of daily blog posts based on questions tailored to discover the core of 'illustrator voices.'

Post 1:

What media do you like working in?
I tend to enjoy sketching with charcoal, and when things work out with ink washes they can be fantastic because of its inherent spontaneity, and in the last couple of months I started enjoying using graphite for finished character studies. However, for finished pieces I more than always start traditionally (ink or charcoal) then paint color and add textures to the final steps of the illustration in Photoshop.

What media do you hate working in?
I have developed a dislike for acrylic even though I've tried recently to return to the medium. I also despise pencil colors.

List three non-Illustration classes that have influenced you and/or your work positively.
Life Drawing- taught me that the rate at which you draw the human figure can drastically improve your technical and observational skills and that I also have a bit of a problem with pacing drawings. A life drawing blog I follow is here.
Drawing and Composition- the class affirmed hazy notions of mine about the power of composition and its uses other than making the picture 'fancy.' Also found out a load of painters that broke it down to a science and that color can be an important element of composing art. Composition is essential to me because its important for storytelling and as an aspiring animator, that's fairly important.
Color Studies: Ah, how little I knew and still did about the science of color and how for centuries artists have used color relationships to create wonder. Getting a taste for the techniques used in color theory revitalized my perceptions of color as an artist's tool.
Contemporary concepts in drawing was also good for conceptual and technical problem solving.

How has the work of your peers influenced you and your work?
Mostly in realizing that in comparison with my peers, the scope of my ideation process can be limited. I do a lot of research but not enough effort in realizing the sketches. I tend to get one good idea and stubbornly stick to it.

What sort of subject matter do you like to create work about?
I enjoy creating art based on West African Myth and legends, and West African history that has a heightened sense of reality. I also enjoy drawing from life adding my own mental exaggerations and of course making art based on stories I create. I wouldn't mind illustrating a couple of books like Phillip Pullman's his Dark Materials or Wole Soyinka's The Interpreters.

What sort of subject matter do you like to read about?
I read a lot of collections of West African folk tales, myth and history, a lot of graphic novels with varying subject matter. Recently I've been trying to read different religous texts out of curiosity, and about how stuff works (like lightbulbs) For as long as I can remember adventure fantasy although I'll only read them now if they come highly recommended, although ultimately,I think I'll read anything that is more than averagely interesting.

What kind of music do you like?
Ah music. Music always affects me profoundly (as does everyone of course), but for some reason I can't generate the effort or devote time toactively seek it out. I usually just stick to tried and tested musicians or bands. There are some favorite genres though like Afro beat (Fela and Femi Kuti), Jazz, and very specific Electronica (Massive attack, Chromeo, etc). I also enjoy movie sound tracks which is how I discovered Michael Nyman who created the soundtrack for Gattaca.

What non-art related interest/hobbies/skills do you have?
I like watching and playing soccer, cooking (when there's time), used to be a Lego enthusiat, but no time for that anymore, juggling

What is something that you like that nobody else likes?
the taste of Mouthwash

If you had run of the world's museums, what three works of original art would you like own?
Umberto Boccioni's Unique Forms of Continuity in Space 1913
Auguste Rodin's Monument to the Burghers of Calais 1889
Luis Baragan's Cuadra San Cristobal, completed in 1968
Heinrich Kley's sketchbooks

Final Illustrations: Cosmicomics book cover and interior illustrations

2008-11-28T19:24:00.000-08:00

I thoroughly enjoyed reading more of Italo Calvino's work. Here are the final illustrations for two interior short stories from Cosmicomics; The Aquatic Uncle and The Distance of the Moon. The cover is a play on another one of the short stories in the book called The Spiral.

Postage Stamps for Cuba!

2008-11-19T00:07:00.000-08:00

Our latest assignment was to illustrate a series of four stamps for a diaspora whose culture has been assimilated into U.S culture. I picked Cuba mostly because I've always been interested in their history and aspects of their African rooted culture. The trick was to avoid using stereotypes and do some research into specifics of the country. The stamp descriptions are as follows:

Stamp 1 (Top Left): Jose Martin, the literary and historic figure that inspired the foundations of the Cuban revolution. The colors are derived from the Cuban flag and the flowers are the Cuban national flower.

Stamp 2 (Top Right): The Orisha Yemaya who is a deity of the sea that Cubans worship in Lukumi religion, which is actually derived from Yoruba Ifa religion brouht over during the slave trade. Yemaya's colors are blue white and silver (hence the color scheme and her number is seven represented by the bubbles emanating from her palm and the wave motifs in the background.

Stamp 3 (Bottom Left) The Afro- Cuban Rumba which actually looks a lot different from ballroom Rumba. The original Rumba is a less staged and looks more inspired by West African dance than Spanish dance.

Stamp 4 (Bottom Right): Cassava and plantain is a Cuban delicacy and right now I truly wouldn't mind some... especially the fried plantain. The yellow background was made to imitate stucco walls that you might see in a Cuban restaurant.

Article Illustration

2008-10-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

Here is an illustration I just did for class based on an article that was recently posted in the International Herald Tribune. The article is about American astronauts in Russia and can be found here. The major theme I tried to depict in this illustration was the fact that even though the U.S. and Russian astronauts are presently standing shoulder to shoulder, they still don't see eye to eye. One party is uneasy about their new alliance and the other is still skeptical of the other. So I though it would be kind of fun to give the whole piece cold war. overtones. There are corrections that need to be made. eg. the U.S flag, but for now here it is.

Celebrity illustration/ caricature

2008-10-13T23:45:00.000-07:00

We were instructed to choose a movie currently in the theaters or one that will be released shortly and make a caricature or illustration depicting the main star of the film in the appropriate context. I went the traditional illustration route and chose Jamie Foxx as my star in the movie The Soloist. The Soloist is a true story based on the life of Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx), a musical prodigy that studied at Julliard, whose life fell apart after he developed schizophrenia. He subsequently becomes homeless in LA, however the movie centers around the friendship that develops between Ayers and the journalist, Steve Lopez. The movie is set to hit theaters in November and promises to be pretty good as Foxx is pretty good at doing biopic type movies like Ray, which I really enjoyed.

My Stance on the Death Penalty

2008-09-14T23:47:00.001-07:00

My Thoughts on the Death Penalty

2008-09-14T23:45:00.001-07:00

It is no ordeal to analyze an issue outside the sphere of actual experience pertaining to the death penalty and come to the logical conclusion that it is simply wrong to take a human life no matter the circumstance. However, issues such as this are never as unequivocal, and life experience itself has taught me that my mind will work in unexpected manners when forced into peculiar or specific situations.

From 1993 to 1998, Nigeria was under the Military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha, a man who had been instrumental in the execution of two bloodless coup d'états from 1985 and was no stranger to power as he was appointed the Defense Minister and Chief of Army Staff in the process. The country had had a rocky history since its independence in 1960 with a bloody civil war from 1967-70, but no leader so effectively and single handedly brought the nation to its knees, economically, politically and ethically. He brutally killed opposition to his regime, looted $1 billion worth of oil revenue and was openly corrupt (1). I was there and although I was too young to understand everything I know the general attitude people bore towards Sani Abacha, and very candidly it was death. Everyone I knew wished some sort of ill will or malice toward him, not to mention rumors of constant threats of assassination aimed at him. At the time of Abacha's death (cardiac arrest, although some suspect foul play) in 1998, I can remember feeling a feeling of intense joy and most importantly hope and not just from me, there were celebrations in the streets for days. The country I was living in would possibly begin to catch up with an increasingly progressive world.

In retrospect, I still do not feel ashamed of these feelings, as the country would not have so expediently reached a stage of repair. But he died of 'natural causes,' which is very different from a willful act of killing the man. If Sani Abacha was tried and executed, I am almost certain that at the time many would have condoned it including myself, however today I'm not sure I would. It's possible to argue on several tiers of morality why putting him to death would have been wrong, but it seems to me, the most prominent reason is that it would seem like an easy solution to a problem that caused profound and irreparable damage. I think he would be a good reminder to everyone if he was still in a prison and not just in the annals of history. Besides that, Abacha did have a family and condoning his execution to me would be akin to 'flipping the switch' personally.

Besides my feelings on the matter, I believe that world society is not unified enough at this time in our history to come to a unified decision today, so at least while capital punishment is still in our midst, it is necessary to make sure it is used only in the most unique cases. For instance, in several parts of the world different forms of unfair capital punishment are carried out under Sharia Muslim law, in until recently China's capital punishment was applicable to most criminal offenses (2), and in the U.S. there are several cases of racial bias (3). Ultimately, from a removed standpoint in an ideal world I could attest to a stance against capital punishment with absolute resolve, but as hypothetical morality is sometimes fallible, it is hard to say whether exceptional circumstances would fault my theoretically stalwart belief

1. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/a/sani_abacha/index.html

2. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/10/world/main3920936.shtml?source=RSSattr=World_3920936

3. http://w ww.religioustolerance.org/executj.htm

Bibliography

1. 1.Norris, Floyd. "Ideas, Trends; A Nigerian Miracle" New York Times.

Published: April 22, 2002. Viewed September 7, 2008.

2. 2."Rare Look at China's Death Penalty" CBS News Published March 10, 2008

3. 3.Robinson, Bruce A. "Racial bias in Applying the Death Penalty" Ontario Consultants on religious Tolerance. Published: June 8 1995. Viewed September 2, 2002

New Blog!

2008-09-14T23:40:00.000-07:00

I decided to separate my personal blog from my school stuff because I want to keep the continuity of the animation project I'm working on, plus my school stuff tends to suffer from a lack of time spent on it. Well, here's to what will hopefully be a good run of illustrations.