I Don't Know What This Means But It Means Something

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This is also a product of my recent intense sketchbooking phase. I went back to a lot of old pages and filled them in with pretty random images. I'd use photos from books and off the internet and just draw whatever appealed to me. It feels like a kind of collaging. Once a few different characters/objects have been added, meanings and narratives begin to form and then I just go on fleshing out and enhancing whatever story is in there. Sometimes it's more a feeling than an obvious story but that's ok. Here, for example, I began with an old sketch from a photo of Patricia Highsmith smoking. Then I added the rest, improvising some patterns and colours. I like to imagine that this picture is a story. But what is it about?

Nice Animation

I love this showreel by animator Thomas Hicks. He's got a lovely, lovely style. There's a link below to more of his stuff.

Thomas Hicks Animation Montage from Thomas Hicks on Vimeo.

My House

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I was trying to fill out my sketchbooks a while ago, to submit with my portfolio, and ended up doing quite a few drawings of my flat and the objects in it. It's a good place to draw; one of those old fashioned Edinburgh flats with high ceilings and a bit aged and eccentric. Here's a drawing of the hallway, complete with a ghost - a portrait on the page behind it showing through the tracing paper:

Our kitchen window at night:

...and just the window pane with raindrops and streetlights:

Animal People

Morbid Anatomy: Beautiful on the Inside

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I found this goldmine of images related to anatomy, surgery, teratology and assorted weirdness. Here are some highlights:
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Ernst Haeckel: Kunstformen der Natur

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Haeckel was an embryologist, philosopher and a zealous advocate of evolutionary theory in Germany. He is said to have coined the term ecology. He is also famous for his stunningly beautiful illustrations. I would recommend finding Kunstformen der Natur (Artforms in Nature) in the library because the book itself is enourmous so these tiny digital images don't do it justice. Click on them to see larger versions.

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Spottiswoode Street

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This is the cover of my home-made sketchbook. A corner of the street where I live. I did it with felt tips, several shades of green and brown. It's a bit wonky but I like it that way. There are places where I've tested new colours and decided they didn't work out and then left them - notably the green and black windows and the bit of blue and turqoise paving stones. I think it adds charm. Mistakes are good.

Crush!

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This is what comes out of basically just fooling around in my Moleskine. These kind of drawings take months to make; I keep returning to them and adding stuff and then eventually it starts taking some kind of shape. It's almost like drawn collage if such a thing can exist. At the top is a nice quote I found: "Only indifference is free. What is distinctive is never free, it is stamped with its own seal, conditioned and chained." (Thomas Mann) It's fitting, somehow.

The London Zine Symposium 2009

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I'm going down to London for this event next month to sell my comic Toastycats and mingle with the zine scene. Last year's Symposium was really good: packed with stalls and visitors and featuring great workshops and food from the Pogo Cafe.

It will take place on Sunday the 3rd of May 12pm-6pm at The Rag Factory, 16-18 Heneage Street, a small street off Brick Lane.

Check out their website.

More Randomness

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This past week has been a little stressful as I've been putting the final touches to my portfolio of drawings. I've been especially preoccupied with my sketchbooks, in which I've been filling every last bit of space with faces, creatures and whatnot. I'll be posting scans of all that stuff. Here's a little sample.

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