Totoro!

It has been nearly a year since I last posted, a lot has happened in the last year but posting on my blog is sadly not one of those things. Around this time last year I had the urge to try my hand at alternative poster art and again this year I had the same bug…must be a new years thing!

So this year I decided to tackle the amazing film My Neighbour Totoro. This anime gem is a must for anyone who enjoys animation…or anyone who has kids that enjoy it! Trying to capture everything that goes on in the movie is no easy task but this is my attempt

I have now set myself the new challenge of redesigning some classic children’s book covers so watch this space for the updates…hopefully this year I will have more luck updating the blog.

In the mean time, enjoy Totoro and feel free to comment.

If you like this poster and other stuff I have on here feel free to contact me through my design company Zoocreative and perhaps I can make a nice poster/website/logo/whatever for you!

KANEDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Nothing quite says Valentines like the destruction of Neo-Tokyo. So to celebrate this I thought I would try my hand at some Poster Art, it’s not quite minimal but it’s not excessive either. Been trying to get into this for a while after seeing some of the amazing work from Olly Moss, Tom Whalen and many others. I am a LONG way off the amazing skills of these guys but hey they deserve a mention for being my muses. So here is my first attempt…

Alternative Akira Poster Art

A drawing a day keeps the boredom at bay!

I have taken up sketching again, as I really need to work on this skill. I was looking though my old drawings from a few years back when I started using Betty Edwards Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and they really were a hilarious. I plan to put them on here in due course but I need to draw a new self portrait to compare them too. However, in the mean time I will put up some of my recent drawings.

I admit this is probably just for my own amusement but some people may actually enjoy looking at them, I know I enjoy looking at others work. My skills over the past few years have definitely improved and I am somewhat putting this down to the exercises in Betty Edwards book and DVD, but on top of the practical knowledge she also instils the virtue that ‘anyone can draw’. Drawing is an ability like any other and with practice (and a few basic tips) it can improve. Once I got my head around the premise that it wasn’t just something you were born with, I started to see an improvement in my drawing.

I can (and am) overly critical of my own work, so I can spot the flaws in the below pieces from a mile away (as I’m sure some of you will too), but the process was enjoyable and what better way to spend a wet autumnal evening than staring at some random celebrity’s face for a couple of hours and noticing all their flaws (or perfections…thanks Photoshop).

Anyway I hope you enjoy the drawings, feel free to crit them if you feel the urge. Although if possible keep them constructive and provide any tips you can (that way we can all learn)….however “That looks like a pile of crap!” is also perfectly acceptable.

Bill Murray

John Cleese

Natalie Portman

So that is it for now, hope you enjoy and comments are always welcome.

Dickie

First Sketchbook Sketch

First Sketch, a photo by dickwalsh on Flickr.

I have just spent most of the night updating iTunes et al, in the vain hope of getting iOS5 on to my iPod Touch only to realise that it’s not out until tomorrow However I did mess about more with the idea of the iPhone/iPod as a tool for sketching. I have tried it before but my skills were lacking, and although I don’t think they are up to any great level as yet they are definitely better than they were.

I had a quick look and Brushes and Sketchbook and decided to grab Sketchbook for £1.50 it’s a bargain if I can get used to it’s features. Not sure if my big clumpy hands were designed for such precision but to be honest it’s quite fun once you get started.

I hear Brushes is also very good and a lot more responsive but when it comes to Apps I seem to hate opening the purse strings for some reason, so I went for the cheaper option. Don’t get me wrong the cheap option is still very good but I just seem to hate spending money on apps even though I would happily spend the £3 on beer and junk food without batting an eye I am a strange breed!

Anyway, here is the sketch, not much to marvel at just yet but hopefully it will be the start of something good … i’ll probably give in and get Brushes too, even just to record the sketches as I do them

Look Ma, I made me the purdy pictures!

So my first real post with pictures and everything!! I made these 2 images for the Inishowen Gospel Choir (of which I am a member). I had already made a few other posters for the choir but they were very boring and standard affairs so I thought I would go a little more abstract with these posters and see how it turned out. Thankfully it turned out rather well…well I think so anyway.

The mind awakens!

And so it begins…again! Hello world I am {random stranger} and here I am launching another blog onto you my unsuspecting public. What unfortunate act did you perform in your past life to have the misfortune to stumble onto this page! Well since you have made it this far I may as well introduce myself and remove the stranger element of this one way conversation. I am a Graphic / Web Designer based in Derry in Northern Ireland. I run my own wee business with a friend of mine and we make interesting things for other people.

As fun as this can be it rarely gives you the opportunity to flex your creative muscles. That last sentence would lead you to believe that I have a creative muscles…well technically this is my training ground…my gym as it were. I am a young design Rocky and you (my poor unfortunate audience) are my Mickey! ………. I guess I should have thought that analogy through a little more…even if you really like me, I doubt you would want to be my Mickey! Well I never said it was going to be easy so man up and start shouting at me or i’ll just slink off into the corner.

OK I feel I have injected enough nonsense onto you for now so i’ll leave it at that. Roll on the fun stuff!

Dickie