Little Motions

Phone Sketch #21: Game, Set & Match

2011-07-01T12:51:00.001+01:00

riday phone sketch's are no more. Sort of.

I'm not abandoning them as I haven't been doing them that long but I have decided to change things slightly. I'm switching to a numbering system and no longer restricting myself to Friday's as I've found it's a rather busy day for me at the moment and I've found it difficult to get things done. My working life is in flux at the moment so I'm having to reassess a few things and therefore want to keep things flexible in that regard. I will continue to post phone sketches but not necessarily always on a Friday or even every single week. I want to commit my self to other projects right now and with my half marathon training and aforementioned changes at work I need to prioritise.

This weeks sketch is inspired by the tennis and the current Wimbledon tournament. Today is men's semi-final day and It's a huge day for Andy Murray so I thought this would be a nice way to mark the moment.

This post was brought to you by the letter F

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Robots Are Cool. Right?

2011-06-24T13:56:00.000+01:00

ast week I drew a robot but on the verge of completion my phone sketch app crashed and to my dismay I'd lost most of it. I got so Into the sketch that I didn't save it regularly enough as I went along ending up with just the rough outline and no time left to start again or post it here. I've since finished it and so present it to you today.

I don't know why but I just got the urge to draw a robot. I once asked my mother if she could recall when I first started to draw or what inspired me. She said as far as she could remember I was always drawing, that I had a vivid imagination and that as a boy I was always drawing robots. The strange thing is I have no recollection of drawing robots, at least not specifically. Robot's, however, are cool no matter how you dress them up but I decided to make mine a bit of a loner. So here he is sitting in a tree, all alone, his glowing gaze peering out into the night.

This post was brought to you by the letter L

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Ready, Steady, Go!

2011-06-10T14:50:00.001+01:00

unning is a pastime I've been undertaking for some time now, hitting the streets and the park at least three times a week. To date a 5k run is as far as I've been and I haven't taken part in an official race either. That is all about to change.

I've wanted to run in longer races such as a marathon ever since I got the running bug and just this past week I entered the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon. The race is in October so I'm just starting my training now and I'll be running for the charity UNICEF.

UNICEF is a charity that help vunerable and deprived children around the world (particularly in developing countries) to have a better start in life, better education and a quality of life the rest of us take for granted. I have a fundraising target of £550 and you can help me get there by donating to my fundraising page here. I know we live in tough economic times but whatever you can give will make a huge difference. I have only 110 friends on facebook but if they all gave just £5 then I would reach my target, so do the easy bit and I'll do the hard bit by finishing the race.

With running in mind I come to today's phone sketch which is pretty self explanatory really. It's not necessarily me in the image (It doesn't even have a beard!) but it could be. Please leave a comment as it would be great to get some feedback on here and know people are checking out the blog other than via Google statistics and don't forget to make a donation on my fundraising page.

This post was brought to you by the letter R

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Pink Footballer

2011-06-03T16:17:00.001+01:00

hort on time this week so have to make this quick. I decided I wanted to draw an old fashioned looking footballer from the 40's or 50's but I wanted to make it cartoon like as well. I then looked at a poster I have on my wall and basically ripped off the colour scheme and slightly aped the style of Illustration depicted in it. I would have liked to refine the final image a bit more as well but like I said already I'm a bit pushed for time, such is life.

This post was brought to you by the letter S

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

St. Leonards Shoreditch

2011-05-31T13:34:00.001+01:00

wo Saturdays ago I joined up with the members of Drawing London On Location for the first meetup since before Easter. The locations this time stretched from Christchurch in Spitalfields, through Brick Lane and on to Shoreditch. We had intended to visit Hoxton square but it was fenced off for construction work so we settled in the grounds of St Leonards Church Shoreditch. For this meetup I decided to practice depicting whole scenes that lay before me rather than just specific objects, buildings or people. It's something I want to work on more and more to help inform storyboarding and Illustration work and to insure I become more affective at creating environments for characters to live and breath in. My efforts as a result were very varied and all largely incomplete so I've only decided to post one of them. It's the final piece I did on the day and though I failed to capture any of the surrounding architecture and background elements of the park I was never the less fairly happy with the compositional balance I did manage to portray. All the people in the drawing are fellow sketchers from the group and I feel I was starting to gain some sense of place when the time ran out. It's a decent starting point and something to build on.

This post was brought to you by the letter T

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Stick Out Your Tongue Part 2: The Gurn

2011-05-27T15:20:00.002+01:00

ollowing on from last week, as promised, I'm continuing with the face pulling theme I used. After coming across the video of a 1969 gurning competition I then discovered one of the 1985 World Face Pulling Championship in Mocrabeau, France. There's a bit more variety to the faces pulled in this video and the winner, Herbert Kraft from Germany, is a particularly fine gurner and deserved winner. Here's my phone sketch depicting that winning gurn with the video itself below that.

This post was brought to you by the letter F

Daily Drop Cap by Friends Of Type

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Stick Out Your Tongue Part 1

2011-05-20T21:57:00.000+01:00

aking funny faces is childish and immature! (voice of reason)
No it's not, it's a fun way to goof around and let off steam! (child in me)

Well that's exactly what I've been doing today and I've done a phone sketch to represent such facial grotesquery. Ok that's not a word, I just made it up but it should be and here's why.


"Mummy he sticked his tongue at me!"

People have been pulling faces for years and even have competitions to see who is the best at it. It's called gurning and here's a video from 1969 showing that old men are particularly proficient in the art.

Now they're some great faces! This was a fun phone sketch to do, so fun in fact that I've got part two coming up for you next week so in the mean time why not practice pulling some faces of your own.

'This post was sponsored by the letter M'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Fantasy

2011-05-13T23:53:00.000+01:00

antasy as a genre has intermittently reared it's head throughout my life this week. It started with the film Legend being shown on television last weekend and stormed on through sheer epic sound as I listened to Basil Poledouris score for Conan The Barbarian. I then caught up with the latest episode of Game Of Thrones and later in the week saw a documentary about the Icelandic Sagas (not really fantasy but stories from the time of vikings and evoking it's spirit for me none the less).

With all this sword and sorcery exposure I just had to sketch something from the genre. Then I looked on my book shelf, saw my Gollum statue and well, this happened....

Err, Precious?

'This post was sponsored by the letter F'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: The Horsehead of Orion

2011-04-29T07:14:00.000+01:00

he Hubble Space Telescope last week celebrated it's 21st anniversary of being sent into orbit. One of the largest and most advanced space telescopes ever created it has taken man to places we couldn't ever have imagined and shown us things that have and continue to, shape the way we view the cosmos. To celebrate NASA took a picture of ARP 273, a pair of interacting galaxies that form the shape of a rose.

It's a spectacular image and so I thought I'd recreate a Hubble photograph in the form of a phone sketch. I've chosen Barnard 33, also known as the Horsehead Nebula one of the most photographed and recognisable images of outer space. Here's my slightly more crude and abstract depiction of it.

'This post was sponsored by the letter T'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Deadpool Easter Egg

2011-04-22T22:02:00.000+01:00

don't have much time this week so I've had to keep this sketch very simple and this post brief. It's Easter weekend and so I thought I'd celebrate with a rather unusual egg. An egg inspired by a fictional, psychopathic, split personality, killer assassin. That's right folks, it's Deadpool Egg!

Wade 'Egg-Head' Wilson

'This post was sponsored by the letter I'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

Park Life

2011-04-20T12:59:00.001+01:00

ast Saturday I went to the park for a drawing meetup and despite getting a little sun burnt, and my football team losing that evening it was a rather lovely day. I hadn't been to the last two meetups so It was nice to catch up with some familiar faces and I also really enjoyed the drawings I did. Particularly the first one as I used some watercolour which I haven't really done before. I borrowed a little watercolour pack from a friend and fellow group member as I didn't have an appropriate green with which to colour some trees and foliage and was quite pleased with the results. It's a medium I've been interested in exploring more so I intend to get myself a set and teach myself some techniques. For now here's my sketches from Hyde Park and Holland Park.

Bird on a rock in the Serpentine

Incomplete Royal Albert Hall

An unusual horn and cog based sculpture

'This post was sponsored by the letter L'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: When You Wish Upon A Star

2011-04-15T19:41:00.000+01:00

ll this week I've been feeling a little under the weather with a nasty cough that I just can't shake. As a result I didn't feel much like doing a phone sketch today but In the end I thought I'd just do something quick and simple, using it to cheer me up. So thinking about something that used simple shapes and made me happy I almost immediately thought of Disney movies and I settled on a magic moment from Pinnochio. I hope you like it and this week (at the risk of sounding completely cheesy on top of the already saccharine nature of this post) may your dreams come true!...............................................................................................ok you can throw up now.

'This post was sponsored by the letter A'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: The Final Frontier

2011-04-08T12:50:00.001+01:00

n 12th April 1961 history was made as Yuri Gagarin became the first human to venture into space and next Tuesday marks the 50th anniversary of this pioneering event. Reading about it yesterday I discovered there are lot's of events happening, particularly in the UK, to commemorate the anniversary all of which can be discovered at http://yurigagarin50.org/. One particular event of interest is the release of First Orbit a free film shot entirely on board the International Space Station to recreate the original first orbit of Vostok 1 (Gagarin's spacecraft). The film will premiere on Youtube at 0607 GMT, the same time of Gagarin's departure 50 years ago.

Inspired by my reading of the feats of Yuri Gagarin and the early days of the space race I thought I'd sketch an astronaut in space. I've gone for a loose, somewhat generic and more modern looking spaceman rather than interpreting Gagarin himself in his cosmonaut suit but hopefully it's appreciated none the less.

'This post was sponsored the letter O'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: The Raised Fist Of Defiance

2011-04-01T23:12:00.001+01:00

hy I chose the subject for today's phone sketch or the above title I don't know. I guess I just wanted to sketch a hand gesture so there's no interesting story or inspiration for the sketch this week, therefore you'll have to come up with one of your own. In fact that seems like a good idea, leave me a comment or tweet me a caption and tell me what this image says to you. Failing that tell me what last caused you to raise your fist in defiance (either metaphorically or literally will do).

I'll kick it off by saying it's just made me think of the title of a great album: Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven by Godspeed You Black Emperor. Damn, that's a much better title than I could ever have thought of.

'This post was sponsored by the letter W'

Daily Drop Cap By Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Elizabeth Taylor

2011-03-25T23:26:00.002Z

lizabeth Rosemond Taylor, born February 27th 1932, sadly died this week and to commemorate her passing I decided to dedicate today's phone sketch to her. This was a very challenging sketch, not least because her famously fine features were so flawless that they were very difficult to draw. Such is the case with beautiful people as one slight error sticks out like a sore thumb. As a result I don't think I quite succeeded in capturing her likeness, though I could have kept tweaking it for hours. However there are only so many in a day and I was quickly running out.

1932-2011

'This post was sponsored by the Letter E'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

The Chinaman & The Golden Girl

2011-03-23T11:53:00.001Z

hree Saturday's ago I spent the day at the V&A museum for a drawing meetup but couldn't make it to the one last week so I thought I'd delay posting my sketches to spread things out a bit. I've been to the V&A many times in the past and often drawn pieces from the sculpture gallery and many of the little artifacts in various cabinets around the the museum. I wanted to do something different this time and so I headed up and kept going, until I'd reached the top floor in the furthest reaches of the gallery. I don't think many people venture that far up in the V&A as it's very quiet up there but they should as there's plenty of interesting things to see, not least the huge ceramic collection on view. There are pieces from ancient history right up to the present day and my two sketches reflect this I suppose.

The first sketch is a Jade ceramic sculpture from China. It was in a cabinet full of many other similar pieces and one of many cabinets stacked high and wide in the room. I found it difficult to find the specific details for this piece on the database as there are literally thousands so I can't tell you anything about it I'm afraid. The second was in a room exhibiting modern ceramic sculpture and is called 'Girl Baptised In Gold' by Kim Simonsson from 2008. I saw it early on and was struck by how different it was so returned to it in the afternoon to draw it. Here's a picture of both to help put them in context.

'This post was sponsored by the the letter T'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Atlantis by the Sun

2011-03-18T13:45:00.001Z

ecently I've gained an increasing interest in the cosmos. It's something I've been reading about and researching for a possible personal project and recent television programmes such as Stargazing Live and Wonder's Of The Universe have peaked that interest.

While watching the former I came across the work of astrophotographer Thierry Legault. He is an award winning photographer who takes pictures of the The sun, space and all the wonders of our solar system. In 2009 he took a picture of the Atlantis space shuttle in silhouette while in solar transit to the Hubble space telescope. It's a stunning Image that was featured on the front page of the Times newspaper shortly after and Inspired me to create today's phone sketch of that same image.

'Today's post was sponsored by the letter R'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Spam Eating Troll

2011-03-11T21:21:00.000Z

he Internet is a wonderful thing that has revolutionized the world we live in and this blog wouldn't exist without it. There are some things about the Internet however that we could all do without and today's phone sketch is just a little visual pun on two of those things.

'Today's post was sponsored by the letter T'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Classic Books

2011-03-04T23:49:00.000Z

oy am I late this week but It's still Friday and I'm sneaking in this phone sketch just in time. It might be Saturday by the time anyone reads this though so if you are and it is then you might also know that's tonight is World Book Night, which follows World Book Day; which was on Thursday. To honour the occasion I decided to sketch a bookshelf full of classics that I wish to read but have yet to do so. I cheated a little bit as I used Photoshop to create the title fonts because trying to write the text with an Android phone with your finger is nigh on impossible without it looking incredibly crude. Hope you can forgive me, I'll try keeping it simpler next time.

'This post was sponsored by the letter B'

Daily Drop Cap By Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Death Becomes Me

2011-02-25T21:13:00.000Z

riday's here and it's time for another phone sketch. I'm a little late in the day with it again so I'm going to have to work on getting them done a little earlier, perhaps by doing a few throughout the week so I'm ahead of myself. The thing is with each one I'm taking a bit more time to do them and I can be a bit of a perfectionist sometimes, not wanting to finish till I get them right. Anyhow here's today's, with a line that came to me a while ago but I've not thought of a use for it until now.

'This post was sponsored by the letter F'

Daily Drop Cap By Jessica Hische

Focke & The Little Boy

2011-02-23T15:05:00.000Z

n Saturday I took a trip to the Imperial War Museum for the Drawing London On Location group's latest meetup and I think It proved quite challenging. With almost entirely mechanical objects on show it required a level of precision and observation that didn't really allow for loose, gestural or experimental drawings. This meant most of us took our time with the drawings we made, mostly completing only one or two each. Here are my efforts.

Focke FW 190

The German Focke was an Infamous fighter plane in the Luftwaffe during the Second World War and is actually a dark green and grey colour but I only had a lime green pen so just stuck to the grey tones here.

Little Boy

Little Boy was the name given to the bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II and this is the casing of that type of bomb. The bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki was called Fat Man. While drawing it occurred to me that for something so powerfully destructive it is actually quite an elegant and beautiful design. My drawing possibly doesn't show this so I've added a picture of it below which also shows how squashed and out of proportion it is too. I hoped to use ink and brush pens to render this drawing but by the time I had drawn the basic structure in pencil there wasn't much time left in the day and I would of had to rush it. I thought I might ruin it if I did so I stuck to the pencil rendering you see here.


Elegantly Destructive

'This post was sponsored by the letter O'

Daily Drop Cap By Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: The Pianist

2011-02-18T21:50:00.001Z

'm posting a little late in the day this week as I accidentally deleted the sketch while about a quarter of the way through. It was very frustrating but It's probably turned out to be a better sketch than what It might have been. The Inspiration for it came while watching an episode of the programme Jame's Rhodes: Piano Man which showcases the British pianist playing and talking about some of his favourite compositions. He's a very talented and interesting fella and you can follow him on twitter where he's also quite funny. I thought a hand on a piano would be a nice simple image but it turns out that isn't so, not on a phone anyway.


Are the white keys a bit chunky or the black ones not chunky enough?

'This post was sponsored by the letter I'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Cthulu's First Day At School

2011-02-11T19:47:00.000Z

ecently I watched a fascinating documentary about H.P. Lovecraft and though I've never read any of his books I hope to remedy that soon. In the mean time I was inspired to create a phone sketch of his most famous creation Cthulu. I didn't have time to add any shadows or definition so it's a bit flat but it was fun to draw. Here he is on his first day at school.

'This post was sponsored by the letter R'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

Horniman Museum

2011-02-09T14:16:00.000Z

ast Saturday saw the return of the Drawing London On Location meetups for 2011 and we all met at the fascinating Horniman Museum in Forest Hill, South London. I'd never been there before and I have to say it is a very interesting little place. It houses a collection of natural history artifacts, musical instruments, Chinese anthropology, Native American and African artifacts and even boasts an aquarium, botanical gardens and a library. It's quite an eclectic mix of exhibitions and apart from the aquarium and temporary exhibitions it's all free. It's a great place to take children as the many school groups on the day testified to, not to mention the fact that many of them were jumping up and down around the spot I chose to draw from. Anyway, here's what I produced. The first one is of an unusual drum kit that I spent most of the session drawing and the other two are from the natural history collection that I did in the last ten or twenty minutes of the day.

The Drum in the left foreground is a bit thin but this was an interesting challenge to draw.

Black-Handed Spider Monkey

Two-Toed Sloth

'This post was sponsored by the letter L'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

FRIDAY PHONE SKETCH: Ponyo

2011-02-04T15:35:00.000Z

elcome to the first post of a new regular slot I'm trying out for Friday's each week. I'm calling it Friday Phone sketch and does exactly what it says on the tin. Using my Android phone, and the Sketchbook Pro app, I'll be creating little doodles and sketches for your perusal. The first one I have here is Ponyo from that magical little Studio Ghibli film. It's only my third sketch with my phone and by far the longest time I've spent on one so I'm still getting used to drawing this way but let me know what you think.

'This Post was sponsored by the letter W'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

INFLUENCE MAP

2011-01-30T02:26:00.000Z

here's been a meme going round since last summer called an Influence Map and although I'm very late in jumping on the bandwagon I've decided to do one myself. A friend of mine did one that brought my attention to it and then another friend did one so I thought I'd better get round to posting mine.

I have to say, it wasn't easy to do this as there were so many influences to choose from and so many I've left out. I took me quite some time to narrow them down and I made a number of changes as I went along but this is what I've ended up with.

Bob Dylan

My father introduced me to Bob Dylan's music when I was younger and I was instantly drawn in to the wonderful narrative, characters and imagery he creates with his lyrics. I've always been fascinated with words and the English language so for me there is no finer exponent of lyric writing than the great man. Some people don't understand what the fuss is about with Dylan and can't get past his voice but for me it's as much about his enunciation as it is his turn of phrase. My life would be less rich were it not for his songs.

Ken Adam Exhibition @ the Serpentine Gallery, 2000

When I was studying art and design just before university (about 2000 or 2001) my class at the time visited an exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park, London. The exhibition was of work by Ken Adam the famous Production Designer and for me it was a formative moment. We worked on a project with the gallery where we each created a model for a set, based on a given piece of text/narrative and using the work of Ken Adam as an inspiration point. I absolutely loved doing this and I think I knew right there and then that I wanted to create visual narratives be it for film, animation or the page. If you haven't heard of Adam then you certainly know the films he worked on. Dr Strangelove (That famous war room!), Dr No, Gold Finger, Thunderball, Moonraker, Barry Lyndon and so many more. His work is iconic and the James Bond films alone wouldn't be the same without him. Here's his IMDB page, just look at the list of films he created the look for!

Superman & Frank Quitely

You might say I'm cheating here as I'm killing two birds with one stone but I think it's a fair enough compromise. The first film I ever saw In the cinema was Superman IV. Yes I know It's terrible but like most kids I was entranced by the man that could fly. I've always loved Superman ever since but he's a notoriously difficult character to consistently create fresh and interesting stories with. He's essentially omnipotent so threats to his life, or other characters accomplishing things he could more easily than him aren't easy to believe. All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely was a Superman story that blew my mind and is the best incarnation of Superman I can ever remember coming across. That might sound like hyperbole but If you don't know the book but It's reputation and acclaim in comics is almost unparalled in recent years. It was a unique and fresh take on the Superman myth, one not bogged down by the characters history and one that portrayed the man of steel as godlike but with a human touch. The artwork from Frank Quitely is stunning, very clean and simple looking but when analysed a bit you can see how technically proficient he is. I've been a fan ever since and he's in my top two or three favourite comic book artists.

The Pixar Exhibition

When Toy Story was first released in the 90's I have to admit I wasn't as enthusiastic about it as most people were. I liked it enough and have increasingly enjoyed their films ever since but it just didn't really click with me at the time. In 2006 the Science Museum in London hosted Pixar's 20th anniversary exhibition and going to see it was a life changing moment for me. At the time I had finished my master's degree in Illustration and had struggled to find work. Although I had been creating work that was moving image based I didn't really know If I wanted to move towards live action, animation or In what capacity. This exhibition made my mind up. Seeing all the concept and pre-production artwork and the process of creating an animated movie was so inspiring that I new it was what I wanted to do. I then decided from that point on to go back into education and study animation. Although I'm more in the 2D camp and have barely got going in my career, I know what I want and am driven towards it. I have the inspiration this experience gave me to thank for that.

Quantum Leap

I love sci-fi, particularly time travel and parallel universe stories, and for me there is none better than Quantum Leap (and of course the first Back To The Future movie). It's probably my favourite TV show of all time and I used to watch every episode that I could find when I was a child. For anyone that doesn't know Quantum Leap I think the words from the show's opening monologue sum it up best:

"Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished. He awoke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own, and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al; an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so, Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap, will be the leap home."
   Sam never got home and somehow I kinda like it that way. It never got overly sentimental or tied things up in a neat little bow but instead left something to the imagination. It's those stories that aren't completely resolved and leave you wanting more that I love the most. Quantum Leap was not only a well made and well acted show but It's premise provided a great story telling device for it's creators and kept things fresh and exciting for the viewer. Each episode would look at a different character and existed as a stand alone story but through Sam Beckett could provide an overall arc that tied everything together. It was probably one of the first grown up TV shows that I ever watched and I think it definitely had an influence on the kind of stories I like to to read, watch and want to tell. Click here for a reminder of the shows great opening titles and that famous monologue.

Comics: Overkill, John Romita Jr/Skottie Young/ Jason Aaron/Cameron Stewart/Dave Stewart

I don't want to make this post any longer than it has to be so I'm going to condense all the comic book influences into one section here.

Overkill was published by Marvel UK in the early 90's, designed as an equivalent to 2000AD. Consisting of five titles per issue It came out biweekly and was available in newsagents. The five titles were Knights Of Pendragon (a superhero team based on the Arthurian legend), Death's Head II (A robotic bounty hunter), Motormouth (about a foul mouthed teenage girl from London implanted with the technology to travel through alternate universes), Dark Angel (Formerly Hell's Angel, a young woman with super powers due to a fragment of the universe placed within her and a suit of high-tech body armor allowing her to control it's power) and Digitek ( A scientist that was bonded with a digital alien virus in an explosion at his lab, becoming an energy analogue of his original human form with the ability to create armor and a vast amount of weapons, establish psi-links with others, travel through phone lines and create holograms). Overkill was the first comic that I had discovered outside of the famous icons such as Superman and Batman and it's characters and creators were all British so It spoke to me more directly than it's American counterparts. It only lasted a year but it was enough to make it's mark on me.

When it comes to comic book art I'm a fan of cartoony, illustrative styles more than photo realistic offerings and also clear and dynamic visual storytelling. There is possibly no greater exponent of these qualities to me than John Romita Jr. His style is uniquely his own and just really fun to look at. His work is what reignited my interest in comics a couple of years ago and in particular the art for Kick-Ass, written by Mark Millar and probably best known from it's recent movie adaptation. Here's a tribute video to some of his work.

Skottie Young's work is amazing. Like Romita Jr his style is all his own, perhaps even more so because there's no one else drawing comics like him. You may think I sound like a fanboy fawning over his heroes but I think if you take one look at his work you'll agree. His style is very cartoony and more reminiscent of animation than traditional comic book style and that's probably why I love it. It's so fresh and alive and again, really fun to look at. His best known work so far is for the New York Times Best Selling and Eisner Award winning The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, an adaptation of the original story, not the Hollywood version. Buy it, you won't regret it. Here's a great preview article of the latest Oz book he's working on to give you an idea of the look of the book.

   One of my favourite comics/graphic novels is The Otherside by Jason Aaron and Cameron Stewart. Reading this was a real eye opener for me. It's a war tale telling the parallel stories of an American soldier and a North Vietnam soldier as they join the army for the first time. I've never seen a war story told like this and it's as dramatic, powerful and horrifying as any film or TV war story and you really engage with the characters. It also introduced me to the creators who have since become two of my favourites. Jason Aaron is probably my favourite writer in comics at the moment and has not created anything I haven't liked to date. His best known work so far is his ongoing Vertigo comic Scalped, a gritty, raw and often bleak crime story set on a Native American reservation that, arguably, has consistently been the best monthly comic in the last three or four years. Cameron Stewart is another artist with a cartoony feel to his art but one that seems to draw on more traditional styles and perhaps those with a more indie comics bent. His work is very clean, fresh and he is great at drawing attractive, natural looking girls as well. His style has a slightly zany comedic feel that is probably seen best in his work on Grant Morrison's Seaguy; an offbeat comic that is batshit crazy and over the top in all the best possible ways. He is also known for his Eisner winning webcomic Sin Titulo.

Lastly in this comic book section of my influences is Dave Stewart. Stewart is a colourist for comics, an aspect of the art form that is very much under appreciated but one that I have found as inspiring as any other element of the craft, if not more so. There's a subtlety, beauty, range and variety to the colouring he does that undoubtedly makes him the best there is. That's not more hyperbole, he's won six of the last nine Eisner awards for colouring including the last four in a row. That's pretty affirmative. His best work for me is on Daytripper, The Umbrella Academy, Hellboy and BPRD. Here's an interview with him with great examples of his work.

The Graduate

The Graduate is one of my all time favourite films. For anyone that doesn't know the film it's about a young college graduate seduced by an older woman who then falls in love with her daughter. It's a perfectly executed film and one of the first times I became aware of the art of editing. Released in 1967 I think it must have been a very fresh and innovative film in this sense. The way this film is put together was definitely a big influence in my wanting to work with the moving image. Like most guys starting out in the world I could also relate to Dustin Hoffman's Character Benjamin. That's not to say I was seduced by an older woman! What I mean is that I could empathise with the uncertainty and pressures the character felt and that's largely due to Hoffman's incredible performance. I was also heavily influenced by the use of sound and music in this film. Not only are Simon & Garfunkel's songs great tunes but they are used so effectively to compliment the narrative structure of the film. No scene captures all these things (editing, acting, sound and score) better than the closing scene of the film. If you haven't seen the film then don't click the link but if you have watch again and just see how many different techniques are employed, yet It looks simple and is easy to follow. Watch out for the use of sound right from the start with the failing car engine and the reveal of the church. Here's my favourite film ending of all time.

Da Vinci

As a child I probably saw Leonardo Da Vinci as the greatest and most famous artist there ever was. He may even have been the first artist I'd ever heard of, when I didn't even know what an artist was. I new of the Mona Lisa before I knew of the man that painted it and even though seeing it in real life was a disappointment he and many other great masters are amongst my biggest, most important and continual inspirations. Anytime I look at a great piece of work by him or any of the great masters such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio, Titian, Durer, Turner, Goya, Velazquez, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh, Dali, Matisse, Manet, Monet, Picasso, I learn something new. These and many more are my ongoing artistic education. I chose Da Vinci to represent this influence because he wasn't just an artist but an engineer, scientist, inventor, anatomist and architect; all of which he was equally adept at. The more I see his work, such as at the recent Renaissance Drawing Exhibition at the British Museum, the more fascinated I become. I return to these great artists probably more than anything else for inspiration, when It's found wanting elsewhere, and they never fail to deliver.

The Natural

I've probably watched The Natural more than any other movie. I loved it as a child and I still love it now. Some people might consider it a little overly sentimental but I don't care, it's still one of my favourites. It's about a baseball player (Robert Redford) who starts off as a young, up and coming pitcher who is quite literally shot down before he can make the big time. 16 years later he turns up for a down and out baseball club as a batter, at an age most players would normally retire. At first he can't get a game but when he does he is somewhat mercurial in his efforts, leading to speculation as to where this mysterious 'Wonderboy' has come from. His performances take the team on a winning streak before a woman and his past come back to haunt him. Defying the wound sustained in his youth and the crooked club owner he plays for he turns out one last time to try and win the penant for his team. I know, it sounds kinda cheesy right? It isn't really though, it's a great film and not only that but it's the first film that made me aware of how a soundtrack can shape and tell a story as much as anything else. It's composed by Randy Newman who also scored the first six Pixar films, Toy Story 3 and The Princess & The Frog but for me this will always be my favourite. It's a soaring, mystical score and you can't help feeling good when you hear it. My love of soundtracks began with this film, every time I hear it I still get a buzz and the film would not be the same without it. Here's the final scene (so don't watch it if you don't like spoilers and you haven't see the film) which shows how well the score enhances the narrative and sums up the film as a whole.

80's Cartoons

As a child I would wake up at about 6 in the morning to watch just about every cartoon on television and then once I'd started school I'd run home and watch all the shows on in the afternoon. Although a lot of them might not stand up to repeat viewing today there is no doubt that these cartoons were part of a formative viewing experience for me and have influenced the themes, stories, genres and visual styles I've since gravitated towards. The Image I've chosen to represent these cartoons Is from Jayce & The Wheeled Warriors, probably my favourite cartoon as a child. The story involved sci-fi, magical botanic beings and vehicles and an epic search for Jayce's father but is a little convoluted for me to remember all the details so here's how Wikipedia describes it. Like many show's at the time It was created to promote a line of toys resulting in it's cancellation when the toys weren't selling well. This meant the story was never resolved and while that's a shame It meant I could Imagine how it might end and I've since had a soft spot for stories that don't have that happily ever after conclusion all tied up in a neat bow. This occurrence was common at the the time and more famously happened with another favourite Dungeons & Dragons. There were many cartoons that I loved from the 80's as well as the early 90's and they also inspired my love of theme tunes, which is probably a foreseer of my interest in soundtracks. Here's a list (with links) of a few of them.

Thundercats
Brave Starr
Mysterious Cities Of Gold
DuckTales
The Raccoons
Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers
Dogtanian
He-Man
Alfred J. Kwak
Transformers

Defenders Of The Earth
Gummi Bears
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Real Ghostbusters
Count Duckula

Deftones/Eels

Deftones were the first band that was my band. That's to say the first band who's music I was passionate about and discovered for myself, without anyone or anything to nudge me in their direction. I was at a listening post in a music store one day and the album White Pony was on there. Intrigued by the minimal cover for a metal band I pressed play and I was blown away. I hadn't heard anything like it up to that point and bought the album right there and then. I proceeded to buy all their albums and have loved their music ever since. The ambiguous lyrics and unusual sound transported me elsewhere for the duration of the song or album and allowed me to conjure up images in my mind to connect to the music a on very base and instinctual level. They're still one of my favourite bands and have never made anything I don't like.
   Eels, like Deftones were a band that I wasn't introduced to by anyone. I first saw them on Top Of The Pops with their break through hit Novocaine For The Soul and I was instantly intrigued so sought them out. Eels are largely based around the talent of Mark Oliver Everett aka 'E' and his musings on life. E's lyrics and the bands sound as a whole have always appealed to me as they are often diametrically opposed in the conventional sense. He'll often sing about rather melancholic, dark subjects inspired from his own life but with a sound that is hopeful and uplifting; then occasionally flip things round and do the opposite. His skewed and unusual point of view spoke to me very early on and there is also a dark dreamy visual quality to his lyrics that I find alluring and often informing my own creative choices. Like Deftones I've never heard anything by Eels that I didn't come to cherish.

Akira

To anyone reading this I probably don't need to introduce Akira and It's probably impossible to quantify it's influence worldwide, particularly in the western world. I was first exposed to anime (though we just called it manga then as we didn't know the difference) sometime in the early to mid nighties by a school friend. I was shown the likes of Fist Of The North Star, Guyver, Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D, Urotsukidoji, Project A-Ko and Appleseed all of which made a huge impression on me but It was Akira that really blew me away. It was probably the first anime feature film to break into the European and U.S. markets and I'm there is a whole generation of people that grew up with the film. Not only was it the first to make it big here but I still think the best and It stands up as well today as it ever has. This may be due to it's futuristic setting but putting that aside it still has fantastic animation and an appealing overall aesthetic where as some of it's contemporaries may now seem dated. Akira was the first adult animation I can remember seeing, making me realise what was possible/allowed in animation and that It wasn't just about Disney and fairytale adventures. As I've grown up with the film and continued to watch it time and again I have also been extremely influenced by it's incredible soundtrack which ranks among my favourites of all time.

Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver has probably had a big impact on anyone that's watched it since It's release in the 70's and It's possibly the film that sent Martin Scorcese and Robert DeNiro's careers soaring. For me it was the first time I saw an acting performance and thought, 'How did he do that?' This thought specifically occurred with the now infamous 'You talkin' to me?' scene. De Niro did something with very little dialogue that was menacing, disturbing and stayed with you for some time after. Along side DeNiro's performance there is a brooding score from Bernard Hermann that is almost a character on it's own and I think regarded by many as his best. I've already mentioned my love of soundtracks/scores and this film is no exception, it's a truly great score however I'm probably more directly influenced by his work on Hitchcock's North By Northwest and Vertigo. As time has gone on I've now come to appreciate it as his best myself and interestingly it was his last as he died only hours after completing it. What a way to go out.

The Iliad

I read the Iliad when I was about 10 years old in my penultimate year of primary school while learning Greek mythology and it was the best thing I had ever read. It still might be but I've not read it since so it's due for reappraisal but it's influence endures. It was also possibly the first book I ever read that wasn't specifically aimed at children and I followed it immediately with the Odyssey. Both attributed to Homer they are epic tales, the former set during the Trojan war and the later after. The Odyssey is perhaps a more colourful and fantastic tale about Odysseus' ten year journey home that tells of sirens, shipwrecks, cannibals, kidnap, sea monsters and the cyclops where as The Iliad tells of the battles and events surrounding the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon during the Trojan war. You might think as a 10 year old that The Odyssey would be the one to capture my imagination but it was the Iliad that I favoured. I think the reason for this is the remarkable characters portrayed such as Ajax, Hector, Paris, Helen the aforementioned Agamemnon and Odysseus and their complex relationships therein. Above all of these however it was Achilles that captured my attention the most. Achilles was a fantastic god like warrior of near invulnerability in combat but he had flaws, complexities and a compelling character arc that stayed with me long after reading. Both these books also tell of the Greek gods, showing how they interfere with the lives of mortals like pieces on a chess board and I was fascinated by the plots and complexities these characters were involved in.

Sergio Leone/Ennio Morricone

Sergio Leone is one of my favourite directors of all time and Ennio Morricone my favourite film composer. Leone is best known for his so called 'spaghetti westerns' and Morricone for composing their scores and so synonymous are they with each other, that it's a bit of a no-brainer to put them under one heading here. Whenever asked what my favourite film is I find it difficult to pick just one as there are so many I love but more often than not I refer to The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, the third in the Dollars trilogy after A Fistful Of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More. In truth I think of them as one but of the three The Good, The Bad & The Ugly is the most epic and fully realised. Leone's westerns, indeed all his films, have a great sense of style and humor that showed the genre to me in a new light. Before seeing these films I guess I was somewhat indifferent to westerns but Leone showed me that you can use their often simple narrative and plot to paint a picture of complex themes and characters that is both entertaining and enlightening. This balance fascinated me and It's something I've tried to explore in my own work. One of the aspects of these films that really stirs the emotion and intensifies the drama like nothing else are the timeless and iconic scores of Ennio Morricone. When it comes to my love of film scores and the use of sound then Morricone is my eureka moment, the place and person with whom it all began. I hadn't heard a film score like these before and Morricone's music demanded to be heard. His scores were as innovative and fresh sonically as Leone's characters and stories were visually spawning my passion for westerns and music in film, in one fell swoop. The partnership was taken to even greater heights with Duck You Sucker!(aka A Fistful Of Dynamite), Once Upon A Time In The West and Once Upon A Time In America and although Leone died after the last of those films, Morricone has continued to create brilliant scores and compositions to this day. I find their work endlessly inspiring and I think I always will.

Teachers

Growing up I never thought any of my teachers were a particular influence on me and even when I had finished school I still never thought so. However doing this influence map has caused me to ponder their influence, at least creatively, and I've come to the realisation that I need to include them; specifically three of them. Starting with primary school the first teacher I wish to mention is Miss Ivers. She taught me at age 10 and it was in her class that I was introduced to The Iliad and The Odyssey (as mentioned earlier). She taught us about Greek mythology and got us to write our own myths in the Greek style. I remember writing the tale of how the weather was caused from the God's dandruff (snow), tears and/or urine (rain) among others. I also remember her always encouraging my artwork and even holding a drawing competition for the class (I didn't win). Reading, writing and Illustrating stories were all part of her class and therefore It was a very inspiring, formative time for my 10 year old self. For that Miss Ivers I thank you very much.

My secondary school teachers were fine I guess, just not that influential, so I'll skip them.

After secondary school I went to college to study art & design in preparation for university. I had a few teachers there but two of them had a big influence on me in particular, Joan and Ian. Joan was my main tutor on the course and she completely overhauled everything I knew or thought I knew about art. She would completely break you down and build you up again leaving you better and more accomplished than when you started. She told you what you needed to hear not what you wanted to hear and how to improve your weaknesses rather than letting you dwell on your strengths. She encouraged experimentation and pulled no punches with what you produced and I thrived off that. What she did best though was teach you how to critique your own work in order to make it the best you can and for that I cannot thank her enough.

Ian was our life drawing and art history teacher. He was an excellent draughtsman, passionate about his work and I possibly learn't more from him about art than anyone else up to that point. He taught us how to study a subject, be aware of what we were seeing and how to interpret it in our art. He did the same with art itself, teaching us about semiotics and how to analyze the great works by the great masters. He Encouraged us to draw inspiration from them and to see them as an infinite source of knowledge, teaching us about life, history and ourselves. I will always have great respect, admiration and gratitude towards Ian for what he taught me as I do for all three teachers mentioned.

The Blogosphere

My final influence is the reason I'm here on this blog and the reason for some of my other choices. The Internet is full of a lot of crap but it's also full of a lot of very creative and inspiring people, many of whom have blogs. I follow a lot of different blogs and sites, far too many to name them all here, but this online community that forms the blogosphere has provided an endless font of inspiration that has not only influenced this blog but my art as a whole. It's also a great way to learn so much about art and all corners of the creative world. Whenever I'm short of ideas and need some motivation I only have to look at one of the blogs I follow and there will be something to get me going again. You can see some of them at the top right corner of this page if your interested and here's a fantastic image that illustrates visually the blogosphere in action.

So there you have it, my influences, and if you're still reading then I appreciate you sticking with it as it took me a while to finish and I doubt I'll be doing a post this long any time soon. Please leave a comment or tweet me to let me know what you think as your (constructive) feedback makes doing these posts worthwhile.

Thanks again to my friends Amelia and Maria for their influence/inspiration to do make my own Influence Map (check out their great blogs) and If you want to try your own then you can download a template here.

I'll be back next week with Phone Sketch Friday's, a new regular posting slot I'm gonna be doing In addition to my other posts so watch out for that and let me know what you think.
'This post was sponsored by the letter T'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

British Museum December 2010

2011-01-16T01:43:00.001Z

t's been a little while since I last posted and I've got a rather large post coming up for next week so I want to keep this one short. The week before Christmas saw the last Drawing London On Location meetup of 2010 and on arguably the snowiest day of the year we all met at the British Museum. The museum closed it's main collection early because of the weather but I still managed to get some decent drawings done. Due to the time constraints I forgot to write down the details of what each thing was but I think they speak for themselves.

A Greek/Roman bust drawn on my Android Phone with the Sketchbook Pro app

Peruvian Vessel of the Nasca Moche people

2010 was a frustrating year for me creatively as I didn't achieve nearly enough of the things I had hoped to but that's as much my own fault as anything so I'm not going to make any excuses. Since I rebooted my blog I've predominantly posted drawings from the meetups I attend but I want this to be a space for more than that. I don't really make resolutions either but I intend to make sure that this year I create more and post more on this blog with a variety of things as much as I can. To aid this process I'm thinking of having a feature of sorts revolving around the Sketchbook Pro app for my Android phone and might make it a once a week thing called something like 'Phone Sketch Friday' or whatever day I decide to do it on. Anyone reading please let me know what you think and notice I've added a couple of features to the blog so you have multiple ways to do this. There's a Facebook like button at the start of each post and a retweet button, if you're on twitter, at the bottom of each post. I've also joined twitter myself under the handle @LittleMotions and added a follow me widget at the top right hand of the page if you would like to do so. Next week I'll post a long overdue piece about my influences so keep an eye out for that but otherwise adios till then.
'This post was sponsored by the letter I'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

New Look & An Angler Fish

2010-11-10T13:14:00.000Z

hen I restarted this blog a couple of months ago I alluded to the fact that I was working on a new banner. Well I'm delighted and relieved to say it's finally done so I officially announce it's adorning of my page. There it is, up there, sitting pretty. It took me far, far too long to finish as I kept changing and revising it, trying to achieve what I was after. I'm not sure if knew how I wanted it to be really as It's turned out somewhat differently than I thought it might but that's no bad thing. I drew and inked it by hand but coloured it digitally, something I haven't really done before. I wanted to learn about photoshop and digital painting/colouring so I saw this as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, learning something new and creating something of use to me at the same time. That's probably why it took so long as I had to make lot's of mistakes In order to get things right. There's still some things I'm not entirely happy with but sometimes you've just got to know when to stop right? Ultimately though I'm content enough with the final outcome for it to sit up there and welcome all comers to my world. I've also tweaked the layout, colour scheme and pretty much everything else so please let me know what you think. Do you like it? Do you hate it? Any advice? Constructive criticism only please.

So on to that Angler fish in the title then. Last Saturday saw yet another drawing meetup, this time at The Natural History Museum. It's a wonderful museum that is perfect for children and adults alike as the mass hordes of family's and school groups can attest to. I hadn't been there to explore the general collection for some time so It was great to see what there was to draw. I only managed to get two drawings done all day as they not only took a while to do but it also took time to find less crowded spots to draw from. As a result I didn't finish or even get half way through my second drawing; an ambitious attempt at the staircases, perspective and detail of the great hall. I intend to go back and complete it so I'll post that another time.

The first one however I did finish. It was of said Angler fish after a meal (In fact during if you look inside it's mouth).

I recently acquired some Letraset colour pens and this was the first chance I've had to give them a real outing. I'll definitely be using them again as I was quite pleased with how they are to use and the result I achieved with this drawing. The fish was a model not a real one and a bit darker but I didn't have the colours for it so I'm quite happy with this. An Angler fish can expand it's gut to eat things of equal or larger size than it's mouth/stomach so here's a picture of it as well as another of how it is before it eats.

So hope you like the new look and the angler fish, please don't forget to comment and I'll be back soon with a post about my influences.
'This post was sponsored by the letter W'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

Sloth Foetus 2: Return To The Hunterian

2010-10-30T18:16:00.002+01:00

ast weekend I spent the day drawing at the Hunterian Museum for another drawing meetup. The Hunterian is situated in Lincolns Inn Fields, close to Holborn and is part of the Royal College Of Surgeons. It displays a mix of human and animal anatomy and pathology specimens and is one of London's most fascinating museums. It wasn't my first time visiting the Hunterian as I've been there a couple of times previously. The time before this I had chosen to draw a sloth foetus that I found very interesting and returning last Saturday I decided to draw it again and compare the two efforts. Here they are then, the first one was drawn about a year and a half ago and the second one is from last weekend.

Looking at them together there doesn't seem to be much difference apart from the jar in the second one being more carefully fleshed out. Then again I've never really been able to be that objective about my own work so If anyone would care to comment I would appreciate it.

It wasn't just this sloth that I drew last week but also a large Moth larva and an Armadillo foetus. Here they are.

Aarrrmadillos!

So all fascinatingly gruesome stuff. I recommend everyone visit the Hunterian as it's a great little museum and the staff are very polite and knowledgeable. Please don't forget to comment and I promise I'll post some other things other than just my meetup sketches soon.

This post was sponsored by the letter 'L'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

Parliament & Trafalgar Square

2010-10-15T19:44:00.000+01:00

ast week I went to Parliament and Trafalgar square with the meetup group. Here's the fruits of my labour.

Detail from the Supreme Court Of Justice

Abraham Lincoln

Fishman

The first one isn't a great likeness but it was a good warm up sketch. The second one was the most challenging and also the most rewarding. It was a completely black statue which made it very difficult to pick out the details, particularly in the face. I found I had to just sit there and observe as much as put pencil to paper. The third one was going well but I think I ruined it with the darkest marks that I added last of all, especially in the face.

Ahh, you win some, you lose some.
Today's post was sponsored by the letter 'L'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

Hackney City Farm & Victoria Park

2010-10-08T18:19:00.000+01:00

esterday I posted far too early in the morning and today I'm a little late but better late than never as the saying goes. It's the fifth and final day of my week of posts from Drawing London On Location meetups and today I'm taking you to the farm. Hackney City Farm to be precise, which was the last meetup I went to a couple of weeks ago. I really enjoyed this one as it made a change from the other meetups.

The first sketch is of a huge pig that seemed like she was having the time of her life rolling in the mud.

Oink Oink!

The goats in this image were incredibly still and didn't move at all while quite a few people were drawing them. It was almost like they were posing for us.

After we left the farm that day we went to Victoria Park where I only did one drawing because It took so long but I really enjoyed it nonetheless. As you can see, it's a tree!

So that's it for my week of posts and brings anyone who happens to be reading this blog up to speed with what I've done on the drawing meetups. The next one is tomorrow at Parliament Square so I'll post about that next week and I'm going to post other things I've been up to in due course so watch this space and please leave comments as It's greatly appreciated.
This weeks post was sponsored by the letter 'Y'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

Canary Wharf & Little Venice

2010-10-07T07:02:00.001+01:00

t's almost twenty to seven in the morning, I've got to leave the house soon and won't be back till about six in the evening so I'm having to post today's sketches at this inhospitable hour. I don't have much time to ramble this morning either so I'm gonna get straight to the images. There's four to show today, two from Canary Wharf and two from Little Venice. The Canary Wharf one's are grey and grim and contrast nicely with the colour and brightness of the Little Venice one's, hope you like them.

Canary Wharf 1

Canary Wharf 2

Little Venice Boat

Little Venice park life

so there you are, some what short and sweet today. See you for the final day tomorrow where I'll be taking you to the farm.
Today's post was sponsored by the letter 'I'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

Spitalfields, Brick Lane & Clerkenwell

2010-10-06T11:46:00.001+01:00

oday's sketches are from an alleyway just off Spitalfields in east London, Brick Lane and Clerkenwell. With this sketch from Spitalfields I wasn't happy with the outcome. In fact I struggled to compose what was before me and left out a whole half of one side of the alley. A strange thing happened though; everyone liked it. It just shows you can never tell how anything you do will be received.

Spitalfields alleyway

Often when you struggle with a subject, like I did with the Spitalfields alleyway, you end up learning more from it than a drawing than works well and was easier to do. This was definitely the case for me here and In hindsight I think it loosened me up for the next drawing that day In Brick Lane.

Brick Lane

The next drawing was from the same day as the first two but I've chosen to accompany it with a more recent sketch from Clerkenwell. They fit quite well together as they are both corner buildings drawn with brown pen and paper.

Brick Lane

Clerkenwell

So three days down and two more to go. If there is anyone actually read these posts then I hope you're enjoying them. Tomorrow I'll be bouncing from Canary Wharf to Little Venice so see you then.
Today's post was sponsored by the letter 'T'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

A Tale Of Two Bridges & Anchors Away!

2010-10-05T13:14:00.000+01:00

ay two of my week long posts showing sketches from my outings with the meetup.com group Drawing London On Location is here. Phew! That was an overly long sentence.

This first sketch here is one of the earlier ones in my book and was drawn in Hyde Park. Unfortunately the rains came down before I could finish it. The second one, another bridge was the final sketch of the day, completed in about 3-5 minutes in Little Venice. It was a beautiful early summer day and I wanted to get this view down on paper before It was time to leave. There was a lot of blue in the bridge, the sky and other surroundings which prompted the use of blue pencil. I quite enjoyed playing it loose and fast with this one and compositionally I think I managed to show what I saw quite effectively but I think it's the couple on the bridge that makes it work.


Serpentine Bridge, Hyde Park

The second one, another bridge, was the final sketch of the day, completed in about 3-5 minutes in Little Venice. It was a beautiful early summer day and I wanted to get this view down on paper before It was time to leave. There was a lot of blue in the bridge, the sky and other surroundings which prompted the use of blue pencil. I quite enjoyed playing it loose and fast with this one and compositionally I think I managed to show what I saw quite effectively but I think it's the couple on the bridge that makes it work.

Little Venice

As you can see I'm not showing these images in chronological order but instead grouping them somewhat thematically. Well with the next pair I have are couple of anchors that actually were drawn on the same day. For this trip we went to Shad Thames and St Katherine's Dock, nearby London Bridge but on opposing sides of the river.

Shad Thames

St. Katherine's Dock

So that's it for today, come back again tomorrow for sketches of Brick Lane, Spitalfields and Clerkenwell.
Today's post was sponsored by the letter 'D'

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

Meetups, Myths and more....

2010-10-04T14:10:00.000+01:00

bout a year ago I joined a group called Drawing London On Location on meetup.com. Meetup is a great site to meet and join all kinds of groups from around the world whatever your interest and the Drawing London On Location group is no exception. We meet more or less once every two weeks on a Saturday at a prearranged destination and draw our surroundings. We convene for lunch, go off to draw again till the afternoon then go to a nearby watering hole to share the days efforts. Not only is it a great way to just get out and draw stuff but there's a nice mix of people from various walks of life who all share the common goal of wanting to draw and improve their skills.
I've decided to start posting my drawings from this group here and as I have quite a few now I thought I'd do a week of catch up posts showing a selection of what I've done so far.

The first two images I'm showing here are from a trip to the V&A museum, a couple of characters from Greek mythology.

Jason & The Golden Fleece

Actaeon changed into a stag

Lastly, just as a reminder, I wanted to say that the Bitbots launch has now come to a close but series 1 of the Jinny's is available now direct from the site as well as Forbidden Planet stores around the country and Playlounge so go out and get my RARE 'Zombie Priest' & 'One Eye' designs as well as the six other great designs while you can. Check out the Bitbots Flickr photostream as well to see all the customs and and photos from the launch show.

I'll be back tomorrow with more sketches from my meetup outings.

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

The Bitbots Adventure!

2010-09-09T14:44:00.001+01:00

o a while back I did some designs for a fledgling vinyl toy company set up by a good friend of mine Jats. Well I've not been able to really talk about it too much until now because today is the day they are launched to the world.

I hoped to talk about this sooner and build it up a bit but illness, overtime at my part time job and my birthday over the last two weeks have conspired against this. Oh well, better late than never hey!

The company is called Bitbots and the toy itself is called a Jinny. Well I have two designs in the first range coming out and I've also designed a custom for the launch show. You can see the designs in the launch range here http://www.bitbots.co.uk/

They're available to buy now and if you come to the show tonight you can see them the amazing customs and the artists themselves including me. So come on down to Kingly Court, off Carnaby Street in London from 5-9pm. If you can't make it tonight then don't worry because the show will be there for a month so there's plenty of time to swing by. More details can be found at the above link.

As for my custom, well here's some pics of the process I went through to make it including the final design.

My idea was to create totem pole from multiple Jinnys. I've never made anything like this before or done any kind of model making so it was a challenge for but one I really relished. Thanks to some great advice from a friend (thanks Moo!) and the wonders of milliput i think i managed to pull it off.

Initial design


Final design with colour

Arriving in the post

Coming together

Painting with acrylics

So there it is, it was great fun to make and if you're reading this maybe I'll see you at the show tonight. Oh and in case you're wondering, my designs in the launch range are One Eye and Zombie so check the site and get your orders in.

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

A New (False) Start

2010-09-09T12:38:00.000+01:00

fter almost a year I am back on the blog. I had left it to wallow in the wastelands of the blogosphere but now i resurrect it to begin a new life. I was never completely happy with my blog as it was, mainly because I felt I had pigeonholed myself creatively in terms of what I could post here. So I begin anew with a slightly different approach.

I will still post my animation work and my attempts to tread water in the goldfish bowl of that world but I won't limit it to that. I hope to talk about any creative endeavors I deem worthy of posting about weather it be animation, illustration, life drawing etc. I hope looking at things through a broader scope I will never be found wanting for something to post about.

Anyone who stumbled across here in the past (that's all two of you) will have noticed I've changed the name and look of things. Well this is something I'm still working on and hope to soon have a shiny new banner to adorn the top of the page. Until then this will do as I couldn't wait to get things going again.

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische