Animal Series: Tigers!

So... I think I'm finally doing it. I've settled on an idea I'd like to make into a series. I think I will stay interested in this idea long enough to do a few paintings. I have the base-frame/the skeleton of the first painting ready to be a filled realized piece of work!

The idea stems from some very real, very old interests of mine - animals and the female human form. I used to think I was going to be a veterinarian before 3rd grade. When the subject of female forms are mixed with nature I automatically assume an Art Nouveau influence but of course my style will look quite modern so perhaps I will call this Art Nouveau Contemporized. 

This first painting has been sketched and sketched again to the point where I have a very finalized looking drawing that I now need to be transfered to canvas. I think the best way to do it would be to trace from a projector.

I'm leaving photos here of my process up to this point!

A.B.

A. is the first sketch I made - the Idea Sketch. This sketch is a very rough sketch just so that I can physically see my idea on paper - maybe play around with the layout but basically to get it out of my head and saved in physical form.

B. is the Practical Sketch. I move on to this stage to start putting the idea into working form. I need to think of my canvas size and shape and change my composition accordingly. I start to look at potential positions for the tigers and the expression on the girls face.

After the practical sketch I can start looking for tiger photos that full-fill the positions I'd like represented. I use photos because in this particular style I'd like to stay true to life in the proportions. The stylization I will add will play around more with the colors and how the painting is actually painted.

         

The girls face was also very important. I thought maybe at first that she would look very innocent and affectionate like the tigers around her but then I decided that that girl is NOT sweet and shy - she's hanging out with a load of TIGERS! She is bold and maybe even a little threatening because of the power she holds in having such predatorial friends.

This is the stage the drawing is at now. I have some pretty great ideas for coloring that I'm excited to execute.

Some other animals I'm thinking of including in my series are:
American Bison
The Common Hippo
and the Cyprian Wild Sheep

all these animals happen to be endangered which may or may not remain a theme within the series!
If you have any suggestions for animals let me know!

McSweeneys!

So if you haven't already heard, Martyna's been bouncing around a bit. I was on the west coast recently - meeting up with people from McSweeneys in San Francisco as well as visiting a friend in Portland, OR.

The west was a great break from what I've become very familiar with in the MIDwest and east coast. I'm back in Michigan with new projects in hand. I am going to be working with McSweeneys continually from a distance with small promotional material. It's one of the best gigs I've had in a while because I pretty much have full creative reign over each project and I love McSweeneys!

I'm posting the process for one of the fliers I made for them. Enjoy!

I had the idea for the flier before I even started. I imagined the quirky individuals that like McSweeneys and tried to personify the literary quirkiness in these two characters reading the poems. The event is a reading and most of the items read will be poems. The excitement in a Reading is the interpretation and performance of the people reading. Because really everyone can read a poem but the joy of hearing someone else read it is their ability to express the words they read physically and also their difference in interpretation from your own.

The drawings aren't based on anyone in particular and were drawn straight from my head. I call the girl Sally and the guy... Rick... or John. But of course, please feel free to name them how you like.

I'm really happy with the final version. 

*A quick doodle from sitting at the McSweeney office.

New Sketches! New style.

As hoped when I bought this sketchbook, I've started doing fuller drawings - more finalized. I've also been trying to play with a more surreal feeling /  creepy / uneasy subject matter. Less cute stuff.

New Sketchbook

Wandered around Harajuku yesterday and realized (as I was looking at a beautiful leather orange one) that I'm due for a new sketchbook. If you don't know this already you will learn very soon that I go through "sketchbooks" like lightning, in fact I just finished one last week. I've hundreds and hundreds of them lining my room at my parents' house, BUT I haven't had a NICE one in a while. "Why would this matter?" you may ask. Well, at least in my situation, it matters because the quality of the sketchbook impacts what goes in it usually. If I have a big beautiful leather bound Rhodia than I'm more likely to use it as a showcase for more finalized drawings. If I have a crappy newsprint flop-book than than I'm more willing to use it for more practical reasons - for small rough sketches and lists... so many lists. Both are important and different kind of practices that like to be housed in a similarly formatted casing.

I haven't had a "nice" sketchbook in while and thus have not made many drawings recently that stand alone as a (final) drawing, rather than a sketch for a potential piece for another medium.

The sketchbook I bought is an orange leather dot-grid Rhodia. The dot-grid is a HUGE improvement now that I'm taking my typography a tiiiiny bit more seriously.

Of course the drawing on the first page is extremely cosmetic because thats the first thing that people see. (!)


I'll post new drawings as soon as I have a fair amount of them to show

M

TypeTypeType

Have been doing a bit of sketching lately and trying to get back into designing typography. Typography has the potential to be such a fun medium to get creative with since it comes along with so many rules and standards. It can really become an illustration itself rather than just the caption.

Name of an amazing norwegian bar in Shibuya. They held a jazz night recently that I decided to go to right after work. I had my sketchbook with me and so I just relaxed and did a little sketching while enjoying the live norwegian jazz.

I went on a trip by myself to the mountains after my second week in Japan. IT. WAS. GORGEOUS. truly inspiring - thus resulting in a bit of creative output, no doubt!

Name of the design firm I work for. (I'm sure they would never consider this their style or ever want it associated with them, but hey, I needed a word... and there it was.)

If you want to try a bit of typography of your own - a site I like to look to for inspiration is (get ready for it): designspiration.net. You should check it out even if you don't. I think you'll like what you see.

k, gotta get back to work!
M

Tokyo Mojo

Heeeeeyyyyy,

So, it's been a little bit of time since my last post. I've graduated, summer was well spent in Ann Arbor while freelancing for Spunk Design Machine and I saved enough money to go to... JAPAN!

Yes, I am currently writing this post from a tiny design firm in Tokyo! I've made it to the TOP! Well not quite yet, but it feels pretty good at this juncture. I'm currently the graphic design intern for Nosigner of Tokyo, Japan. It's a very small firm with some really talented individuals and open minded thinkers. You can check out their website here.

I'm realizing that working for small design firms is the only way to go - the best way to do it. You really bond with your team and get way more responsibility. Of course you're probably going to be working 10 times harder than a massive corp firm but really it ends up being much more fulfilling. For example! - I work 12 hours a DAY here. 10am to 10pm. Sounds rough, I know, but guess what... It is! haha but it's still very do-able! And MAN do you end up getting a LOT of work done.

But really, I'm immensly enjoying my time in Japan. I'm only supposed to stay till mid october but I'm going to try to stay longer if possible.

Working at the firm has got my creative juices flowing again too which is GREAT. Sooo now I have things to post again! Today I started a poster that I hope to complete in the next few weeks or so. I'll leave you guys with a taste...

It's about Japan. Ha really?!

K well welcome back to Slowjams! (it was time for a new look.)

IP: Final Thesis pdf.

Cover to my Thesis. If you'd like to read it shoot me an e-mail / leave a comment and I'll send you the pdf.

Thanks!