ROOT

Newly inspired

2011-08-13T14:08:00.001-07:00

I don't know if it's all the Elliot Smith I listened to today, but I finally got inspired. Finally.

I've had this feeling for the last little while- the last post helped to express some of it. I feel a very big lack of quality in life. That's a really clumsy way to phrase it, but I'll try my best to explain.

I work at a daily newspaper- the focus here is not finely crafted advertisements, beautiful paper, well thought out typography, etc. The idea is get it in as best as you can and get it on the press. I am blessed to live in the oldest neighbourhood in Hamilton that has maintained so many gorgeous architectural treasures, however, this isn't valued everywhere. The current mentality is build homes very fast that aren't going to stand out in history (that will, in fact, probably crumble to the ground very quickly because they are built in such a rush). Technology expires faster than I can keep up (CS5.5, is that really necessary?) and it's making my head spin.

I suppose this should make me very Buddhist and I should understand that times change and everything is transitory, but it just makes me cling to the things I find comforting.

Back to the inspired part- I was at the art crawl last night, and they were doing the Beehive Collective craft fair in the old Friendship Shop (in a funny tangent, it used to be an Asian gift shop, and I used to buy tons of Sailor Moon stuff there as a young girl, but I digress). This print totally caught my eye- especially the nun.

It's a bit dark, a bit humourous and definitely has something to say. Skulls and skeletons have been a recurring theme in my art since I was in University. My first big project in sculpture class was to build a shelter, and I made myself a coffin. It's not that I'm morbid, but I've always been very aware of my own mortality.

So today, I did this:

I was just thinking about days gone by where people actually cared about dressing up in a tuxedo and bow tie and how I'll never see very much of that. The time is very literally dead. It's just a first painting, i'm a little rusty, and I'd like to find other ways to explore this idea.

Wouldn't it be nice?

2011-07-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

I have an admission: I have a rip-roaring obsession with a time period I didn't live through.

I can't be blamed, really. I grew up surrounded by people who showed me the best of what those times had to offer. My dad, a man who used to work for Eatons and produced some of the most gorgeous advertising illustrations I have seen (I'll track some down and scan, I promise!), taught me all about quality and workmanship. While playing Twist and Shout on our record player, he taught me how to draw, starting with Disney characters. You want to see some of the best hand-drawing skills? Watch Disney films from the 1940's and 50's. Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, Alice in Wonderland. When Disney started using computers, they took their skills to another plane, but to me this was the best animation money could buy.

Check out the saddest scene in Bambi to see what I mean.

If you've watched Mad Men, you'll also know that it was this period that was a golden age of advertising. I believe that we're seeing another kind of era with advertising now too- there's so many new developments: QR codes, flash sales websites, social networking, but I digress. As far as really beautiful work and strategic campaigns go, the 1950's and 60's still reign supreme in my mind. It was in the 1940's and 50's where ads started selling a lifestyle rather than a product, especially to women.

Take this one that's selling "a bit of London...in the brilliant, sophisticated air of Yardley ’Bond Street’ Perfume." Sounds quite a bit more glamourous and European than "this perfume smells nice". You also can't beat these classic illustrations. I feel indebted to Leif Peng for sharing his 40's and 50's illustration blog with my college class- you should definitely check it out here!

It's not to say that the 50's were perfect- I'm aware there were massive social, racial and gender prejudices. I could definitely do without those, but sometimes I crave the absolute quality that existed back then. The art, the pop culture, the fashion and the respect and manners people were socially expected to have. I think in our time, where digital reigns supreme and all technology is quick to become outdated, it is important to look back and appreciate a time when quality and the Good Housekeeping seal of approval reigned supreme.

ROOT: a new blog

2011-06-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

I decided to start blogging again. I can't bring myself to delete this one, because I like reading back on the art I did in college. It gives me a good sense of where I've come from, and where I'm going. However, this new blog won't quite be the same thing.

I'm not JUST a designer. I know when we originally set these blogs up, the purpose was to be quite focused on one thing, but I just can't. I have never been a terribly single-minded person, and I have a great variety of hobbies, likes and talents. Even my job never lets me do just my own job.

So I've renamed the blog ROOT: depending on the context this word has some pretty disparate meanings which seem to sum up my professional and personal lives right now. To put down roots means to settle down in a place and make a home. Root also denotes the base of anything, getting right down to the base of the matter. To root around can also mean to go snooping or looking for something. Currently, my life is all these things- settling down in a new location in a new home while also searching for new creative ideas and fulfillment.

This is as personal as it will get though, folks. What I will be posting here are the efforts of all this ROOT(ing), which will mostly be art and design with the rare DIY project or cool idea I'd like to share sprinkled in. Please stay tuned- I would love to hear your criticism, ideas, suggestions, queries, you name it. Thanks for stopping by.

It's been a while...

2010-05-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

I wasn't too sure what to do with this blog after school stopped. I'm not really an illustrator by nature and I'm not big on deadlines unless I'm being paid or marked to meet them so I stopped doing Illustration Friday. I've been peeking at the topics and I'd gladly do another submission if the mood struck me, but it's not something I'd like to do regularly.

Instead, I was thinking that I'd like to post things that might be helpful to other designers out there that I'm encountering while setting up my own freelance business. I may still post things that I'm working on, but overall, I think readers get more out of things that help them rather than things that look pretty.

After school, the first natural inclination is to want experience. Once you get the word out that you know how to use design programs and you've got some spare time on your hand, people will come out of the woodwork asking you to do things for them. Rates are up to each individual designer, but what happens when the client needs an invoice and wants you to charge them taxes?

I found this very helpful blog post by Nubby Twiglet giving tips on how to design an invoice, and in that post she has a link to an Illustrator template from Adobe. I found this post extremely clear and easy to follow- thanks Nubby!

As for taxes, they vary from province to province, and I can't even begin to explain the complexities for all of them. I can tell you that in Ontario, as a sole proprietor (aka. you are your own boss and have no one else working for you) you can obtain a GST number without having to pay fees so long as your income will not exceed 30,000 per fiscal year. If you want to register a business name along with that, it costs money, but to use your own name with your GST number is free. You can go here to start up that process and look at the different options for GST registration. I was told that once HST kicks in, your GST number will stay the same for charging HST.

That being said, there are kind of strange rules regarding charging GST on freelance work. For example, you do not need to charge tax on something you are sending over the internet. For all the do's and do not's, check out this document here.

I must have a disclaimer here that I am not a professional, and I am not claiming that all this information is exactly what freelancers should be following- I am just pointing you in the direction of government publications that may be helpful when starting up a freelance business.

Thanks for reading!

IF: Linked

2010-04-15T17:17:00.000-07:00

I don't have too much of an explanation for this one. This is the business that came out of my head when I asked it to think of being linked.

Rescue Idea redux

2010-04-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

This is the project I originally had that birds/face idea for, and I thought I'd post how the final came out.

Illustration Friday - Rescue

2010-04-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

This drawing is something I've had in my head for the last little while. This is it's first attempt- I did this drawing quite small with an ink brush, but I think it needs to be much larger...only problem is, how to scan it in?

It's supposed to be a combined image- a woman's face, and a bunch of crows hovering over a dead person's bleeding body. It's based on a book I've had on my mind. I think the woman's face is clear, but I don't think the other image is too clear- I'll have to come back to this one after I think about it for a bit.

Hammer Cancer postcard

2010-03-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

This is my postcard for the Ride For Cancer Research project. I layered a bunch of imagery together. In the background there are blurred out cancer cells with gears on top and the words "hammer cancer" right below a bike. I didn't want it to be obvious that there were cancer cells in the background- it was more something that was in the back of my mind that should go there. I wanted to make a visually interesting image that would capture someone's attention quickly and communicate instantly the subject matter at hand.

Let me know what you think!

Self Promotional Postcard

2010-03-22T17:46:00.000-07:00

I'm a little slow on getting this done- after just finishing up one round of strep throat, I got round two and it knocked me out last week. This postcard was made from a photo I took and altered in photoshop. I'm trying to keep with this collage style I've been developing- I really enjoy building images this way. Please let me know what you think!

IF: subterranean

2010-03-17T15:59:00.001-07:00

This is my image for "Subterranean", this week's Illustration Friday theme.

In regards to the process, I hand drew the bird and the ink squiggles with pen and ink and scanned them into photoshop. The rest was assembled in photoshop using custom brushes and patterns.

As for the idea, I've been reading The Dunwich Horror by HP Lovecraft, and throughout the story he references birds as psychopomps (a psychopomp escorts newly deceased souls to the underworld). I figured underworld was as subterranean as it can get. I tried to reference skeleton parts on the crow to emphasize the death part of it. I actually saw a really creepy pidgeon in Gore Park the other day that had eye markings that looked like a skull, which also inspired this.

I enjoy this style, but I would really like constructive criticism to make it better! Comment if you have something to say that could help. Thank you!

Illustration Friday: Brave

2010-03-11T08:02:00.001-08:00

This is my Illustration Friday work for this week's theme "Brave". My friend recently came back from Montreal where he saw Saint Joseph's Oratory which holds the heart of Brother Andre as a reliquary. I made the connection with bravery and a heart from this. I didn't mean to get morbid with it, but it's what came to mind. I've been really interested in old anatomical engravings so I altered it to suit my purposes and went with it. For those of you who would like to read the poem, it's a small one by Emily Dickenson, and it goes...

Not Sickness stains the Brave,
Nor any Dart,
Nor Doubt of Scene to come,
But an adjourning Heart

I'd like to go back into it another time and do different things with it. What do you think?

Rick Court Blog Drawings

2010-02-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

Rick Court's blog entry reminded me of old stories my dad used to tell me- especially about kingers (he showed me how to play this game when I was little!) I decided to try an illustration style that reminded me of old storybooks from that time.

Here is the big illustration that represents the whole story. The chestnut tree seemed to tie the whole story together, so I used that.

Here are the two spot illustrations: one based on kingers and one based on his working days at Dofasco.

As always, constructive feedback is much appreciated!

Illustration Friday - Adrift

2010-02-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

For this week's Illustration Friday theme, "adrift", I thought about what would experience the state of being adrift (without purpose, aimless, off course) and this poor little robot character came to mind. One of my favourite albums, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, tells the story of a robot that begins to feel human emotion, specifically love- not quite a robot, not quite human. Seemed pretty adrift to me.

In a shameless shout out to the nice guys who run Monsters In Real Places, I decided to place him in a a real setting. Plus isn't it pretty bittersweet to see a robot wandering around trying to smell the tulips?

IF: Muddy

2010-02-11T07:43:00.000-08:00

This is my image for the theme of "Muddy" for Illustration Friday.

I started out with something a bit more literal for muddy (a little girl in rainboots and an umbrella) but didn't like it as I went along. After some brainstorming, I kept thinking that soon it will be spring and it will soon be muddy. When the ice melts, you start to see birds around sometime in March. I specifically thought of crows on power lines. I drew the large crow in the foreground on my computer, and used brushes for the rest. In the back there is an old fashioned astral map, because the constellations rotate as the seasons go by. The blood splatter stems from "a murder of crows". This image wasn't so much a literal interpretation of the theme, but rather a big word association stemming from muddy. Hope you like it!

Illustration Friday - Focus

2010-02-03T20:01:00.000-08:00

This is my work for Illustration Friday. The theme was "focus".

When I saw the word "focus", I started thinking about eyes or lenses (weird that I illustrated one last week). I was recently reading a book where a woman was given a drawing from a medicine man where a person was kept rooted with their hands and legs on the ground, and an eye in their heart to the sky. It reminded me of a favourite quote from Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry: "On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." Loosely translated, it means "one sees well with the heart what is invisible to the eye". I simply liked the look of a more fluid heart, which I created with ink from a dropper. I also tried to improve on my previous attempt at an eye.