Junyi Wu - Illustration Blog

2012-01-30T19:06:00.000-08:00

This is a piece I did for the upcoming "Hard Love" show at the Hive Gallery in LA. It's opening this Saturday, February 4th. If you'll be in the area, I hope you can stop by!

This drawing is based on the Chinese myth of "The Princess and the Cowherd". I chose this story for the "Hard Love" theme because I believe that the moment someone is reunited with someone they love after being tested by time and distance is incredibly beautiful and profound.

2012-01-25T22:14:00.000-08:00

Sometimes think about Ryan Gosling, and the jacket he wore in Drive.
I mostly think about the jacket.
Sorry Ryan Gosling.

Below is a sketch I did while on the phone. Because sometimes I doodle happy kittens, sometimes I doodle swirly vines, and other times I doodle bird shaman things. Duh.

2012-01-19T20:21:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I watched David Fincher's version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I really liked the styling of Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander. To me, the textures and silhouettes of her outfits struck a balance between vulnerability and savagery that felt true to her character -- a feeling of danger and chaos thinly veiled -- like ice over a river, or a dam held back by thread.

I based these drawings on some of the details I remember.

2012-01-05T00:50:00.000-08:00

Sketches done as part of a current collaboration with Henry Hudson.
More details on this to come at a later date!

In the meantime, have some corgi love...

2012-01-03T22:05:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!
Best wishes in traversing the new frontier that is 2012. ♠

2011-12-22T21:11:00.000-08:00

JUNYI

I will now attempt to offset my saccharine-cup-of-cocoa of a previous post with an image of some work in progress featuring

(dramatically)

Cerberus, demon dog of Hades.

Short of hellfire and brimstone, this was the best I could do. Yes, blobby dog heads are the best I can do.

(pause)

And what?

Oh. And this...

Just an excuse for more brush diddling, and part of a larger piece in progress that I'm setting aside for now, but will inevitably mess with anyways.

2011-12-20T21:34:00.000-08:00

I've been creating a lot of festive imagery over the past few weeks for work. It's been fun! Here's a small sampling of what I've made -- sans copy and branding elements.

Err. I think that's enough. This post is getting a little overwhelmingly Christmas-y I'm sure. I've been getting back to digging around in my box of pencils, so you'll have some crosshatching to look forward to soon.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend! xo

2011-12-13T20:14:00.000-08:00

I've got an Ace up my sleeve.

Here's a little turn of the wrist for you.

That said -- distraction comes in Spades. In the middle of my big project, I made a new Photoshop brush and decided to play around with it a bit. Batman and my conscience are not amused.
A little sketching helps to clear the mind though.

Anyways, while we're on the topic of topics that don't relate to any other topics, can I just mention how enamored I am with this BHLDN dress? *sigh* I want it. I guess drawing it is the next best thing...? Shush. It makes sense.

2011-11-23T21:06:00.000-08:00

The bottom one marks digital painting number two...
Is there a book that tells you how to do this stuff or what?
Am I allowed to ask impossibly dumb questions on my own blog or what?
Anyways, I will keep at it. Painting, that is. Not asking dumb questions. Though, I sense I'll end up doing both.

I started out wanting to draw a pretty, festive snow queen. But, my neurons apparently misfired, leading me to create..........an elegant plague doctor...thing. *sigh* I do have a recurring fascination with plague doctors. I've also been looking at a lot of bird skull jewelry lately. So, I guess it's just in me.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

2011-11-11T23:01:00.000-08:00

2011-11-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all smooth sailing after a rainy weekend!

v v v

V V V V

Err.....in other news, I tinkered with my first digital painting. Can I call it that? Eh...anyways. Here it is. I guess I like it enough as a drawing, but, as a painting, I feel it lacks refinement. I definitely have a thing or two (or three) to learn in the technique department. Time to mustard my best efforts and ketchup! ..................................why yes...I do amuse myself.

2011-10-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

Me on overcast days......mew. :(

2011-10-07T22:52:00.000-07:00

Testing the waters trying to find a way to marry pencil and stylus...I have a feeling it's going to be a lengthy courtship. But, hopefully the results will be interesting. We'll see.

I've been meaning to start a "drawing a day" tumblr, but I'm having trouble justifying the creation of another blog. There are also some things I need to figure out, such as whether I want the posts to follow a certain subject, a consistent size/format, etc. I guess I'll think on it some more while I continue prepping materials with which to revamp my website and this blog. Oh...I'm also working on starting an illustrated food blog.

My brain.

It hurts.

Any suggestions? I'm particularly interested in information regarding how to survive on no sleep, how to build robots, and/or how to create personal clones. Tips on multitasking and project management also welcome in lieu of the aforementioned.

2011-10-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

The last three pieces I posted are up for sale through Nucleus’ “Power in Numbers” project. They’re $50 each, and proceeds will benefit the Red Cross. Please have a look if you’re interested, or pass the word along to people who like horses, doorways, and/or large ships.

Thanks very much!

All the best,

Junyi

2011-09-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

2011-09-06T23:10:00.000-07:00

And, ~~another piece I've got cooking~~.

Never mind. I ripped it up.

2011-08-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

A piece in progress...

...and a Yuyi ~~~

2011-08-18T23:43:00.000-07:00

You can't have the Bat without the Cat.

___

PS - How do I love this image from "Arkham City"? Let me count the ways. 1, 2, 3...1 million.

2011-08-01T22:06:00.000-07:00

2011-08-01T21:30:00.000-07:00

One day, I'd like to have a job drawing Batman.

...after which I'll pour myself a drink and pull up a chair next to these guys.

2011-07-21T23:34:00.000-07:00

Mr. Otter, where have the blog updates gone?

What's that? You haven't seen them?

Uh oh. I think we've misplaced them...

2011-07-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of the last movie coming out this week, I felt like drawing something Harry Potter related. This is from the scene in the third book when Harry conjures the stag patronus to defend Sirius against a swarm of dementors.

I used to draw from these books all the time when I was in high school. It's easy when J.K. Rowling's writing makes it such that there's an engaging image to be found on every page. The Prisoner of Azkaban remains my favorite book in the series.

2011-06-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

Hurrayhurrah! Summer is here!

Summer is a time for sun, sand, friends, food, and mermaids. Here are a couple diddlies from some mermaid drawings I've been doing for fun. ...I like drawing lines that go "whoosh".

Anyways, more to come. Thanks for checking in!

2011-06-24T23:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a strange and somewhat harrowing week. Sometimes, I like drawing because it makes sense when little else does.

2011-06-04T21:33:00.000-07:00

Phew!
So, after a bit of rethinking, here's where the piece from my previous post ended up.

It started out looking a lot closer to the image below -- which, I guess looks alright by its lonesome, but didn't make a great home for the girls.

That said, blueberries are delicious.

That said, I'm going to hang up my digital hat for a few days and turn my attention to some other projects I've been eager to complete.

2011-05-31T23:36:00.000-07:00

Some progress on a new piece. There's a large tree on the left that I'm working on. I have omitted it here due to its current resemblance to a gargantuan broccoli floret. Yeah...I'm a fun ruiner.

Anyways, I kind of like this stripped down image. Go figure. Plants, water, negative space and a triangular red accent. Pinned.

2011-05-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon some mesmerizing pictures of jellyfish yesterday -- so this happened.

2011-05-24T19:57:00.001-07:00

Yuki-onna, done from one of last week's sketches.
Remember when I talked to you guys about "The Crane Wife"? I have some drawings coming up that you might find curiously relevant.

2011-05-20T18:43:00.001-07:00

Day two of starting digital painting. Tried doing a scene with color and a little added complexity. Also, tried to nudge it more towards the way I draw. Luckily for me, I draw in layers.

Say say my playmate...

2011-05-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

There are a few things about me you should know, if you don't already. Yes, there will be a quiz.

1. I like drawing trees.

2. I like drawing wolves.

3. I like red as an accent color.

From the above, you've no doubt made the Holmesian deduction that there is one story I've drawn from many a time. I brought my old friend along to support me in my first foray into working digitally.

Without further ado, here are my two inaugural pieces:

Here are the hand-drawn sketches of the wolf that I'd done months prior:

I undoubtedly still have a lot to learn and a ways to go before getting on par with my pencil work, but I'll keep at it.

2011-05-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

Some Yuki-onna sketches I did while waiting for water to boil.
My life is currently in boxes, bags, and parcels, so I'll post more drawings after the dust settles.
Meet you back here in a week!

Symbiosis

2011-04-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

2011-03-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've had cranes on the brain.
And the story of "The Crane Wife".
And The Decemberists.
And airports.
And animation.

You might hear more about this in a few weeks.
You might not.

2011-03-16T21:07:00.001-07:00

Plants are endlessly fun to draw.

2011-03-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

^^^

So, remember when I said I'd upload some work from this term, and then...didn't? Yeah. My apologies. I'm dancing a mad tango with my graduating term.

Anyways, tada...

2011-02-22T22:42:00.000-08:00

Fret ye not, I am still doing things. I just haven't been good about posting them.
That said, I will post some recent work by the end of the week. Perhaps, at which time, we can talk about the projects I have planned as part of my graduating term...and how I've got everything completely figured out...and how unicorns and dragons really do exist. You know, factual things, etc.

Till then.

2010-12-16T15:48:00.000-08:00

One of my last illustrations for GOOD...Magazine.

2010-12-15T21:43:00.000-08:00

Spreads from my final book for Drawing for Illustration.

The written passages are taken from various poems by Emily Dickinson. To me one of the most beautiful aspects of Emily's work is that way it pairs the airiness and spirituality of life with the mysterious, ever-present entity of death -- having the two exist in shifting balance. To me, she doesn't treat death with despair, but more of a reverent curiosity. A curiosity for the delicate beauty of the fleeting world around us, and a desire to find root in that with no permanence.

I felt these things somehow connected to cycles of death and renewal in flora, the delicate yet everlasting quality of nature, and alternations between loss and discovery in relationships.
So, I assembled the excerpts and images in a way to tell that story.

2010-12-14T13:33:00.000-08:00

2010-12-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

Last week, I got to do a portrait of Nikola Tesla for the next issue of GOOD, which was amazing. I got all giddy. Tesla really fascinates me. Here's the finished portrait along with some accompanying illustrations of the Tesla coil.

Nothing more fun than doing a portrait of an interesting mind and interesting face.

2010-11-24T09:30:00.000-08:00

For a Sunday Book review assignment on "The Surprising Life of Constance Spry", a remarkable woman who broke the conventions of flower arranging.
I've been drawing a lot of flora this term... I kind of love it.

A smaller Letters to the Editor piece for letters responding to this article on the New Start Treaty.

2010-11-18T18:11:00.000-08:00

For a piece covering the slow development of biofuels in its early stages.

2010-11-17T21:49:00.000-08:00

A pseudo-implied-gravy-veggie-plane-blob is about as close as I'll ever come to drawing an airplane.

Alternate illustrations talking about the nastiness of plane food.

2010-11-14T04:43:00.000-08:00

Shhhh...so, here's the material I created last term to include in my digital portfolio. It's my attempt to be charming and funny, in light of that fact that my work tends to be dark (literally). I didn't want to come across as being too brooding, or, even more inaccurately, thoughtful -- because...everyone knows that's not true. I also wanted to show off the fact that I can do "type" by not being able to fit the word "Portfolio" in a designated space. I think I pulled that particular aspect off like a pro. It was also an opportunity for me to showcase my questionable grammar/sentence structure when I'm trying to write things at ~~5am in my stressed out stupor~~ 8 in the morning 10 days before, because I'm so timely!!

I also just really...REALLY wanted this particular internship. So,this was the most ~*~*~creative~*~*~ I could be in my resolve to make things happen.

Enjoy the awkwardness.

Yes, I really do believe that smaller font will somehow render this post less visible. Never mind that I typed out an essay, as per usual.

(That top space wasn't white in the real version...but, I have concerns. Besides, if you don't know my personal information by now, you're simply not trying hard enough.)

---

(Insert 15 portfolio pages...because *sigh* I've heard that's a good number)
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2010-11-12T19:01:00.000-08:00

Ophelia

More posts ~~tomorrow~~ next week, because I can't drag myself out the door to go scan tonight.

This week in GOOD

2010-11-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

I'll link the articles as they go up, but, in the meantime, here's some of what I did this week at GOOD.

Being a Poe enthusiast, I was pretty excited when I opened this assignment.

This was for another education article evaluating the importance of discipline in the classroom. I pulled a lazy Susan and based this illustration on the beginning excerpt, because it was just weird enough to allow for it.

I also did a quick drawing for "Why College is Overrated". Having spent the last few years of my life in college, this was simultaneously interesting and depressing.

Days of Being Wild

2010-11-12T18:17:00.000-08:00

Movie poster illustration I did for Wild Strawberries a couple terms ago. It's a beautiful, and haunting film I'd recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it.

Chillin' and contemplatin' with Isak...you know, it's a thing.

2010-11-05T15:07:00.000-07:00

My current fascination is with the moment after sunset when trees on high ground are strongly silhouetted against the darkening sky. It gives the mountains such an interesting, and nuanced contour.

I am eager to incorporate this into my work.

2010-11-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

An illustration for "The Wars that America Forgot About", which discusses the lack of attention on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq during this year's midterm election. How could I resist illustrating an article written by Tom Brokaw?

Another illustration for a captivating and moving article titled "Blue Haiti", Monique Clesca's personal account documenting her return to her homeland, and her friends in the aftermath of the quake.

Thanks for dropping by. Still more updates to come. If you're not tired of it by now, meet me back here next week. Roughly the same time, exactly the same place. I'll make you some tea.

Portrait/Landscape

2010-11-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I paint things...

The former is a painting of my friend Linnea dearest, and the latter is a landscape painting ("Really?! You don't say..."). Oils and acrylics, respectively. The painting of Linnea is from a few terms ago, while the other is more recent. The color palettes are strikingly similar.

2010-11-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

A couple more things for GOOD...

Illustration for an article detailing "Why Iceland Evaluates Its Students' Self Esteem".

And another, for an article regarding the threat hackers pose to the Smart Grid. Like I always say, "Every drawing should have ninjas." Ok...so...I never say that. But, if I were cooler, I would.

Compositionally conscious ninjas are necessarily indiscreet.

Speaking of ninjas, here's something newsworthy I pulled out of my vast memory of use~~less~~ful videos.

From the sketchbook...

2010-11-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

My sketchbook is a window into my obsessions:

My concurrent fear of, and fascination with, barn owls...

My strange, and somewhat sexual attraction to large, black shapes and red accents...

My interest in fungal forms (and, again, black mass with hints of red)...

My extended preoccupation with landscapes made solely of ice and chasms into the deep unknown...

My ongoing fling with the haunting quality of starling flocks...

And other such sensible nonsense.

2010-11-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

One out of eighteen illustrations I did for The Good Guide to Relaxing. Click through to see the rest.

Image and accompanying line art I created to help promote this chef's garden design contest for the W Retreat & Spa.

2010-11-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

Drawings I did last term for 2 sets of color exercises. No one needs to see those..

2010-10-22T23:42:00.000-07:00

A batch of illustrations I did today for an article on food myths for GOOD.

It makes me smile that I managed to include cockentrice. I've been dying to illustrate one ever since I watched a really neat program on Medieval feasts.
The cookie is for an illustration on the myth of the "five-second-rule". I chose it because I once used the five-second-rule on a chocolate chip cookie...and the end results were unhappy. I don't usually eat stuff that falls on the floor, but...cookies are different. Apparently though, they are not an exception.

Anyways, more new posts to come next week! Still have some larger pieces to scan and photograph. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Evil is going on wrong...

2010-10-22T23:35:00.000-07:00

I am warning you brother,

You better watch your happy home.

Illustration I did for this op ed article titled, "How to Spot a Terrorist". Below are the idea sketches I did.

German Shepherds are my favorite dogs. Just...sharing.

2010-10-22T23:21:00.000-07:00

6 plate intaglio print. I made an edition of 16 of these. I still have 3 or 4 left. Let me know if you'd like one!

2010-10-22T23:13:00.000-07:00

Last term's Color & Story project, based on my rewritten version of Oedipus.

Jason and the Argonauts

2010-10-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

(Snake, Medea, Jason, Fire-breathing Ox, Harpy)

---

(This shows nothing, except the dirtiness of my desk...but, you know, we're trying to look serious here)

Above are some characters I did this term for "Jason and the Argonauts". Once my beloved laptop and I reconcile our ever-present differences, I'll add the color script. Also, I know I said in a previous post I'd have last term's work up by now...but, I'll need another week on that. Apologies.

I'm not at all sure how this stuff fits into my portfolio but, in the end, drawing is drawing. Whether I end up getting other uses out of these pieces or not, they made for good practice, and I had a lot of fun doing them. Double points!

Goodness

2010-10-05T15:31:00.000-07:00

Here are a few articles I've illustrated so far through my internship with GOOD Magazine.

Lance Armstrong's New Cancer Fight Goes Global

Don't Live in a State with Oranges? Engineer One in Your Kitchen

When it Comes to Meat, Consider Goat

I'm posting them because I'm super excited by what I get to do at the internship, and to make it seem like I do stuff. Magic......the gathering.

Wild is the Wind

2010-10-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

A piece I did for an NY Times article titled "Weird Weather in a Warming World" -- for Op Ed class...I didn't illustrate the actual article. Wuah wuah...

Anyways, the article discusses how human actions contribute to weather extremes, and how vulnerable we are to these changes.

Nothing like a little earth, wind, and fire.

abcde

2010-10-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

An illustration I did for this article reexamining how well standardized tests measure aptitude.

Progress/Regress

2010-10-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

The title James Jean didn't go with...

So, I've been staring down my blog for the past few weeks and, I have to tell you...it's hard to win a staring contest against a blog. Yes. That was a joke. No. It wasn't funny. Hard? Yeah...I tried very hard.

Anyways, hop on the back of my Segway baby and we'll segway our way away from this bad joke. ... ... ...

So, what I meant to say before things got out of hand was that I haven't updated my blog in a while and I'm planning on doing so soon. I have so many pieces I'm eager to share with you all! Check back in a week or two.

Here are some "in progress" pictures of a piece I'll be posting soon.

1/4 of my Oedipus key scenes for Color & Story. Colored pencils on Rives BFK = lots of wiping, layering, and general hand death over the course of the day.

Anyways, thanks for looking.
Meet you back here soon!

Junyi

Cottonmouth

2010-07-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

9"x12" intaglio print

There's something I really enjoy about the tactility of the printmaking process. Especially the process of making intaglio prints -- filing and smoothing out the plates, rolling the rich amber hard ground onto a clean, heated surface, rocking the plates in alternating baths of acid and water, mixing up the glossy, oily inks and moving them around the plate with your hands so that the pigment sits in the crevices just right......
It's sexy.

Of course, when you don't know what you're doing and you're running around like a headless chicken with incredibly sore arms and crossed fingers, it's not quite like that. Ha!

"Healthy City, Healthy You"

2010-05-08T00:14:00.000-07:00

Collaborative PSA animation done for the Pan American Health Organization's World Health Day 2010 campaign.

The accompanying artwork.

Strata

2010-05-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

Spreads from children's book No. 2. Sans text.

In sum, it's about a rich gentleman from the city who, on a trip to the country, falls in love with the beauty of a lush, green valley and decides to build a Summer home there. Over time, he continues to order the home be built taller and taller so that he might see more of the valley - all the while depleting the valley of the natural beauty that made him fall in love with it in the first place. Finally, as the first Winter chill rolls in, he looks out alone from his house in the clouds and realizes he cannot see anything at all.

While this story does have an environmental theme, it's really more about the ruinous consequences of always wanting more, and not appreciating the beauty of what you have - unknowingly, yet by choice, destroying what you love in the pursuit of a lofty (pardon the pun) ideal till, consequently, you are left with neither.

Just between you and me...

Initial exploration.

2010-04-09T23:13:00.000-07:00

I'll explain later.
Because saying that makes this sound serious.

Nuts.

2010-03-22T22:25:00.000-07:00

Illustrations from my first children's book in Steve Turk's class. I'm still working on making some minor changes to my dummy. So, for now, I will share these like so.

Nightwatch

2010-03-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

___

Select pieces from my midterm series for Jason Holley's Senior Drawing Projects class.

I started off with the fairly straightforward goal of creating night scenes to contrast the chaos of the day -- focusing on areas of the city which are normally one way during the day, and quite another at night. I drove around Pasadena taking pictures of schools, golf courses, construction sites, parking lots, etc. When I started, I wasn't sure why these images resonated with me as I drove past them. Creating these images was a way for me to find the "Why?" and turn it into the "Why" (that sounded really great in my head, here...not so much).

I guess ultimately, the things which intrigue me the most are the way the cycle of the day repeats itself day after day, creating stories which are, at once, the same but different...the return to order inherent in the way people and things which go their seperate ways to seperate places during the day reconvene at night...the presence of man in the absence of man...and the expectation and uncertainty generated by the sight of empty space.

+ + +

2010-03-22T21:42:00.001-07:00

- - -

2010-03-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

This used to be something, and now it is something else...

Sketchbook tomfoolery.

2010-03-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

Tidal

2010-03-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

2nd assignment for Notorious. Based on the lyrics of the song "Slow Like Honey" by the luscious Fiona Apple.

Endgame

2009-12-22T11:04:00.000-08:00

Book cover I did for Engame, by Samuel Beckett. The right image of the window being the cover and the left image of the wall being the back. Yeah...I do enjoy explaining the self explanatory, other than drawing, it's my only other skill.

Thought it would be fun to play with space and bring out the mood of the play in this piece.

Overall, I would consider 6th term a success as it has brought me to a place where I am much more comfortable with the way I draw, and the way I approach stories and ideas. It's been a long struggle getting here, and the road ahead is undoubtedly long as well. But, in the meantime, to have arrived at something -- whether in the long run is anything -- feels nice. I'm excited to see where I can take things next, and where things will take me.

Concurrently, there's also the point at the end of every term where I feel extraordinarily unaccomplished 'cause there's always so much more to be achieved. So, alas, small victories do not a clear conscience make.

Conspicuously Inconspicuous

2009-12-22T10:50:00.000-08:00

A series I did for Illustrative Storytelling on taco trucks in and around Highland Park and Eagle Rock.

Wiggle jiggle, yellow middle...

2009-12-22T10:24:00.000-08:00

A painting and a book cover I did for my AIS application. I'm rather fond of both of them. But, we'll see how I feel in a month or so, ha.
If you're wondering, the book itself is...alright. It raises some interesting points which, while not necessarily new, are good to think about. It's just too bad that the writing is, overall, too pretentious to be taken seriously, and gives the book a preachy quality that doesn't suit it very well. I'd say that, if you can find a copy of this book at the library, it's worth a read, as it can open up some interesting discussions...but, there are better books written on the subject.

Location location...

2009-12-22T09:48:00.000-08:00

Some in-class on-location drawings from the latter half of Illustrative Storytelling. Done at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 3rd and Fairfax Farmers' Market, and Scott's Tattoo Parlor respectively.
It was a really fun and engaging experience to go out and draw at these places to which I probably wouldn't have gone on my own. I love sketching on location.

Crunchtime.

2009-11-24T15:48:00.001-08:00

Drawings I did last week for my AIS book on LA Diners...

The ones that didn't get selected...wuah wuah.

Bloom

2009-11-24T15:48:00.000-08:00

These are some drawings I did for the Art With Heart project in Illustration for Publishing.

...

2009-10-28T22:26:00.000-07:00

Snow

2009-10-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of finished images from a wordless story book I'm working for Illustration for Publishing with Mark Todd and Esther Pearl Watson.

These are the first two spreads in the book, the second reveals the first to be the view from a plane window. To create these pieces, I drew the same images twice, once in graphite, and once in ink. Then I combined them digitally, using Photoshop to multiply the graphite image over the ink one. I am liking the effect.

The story is based on memories from my trip to Beijing in 2002 (when I was 13) for my grandfather's funeral. I'd never met my grandfather prior to his death, nor any of my relatives, and I'd never been to China before. So, the story is less about my grandfather, and more about experiencing death within the new or uncertain, and about the mixed emotions surrounding death...which I feel makes this story more universal. Although this is a strong memory for me, there are many details I cannot remember from 8 years ago. I've chosen to preserve integrity of the memories by focusing on details I can remember and omitting those I don't.

I have not gotten all the images to a finished state yet, but I do have the entire book mocked up in ink wash, and would love to do a video and go through the story with you all when I can. In the meantime, here are some pages as they are from the book dummy...

The car ride to the cemetery...my aunt is holding the box with my grandfather's ashes, which I was not allowed to touch.

The double tombstone with my grandfather's picture, and an empty space for my grandmother.

Burning the Hell money...

I am hoping to finish this book and print a few copies by the end of term.
Thanks for looking.

Illustrative Storytelling

2009-10-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

Some illustrations I did for the short stories we read in Illustrative Storytelling with Jeff Smith...
"The Hollow Men" Thomas Wolfe

I really liked this story. I found it to be very relevant and interesting.
Sorry...I can't really think of what else to write at the moment. I'm a little preoccupied with the thought that I should be writing my essay on Maus.

"The Visitor" James M. Cain

Along with the story, we also read Rudyard Kipling's poem "If". From that, I decided to illustrate a scene from the story in a way that would make it about Man's desire to take control of Nature. Here, Man is represented by the plastic and the tiger represents the force of Nature. "Clever girl..."

"A Good Man is Hard to Find" Flannery O' Connor

Diptych funtimes.
What I liked most about this story was how the Misfit, the presumed villain of the story, exposes the worst parts of the Grandmother's character, dismisses her platitudes and brings her closer to spirituality. I really liked O' Connor's characterizations of the Grandmother and the Misfit, and her exploration of the good and evil that coexist within all of us.

Lost & Found

2009-08-17T23:41:00.000-07:00

The Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack is pretty epic...

2009-06-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a book cover I did in Dana Duncan's Digital Imaging class 2nd term. Kind of ancient...and I've kind of moved on from this kind of thing...but anyways, it's for Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen.

Drawing

Colored version

The End.
Thanks for stopping by.

My New Puppy

2009-06-04T23:45:00.000-07:00

This is the dog I made for the "New Breed" assignment in Rob Clayton's class.
He's a doorstop dog!

He's chow chow, pug, corgi, beagle, doberman, and basset hound mix, and is tail is made in the shape of a door wedge, so you place it under the door, give him a swift kick in the nose, and he holds the door for you all day long. What a good boy!

IDL

2009-06-04T22:22:00.000-07:00

Image + Idea

2009-04-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

2009-04-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

2009-04-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

4/23/09
Welcome to my blog.