Here's a little Inktober illustration I made today in my new Moleskine journal. ...Imagine that, a snail that can draw!
If you don't know what Inktober is and would like to know, go here to find out more.
The Balloon Cloud
I'm pleased to say that I've just finished off a new picture book project The Balloon Cloud. I found this to be a really tricky job to work on as it deals with the difficult topic of bereavement and the questions raised by it for little kids such as "where do people go when they die?" The main character named Henry (pictured below) looses his balloon on a windy day, and from that point forward the story of The Balloon Cloud is told. While this is a tender topic, I feel that I've treated it really well through bright and uplifting illustrations that celebrate life and put a positive spin on a dark subject.
The Balloon Cloud will be released in the next few months.
Tiny Living Spaces
This morning I stumbled upon 'the college dorm of the future' on Fast Company blog Co.EXIST. If you're like me and teach Visual Communication Design, these tiny wooden houses are an interesting talking/study point for students to explore. They're also interesting simply in terms of their design. Visit this link to read more about them. The elevation and floor plan views are also shown over at the blog, which would be quite handy for Unit 3 if you're a teacher of the subject.
While I'm not entirely sure that I'd like to live in them, I do think they're interesting from a design solution perspective, (they're cheap, sustainable and space efficient). One thing is for certain though, I'd much rather live in a tiny Swedish wooden box, rather than one of these tiny living spaces in Japan... Here are two images below, but make sure you check out the link for more info.
In terms of the way humans live in different spaces, also check out Kevin McCloud's 'Slumming It' I watched it on a flight back from Jakarta a few years ago and its really interesting viewing. "After 10 years celebrating homes in Britain, Kevin (host of Grand Designs) now experiences life in India's largest slum - Mumbai's Dharavi, made famous by the film Slumdog Millionaire, where disease is rife, water is contaminated and sanitation is basic. With one million people crammed into one square mile (2.6 square kilometres), Dharavi is one of Asia's biggest slums and one of the most densely populated places on the planet."
Dharavi slum in Mumbai, India. Photo courtesy of Swiss Dots Ltd.
From The City Fix - Q&A with Gary Hustwit: Designing Cities
The future of design education
Issue #296 of Desktop Mag has hit the shelves. This issue looks at design education in Australia: both currently and where its headed to in the future. Its well worth a read, particularly if you're a current student looking to study an area of design at uni. Also, if you're someone like me who has already been through a uni design degree, you'll no doubt read and nod your head along the way... Design education in Australia needs to catch up with professional practice in the design industry.
This is an illustration I made of the cover design of the current issue.
Mag Covers I Like
Yesterday I bought a new set of Schminke half pan watercolours. I've always used tubes of colour, but wanted a set of half pans to be able to do some quick, immediate work without the fuss of the usual initial setup, with tubed colour. I love magazines and decided to use my new set of colours to start a new series of illustrations: redrawing the covers of some of my favourite mags. I've used some really loose linework and brushwork to achieve a cool aesthetic. Here's the first illo below, and there will be more to come!
