Archive for 2009

Academy of Sciences

1 Comment » Written on August 30th, 2009 by Kiri
Categories: Sketches

I recently visited the aquarium and exhibits at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. They hold a weekly ‘happy hour’ event in the evening that is adults only, and you can buy drinks and cocktails to take around the museum with you.

I took my sketchbook around instead. It was awkward to draw because there were very few places to sit and still have a view of any exhibits, so I only ended up with a single page of sketches.

I liked the albino alligator a lot. Unlike the fish, he was sleepy and still. Even that starfish I doodled moved around more than he did. And the gazelle thing didn’t count, because it was taxidermied.

academysciences8-271

Posted in Sketches | 1 Comment »

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

2 Comments » Written on August 25th, 2009 by Kiri
Categories: Illustration, NIMH

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, and the movie based on it, The Secret of NIMH, are two of my favorite things from childhood. I’m extremely leery of the new CGI/live action movie they’re making based on the book. I personally can’t see it working on the same emotional level that the book and 2D animated movie did. There’s a certain expressiveness in the style of those Don Bluth animated films that suited it very well.
Now, if it was Pixar handling it rather than Paramount, I could easily believe they could pull it off and be true to the spirit of the original book.
Anyway, to get over my pre-emptive ill-will towards the new movie, I’m rereading the book and doing my own illustrations for it. I’m doing it in an unstructured way…just drawing whatever scenes strike me as needing to be drawn. Here’s the first:

frisby1_
“With her forepaws and sharp teeth she pulled off a part of the husk from the top ear of corn and folded it double to serve as a crude carrying bag. Then she pulled loose as many of the yellow kernals as she could easily lift, and putting them in the shuck-bag she hopped off briskly for home.”

Posted in Illustration, NIMH | 2 Comments »

Vintage print

No Comments » Written on August 11th, 2009 by Kiri
Categories: Vintage Scans

I have a deep love for vintage prints and books, and I was thinking that some of them need to be shared with the world.

This is a plate I picked up this past weekend at a Vintage Paper show here in San Francisco. It’s an odd piece, according to the label it’s some kind of plan or schematic for decorations on a piece of furniture. I love the birds and the mice, but it’s the little Xs marked on the drawing that really make it for me. You’ll sometimes see that used to denote areas of a print that are to be filled in with black, but I don’t know if they serve the same purpose here. Anyone know?

birds_print

Details:
birds_printdetail1

birds_printdetail2

This print is from a loosebound collection called “Documents d’Atelier Art Décoratif Moderne”, published in 1898. The only clue as to who the artist might be is the ‘Th. Lambert’. Which may not even be a name!

I’m going to try to make a weekly feature of posting scans of some of the vintage peices I’ve collected. Just need to come up with a snappy name for it…

Posted in Vintage Scans | No Comments »

ArtOrder: Drow vs. Mindflayer book cover

No Comments » Written on July 24th, 2009 by Kiri
Categories: ArtOrder, Illustration

This was the biggest challenge I’ve encountered yet on ArtOrder – illustrating a book cover. I had to squeeze in time for it, because one of the judges for the challenge is Irene Gallo, the AD for Tor books.

It’s a wrap around cover, and had to be laid out to accomodate a lot of text.

I admittedly had to struggle with the composition, because I stubbornly wanted the drow in front. I’m pretty happy with the final piece, especially after I added the decorative elements – some Charles Rennie Mackintosh-inspired spider designs carved into the rocks.

Posted in ArtOrder, Illustration | No Comments »

Catching up…

1 Comment » Written on May 26th, 2009 by Kiri
Categories: ArtOrder, Design, Illustration

I’m caffeinated, let’s go.

I’m working on a whole package of branding and illustration for a local beekeeping and honey store, Her Majesty’s Secret Beekeeper, that is opening up soon. Here’s the logo:

bee_logo_xsm

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed making up a mechanical bee. The entire look of the store will be very Art Nouveau meets Steampunk.

I did another of the Concept Challenges over at ArtOrder. This time the brief was to make a series of four silhouettes, one for each character archetype. This was my first time doing full blown silhouettes, and it was fast and fun, like sketching.

usual_suspects_kiriko_mothx

And this final piece was a private commission from an author who wanted a depiction of one of her characters.

klara

Posted in ArtOrder, Design, Illustration | 1 Comment »

ArtOrder Sketch – Boll Deevil

1 Comment » Written on May 1st, 2009 by Kiri
Categories: Sketches

I recently sent my portfolio to WotC, and the AD that got back to me had a link to his very very useful art blog, ArtOrder in the sig line. Well, I’m bound and determined to keep a visible presence ’round WotC ’til I land me some work. They have an ongoing weekly concept challenge, and the current one just happens to have a prize of a commission for one of their magazines. The challenge ends on Sunday – it started about two weeks ago and I’m late to the game. So I’ve only got a pencilled line drawing, whereas some of the other entries are full blown beautiful paintings.

But I’m happy with my gruesome little creation. Isn’t that larva peeking up over the rocks just precious?

Posted in Sketches | 1 Comment »

Vehicle

2 Comments » Written on April 28th, 2009 by Kiri
Categories: Illustration

This has just gone live on Altrock Productions’ site, so I’m also posting it here!

I recently finished up some CD packaging art for a local Oakland band, Mirthkon. Cars aren’t in my regular repetoire of subjects, so this one was a really enjoyable challenge.

Media: Ink and Photoshop 7

Posted in Illustration | 2 Comments »

Modofly news!

No Comments » Written on April 23rd, 2009 by Kiri
Categories: Uncategorized

Jordan just posted some amazing photos of the books that Modofly has been producing. I liked the moleskines, but I am seriously blown away by how incredible these look.

Here’s a shot of one of mine, but you’ll definitely to check out the others as well, posted at the Modofly blog.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Illustration Friday: Impossibility

13 Comments » Written on April 18th, 2009 by Kiri
Categories: Illustration Friday, Sketches

Media: Photoshop 7

Sometimes when I conceive of a drawing , the entire picture forms as a visual in my mind. I often take this visual and then look for photo references, so that I can get the anatomy correct. In many cases, I can’t find refs for exactly what I’m thinking of, and I end up modifying my original idea to fit.

This was almost one of those cases. I couldn’t find an exact reference, but I also wasn’t happy with any of the sketches I developed from the photos I did find. I ended up scrapping all the refs and just drawing what was in my head, and I think I’m much happier with the results.

And just for fun, here’s the original pencil sketch: