happy halloween

Here's a recent doodle I thought would be appropriate today, it's based on 'Gimli' the resident house-cat that keeps me company most days as I draw.

Contrary to the pic, he's actually a sweety-pie, more likely to roll over and purr than to play fight... it's taken me ages to rekindle that 'killer instinct' at the cost of minor flesh-wounds to my fore-arms and feet, turns out he likes feet :)

Doodled on old paper with whatever I had on hand and finished off in photoshop, have I mentioned I'm a big fan of Dave McKean?

meerkat and co

That's right, another ink wash and there'll be plenty more to come...

Ever since I discovered the medium in college, I was hooked. I use the best value for ink I can find, and many artistes have scoffed at it or at least raised an eyebrow, is Parker's 'Quink' - the black one!

What I like about it is the spectrum of colours that are revealed as I work, depending on the ratio of ink to water and even the way it's allowed to dry, it gives off blues, greens, ochres and everything in between. It reacts really well to water, bleach, salt and probably a bunch of other stuff I haven't tried yet, like soap... hmmm...

I think I'll try that today...

Incidently, I added the clouds in photoshop, I like playing with photographic elements and inkwashes, a la McKean ;)

What's been pointed out and I've seen happen to my older drawings, it bleaches quickly in the sun and the colours keep changing over time. For some that's a bad thing but I like it, it's as if the drawing kept on drawing itself!

I did these two in 2000/2001, over time the palette seems to get warmer but no less richer.

Covers

I like sharks, all the bad publicity they've been getting since 'Jaws' is a real shame.

Still, they are pretty scary and I was happy to draw them when Tom asked me to do the cover for the first issue Semiotic Cohesion a while back...

(This isn't the final cover, I changed the shuttle to a more recognisable angle)

My delight doubled when, last year, he asked me to draw issue 5's cover! Rarely does a drawing exude this much fun from end to end, what a pleasure!

High noon recycled

Alright, here's a little experiment I've just finished...

Over the years I've gathered many scraps, usually inkwashes that I produce for backrounds or texture effects. This idea wormed itself into my head that I should recycle these pretty but vague drawings by adding a detail that would complete it in a way it was never intended to.

I plan on giving some of these away for the 'Night of a 1000 Drawngs' exhibition on 5th Nov, see you there... if you're in Cape Town that is ;)

Amnesty Int.

Ah, monday, sweet monday...

I haven't got anything new to post today (been real busy on 2 project) so I'm once again delving into the abyss of past projects.

A few years ago, following my trip to Angouleme, I was ask to join the ranks of comic creators that were briefed to illustrate one of each article of the Declaration of Human Rights to be published by Glenat.

This is the book, L'illustration Universelle des Droits de L'homme

and these were mine: Article 8

For me the best part of this was to be bound between covers with such greats as Moebius, Bilal, Toppi, Guarnido and many, many more...

Nat Geo

So.

Wednseday drawing was cancelled again yesterday so no new updates. Instead, here're a few more illustrations-for-hire, I did these for the local NAT Geo Kids mag last year. The article talked about a ranger who'd set up a wildlife rehabilitation center called Moholoholo.

I've done a few more for them since but these are still my favourite, and what a pleasure drawing for kids who like animals :)

sketchbook 2001-2004

I've been busy working on a 6 page comic about Van Hunks (ironic, it's the story that inspired the 'Cape Doctor' a few years back) and it's quite a process...

So, for those out there that like sketches and doodles, I thought I'd post some of my old notebook scribbles, where would we be without our scribbles!

These were all done with nothing but a ball-point pen, I don't do nearly enough of these anymore but it's a great way to sketch; there's little margin for error and you quickly get over the need to erase and 'fix up'.

The Foolery

So as I was saying... Malone and I have started up The Foolery where we stew up comics and other vehicles of entertainment.

Here are a couple of sketches from our most recent endeavour: a children's book!

This is an exciting new style for me, I try to experiment as much as I can and sometimes it plops out and sometimes, like here, it doesn't.

Pages are trickling in, I hope to finish all the illustrations before this year's done. I better get cracking...

foolishness

It was about 2 years ago that my good friend Ian Malone and I decided to become professional fools, so we did what any fool would,we started a company "the Foolery"

We started with these:Opera Savannah is a collection of cartoon gags initially released as greeting cards... and will eventually be collected as a book, I scheme...

Erg...

Thank yak it's friday, even freelancers need fridays! It's been a busy busy day and I haven't thought about what to post today... tough work this blog business.

So I'm dredging up something from the abyss... here goes:

ah... this was one of my first kid's illustration for Nasou via Afrika waaay back in 2002, it's for an African tale about the creator (which also appears as a tortoise somtimes) fighting off an evil dragon... sounds a bit like St George, don't it?

Those trees in the bg are ones we get all around Cape Town, they're all weirdly skewed as if from years and years of beating from the wind.

nightcrawler

nightcrawler
Originally uploaded by breignier

I'm trying to link my Flickr to talk to this blog.. ahh... technology :)

Oh, and this pic was for a 'sentinel-ify' any X-man challenge on CWS...

Wednesday drawing

Right, so classes were cancelled last night so no update today... BUT...

I do still have to post last weeks' drawings, remember that model with the ballet slippers?

I was checking out Eric Canete's blog, there's some outstanding figure drawings not to mention all the other great goodies. Check it out!

the Cape Doctor

So, like everyone else (in my mind) I have a special fondness of comics, those wonderfully elastic compositions of words and pictures have made me happy for so long now...

Needless to say that I've fiddled a bit and plan to fiddle more with this curious medium!

In 2005 I entered a competition run by the international comic festival of Angouleme entiled: 'Vues d'Afrique' and the theme: "my city today, my city tomorrow"...or something like that. Along with 10 other finalists from all over Africa, I was flown to Angouleme (in France - and we landed in Paris and took a train to Angouleme) A tiny city further South that becomes a hive of comic fans once a year.

The experience is a whole other story, for another time, for now here's what got me there...

The story was inspired by a local legend of the Cape and kind of mished together with this other story, more of a local saying actually...

Re: Wednesday drawing - random

Class was canceled tonight, so Nadene and I had sushi instead :)

So anyway, here're some oldies. These are from 2 seperate nights, two different models...

Re: Wednesday drawing...cont

Next, we had a hip-hop dancer break some moves 'n poses...

These are all gestural drawings of 2 - 5 mins respectively...

except for these last few obviously ;)