MISTER HIPP

Dan Hipp is an American illustrator, who seems to take a lot of inspiration from main icons of nerd culture, such as comic book heroes like Batman, and videogames. Hipp has previously (and on some cases still does) worked with DC comics and WIRED magazine; the vibrant colours and exaggerated features of his work are evidence of this.

Hipp has published numerous works, including comics, and an art book, 'MISTER HIPP STRIKES!', most of which is currently sold out. Shame.

I personally really admire Hipp's work, being a shameless nerd myself. Whilst it's all well and good to see icons such as Daft Punk (above) utilized in such a gorgeous way, it doesn't offer much in the way of originality. It is just fan-art when you get right down to it.
However, Hipp has produced original work, which makes up for this, despite a vast majority of his work seeming to be using existing characters/concepts.

Overall? I think there is more than a lot of potential in his work, it has a fairly universal appeal to it, which when you are talking about, say, advertising or editorial work, is very important.


http://mrhipp.blogspot.com/

And how are things going on my end? I've been tied up with a few things recently, in the build-up to going back to uni in 2 weeks. I have a few ideas of what I can produce for this blog next, one of which ties in with my graphic novel, the very same I have left for nearly a full year.
Something in the back of my brain keeps telling me I should probably start writing a smaller one. To write and illustrate this is more than a one-year job; it's massive.

What do you guys reckon? As always, thanks for stopping by, and feedback is more than welcomed. I can't hope to get better without you lovely people, can I? ;)

Toodlepip.

CIS

Went to town yesterday, with aspirations of sketching some of the skyline. I ended up finding a pretty good vantage point on top of a car park, where I ended up with the above sketch.

Today I figured it didn't have much life to it, so I added some colour via Photoshop.

Considering I usually HATE drawing buildings, I have to say, this turned out pretty well. As always, feedback is welcome; after looking back on some of the stuff I did last year, I think I severely need to improve... I actually cringe...

More to come in the following days. It might also interest you to know that I actually got back into writing the graphic novel I started about this time last year and just left it to gather dust. Filling in plot holes is NOT FUN.

I'll see you around.

Oh, and have this that I found on the post-it wall in the Arndale.

What a guy. :)

Andrew Ainanenane

Bit of a short and sweet one for now.

Andrew Ainanenane is a illustrator, who currently resides in Samara, Russia. A majority of his work seems to consist of inks and water colours, along with the occasional digital treatment, in the form of filling large areas with colour, 'flats', if you will.

As seen here, Ainanenane is very competent in using ink pens such as fineliners, especially the variable shading in the typography, which is also a specialty of his.

Ainanenane isn't what you would call a 'famous' illustrator, but there is really no reason he shouldn't be; it is obvious in his work that he has put some serious consideration into his methods, and how the final result will turn out, whether it suits a minimal graphic look, or more daring, artistic flare like in his watercolour work. Definitely an illustrator I could learn a bit from.

The Urban Ghillie Suit!

Here it is, the first EVER project I did at uni. I decided to upload this only now because I only just rediscovered the photos on my computer.

David Bailey I am not.

I should patent this, send it off to the MoD or DARPA or something.
This was a damn fun project to do; I should incorporate a bit of crafting into my work more often, rather than pen and pencil drawings all the time.

As I'm typing this I'm currently debating what I could show you all next; I might do some more self-portraiture... until then...

Have a feral badger.

 

Jugend Archives: Now Online!

Jugend was a German art nouveau/illustration magazine, that ran from 1896 to 1940.

The magazine appears to deal with most artistic forms; illustration, design, performing arts, etc.
I would go as far as to call it the Creative Review of its kind, although it heavily bases itself around the Art Nouveau style, whereas Creative Review is arguably more modern and contemporary.

In any case, I have just received word that the entire run of Jugend is now archived online on the Heidelberg University site. I've had a quick look through and I have to say, the illustration work is quite nice.
Unfortunately, it's all in German, so I couldn't tell you what any of it means if you paid me.

Take a look for yourself here:

http://diglit.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/jugend

I just consulted my calendar, and rather surprisingly I still have about 4 weeks left of Summer. It feels like I've been away from uni for... years. Looking forward to getting back; there's only so much time you can spend at home, you know?

Manchester Gallery

A few days ago (before these bloody riots which stopped me getting into town for a bit), I stopped by the Manchester Gallery, hoping to find some well needed inspiration.

Upon entering, I was greeted with numerous works from local artists, such as this photograph, by John Roberts, named The Chinese Quarter (2003)

The photograph obviously shows renovation work that was carried out on warehouse buildings, which resulted in the conception of Chinese restaurants.

Dragon Boat: Strength and Pride (2004)

The above sculpture, consisting of earthenware clay, coloured glazes and transfer prints, was a joint project between members of the Elderly Project at the Wai Yin Chinese Women society, and artist Stephen Dixon, along with student volunteers Caroline Hunt, Karen Shapley and Joanna Haines.

Work on the sculpture was initiated by a group of Chinese people who moved to Manchester, who interestingly had never produced a sculpture like this one before.

The golden print stays faithful to traditional Chinese art and design, accompanied by fitting cream and olive tones. The sculpture itself is intricately detailed; no doubt a product of the large group of artists who created it.

Ceremonial Keys and Badges, bearing the Manchester Coat of Arms

The boat in the coat of arms symbolizes the beginning of Manchester's trade with other countries in the world, whereas the antelope represents the city's engineering heritage.

Injustice (2007)

Memories remain within,

No spaces in between,

Fearful journeys,

4 a substance obscene

Processed, tagged,

Scabby, stressed,

Mills tease

To scam a sweat so sad.

Dyeing, bronzed, enslaved.

By young people from Tameside and Trafford, and Tony Curry

The above two photos were from the same set piece, displaying mainly pop culture and the like which stemmed from Manchester, for example, photos of the Strangeways breakout and the Smiths album cover. Also included is a few posters of what appears to be nationalist propaganda.

 These two photos are from a piece covering an entire wall, named Oxford Road (2002) by Jim Medway.
The painting has given felines human characteristic, a concept known as anthropomorphism. The painting represents Oxford Road in Manchester, on what I can only assume is a weekend night out for these cats.
The lack of shading really works in this piece, along with the thin yet very pronounced lines. The limited colour palette also comes into account here; it gives the piece quite a light, childish look, yet of course, the context partially takes this out.


And that is the end of my little trip to the gallery. I had quite an eventful day in town that day. One of the initial reasons I went is to (wait for it) look for a nuclear bunker.

And I found it.

Apologies for the awful photography, but the camera I was using hates sunlight. But yeah, found this; which I understand leads to a nuclear bunker far underground and under Piccadilly Gardens. Of course, I couldn't get in, but I heard there was a World War 2 bunker elsewhere, which isn't as closed off. I may go check it out if I can find a point of entry.

Until then, farewell.

OH WAIT!

To keep you going, have this .GIF I made for the weekly challenge over at b3ta.com. This week? "Future Law Enforcement"

Strong Children Japan (and a small update)

I was just linked to this blog, which I have to say, was quite moving.

The blog, entitled Strong Children Japan, is an artistic response to children and teenagers who were local to the Tohoku area when the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster occurred in March of this year.
Children as young as 1 are portrayed in these images, which are presented in a childlike way, despite the facial detail being quite mature, if that makes sense. According to the blog's author, the pieces were either directed by children, then designed by an artist, or designed by the children themselves.

Along with these paintings, are messages by the children, which, if various translation algorithms serve me correctly, are the children's wishes and actions relating to 'green energy', i.e, solar panels.

Despite being on the other side of the world, I was affected by the disaster a lot, having a love for the Japanese culture, and having met a lot of Japanese people in the past, who were some of the nicest people I've ever met.
I know people are still struggling to cope with this horrific disaster, and it's going to take quite a while for things to return back to normal. Hang in there, guys.

http://strongchildrenjapan.blogspot.com/


As for the small update mentioned in the title, I have to apologize.
What for? Well... I've had no inspiration or motivation, whatsoever, to get work done for this blog. I'm going through what must be the worst mood swings ever. I know it sounds terribly unprofessional, but even machines need a break every now and again, you know?

I was experimenting with various inks etc. the other day, and came up with this... interesting page.
If you needed a visual representation of how I feel right now, here it is.
Again, I apologize greatly, and will be back on track very shortly.

Oh, and I also want to get into music production... not abandoning my work, hell no. I figure it'd be just a pastime.

David Bailey of FLESH and BONE

Whilst out in Manchester the other night, I stumbled across this small bar in Northern Quarter.

The Common Bar.

As you can see, the walls are decorated with black and white sequential art, derived from work by illustrator David Bailey.

The comic strip series, named after titular main characters Flesh and Bone, began in 2008, and was framed on the walls alongside some of Bailey's other work, which can be seen at his website, http://www.davidbaileyillustration.com/

On this site, you will find that Bailey's work relies party on portraiture, but also indulges in typical doodle-like work, which to me, is reminiscent of a lot of media during the late 60s-early 70s. A good example would be some of The Beatles' promotional work, and the Yellow Submarine.
I for one admire the aestheticism of Bailey's work; it is completely versatile and in terms of graphic design, very bold and minimal, yet it retains character and is very full of life.

I visited a few bars that night, most of which had small exhibitions on. If memory serves me correctly, most of them were open during the day. I'll head out to them when I get the chance and blog about them here.
And as for personal work, it is definitely coming. Things have been quite slow here lately, but I'm gradually getting back on track.

Until next time, I'll post the link here, and farewell.

http://fleshandbonespot.blogspot.com/

Oh and also!

Does anyone out there know how to integrate SWF files into Blogspot? I'm thinking of putting up an animation I produced for uni a few months back (anyone who is in the same class as me should know which one that was.

I've also been thinking of doing some more animation. I don't know what with, when, or what, but I'll try, for sure.