Bear Prince

I was a bit scared of my wacom tablet when I first got it, imagine the first time man discovered fire, you think of all the great stuff you can do with it, you imagine how it's going to change your life, but when you pick it up you get burnt. Then you get angry, and stamp on it, and call it a stupid piece of shit. 

Anyway I've noticed, with drawing, most things take a lot of practice, patience and experimenting and I bloody love my tablet know.  I'm busy colouring up some bears here’s on of them so far, they'll be more to come. 

"PUT A BIRD ON IT!"

I've assigned commands to my tablet buttons, mainly so I could sit back on the sofa and have my laptop on the table and not have to be hunched over using the keyboard. The buttons are oddly shaped and I would often hit the wrong one so I stuck form stickers so I could easily tell where they are. Plus every thing looks better with a load of stickers slapped on it.  I may have also just watched to much Portlandia.  Don't eat the pips. 

Water

Keeping with the flow of my blog I've posted some process pictures of this weeks Illustration Fridays entry. I thought I'd give you a glimps into my geeky work space. Actually thats my old workspace in the house  used to live in but the new one is pretty much the same, with the exception of the tobacco as I've quit! (Don't ever start kids, it's not cool and you smell!) I'm sure I'll post my new workspace soon It's full of loads more geeky toys and illustration stuff. Don't eat the pips. 

BOY concept art, digital painting.

I've been practicing with my tablet, these concept pieces are for a short story I've wrote titled 'BOY'.
It's in the early stages of concept now but I'm in no rush as it's nice to be able to take my time with a project. I really wan't to develop character on this project as well as the setting, so I've been writing back stories for everyone in the story and even people who are connected to those characters. I'll post more of the development in the future. Don't eat the pips.

Illustration Friday 'Book'

I thought I'd quickly sketch up something for this weeks illustration friday, as I promised myself I would enter it more and I've nearly missed the deadline!
Don't eat the pips.

Weeds Poster Design

I designed this yesterday, the customer was over the moon. Which is alway nice, he's got a great name.

These are just test prints we'll be printing them on heavier paper in house later.

Don't eat the pips. 

Lino Cut

I started experimenting with lino before I started my new job. It's been put on hold for a while but I'm about to start again soon. Here's one that I took some progression photos of. I have some Legend of Zelda ones that I did which I'll post soon. 

Don't eat the pips. 

I'm Back

I've not posted in a while, because I've recently moved from Newcastle to Olney, which is a small town outside Miltonkyenes.
I've got myself a rabbit and a job working for a local magazine; which involves journalism, photography, graphic design, illustration and loads of fun stuff.
I'm also writing a local music and events page and starting up a blog but I'll be posting that stuff on here to.
Today we got this months edition of the Phonebox magazine delivered. Beneath the canvas sheet is 3 tons of 100% MAG, there was more before I took the photo, we had already sent a 1 ton off to stores.  I've illustrated the front cover this month.

I thought I'd give the pips a make over so I hope you like it. Don't eat the pips.

The Pips are growing! Guest Post By Dizzy Miss James

Hi all,


It's been a while, and I've missed blogging, don't worry though I Haven't been sitting on my arse! I've been moving house and making prints as well as doing other interesting things which I'm going to post later. I've been thinking about The Watermelon Pips during this time however, and I've decided that it needs to be more a part of a community!


So it is with great pleasure that that I can introduce a guest post by a fellow artist and maker Dizzy Miss James, I'm sure you'll find it as interesting as I have.


Felt Watermelon Brooch

Hi I’m Dizzy Miss James I like to make fun & quirky handmade accessories & gifts. Here’s a step-to-step guide on how to make my felt watermelon brooch.

What you will need:

Green felt

Red felt

Black, red, green & yellow cotton thread

Sewing needle

Card

5 x black beads

Brooch back

Scissors

Glue Stick

Take the felt & cut out 2-x green half circles & 1 red half circle slightly smaller than the green ones. The size depends on how big you want your brooch to be; I do mine 8 cm x 5 cm.

Now it’s all about the stitching. Straight stitch the red felt piece onto 1 of the green half circles; this is the front of the brooch.

Next stitch 5 straight rows for decorative detail as shown above, 3 stitches in each row will do.

Sew yellow thread onto the green felt around the edge of the red half circle; I like to use backstitch for this as there is more of a continuous line.

Add the beads sewing them at the ends of each of the five rows. These are your pips.

Take the other green half circle this is the back section of the brooch. Cut out a rectangular shape big enough to fit the brooch back on, either hand stitch or zigzag stitch with a sewing machine this piece onto the back.

Sew the brooch back onto the rectangular piece this will help hold it securely in place when wearing the brooch.

You can leave your brooch entirely fabric however I do like mine to be more firm & hardwearing. Cut out a half circle in card & glue this to the inside of the back section leaving a slight green boarder to allow for stitching.

Lastly sew both of the sections together including the card in the middle, stitching around the edge with green thread. When finished tie a knot in the end & push the knotted thread inside the middle of the brooch sections to make it tidy.

TA DAH! You now have your finished watermelon brooch.

You can find this along with my other crafty makes at http://www.etsy.com/shop/DizzyMissJames you can also follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/DizzyMissJames &

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/DizzyMissJames.