Gun girl

Stepping away from digital and back to old school traditional drawing, here's a lunchtime doodle with a new Brush pen I picked up on the weekend...

Another Astro

Well, the last Astroboy was so much fun to draw that I had to do another one, and what self-respecting Astroboy fan can resist a pic with those arse-cannons ablazing.

Banana A-Peel prints

The other week, a friend at work invited a few of us to participate in an Art Auction she was also involved in to help raise funds for victims of the Queensland and Victorians floods of recent weeks. It's called the "Banana A-Peel" and opens tomorrow Feb 24 at the Old Bar in Fitzroy, Melbourne. Whilst I didn't have time to create anything new for the auction, I suggested a couple of pieces that I'd put up here on the ol' blog. I'd also never had a print done of any of my artwork before, so a little nervously I sent these two images off the print unsure of what I was going to get back.
Well, the result was fabulous...
The photo doesn't really do it justice, so you'll just have to take my word for it, or come along to the auction. They're printed 10x8 on 310gsm fine art stock.
And here they are hand-signed, numbered and framed-
Come along and support a great cause.

Astroboy week

A former workmate of mine, Tim declared the other day that it was Astroboy week and invited all of his friends to contribute.
I used to love watching this show as a kid.
Here's my effort...

Max

This is an old pic, it's actually half of the original drawing that featured both of my dogs- two Pomeranians. I had been considering reworking it for this particular occasion, but haven't gotten around to it.
Anyway, I lost this one to kidney failure last month. It came on very quickly and was quite a shock despite him being 14 and a half. It was a very sad time around our house, and I still can't believe he's gone-I keep looking into the back yard expecting to see him trotting about or lying in one of his favourite spots. He was a cheeky bugger and was with me through some bad times, good times and numerous adventures; I'm thankful for the 14 and a half wonderful years of companionship he gave me.

...still alive

Sorry for the lack of posts, I am still here, just very busy.

More posts coming soon...

Ho ho ho

A bit of Christmas cheesecake to wish everyone all the best for the festive season and an even better New Year

Astro Yuki

Finally gotten around to finishing this one.
On a side note, I was very surprised and flattered to receive and email a month or so back from Kevin Dart, creator of the Yuki 7 concept complimenting me on my interpretations of her. I hope this one does justice to the collection.

Something different

I haven't done anything like this for a while and I've only just received back a copy so I can finally share it. This is a piece I did at the end of last year for my Father-in-law as a present for his birthday. It's of his parents house in Lorne, Victoria on the Great Ocean road. The house was built by his father high up on the hill looking out over the bay and my father-in-law grew up there with his four brothers and sisters. His father passed away a couple of years ago and the once family home, a popular spot particularly during holidays has since been sold. My wife had suggested this as an idea, and it was reinforced earlier in the year after seeing a similar effort done by someone else for another of his siblings.
The original, in pen and ink hangs, framed in pride of place on one of my parents-in-laws walls.

Stealth Yuki

Another for the Yuki collection

Ranga Nation

It's taken me a little while to get to do this one, but I couldn't resist doing our new(ish) lady Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Sketch dump

Haven't quite gotten around to finishing these, but in an effort to keep things ticking over here's some ruffs.
...and a sneak peak of a job I've been working on the last couple of months

Hendrix Pig

Here's my contribution to Guy and Stacy's brilliant Dueling Banjo Pigs blog

Scooter Yuki

This is too much fun to quit just now...

Yuki again

That last pic of Yuki 7 was so much fun I had to do another...

Yuki

I don't know why I never tried this earlier.
It was quite fun and it's a great concept- Kevin Dart's Yuki 7

Footy Girl

My daughter has started playing Auskick- a kids version of Aussie rules football- and loves it.
The team colours she's running around in aren't my choice but I've got an uphill battle on my hands there. I haven't seen her run around yet either, but thought I'd have a bit of fun with the idea

Fairy

Just a bit of a play around with and old rough drawing and photoshop

My Apprentice

Time for a more positive post
For the past few months I've been working from home on an animated Feature Film. It's been something of a nice safety net post-ettamogah and has also given me the opportunity, even if remotely to work with some of my old friends and colleagues from my time at the Disney Studio in Sydney. I can't say much about the project except that it's a film that will be out later in the year, and at that time I'll be able to show some of my work from it.
In working from home I've been able to see more of my family which has been great, and I've also been able to share what I've been doing on a daily basis with my kids. My daughter in particular has been quite fascinated, climbing up the ladder into my attic where I've been working in the mornings before school and having a look at what I'm doing and wanting to have a go. The project has been done using digital animation software where I've been drawing directly on a tablet monitor which has been interesting. It's left my old Disney animation desk sitting to the side collecting dust, well, except for when my daughter comes up for an inspection. She's been making herself quite at home climbing into a seat and drawing away, even grabbing model sheets from the production to practice on. A junior animator in the making.
Here's her latest effort of the main characters-

Craig's Pissed

As Artists we've all been there, young and enthusiastic, wanting to make a break for ourselves when we've been asked "If you do this for me [cheap], I'll have loads more work for you" or told "This'll be great exposure/experience for you" and most of us grab these opportunities only to be left with a bad taste in our mouths. I've always wondered why it is that people will gladly fork out the going rate to their mechanic, plumber, accountant, doctor, name your professional; yet when it comes to artwork some people just expect our "God-given" talents to be just handed over, because we can just "do it" despite that no amount of apprenticeship, trade-school or university time will ever bring these peoples abilities anywhere near our levels.
I received a link yesterday that contained a post from CraigsList (a US "trading post" type site) that calls out to every Artist and have decided to share it here. The post itself was quickly flagged and removed by CraigsList users but not before being picked up and reposted on blogs and design newsboards because it captures so perfectly our plight.
So here it is, the gift that keeps on giving.

Post from CraigsList

Every day, there are more and more Craigs List posts seeking “artists” for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.

But what they’re NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

To those who are “seeking artists”, let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? …none?

More than likely, you don’t know any. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be posting on craigslist to find them.

And this is not really a surprise.

In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.

So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?

Would you offer a neurosurgeon the “opportunity” to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him “a few bucks” for “materials”. What a deal!)

Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?

If you answered “yes” to ANY of the above, you’re obviously insane. If you answered “no”, then kudos to you for living in the real world.

But then tell me… why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?

Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.

A few things you need to know;

1. It is not a “great opportunity” for an artist to have his work seen on your car/’zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a “great opportunity” for YOU to have their work there.

2. It is not clever to seek a “student” or “beginner” in an attempt to get work for free. It’s ignorant and insulting. They may be “students”, but that does not mean they don’t deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a “student” once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.

3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it’s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their “portfolio”. They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It’s not compensation. It’s their right, and it’s a given.

4. Stop thinking that you’re giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.

5. Students DO need “experience”. But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the “experience” they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother’s house when they were seventeen?

If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.

6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to “submit work for consideration”. They may even be posing as some sort of “contest”. These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the “contest”, or be “chosen” for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or “spec”, work. It’s risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on this subject, please visit www.no-spec.com.

So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are “spec” gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.

And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free… please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you’re accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.