Tuesday 19 October 2010

Wednesday 13 October 2010

Tuesday 31 August 2010

Disarmament Conference


 
                      "Disarmament Conference"
                    Illustration by Fritz Eichenberg
                1977

Friday 20 August 2010

Monday 16 August 2010

The Moon Bird


(Click video then space bar to watch)

This animation by the Brothers McLeod, was shown at the same exhibition as the Chapman Brothers.
I think it's because the animation is on a similar theme/style as the exhibition.
In some way I liked this animation more for I liked the moving image more.

Thursday 29 July 2010

The Chapman Brothers



This is something that is a definite go see for me, the exhibition of this work is being shown in Roland Levinsky as part of the Hayward tour entitled "My Giant Colouring Book". I really like the simplicity of the brothers style of illustration and something to look forward to next week. 7th Aug.

Monday 3 May 2010

Tuesday 2 February 2010

Let Tooth & Nail Begin



Jack Card - Hati
Hati Hróðvitnisson (first name meaning "He Who Hates, Enemy") is the Warg that chases the Moon across the night sky, just as his brother the wolf Sköll chases the Sun during the day, until the time of Ragnarök when they will swallow these heavenly bodies, after which Fenrir will break free from his bonds and kill Odin, chief god and ruler of Asgard, land of the gods.


Hati's surname, Hróðvitnisson, indicates that he is the son of Fenrir and whose mother is an unnamed giantess, who dwells to the east of Midgard/ Middle earth in the forest of Járnviðr ("Ironwood"). This giantess and witch bears many giants for sons, all in the form of wolves.


I have made Hati my Jack card because he is one of the three main Wargs although he is not the queen because I think the Moon is less of an important thing than the Sun which his brother runs after. In the card itself you can see him trying to capture the Moon.




Queen Card – Sköll


Sköll Hróðvitnisson (first name meaning "Treachery") is the Warg that chases the horses Árvakr and Alsviðr that drag the chariot, which contains the sun, through the sky every day trying to eat her.


Like his brother Sköll’s surname, Hróðvitnisson, indicates that he is the son of Fenrir and whose mother is an unnamed giantess, who dwells to the east of Midgard/ Middle earth in the forest of Járnviðr ("Ironwood"). This giantess and witch bears many giants for sons, all in the form of wolves.


Like I explained above I made Sköll my queen card because he chases the sun making him more important than Hati, although, of course, he can never be the King. In the card itself you can see him trying to capture the Sun.



King Card – Fenrir


Fenrir Hróðvitnisson (first name meaning fen-dweller", Fenris wolf", "fame-wolf", "the monster of the river Ván") is a monstrous Warg, father of the Wargs Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson, is a son of Loki and giantess Angrboða, brother to Hel (ruler of Hell) and the serpent Jörmungandr. It is foretold that Fenrir with kill the god Odin during the events of Ragnarök, but will in turn be killed by Odin's son, Víðarr.


I made Fenrir my King because he pretty much is king of all wars. In the card itself you can see the two sons (Sköll and Hati) eating the Sun and the Moon and completing the events of Ragnarök, so that Fenrir can rise again.

Back of Card - Yggdrasil


For the back of the card I used the image I made of Yggdrasil, with “the unnamed Eagle” in its branches, the four Stags Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór either side of its trunk, and the worm/serpent/dragon Níðhöggr sucking at one of it’s three roots. I then amalgamated my four symbols into the image so that there is more of a connection with the front of the card. I put the Bloody Fang, the Black Claw, and the Rotten Tooth close to the base/roots of the tree because they represent the Wargs, other evil beings (including Hel and Jörmungandr), and giants respectively, all of which are evil and are meant to live at the bottom of the tree. The Rusty nail is up in the branches of the tree because it represents the Gods and Man which are good and the top of the tree is meant to be where Asgard, land of the Gods, is located. For the border, I researched into Norse runes and chose the runes which relate the best to the cards I’ve designed. I made the border quite rough to make it look eroded and ancient looking.



The Final Show Down!

Wednesday 20 January 2010

Tis A Pack Of Wargs Me Lord!

 

Based on the image by Dan Mumford, I have traced over an image of a pack of wolves and then filled it black. It's not as complex as mumfords but I think it conveys what I want just as well.

Then for Ben's final version I have turned the Wargs Cyan to inkeep with the colour chosen by the group.

THE NEW and IMPROVED JOKER CARDS! Flight of the Norns




Now, instead of making the Norns bird headed i've decided to just make them birds. To inkeep with the same style as the pack of Wargs, i've traced around a flight of birds, still keeping to owls, vultures and magpies.

Above, I have also found an example of how Charley Harper as done the same sort of thing but his is a bit more complex than mine, which is quite surprising seeing as though his work is pretty damn simple.
  
Then for Ben's final version I have turned the Norns Cyan to inkeep with the colour chosen by the group.

Charley Harper

From Ben Wright's tutorial with me last Thursday he advised me to look at Charley Harper...and by the looks of it everyone else was told to do the same thing...


I found this bloody awesome group of illustrations by him and it's just interesting how simple you can make an animal especially wee little birds with their triangular breast.


Wolf Realisation


After looking at Jack Teagle's website and blog and finding the picture above, I realise that as long as the fur of the wolf is black/gray/dark colour then it will be interpreted as a wolf and not a fox or a dog.

Thursday 7 January 2010

Digital Fang




This is just an experiment for one of my symbols, just using illustrator for the first time.

Live Tree



This was just experimenting on illustrator with one of my own pieces of work using live paint.

Wednesday 6 January 2010

Tuesday 5 January 2010

Crooked Vultures' Head


For my third and final Norn head (The other two being Magpie and Owl) I was going to have a crows head but it's too similar to the Magpie's head, and so I thought some more.....and it hit me, I brought The King "Them Crooked Vultures" album for christmas and it worked perfectly for what I need it for being I was thinking the Vultures head could be The present Norn (because when you see a vulture you know you're going to die pretty damn soon), the Owl could be the past and the Magpie the future.

Monday 4 January 2010

Norn Clothes


For the Norns I thought I could make their dress out of peacock feathers because they are meant to represent bad luck so that intertwines with the luck subject and also the patern looks like eyes, staring into people's souls.

The Meaning of Birds

I wanted to know what birds actually meant in terms of Tarot cards so that the Norns' card will haveeven deeper meaning and a meaning i found was this:

By their very nature birds are symbols of aspiration, illumination, and higher vibration. They live in the realm of the skies and this makes them symbolic of higher places in thought, body and mind. When we contemplate the bird we are lifted above the mundane, lifted of our burdens, and our souls are set free to fly above the restrictions we've placed upon ourselves. 

I like the fact that birds have been discribed as being in a higher place in thought, body, and mind because that's what the Norns are suppose to be, all knowing in all ways.

Sunday 3 January 2010

Bird Heads

Like I stated in my last blog, want the Norns to have Magpie heads but my girlfriend Lady Fazakarley for christmas bought me these:

And I love the simplicity of the owls head and owls are meant to be wise and all knowing like The Norns.
When I did some image research on "Owl/ Magpie Prints" (just because prints are simple shapes but still have enough information to look like it's meant to) I found some fantastic illustrations.