Today’s image is a bit of a tribute to a favourite band of mine, Joy Division. The first time I heard a Joy Division song was actually Nine Inch Nails cover of Dead Souls from The Crow Soundtrack. From that song I went out a grabbed the two Joy Division albums and have had the band on high rotation ever since.
I drew this one today as I recently watched Control, the Ian Curtis/JD biopic that was made a few years ago…. check out Joy Division playing Transmission on The Wedge back in the day:
Joy Divisions iconic album art from their LP Unknown Pleasures, designed by legend Peter Saville is still regarded as a classic.
UFO’s are cool. There really is no denying that. They have outreach programs to redneck communities im America’s mid-west, they keep our bovine population from overcrowding and are kind enough to come and mow our field’s now and then (and get creative in the process!). So today’s illustration is a tip of the old tin-foil hat to our Alien brethren up there in the sky plotting our destruction and/or acceptance into the Intergalactic Council of Populated Planets. Enjoy!
I wanted to break from the normal square-shaped canvas I’ve used of late and this image really lent itself to a long shape. I also couldn’t decide on the colour for this one so I did a few different ones you can check out:
The Creative Panic is all about me mixing it up, getting away from the daily grind and having fun with illustration. I’d say I’m still finding my style, so I love to try different drawing styles from time to time. Today’s illustration, while nowhere near a technical masterpiece is honestly the most fun I’ve had with drawing for a while. Quick, loose lines with no use of CONTROL-Z (the modern eraser!) from start to finish.
I was sitting here, working away with iTunes on shuffle and Gold Canary by Cloud Control came on (the previous song was Closer by Nine Inch Nails and I really didn’t want to try to illustrate those lyrics if you know what I mean!) I grabbed the wacom pen, opened Illustrator and just went for it… a quickly as I could! I had a smile on my face for the 11 minutes it took to draw the thing (11 minutes because that’s how long it takes to play Gold Canary three times through!). I really dig the naïve feel of it, messy and chaotic.
And it’s a bird, WTF is it about me and birds at the moment… 🙂
I’ve just got back home after doing the Kingston S.E. Short Course Triathlon. Nothing like a swim, ride and run to make you feel like you alive, and then dead, and then alive again, then in need of an ambulance and finally, alive again. Did the 500m swim, 13.3km bike and 3.6km run in 58 minutes and 45 seconds. I am really the worst swimmer in history and every triathlon I do I get very panicky half way through the swim and my stroke goes to the dogs/sharks. But I really enjoying doing them so the more I do the better I’ll get!
So today’s image was actually done late last night while I was in my motel room trying to get to sleep in preparation for the race! Once again, no wacom board this time so it’s all just bezier-pen tool. Go easy on it, it’s not my best! I’m continuing the avian theme with CHICKEN DISCO… he likes to disco. A lot.
Today’s illustration had to be done sans Wacom board while I’m in my home town of Naracoorte for the weekend. My wife Elle is working a weekend shift at the local retirement village, our daughter is visiting my sister with my mum in Adelaide and I’m racing in the Kingston S.E. Triathlon on Sunday… all go!
I love owls and once our new baby is born (6 weeks to go!) I’m going to draw up a nice big tattoo with two little owls representing my daughter Neave and Baby Hood #2 and get it done somewhere nice and prominent! The owl in today’ illustration is enjoying a nice glass of wine and I’m going to dedicate this image to my business partner Simone, the only person I know that drinks more night-time wine than me! 🙂
… and now my hands hurt because I’m not used to using to drawing with the pen tool and the MacBook Pro trackpad anymore!
The Cosmic Teapot. Not a Wolfmother song. Click to see full size... looks better if you do!
Today’s image is a tip of the hat to one of my favourite philosophers and all round nice guy Bertrand Russell. The burden of proof, some will tell you rests with those denying another’s claim of something that cannot be proven by measurable means. Mr Russell demonstrated through a lovely little analogy that the opposite is the case:
If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is an intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time ~ Bertrand Russell, from the article published in 1952 entitled Is there a God.
Ok, ok, it’s Friday for teapot’s sake, enough of this heavy stuff man I hear you say and I agree, but always remember that invisible little teapot floating around in space when you find yourself being made to accept someones claim that they are privileged to some higher existence or knowledge through the supernatural which makes them better than you despite the lack of evidence to support their beliefs…. unless of course that person is introducing you to the wonder that is the Flying Spaghetti Monster. May you all be touched by His Noodly Appendage.
I love children’s books, the quirkier the better I say. My daughter Neave has a book called “The Fidgety Itch” by Lucy Davey & Katz Cowley. It’s well illustrated and written and completely bug-nuts crazy! Just how I like it. I also like how the titles of many children’s books have a rhyming quality to them. Not in the traditional sense most of the time, but how the words roll of the tongue is fun and well, child-like.
So, on to today’s One a Day. A faux children’s book cover for the The Mysterious Case of the Hairy Shapes. I would buy a book like this for my kids, but I’m not sure too many others would… but I do like ’em weird! I’m obviously obsessed with hair at the moment with yesterday’s illustration being my hair and beard (or I’m lazy because hair is easy to draw!). The thought process behind this was really just draw something quirky, fun and fast… and this is what came out of my brain! Lettered with the bezier pen tool.
Forgive me but it’s a bit of a slow day on the old ‘Panic with another self-portrait. Seems I’ve gone all “designer” on this one.
I was going to illustrate a female mullet (or Femmullet for the initiated) as per the request of Ms Bianca Gillin but I didn’t do it the justice it deserved and time was ticking, so I took the easy option and drew my hair (and beard). Truth be told, I got myself a flash new haircut yesterday! Mad props to Giannis!
I have been however, having mucho fun trying out new palettes and blend modes in Illustrator looking for that sweet high-key look that you see around in lots of photography these days… I think I nailed the tone with this one and I’m digging the gradient striations which normally I’d be fighting against in my paid print design work.
P.S. The Femmullet will make an appearance I promise!
No, I don’t have a tooth-ache today, but yesterday morning I was explaining to my sweet-toothed daughter how chocolate, ice cream and lollies can rot your teeth if you eat too much of them… she looked at me with a puzzling look, promptly dismissing the idea with a ‘don’t be silly daddy!” and proceeded to her tuck into her second Kinder snack bar in a row…. kids!?
So, I thought I’d demonstrate the effects of too much good stuff through some cute character design and pretty colours, that’ll each her! *ahem* yes, well.. at least I got out today’s illustration…
You can own this little critter on a t-shirt by clicking here!
Today’s illustration is of the late statesman and all round gentleman, Reginald Theodore Swampthing. When not terrorising locals or devouring small fish and crustaceans, Reginald could be often be found tending to his stable of prize-winning racehorses, talking a nice stroll long the banks of the local river or serenading his childhood sweetheart and later wife, Penelope Margaret May Swampthing (nee Winterbottom).
Mr Swampthing ran for public office in 1962, becoming councilor (and later Mayor) of the Lakeside District. He served with dedication and gusto right up until his death in 1973 from an apparent pitchfork to the chest. No charges were laid as the Swamp Monster Protection Act of 1974 had not been passed into law, although it was common knowledge that the townspeople often enjoyed an old fashioned angry mob get-together after local football matches and Mr Swampthing may have unfortunately been in the wrong swamp at the wrong time.
——————— Illustration notes
Knocked this fella out at 1.00am this morning… had the idea for a swamp monster thing, started drawing and an hour or so later here it is. It was colour to begin with, but really wasn’t feeling it so took the easy option and converted it to black and white, drew an old school photo album background and whammo!
As always, done in Illustrator with the Wacom board. Another reason I use Illustrator is I’m rubbish with a pencil and paper. With the computer I have multiple undos and can work a lot quicker than drawing on paper and having to rub out every second line. I will however, do a few ‘One a Day’s’ the old school way just to compare…. soon. maybe.
Joy Divisions iconic album art from their LP Unknown Pleasures, designed by legend Peter Saville is still regarded as a classic.
The Creative Panic 