My two backseat drivers hoping for a treat:
I meet a Mysterious Stranger
30 Jul 2010 6 Comments
in Inspiration
I met a mysterious stranger while walking the dogs on the Rondebosch common today:
It was clearly digesting something, and allowed me to come quite close to take photos. It is a mole snake, which means it is not poisonous but can give a nasty bite. My dogs never noticed it, to my relief.
There was a much larger snake on the common until recently – my father saw it several times – but sadly, somebody killed it. I hope this one is luckier.
The Mouse Bride illustrated by Lesley Liu
29 Jul 2010 5 Comments
in Illustration
Another wonderful find from the Wynberg children’s library – “The Mouse Bride” written by Monica Chang and illustrated by Lesley Liu. I had a hard time choosing which images to scan for this one – they are all crammed with fascinating details.
“The Mouse Bride” is a story about some mice who live in a hole in the bottom of a wall. Notice all wonderful details. In many of the pictures, you can see a small child watching everything:
Here are some details from that image, showing the mouse village: More
Stop Motion Experiment: Marvello
28 Jul 2010 6 Comments
in Animation, stop-motion Tags: stop motion
Here is my first stop motion animation. Very basic! Brendon made the sound track:
Now I will have to do another one.
(I’ve been documenting everything I’ve learnt so far about stop motion animation, from how to build the animation stand to what camera to use. You can find all the posts under the stop motion category of my blog.)
A Knight in a Skirt meets Dragon Fishbreath
25 Jul 2010 4 Comments
in All my drawings Tags: drawing
This was another one of those drawings I found while sorting my tax and medical aid documents. A knight in a skirt, and a friendly dragon with fishy breath.
The Firebird by Luděk Maňásek
23 Jul 2010 2 Comments
in Illustration
Another treasure discovered in a second-hand bookshop: The Firebird illustrated by Luděk Maňásek. I could find out very little about him apart from the fact that he studied in Prague. I guess these must be lithographs. The lines are soft and delicate, almost furry:
The hero, Prince Ivan setting out on his quest to find the Princess Vasilissa. More
The Collector
14 Jul 2010 4 Comments
I tried drawing with a dip pen and ink again for the first time in years. Used to be my favourite medium. I seem to have developed a fascination with “wicked women holding helpless victim”.
The Collector:
I wonder about the story. Is the person on her shoulder a rescuer, or an accomplice? What is with the old fashioned ladies in the painting? Are the people in the bottles tiny, or is she a giantess? And how did she lose her eye?
Gardener in colour
13 Jul 2010 Leave a comment
I had fun colouring in my “what the gardener found” drawing in Photoshop:
A closer look:
Butterfingers
13 Jul 2010 Leave a comment
in Inspiration
I made a promise a little while ago, to finish my exhibition and find a gallery. So anyway – I’m not sure the glass jars work, and I’m considering replacing them with big perspex display cases for each piece. Fairly expensive but worth it, I thought. I ordered one case, and went to pick it up.
As I came in the door, holding the case, fumbling with keys, and with dogs milling round my knees:
I dropped it.
It cracked.
Damn.
Found Drawings: What the Gardener Found
12 Jul 2010 Leave a comment
I spent the day sorting papers into box files. Among the IRP5 forms, tax returns and correspondence about medical aid, I found a quite a few drawings. One particular book was filled years ago: I remember, I was in the middle of my masters, and was desperate for some kind of creative outlet to get away from XSLT and AJAX.
This one which could be from a story called “What the Gardener found”
I love her expression, her dainty watch, and the spray can clutched at the ready:
And notice her well stocked shelf of poisons:
I’ll post more of these “found drawings” over the next couple of days. And maybe I’ll have fun colouring in the digital versions? Sigh. I intend to raise procrastination to a new level, to counteract the effect of all those files.
The Enchanter’s Daughter – Errol Le Cain and Antonia Barber
07 Jul 2010 2 Comments
in Illustration
I found another book by Errol le Cain, an illustrator I’ve loved since I was a little girl. It is mine for only a week or two, as I found it in the children’s library in Wynberg. I will be sad to let it go, but took the chance to scan it:
“The Enchanter’s Daughter” was written by Antonia Barber. The story is quite unusual, as fairy tales go. It is a story of a princess searching – not for the love of a prince, but for her mother. Here is the nameless princess – who is quite unaware that she is beautiful: More
Digital Pattern Drawing
05 Jul 2010 4 Comments
in All my drawings Tags: drawing
Another drawing done in Flash, with the patterns added in Photoshop. I like drawing random faces when I’m just testing a medium. This one seems like she might have an interesting story to tell.
The Incredible Uncertainty of Digital Drawing
04 Jul 2010 3 Comments
I’ve been drawing on my computer for the first time in ages. My wacom tablet’s been looking at me so accusingly so I just had to try again. I did a drawing in Flash, just a random face to get back into practice.
Drawing on a computer is very different from anything else. I find the ability to undo useful, obviously, but it can also be paralysing. “Was that stroke right? Maybe not (undo) and that one? (undo) maybe this one? (undo)”
With pen and paper you just have to make your mistakes work for you. But I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Want to try something with patterns, next.
The Emperor and the Nightingale: Meilo So
03 Jul 2010 Leave a comment
in Illustration
My second hand bookshop luck is still holding – I found “The Emperor and the Nightingale” by Meilo So. She is an illustrator I have not come across before (there is a link to an interview with her at the end of the post). The story is familiar, but Meilo’s wonderful loose style and unexpected colours make it all fresh and lively again.
The story is of an Emperor who has everything he desires – travellers visit his castle simply in order to marvel at the beautiful architecture, the priceless artworks, the lovely gardens. I could choose only a few images from the book, as usual: More
I Promise
01 Jul 2010 2 Comments
in Inspiration
Making promises to myself does not seem to work.
Maybe if I make them here, they will stick?
I promise that I will:
- Finish my show.
- Find a gallery to exhibit in.
And if possible:
- Before the end of this year.
Masha du Toit 
Recent Comments