* All I Want for Christmas is You *
Still counting down to Christmas Day with images I created on Polyvore. Please note that no cats were harmed in the making of this Christmas tree. Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas, happy holidays and Happy New Year!
These WIPs show the transition of yesterday’s kitten sketch from the initial drawing through to the final image. I realise that the blown highlights make the kitten look a little odd ~ but because they are one of the reasons I like the photograph, I wanted to retain them in the sketch.
“I am an artist you know … it is my right to be odd.” E.A. Bucchianeri
Kitten in a sunbeam – ink & watercolour sketch with digital colour added, 2016
Grandkitten — original photograph, 2014
“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea…” Robert A. Heinlein
Chef logo, labels and rebranding campaign – concept development and final logo design
Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2011)
A full-on design challenge, this student project was all about the relaunch of one of New Zealand’s favourite pet foods: Chef. The secret life of the domestic cat was my inspiration — house cats are predators who, although wild at heart, always come home for Chef. I used a simple line drawing for the logo/body and Photoshopped the eyes (in detail below).
My Chef logo, labels and magazine advertising campaign. The background images used in the ads are courtesy of the Internet.
The diary pages are from a journal I designed for my Design & Arts College exhibition in 2012. Two years of research, ideas, word maps and sketches had to be reduced to a mere 72 pages. It was no easy task but I now have a beautiful, professionally bound diary that I’ll always treasure.
Unpolished cat sketch – ink on paper, 55 x 60 mm, 2012.
My friend has introduced me to the wonderful world of polishing cats.* Closely related to procrastination, it’s a term for doing things that don’t really need to be done right now but which mysteriously rise to the top of your ‘to do’ list when there is something important that requires your attention.
I’m supposed to be working on a logo. I have the concept, the reference material and I’m now ready to draw it. I really like drawing and I enjoy designing logos but, for some reason, I can’t seem to settle into the sitting-down-and-getting-on-with-it stage. Instead, I have posted a birthday card, put petrol in the car, done the dishes and finished my mise en place for dinner. I’ve also written to my friend telling her all about it and now I’m preparing this entry for my blog. That’s a whole lot of shiny cats… and still no logo.
*DISCLAIMER ~ The author of this blog does not advocate or in any way condone the literal polishing of cats. That would be silly.
