Dear diary, part five

July 5, 2013September 16, 2014 | Anna Cull

ABN logo – sketches and final design
Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2011)

logo © Access Broadcast News, 2011

I worked on this logo while I was at design school and so I included it in my exhibition but, really, it was a freelance project that I did in my ‘spare’ time. Access Broadcast News is a media-monitoring company based in Wellington. They wanted their logo to be vibrant, dynamic and creative. I liked the idea of putting a new spin on the more traditional images of news communication such as radio waves and old television sets (which is why they appear in the sketches). My final solution is a cheeky nod to the RKO radio tower. I brought it into the 21st Century by adding multi-coloured dots to represent modern fibre-optic cables.

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.

Dear diary, part four

June 28, 2013July 7, 2013 | Anna Cull

Beat book cover design – sketches and layout ideas Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2011) — Beat book cover design – sketches and layout ideas
Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2011)

'A meme that launched a millions trips' – final cover design — ‘A meme that launched a millions trips’ – final cover design

For this project we had to use found images and a limited colour palette to design the cover of a book about the beat poets. My cover is a paper collage of photographs, censored texts and deconstructed poetry. The background features excerpts from the works of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs that I have retyped, rearranged, printed, torn into pieces and transferred on to paper using an acetone printing technique (the same technique I used for my book without boundaries). The acetone transfer produced a wonderful, imperfect, aged sort of effect which you can see in more detail below.

The diary pages are from a journal I put together 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.

Dear diary, part three

June 21, 2013July 7, 2013 | Anna Cull

‘Trash your ash – play the game and everybody wins’ – sketches and final illustration Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2011) — ‘Trash your ash – play the game and everybody wins’ – sketches and final illustration
Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2011)

‘Trash your ash’ mock-ups (billboard and installation) – ink, photography and digital Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2011) — ‘Trash your ash’ mock-ups (billboard and installation) – ink, photography and digital
Student project, 2011

The brief for this project was to design an anti-cigarette-litter billboard and public installation for the city council’s ‘Future Vision of a Clean City’ campaign. The focus had to be on anti-not-thinking rather than anti-smoking. For the installation, I turned my drawing of Christchurch’s Anglican Cathedral and Chalice sculpture into a pop-up board game that could be played in public spaces around the city. It was a lot of fun putting my illustration into the photo ― I wonder why I don’t do that more often?

In the style of… André François

June 17, 2013June 23, 2020 | Anna Cull

Gold – acrylic on paper, 255 x 305 mm, 2013. — Gold – acrylic on paper, 255 x 305 mm, 2013

Goldfish pond, original photo, 2012. — Goldfish pond, original photo, 2012

The influence of André François’ art (see below) on the way I painted this goldfish pond is subtle but it’s definitely there. I can see it in the brush strokes, the way the colours are applied and the black lines around the leaves and fish. I don’t think the online image has quite the same impact as the painting… because from a distance — despite the texture, bright colours and obvious outlines — the painted fish pond looks real. Really really real! Most peculiar.

André François

Hungarian-born French artist André François (1915–2005) is perhaps best remembered for his cartoons in Punch, Vogue and The New Yorker but I’m more interested in his graphic design work, such as these vintage advertising posters for Citroën and Kodak ― the brushwork, colours and humour are delightful.

In the style of… appears occasionally instead of my regular Shoot it, Sketch it posts. Using my own photographs as a starting point, I’m drawing inspiration from some of the world’s greatest illustrators. It’s not about slavishly copying someone else’s art; it’s an experiment in seeing things differently.

Dear diary, part two

June 14, 2013July 7, 2013 | Anna Cull

Playing cards ‘Sphinx’ and ‘Alchemy’ – refining the compositions and final illustrations Visual diary, two-page spread – ink and digital, student project, 2010 — ‘Sphinx’ and ‘Alchemy’ – sketches, compositions and final illustrations
Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2010)

Playing cards ‘Secret Passageway’ and ‘Ivory Tower’ – refining the compositions and final illustrations Visual diary, two-page spread – ink and digital, 2010 — ‘Secret Passageway’ and ‘Ivory Tower’ – sketches, compositions and final illustrations
Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2010)

The design brief for this project was to create four playing cards based on the word ‘arcane’. And arcane is such a wonderful word:

The process went something like: figure out what to draw (using word maps and thumbnail sketches), find suitable reference material (photographs of pyramids, camels, medieval suns/moons, monks, castles…), and then sketch and arrange the elements to make a meaningful composition. You can see the final playing card designs here.

These pages are from the visual diary I designed for my Design & Arts College exhibition in 2012. Two years’ worth of research, ideas, word maps and sketches had to be edited to fit a single, professionally printed journal of only 72 pages. It was no easy task but it’s something I’ll always treasure.

In the style of… A. B. Frost

June 10, 2013March 26, 2014 | Anna Cull

Welcome to my first ever In the style of… which will be appearing occasionally instead of the regular Shoot it, Sketch it posts on Mondays. I plan to draw inspiration from some of the world’s greatest illustrators. It’s really Shoot it, Sketch it with a twist ― I’ll still be using my photographs as a starting point but I’ll be drawing/painting them with a particular style in mind. It’s not about slavishly copying someone else’s art; it’s an experiment in seeing things differently. My hope is that it will take my own art in different directions.

At the beach – ink on paper, 140 x 240 mm, 2013.

Drawing this week’s photograph was a bit of a challenge. The rocks and stones were straightforward enough (believe it or not) but it took several attempts before I was happy with the driftwood. And if you’re wondering who A. B. Frost is…

A. B. Frost

American artist Arthur Burdett Frost (1851–1928) is famous for illustrating Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn characters as well as Joel Chandler Harris’ Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit stories but it’s these two illustrations from A Tangled Tale that inspired this week’s sketch. Frost’s compositions and linework are simply brilliant.