Last Day Dream from torbjon on Vimeo.

Bristol Graphic Designer & Illustrator: Gavin Strange

Iv'e been following the work Bristol based Gavin Strange  ever since I came across a little write up about him on the Apple website. In his own words: 

"My name is Gavin Strange and I'm a 26-years-young manchild from Leicester but now living in beautiful Bristol. I work as the Senior Online Designer at Aardman Animations by day, and by night I indulge in my other graphical obsessions, going under the name 'JamFactory'.

I began my career in the wonderful world of web & graphics back in 2000 when I got a job, fresh out of college, at a design agency in Leicester named Christon Davies. There I was schooled in the way of the web, whilst setting up my own little website in my own time, to test out my newly-learnt skills.

That website was jam-factory.com and stayed as my portfolio site throughout my time at the design agency, until 4 years later I decided to be brave and go it alone in the freelance world.

I became 'JamFactory' full-time and for the next 3 years I took on every graphical task I could - from websites to graphic design, illustration to photography. You name it, I got involved.

Jack of all trades, master of none.

In 2008, I was lucky enough to be offered the position of Senior Online Designer at the illustrious Aardman Animations, after a period of freelancing for them on Channel 4 project4mations.tory'.

I hastily accepted and have been doing that since earlier this year, with a whole heap of fun JamFactory projects to keep me out of mischief in the evenings. I also started and am part of the Xynthetic family. The Xyn is a creative collective of artists, designers, skaters, photographers & film makers, all collaborating on various projects and exhibitions.

The family consists of M4KINOV, Mr Jago, Klingatron, WASTE, Richt, Sums, Danny Wainwright, Pone, 45RPM, China Mike, WheatFree, Sam Taylor, Eric Thomas, Darryl Reid, Lee Page, Wilko, Sarah Laughton, ED209 & myself."

Bristol Illustrators: Sums

"sums the paw"
you have seen the stickers.
you have seen the posters.
you have seen the tags.
what more is there to say?
adore the paw...............

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sumsthepaw/

Bristol Illustrators: Cheeba

As an aficionado of the modern poster and sticker culture, Cheba began plastering the streets with his striking yet simple characters using every media he could get his hands on. He has appeared in such publications as 'Graffiti World', 'The Art of Rebellion' and 'Wooster Collective – Hollywood Remix Book', all of which received worldwide distribution. All sorts of influences inspire his work – everything from obese people and 80s cartoons to frilly knickers. For his role behind the clubnight 'Weapon of Choice' and the Bristol Festival, Cheba snapped up Venue magazine’s Banana Award for the top artist of 2008. Having perfected his own unique visual style over a number of years, his highly distinctive pieces have become instantly recognisable throughout Bristol and beyond.

http://www.myspace.com/cheba_bristol

Bristol Illustrators: Yaka Head

Finn Neary is Yaka, working relentlessly for the movement that is "Yakahead"
Based in Bristol UK, Yakahead has worked on many diverse projects from clothing to print, from posters to skateboards and from club interiors to animation.

Previous clients include the V&A London, Advocate Art, Toshiba, Minute Skateboards, Blowpop Promotions, Monorex, SPUK, Equip, Mutehead, Folkdevils, The Guardian, MOJO, Bizarre, Net, Computer Arts, Surfers Path, Future Music, Big Issue, NADA, Mailout, Venue, Dont Panic, JETT26, Galvanise and The Tube.

Yakahead work has appeared in exhibitions across the UK and Europe, producing canvases, framed works and limited edition prints.
Please contact the artist for commissions, exhibitions and new art project proposals.

www.yakahead.com

Bristol illustrators: Will Barras & Duncan Jago Interview

 

I've always been a big fan of Will Barras & Duncan Jagos Work and was pleased to come across this interview. Particular points of interest for me included Will Barras's comment about treating illustration as a 9-5 job. The importance of structure to the working day is something that I need to consider if I am aiming to do freelance jobs. He also mentions the importance of experimentation and allowing a piece of illustration to evolve naturally. "1 in 10"  pieces are good, the rest are just standard. I guess the point here is to not be afraid of making bad work because it helps you grow as a designer.

Bristol Illustrators: China Mike

Chinamike is a painter and illustrator based in Bristol.

In 1998 Mike left a graphic design degree course to pursue a burgeoning interest in illustration. Since then he has worked as an illustrator on projects for record labels, clothing labels, publications, murals and promotional material.

In late 2006 he began to move his focus away from commercial illustration to concentrate his efforts on painting.
Since then he has been producing work for exhibitions and private collectors. With shows booked up and down the country and a group show in the U.S in July, this year is shaping up nicely for chinamike.

www.chinamike-art.co.uk

The human figure in illustration

I've always found drawing from something I can see so much easier that making something up out of my head. Recently though i've been lookin at the human body and allthough I'm drawing what I see, i've been trying to experiment with different techniques and qualities of line. I want to start focusing on this area a bit more in the coming months and work like the above definatly serves as an inspiration.

www.poolga.com

Came across this website that acts a source for iPhone wallpapers designed by contemporary illustrators...not only are many of them inspirational piece of work but its a good oppurtunity for a one day brief...

hsinping pan

Loving this guys work. Making imagery with no black outlines is something I intend to be looking at in the near future. Perhaps most striking for me is the bright colours at play here. Creates a really eye catching and engaging effect.

Christina Ung

As I stated in my rationale, I want to focus on the handmade aesthetic and use less computers. Looking at Christina Ung's work demonstrates the potential of watercolour and ink. I need to invest in a set of paints and some different pens and pencils.

Mat Johnstone

I've been looking at editorial illustration recently and some of the artists that contribute to papers such as the Guardian. Heres the work of mat Johnstone.

Reggie Pedro

I came across the work of Reggie Pedro and love his style of illustration. I should certainly look at using a bit of paint in my work as I like the rough, organic feeling it gives an image. A lot of the pieces above are commissions for Sunday newspapers such as The Times and The Independant. Perhaps I should look at doing some editorial illustration.

Robert Rauschenberg

Justin & Joe recommended I have a look at the work of Robert Rauschenberg. I did, and I liked it. His work uses a similar approach to what I did with my cars illustration- imagry, sometimes illustrated, is combined in collage. His work feels very free and liberated and this is a quality I want to have in my own work. I like the way he's combining mixed media and this is something I need to start doing more of.