A little bit comic!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I uploaded an etching I did at the end of uni whose image I'd taken from the last scene of a comic I'd drawn a few months back. After I'd uploaded the etching I realised that I never actually put the comic up here which was very remiss of me at the time and which I will rectify now. The creation of this comic came about when some of my fellow students (namely Peter Maggs) took it upon themselves to organize a 24 hour comic event (something which Plymouth University's illustrations course has done for several years now but which has never been a student initiative before). I'd never even vaguely considered myself a comic book artist before but as my work had become increasingly narrative lead over second and third year, I thought this would be an interesting new challenge! The aim is to produce 24 pages of a comic book in 24 hours (that's 1 page an hour when you do the basic maths!) and if you want to see pictures of the event go have a look at Diana's blog. The images aren't expected to be of that great a quality as there simply isn't time to produce anything highly rendered if you want to reach the target. Here is the result of my 24 hours spent in the library among friends with sandwiches and mushroom pie.

Oh woe is me!

Make that 8 rolls of film sitting on my bedside table that I can't afford to get developed!

Lets get creative!

The Sketchbook Project, which I took part in last year, is starting again and it's time to sign up! For those looking for a creative project, and the impetus to get started, this is a great way to doing just that. This may look like cold and shameless advertising, but I strongly believe that anything that encourages people to be creative without any judgement should be shouted about. I'm going to be doing it. It would be nice if you joined me.

Talking of book-binding...

Having spoken of book-binding in my previous post, me and some friends actually did some the other day. It was a nice way to finish off the year, by making a sketchbook to draw in in the future. 

It was Diana Mazuru's idea to make the sketchbooks.

 Hannah Grace's sketchbook is small but perfect. And I like her nails too!

 True to form, I took up the most room. All the mess at the front is mine!

 That isn't book-binding I hear you say! But Dave Hooper's drawings are pretty good!

 The finished thing.

I cut out all the unused pages from all the sketchbooks I've used while at uni to make this sketchbook.

Wish list...

Does anyone else use the "Wish list" button on Amazon? I couldn't quite figure it out for a while; all the books I really wanted to buy were so cheap on Amazon that I didn't need to add it to a wish list, I could get it then and there. But then I became a student and also started coming across really lovely books that definitely couldn't cost 1p. Weeds and Wild Flowers by Alice Oswald and Jessica Greenman was the first one I put aside to remind myself that when I had enough money that should be one of the first things I did with it. The next one on my wish list is this one:

In fact, for anyone who loves books, and particularly well made ones like those beautiful clothbound classics that Penguin started publishing a couple of years ago, or just one-of-a-kind artist books, then you should take a look at  Purgatory Pie Press which was set up by the author Esther K. Smith and her husband Dikko Faust. This book, How to Make Books, does exactly what it says on the label but what's really good is that all the techniques are super easy to do at the kitchen table. It made it onto my wish list by virtue of that fact. I love book binding (I did an A level in it and it was sooooooo FUN!) but now that I'm moving back home where there will be little to no space to spread book binding paraphernalia, it seems imperative that I look for ways to keep up my artwork with limited fuss. How to Make Books is exactly the kind of inspiration I need :).

Cards.

What with the rain and no uni work to do, I've little else to occupy my time with except updating this blog with some of the cards I've been making this year for my loverly friends. I came across the pictures I took of them the other day on my camera while uploading something else. How nice to just make something beautiful sometimes without having to analyse every decision to the enth degree!

 Mine is the middle one. Then respectively: Rachel and Diana.

I own this book!

I was given it as a birthday present by the marvellous Rachel Rawlings (please have a look at her blog, she's been drawing some really beautiful decorative animals lately). She read my mind because I saw it last year in Waterstones and fell instantly in love with it. The book combines two of the most excellent things created since.....well, not sliced bread because I dislike that but since toast! Namely, etching and poetry. The poetry, written by Alice Oswald, captures the human quality of weeds and wild flowers while the etchings, by the artist Jessica Greenman, that intertwine with the prose throughout the book are delicate and exquisitely observed. 

If you have the time to pour over this beautiful book then I really recommend getting yourself a copy. I think I finally understand what good line quality looks like ;) 

An etching to finish.

I am sitting here on a quite honestly horrendous July afternoon with rain speckling my window and contemplating life after uni (it really has finished now, I took my degree show work down on Saturday). I have four rolls of film sitting on my desk that I can't afford to get developed and I have more money in my purse then I do in my bank account. The outlook is bleak. However, while I hang in this state of limbo, pulled between going home and working part time at my local farm shop and hopefully making enough money to go travelling or staying in Plymouth to find a job and staying closer to friends and perhaps more motivation to continue drawing, I have the time to share pictures of the very last ever etching I was able to make in the university print room just before the degree show. The image comes from the last scene of a comic I drew last term as part of the 24 hour comic event I took part in. Did I put up pictures from that? I can't remember! Well, it's only a very small etching, ideal for a book mark or something.