Superstar Kiru

I'm quite a fan of the Vh1-style graphics, particularly since it retains some of the pop-art glory of 1980's television. I scanned the outline of the character and rendered it entirely on photoshop, using techniques that I recently picked up. I'm working with a much older version of Photoshop which is Photoshop 7 (Japanese version) on my desktop at home, so many of the attributes of the CS series are unavilable to me. But it was fun anyway.

Another treatment

I tried out another treatment using the negative of the image to achieve a 'wood-cut' look.

Hosepipes in the clouds

Today I was merely contemplating while listening to the pitter-patter of the rain against my window. I know that it is a commodity which can be deemed a luxury since I'd soon be hitting parched lands. Nevertheless, I tried to visualize what the Rain God would look like in my mind's eye. Would he have long plaited hair, like the way I imagine him to have? Will he have lotus-shaped clouds to sleep on or maybe a hot spring to soothe his senses? I kind of imagined that he would have a large army of serpentile, 'hosepipes' under his command, and a giant lever to control the intensity of the rain fall emitted by them. He would sit there, drinking from his pipe, with his little Japanese umbrella, gazing into the lands below. True. Such a pathological brat.

Whodunnits of a typical fairytale romance

I guess I don't need to offer an explannation for this one!! We've all been enamoured by the Disney love stories. I was so diassapointed with the scanning of the illustration that I decided to use it against a strong background...Watcanisay....it was one of those extremely jobless afternoons when the goddess of siesta had decided to betray me, and I was left staring at the computer screen instead.

Just another childhood retreat

I came up with this final layout for this project:

How Tabby got her stripes

I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief after finally completing this one! I'm a little sad about the quality of the scans though as the luminescence of Tabitha's red dress (which I coloured using glass paints ) is barely even visible. I like my hard-copy version better! I tried to integrate the text with the pages similair to how it is like in a comic book, but I wasn't satisfied with the results, so I just decided to post the story separately. Nothing like some fun with those rusty craft scissors!!

Waverly's waywardness

This is a part of a small experiment that I carried out combining photography with editing in photoshop. Just got a hold of some of my chilhood toythings you know (stuff we used to decorate our study tables with once upon a time?). Anyway, I had this fetish for barbie accessories when I was a kid, so I used those elements to build up a storyline. The resolution of the pictures is really low since I don't own a digital camera, I had to use my 2 megapixel phone camera for the work so the thumbnails are really tiny! Anyway, I will be posting a limmerick to accompany it, a good reason being that the story's awfully kiddish ( it almost gives you the hiccups!). But hell, it was the medium that was important and I had quite a blast working on the lighting in this project. I'll be posting the final layout very soon.

A peek at how I went about the process.......

The principle of unrequited love

This illustration provides a good testimony of just how jobless I can get when I'm at home. Otherwise combining an old sketch with one of the masterpieces of one of the greatest artists who ever lived, wouldn't have been my cuppa tea! Truly, for this illustration the credit goes all out to the small fragment from one of Van Gough's fab 'guache' paintings which I used as my background. I have to put up another explannation about the bizzare foreground composition..but heck, lets leave that for a rainy day. All I can remember is that I was feeling too jobless at the time I made it and was (perhaps) surrounded by an irritating bunch of paper clips. Maybe I just didn't feel like cleaning my desk?

Waerin

This morning I was in favour of trying out the dry brush technique. The foreground and the background are two different projects, composed together using basic layering techniques in photoshop. I had no idea of what I would end up making when I started this illustration, but then, that proved to be an added joy. I liked experimenting with such unfamiliar techniques! I used mostly poster paints combined with a little bit of photo ink.

The Geranamos!

Another jobless night drenched in rain, another one of those whimsical flights of fantasy. I've been pondering about packaged drinking water these days, the way they glorify the godliness about it in the advertisments. They make the water in these bottles sparkle brighter that an 36 carat diamond necklace. Anyway, my main aim was to capture a very dreamy and enrapturing treatment for water in this lil piece (Oh! Those are mighty big words!). Just a dash of photo inks and a good dose of photoshop away!

Tabby

This is the first draft sketch from a series that I've been working on for the past three weeks. Its about a girl called Tabitha undergoing a serious identity crisis (indeed!), as she thinks she's a cat. And not that "Oh-I-am-Cleopatra's-pet" kinda cat, but the hardcore mangy-alley cat. I really don't know why its taking me so long to complete it, but the 12-series is down to the eight page (Whew!). I ought to also reveal that I'm using as many mediums as I can for this project, including some rather surprising ones! I'm dedicating this series to my good friend and batchmate, Manasi, whose love for cats knows no bounds. Now that I've proclaimed this, please do forgive me Mana if this turns out to be a disaster! :P

Emmanuel's first skitter

I wanted to test whether I could still work with pencil colours after being stuck to photo inks for the past month. Turns out, I struggled, with my patience running out every few minutes. At the end of this illustration, I decided that pencil colors were definately not my panache. I used 'Country fair' as the theme for this illustration and got stuck to the palette of primary colors. Which reminds me, I had a bunch of skitters just like these in my childhood. :)

El Manana

I was listening to Gorillazs' track "El Manana" today when I started sketching this character. I took the liberty of personifying the song into a character. Was a little confused about the treatment, tried atleast five combinations but I'm posting two of them here. I am a great admirer of JC Hewlett's characterization for 2D, Murdoc, Russel and particularly Noodle. Unfortunately, you guys must be knowing that the band's no longer together. Gonna miss them big time. :(

The Elderweiss pixie's

Fairies minus the wings. And a little bit of inspiration from the mosquitoes that bugged me to death last night. The Elderwiess fairies walk on fours and are very much like ants. They transport and collect the Elderweiss flower which serves their everyday diet. I made this illustration with the aim of exploring different colour palettes using photo inks. I integrated the forms with my own handwriting, thinking it might do some justice...but I'm regretting it!! Anyways, who knew pixie's could be beasts of burden someday? Maybe they really are...

Dream theatre

I've always been fascinated by the ocean and the wonderful creatures that grace the deepest abysses of the underwater world. I feel that the world below there is very intangible, like a free-floating mass unlike the way it is up here. I started out by drawing this really goofy-looking seahorse but I decided to transform this pencil drawing into a layering composition. The colouring is done entirely in photoshop, merged with three background layers and enhanced using some basic filters.

enter: The Tamborines

This is another ink illustration that I did just few days prior to starting "The tale of Madiera Juggernaut". These were my first set of characters for the story, but it didn't feel quite right. I chose to maintain the same genre of illustration technique for Madiera, freaking out with the rotering pen. Well sadly for me, I ran out of rotering ink before completing the details on the male character to the left of the composition! lol. The characters are (from left) Mighty Minor, Fifi, Pepe and lil' Nougat.

Casino Royale!

I designed these two layouts of card decks taking the theme "Casino". My knowledge about Casino's is close to zilch (only through some films), since I've never been to one. So I decided to use this lack of knowledge as a pointer while drafting these two illustrations, as you can see, they're very abstract. I thought it would be interesting and I've realized that after completing these illustrations, I do have an opinion on the matter. Well, there comes my revelation! This style (detailing with an ink pen), is the one that I have been using for the longest time and am most comfortable with.

Who's attracting whom?

Kingfisher air hostesses really interest me these days. The last time I was twiddling my thumbs in the security check lobby of the airport, I saw this entourage of red-clad women whisking themselves across the busy airport like it was a runway or something! Hey, this is not to say that I find them distasteful or anything, but they're so visually loud that I can't keep myself from sketching them! ha! I wanted to try working in different layers in this illustration. I chose to keep the original background of the sketchbook with the drawing, but rendered the character in photoshop. I know that the graphic airplanes look rather static, but it worked out okay for my pun.

Pods of Imagination

I tried two different color palettes for this illustration, I wanted both of them to exude a strong mood. I guess the orange and green combination is more striking. Anyways, this is my take on imagination, of seeing ideas growing out of a pod of the tree of your beliefs and experiences. Most of my ideas automatically start generating when I enter a reclusive, isolated territory, that explains the choice of elements in this illustration. Every fragment of your imagination is so personal, so intuitive, you could never lose it. Its your private lounge, your personal sanctuary....your perfect, blissful world.

Oceania Park

I'm surprised that I belong to an earth sign, because with every passing day, I feel more and more drawn towards the element of water. I felt it strongest when I was first working on "The Story of the Anglerfish", and now I feel like doing a whole series on this character called 'Gabriella' from one that I plan to call "Oceania Park". I pulled out my glass marking pencils for the job and I've already talked about my obesession about drawing hair, so this little piece was quite enjoyable to do.

My first applique

This is my first attempt at traditional applique. I ransacked my closet in attempts of finding some unique scraps of cloth, but I wasn't so succesful. The next option paid off quite well as the visit to the neighbourhood tailor did fetch me some rather interesting specimens! I tried to be as minimalistic as I possibly could but oh! all that stitching has made me weary!! lol!

A frooti for a painting!

This is just a small medium emploration that I tried out this morning, combining photo inks with blow painting. I had quite a blast doing it! I was kinda getting bored of the inks and the pencils, so I bought a frooti for myself just to use the straw! haha! The technique's terribly simple but you have to be really quick with ur fingers and be ready to exert ur lungs!! lol!

My infamous tanks!!

I had a swimming costume just like this when I was seven year old, and boy did I hate it that time! When everyone had nice girly frocks, I had this real eyesore of a swimwear.I was a real water baby paddling and splashing away at my pool with my fellow cousins all day. I was feeling nostalgic since I've haven't been swimming for the past four years now . I miss those flourescent green tanks with purple polka dots!! Now I realize that they were quite a style statement....!!

Myrtle Dove's wavy locks

I once came across a beautiful portrait done with ink in which the lustre and movement of hair had been beautifully captured. Those of you who know me, will also know that I have a great fixation for hair! I find myself starting out with it in most of my illustrations. I started out with the hair in this illustration, and since I had watched Corpse Bride some time back, I was in favour of some really skinny proportions, so the character just kinda came through.

The Tale of Madiera Juggernaut

I've shrunk the 10-page series to an eight-page one and have posted the limmerick accompanying the illustrations. I worked on two layers in this project. The forground consisted of the drawn and rendered characters which were pasted on paper springs to impart a 3D effect. The backgrounds were created using some basic black paper cutouts, rotering ink, drawing inks, poster black, glass markers, charcoal yada yada, but I chose to do the lighting and enhancements on photoshop.The reason for attempting this kind of project is to break away from the "long format" stories that have become kind of a weakness for me these days. My stories roll out in acres and I can never get to finish them! So I just put my foot down and decided to play and short and sweet.