In ozio tortillas

Autobiographical comic series

2011-11-11T15:23:00.000+06:00

Adieu!

2011-02-09T17:39:00.009+06:00

Bongo

"Don't do that Buttercup!"

A Portrait

Bongo is always keen to pose for the camera

Buttercup at the helm

A heavy colony of 'summer shower' growing on our walls

Buttercup always keeps an eye out for visitors at the gate

'Summer shower' it is

Buttercup in all her glory

A retreat into shady pastures

Guess who is in charge?

The bountiful Incas

The past four months at home have been like a retreat into my childhood days. Almost like a long vacation that I never had in the last 11 years. The whole experience has humbled me and made me reach even deeper for my roots and family ties. From cool foggy mornings, to cosy family campfires, I shall always remember these days, particularly waking up with my dogs snuggling next to me amidst an ocean of blankets. Pure winter bliss. As I get ready for another giant leap and make a nose-dive back into city-life, I thought I would share with you, little glimpses of what my life has been like for the last four months.

P.S.- I learned a great deal of gardening this time, so you shall have to bear with an outburst of marigold incas in this post! :)

My homage to Terryl Whitlatch

2011-01-22T09:39:00.008+06:00

The original illustration: black ink and sketch pens

An interplay between the colours of the bg and the illustration

A blue wash over the illustration

Terryl Whitlatch's character designs have always fascinated me, particularly the way she inculcates the smallest details into her work. It is of no surprise that her animal anatomy drawing skills make a budding artist like me envious. After browsing for what seemed like hours, I finally discovered her wonderful book up for sale. Imagine my excitement. :)

To see some pages from her latest book click here

Waiting for Adobe Premier Pro to render footage always takes its toll on me, so I drew this creature in the meantime. :)

Opening Credits (Tests)

2010-12-31T15:45:00.011+06:00

Smoke theme

Ancient title

Cloud theme

As the film is nearing its completion, I am beckoned by the thrilling world of vfx and compositing which adobe after effects has acquainted me with. So I have decided that I shall devote a small portion of this week to generate different ideas for the title sequence of the film. When I first began compositing, the whole exercise seemed extremely tedious to me, but over the last few months I have started to appreciate the marvels that it is known to produce, often effortlessly. I would really like your feedback on these small test shots that I have uploaded. :)

Mammoth + Shark ray + prawn

2010-11-30T01:12:00.006+06:00

An attempt to bring back three classic prehistoric species with a twist.

The first glimpse

2010-11-29T14:18:00.004+06:00

It is that time of the year when we must all go scouting and rallying for job interviews nationwide. I am soon to graduate and with that reality, comes the stark realization of facing the world without the chaperone of an institute you have grown to love over the past four years.

PS- Sorry for the poor resolution of the video. Please watch it in its original size to avoid distorting the quality.

Diwali greetings from the lazy squad

2010-11-03T13:17:00.001+06:00

Film stills

2010-10-29T17:58:00.006+06:00

Against all odds, I stand halfway en route to the completion my first student film. With five minutes in and another three to go, its a precarious place to be. Everyday my mind reels in new ideas which I try to analyze and incorporate into the shots, sometimes resulting in very intriguing insights. Its been a tough ride, bearing the seed of this idea against a windstorm of critics and well-wishers. Hope this tale will soon be ready to meet you all across the shore!

My neighbourhood

2010-10-26T21:27:00.006+06:00

Dainty creepers

Bongo melting with affection

Buttercup's midday dewan

The incomplete overbridge

Triumphant

local fowl

My aesthetically-confused neighbour

Peach tarts

Underbrush

Lunch time

Attentive and extremely responsive ladies

Railway junction

In retrospect

2010-08-08T19:40:00.004+06:00

I was initially planning to keep the treatment of the film restricted to a grayscale when I had made this illustration last year. Surprisingly, it had a date scribbled on it which read 8th august 2009. I can't believe it's been a year since I began working on this film and so much time has actually passed since this germ of an idea had emerged. My documentation is almost complete as I prepare for the final, and perhaps the most complicated leg of the journey (which involves a lot of softwares).

Initial character explorations on Ru

2010-07-22T17:35:00.001+06:00

Howdoodoo Buttercup??

2010-07-20T13:45:00.002+06:00

Father and daughter

2010-07-20T10:42:00.000+06:00

The Lair of the Rain God

2010-05-10T12:14:00.003+06:00

I have been failing miserably in attempting to document my film as continues to unfurl, one little layer at a time. However, I'm posting a low res bg (out of 20) from my film. As it turns out, each bg takes me around a week of effort and many hours of debating about the right blend of colours, the depth field and the composition. I've reached the magical 8 in the sequence, but still have a long, long way to go. I will be posting some versions in which I have attempted to composite the characters with the background as well. Any feedback is welcome. :)

Linked: Vomeja Major

2010-04-15T16:56:00.003+06:00

There is a certain need of a chimera at times when your thoughts play themselves out in a veritable loop of images. When this happens, you know that you need to deviate. After seven months of constant rumination over my film, I picked up my pencil to create something distinctly different from it. As I stared at the sheet lying before me, I was conscious of the 'blackhole' which was slowly forming inside my creative cranium and I said, "Fie! I can't think of anything?!".

I drew a dot and circled it...hmmmm....a tadpole...nope...clumsy

With no apparent image in my head I started to search for things I had been ruminating about besides my film. Lets say...constellations for instance. A friend of mine had once joked that he would ask me to create constellations representing anima kingdoms if his holiness ever wished to hire someone from earth (Why on earth would he do that?!). Needless to say, I felt the tip of my pencil quivering as I began my odyssey to represent this absurd concept.

After developing an elaborate mesh of dots, I decided to combine features of a bobcat and a jack rabbit. It still needs a lot of work as I am yet to position the stars..will upload that once it is complete.

Alice in Vegas: Perspective

2010-02-07T15:09:00.004+06:00

My rendition of the immortal characters created by Lewis Carroll. From left to right: The Cheshire Cat, The White Rabbit, Alice, The Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts.

I've always wondered how Lewis Carroll actually went about creating such diverse archetypes with his characters. With each character offering a new perspective on curiosity, stealth, jealousy, fear and eccentricity, I've often rediscovered many hidden layers to this story after every read-through. It sure deserves the crown of an ultimate fictional fantasy.

Muninn

2009-12-19T16:24:00.008+06:00

“If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows."--Reverend Henry Ward Beecher

Nothing like a retreat into Norse mythology when you feel overwhelmed with yourself. It has always worked for me and it continues as I admit that the Greek Gods were not always the 'historically cool' ones. Norse Gods were brewing their own brawn and dousing their fear in mugs of ale made from the skulls their enemies.

Formidable as Odin was, I was always struck by the fact that he had this fascination for ravens much like Chengiz Khan. His ravens were named Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory). Each day, he would send these two birds off around the world at daybreak to bring him news or tidings. In 'Grimnismal', Odin says

"For Huginn I fear lest he return not home, but I am more anxious for Muninn".

This suggests that Odin valued memory more than thought, something you wouldn't normally conceive about the God of war.

In this illustration, I have sought to represent a 'humaniod' or a 'sprite' (whichever you'd prefer) version of Muninn, which I feel, for obvious reasons should be represented as a feminine apparition. I am also working on Huginn's apparition, although with little success.

W.I.P

2009-12-16T00:06:00.003+06:00

It's almost like my blog's got a tad rusty with the lack of updates, so as a filler I'm putting up an (incomplete) bg for my film. It's been three months of solid bonding with the lightbox for me and I miss my sketchbook and my photoshop endevours. :( I also realize that I cannot keep boring you with updates of Jared Leto as my new muse.

I keep promising myself that this is the last month of traditional animation and everytime I do that, my fingers get kinda itchy to pick up a tablet. This is the outcome of one such 'attack' of the itchy fingers, created just a week shy from my jury last month. I sincerely cannot tell you how badly I want to sink my fangs into some good bg work without the burden of animating shots. Pray that I succeed.

Reticuli on turntable

2009-10-21T15:13:00.002+06:00

Reticuli from Nimisha Saikia on Vimeo.

I should have uploaded this way back in March, but it took me a while to locate the video file. I'm sorry about the render quality, it's way too low but I had no space in my laptop while I was exporting it. :)

I had made a sketch of this robot sometime during my fourth semester and decided to create it on Autodesk Maya as part of a course. The character is inspired by a wasp, inline skating but mostly by ARCEE ( Fifth Generation Autobot from Transformers Armada, Japan), the coolest female autobot. Even though I'm not too fond of bikes, I thing she can hold off pretty well with her gadgetry.

Feeding Frenzy

2009-10-05T10:32:00.001+06:00

Feeding Frenzy from Nimisha Saikia on Vimeo.

Thought of uploading a video to show you guys how my black ghost knifefish feeds on his favourite meal of freeze-dried blood worms. Otherwise a shy and reclusive creature, the nocturnal phantom comes out only to feed, and when it does, oh boy, is it fast!

Epitome

2009-09-09T01:41:00.007+06:00

The Polar bear faces the threat of extinction. By the year 2030.

As I am sitting in my comfort-bound lifestyle, under a spinning fan, with a list of obligations to rant about, I can't help but hate myself. I hate myself for things I cannot do, or think I cannot do to save this species. It is easy to create awareness about the plight of endangered species. It is easy to care. It is even easy to say that 'we all have our share of problems' and guffaw at the thought of saving an animal that we have never seen or will probably never see in our entire lives. But to drive a species to the verge of extinction, is savage. It is generic for most people to link advancement with growing globalization. For nations to direct their finances towards nuclear science and military. National security. That seems to be the greatest problem we can think of.

We are lost in the 'virtuality' of things. It is on the basis of such virtuality that our civilization thrives. Hail bank loans, employment securities, investment policies, mortgage yada yada. Things that DON'T EXIST. They are like the invisible grains of sand we pride ourselves of succesfully clenching. Frankly, THEY DON'T MEAN ANYTHING. They populate our lives and breed a festering colony of problems and make us so very 'enclosed'. So enclosed that the moment a car loan gets sanctioned, we breathe a sigh of relief. What is this false sense of security? We watch documentaries, thinking that we do our bit in educating ourselves about nature's impending problems. But does it really concern us? Does it allow us to grow and think beyond our pocket money, electricity bills and good haircuts? It rarely does.

It is the overwhelming humility of an animal such as the polar bear that is causing me to write this down. It epitomises something that we have long since lost. The humility of our survival. The virtue of our morning prayers. The reverence of our daily bread. For an animal whose survival hangs by a thread, we can barely wait for somebody to flick the remote and change the channel from Discovery to MTV.

A Polar bear can no longer feed itself because of the growing water levels in the arctic, preventing it from migrating and forcing it into starvation. They are braving the climactic impact and heading into the open ocean but they can only swim for a few days at a stretch. Judging by the sharp decline of arctic glaciers, this species would not have a ground to stand on by the year 2030. They would either drown in the arctic seas or starve amidst the frigid glaciers.

Which imaginary ordeal do we need to cook up to save this animal?

Please watch Disney's "Earth" to understand the plight of polar bear in depth along with several other species that are facing a threat due to global warming and industrialization.

Some basic linework for my film

2009-08-13T12:41:00.007+06:00

Its been like a decade since I put something up, so I decided to post some ongoing explorations for my classroom project. These aren't final, mind you. I pretty much feel like a big ol can of LPG these days, and I don't even know why I can relate to an old can of LPG. Its a frustrating process..but it's bound to get better when the production starts (methinks!). Apparently there is something called a 'gestation period' while conceiving a film, and I'm not a big fan of that.

IF: Unfold

2009-06-12T18:58:00.002+06:00

Ahern

2009-06-12T18:55:00.003+06:00

Flingalong a flight

2009-06-06T19:19:00.003+06:00

Rapta

2009-06-06T19:13:00.005+06:00

Wacomizing at Famous

2009-05-12T10:32:00.005+06:00

IF: Talisman

2009-04-08T10:34:00.003+06:00

It had taken Jefito the gypsy, seventy years to accumulate and collect talismans in the form of pendants, coins, plants, rings, stones, statues etc from different parts of the world. One night, after having heard the Gods whisper about her impending departure from earth, she decided to bestow her bounty to the world through a little window of her house. Wanting to bless the world with her charms, Jefito was instead damned as a witch and incarcerated in a penitenttiary where she slowly died.

A new blog

2009-04-01T19:18:00.005+06:00

I've just started a new blog entitled 'Pokey Little Friends' to share my experiences with those who love animals. My main intent was to dedicate it to the stray animals that surround us and pepper our lives with their uncanny and beautiful ways. I have been meaning to write about this for a long time and have plans of involving different people in running this little labour of love. If anyone has any story to share in regard to this topic, he or she is welcome to share it with me. If anyone wishes to become a permanent contributor, please mail me so that I can forward an invitation to you. It would really make me happy.

http://pokeylittlefriends.wordpress.com/

Laviosa

2009-03-30T16:40:00.003+06:00

After completing this particular piece I affirmed the fact that I simply hadn't learn how to use water colours. I used them like acrylic paints. But considering the amount of time it took for me to complete this, I'd say I feel pretty invested right now and dang those paints needed a giant push out of the tubes!

Football grounds

2009-03-27T17:52:00.005+06:00

Football grounds were not meant for football at all. They were made for stargazing and lounging on long nights. Especially with no clouds looming over our heads, the tangy smell of dew drops, and the sports deputy far at bay.

Initial character explorations of Reticuli

2009-03-22T20:59:00.001+06:00

The first two sketches were a part of my first set of character explorations for Reticuli. As you can see, I could not implement the colour palette since it made the character look too ludicrous. The character sheet that you see below was the basis on which I modelled the character on Maya by placing the three sketches along three different axis'.

Duchess of Corsica with Naples the cat

2009-03-21T20:07:00.001+06:00

The Brickers

2009-03-09T11:56:00.000+06:00

Valkyrie

2009-03-09T11:51:00.002+06:00

In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of the female figures who choose those who die in battle. The valkyries bring their chosen who have died bravely in battle to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens, and sometimes connected to bottles of mead.

First look at Reticuli

2009-03-02T20:10:00.004+06:00

This is my character for an ongoing course in Autodesk Maya. I picked up an old idea from my sketchbook and decided to create it on the 3D Platform. The software's driven me wild partly with excitement and partly with confusion (given the complexity of its operations). Rest assured Reticuli's taken its first breath and is ready to be rigged!!

Parallel Verses

2009-02-02T13:49:00.003+06:00

Parallel verses of the billows and gales,

of the moon and its shades,

until, thus thy realize a blinding maze.

Some of my favourite treasures from Ogden Nash

2009-01-31T17:14:00.005+06:00

A WORD ON WIND

Cows go around saying Moo,

But the wind goes around saying Woo,

Ghosts say Woooo to you too,

And sometimes they say boo to you too,

But everybody has heard the wind but a few people have heard the ghost,

So it is commonly supposed the wind says wooo the most.

Scientists try to tell you that the wind is caused by atmospheric conditions at the north pole or over distant Canadian ranches,

But I guess scientists don’t ever go to the country because everybody who has ever been to the country knows that the wind is caused by the trees waggling their branches,

On the ocean where there are no trees, they refer to the wind as gales,

And it is probably caused by whales,

And in the Sahara, where there are no trees or whales either,

they call the wind simoom or something,

And it is the result of the profanation of Tutankhamen's tomb or something.

Some people are very refined,

And when they recite poetry or sing songs they pronounce wind, wined,

Well, dear wined, everytime you say woooo,

Why I wish you would say it to the people who say wined,

right afer you have said it somewhere where somebody is making fertilizer or glue.

THE COW

The cow is of the bovine ilk,

one end is moo, the other, milk.

Nemilos

2009-01-31T16:08:00.005+06:00

Its funny how I started illustrating this particular piece. Being a devout fan and a defender of the myth behind the Lochness monster, this fanaticism triggered off as soon as I watched another film 'Hallam Foe', which was shot on the banks of the Lochness lake (and had nothing to do with the monster). Seemingly appalled at the fact that the ship bears a closer resemblance to a swan rather than the monster, I decided to shelve it away. However, I couldn't stop working with the amazing felt-tipped pigment markers and decided to complete this piece anyway! Call me a zealot. I christened it by the Greek term for merciless which is 'Nemilos'.

The Black forest

2009-01-27T10:52:00.009+06:00

It would be interesting to note that the 'black forest' which so often makes an appereance in popular western fables and mythologies has indeed, an equally interesting history behind it. It is the birthplace of, and is synonnymous to a worldwide phenomennon known as the 'black forest cake', and also of the first cuckoo clock ever made. However, being a fan of the culinary arts I would rather emphasize on the former. In reality the Black forest exists in southwestern Germany in Badden-Wuttenberm, a place known for bitter winters and twisted, knotty trees. After reading the details about it, a small theme began to unfurl in my head.

The origins of the black forest gateau, (or cake) owes itself to a young, relentless landscape artist, Meinweg, who through her magic used ingredients from nature's bounty to decorate the landscape in the few months that summer lasted. Since the harsh winter would drown the townsfolk in sheer gloom, she worked very hard at creating a natural wonder with the help of the 'Ruthmeistein' or the 'faerie rabbits' that were considered a nuisance in that area. The rabbits did their bidding by helping the young girl and often contributed their own stock for this sake. The Ruthmeistein even sent food up from their burrows to be churned into pulp into the large knotty trees.

The townsfolk began to replicate the same using their baking tools, and voila! The Black Forest Gateau surfaces.

Speaking of which....I'm hungry. :P

and gawd, I'm tired!!

नोकीली बिल्ली (Pointy Kitty)

2009-01-22T15:05:00.008+06:00

A sudden brainwave attacked the lethargic minds of two hens two days ago. It reminded Tarka and I, that our time on this planet is very short. So quite gallantly, we undertook this project, thanks to Patil's wonderful stitching skills and me for diving into the garbage box in the textile studio, in the hope of rummaging some loose cloth. We had no materials to speak of, and were reluctant to shed a dime. So what did we do? A torn kurta, some loose yarns, a pair of buttons. Nearly everything we used in this project was borrowed, including scissors. We are two MIGHTY PAUPERS with a BIG dream. And we made it HAPPEN. Yay!!

In these pictures you can see our pet frolicking with Mana's mice. They had a mighty sweet time together in the photoshoot!

A new venture

2009-01-16T12:36:00.003+06:00

My family's up to some serious business rearranging all the furniture of the house to suit the needs of Buttercup Das and Bongo Roy.

A new pet! :) :) :) :)

2009-01-07T23:31:00.006+06:00

The sheer beauty and grace of this animal had me hypnotised the first time I laid eyes on it. A powerful nocturnal creature, the black ghost knifefish now rests atop a large aquarium on my table, one I bought few days black, lovingly christened by the name of 'Gloopus major'. My hysteria has known no bounds since the time it has arrived, and watching it glide across the water has become one of my greatest pastimes. It is also an electric fish and originates from the Amazon basin

Darling buds of may

2009-01-05T13:29:00.001+06:00

Sunday afternoons at a neighbourhood convent.

Out of another black diary..

2009-01-05T13:10:00.005+06:00

"
I do not do voodoo, but I have dolls who look like my friends".

I'm thinking of doing a small comic book based on the illustration above. I've always been fascinated with the dark arts and this would be a close reminder of all the research I had done a few years ago. By the way, are you aware of the fact that physical traits can determine whether you are a witch or a warlock?

All witches and warlocks have attached earlobes!! I think you need to take a closer look into the mirror....

Lean, Mean, Popsickle Machine!

2008-12-30T00:54:00.001+06:00

Dipper

2008-12-29T12:26:00.005+06:00

Manic Monday

2008-12-29T12:21:00.001+06:00

Poetic transitions

2008-12-23T12:32:00.007+06:00

Ze Dragonfly

2008-12-05T21:01:00.005+06:00

I drew this robo after watching a dragonfly fluttering around in my room the other day. I thought to myself, "What would it be like if I twisted it down from the torso?"...Anyways, not sure about the results, but I've realized that I've taking quite a liking towards drawing techy stuff. I didn't like the coloured version much.

Revoltingly loud

2008-12-05T14:52:00.003+06:00

Bouncy Betta gets hooked to the vintage cushions after the Trevor sisters unearth a hidden lobby in their ancestral mansion. I decided to settle in for a different treatment...alas...I resorted to pre-school immaturity and went crazy with my sketch pens.

Mzunaki

2008-12-01T02:12:00.001+06:00

Underbrush

2008-12-01T01:22:00.003+06:00

An experminent with photo inks, pencil colours and charcoal.

Mush black

2008-12-01T01:08:00.003+06:00

An attempt at using the dry brush technique.

La Dolce Vita

2008-11-27T15:33:00.001+06:00

Mechanical birds-a collection

2008-11-12T17:55:00.001+06:00

My penfriending days

2008-11-06T12:47:00.005+06:00

This is my friend Angie Spicer from Illinois, USA, whom I had corresponded with over the course of seven years. We had a lot in common, the strongest being the love for writing. The last photograph on the right was published in a newspaper in 2003, when one of her books won a Carby's National Literature Award in the category for young fiction.

The hobby that I have pursued most in my life is writing and I mean it, literally. I have written more letters than war veterans writing home to their girlfriends. I am looking at my desk right now, staring at the beefy folder exploding with letters, postcards and photographs of all my 65 penfriends. There were few things that brought me more joy than a thick stack of mail awaiting in my letterbox, from friends all across Brazil, Switzerland, Greece, Canada, Romania, Libya among many others. I would open each letter hungrily, and each such letter would countain a fixed itenary of things.

1. Letter- (of course)
2. A FB or a Friendship book
3. Address card
4. Postcards/phonecards/stamps/photographs etc (optional)

I can't believe how many days and nights I used to spend poring over those letters, absorbing every detail (and at times trying hard to decipher broken english) and planning about the little package that I would have to deliver back to the person. One of my German pen friends called Steffanie Rothmier had once sent me a tape of popular german songs and I remember getting into a tizzy regarding what to send her! I sent her a packet of ready-to-cook gulabjamun!!! Hhahahaha! Then there was a certain phenomennon called the 'Friendship book' that would be a small booklet adorned with shiny stickers and splattered with glittering ink that would contain a string of adresses of people of whomsoever had recieved that particular friendship book and it would pass on and on, almost like a chain letter but way cooler!! I once recieved one that had 200 addresses on it! I remember printing and designing letterheads to write on, and making a list of my favourite celebrity crushes, and of course like any teenager, I practicised my signature..like...about...a billion times! I had a business card at the age of 9! Sometimes I used to send them portaits of what they probably looked like in my mind before formally exchanging photographs with them. These memories are sugar-coated and nestled in a part of my mind that shall probably always remain alive and writing.

From the archives...

2008-11-06T12:30:00.002+06:00

An aspiring fashion illustrator's last creation

Crayola sisters summon the bimbles

2008-11-02T18:49:00.006+06:00

Photoshop fun translated differently with a poor camera and the lack of a scanner.

Howl's so impressive

2008-11-01T15:17:00.005+06:00

I watched Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle yesterday and although this particular feature is not as scintillating compared to the likes of Spirited Away and Princess Monoke, Howl's Moving castle has edged it's way up to the very top of my list of Miyazaki's fave's because of it's namesake-HOWL! Just when you thought the world had enough of Don Juan's unleashing an army of swooning female fans, Howl's personality is a potential manga powerplayer and perhaps better than any other!

You're creative when you're hungry!!!

2008-11-01T14:55:00.002+06:00

Tarka and Meenakshi weren't surprised when I came up with an alternative way of combating hunger in a restaurant full of tantalising aromas and hungry faces digging into platefulls of food. As soon as the attendant brought in the pickles and salad, we dug in, and just when I thought I'd had my share of onions and mint chutney, I made this porky-thig or a piggathingthing out of these two ingredients. I really like the expression on its face! :)

Blissfully home!!

2008-11-01T14:37:00.004+06:00

I made this illustration last night under the the reading lamp in my bedroom, lavishing at the prospect of spending another fortnight at home. Nothing like waking up with soft beams of light dancing across the face instead of the alarm on the cell phone. I am at peace with myself. Finally.Although this particular piece serves as a distinctive irony!

An all time favourite afterthought

2008-10-25T19:54:00.002+06:00

"The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance to feel strong. Now I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head."

If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed.

'When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines upon you.'

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greather joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

The Bathroom bully

2008-10-25T18:50:00.004+06:00

This is one frame from my final visual scripting storyboard. It was a very tedious course specially since it called for rendering every one of those 125 frames!!! Phew! Three nights of pure brainletting- if that's a word!! At the very best, its good to end the semester with one of these tough cookies...you learn to appreciate the possibility of simply stretching around at home with nothing to do at all. Boy, that feeling is so comforting to think of!! I'll be home on the 30th and I just can wait to jump into my bed and cuddle my two labradors!!!

A Riot of colours

2008-10-10T23:36:00.003+06:00

Some more glimpses into Buttercup's sweet slumber, specially at a time when I'm not getting any!! :) I really can't wait to get into my bed back home!!!

Animals at NID

2008-10-05T18:20:00.004+06:00

Rebekah

2008-10-05T04:12:00.002+06:00

I experimented a lot with this particular illustration before uploading it. I began by pencil shading the character and moved on to using black charcoal to add more depth to the treatment. Still unsatisfied, I uploaded it on photoshop and tried a combination of photo filters. And yet...the end product that you see here is worked on in illustrator, resorted to good ol 'vectorization' of the image. Phew! Now that's a lotta work!!

The Siblings

2008-10-05T03:31:00.004+06:00

I was really missing my brother today while going through some photographs of our childhood together. I could recollect the times we would go fishing together when the deep gulleys near our old bungalow would fill up with water in the monsoons. Catching worms for bait was not something that I used to look forward to in those times. Also my brother was and still is pretty much obsessed with fish, alive as well as cooked. So this is for my intelligent and charming brother Bunny. I'm so proud of you. :)

Psst...in case you're wondering what the cat is doing in this illustration...its the brother's back-up bait!! :P

A solemn rendezvous

2008-10-05T00:45:00.005+06:00

I just happenned to be sitting with my laptop in Tanima's room when suddenly a brown butterfly just landed on my left arm. You'd be saddenned by how this whole episode ended but it was such a pleasure to see it perched on my arm for half an hour without twitching even once. I just wished it would continue to accompany me because its presence made me feel very placid and calm. The tragic part came when I couldn't control my thirst anymore and started walking towards the water cooler. The butterfly had grown accustomed to my movements so I knew it would not hesitate. Contrary to my expectations, it flew away as soon as I entered the dark corridor and made a beeline towards the big white tubelight on the ceiling. And like most stereotypical situations, it was ambushed and eaten by a fat, fiesty lizard. I've never been so angry on a lizard before this night. Actually I quite like em...but this was really really sad.....:(

Mandarin blues

2008-10-04T00:16:00.002+06:00

This illustration came to my mind soon after witnessing the miracle of Jamie Hewlett's work for 'Monkey: Journey to the West'. And like his previous stint with the Gorillaz, Hewlett has not dissappointed me at all. His characters are cynical and edgy with a kind of manic energy that makes them so attractive and refreshing. You guys must really check out this link www.mokeyjourneytothewest.com to know what this lad's been up to.

Sign out Android

2008-10-03T23:35:00.005+06:00

I'm just little bored of the human form these days so I decided to go in for some robo stuff, and boy it was very refreshing...:) :). This illustration took me the whole day as I followed it up old style, the traditional use of the polygonal and magnetic lasso to colour each and every fragment of it. I'm just glas its over. :)

The mysticism of orange

2008-09-30T15:44:00.002+06:00

I just felt like exploring a little more in photoshop. I've never really used gradients before, so it was kinda fun trying out different colour schemes.

When Buttercup resembles a cow

2008-09-30T02:00:00.003+06:00

Buttercup resembles a cow when you try to wake her up in the morning. You try to lure her out of her slumber by tugging at her cheeks and upturn both her ears. She'll grunt and blow a gust of breath from her nose and twitch her paws. A total dose of canine bliss. Even when you bring a camera a few inches away from her nose, she wouldn't bother. A few dancing chickens wouldn't wake her. Alas, in such moments what you can really do is stare at that droopy face and melting eyes and wonder, "I wish I too could be a Buttercup...".

Starry-eyed surprise

2008-09-30T01:38:00.003+06:00

This is another proposed cover illustration for HAIRFREAK, although this brings out the celeb in Minerva more than her ditsy-ness and absurdity. I went a little bonkers with the side profile, particularly with the face. But this illustration reminds me of something that I should have done a long time back. Download brushes. Yep, I desperately need to do that. Enough with those stars. I can barely imagine how she would walk in a dress like that. Its a good thing I don't have to animate that! :P

Looptootle's back

2008-09-30T01:23:00.005+06:00

I guess its a little healthy to stray out of everyday concerns and just indulge in those arbid 'photoshop moments'. For someone in the field of design, its like a breath of fresh air. So today I went back to the Minerva Looptootle's section on HAIRFREAK that I had been working on last month, and just touched it up a little. I wasn't very satisfied with the cover I came up with the last time, I guess colour's an essential important and an undeniable element. Can't wait to finish it!

The Grammia Virgo

2008-09-25T12:33:00.005+06:00

Just the other day I was leafing through this mamoth book on moths entitled 'Night visions'. I was seemingly lost and hopeful at the time I picked up the tattered remains of this particular volume. Needless to say, I'm not particularly fascinated by the species, but something about those large glossy photographs drew me into this wild labyrinth (literally, I mean) and got my creative juices flowing! The next minute I just HAD to grab a sketchbook, HAD to scrounge my depleting source of colour pencils and HAD to sketch!!! I drew inspiration from a specific species of moth called the 'GRAMMIA VIRGO' and came up with another creature.

Hair! Hair! Hair!

2008-09-03T15:36:00.007+06:00

I'm trying to get a hand around this whole 'working with vectors' fad. I downloaded a few illustrator tutorials to understand the techniques..but ehh..turns out, I was totally not in the mood of following an online jargon. Fetched my rusty rotering pen and a couple of pencils and started pitching my theme. Its entitled 'HAIRfreak: Minnerva Looptootle's miraculous guide to hair'. I've just about started an have a long way to go, but I'm liking this nonsensical 'keeda'. Its pretty amusing. :)

Finally! A new theme surfaces!

2008-09-03T15:26:00.001+06:00

I've just been entagled in too many obigations to think straight!! I really don't know how long its been since I settled down to sketch on my own, so I decided to use this extra week to come up with a new concept. Edward Scissorhands meets Sweeny Todd. That's all I'm gonna reveal for now. Lets hope the sketches keep rolling

Final clay model

2008-08-02T18:38:00.000+06:00

This is the clay model of the creature that I came up with. It still has to be coloured with acrylic paints..but I'm taking a rain check right now. Will have to make sure that its complete before my jury though!!! Even getting this far was not easy...trust me...

Outta pure junk man!!!

2008-08-02T17:47:00.005+06:00

Its always a great retreat to venture out of the realm of paper and pencils. This stands especially true if you're not too good in sketching portraits and caricatures like me. So I threw in a tupperware lid, a handful of bay leaves, a broken sharpener and a chonchshell for the lips. Two board clips for the ears and a pair of digene tablets as a substitute for my big pearly earrings!!! So very me!!!

Put 'em up monsters!!

2008-08-02T16:41:00.004+06:00

The whole idea of designing a monster for a feature film seemed at first pretty intimidating. It was like delving into a alien territory of claws and teeth and drooling monsters. Nevertheless, this beast is a hybrid of three creatures, namely, a lynx, comodo dragon and a frill neck lizard. Its a fiesty monster who simply loves stalking its prey and unleashing its reptillian frill. Lets just hope it gets selected for the film!!! :P

The eternal Piedra

2008-07-08T00:33:00.001+06:00

This is just another spontaneous sketch I attempted while I tried my best to steer myself away from the ongoing character and personality design course. I initially started out by drawing one of the main characters from my upcoming story, "The Third revelation", but turns out, I felt summoned by those wavy medieval damsels with heavy lashes once again. As for my upcoming story, I will be posting some illustrations as soon as I'm done with the last chapter.

The holiday mutt

2008-07-06T22:33:00.002+06:00

Our resident dog from the NID campus, with perhaps a whole catalogue of names to its credit. Add two pairs of white stockings and a pair of melting brown eyes and you have our darling lil mutt. Loves to burrow into the sand to avoid the sultry weather and of course, sleep off those extremely long afternoons. A common visitor to our BBC area, enticing us with its feverish wags. A real gem of our campus.

Nymphadora

2008-06-21T12:54:00.001+06:00

This was an illustration that I attempted during the Visual Language lectures last semester. Back then, I started out by drawing random features in detail without really knowing what the form would end up like. I wouldn't really call it a sea horse, but I guess the form came through after watching many underwater documentaries that month. :P.

The Carbon groove

2008-06-09T20:37:00.004+06:00

Another friendly mutt from my neighbourhood black lab society known by the name of "Carbon". He is such a cool dog. And let me tell you there's a limit to how cool a dog can be. This kiddo didn't even know how to bark till two months back! Unlike my dogs, he doesn't seem to have a panic button in his system, this guy won't even bother the newspaper chap. Totally chilled out. I don't know but I kept getting this image of the hippie seventies whenever I looked at him!?! So I did this photoshoot on him and dug my eyes into some playful rendering techniques as soon as I reached home. He may not be the ultimate guard-dog, but he sure can groove!!

Backyard aesthetics

2008-06-09T16:07:00.003+06:00

My mom's vegetable garden has been doing quite well this month. Thanks to the never-ending downpour, even the pests seem to have taken a back seat and let Gaia unfurl her magical harvest. I was particulalry impressed by how well the pumpkin grove was doing, and as I moved in for a closer look under the bamboo frame, I was amazed by the way the light came filtering through the bamboo mesh and accentuated the creepers. I don't know, but it looked pretty to me! :P If I were to choose the most beautiful vegetable, I'd choose brinjal (don't have those growing right now!) because I simply love the deep tone, unlike any purple I've seen before and the smoothness of its surface. Gawd, you must be thinking I'm crazy!!

Nestled in the tea shrubs

2008-06-09T14:40:00.005+06:00

What I love best about June is the aftermath of prolonged showers. A shimmery green landscape that soothes your eyes. It's almost like you're staring out of green-tinted shades, only more natural. Today was one such day when I was glad to abandon my umbrella and trek across the meandering tea estate paths. It's something that I have been doing since childhood, but nowadays, its become more of a solitary retreat (ocassionally accompanied by my dogs). I can guarentee you, that Assam is the only place where you'll find goats smaller than a tea shrub! I like to call them pygmy goats, who seem to be blissfully unaware of their abnormally short stature as they go grazing across the lowlands. What's more, you'll find long-lashed pygmy cows here, and not to forget the nearly endangered 'pygmy hogs' that are found only in Assam. Anyways, while I was strolling, something shiny caught my attention. Nestled safely upon the canopy of the tree shrubs, was a beautiful turquoise egg. But what's the amazing part is that there was not a single nest nor a tree near this spot! How could an egg have emerged from nothingness?? Ah! But that's where the 'dispersal' phenomennon comes into play. Perhaps, a handiman must have plucked from a nest and (godforbid!) forgotten to retrieve it. Anyways, I've adopted it, and am reading articles on 'artificial insulation' and praying that one morning, a little head peeks out and goes 'Chirp!'. That would make my day!

Superstar Kiru

2007-05-25T16:20:00.004+06:00

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

2007-05-24T07:22:00.001+06:00

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

Hosepipes in the clouds

2007-05-24T07:11:00.002+06:00

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

2007-05-23T18:18:00.000+06:00

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

2007-05-23T07:44:00.001+06:00

I came up with this final layout for this project:

How Tabby got her stripes

2007-05-22T20:57:00.004+06:00

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

2007-05-21T21:56:00.011+06:00

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

2007-05-21T19:12:00.001+06:00

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

2007-05-21T13:14:00.001+06:00

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!

2007-05-21T05:20:00.002+06:00

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

2007-05-17T18:06:00.001+06:00

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

2007-05-17T12:25:00.001+06:00

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

2007-05-15T13:53:00.001+06:00

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. :(