Christmas Cards 2011!

Hello all!

Sorry I've been quiet for so long - it's been a rather hectic month I'm afraid. 

I've been working to finish my research paper (which is finally done and dusted!), make quite a lot of Christmas presents for people (which will be uploaded once they've been opened by the recipients), working on a few commissions (I'll upload what I can), working and (obviously) making Christmas cards for people. 

I was perfectly fine with this workload, but my body organised a mutiny and punished me with a rather nasty dose of Tracheitis.

I'm currently bundled up in bed with a mug of hot Ribena (throat soother of champions) and strong antibiotics. I've actually been stuck in bed since last Tuesday with the monotony only broken by two doctors appointments and my mum turning up at my house, rolling me in a duvet, and driving me to hers to be fed chicken soup and worried about at a shorter distance. I must've looked (and sounded) pretty rough on Skype.

Anyway, that's enough of that - I thought this year instead of the usual style of Christmas card I'd go a slightly different direction and do a narrative based comic-card. Undoubtedly the many new graphic novel artists at uni this year are having an influence!

It's designed to be printed on both sides of an A4 sheet, slit in the middle, and folded so it creates a little book that can then be unfolded to see the poster inside.

This little piece is done with black and grey ink pens on paper and then photocopied on to some nice laid paper (I love that stuff). There was a run of 50 in total.

You might recognise it coz it's the same process I used for the 'Le Petomane' piece in my portfolio that Jonny Hannah taught us at Kingston Uni.

See you soon! Sooner than last time in any case ;)

H

Hannah for the Hub!

Incredibly exciting! I got to go on a TV show at the National Film and Television School called the Hub and do a live piece! They made me a massive board to work on - 6ft by 3ft - I started at half two and finished it on the show at half 5. I was so incredibly nervous, especially about the interview part but it went really well.

I really like how the piece came out (obviously looking back the next day I can already see things I'd change lol) but considering I was trying not to pass out from anxiety I'm pretty chuffed.

I've never really worked this big before, or really in this way (colour first, then line) but it's actually really fun and I think it works for my work. Maybe I'll get the chance to work like this again in the future - I certainly hope so!

This fellow is done in a mix of emulsion, acrylic and Posca pens.

I'm still waiting for the footage to put on here but I'll keep you updated!

See you soon!

H

Nightmares at the Museum of Childhood

Hey hey!

So I went to the Museum of Childhood down at Bethnal Green today with fellow illustrator Shannon Taylor (Ingraham as was - ch-ch-check it - shannondtaylor.com) where they have their current "Stuff of Nightmares" exhibition on. At first you think it's kind of funny with its mismatched dolls and papier mache trees and ravens, but if you sit there for a long time with all these creepy misshapen toys staring at you while the eerie woodsy sounds play it actually makes you feel a bit weirded out.

Kudos to the V&A: they actually managed to get me to draw something vaguely tense and foreboding instead of colour-happy-joy-joy.

Hats off also to all the parents not afraid to risk the screaming of their children. Although there's a distinct possibility that all parents loose all ability to react to loud noises. The ones today certainly seemed unconcerned at the din of what felt like several hundred kids in one large, but confined, space.

Anyways, see you soon!

H