Celia Krampien Illustration

space riders: in progress

2012-01-05T02:18:00.000-05:00

Well a happy new year to everyone! I'd like to say I have some new work for the new year but really I'm just working on finishing up a project from last term. I was a little ambitious in my attempt to adapt and illustrate the classic tale of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving but the end is in sight! Here are some progress shots of the illustrations. And no, they will not be riding around in space as it currently appears (although, how cool would that be? I'm thinking very).

So quick bright things come to confusion

2011-12-11T00:18:00.001-05:00

Thesis piece! My poster for A Midsummer Night's Dream (sans text). It's so interesting to me how the process for thesis work differs from project to project. I was so stoked to get working on this one but man was I stumped! Pretty much right up until the day I had to show roughs haha. Ooohhh man. But luckily a couple of my ideas had some appeal and after the initial approval it was smooth sailing from then on. Whew! I'm happy with the way the final turned out. I hoping to pursue this kind of aesthetic in my work to come.

Process: some colour and composition process stuffs

Taking Care of Business

2011-12-10T23:31:00.001-05:00

Looks like the first term of my final year is almost up. Yikes! These past couple of months have been absolutely crazy (in the best way possible, of course). I feel like I've come a long way with the quality of my work and and the process of creating it as well. This past week was extremely busy with some heavy deadlines both artistically and academically. Now that I have everything handed in I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief and really dig in to my remaining projects for 2011. Yeah!

Below are some pics of my business plan booklet for business class. The product I designed was a decorative hanging mobile made out of up-cycled materials. I made some additional plushies to sell and help raise money for our upcoming grad show.

"To-morrow, when I wake, or think I do, what shall I say of to-day?"

2011-11-27T20:31:00.001-05:00

More thesis work. This one is for "Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett. It's an absurdist play which focuses on two characters, Estragon and Vladimir, who find themselves in a barren place waiting for a man named Godot.

Final poster version (minus the typography... obviously)

A segment of the original sketch- graphite on paper

Colour studies.

Thesis Pieces- Scary Hand Edition

2011-11-20T15:08:00.001-05:00

First post in a long time! Yeah!

Some thesis work coming your way. This is one of my completed(ish) theatre posters. It's for Arthur Miller's the Crucible. Ya know, the one about the paranoid Puritans who get a little crazy and hang a bunch of people because they think they're witches? Yup, that's the one. There will be accompanying text but for now here is just the image as well as some of the colour/compositional roughs (i say "some" because they have names such as "Cruciblevariation3b_2" if that gives you an idea of how many I have cluttering up my hard drive).

Gives ya an idea of where the text would go in these versions.

Selection of colour/comp roughs.

More to come soon. Come Christmas there should be an avalanche of work to put up. Woo!

Lisa?

2011-10-11T23:05:00.002-04:00

Yeah! Second narrative assignment of the year. Took a stab at sequential narrative this time around. We had to come up with a short story with a "hook" while in keeping with a theme such as "tenderness" or "obsession" or a bunch of other ones my tired brain can't remember right now. Anywho, enjoy :)

don't shoot the messenger

2011-09-22T17:09:00.003-04:00

new year, new work. this is my first completed narrative assignment. we were given the option of doing 4 panels or a double page spread (i chose the later). sequential narrative stuff is kind of uncharted territory for me but i'm digging the experience. to kick things off i wanted a simple premise that was silly and light-hearted. i decided on a messenger-guy and a taxing but ultimately unnecessary mission.

scribblesss

2011-08-30T21:47:00.000-04:00

was playing with a sketch in photoshop today. trying out some limited colour schemes and bringing traditional stuff into computerland.... i dunno why she's so sad. maybe it's because someone scribbled on her face.

sketchbook things

2011-08-28T03:23:00.000-04:00

pet projects

2011-08-28T03:09:00.000-04:00

summer is coming to an end. i feel like i've been in a bit of a slump artisically. been working lots, visiting family and doing some honest-to-goodness relaxing. kinda bummed that i don't have as much done as i WOULD LIKE but once school starts there will be very little time for anything else but school. gotta enjoy the down time when you can I guess. but i'm definitely excited to get back to work.

i'm not great with illustrator or graphic design but i would very much like to be! haha! practicing with some little side projects (PET projects, if you will). the first is a half-baked infographic about my work space from my cat's point of view (lame, I know. shhh!). she needs to be involved with everything I'm doing so I always jokingly say she's helping... when that is never the case. at all. haha.

also, i've been spending a lot of time at Second Cup working extra shifts and all. i get extremely frustrated with the menus there because they're so poorly designed. most customers are confused by them and don't understand what they want to order haha! also, they're boring. thought i'd try out ways to make them more fun and experiment with coloursssss. trying out a small section for espresso drinks and some colourful cappuccinos.

final count down...

2011-08-11T13:51:00.001-04:00

Slowly winding down my co-op hours. The end is near.

New work. I think Mr. Wilde says it best:

"I can resist everything except temptation"
-Oscar Wilde

expect the unexpected

2011-08-05T02:18:00.000-04:00

save the whales

2011-08-03T00:38:00.000-04:00

painted this today. tried scanning it but my scanner just isn't doing it justice. thus, photos with my very old point-and-shoot from grade 11 will have to suffice. i thought it was broken BUT apparently if you smack the camera it will work again! makes me feel like the Fonz. i have a feeling that violence won't fix my also broken-down SLR though. i dream of the day when i might have the money to buy a decent scanner/printer AND fix my camera... that would be a good day indeed.

not quite complete in this one but close!

note the lazy bum peeking in the background. she likes to feel like she's helping. i like when she's not sleeping directly on my work.

revamp

2011-07-29T02:04:00.000-04:00

new look to the website (and more stuffs!) take a look! Celia Krampien Illustration

and because blog posts aren't as much fun with out images, here is a sneak peek at a colour rough for something i'm working on. it's nautical themed... how unexpected haha.

gonna make a lot of money and quit this crazy scene

2011-07-26T23:25:00.001-04:00

so that's not true just thought we'd stick with joni lyrics. but man, the "make a lot of money" part would be nice. for sure.

Looks like my Joni Mitchell portrait is going to be part of the HOMEGIRLS show at Pentimento Gallery. I got her all framed and ready (forgive the terrible photo booth shot... the only camera currently at my disposal) and learned how to cut mats in the process (thanks Colin Davis). The show will run from August 4 until the 28th. People are encouraged to come in and vote for their favourite piece to be made into a huge mural. So if you're in the area stop by! :D

But now it's just another show

2011-07-21T00:22:00.001-04:00

so tomorrow is the big night. we've been working towards it all summer and here it is! holy molies. i really don't want to spoil the surprise for people coming to the opening so won't be posting show pieces just yet. however, my good friend Colin Davis co-oping at Pentimento Gallery is running this awesome contest called Homegirls. The theme this year is awesome Canadian females. Entries will be judged and the winner will be blown up into a huge mural and the top 30 chosen will be on display at the gallery come fall. I decided to do a portrait of the great Joni Mitchell. Colin informed me that the contest deadline has been extended so get your portrait done! celebrate those kick-butt Canuck ladies!

final joni portrait coloured digitally.

original charcoal and graphite drawing.

step one...

2011-07-14T00:51:00.000-04:00

making:

bits of pieces

2011-07-06T00:41:00.000-04:00

i love filling up sketchbooks. it always feels like such an accomplishment. some sketch bookery...

putting on a show, don't cha know?

2011-07-03T13:38:00.000-04:00

This summer, I have been incredibly fortunate to be a co-conspirator in organizing a gallery show with a few of my very talented classmates. Taking place at Gallery 1313 on Queen West in Toronto, the show will run from July 20th till August 1st.

Working around a main theme, "The Space Between", our work examines the various relationships we create throughout our lives, exploring the dynamics of these unique connections and experiences. Since it is a group exhibition, each artist identified a specific vein of the human experience to inspire our individual bodies of work. Intrigued? I hope so! And I hope to see you there :)

In the meantime, check out the fantastic work of my fellow exhibitors (and get pumped!!):

Danielle Storey
Kailey Lang
Rachel Idzerda

Lost Photos

2011-06-30T10:41:00.000-04:00

So, awhile back I was part of a promotional stunt put on by the awesome folks at Rethink on behalf of The Grid. I temporarily misplaced my other camera from the night, but here are the lost photos:

need to leave the house mooooore

2011-06-16T00:31:00.000-04:00

so, one thing i'm discovering this summer is that working from home come with an array of challenges. namely, the claustrophobia that presents when using your bedroom as a professional work space. also, i need to get out more.

enjoy.

2011-06-15T18:19:00.000-04:00

Got to work from a live model today:

i make website

2011-06-06T19:12:00.000-04:00

mwuahhaaha!! so turns outall the html stuff i once learned is trickling back sloooooowly. but after today, SUCCESS! i have my very own web page (so now you can see the images from here... in a different place!) it's definitely not as i want it yet, but it's live and functional. and hey, doing it again next time will be much simpler for my trials today... and isn't that the whole point, really?

Check it out!

Celia Krampien: Illustration

"Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company."

2011-05-20T23:18:00.001-04:00

-Mark Twain

What has been keeping me busy(almost done... fidget fidget fidget): a piece about hellhounds. said to be the guards of the underworld, hunters of lost souls and an omen of imminent death. Working on this piece felt oddly appropriate with all the spiritual speculation in the news.

EDIT: visits from REAL puppies is waaaaaay more fun then from the demon kind. and less ominous. though he did try to eat my toes.

Chalktopus

2011-05-13T21:35:00.001-04:00

I had the pleasure of helping out with Rethink's campaign promoting Eye Weekly's change over to The Grid this past week. was out from 12am till 5am Thursday morning chalking the sidewalks of Toronto. met a bunch of cool people, got a free(half-drunk) beer and ultimately had a blast. turns out those roaming the streets in the wee hours of the morning are generally really nice (and expectedly, a little drunk haha). i have some more pictures of our other locations... but they're on a different roll of film which isn't finished up yet. soooooon.

I've also been making little things to sell online in my newly updated Etsy Shop. I had fun making these little gift taggies with nautical buddies on them. Also have a couple prints up for sale as well. Any takers? eh?

work=play

2011-05-09T00:51:00.003-04:00

one week of my freelancing co-op down. it's been a lot of prep work so far. lots of planning, research and discussion in preparation for an impending gallery show with a few of my lovely classmates. i'm also preparing for entrepreneurial foray into the world of etsy. it's wonderful to finally have a time and place for all the ideas floating around in my skull.

anywho, i got a few tangible things done today:

creating little crafties to sell online. should be cute once my lino tools reappear(i'm hoping!) planning on making stamps out of the underwater buddies above.

a piece inspired by the idea of karma to go with my theme for our gallery show. it's gouache on watercolour paper and ink with(largely due to the inferiority of my scanner) some photoshop colouring and corrections.

and testing out my pen and ink skills. note the spatter and blots haha. sooooo rusty!
more to come soon!

finals

2011-04-26T23:23:00.000-04:00

some stuff from the end of the year:

drink labels for graphic design class. we were to design a pair or labels plus a poster.

curious what an illustration exam looks like? our last assignment was something fun to revive our creative juices.

summer art to come soooooon!

for greed all nature is too little

2011-04-19T01:18:00.000-04:00

one more thing to cross off the the "to do" list: we had to make a one minute after effects animation for our digital media class. subject matter was totally open. i wanted to do an original story and i was rather inspired for the tone of it while i was listening to movie themes by Thomas Newman. it was interesting trying to combine frame by frame animation with after effects movement. i must say, i have a great deal of respect for animators. coincidentally, i was fortunate to attend(crash) the screening of the animtaion third year films today. it was really inspiring to see how great they all turned out. congrats to my roomies and animationer friends on completing your films and making them kick-butt to boot.

aaaaand this is my film... haha. a cautionary tale:

wrap it up...

2011-04-14T01:26:00.000-04:00

hey there,
saaaaaaayyy, what are you up to tomorrow night? going to the sheridan illustration 4th year grad show at 639 Queen St. West? well, well, what a coincidence. looks like myself and all the other cool people we know are going to be there too! can't wait to see you there :D

seriously, come to the grad show. it's free to come and you'll see some great art work, rub elbows with some big-wigs in the art community and support sheridan grads. you can also come visit yours truly at the booze ticket table. an excellent way to spend an evening, i say.

on a more personal note, just handed in these last two promotional pieces. these go along with my big ol' birdie poster. the idea was to design a series of images promoting PEN Canada, an organization that supports freedom of expression and writers who have been oppressed both here in Canada and internationally. along with the poster, we designed a post card as well as a promotional item. mine was a book mark.... yeah.

see you tomorrow night

walk this waaaaaay

2011-04-05T01:34:00.000-04:00

baaahahaaa so i'm not cut out to be an animator. i had these grandiose ideas of this fluid frame by frame but with this sketchy, tactile feel kind of animation, but with two weeks of school to go, it ain't gonna happen folks. so i'm rolling with this new... approach. haha, enjoy the first few seconds of my animation. HE WALKS! it's nuts!

cough cough cough

2011-03-30T00:46:00.000-04:00

eugh... plagued with yet another cold. sooooo glad i got a head start on this because i was in no shape to tackle it the past few days. got some good feedback about it today. really helpful crit. i think i know what needed to be done to better articulate what i wanted to say with this piece. it's nice to have more perspectives. will perhaps toy with it one day... some day...

g'night. if you happen to know any dependable cold-remedies, send 'em my way will you? i'm tired of being a walking, talking germ. it's icky.

lazy bonesss

2011-03-24T01:24:00.001-04:00

does a day spent entirely working on homework count as a day off? it still felt like it. nice feeling. i maaaaay have been a poor student and skipped class today. sucks, because i usually love life drawing/painting. it's such a nice, free time to create art, make mistakes, get messy... all that. BUT waking up to a pounding headache, no running water (mr. plumber did fix the boys shower tho! success!), an insane late-march snow-storm (still without winter boots to combat it!)... there was a very slim chance of me lugging all my art supplies plus an oversized roll of paper on a 25 minute trudge to school. sorry mr. joe.

however! i feel i was productive otherwise. i made some head-way on my upcoming interpretive project. since it's not done, some sneak peeks:

time for more birdies....

wear green...

2011-03-17T00:57:00.001-04:00

happy st. paddy's people,

haven't posted in awhile. kind of caught up with process work at the moment. handing this is later this week. we were charged with designing a mailer to theoretically send out to potential clients. we were supposed to use an existing illustration... and here's mine. nothing special... but it's something. i guess. this is also the completed version of a piece i posted awhile back.

i am not adept at graphic design. i find that by trying absolutely every combination of elements i can think of i manage to come up with something my prof is happy with. kind of like the hundred monkeys writing shakespeare saying that i'm too sleepy to properly recall. enjoy the rejects:

also: my favourite homework buddy :)

happy national drinking day to everyone!

a moment's rest

2011-03-06T23:29:00.002-05:00

so reading week has effectively come and gone. it seems the majority of the time i wasn't at work was spent being sick. although, i did manage to sketch a bit, take my camera on a field trip and even pick up my paint brushes briefly. yay!

i quickly coloured this in photoshop. maybe i can use it for an upcoming project? i dunno... i had been wanting to draw a lady with really tall hair. i imagined she'd be a victorian lady with a fancy wig... but naturally she turned out to be a mermaid.

lies, lies, lies

2011-02-22T22:10:00.002-05:00

handed this in today. for this project we had to choose and illustrate an e-mail scam. you know, a mysterious and wealthy benefactor asks you do them a little favour and in return you get a cut of their vast fortune.. only once you've lent them your banking information. of course.

initially i wanted to parallel it with African folk tales (since my e-mail was from an "African banker") like Anansi the Spider and i found these wonderful Zulu tales that fit in with the events of my e-mail. buuuut the resulting imagery just wasn't cohesive enough. ah well.

soooo this is my take. web of lies, moth to a flame, caught in a web... all those cliches.
can't say my concept was toooooo unique haha. i initially did a charcoal under drawing to get the texture and ominous feel then amped everything up in photoshop. i didn't know how charcoal would scan and translate, but i kinda dig the gritty/cloudy feel. and it's fun getting your hands dirty.

free what you love 'cause it's gonna die anyway...

2011-02-17T21:52:00.000-05:00

i posted the sketch for this a while ago now. it was initially done as an illustration for my romantic literature class to accompany an assignment on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. it was inspired by the part of book when Victor has a terrifying(sublime, to all my fellow classmates) about his love, Elizabeth, who then transforms into the decaying form of his dead mother, wrapped in her funeral shroud. creeeeeepy. i wasn't happy with the way it looked when i had to hand it in so i thought i'd put a little more time into it. i'm don't digital paint this way often... ever... so advice and comments veeeerrry welcome haha. but i was definitely glad for some practice.

"there is always some madness in love...

2011-02-14T23:58:00.001-05:00

But there is also always some reason in madness." -Nietzsche

3 minutes until valentine's day is over!!! just made it. decided to do this today for funsies. hope everyone had a LOVEly day :D

brrrrrr...

2011-02-12T02:27:00.002-05:00

so, here's my second go at after effects (the first shall not be posted nor spoken of, deal? k). we had to design a start menu of a potential ipad game for a fictional ice cream company called Mighty Frost. the brief for this project was pretty open ended so it was really great to see everyone's interpretation. here's mine:

can't waste the day wishing it'd slow down

2011-02-09T23:26:00.002-05:00

it feels like things finally kicked into high gear again. i strongly suspect someone of having messed with time. hours have been whipping by at an alarming rate. feels like time is slipping through my fingers.

the results of my life drawing class today. we're working with collage. i wouldn't say this is collage at all haha. but i pasted some paper down and got some interesting effects. such a great class. it's so nice to spend a few hours focused on a personal piece, improvising with the subject matter before you and the supplies you brought. no pressing consequences or pressures of meeting specific criteria. just create. then back to real life haha.

i needed a way to hang this heavy cardboard piece up on my wall so it won't get damaged/ take up precious room in my cluttered domain, so i improvised some brackets with some pencil stubs and tape. apparently there is a very specific cut off for when a pencil is no longer useful :P

that's all (for now) folks

nooooo touchy

2011-01-31T23:20:00.001-05:00

ok, i'm posting this so i will cease and desist fidgeting with this project. i still don't think i'm totally happy with it but alas, it is due tomorrow and has eaten up far too much of my time already. c'est la vie.

this project was called "recipe for disaster". the outline suggested that our finished product should a) compliment our existing portfolio pieces and b) act as a guide for other college students. relationships are a big part of college life and i wanted to do something nautically themed which incorporated pretty peoples and some hand-drawn type. thus... this:

took me like an hour to post this. couldn't stop the fidgeting. done now. backing away. i swear.

let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters(and teach them how to dance)

2011-01-30T22:57:00.001-05:00

been compiling lists and lists of things to do during the up coming summer which makes me soooo excited for a)warmth and b)making some monies (hopefully by means of fun arty projects yeah!) which i sadly have none of right now :( and since i am tired of writing my life down on scraps of paper which will inevitably be lost and never found, i downloaded this handy-dandy program Evernote (it's free!). It's like Word, but in notebook form. and you can have SO MANY NOTEBOOKS... i'm in heaven.

rough work for my current interpretive project. final still to come. i don't think i'm 100% happy with how the final looks, i'll see how i feel about it tomorrow.

sketchbookery... drawing whilst watching Boardwalk Empire. i don't often draw menfolk, so i'm trying to mix things up a bit.

and finally, look how fuzzy! really though, this is a trap. she presents her belly knowing people cannot resist trying to pet it, then she attacks. evil. but adorable nonetheless :)

so many mammories

2011-01-22T02:45:00.001-05:00

we're experimenting with over-sized works in life drawing this term (so large i barely had enough wall space to tack it up for the photos). it's fun stuff but presents a whole different set of challenges. i'm looking forward to getting messier with inks and paint. for now, enjoy all the booooooobs <- professionalism at it's best :)

oh darling, please believe me

2011-01-09T01:43:00.001-05:00

oh hey there stranger, how've you been?
well mr. breaktime, you are coming to an end. i will miss the gratuitous hours of sleep you provide. all the same, i'm excited for classes to begin again.

not quite done with this yet but i wanted something complete(ish) to show for my work during the break. unfortunately, the bulk of the rest of my efforts are comprised of sketches and scattered sticky notes... not exactly post worthy i'm afraid. this was also an excuse to see just how much better photoshop runs on a brand new imac (yesssss, what a wonderful christmas present to myself, i'm so thoughtful) my life shall run so smoothly now that i'm able to complete projects:
a) in the manner i wish without grandpa computer slowing me down
b) at home
c) with out corruption from switching between CS4 and CS5 and all the other accompanying headaches
d) absolutely no extra money to spend on distractions (silver lining to being poor, yes?)

good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite (seriously, i hear it's a big problem... eugh)

oh, baby it's cold outside

2010-12-23T17:29:00.002-05:00

greetings from Upnorthington, land of much snow, snacks and sleep. it's lovely.

here's a thinger i did as a christmas present for a family friend. she likes chickadees.

merry christmas everyone! :)

how do yah like them apples??

2010-12-14T23:29:00.001-05:00

one more thing to cross off my list. as much as i can't stand to look at it anymore (and due to all the criss-cross between CS4 and CS5 it won't let me edit it anymore) i may actually kind of enjoy the way this turned out. thank goodness... here is a sample of previous versions (and these are only a selection from the ones labeled 'final' haha. i really need to work on deciding on an idea and getting it done... eughhhh.

Now for the animation... about the same thing... euuuughhhh haha.

I will sleep next week...

2010-12-01T22:17:00.002-05:00

... if time permits.

My final image for an energy drink label aimed at hip Torontonians. It's designed to wrap around so it's one continuous stream of bicycles (hence why mr. really green goatee man appears twice...). yeaaah

bicycle, bicycle...

2010-11-28T23:03:00.001-05:00

this doesn't even begin to wrap up the amount of work still to do before Christmas break, but here are somethings that (thankfully) aren't stressing me out (as much) anymore. yeah! progress is possible. who knew?

CD and cover we have to design for (whaddaya know) our graphic design class. my actual disc will have all the copyright info running around the bottom, i just don't feel like fanagling with my illustrator version. We got to make up our own songs. funsies.

roughs for interpretive projects. YIKES! BIKES! the photo doesn't really give you an adequate idea of just how big this piece has to be (approx 16" x 30").

terrible scan of a rough sketch eventually to be coloured and handed in as one of my Frankenstein illustrations. also a little homage to Silvia Ji going on.

and finally, pages from my sketchbook project that i keep meaning to post. this was done BEFORE i saw "tangled" fyi haha. lovin the flowy hair.

much Much MUCH more soon. oh so soon.

cool beans

2010-11-27T22:43:00.001-05:00

so, this past summer i was lucky enough to connect with a local author in need of an illustrator for her kids chapter book. she's a super lady, self-published and doing all her own promotions and marketing to sellers. it's now available online at amazon.com (and at chapters in oakville if you're interested... yes?) it's a cautionary tale for kids about the internet... but told in a fun and quirky way! yeah! support local and self-published authors and check it out :)

http://dannyinanewfangledworld.com/

holy molys

2010-11-26T00:24:00.001-05:00

a to do list that defies the laws of space and time. how do you fit this amount of stuff to do into 3 weeks? here we go:

-another full-out info graphic (see previous post)
-accompanying after effects motion graphic about the info graphic (animatic due next thursday?!?!)
-CD designs (covers, disc, and 10 page booklet)
-energy drink label
-one more mystery interp project
-Frankenstein illustrations x3
-Romantics exam requiring actual reading of the material (oops) and studying... oh maaaaaan
-portfolio work so someone might want to hire me for something... anything... pretty please?
-showing up for classes/consultations with teacher-very important
-showing up for guest lecturer (really excited for this though!!!)
-my sketchbook project... i dunno if 5 pages really counts as filllllling the book... hmmm...
-christmas shopping
-eating
-sleeping
-being a (somewhat) normal human being
-getting past page 13 of Paradise Lost... reading just during my morning tea is getting me nowheeeeere

time to dig in. for now, here is a whaley. the left is just a digital dealy the right was made 3D and lit in after effects. coooool beans.

goodbye. probably forever.

somewhere, over the rainbow

2010-11-19T00:38:00.002-05:00

here is my (finally) completed mapping project for my info graphics class. it's a map + network diagram of the exchange of favours that drive the story of the wizard of oz.

i'm pleased with the way it came together after days and days at the computer trying to figure out how to get it to a stage where it didn't visually offend me. there are honestly about 15+ versions of this beast cluttering up my desktop(and many in the trash) haha. there are things i wish i had thought harder about but, nonetheless, here it is (via not-so-good screen cap since my computer may crash if i try to manipulate it anymore... and it's hard to crash macs.)

now if you'll excuse me, i have to be awake again to make it to painting class in... 5.5 hours. reasonable. right?

toodles!

prit-eh kit-eh!

2010-11-06T01:35:00.001-04:00

Hello bloggieland! i have found it's almost impossible to do actual work when there is a hefty amount of kitty on my workspace. she was however quite the obliging model so i did some quick sketches of her (also, she's usually more disgruntled and belligerent looking than this ha ha).

i <3 my kitty.

my body's a zombie for you

2010-10-31T01:55:00.000-04:00

*sigh* reading week you have come and gone too soon. oh my glorious mornings spent sleeping in... i think i shall miss you most of all.

some water colours from 1 am. oh and some ink spatter textures in the background. yeaaaaaaah textures.

happy halloween bloggieland. BOO!

simply perfect

2010-10-14T23:58:00.000-04:00

This was for our interpretive class. We were given the definition of "perfectionist" then cut loose. This was my solution:

holy sneezus

2010-10-12T12:15:00.000-04:00

blarhg i have been dodging a cold since school started (wow, over a month ago... nuts!) and it finally caught me. blahhhh.

lots of things due in the next couple of weeks before break. this year seems to be about amping up the process so our projects have been coming like rapid fire. blink and you'll get smacked in the face. for now, here is some life drawing. there are some things i like, things i don't. also, some pictures of the view from up north during the lovely long weekend.

all in a days work

2010-10-07T03:11:00.001-04:00

today i got up. worked on these. now bed. no time to adjust colours. must sleep.

oh, the madness

2010-10-03T23:34:00.000-04:00

days and days spent with mr. adobe illustrator. have gone crazy.

an aerial view of the madness-map. sooo many work spaces! and yes kasia, that is criminal minds on in the background haha. hours and hours of behvioural analysis (and shemar moore is still attractive in low-res). i am now, however, legitimately paranoid that serial killers are everywhere.

diamond in the rough...

2010-09-26T21:01:00.000-04:00

can one be lazy while being productive? i feel as if i've been lazing about all weekend because all i've done is plod along doing process work and staring at blank pages waiting for ightbulbs to appear. there's so much more to do... but i'm afraid i've run out of weekend... and if i stay in my current position any longer my butt and back will never forgive me. here's what i've been up to:

done for my interpretive class. we had to listen in on conversations and misinterpret the meaning on purpose and illustrate it. the conversation i worked from went:

"you gonna ask what i want?"

"what do you want?"

"nothing."

kinda depressing and a little extreme. my teacher liked the idea of it being very sobering... i think he also wishes i would learn to paint before next finals are due haha. this was gouache and watercolour, some ink i think... lotsa stuff on there :P

i spent the morning drawing imaginary friends... they always look creepy regardless of how cute i try to make everything... oh welllllss. done for my next interp project. there are soooo many more of these. my brain hurts.

might paint something i might wanna hang here someday

2010-09-09T00:06:00.003-04:00

<3 tegan and sara

these be sketch book things:

2 weeks...

2010-08-20T10:34:00.001-04:00

this morning, while perusing the lovely work of Cassandra Warren i came across this:

on a whim, i signed up.

a beautiful, blank moleskine will arrive at my door sometime in the next two weeks. my job: fill it (in accordance to the theme i have chosen) and send it back so it can travel across the US being fondled by the masses.

for now, the idea of of a project has soothed my summer frustrations: boredom and lack of direction. but in 2 weeks time frustration will be replaced with classes, homework, work-work (i'm thinking two part-time jobs this year), friends and other general distractions plus this new project. i look forward to being busied by things that i enjoy :)

i spy...

2010-07-30T00:25:00.001-04:00

i wish i had a sailboat to sail around the world... but all i have is a paper sailor's hat :(

i'll make you tired, then i'll let you sleep...

2010-07-15T14:50:00.000-04:00

dearest bloggie:

just because i never write or even call to say hello, it doesn't mean i'm not thinking about you :)

a quick self portrait and maybe something i can eventually frame for kasia's upcoming art show?? maybe...

long time gone

2010-05-27T00:20:00.002-04:00

oh bloggie, how i've missed you.

work and enjoying summer has kept me away from the blogging world but i haven't completely given up on art. i've actually been spending most of my time this past week working on illustrations for a chapter book that i've been commissioned to do. however, that's about all i can say about it until it is published. so no peeks!

today i had a particularly slow morning at Second Cup so i took the opportunity to draw a few of my favourite regular customers at the shop. i think i've seen these people more than i have my family this summer. sorry my family :(

and yes, she is holding a crossbow.

but don't worry. it was safe to have in the coffee shop because there were no arrows. yep.

whatever happened, happened

2010-05-06T20:42:00.000-04:00

this week afforded me some days off from work... which means i can't afford anything i actually need BUT has allowed me to relax, have fun and be somewhat productive art wise (and watch a lot of lost and planet earth... and roswell... but we don't speak of that)

mother's day is coming up. my mom likes flowers and hummingbirds.

whatever you do, don't fall asleep

2010-04-29T23:05:00.000-04:00

i've been waking up everyday at 5am for work this past week. it took a few days to adjust haha. not long ago i was just getting to sleep around that time. but tomorrow i am able to sleep in a bit so i started working on a few things. there is so much i want to do and work on but the days seem to go by too quickly. ah well.

i've got the house to myself for the first time in awhile. i decided to watch a marathon of Nightmare on Elm Street movies before the new one comes out. so awesome. although the sequels are lacking the Johnny Depp factor.... *sigh*

goodnight-mares :)

please, please, please let me get what i want

2010-04-26T00:20:00.000-04:00

a friend asked me the other day what my summer plans were and i lamely said... "work". pssh... summer is going to be much more than that :)

i haven't been to school or work and (besides my self portrait) homework-free for 3 days... i decided to do a "daily doodle" to compensate.

sweet dreams

epicenter of distraction

2010-04-25T00:52:00.000-04:00

so painfully close to being done. i just can't bear to work on it anymore at the moment. i feel like my brain has already checked out. gone on vacation baby. touring around italy or perhaps the south of france.

i doodled during break time.

bonsoir mes amis :)

they'll name a city after us...

2010-04-23T18:42:00.000-04:00

when you wear your party clothes while painting and inking you get paint and ink on your party clothes. WHO KNEW?!?!? the bright side is that i noticed No Frills had bleach on sale.

there is a great big, beautiful willow tree i can see outside my bedroom window. i wish i could spend all my time up in its branches.

also,
note to self: buy pens that work....

come sail away

2010-04-15T23:59:00.000-04:00

currently: covered in block printing ink and cake batter. mmmmm....

this is a birthday present for someone special. it's a surprise :D this is also how i spent my day... it helped me avoid my actual homework.

and this is one of our last (i reaaaaaaalllly hope) projects for our electronic media. New York Magazine has a weekly illustration called "High Priority" which includes the top 5 things to do and see that week (a movie, a theatrical production, an art exhibit, restaurant and nightclub). also the only colours are red, black and white. this is my take on it.

i like sailboats.

you are my sweetest downfall

2010-04-13T23:57:00.000-04:00

cookies + lost before bed = the best thing ever

i've never made prints before. i must say i enjoy the entire process. here's 2/4 versions of my bunnies:

so tired... all the coffee in the world can't save me now.

in flames

2010-04-11T01:21:00.000-04:00

all i need is someone with their own rain cloud...

awesome band and song. and the video is super cute:

today was an ugly art day fittingly enough. summer can't come soon enough :)

do i stay or do i go now?

2010-04-08T20:38:00.000-04:00

Check out this cool site. It's dedicated to collecting and promoting work by illustrators by way of desk top wallpaper. Neat idea and it features some Sheridan grads. Check it out and submit your own work! I reworked an assignment i did last term for our electronic media class. changed it into a landscape with a cliff and light house. it'll be up on the Canvas site sunday (thanks Erika!)
Canvas

and away i go...

lonely, no loni

2010-04-08T01:07:00.000-04:00

i miss my cat-cat. she's at her grandmas (ooooh my mom would slap me if she heard that) for at least another week or so.... poo. :(

we're trying out lino-cut in media class this week. theme is spring. nothing else says spring to me like multiplying bunnies. i haven't decided on how i want it to be tonally yet. getting there...

snack time + lost time= goodnight time and sleep tight time :)

hot times in the city

2010-04-05T22:52:00.000-04:00

with the nice weather it's getting more and more difficult to sit my butt down and get stuff done. not to mention my brain is calling for a time out from school work. there just isn't anything smart left in there :(

i amused myself by touching up a rough i did a little while ago for a portrait assignment. i realized i can't remember the last time i did a simple pencil sketch that wasn't a thumbnail or rough.

and some cute pictures from our easter outing to the lake. ah to just be outside....

bunny time!!

2010-04-02T20:29:00.000-04:00

went down to the lake today (just like everyone else in oakville). sooooo gorgeous. i'm ready for summer.

here's my media final. we had to do a 2-dimensional illustration of a scene from a fairy tale of our choosing. i chose East of the Sun and West of the Moon. this was my first attempt at paper cut. i think i rather like it although it's a little tedious and i wish i had been more precise with my original drawing and measurements as things tend to shift through the tracing/cutting process.

the beginnings of my self portrait/my very messy room.

Happy Easter everyone!!!

soft shock

2010-03-26T00:23:00.000-04:00

ok. awesome night. got my homework done AND my uncle was kind enough to invite me to a book launch party for Electric Company at Resistor Gallery in Toronto. They are a production company specializing in motion design and animation but they also dabble in illustration

INSERT POWER OUTAGE HERE!!

take two:
k... so due to the fact that we live in a rather ghetto (albeit charming) house, the power went out mid-post last night and i was too sleepy to bother finishing. ANYWAY... long story short:
-went to gallery party
-super cool times, people, art, everything YEAH
-gotssta free mag SEE IT HERE http://www.electriccompany.tv/ecbook/
-here's what i handed in today:

this is my metaphor assignment for my interpretive class. i was working with the song "river" by joni mitchell. she rules so much. if you wanna feel in a christmas-y, acheybreakyheart kinda mood... for some reason... enjoy :)

hungrrrryyyyyy

2010-03-23T23:10:00.000-04:00

pasta is an appropriate 11:00 snack right? celia always hungry....

so this is from awhile ago but i've been incredibly busy/ incredibly lazy. our first (of thus far 2) assignments for my electronic media class was to design 5 spreads for a booklet (i added a cover and back for funsies). now, i know very little about graphic design but this is my result. note: i epically failed printing this... but through blunders i learn... i guess.

all these things that i've done

2010-03-07T20:13:00.000-05:00

hello bloggie. how i've missed you.

well, reading week has come and gone and i might as well have something to show for it:

these are the rest of my portraits. i did a self portrait and my roomies. i still need to portraitize Garth but that will have to be at a later date...

Kasia- gouche and ink on mylar

colindavis-water colour and gouache on toned paper

meeself- pen and watercolour

And for our media class we were working with collage and greek mythology. here are mine :P

Now all that's left is an essay... easy. right?

in your face

2010-02-16T00:06:00.000-05:00

like a month ago we were assigned 4 portrait studies for our life drawing class... naturally i started it today. one down. this is my lovely friend and roommate Shen. the colours are a little iffy because of the camera and poor lighting but i'm too tired to do any serious fixing in photo shop :P

Say Goodnight Maria

2010-02-08T22:20:00.000-05:00

done. yes. sleep. forever. i. am.

(translation: this is the 3D creation of the scene i illustrated from west side story. Chino... i apologize, for you have no fingers... and for the time your head popped off... and for when my kitty gnawed on you a bit)

smile baby :D

2010-02-02T00:33:00.001-05:00

here are some reasons to smile:

a) i be done ma painting for interpretive (due in 7 1/2 hours)

b) my house rules (clearly)

c) my roommates rule (but i always knew that... i added the first two... Garth filled in all the necessary stuff)

and d) sleep time :D

on ma desk

2010-01-31T22:17:00.000-05:00

so. tired. must. sleep. but... can't.

these are the things currently taking up space on my desk.

This is for media class... done! *check*

My partially complete colour final for my scene from West Side Story along with a mini-miniature mock-up of the miniature set we'll be creating.

the reason homework takes so long and thus the reason i'm so tired :)

W(h)IP it

2010-01-28T14:28:00.001-05:00

i'm right in the middle of about a trillion projects so here's some work in progress. a linear black and white rough for a media layout that needs to be full colour in acrylic by monday (oh dear me) and a quick colour rough of my scene from west side story for interpretive.

and off to class i go!

in a few minutes time

2010-01-24T00:13:00.000-05:00

HI I'M A LAZY BUM WHO SPENDS ALL HER TIME SLEEPING AND WATCHING MOVIES. so it's safe to say that my productivity has been... well... lacking. but i'm working... a little :P

i showed up for computers class this past week (which, when you're in my slacker class, means you get a cookie) and found no lesson plan to speak of except the directions that we navigate and appreciate adobe bridge. i stole this old pic from the well of facebook photos and then did some photo filter magic and turned it into a mock band pic for our house band, Horsebubbles. the original is on top (obvs...)

also more narwhal. because life is just better with more narwhal.

oh memorieee

2010-01-07T23:01:00.000-05:00

hi there.

so today was one of my... 4 (yes... that's it) days off from work this winter break. how glorious it is to be lazy... relaxed... doing things just for yourself because you want to. also, i ate cookies until i felt sick because colindavis fails royally at hiding them :P lovely hehe.

k, i bought this book at the salvation army. it has funny illustrations and passages. doodling in it is fun.

i takee de fotoss

2010-01-02T13:58:00.000-05:00

happy new years friends :D

apparently i was a good girl this year. santa delivered a very nice, new camera to me (this replacing my old point and shoot i got for christmas in grade 11... wow... i'm an old person now. this might have also been my mom's way of getting back the dear Yashica... but no dice as it is the love of my life mwuah ahah!!

i clickity click at dees:

bring da' snow

2009-12-21T23:37:00.000-05:00

yes, school is finally done for a few weeks and now it's time to breathe and sleep.... kinda. as much fun as the christmas season provides... it doesn't allow for a whole lot of rest haha. but i'm so totally STOKED!!!!

so way back when i asked all interested classmates if they wanted to do a holiday card exchange. here's my fantastic present from my buddy miko. so freaking awesome!!! AND it's double-sided... but it's maybe not appropriate for viewing here ;)

And here's what i've been working on today:

and now, can we please take a moment to acknowledge just how gross my hands are. and speaking of which... here's a kitty update :)

kitty on ma desk

2009-12-16T01:19:00.001-05:00

hallo... there is a small, furry obstruction on my desk so this will be brief.

this is my final project for our digital media class (aka compoooters... but not as in "poo" because our computers class rocks!) we had to make a poster so i chose to make a gig poster for the fabulous band Hey Ocean! please check them out. they really rock. i was super bummed i missed them in toronto recently so this is kinda me making up for it :P

my apologies to The Cat Empire for taking a back seat on this... not really accurate there... but hey, it's my made-up little poster :)

mind. melting.

2009-12-09T02:07:00.000-05:00

no sleep for celia (check the time stamp). here be my first two narrative pieces for the Three Robbers. ONLY 2 MORE TO GO! yeah! *back to work*

Oh! and here's my little helper and a sneak peek at my final narrative piece.

new mom!

2009-11-29T22:34:00.000-05:00

ok... so this isn't art related at all but whatevs... but i got a kitty!!! so obviously i will not be able to think about anything else for the next month or so. i am going to fail art school.... but what a way to go eh??

her name is thelonious (loni for short among other ridiculous things) and she's only 3 months old. if everything goes well and nothing unexpected happens, this little girl will be with me for the next 10 years or more! now, i love animals (especially cats... the first word i ever learned how to spell was kitty!) but the idea of getting a pet like this at this stage of my life made me a little hesitant. but after a little coercion from my mom and my sister and the fact that a part of my soul would have died if i had to walk away from her at the store... i'm feeling good about this addition to my life. i'm happy that i've made a commitment to another living thing, to care for it, love it, make it a priority in my life from now on. it's a lot of responsibility but i'm excited for it.

btw... this took like an hour or so to write due to intermittent disruptions from loni. in the time it took to write this she was crazy-hyper, tugging at me feet to come play, hiding under my bed, helping with an art critique/enjoying cuddle session with papa colin, running around hyper again, stopping for food break, hiding under the bed again then finally falling asleep after a 10 minute belly-rub.

i will never do anything productive again :)

dat's ma face!!

2009-11-24T21:41:00.000-05:00

IT'S ME! a pastel self portrait for painting class. due tomorrow. done. and the night is young my friends...

This was my work space... portrait taped to the door. lamp (yes, with clouds affixed) squished into the corner and my pastels resting immediately behind me on my clothes hamper. i guess there are perks to being pint-sized. and yes, my pastels are chilling with my hair straightener and sunglasses.

life with a knife

2009-11-19T16:38:00.000-05:00

boo.

i find the best days in art school are the ones when you make a huge mess and come home looking like one of the little orphan annie kids. it doesn't really demonstrate the overlay of texture that gillian was looking for, but i had fun with this one (and got pretty darn mesy in the process!):

also, sometimes i pretend i'm a photographer. here are some shots that amused me.

that's not my name

2009-11-14T23:39:00.000-05:00

a glimpse into the clutter that is my life and my final scratch board assignment. i may have a few revisions which is why white scratch board is so cool. forgiveness is everything.

new cds

library book

reading glasses

pixar genius

shady camera

haha i look like such a creeper with my photos of my roomy's gf... i'll put those back on your desk garth... long story.

Electronica

2009-11-10T20:56:00.000-05:00

hellooooos.

we spent some time doing collage in photoshop. this is what i done did:

WHOAAA step back!

2009-11-01T11:59:00.000-05:00

i love daylight savings! you get a whole other hour to your day which feels like magic.

happy (belated) halloween! here's some halloween fun:

my roomies and myself as zombified disney characters. the result of mixing animation with illustration :D

colin's first attempt at a candle... and subsequent modifications :P

our totally original pumpkin designs. also, pumpkin family meeting.

and finally, some homework. blarg. the dealy is that we're supposed to explain the phenomena that occurs in the bermuda triangle with an informative graphic. things were going smooth until right before final, sandra (ma teach) suggested i change.... almost everything. so voila! there are certain things i like and many i don't. definitely requires some touch ups. and probably a title. HRUURRMMmmm

eat candy.

messy life

2009-10-18T22:02:00.000-04:00

Hello my loves,

i've been stuck wallowing in my mess-hole of a room trying to get the mountains of work done for this week (and thus rewarded with worry-free halloweeny timesssss) here's what i've been up to SLASH what is making me smile today :)

share timeeeezzzzzzz:

my messy life. where does the still life start and the mess end? also my scratch board experiment, some children's books i rescued from home and my mom's excellent camera. imma take some for serious photozzzzzzzz.

THE HAND costume. someone lovingly made this then donated it to value village. it fits small and large sizes apparently.

I made a fort! sometimes you just need a cozy place to curl up in with nice lighting, lots of pillows and a sock friend :)

these guys are brilliant. i want to live and breathe inside the music they make.

under da sea

2009-10-06T23:54:00.000-04:00

my hand hurts from the teensy painting :( massage parties anyone?

line drawing and "black and white tonal" for our interpretive, decorative piece. now one more time. in colour.

tired eyes

2009-09-22T22:50:00.000-04:00

'allo

here's what i've been up to:

a birdy-birthday card for my granny. my mom threw her a huge surprise party. she was so happy :)

some neato cars friendsies and i drove by during road trips.

instead of doing homework i decided to go wild instead. yeah!

that's all.

CAT-aracts!!!

2009-09-13T01:18:00.000-04:00

i gots kittiezz coming out the waaazooooooo here! first project of the year requires 90 media explorations of an object/animal (i picked the kittiiiisss obviously). i's a good girl and stayed in on a saturday night to get a start on them. i think i have 25-26...27? done thus far... i feel like i'm putting too much work into them at this point... but i know that by mid-week the time crunch will have completely crushed this tendency. whoo! i picked out some of my favs thus far:

alas it is not sleep time yet... i got to finish a little somethin' somethin' i'm putting together for a certain someone someone teeheheheeheheheheeee *winkwnik* tired.

show me your insides

2009-09-06T20:25:00.000-04:00

after dinner doodly. school looming... in a good way :)