Week 47: Play

Wacom tablet in Photoshop

Week 46 - Endangered*

Two images
What is missing from our world? Manners and respect, in a nutshell!
Handwritten and then tweaked in photoshop

And then the obvious threat to the natural world cannot be ignored.
Paper cutting and collage
*this was selected for the picks :)

Week 45 Peace

Everyone found this week hard. There are so many parts of the world where there is no peace. This prompt was timed to coincide with Remembrance Day and WW1, which was known as the war to end all wars.
My first illustration depicts Egyptian Christians protecting Muslims as they prayed.
Half way through the week, there was a terrorist attack on Paris. All the world's media was focused on Paris and other parts of the world faded away. My second illustration was deliberately not just about Paris, the story of it is with the picture.

Both drawn on a wacom tablet in photoshop

"This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace on Earth."

Japanese tradition says that if you make 1000 paper cranes you can make a wish.
This is an illustration of a statue of girl called Sadako. 
She was two when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, as a result she developed leukemia. Before she died she decided to make 1000 paper cranes: her wish was to live.
A book written about her says she made 644, her family say she made more. Either way she has become a symbol for children who died as a result of the bomb, and for world peace.

Week 44 Scandinavian

Three images

So many ideas! But in order to avoid the obvious, I asked a couple of friends for advice. One is Scandinavian, living in England. The other is English, living in Scandinavia.

I researched lots of their ideas and in the process, learned quite a bit about Sami culture. 
I didn't end up drawing any people or reindeers and not a hint of snow! 
Here are two of their suggestions.
(*Update: I caved, keep scrolling, there is another illo!)

Land of the midnight sun
Oil pastels, about A5 size on pastel paper.

Draugen Oil Platform
Fineliner on A4 copy paper

So, I caved towards the end of the week and drew Sami people after all. 

Fine liner, A4 copy paper

Week 43 Monster*

Three images

All I could think of was Nessie and I REALLY didn't want to draw her. I asked facebook land to offer suggestions, which I used for the first two. After that, I was able to make a choice of my own, I dug out a favourite story book from my childhood: 'The Book of Monsters' by Ruth Manning Sanders. 

All three were drawn using a wacom tablet in photoshop. 

Vincent Price as Dracula

An American Werewolf in London
*This was chosen to be in this week's picks!

I loved the illustrations in 'The Book of Monsters', as a child but on reflection, not all of them match the descriptions of the monsters in the story itself. So, my last entry is Monster Horista from 'Pentalina'. This monster has the head of a wolf, the body of a gorilla, a long tail, boots and sharp claws. 

In my illustration he is lifting a pregnant woman from a swamp in return for her unborn child, of course he is, he's a monster in a traditional tale!

Week 42 Instrument

2 images

I dithered this week, having made two similar illustrations, I put them up together as a collage instead of individually. I prefer them separately so that's how I have uploaded them here.

I went to an Egyptian dance workshop today focusing on Baladi dance. 
Our musicians were Guy Schalom (darbuka & band leader), Gamal Awad (accordion) and Ahmed el Saidi (Saxophone). Gamal was my best model! 
I drew them based on photos I took, using a wacom tablet in photoshop.

Week 41 Sweets

This week I opted for traditional sweets in a sweet shop.
I pared down my design so there are no labels, no shelving to speak of and no real detail in the lids.

The final piece is digital because  I just wanted more jars than I was prepared to cut up sweets for. Honesty is the best policy!
I took a few photos and collaged them together. Once in a collage I changed the background colour of a couple to make it less repetitive.