Zombie art

I got involved with a bit of a likely-lad client from up-north a few months ago who persuaded me to come onboard and create for him some original 'Zombie' concepts which he needed as packaging graphics.  The brief was flexible to say the least and i can't say here what the product was going to be because of our nda agreement, but as it turned out, the project didn't take off so now i'm left with a bunch of artwork.  Some of the best examples i would very much like to to share -

For him i created this zombie virus concept.  I made it by first mixing a small amount of ink with water and dish-washing liquid in a teacup, then using a drinking straw i blew into the mix producing bubbles spilling out onto paper, and proppa messy i got too.  after drying off i scanned the best examples into photoshop, played about with colours, filters and layers until i got what you see ..reckon it'll make for a pretty cool desktop image for your laptop don't you think?!  Anyway, moving onwards ...

This next image Zombie Living Dead started from one of the many sketches i did, then photoshopped -

This is me working (..up the sketch) -

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Vodka Bottle

I've designed a new bottle for Moskovskaya's premium branded Russian vodka.  They stipulated their claim  The True One must be prominently displayed on the bottle labelling, otherwise the shape concept was up for grabs.  I sharpened my pencil and wondered about Russian historicals, then a factoid occurred about a recent excavation beneath the Kremlin building unearthed an ancient royal tomb which just may be the very first archeological evidence of Vikings anywhere (before they spread westward into Europe and beyond).  Maybe they were the first vodka distillers? and as Moskovskaya have been producing since 1894, this anyway was enough of an association for me to googligo 'viking sword' hunting for some visual inspiration and  then to make my planview - 

The food and bev' marketeers are constantly catching us consumers with their ad campaigns, go checkout the premium spirits at your local, i was impressed, apparently Moskovskaya had been caught with their pants soiled (hooked on their own supply perhaps?) so they had to redress the issue by deploying their USP claim.  I incorporated it with a blurb of my own to compliment the finished presentation -

Bares a similarity to the legend of King Arthur's sword (Exclibur) in the stone!  I should find out next month if my efforts come to anything bankable, hopefully restoring some justice as my previous 2 client projects were mysteriously pulled without explanation.

Anyway, next project slated will be a poster to announce next februrary's Brighton Science Festival, am totally enthusiastic about that, of which more to blog about nearer the time.

Subscribers free-Pack

 If you are reading this message via your email, then you're already a happy Subscriber to Doodling Jim's  News and therefore the following needn't concern you.  However if like my own brother, your previous subscription attempt was unsuccessful, please try again as I've now taken the precaution to delete those Unverified subscribers.  

 Here's my improved 3 step subscription process which i trust you'll find more straightforward ...

step 1,
 Click Email Subscription Request ..there (like before) you add your email address and type the squiggly word as shown - proving you are indeed human and not a tin of spam. 

step 2,
 Then click button that says: ''Complete Subscription Request'' which responds: ''Email Subscription Confirmed!'' (..misleading as it confirms only your 'request' however..) it also fires off the confirmation email to you.

step 3,
 That email (check your spam folder as it may have landed there instead of your Inbox) asks you to 'activate' Doodling Jim's News.  Open it to click the 'Confirm' link.  That's it!  Now you're ready to receive my latest news items whenever I publish from my end ..!

!.. the Prize
 now i wouldn't expect your subscription without a reward so i'm going to put together a zip package of free graphics in variously useful formats available only to listed subscribers soon! - watch out for a new post-label; free Pack! appearing on my blog to claim yours.

Thanks and a merry 2012 christmas jinglebells to all my Subscribers!

Pulp Detective #3

Some Illustrations completed for short-story feature in the 3rd issue of Pulp Detective magazine for boys -

Lovely job to work on,
wish there was more like it ..!

the Curse

My Ozy mate who happens to be a very good writer proposed i should illustrate his stuff.  After clearing my schedules i got busy and layed out his 40 finely crafted verses into a 32page dummy Picture-book pdf comprising a lot of pencils and this cover image in colour with endpaper pattern -

Just a question now of hawking the mockup to prospective publishers. Fat chance maybe of any inroads there so perhaps drift into eeepublished App thingy.  Anyway i do believe it illustrates quite a 'standout' story in verse form, ideal for performing story-tellers with young audiences.

A quicky update to blow some dust off this blog with news bits while getting on with summer time.

Pulp Detective magazine issue1 with my pics illustrating the short story The Runaround hits WHSmith and other outlets on 27th September! ..and they're new site is now up! ..although you won't see any of my pics there.

Also I'm at the storyboard stage with a kids book for an old friend and Australian author - just a speculative venture now but maybe next year it could be bigger than um.. er.  Anyway, doesn't time fly doing other graphic bits for local network clients? - though not worth crowing about but will back-out by saying.. finally built that shed on the allotment.

Pulp job #2

Dick for hire Henry Reed investigates heavyweight bribery in the fight game at a luxury hotel. No love interest gettin in the way for this 2nd story titled: A Boxer doesn't paint (for Pulp Detective,) just ugly murders, bullits and blood. Here's 6 (of 14) i illustrated -

Its a dirty job but somebody's gotta do it.

Biog done

Just done piled up my site with a bunch of new eyecandy. Long overdue updates are now viewable under 2 of the main nav' categories:-

 Commissioning me - now has my Biography! well.. more of a potted history really.  Once there, click the baby space-man takes you to it!

 Jim's prints - now groaning under its own weight with all my Posters artworks gathered and neatly hung in frames on proper wallpaper, also includes info on where one might come across them (in the real world) and info about size specifications, availabilities and prices.  My Greetings Cards are still in this category but now with updated link to availability.  And T-shirt stuff still needs some headscratching time on it but there it is, as is.

It all looks good from my end but can't be absolutely sure till somebody says '..hey this or that don't work when i click..' so do please go have a good rummage through www.doodlingjim.com and let me know if any glitchy bits.  You have my appreciations and thanks !

BIGsplash

Being a member of BIG I got the opportunity to contribute an image into their slideshow for the GLUG networking event evening on the 24th Feb' at New England House here in Brighton.  I'm guessing but thought what ever I choose, the image would probably be flashed up onto a wall as part of a rolling sequence of works from other members.  So I rummaged about and put together some previously saved elements to produce this splashy eyecandy ...

Engraved Barak Obama

Finished Copperplate Engraving (like on dollar bills depicting Presidents Lincoln, Jefferson etc)  This portrait of Barack Obama was quite a steep learning curve to create digitally.

I  tried the usual engraving plugins at first but these fell short of what I wanted to achieve.  However photoshop's own 'Liquidize' filter worked well once I got the hang of it, using its brushes I dragged parallel lines, drawing them over a template layer of Obama's image.  Once I got the hang of it I found this to be the best method for this authentic look of the genuine article. Not a bad effort.

Those plug-ins mimic only the photo-gravure affect so really won't do for copperplate style because they fall short where lines need to follow contours of Obama's face. (Photo-Gravure only lays a pre-defined pattern on top of light\dark areas, just too flat for what i had in mind.)

I could offer more detailed explanation as to why one doesn't come across 'Copperplate' as a digital style in today's graphics design world but for now I'll just say A~WHAMBAM~BOOM! is now available as a limited-edition of 200 signed prints, size: A3. Cost: £40 inc' post and packing in tube.