If You Have Enough Book Space | Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett...

I started reading Discworld when I was around twelve years old, and while that series instantly became one of my favourite collections of novels, Pratchett immediately became my favourite author. The characters, the worlds, the stories that Pratchett created and showed to his readers were incredible. His creativity, imagination, and wit have always inspired and delighted me, and his quirky, ever-positive outlook on life, and death, and everything in between are so mind-bogglingly brilliant that that they consistently leave me in awe. The more I read, the more I learn, and the more I appreciate the wisdom and intelligence of Pratchett’s view of our world.  And so, more than just an author, but as a human being; Terry Pratchett will be missed. Quite terribly. 

Emily | Portrait

Here's another assignment from last semester: a digitally painted portrait. Once again, the wonderfully willing Emily (actress) helped me out by becoming my model. There's a chance you'll remember her from past projects, including Race Against Time and The White Lady of Kinsale. I actually asked Emily to help me with this one in particular for a number of reasons, which influenced the overall look of this project.

Firstly, we met in secondary school, where we took art classes together. At that stage, Emily occasionally tried her hand at painting, and frequently leaned towards more abstract looks. For this reason, I built the portrait on a background of acrylic-style brushstrokes. I picked the sepia colour because Emily, like me, has a fondness for all things vintage (especially old film-memorabilia, I think), so I wanted to capture an old-film kind of look. I also added gold because Emily is always classy and elegant, so it seemed fitting. I also appreciated the connection to film awards such as the Golden Globes, which is another link to Emily's personality.

Emily's personality and our shared interests also influenced smaller details within the image. In school, we were always hopelessly ambitious (we still are, to be honest) and it was her ambition to become a part of the acting world, for instance, which inspired the film reel border. Because she is a self-professed coffee-connoisseur and tea-lover - and the fact that when we meet, either coffee or tea are generally involved at some stage - I added the coffee stains to the background. Finally, I added some French phrases in a scripted font for a few reasons. Emily and I shared language classes for many years, and we both share a love of travel. Emily, I believe, is particularly partial to capital cities, like London and Paris. We also both share a tendency to use elaborate handwriting wherever possible. And finally, Emily has a very distinctive way of speaking, which is usually pretty entertaining, so I wanted to include language in some way.

And so, the portrait above is a result inspired by the ever-lovely Emily (actress), to whom I am so, so grateful for! Below, you can see the original photograph I took of Emily for reference in all her Irish-sun-drenched glory.

WIP 2 | Kinetic Text | God's Away on Business

Okay, so here's the first "proof of concept" I can show for my Kinetic Text Project. I took out a lot of the textures for the sake of simplicity for the proof, but I will definitely be bringing those back, as soon as possible. (I miss them!)

This is actually the - what? third? - time I've tried to pull this little section together. It's been frustrating, but now that I've figured this out, I feel like I'll manage the rest of the project without too much stress. It's just a matter of sitting down and getting it done, second by second. 

Flame Animation

Just a short and sweet little post today. Here's a flickering candle flame, which I animated towards the end of last semester. I had fun with it!

Also, just a quick heads up! There's free shipping in my shop until the 8th of March! :)

Curiouser And Curiouser

It's no secret that I'm a fan of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I love the characters, the environments, the utter bizarreness of it all. I recently started reading the book again, and had a sudden urge to draw up the famous quote "Curiouser and curiouser!" and I also thought it'd be a good way to kick-start a bit of activity in my shop. So click here and check this design out on t-shirts and mugs and all sorts of other fun things! Please do!

Photography | Tones

Last semester, I also studied a photography module, which was something completely new for me. Yes, I have taken photos before, but I had never taken the time to really get to know how to use a DSLR to its full potential. So, photography class was a bit of a learning curve, and its a skill I would love to develop further. These shots were taken for a photography assignment in the past few months. Click to embiggen them!

Flash Game | The Getaway

BIG post today! I spent a solid chunk of last semester working on this interactive programming assignment. Weeks and weeks of drawing, animating, and coding, all working together to create a short and sweet little game called "The Getaway." Click HERE to play the game yourself!

"The Getaway" is a single-level flash platform game, which I made with my friend Kirsty. What I'm showing you today is the game bible, which basically shows you every element of design that became a part of the game; including character designs, environment layouts, user interfaces and start/finish screens. I also wrote a short(ish) backstory to give the game a bit of meaning, and added a few of the early sketches. Be sure to click on the images below to make 'em bigger, and click HERE to play the game yourself! :D