Monday, 30 January 2012

Rubber Penguin...


After a little while away and a bit of a rethink on the design, my site Rubber Penguin is back.

At the moment I am using it as a site to showcase some of my illustrational work, but in the future months I would like to fill it with some products that are available to purchase.

I know I have been threatening this for quite some time now, but once I manage to control my workload (and not say yes to everything that comes my way), be prepared for me to unleash a variety of products your way.

As well as Rubber Penguin, don't forget to keep checking my personal site. I do need to update the portfolios on there, but you will be able to find my latest blog entries there.

Thursday, 26 January 2012

Raphael

Despite supposedly now being an adult, I have never been able to shake my affection with the Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles.

Growing up as an 80s child meant I was able to see first hand the huge impact these little reptiles had on the world. To say I was obsessed with them would have been an understatement.

I collected everything that had even the slightest glimpse of their little green faces on; from the figures and comics, to the more random items such as toothpaste tubes and shoelaces (all of which I still have – gross huh?).

I was forever drawing them and it even got to the point where we were banned from doing so at our school, the world literally went Ninja Turtle mad.  Since then though, I haven’t ever really taken the time to draw them again. I’ve done the odd doodle, but nothing I’ve ever put my heart and soul into… Until now!

Below is a drawing of Raphael that I have been working on. He is based on the original comic book character design, rather then the more jolly cartoon style. In time I would like to produce all four characters, but for now I will leave you with this one.

Thanks for dropping by!

You can also find and rate him on my dribbble page.

 



Monday, 9 January 2012

Resolutions


With the start of a new year comes the inevitable promise of new resolutions.

I have never really been the kind of person who binds themselves to something like this or do I ever really intend to. I know some people see the beginning of a new year as a gateway to shed their old skin and start again, but to be honest I have never felt that need to do so.

I am certainly not saying I live a perfect life, as trust me there are plenty of things I can improve on, but from a personal point of view I don't see the new year as that kind of opportunity for me. If I wanted to cut back on chocolate, I will. If I wanted to join a gym and get ripped then I will (well, I would at least try). 

For me I want to use the beginning of this year to set myself some targets and build on what I have already achieved in my career. Over the few years I have been freelancing, I have achieved a lot, but I have never really set any goals or targets. I have worked through the year without really thinking about where I want to be and what I want to achieve. 

The main aim for me is to increase the amount of illustrations I create throughout the year. The last few years has seen quite a big decline in the amount of illustrations that I had produced. This is mainly to do with the success that I have had as a freelance designer. That has kept me busy throughout the year, leaving little or no time for me to produce anything. This is obviously a bit of a catch 22 as it's fantastic to be kept so busy, but I also have this craving to produce more illustrations.

In 2012 I need to find the balance between the two and hopefully get myself not only producing more illustrations, but also getting myself a little more established as an illustrator.

I have been lucky enough to work on many commissions over the years for a variety of companies across the globe, but it is still my yearning desire to have an illustration printed in a publication or better still, to work on some form of children's book.

I want to continue the development of my style as I still think it has room to not only improve, but to grow and evolve.

By the end of the year I also want to have designed products available to purchase through my site, like greetings cards, badges and maybe t-shirts. 

From a personal point of view, 2012 will probably be the last year of me living in the town I have spent my entire life growing up in. 

Over the years I have watched the town become a tired, lifeless area which has more trouble on the streets then I am comfortable with. As I grow older and consider having a family myself, I look at the area I grew up in through different eyes. I think about my future children growing up in the area and the thought of it makes me really uncomfortable.

Obviously my families safety is my main concern, but from a creative point of view I think moving away from the area will do me the world of good too. Last year I was fortunate enough to have spent a month travelling the States and taking this time away really made me realise just how stagnant I feel I have become over the years. I have spent too long concentrating on producing the work, without considering my approach to it and I feel a new start and taking the opportunity to travel when I can will help inspire not only me, but my work too.

I hope that by writing these down, it will inspire me to keep pushing towards these targets. As the year unfolds I will obviously share my insights with all you lovely people.

Happy 2012 folks!

Monday, 2 January 2012

Yeti

Happy New Year folks…

What better way to start it off then with an illustration of a Yeti. This file will be available to purchase from my iStock portfolio.

I have included the complete process, as well as some larger screenshots of the illustration so that you can see the detail a little clearer.

 

 
 
 
 

All designs and concepts are strictly © Copyright Dan Bailey.