Thursday, April 7, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Header Options
This is the first round. I really wanted to do something shapely (that is, anything besides the traditional rectangular header) that was transparent around the edges. I also wanted to have an animated character in it, but keep the animation itself to a minimum. Hand-crafted text, because....
.... when I start messing around with fonts, I spend hours and hours and hours doing something like this. The word "art" is 2 different fonts arranged on top of each other, and "animation" is 2 different different fonts arranged atop each other. "Alliteration" is actually a combination of chopping up, transforming, and re-arranging 4 different fonts. I wanted to keep some element of having a character in the header, as I feel most of the work I do is character-oriented anyway. I think along with looking snazzy, the header should sum up (or at least hint at) what's in store.
I haven't really had the time to do a 3rd option yet, but I did like the way this design looked before I added the element of color. I wanted to maybe get rid of the character (just for some variation) and try animating some kind of movement on the letters themselves, but unfortunately a mostly-flattened file is all I can find. I suppose I forgot to save the original UBER-LAYERED file. This isn't to say that the effect I'd like to achieve is impossible, I'm just.... not up to it right now. Hahaha. I'll come back in later and edit the header (and this post?) if necessary.
Can you tell I really like this font arrangement?
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Typographic Inspiration
SERIF:
(This one was a big influence on the header I went with, partially because it reminds me of something I'd try to do, myself. Although I went with a less-refined hand-crafted approach, rather than altering a font. But this looks DAMN SHARP.)
SANS SERIF:
(Wish I had the patience and skill to do something this creative and adorable!)
HANDCRAFTED:
(BAD. ASS. It's really more like an illustration that just happens to have letters in it!)
AT LEAST 2 OTHERS OF MY CHOOSING:
(Tree branches and roots seem to be in right now as far as designs go. I can't tell you how many t-shirts I see with a graphic of a tree and the roots beneath it... totally neat image and concept, but it's getting a little hipster-y I think. NOW on the other hand, THIS kind of thing I like. It's putting a good concept to use. There's JUUUUST enough hint of the letter "g" so that it doesn't become obscured, and the flow of the branches and leaves make up most of the form. Totally brutal.)
(this one has bonus cool points 'cause it's for (RED), the AIDS charity!)
(I just... I don't even... words.... wow.)
SANS SERIF:
HANDCRAFTED:
(BAD. ASS. It's really more like an illustration that just happens to have letters in it!)
AT LEAST 2 OTHERS OF MY CHOOSING:
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Inventory
Table of Contents:
-School Work
-Animation
-Personal
-Commission
-Comic
-Sketches
SCHOOL WORK:
Cash Cows
(pen and ink, marker)
Editorial illustration for an article about cashing in on popular cartoons.
(pen and ink, marker)
Editorial illustration for an article about cashing in on popular cartoons.
Martha Speaks
(Pencil and photoshop)
re-envisioned illustration for the children's book cover
(Pencil and photoshop)
re-envisioned illustration for the children's book cover
Matt and Trey
(pen and ink, watercolors on tracing paper on collage)
Topical illustration regarding the creators of South Park.
(pen and ink, watercolors on tracing paper on collage)
Topical illustration regarding the creators of South Park.
Winterfest
(photoshop)
Illustration project designing a rock poster
(photoshop)
Illustration project designing a rock poster
Beatles Stamps
(pencil sketch, photoshop)
Themed stamp illustrations
Yu-Gi-Oh!
(pencil sketch, photoshop)
Re-envisioning of a graphic novel
ANIMATION:
Sticky Situation
(Pencil and patience)
Sophomore studio final featuring a spider and some un-rendered fly paper.
Sophomore studio final featuring a spider and some un-rendered fly paper.
Walk Cycle with Character
(pencil, marker, colored pencil)
Final walk cycle assignment
Male Walk Cycle
(pencil)
Somewhat effeminate.
Heavy Walk Cycle
(pencil)
Fatty.
Elements
(pencil)
Fire, Water, Smoke
PERSONAL:
Happy Helladays
(pen and ink, photoshop)
Art used for a Christmas card, featuring an original character.
(pen and ink, photoshop)
Art used for a Christmas card, featuring an original character.
Sock with Knife
(micron pen, marker)
Practice page from my sketchbook, original character.
(micron pen, marker)
Practice page from my sketchbook, original character.
He Looks So Cold
(photoshop)
My take on an old Sesame Street skit.
Whom Do You Love?
(photoshop)
My take on Sideshow Bob (The Simpsons).
COMMISSIONS:
Audrey II and GlaDos
(markers, micron pens)
A commission for an online friend of the plant from Little Shop of Horros with the boss from the videogame Portal.
(markers, micron pens)
A commission for an online friend of the plant from Little Shop of Horros with the boss from the videogame Portal.
Stan and Kyle
(photoshop)
My take on two South Park characters, older.
COMIC:
Welcome to Hell (page 1)
(photoshop)
The first page of a comic I started.
More of this comic can be viewed here:
(http://real-faker.deviantart.com/gallery/25434135)
VARIOUS SKETCHES:
Objectives
As an artist, my objective, simply, is to create. To conceive characters, stories, art, and possibly music which may inspire people the way I've been inspired. I'd like to bring life and energy to a field that seems to be both in need of a revolution and brimming with excellence as it is. I'd like to not only entertain, but captivate an audience. I'd like to see less network executive meddling and more creator-driven cartoons. I'd like to see something different make a difference. I'd like to tell stories that people respond to, and craft characters who people actually care about. I'd like to make people laugh, and make them cry---I'd like to see people feel. I'd like to see people fall in love with ideas, with art, with celebrating life. I not only want to make, but I want to make a difference.
However, I also want to have a reliable source of income. So I aspire to get hired on working for a studio. I think personally, I'm very suited to storyboarding and pre-production work. However there is something very rewarding about working forever with still images and then sitting back and watching them come to life. To be honest, I would take a job doing just about anything to get my foot in the door. And I'll see where that takes me.
It'd be nice to do personal work on the side, and eventually gain some sort of recognition through that, but who knows how things will work out. I make with what I have, but I also work towards what I'd like to have.
Recently, I've started working on (and posting online) a comic, which is something I've wanted to do for a number of years but haven't had the confidence to do (I still don't have the confidence I'd like to, but I think a certain degree of doubt is healthy for an artist!). Still, I feel it's best to get my ideas out there at least, (somewhat underdeveloped as they may be) to see what kind of feedback I get, which can hopefully be applied and potentially be used to develop the concept further, perhaps even in to other media. I also like to do little things to try and break from the allegorical mold, so I've been formatting the pages in unconventional ways, such as utilizing the fact that a web page is essentially an infinite canvas. I would love to try more off-beat things in the future. It's currently in it's humble beginnings, but the response so far has been great.
In my illustration class last semester, our teacher asked us to write our ideal job description, 5 years from now. My response, I think, sums up a basic goal to have, no matter where I find myself at:
"to create visually-engaging, narrative art that is rich in both story and character, accompanied by strong emphasis on a dynamic, entertaining style."
However, I also want to have a reliable source of income. So I aspire to get hired on working for a studio. I think personally, I'm very suited to storyboarding and pre-production work. However there is something very rewarding about working forever with still images and then sitting back and watching them come to life. To be honest, I would take a job doing just about anything to get my foot in the door. And I'll see where that takes me.
It'd be nice to do personal work on the side, and eventually gain some sort of recognition through that, but who knows how things will work out. I make with what I have, but I also work towards what I'd like to have.
Recently, I've started working on (and posting online) a comic, which is something I've wanted to do for a number of years but haven't had the confidence to do (I still don't have the confidence I'd like to, but I think a certain degree of doubt is healthy for an artist!). Still, I feel it's best to get my ideas out there at least, (somewhat underdeveloped as they may be) to see what kind of feedback I get, which can hopefully be applied and potentially be used to develop the concept further, perhaps even in to other media. I also like to do little things to try and break from the allegorical mold, so I've been formatting the pages in unconventional ways, such as utilizing the fact that a web page is essentially an infinite canvas. I would love to try more off-beat things in the future. It's currently in it's humble beginnings, but the response so far has been great.
In my illustration class last semester, our teacher asked us to write our ideal job description, 5 years from now. My response, I think, sums up a basic goal to have, no matter where I find myself at:
"to create visually-engaging, narrative art that is rich in both story and character, accompanied by strong emphasis on a dynamic, entertaining style."
Artist Bio
As my name implies... my name is Erica Wester. And adverse to what the appellation alludes to, I'm actually appalled by alliteration.
I love cartoons, illustration, puppetry, figurative sculpture, design, writing, and drinking Dr. Pepper.
Animation has always fascinated me to about as far back as I can remember, and I've been drawing since I could pick up a pencil, so it seemed to be the most reasonable thing to work towards.
I'm also very passionate about music and not unlike drawing, it's something I've been teaching myself since my first Playskool toy keyboard. Given that both are based largely around accuracy in timing, I feel that music and animation go hand-in-hand. Of course I might just feel this way because I grew up in the Disney revival of the 90s, which was graciously littered with showtune-esque compositions.
Naturally, I'm also a big fan of musical theatre and live performance.
In recent years I've found myself particularly interested in creature effects and puppetry (live, stop-mo, and animatronic), because it combines a very interesting and almost eclectic set of skills, craft, and talent.
I am most comfortable in traditional mediums for animation (currently. We'll see how that changes in the next few years), as well as sketches and illustrations. I like to try new things, so I often find myself experimenting when I intend to render a traditional image. Typically I'll use art markers or watercolors, but I like find different ways to apply them from image to image. Recently I've been very into oldschool pen-and-ink.
Despite being more comfortable in traditional, I typically color and render images on the computer, usually through photoshop. Often I'll combine the two, opting to sketch and/or ink traditionally, and color digitally, as I feel much of the life and movement in my sketches is lost if I choose digital from the get-go.
I also love typography and playing around with fonts, but when I'm not finding something that's to my liking, I'll write it by hand. I love designing fonts and logos.
I love cartoons, illustration, puppetry, figurative sculpture, design, writing, and drinking Dr. Pepper.
Animation has always fascinated me to about as far back as I can remember, and I've been drawing since I could pick up a pencil, so it seemed to be the most reasonable thing to work towards.
I'm also very passionate about music and not unlike drawing, it's something I've been teaching myself since my first Playskool toy keyboard. Given that both are based largely around accuracy in timing, I feel that music and animation go hand-in-hand. Of course I might just feel this way because I grew up in the Disney revival of the 90s, which was graciously littered with showtune-esque compositions.
Naturally, I'm also a big fan of musical theatre and live performance.
In recent years I've found myself particularly interested in creature effects and puppetry (live, stop-mo, and animatronic), because it combines a very interesting and almost eclectic set of skills, craft, and talent.
I am most comfortable in traditional mediums for animation (currently. We'll see how that changes in the next few years), as well as sketches and illustrations. I like to try new things, so I often find myself experimenting when I intend to render a traditional image. Typically I'll use art markers or watercolors, but I like find different ways to apply them from image to image. Recently I've been very into oldschool pen-and-ink.
Despite being more comfortable in traditional, I typically color and render images on the computer, usually through photoshop. Often I'll combine the two, opting to sketch and/or ink traditionally, and color digitally, as I feel much of the life and movement in my sketches is lost if I choose digital from the get-go.
I also love typography and playing around with fonts, but when I'm not finding something that's to my liking, I'll write it by hand. I love designing fonts and logos.
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