fake album covers
i learned about an internet game where you create a new album cover for an indie rock band. the results (with an average of usually eight minutes spent on each) have been peculiar and amusing. here are my examples:
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illustration friday: homage
“homage,” for illustration friday. india ink and charcoal on cardstock (back of an index card).
date begun: friday, 28th march, 2008
date completed: saturday 29th march, 2008
artist comments: i’m very happy with the way this one turned out. of course, the scan is quite blotchy (the full-size version of the scan is not so pixelated as this page’s scaled-down version), but the version i can hold in my hands is quite satisfying. ink was applied with rapidograph; charcoal was direct application blended with finger and cotton swab.
this is my rendering of probably the only monkey species native to the united states.
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ugly food
i’m normally not so turned off by holidays, even ones i don’t celebrate. but seriously, this has to be the ugliest food i have ever seen. the word ‘easter’ does not come to mind when i see this.
illustration friday: heavy
“heavy,” for illustration friday. ink and charcoal on cardstock (the back of an index card).
date begun: sunday, 16th march 2008.
date completed: monday, 17th march, 2008.
artist comments: working myself back into the combination of charcoal and ink. the rapidograph is still going strong. scanning the work, however, leaves something to be desired. though i can scan these in as black and white photos (which saves disk space–not that i have to worry about that so much just yet), the gradients and half-tones that come from the use of charcoal sometimes don’t come through. note the ’smudges’ on the subject’s shirt and skin…it’s somewhat irritating.
i’m fairly pleased with this work, personally. the first thing that came to mind with the word ‘heavy’ was someone holding up a huge rock; to me, this looks more like some dude spelunking, and wondering whether the ceiling will come crashing down upon him.
i don’t know exactly why i put the subjects of these works in these kinds of situations. 
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illustration friday: garden
“garden,” for illustration friday. rapidograph pen on index card.
date begun: friday, 7th march, 2008
date completed: saturday, 8th march, 2008 (technically, just after midnight)
artist comments: i finally broke out one of my rapidographs. i am certainly glad i did. this was quite pleasing to complete…i’m very happy with the rapidograph! however, i was using a yellow index card with the hope that i could simply display the illustration in greyscale…the result was all blotchy and fouled up, so i relegated it to being posted in colour. no big deal; the original is on a coloured index card anyway. did i mention i love the feel of the rapidograph?
i originally had a vision of a gardener being attacked by insects and vermin from his garden, and it morphed more into a conceptual or character study of some dude being covered with worms. fine by me.
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untitled poem
no instructions
so i sit
i wait
no need to breathe
so the breast is still
no need to eat
so the belly does not ache
no need to speak
so the tongue does not move
i am not impatient but it cannot be denied
that i am forced to wait much too long
if only my lord was here
so i could voice my thoughts
but do i think at all?
have i thoughts I call my own?
perhaps i simply understand, then react
who can say?
this much is clear:
when i am told to do so, i take action as proscribed
when the action is done, i await further command
somehow, just at that moment,
the pale glow alerts me
to my lord’s presence
though these lungs no longer need breath
inhalation is a reflex
anticipating a purpose once more.
i want an ambition
i need my lord
please tell me: what’s next?
for with no breath, no hunger, no desire but to follow,
i am nothing without you.
///
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illustration friday: leap
“leap,” for illustration friday. marker on construction paper.
date begun: friday, 29th february, 2008.
date completed: friday, 29th february, 2008.
artist’s comments: some pencil from the original sketch may still be showing through; i didn’t bother erasing anything. the particular marker used was an old staedtler-mars brush pen; i like the effect you can develop by varying the pressure of the implement. this also marks the second piece in a row that is in colour; i don’t see this so much as a stylistic change, but more of a matter of convenience, to be honest. i do like the fact i’m using different media, however, as it seems to suit me these days.
i’d picked up one of my old ‘lone wolf and cub’ comic books (some call them ‘graphic novels,’ which actually does them justice, since they are gorgeous story books) yesterday evening, and i was inspired to create a picture from the same place and era: edo period japan. if you’ve not seen the lone wolf and cub books, i highly recommend them. the art isn’t all about samurai slashing and killing each other, although there’s plenty of that. however, the pastoral scenes, and obsessive attention to detail can unfailingly immerse you in the story. the film series is also stunning cinema.
The images displayed within this blog and where indicated are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
