here's some stuff that is currently in the pipeline between my mind and the physical world. it gets from one to the other by taking a magical trip through some sort of printing process. then i can distribute these unsolicited materials ad nauseum. i do this to maintain my presence in the land of editorial illustration.

from time to time, mr. steve shares his favorite sources with his little lambs and today is one of those occasions. if you already know of these, pay 'em forward won'tcha?

gotprint: offers many sizes and several stocks (no chicken) also groovy round corners. the printer of choice for all work•detroit postcards.

VGkids: awesome. ypsilanti based.

MOO: some groovy sizes and packages. i have seen some MOO products floating around GradStudentVille.

It's just about that time when I.P. projects are due.  You remember what I.P. is, don't you?  Okay, well it stands for 'Integrative Project, i.e. A&D seniors create their own year-long projects which they develop over time with the constant input of two professors and two grad students.  As the deadline quickly approaches, I've taken it upon myself to figure out what exactly is going on with my project...

I spent the majority of I.P. thinking that my drawings would lead up to another medium, like an animation or paintings.  However, once I realized that the timid, intimate nature of the drawings themselves have a strong relationship with the actual subject matter, I chose to stick with the series of drawings.  It's not settling with what I have, but rather re-working my situational drawings and really honing in on the mood and unspoken narrative of the character, Boxhead.

First Step: sketching out the gesture of the figure

Middle of the Road: a clean-cut style

Final Product: a rough-around-the-edges, lived-in drawing

Rinse and repeat for each drawing.  It's a time consuming process, but well worth it.

Hi.  I'm Ashley and I'll be blogging as I finish up my IP project this semester.  What’s IP you ask?  It stands for ‘Integrated Project,’ but that’s just a fancy term for a year-long thesis project required of every senior here at A&D.  IP is the first time A&D students are able to come up with their own projects, which can be very intimidating.  You come to love it for the freedom and control over the work, but it's all too easy to resent it for the mental and emotional toll it takes on you as time goes on.

Here are some preliminary drawings for my IP project.  It's about an alter ego, suitably named Box Head, who struggles to cope with everyday situations.

What I enjoy most about my project (and drawing in general) is seeing how other people respond to the image.  I can usually be found drawing when I should be working, using the opportunity to grab the reactions of my coworkers.  Oh, that’s another aspect I like best about drawing/illustration:  it’s portable!!

One more thing, I work at a movie theater…

Until the next free moment I get off school/work/internship,

ashley

#1 Beth Weintraub

Lately I've been wanting a small video camera to play around with and do some editing. My nephew just received a Flip camera, so I decided to check out their site. While I discovered my Canon camera has about the same resolution as these things, I decided against one. However, while browsing on the Flip Camera's website I made a discovery of a pretty neat artist....

Her name is Beth Weintraub. Extremely soft & feminine, Beth works with etchings on metal & paper. You can see her Flip camera designs here, you can also see more fine art pieces on her personal website.

Your best bet of checking out her work is to google her name, there's more work there under google images it seems than on her personal site.

#2 M + O Studio

Aren't these just the neatest tights you've ever seen? They're by a group in France, I believe tied to the M+O Studio of Spain, which does amazing architectural design and urban planning. These tights are all hand printed (makes me want to screenprint tights myself) and come in a lot of humorous designs. Too bad they're only available abroad... 

Here's their limited edition monster designs, you can see more on their site.

#3 Jeremy Fish

If you are familiar with Upper Playground, you no doubt know Jeremy Fish's work. Upper Playground is an online store (with a couple locations out west) that showcases designs by graffiti and other underground artists. I love Jeremy's San Francisco designs, just spotted these two animal shirts revealing what goes into the belly of these beasts. Check out his stuff at Upper Playground's site.