F&M, a little animated

Just got this from Ben at AC, it's a small flash animation by Luke Twyman bringing a bit of life to my Fairy Tales and Monsters illustration to promote the festival. This will be playing on VDU screens at Kings Place this week. iAS I have said before if you have the chance to go, GO, the list of events and activities seem to be getting bigger and better by the day, in fact we are just planning some projections at the moment too! For more info on the latest additions to the programme click here.

Monster mail

It's always nice to get something in the post, that's not part of the usual deluge of direct mail, phone bills and bank statements!
That's why those nice people at Arctic Circle are asking if anyone would like a copy of their latest poster/leaflet featuring my paper cut for the Fairy Tales and Monsters festival. If you fancy a copy then just send your name and address to here: http://www.jointhecircle.net/mailing_list.php OR email the penguins directly at ben@jointhecircle.net and a copy will wing it's way to you.

Please note the enchanting Viking models are not included!

Fairytales and Monsters: the final cut.

All my paper cuts have healed up, my scalpel is cooling off in it's case and the Fairy Tales and Monsters art work should start appearing across London from tomorrow. At the moment I'm busy working out designs for tote bags, t-shirts and badges to tie in with the festival as well as suggesting a few activities to keep people busy in the foyer of Kings Place. So stay tuned for more bits as they arrive!

As well as creating the main paper cut illustration I also found myself creating a typeface, which is something I hadn't planned on! After going through all the typefaces I had and a few on line suppliers I started drawing my own. The type face took inspiration from the highly decorative letter types used in storybooks and fairy tales. I wanted it to have something of the decorative drop cap about it, without feeling too cartoony. I also felt that the characters should be linked somehow, as if they had been woven together like the elements of a good story. I know it's not Helvetica on the legibility scales but I'm happy with how it turned out and thanks to all those who gave their opinions along the way ( you know who you are)!

The typeface in development, trying to find a balance between legibility and sensibility.

All in all it looks like it should be a great few days of music, events and fun, well worth catching if you can. For more info pop over to here.
I was also fortunate enough to have the design featured on the Design Week blog which is always nice.

The final logo

Fairytales and Monsters

 I have been working on an illustration for the next big Arctic Circle event which will be called Fairytales and Monsters. Like the last one it is a paper cut, this time cut from a single A3 sheet, it is nearing completion and is starting to come together.

As the event is called Fairy tales and Monsters, it gave me a great opportunity to go back through the classics to garner references to include in the illustration. As I mentioned in a previous post I loved the silhouette illustrations by Jan Pienkowski, the beautiful fluidity in paintings by Arthur Rackham and Edmund  Dulac (see the above illustration). I have managed to squeeze in 25 fairytales and monsters, most from classic sources such as storybooks but a few cinematic references have crept in to, see how well you do and how many you can find! I'll keep you posted on the illustrations development in the mean time here is my starting sketch and a few pictures of how it is looking at the moment.

I have even been playing around with projecting the design on the walls as well. Here is a snap I took of the projection on the walls of the meeting room in my office, I think a more romantic environment could be found but I don't work in an enchanted castle!