and now for something a bit different

just playing around with some of my work, these lions were made out of card and patterns made with a pencil with a bit of paint for the cheeks applied with my finger. it has a quite retro look to it all. 

i've made a few more below

 

These images would work well in a pre-school children's book, its something that i might look into in the future though i would rather make a pre-school children's book first as they seem to be more simple and stylized compared to older age children's books, such as the books that Eric Carle makes. simple, stylized and full of wonderful colours and textures.

Paper Toy Making Book

i've been looking in to the realms of paper toy making for numerous reasons, one being possibly incorporating elements into some of my work. While looking for some books on this subject, I came across this book above on ebay. 

being pulled in by the nice modern cover i thought i would keep an eye on it and see what it would go for. surprisingly, i was the only bidder and won it for £6.50 including postage. this book is a first edition and was published in 1937, it is in really good condition for its age.

The only thing that i saw of the book was the cover picture shown on the auction page. so it was amazing to find when i opened the book this image below.

i don't think the scans show it but these images are still amazingly vibrant for their age. All together there are 4 pages known as plates full with these vivid colours, i wasn't expecting to see anything like this featured in the book so it was a real boon having these included in the book. the rest are below:

below is an exert page of one design which i thought shows the basic structure of how the instructions are given. i've actually made a few just to try it out so though the presentation of the instruction first look a bit daunting, they are actually well composed and straightforward.

Anyway, i will be looking out for more books to do with paper toy making as well as any other book that seems interesting to me, I might put up some things that i have found in the past and make a feature out of it. 

The Original teddy boy

one new illustration that i have just finished today.

Promotional envelope print

hi all, above is a lino printed envelope which i am using to hold all of my promotional stuff that is being sent out to folk. 

This was hand printed (no presses used at all) using only the back end of a spoon to transfer the ink to  the envelope. It's one of the beauties of any form of block printing in that you can do more or less all processes at home.

I left a space  at the top to leave room for the stamp and the ink stamps that it will get through the postal service as the actual ink used in this lino print is oil based, any sort of stamp marks would be easily wiped off regardless of the amount of striping back of the ink on the print.

with the striping back of the ink has made the 'please do not bend' (which was already on the original envelope) pink. another advantage of striping back ink is that it gives the print a texture and also reduces drying times (though this is still more or less a day or so to dry).

For anyone interested here is the lino below:

i used to use lino like paper in my student days, you can see that this lino still has some pencil marks from some of the rough designs that were later shaped through the cutting. I'm thinking about doing some more prints though i'll need better facilities before i can show what i can really do in this medium. 

New images for Halloween and more at moo.com

now available from moo.com are my new halloween images, there are six all together which can be used from cards to stickers. Moo.com also has pre-made packs of cards/postcards/stickers and so on which contain a mixture of designs or you can make your own selection. 

these were done as a bit of fun to break up designing the christmas designs which are also available now and can be used for many different products offered from moo. Here are a few christmas designs below:

There are twelve christmas designs in total and can be found here.

Mail Me Art book is now available to pre-order

Early this year, I sent an image designed on an envelope to the folks at mail me art. 

Mail me art was about designing/ decorating/doodling on to any form of packaging material and then posting it to the folks in charge of mail me art, then they would select the subs that would be featured in a compilation book of the same name and shortly after, an exhibition of the artworks. I was really interested in this when i heard about it. initially, it was not what was going on the envelope but what types materials would survive going through the postal service. 

I guess that is why I decided to cut out a design in lino and also mix it up with a graphics pen for my submission. I think that they got well over 600 submissions which had to be dwindled down into a selection for the book, I got word that my sub was going to be featured in the book but hadn't anything since, until now.

The book (pictured above) is available for pre-orders at amazon. (here. this is the uk amazon store, i think it might be on the us one as well) the book will be released in march 2009 and the exhibition will be at the Red Gate Gallery in London from the 3rd of April to the 9th of April where all pieces of artwork are going to be up for sale.

The book includes posted submissions from Jon Burgerman, Catalina Estrada, Dan May, Jeff Miracola, Michael Slack, Kristian Olson, and many more. 

New Logo design

I can't believe that another month has past since my last post, wow, though i have been busy making images for the science council among other things. 

above is my new logo that i've just finished for myself. This is now sort of becoming a tradition with me in which i create a new logo for myself though i think this time this ones a keeper. 

in designing this logo, i wanted to show the soft playfulness of my work while also having a clean friendly design which gives the impression of being approachable, this is the reason why he's tilting his hat as a sort of acknowledgment or friendly gesture.

the lettering was done by  using a fairly thick paint brush and not really thinking about making the letters fancy looking, its quite simple, naive in some respects but it adds to the simple friendly design that i was after. 

i have been planning to change the main image on this blog to something different which could be soon depending on time (maybe this weekend not sure)

Malta, YCN Live and the Biker Poster

As part of YCN Live, (I think it was around the end of this worldwide event.) I was asked if i wanted to be involved in having my work along with other illustrators/designers displayed around Malta via bus shelters.

when i first got the email there was one image which i had in mind as since it was going to be on a bus shelter, involving at least an element of travel would give over the message. So the biker was chosen for that reason alone with its slogan of 'ride to live & live to ride' being something that travelers would see getting on and off the bus seemed too good an opportunity to miss.

I'd like to thank the folks at the YCN for sending me these photos to mark the occasion, they seem to have come out well and look fantastic in situ. 

Again Thank to all at YCN, this was much appreciated. 

The Enigma Machine

Hi all, here is a new image that i have just finished which was inspired by the old 'Game & Watch' lcd games made by nintendo in the 80's.

I actually had a couple of the game & watch games in the past and have always the simple and very basic method of movement from these types of games, i guess that is the main reason way the the characters always had more animated stances to help give the illusion of movement.

Because of the 1 frame movement in these types of games nintendo actually came up with some clever parts of more complicated elements such as arms being used to move levers or other objects.  

I think that whatever type of work that you do, try adding a limiting factor to it, it could be anything such as working with only a few colours to making images without any lines, above all experiment and find a creative way to overcome the set limit, that is the only way to push the boundaries further.

the amazing hilda

another one, i might actually use this as part of my promotional work. just keeping it simple with the two colours based on more of an impulse idea.

ride to live & live to ride

A new image that i made today, I've had this idea in my head for a while now, so since i have some time for my own personal work now was the time to create this piece.

more to come hopefully soon.

New Business Cards

Going on a promotional slant here with the introduction of my new business cards which will be part of the promotional material that I will be sending to potential clients. there are other things that are part of this samples pack which i am going to put up here once they're out of the door but for now, I thought it would be great to show these cards for now.

I bought these cards from the new service that moo.com are now offering, so now instead of just going for the mini cards, there is now the option of full blown business cards. Like the mini cards, you can have as many designs as you want on your cards (which is something that i like about moo.com) so no more of just staying with one design on the set of business cards.

I like these kind of services that allow this as it gives you a bit more freedom than just aiming for one design to represent you.

Above all make it fun and playful. 

Islington Green Travel map

I've been quite busy of late, but have made up with the rare two posts on one day. I was planning to show the stages of going from the rough to the final like what other illustrator blogs do so i decided that the images done for the Islington green travel map would be a good start.

first off, i am only going to show two images from the set rather than document all, of course the new images  will be added to my website at a later date. 

just to begin on the brief, i was asked to produce four images that would be featured on the Islington green travel map involving alternative methods of travel rather than relying on the car. this brief had a very tight deadline which in turn only gave me roughly a day to produce four images of a certain complexity as these maps were going to be distributed during bike week. 

here is rough number 1, which is based on the theme of cycing

now my roughs are just that rough, i don't spend that much time drawing them as its more of a means of generating ideas and also showing the overall composition and how the objects interact with one another. this is the one that was selected off of the few that was sent.  

once approved, then its time to get creating, tidying up areas, generating and refining, to the final image below.

rough 2 is done in the same way though this one is  a theme on walking.

this one is more complex than the cycling one. to start with i had to convey walking in an urban environment without referencing any urban landscapes. this wasn't part of the brief but i wanted all the pieces to focus on the main parts of the illustration and not on the surroundings. I also think that giving characters whether its a more graphic or realistic design that they all have their own individual personalities, this not only enhances but makes it all more dynamic and generally more appealing.

the final of this one.

and finally, here are images of the actual map. first off the front and back.

and also the inside where the illustrations exist.

this map should be available now around London and is going to be in circulation for a year. so pick one up.

YCN Sweden Exhibition

A while ago, I was asked by the YCN to design a promotional image that would be sent to prominent names around Sweden, this in turn also included some selected works to be exhibited at the PUB in Stockholm at their restaurant called Publik. 

I was also going to get a copy of the promotional image which was going to be screen printed but had not heard anything until now, the good folks at the YCN have said that it is on its way and have kindly given me some images of the exhibition which is below. 

The exhibition is still going on so if you live in Sweden and are around Stockholm then you could see some of my work in the flesh. 

I was a teenage wookie

long time no see, i have completely missed april on this blog though i have been busy doing images for the YCN and also getting things prepared for sending in the promotional sense. 

I would like thank the folk who have contacted me saying that they like my work, i am very grateful for their positive responses to my work. Again thank you for your support.

There are more things in the pipeline with plans to add some new images to the website and sorting out the sample packs which i will be sending out soon.

New Images to buy at moo.com

The images above (and a few more new images) are now available to buy at moo.com. So now you can put these new images on cards, postcards, notes and even stickers through the designers section at moo.com.

I will be adding more to moo at some point so keep an eye out for more new designs in the future. 

Here is the link to my designers page : 

http://www.moo.com/designers/scott_balmer

or click on the link above in the website section.

Caustic Skull Munch

Another one for the series, right from the beginning I knew that I was thinking about creating a cyclops for this design. I also had thought about the blurb mentioning what it was made of as well. 

Initially, in the roughs of the cyclops I had him with two horns at either end which looked quite angular and also had one that was not a complete horn as such. though i changed that after thinking back to the old sinbad the sailor movies in which one of them as i remembered featured a cyclops with one horn. I can't remember the marvel behind the special effects, though i do recall that his team were considered the best at that time, so in a homage to the sinbad cyclops, i gave him one horn which i think sits better in this overall design than it would if it was two horns. 

Luck

hi all, I've posted a poster design above based on the theme 'luck'. though some might argue that this is more skill than luck, the fact remains that where there are winners and losers in any type of game there is always a degree of chance and luck regardless of what it involves.

I might enter this in the don't panic poster comp based on the same theme, though i was thinking that this would make a great promo postcard so i might get these made into my new postcards for this year.

New Website now up and running

As of today, anyone that visits my website will now be greeted by my new website design. The new site design is more cleaner and also offers better navigation while also making it easier for me to update compared to the old site which would take a few extra steps to get certain elements updated.

Along with the new website is the inclusion of new work which is split up into two galleries called 'drawn' and  'graphic' as I think it was better to give both styles their own gallery. 

So it you want to visit this newly redesigned site just click the link above or here.

Uncharted Waters

Hi all, just posting this image which i finished a couple of days ago. I seem to going down an Aqua adventure route lately for some strange reason. 

Moving on, I have taken the finger out and have been working on finishing my new website. All that needs to done is a little bit of tidying up and some testing to be done but other than that, it should be up by next week.

In other news, I am now on the YCN's agency page which showcases work to potential clients from around the world. Hopefully some work will come from it, but i'll just have to wait and see.

Lucifer's soul crunch

here's another image in the cereal box series.

caustic cereal

hello one and all, work has been on and off this past few weeks which has unfortunately side tracked the design of the new website. though i have been quite busy such as the commission that i had done for  Time Out Magazine London and also other things which is more on the promotional slant, But I am aiming to get back on track with the site and have it live soon.

I have been recently making my own takes cereal boxes after John K featured on his blog about the design that tony the tiger had, the post mostly focused on an old animated advert though, he did mention about the packaging designs, seeing the 50s box designs of tony with his soft edges and subtle colour decisions compared to the more humanoid form of today. to me the 50's design stands out more with the shapes, colours and eye catching design, this version would be easily identifiable from a distance rather than the bland design of the new box which is now lost a sea of similar bland cereal packaging. See for yourself, next time your in a supermarket, look at how jaded the designs are compared to the older more designed packaging from the past. 

I am going to continue making a series of images in the style of cereal boxes which i might make into a book in the future.

you can now get cards & other stuff with my designs at moo.com

Just as it is stated above, some of my designs are now available on moo.com. the good thing about moo is that you can select an image and use it for things like greeting cards, postcards, mini cards and even a stickers. i really like the options that moo offers to its customers and i will be adding some more designs and possibly a design pack such as cards with custom envelopes and so on. 

I will probably see about combining the stickers with something like postcards if that can be done. 

anyway, here is the link to my designs: www.moo.com/designs/designers/scott_balmer 

one more thing, I have also entered a design for a t shirt on a website called how2 t shirts. This site is similar the general idea of threadless in that it uses the scoring system in the aid on selecting the best designs. how2 just like the name suggest revolves around themes that involve these words in them such as i have entered my design in the how to peel a banana section. 

its worth checking out and if all goes well i might just see about entering some designs on threadless.

again here is the link to my design and feel free to any sort of comment good or bad is up to you.

www.how2tshirts.com/score/design/65

a couple of new images & info on new website

two posts in one day. i feel i have to make up for not updating this blog for over a month. 

above are two pieces that are more graphic in style, and for anyone that is interested, these like my other graphic work is made up of paint, cut paper and other things such as pencil lines created by using the ruler to create diamonds? or stars? (or whatever you want to call 'em).

i also want to mention that i have been working on a new website which will include new work as well as most of the work on the site currently. this new website will be possibly easier to navigate while also being easy for me to update regularly. I don't know exactly when i will put this new site up but it will be soon once i have sorted out areas that need sorting and the odd tweak here and there.

i was also hoping to tell some more news but it hasn't been sorted out yet so once it does, both the news section on my site and this blog will be updated so keep an eye on this space.