Candy Characters and Commissions ★

so today i've been at home all day, curled up editing design files for a brand new commission

believe it or not but yesterday i genuinely DID have a blog post all ready to go... but it was a long day yesterday spent chained to my desk at college editing stuff, writing my SOI, talking to tutors, chatting to fellow HNDers, researching picture books, sketching storyboards and even holding a little business meeting over the phone for aforementioned new commission!

this meant that when i eventually got home i sort of accidentally fell asleep and by the time i woke up it was too late to post!!!

Anyway, in the last blog post I promised you some new Candy Characters and you know i'd hate to disappoint so...

(Copyright © Jade Boylan 2011. All Rights Reserved.)

they're not really 'new' per se, just new outfit designs I guess! + there are some more tweaked girls playing the parts of two NEW Candy Princesses

i'm not entirely sure where i'm going with these, so i guess they're a sort of collective work in progress for the time being!

so far this term (well, all 5 days of it!!!) i've not really got a specific plan in mind for what i'd like to do so who knows, I might end up pursuing some picture book illustration again! but whether that means finishing 'Where's Charlie?” or coming up with a full story for the Cupcake Princess... i'm not really sure!

we'll all just have to wait and see...

* * *

In other news... there isn't really any other news! I HAVE finished a new Pinup girl but i'm not going to share her with you... just yet!

back to college tomorrow where hopefully i'll get to spend the morning in the Ceramics studio whipping up some groovy little bits and bobs using clay!

so until next time, that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX 

Donuts and Drawings ★

so this morning i decided to stay in and have a nice relaxing day, maybe edit a few files, maybe start my new commission but unfortunately my email inbox had other ideas...

i had an URGENT file to work on for a local client so i spent the morning trying to sort that and to be honest this afternoon i've just lazed about listening to 40's and 50's music and eating ice cream!!!

it's been a truly gorgeous day here today though, very sunny and surprisingly mild out, yet i've still managed to spend the day cooped up inside like a recluse!!!

however i have also been busily researching a very awesome artist + art exhibition for my college research file

so today it was research about a super duper American Pop artist - Kenny Scharf

i've seen Kenny Scharf's work before and i really like his wacky and wonderful paintings and sculptures but recently a gallery has collected up some of his most  awesome (in my opinion) work and displayed it all together under the title 'three dozen'

scroll down and you'll understand why...

that's right, he also paints donuts!!!!!!! but not just any donuts... he paints the most incredible, delectable and downright intergalactically amazing donuts ever!

 he paints them using oil paints as well which makes them all the more spectacular i think

i would have given anything to have gone to the Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York where the exhibition was being held, but sadly my chances of making it over to NY any time soon are pretty nonexistant! add to that the fact that the exhibition finished on February 26th and there really isn't much point me bothering!

check out Kenny's website here for more of his awesome artwork - Kenny Scharf

geez they're making me hungry! luckily i still have a donut left to eat...

* * *

in other news, i've been busy working on two little co-characters to go with this lovely little lady

so without any further ado... here they are

in case you haven't worked it out yet, each one is inspired by a different carnival style snack so the first one was the Cupcake Princess, then we have the Popcorn Prince and the Candy Floss/Cotton Candy princess

here are some close ups

the pattern on the new princess' dress has this sort of circus/carnival theme with ballons and candy floss and clowns

you can't see the Prince's shoes in the framed version but here they are

while the girls are kind of kawaii mixed with a little dash of versailles fashion, i drew the boys outfit based on the style of some of my friends, although the little jacket was inspired by the Stella McCartney kidswear range for Gap.

i'm not sure where they'll go next but i've already started to draw some other characters, an older sister for the Cupcake Princess + some cute pets for these three

stay tuned!

* * *

nothing else to report, i still feel kind of ill but i've got college tomorrow so i guess i have to press on with it all regardless

that's all folks...

◕‿◕ ♥ xX

10/10/10 ♥

so apparently it's a pretty special day today?!

10th of the 10th of 2010

yeah yeah yeah... so it's unusual and all that but to be honest the day hasn't been any more amazing than any other normal sunday!

i've spent the day in my pj's editing photos and working on logo commissions, chatting on skype and watching a bit of 'Mad Men'

all in all it's been a nice day

so... relatively short post tonight (well it IS a Sunday after all...)

i guess this post will act as the first official grand unveilling of my Creepalicious slightly Halloween inspired Pin-up Girl illustration!

so about a week and a half ago i made a few photo-copies of some of my old Pin-up Girls, i messed around with some acrylic and a bit of watercolour before settling on some good old fashioned coloured pencil crayons

so aaaages ago using THIS photo of the gorgeous Amanday Seyfried from the Vanity Fair 'vanities' Pin-up series...

i drew THIS illustration...

and using a grayscale photocopy of THIS girl... i ended up colouring it like THIS...

she's supposed to be coloured in the style of Angelique Houtkamp (more info in THIS post - 

Patterns and Pinafores ♥) but it wasn't easy since the image i was working on was an A3 photo copy AND i have rubbish pencil crayons, however i did my best and with a little bit (aka A HELL OF A LOT) of photoshop editing i ended up with this...

so yeah... you can see why she's a Halloween inspired Pin-up i think! i did my best though, i definitely wanted her to be a tattooed pin-up. initially she was supposed to be a sort of witchy pin-up (what with the wicked witch of the West green for the bikini) but i hadn't planned on how i was going to do the tattoos. 

to begin with i downloaded some basic tattoo photoshop brushes but they were a bit naff so i had a better idea...

i scoured Angelique's website (Salon Serpent) and using screencaps from her prints and paintings i painstakingly turned 30 of her tattoo designs into tattoo brushes for this illustration.

you see... i TOLD you it was taking me a while! now you know why! 

i guess since so much has been done to the original scan you could call this a sort of digital painting but either way, i'm happy with how she's turned out. 

it took FOREVER to edit... but it's done now!

***

that's it really, i've been so busy tonight working on logo re-designs i forgot to make anything to eat!

so... off to microwave some popcorn and flick through the latest issues of Vogue and Elle and maybe pop on a DVD, i'm thinking Hot Fuzz since i have pretty much spent the last hour and a half quoting it with Mike on skype!

so i guess

that's all folks...

arrivederci mia amicos e amicas

♥ ◕‿◕ ♥ xX

EDIT: oh i almoooost forgot about the whole '300th facebook fan' shout out malarkey!!!


ok so after much deliberation and checking of the fan page (HERE - Jade Boylan Illustration) it seems that the 300th fan was... Judith Vernon


now this is extra coolio and merveilleux because it JUST so turns out... that Judith is one of my old teachers from Primary school!


she was my form tutor when i was 5-6 so will forever be 'Mrs Vernon' to me!


anyway, a big THANK YOU to her for being my 300th fan on facebook and thank you to everyone else who has 'liked' the page since as well


thank yoooouuuu ◕‿◕ xX

live projects

So, 2 weeks in and once again I’m beginning to struggle! This term we have been given a series of ‘live projects’ to work on. These include a competition to design a pice of artwork for the local hospital, a competition to paint a scene of Douglas (the island's capital) to hang in the local museum, a competition in which we produce a body of work (watercolours and sketches) of local landscapes as well as making the yearbook for the College Art dept leavers. The only reason I am struggling is because I have so many ideas swirling around my head I don’t know where to start. So in true ‘me’ style I have spent this weekend drawing things, things that have absolutely nothing to do with my college work :-D it’s a bank holiday weekend as well  which means I will undoubtedly spend the rest of today drawing things! Blissful indeed :-)

Here’s the first finished drawing of today. 'link' Enjoy… L2a xxx :-D