Showing posts with label studio ghibli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label studio ghibli. Show all posts

Saturday, 10 January 2015

Fangirl Geekery

Hello chums, Happy New Year to you all! I know ten days in to 2015 isn't exactly an early new year post but better later than never right?!

As I never really leave my house apart from trips to the cinema and quests to the post office I have nothing to tell you about really.

I do however have two brand new illustrations to show you! (yay)

as you might have guessed by the title of the post, my latest illustrations are of the geeky persuasion, since I am after all, a humongous geek and avid fangirl.

although I have lots of ideas for new illustrations and paintings, lately I can't seem to stop doodling existing characters, and in the run up to the New Year I spent a lot of my time cooped up working on these two new designs.

if you follow me on Instagram (and hey you really should!) then you'll have probably already seen my post about the illustrations, but if not, keep scrolling and you'll get to see them!  

first up is one for the video game fans, if you've ever played Super Mario then you'll no doubt be familiar with this pastel pretty! May I present the one and only Princess Peach


like most 90's kids, I grew up playing the Mario games and although Luigi was always my favourite character, I had a soft spot for the pretty in pink style of Peach! I like Princess Daisy as well but I think Peach wins hands down in the style stakes!


i've never drawn a video game character before but I can't think of a better one to start with than Peach (except for Zelda maybe, but I might draw her at some point as well!) since she is after all such a total Candy Doll! 


I created the Mario symbol pattern for the background myself from scratch (I seem to be getting a bit obsessed with creating repeating patterns lately!) and put together the rest using my original pencil sketch + some stuff I drew directly on the computer once I started adding colour.


 for my version of Peach the fun part was figuring out how to make the hair work + trying to come up with tattoo ideas for her arms!I hope I did her justice anyway. Prints and merch available HERE

alright that's probably enough about Princess Peach, my next new illustration features another Japanese designed character, this time it's San from the amazing Studio Ghibli anime Princess Mononoke


if you're not familiar with the work of Studio Ghibli then you should definitely check out their films asap! Ghibli is the powerhouse of animation magic behind the most incredibly animated films like Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Ponyo (to name but a few, but there are many more and you should go watch them!)


Princess Mononoke was made in 1997 but I only saw it about three years ago (at the behest of my friend Danny who knows more about Studio Ghibli films and Japanese anime than anyone else I know!). Personally my favourite Ghibli film is probably My Neighbour Totoro or maybe Howl's Moving Castle but Princess Mononoke is definitely very brilliant, hence why I wanted to have a go at drawing San.


as you can probably figure out from her attire, San is a warrior girl, she was raised by wolves she helps defend and protect the forest from humans and monstrous spirits.


I considered drawing San in full Candy Doll mode with coloured streaks in her hair and tattoos etc, but it was nice to do a more 'normal' fanart piece for once, sticking to stuff from the animation and not going too crazy on colours.


one of my favourite things from the film is the group of little tree spirits called Kodama with rattling heads and whimsical expressions. So I had to add a bunch to the drawing + the banner has the title of the film in Japanese. Prints and merch available HERE

so yeah, you should totally watch the film if you haven't already seen it!

and I can't really think of anything else to say so I should probably just draw this post to a close and stop typing rubbish.

I hope you like the new illustrations, i'm currently working a few more so you can expect posts about those in the not too distant future. Probably.

alrighty then, until next time, farewell my friends!

Monday, 25 October 2010

Adoration of Animation ♥


so... apologies for the lack of posts over the past few days, i guess i've been enjoying my time off College a little too much!


i've basically spent the past 2 days just watching movies (with the odd bit of house cleaning thrown in) and pretty much chilling on the sofa. i'm not going to lie... 


it's been blissful but now the real world beckons again and i have commission work to get done and lots of chores to do!


but before i morph back into an artistic and domestic goddess i thought i'd do a little post about one of my fave things in life...
Animation



it's no secret that i'm a big kid (it's true... i know it and you know it) and i have a particular penchant for animated films of all kinds from flawlessly perfect CGI creations such as Finding Nemo, Shrek, UP (and the up and coming Disney film... Tangled)


right back to super duper painstakingly genius stop motion flicks like the Corpse Bride, Wallace and Gromit, Fantastic Mr Fox etc...


heck... i even love foreign animation like Belleville Rendezvous (Les Triplettes de Belleville),  Persepolis or of course... just about anything that comes out of Studio Ghibli! (Howl's Moving Castle, Nausicaa - Valley of the Winds, Laputa - Castle in the sky, Ponyo etc etc etc)


i'm going to be honest though... i am a massive Disney fan, 

true i don't always love what they do but when it comes to animation... they get it spot on almost every single time! 


although to be honest, it's also a long time since i've seen a film as charming as Studio Ghibli's Ponyo (yes... i know Disney helped produce it to the Western World but it is still a Ghibli creation)



but seriously now... words cannot describe how excited i was to see the Princess and the Frog when it first came out (and yes... i did see if 4 times SO WHAT) and i have watched it over and over again since...


you may be thinking 'grow up' but i literally do not want to such a thing! in fact... as long as there are animated films and cartoons on tv i shall continue to sit and watch them, enthralled as if i were still 5 years old!

i don't know what it is about animation that makes me so god-damn happy! i love everything about it, the colours (or lack thereof), the music, the songs, the story, the characters... it's all good


it's not just Disney though... it's that moment in an animated film when the music fits so perfectly with what's happening on the screen that it's like magic...

audios and visuals in perfect harmony, THAT is why i love animation so much! (the ocean scene in Belleville Rendezvous is a perfect example of this, boats and waves in perfect sync with Mozart's Mass in C Minor, K 427, "Great"- Kyrie. it is a truly epic scene and a wonderful feat of imagination and animation... genius


i also love the way that animation isn't just for children (contrary to popular belief) since half the time, the writers pop in more than a fair share of jokes that are clearly targeted at the grown ups in the cinema audience (Shrek... i'm looking in your direction here especially) but that just adds to their charm


you really grow up with these films and i find that every time i re-watch one of the old animated films i remember from my childhood, i spot something new or pick up on another joke i wouldn't have understood when i was little.


so going back to the music fitting with the animation...

 today i've self indulged a little by watching both of the genius creations that are Fantasia (the original) 1940 version and Fantasia 2000 (the December 1999 version... in case the title wasn't enough of a give away as to when it came out!) 


in case you've never seen either... basically they are some of the best examples of animation i've seen (considering the dates they were made). each film contains very little talking, a little bit of live action footage, dozens of original animated characters (+ a few friendly faces), lots of super abstract animated scenes and wonderful scores that interact with the animation seamlessly. 

the original 1940's version is wonderful but i kind of prefer the 2000 version.

so... favourite part of Fantasia 2000???

the Firebird scene without a doubt! 

there is something so ethereally magical and spectacular about watching Igor Stravinsky's Firebird Suite played out on a screen by a beautifully animated Spring Sprite, a kind Elk and the truly terrifying Firebird that she awakens by accident in the nearby volcano... it is just gorgeous! 



i know everyone always loves 'the Sorcerer's Apprentice' bit with Mickey but... the Firebird is my fave part! it just wins, hands down...


so what other animated films do i adooooore?!


well... there's 'My Neighbour Totoro' of course!!!!!



now i know i'm always going on about Studio Ghibli films but 'My Neighbour Totoro' really is one of my absolute favourite animated movies EVER 


(the top fave is probably a tie between another Studio Ghibli masterpiece, Spirited Away and my favourite Disney film Beauty and the Beast







so back to Totoro, if you've never seen this... go and watch it NOW!

that's an order...

it's a smashing film, cute characters and that's before you get to meet Totoro and the Cat Bus... trust me, it's amazing!

Ghibli at it's best... 







and do you know what... i think that's enough for today! i've rambled on about the magic and genius of animation for long enough, i'll no doubt post about it in the future but for tonight,

that's all folks...

◕‿◕ ♥ xX



ps - if you enjoyed the post and the prettyful plethora of movie posters it contained... why not leave me a comment telling me what YOUR favourite animated film is???