SCAD Sidewalk Arts Festival 2012

Every year, SCAD hosts the Sidewalk Arts Festival in Forsyth Park. Every artist gets a square and a box of chalk. It is one of my favourite events at SCAD, since the whole community comes out to view the art. People come by your square and talk to you, comment on your art, share stories, etc. They also bring out all their cute dogs, and this year there was even a tortoise (it was huge)!

This is the square I drew, now in the alumni section:

I loved my toucan design. I'll certainly draw him again for a full-fledged illustration.

For the background I just went with freestyle whatever. Now I wish I had done something exclusively green and vibrant. I had an original plan for the background that I ended up scrapping because it was going to take too long and I wouldn't be done by judging time. I didn't win anyway, but I still really like my toucan.

Either way, I always intended to leave some of the sidewalk showing since I love the contrast of the dull gray of the sidewalk, which makes the chalk stand out.

The "Pura Vida Costa Rica" I added on a whim. We do have lots of beautiful tropical birds there, and who knows? Maybe some of the festival goers have visited CR too. So it was me saying: "I'm Costa Rican, come say hi."

The Magician King by Lev Grossman

This is a scene from The Magician King by Lev Grossman. I loved the image of two lone chairs sitting on a walled beach at the end of the world, so I just had to draw it myself.

 

The original image is 11.5" x 8.25", but I cropped out the excess on the sides for a more snug composition. 

In the book, there is actually a really interesting door that opens the arch, but I figured it would be more appealing to have it open in this particular composition. The door would be better seen up close anyway,  so I may still draw that some day, especially since keys and keyholes are quite fun to draw.

I am very pleased with how the colours turned out, even though they're not anywhere close to the colours I had initially pictured when reading the book. I have no qualms about using different colours than what I imagined, seeing as these worked to my liking.

Maze for Drawchange

You may have seen my posts about it them before, but in case you haven't Drawchange is a non-profit organization that brings art into the lives of children of low resources. Because of the communities they live in, these are children who may not normally be enticed to be creative. Drawchange introduces them to a number of ways to be creative, which helps them envision ways to find joy in their lives, despite the circumstances they may be in.

The latest project I completed for them is a maze. I had a game designer, Erik Lueck, design the maze for me since I was short of time and I hear he is quite experienced with mazes!

This maze will be in Drawchange's magazine "Let's Create!" Every purchase supports Drawchange's cause. I will update with another post once the magazine is released.

I love supporting Drawchange because theirs is definitely a cause I believe in and have personally applied to my life for as long as I can remember. In the past, drawing and creativity as catharsis have lead me to happiness (or at least temporary distraction from upsetting situations). With enough practice, this can eventually lead to the development of a talent, and that is something no one can take away from you, and that too, is another reason to be happy.

Light Bulb Pattern

This is my first ever try at a repeat pattern, for Electric Keychain's newest project. I figured light bulbs would be great for a pattern since they come in varied shapes and sizes, and since I hadn't made any illustrations with light bulbs yet. Not bad for a first try, I think!

I have loved light bulbs since I was a kid. On trips to the grocery store, I would often stop by the aisle with the bulbs, just to look at them, and my mom or dad would come over and tell me, "Tati, we don't need any more light bulbs."

Why do I like light bulbs? I just always have. It's easy to take them for granted but I just think light bulbs are beautiful. They're as shiny, round, and fragile as any piece of glass jewelry. Just because they serve a practical purpose does not make them any less interesting or aesthetically appealing.

I now have a collection of light bulbs that started growing without me even realizing it. Most of them are burnt out, only a few of them are vintage, a lot of them are like any common household light bulb that you've ever seen, but I still like to keep them in my collection despite their abundance.

 The last one in this picture is the first one in the next.