MACABRE !!

Horror, Thriller and Comedy are one of my favorite genre ingredients for the brew of a deliciously entertaining animation film. This being so, because the creatives from every aspect of the film can unleash their imagination.  Be it the story, design or animation, each can be taken to a whole new realm.Well, two really amazing films, "Paranorman" a phenomenal stop motion film since Coraline and "Hotel Transylvania" the first feature length film directed by Genndy Tartakovsky  (the director and producer of animated television series which are milestones in the history of animation such as Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack) released world wide this month. The trailer and promotional artworks  are making the wait tougher. So to make my patience count i created this art work, which is all Photoshop. Below is a tiny tutorial, hope this helps and interests you.

As i work on the visual i feel more can be added to the artwork which will not only help the composition but also the mood and value of the visual. Do not shy away from the details but do not let them suppress your original idea. Use the flow of the form ,colors ,light, composition to direct towards the focus of the visual. 

     

Start coloring and mostly what you have to keep in mind is using colors which convey the intended mood and the focus remains intact.It helps to have the elements on different layers so you can edit them as and when you want. 

At this stage you should let your imagination run wild. The last of your worries should be how you are going to execute it. Sometimes you can also start off with writing down all that you wish to show in a visual. Do not hold your self back as you can edit the image at further stages.

SUPERSONICS!!

OLAAA !! Another great work by Craig Thompson  "HABIBI",  read and appreciated. To state the obvious, inspired beyond words. Excellent adaptation of cultural aesthetics, stark and balanced contrasts with elegant compositions. The drawings are full of life with brilliance of brush textures. Last but not the least an intriguing story which takes unimaginable turns. Next, i am back to reading a classic "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells gifted to me by a friend, and i am loving it so far. Well, a few weeks back i was at Blue Frog, a brilliant pub in South of Mumbai, to attend a show by a friend's band called the , "SUPERSONICS".Great band, do attend their performance, if they are playing in your city ever. I reached the venue much before the show started, so ended up making a couple of sketches. Here they are inked and colored by brush pens and  Photoshop.

TIME TO CELEBRATE!!

DIVA!!

THE GRUB!!

Rohan on the guitar, SUPERSONICS!!

RAIN RAIN

yippee!! Here they are, the big, black and blaring clouds. It has started pouring!! I have survived another torturous summer.The summer of Mumbai can be considered quite moderate as compared to another metro cities of  India like Calcutta, Delhi or Ahmadabad, but even then, i am  glad it is over.  Though the rain adds to the baffling  traffic of the city but what it does to the weather and the green makes the former suffer-able. Recently i was hooked to another one of american sitcoms, The Big Bang Theory. It doesn't have great soundtracks to it ,contrary to "SCRUBS" . But it is hilarious beyond comparison. It is mostly about the life of a few physicists and their friends. The show apart from being quality comedy sitcom, also maintains it's scientific accuracy by involving real physicists for the script of the show. For instance the physics problems written on the boards, etc. Below are some explorations using some popular figures. They are done using flash and a few touch ups with Photoshop.

                                          Some explorations with popular figures.

WINTER END!!

Well if you ask any one in the city of Mumbai about it's winters, they will probably laugh. That is because seemingly there are only two seasons here summer and rainy. Well some how we did experience a certain amount of chill beginning of this year because of certain climate anomaly. Undoubtedly it was pleasant and as the heat is rising i am dreading the summers which will be here to stay till mid June. Anyways, below are some animals made on flash and some touch ups on Photoshop. The difficult bit of this illustration was to decide upon the cute baby animals, as majority of them had that factor in them in excess. I further intend to make a calender out of it, hence twelve of them.

Here it is, the babyanimal calender. Do send me a message in case any of you want a printable copy of it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! WELCOME 2012

Wishing everybody a wonderful new year ahead ! It is my heartiest wish that this year is full of happiness and joy and may your every wish come true. 2011 ended with release of some amazing dance and melodious numbers, among the endless list a few are "Move like Jagger" by Maroon 5, "Mr Saxo Beat" by Alexandra Stan, "Why this Kolaveri Di" by Dhanush and Anirudh and so on. Well, what better way to start the new year than a sketch of Lord Ganesha, the god of luck and well being.

Sketch on Flash

YEAR END!!

"FAMOUS DETECTIVE STORIES", by Wilco Publishing House is the book i finished reading this month, as i was on the way to attend a college friend's wedding. Each story in the compilation and their author are exceptional and worth a read, but a few of them have made a permanent place for themselves in my list of favorites. I really enjoyed reading the, "The Gold-Bug" by Edgar Allen Poe, and coincidentally found an omnibus of his work. I am absolutely in love with it, but unfortunately i find very little time for it. 2011 has come to an end. This year has been tough and fabulous, it taught me a lot and strengthened me. Adios 2011!! Well, below is an illustration i have been working on whenever i found some free time, inspired by the spirit of Christmas.

All flash and a bit of Photoshop.

All flash and photoshop

This illustration above is another one for the Ability magazine. Ability magazine focuses on stories related to differently able people. I personally feel it is a fabulous effort and i contribute to it without commission as and when it is required of me and i can. Below are some product illustrations i had made for the much popular Chumbak Products.

UPDATES

I am really happy to share that my short film, "RAMATIYA", was nominated in the best professional short film category at ASIF India, and it won. I am really thankful all over again to NID, Ahmedabad and the ASIFA India team. More than acknowledging that i have created something worth recognition, the award has given me encouragement and has inspired me to create something even better. My attempt is not to fail them and myself. Fortunately, i was able to attend the event, which was fabulous. There were people from around the world to present what they have been working on professionally and share their experience. It was in units of astronomy informative and exhilarating.

http://www.asifa.in/iad11/winners.html

Below are some quick artworks/sketches. They were made using flash and some play with Photoshop. These are outcomes of unavoidable and indispensable urge to create and escape from the essential materialistic life. They are also inspired by some very psychedelic tracks by Bjork and Dandy Warhols. Recently i was done reading, Rabbi's Cat by Joan Safar. The book is an enjoyable ride into Algeria's Jewish culture and a cat which speaks it's mind. Let me not talk about it any further and ruin it for you. I am almost done with my detective stories omnibus. I will be writing about he authors and some of the stories in my next post. They are absolutely fantabulous and brilliosome.