As well as traditional art mediums I have also really enjoyed working digitally. Here is a brief animation I created using the fantastic 3D (and 2D) animation software called BLENDER. It has been difficult figuring out how to use it (over many months) but I feel that I’m finally making some progress!
"IT'S A DRAW" board game box redesign
I decided recently that I needed to go for a more colourful and playful box design for my board game. I'd love to know what you think about it? (Would you consider buying it if you saw this box on the shelf?)
Next I have to come up with a design for the bottom of the box which will include some basic information on how it is played.
I am now also considering getting some professional marketing advice to help with promotion. This is an area that I have struggled with over the years so it’s probably about time I did something about it!
If there is anyone out there who has been involved at some level in creating, designing, producing and marketing a board game please get in touch. It would be great to hear about some of your experiences.
I have decided that I would also like to offer a FREE PROTOTYPE to anyone who would like to try the game out and then give me some feedback. It is suitable for ALL ages and, honestly, it requires only the most BASIC DRAWING SKILLS if people are worried about that. In fact the worse everyone’s drawing skills are the funnier the game tends to be. Please get in touch if you would be happy to help me out here - it would be much appreciated.
Cheers.
Joel
ANOTHER ARTWORK FOR MY SHOP. Original and prints available.
This is a coloured pencil drawing that I completed a few years ago. The Nelson School of music (now the Nelson Centre of Musical Arts) is a building and an institution that I have had close associations with for over 30 years as a piano and flute teacher, performer, conductor and now director of the ORCHESTRAL PATHWAYS PROGRAMME. It was quite a challenge to draw due to all the architectural details. I took a few artistic liberties by removing some foreground objects that were blocking a full view of this historically significant building.
I am putting the original up for sale ($550) and also offering very high quality limited edition, signed prints prints at $90 each. The prints are produced at Copyart in Richmond and the quality is unbelievable! Every detail is captured with absolute accuracy to the point that (apart from size) I really can’t tell the difference between the original and the print. These will be available to purchase in my shop shortly.
The Nelson School of Music Auditorium: Coloured pencil on Bristol Board
Original Still Life oil painting for sale
A couple of years ago I was busy working on a still life series called Composers and Fruit until life simply got too busy.
The theme was chosen because I am a classically trained pianist and flautist and because fruit is a traditional still life subject. Also someone gave me a bunch of miniature composer busts and I needed to convince my wife that I would put them to good use.
This is one of just three completed. It is oil on board, 300mm x 300mm and will be available in the shop at a cost of $450. I also plan to have prints of the image available for sale.
THE DRAWING GUY WEBSITE SHOP NOW OPEN!!
I’m very excited to announce that I have activated my online shop and items can now be purchased from my website. The plan is to have original paintings and prints for sale but in the meantime I am offering two versions of my newly created board game It’s a Draw. Both versions are identical unboxed prototypes but one is signed and the other not. (Just in case the game ever takes off these could be worthwhile investments!).
The boxed version will be released once I have raised/borrowed enough money to produce it in bulk. (at this stage 500 units max).
I have also created a new website page dedicated to It’s a Draw which you may like to check out.
Cheers. Joel
FINALLY - A new blog post!
I have been incredibly busy over the last year learning on video editing, computer graphics and 2D/3D animation. It has been a huge learning curve but I’m finally starting to get somewhere.
One project that I have been passionately pursuing is the design and creation of a board game which I have called IT’S A DRAW. This game encourages creative drawing and story telling and I am now at the very final stages of preparing it for production.
You may be interested in seeing a couple of animations that I’ve created which show the box (design still not quite finalised) and the board as well as a light-hearted little 2d animation showing how the game is played.
https://youtu.be/r1iigmwAmtA
https://youtu.be/4oscvefMo54
As well as this and many other projects I have also been extremely busy with portraits - mostly people these days (as opposed to animals). There has also been an increase in people commissioning oil rather than coloured pencil portraits.
POSTER PROGRESS POST
I managed to get most of the leaves in the apple poster painted today. A combination of tiredness on my part and very warm conditions made it pretty hard to concentrate, however, I was reasonably pleased with the result in the end.
I'll probably work on the Rossini statue tomorrow.
I Will Tell you about Rossini
This is a potential title for the painting. It has a certain ring to it I think - and a clear reference, of course, to Rossini's opera.
Today I worked on the poster apples trying to recreate the stylised painting style as well as the subtle wrinkles in the paper.
Again I spent around 1½ hours which seems to be about the maximum amount time I can do highly detailed work ( of any nature ) before I seriously start to lose concentration.
A few reflections…
I had fun working on the reflective table surface this afternoon (1 hour 20 mins) and am looking forward to starting on the apple poster tomorrow.
ROSSINI AND APPLES
I'm still trying to come up with a witty title for this painting - preferably something involving the words William and Tell!
I had about an 1½ hours available for art this afternoon so used that time to paint the split apple as quickly as I could before it became too badly discoloured.
It was tricky to get the colour right but with some subtle combinations of white, cadmium yellow lemon, Prussian blue, burnt sienna and raw umber I think I have managed to get it pretty close.
