Sunday 21 February 2010

Edmund was much happier swimming once he found a way to stop water going up his nose.




I've been playing hooky from the book project for a few hours. I desperately wanted something for the blog and you know when you just have an urge to draw a polar bear in a diving suit... or is that just me...? I've tried the same technique as the previous fly, completing the illustration fully in grayscale first then adding colour over the top. OK I've pulled my punches a little and gone for a more tinted basic colour scheme, but as a way of working I'd love to try it out further. It creates as many working issues as it solves but it's worth another punt I think. Now I see the polar bear and fish cropped in I suppose all I really needed to show was everything below the waterline, still drawing able seaman 'Rusty' and his pump was fun too :)

My usual heartfelt thanks to all who have been stopping by and commenting... and my usual apologies for not reciprocating as I should!

13 comments:

Jill said...

I like the elongated format... having something above waterline, and below, makes it doubly interesting! Great illustration!

ArtSparker said...

I like the drawing as a whole, for more narrative. Very dramatic.

krisztina maros said...

I always love your polarbears' characters! so original and expressive illo!

damon said...

oh that is really cool i like that one a lot

Brad said...

very fun! leaves me wanting more of the story!

Victoria Stitch said...

i love this! esp the colour scheme!

Kev Levell said...

I actually prefer the longer composition... reminds me a tad of the height chart I did oh-so-long ago... only this works so much better. Perhaps a Whale lower down would work, forming a tryptych?
Everything works for me in this everything except the really tiny legs at the back of Edmund's body, for me, this is stylized just a tad too far. 'Tis only my opinion so feel free to tell me to "Feck Off".
I wouldn't worry about the comments thing either - people really like your work and that won't change just because you don't reciprocate a comment.

Verification: Oarical, a wisewoman in a boat.

Abz said...

Dude! this is SO freakin awesome!!!! I love it! Wow, you're brilliant. The simplicity, the textures, the expressions and colours...flawless!!

You're too good...give us some tutorials and tips!!

Beautiful!

michael robertson said...

your composition, characters, color and texture are sheer brilliance, Matt. that wonderful grouping of fish is the perfect addition...this one was definitely worth the wait.

Drake Brodahl (pumml) said...

Oh, man! Where have I been? This is another fabulous effort, Matt. Charm, taste, whimsy... what more could you want?

The answers to your paint questions are here. Can't wait to see some traditional work!

Abigail said...

The polar bear's expression spying those fish is priceless. I really like the painterly-ness of the waves also; nice contrast.

OakTreeCreeper said...

Great stuff :-)

Faye said...

These are my favourites :)