Flambeau

phew! A weekend's worth of work. Done in acrylic washes and colored pencil (with a little digital touch-ups on the moth, shhhhh...)

based on the quote "A sword, a spade, and a thought should never be allowed to rust. " -James Stephens








to divulge a little more, I'd like to say i learned more about this image while doing it. My initial thoughts where making the knight represent thought, the broom the spade, and the moth the sword, but as i developed the image, I came to the realization the the moth was in fact the thought, attracted to the flame in the knight, who represented the sword himself, while the flaming broom was the spade/tool. Each could not exist without the other.

a little deep for me, ha, but i really enjoyed doing it!

Perfume

A design for a poster for the movie Perfume. I thought the movie was pretty good, but i mainly chose it because of how strong the concept could be. Done in charcoal and digital

busy busy

Sorry about the lack of updates peeps! ive been working on 7 illustrations these past two weeks (because for some reasons all my projects like to come in waves?) Anyways, between now and next weekend ill be posting the work ive been up to so stay on the lookout.

for now, here is an image i did for Nigeria, 1 of 5 countries i had to depict culturally in some fashion. I did clothing. I will post the others soon!

Kometka

Wow. I have done 3 drawings in a week and a half! Although it hasn't been a completely stress-free environment, I do feel better looking back on some of the stuff that came out of all the work.

This piece is 11"x17" on tan paper (man, i LOVE toned paper. i would be happy if i didnt have to ever see white again...)
Done in watercolor, graphite, and colored pencils.

Ive been trying to figure out how to get a process down for the hardest part of illustration (imo), the IDEAS. This week I've come up with a few ways on how to brainstorm imagery, but wanted to see what anybody else tends to do when it comes to figuring out what the hell to draw. I have always found restrictions to be pretty helpful, to help better narrow my thinking process. This piece was done (yet again) for my concept of animals in space. Since I am probably going to be doing a lot of these type pieces this year, I will more than likely write a statement of purpose up on my website to let viewers get better in touch with what im trying to do...

anyways, hope you like!

Prints for SALE

Prints are now available for purchase! I currently have 2 available, each with a Ltd edition of only 35 prints each, signed and dated. Ordering details over at http://samwolfeconnellyshop.blogspot.com/

It can also now be accessed through my website in the 'shop' section.

Also, here is a piece I just finished for a poster for an Anti-Fur ad in class. I finished it rather quickly so I didnt have time for process shots. Sorry!

Style.

Ok. Well here is my latest project; a revamped wine label for the brand "Toasted Head". Can't go wrong with a bear shooting fire out of his mouth! I decided to go more towards the idea of smoke rather than the fire...

Anyways, I wanted to make a post in regards to illustration style. For those of you who aren't artists/illustrators, then you should know that as you progress through your early career, your style is perhaps the most important thing that sells you to clients. And if you're like me, you constantly get hounded that your style looks a lot like other artists. I GET IT.
This is something that is always on the top of my mind when i go into a project- "make it your own. You NEED to keep this consistent". Well, for one thing, i am terrible at consistency. especially when it comes to art and i want to try everything. I hate the fact that I need to stick to ONE thing and make it my signature because it gets sooooooo boring. I have been trying to keep things similar lately and to those of you out there that think I have a definitive style, thank you, i really appreciate it.

But it seems as hard as i try, i can't break away from the grip that makes my style look like "James Jean meets Sam Weber". Yes, I love those two, and yes, they DO influence my work, however, I have so many other influences I hold dearly that affect my creative process. The truth is, I really cant help if my stuff looks similar to theirs (as for right now), thats how i LIKE to draw. I dont do it because its trendy or the 'in' thing. I am so tired of people telling me that my work looks too much like what's already out there, because I honestly am doing what comes out of my head, not anyone else's. This is probably my biggest insecurity about my art! I don't want to have to change the way I do something just because somebody has done it before. Because, well, its me!

I know in time my work will change and become more of what I am, but for now, I like it. So we'll see how this little topic matures...

Man, it has been forEVER since I last posted, and i apologize, I was making my way from DC to GA. But now, its time to start off the new year. Last year was good to me. But im heading into 2010 headstrong with a lot of things planned. Let me first off say that it is the beginning of a new semester at SCAD, so in the next 10 weeks I will be a machine and be posting many projects starting off soon! I want to send a big thank you over to blogs that have been plugging my stuff the past couple weeks because I am really loving these hits on my statcounter: Design is Kinky, Think Faest, ChangeTheThought, The Little Chimp Society, PaintBlog- THANKS!

The picture I have posted is a sneak peek of some shirts that will be available that I am collaborating on with my friend Tait Howard. No idea when, but its in the works :D