Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Black and White for Illustration Friday
A black horse with white stripes or a white horse with black stripes? Actually, neither, just the plain old, fancy-looking zebra! This is my picture for Illustration Friday this week, on the theme of "Black and White."
I started with a sketch in pen and brush, scanned as a pure 2 bit black and white TIFF, then cleaned up a little. Of course, I had to eventually scale back to a greyscale JPEG to put it online, but I think it's still as "pure" as I can make it. In the sketch I had outlines around the legs, but when I viewed the reversed image I knew these had to go, as they contradicted the logic of the design.
All in all it's not to far from my stripey fish for "Aquatic." Lately, I have a bit of a fascination with shapes and objects expressed as linear forms. Sometime soon I hope to put up a page from "Moth & Tanuki" #4, which really shows it in action!
Update: Been there, done that? Check out the T-shirt!
Labels: Illustration Friday, Sketchbook
Comments:
Those zebras are just too darn cute. They look like they might be from parallel universes :o) I love your take on the theme and your execution!
I like your image... It is really great - also I want to thank you for your comments! - boy did i struggle with that type.. its like you read my mind!:O) I keep staring at the zebras hoofs.. :O)
super cute zebra! change the black to a vibrant colour, and it would make the sweetest stencil for a kids room. love the look:)
cheers,
kerry
cheers,
kerry
# posted by 
: 1:54 am, June 24, 2005
: 1:54 am, June 24, 2005
HI Ian, Love the Zebra and the negative / positive pictures, to do one that looks good both ways is very hard, and yours looks great both ways and very nice together. I really like the boldness of your graphics, great look, The St. Louis (where I live) Zoo would do great to have a poster of it! Best Regards, Jacque
This is a very sweet image. I like the pos/neg reversal , too. I guess animals have been a popular theme for this topic, as I've seen quite a few black & white animals these past few days (and they're all fabulous!). Thanks for the kind words about my b&w dog pic.
great illustration! perfect subject for this week's topic. oh and thanks for your comment on my submission - you hit the nail on the head!
# posted by : 9:12 am, June 24, 2005
: 9:12 am, June 24, 2005
Bee'nme & Tony - maybe the zebras could get together, but if they stood next to each other they might disappear into white, or black... or maybe grey!
Rebeccashane, those hoofs are a bit of an anomaly - I couldn't get quite the right answer. Thanks for being okay about the lettering comment.
Kerry, thanks, I hadn't thought about stencils!
JacqueLynn, getting the balance of stripes to balance both ways was the real challenge! I did a little tweaking on the computer, but not much. Burchell's zebras have a good natural balance of black to white, apart from the muzzle and tail-tip, but some others are quite different. I'd love to see St. Louis zoo!
Fern Lady, I think animals (and birds) are terrific for rendering in b&w, even if it's not their natural colours. I really like your dog pic - it has wonderful warmth and would make a lovely card design.
allison, I'm glad I read your suits right :). Actually, maybe a suit makes you turn grey, then disappear!
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Rebeccashane, those hoofs are a bit of an anomaly - I couldn't get quite the right answer. Thanks for being okay about the lettering comment.
Kerry, thanks, I hadn't thought about stencils!
JacqueLynn, getting the balance of stripes to balance both ways was the real challenge! I did a little tweaking on the computer, but not much. Burchell's zebras have a good natural balance of black to white, apart from the muzzle and tail-tip, but some others are quite different. I'd love to see St. Louis zoo!
Fern Lady, I think animals (and birds) are terrific for rendering in b&w, even if it's not their natural colours. I really like your dog pic - it has wonderful warmth and would make a lovely card design.
allison, I'm glad I read your suits right :). Actually, maybe a suit makes you turn grey, then disappear!
