Stunning Illustrations by Nanami Cowdroy

There are so many different styles and techniques when it comes to Illustration that it is almost impossible to describe a favorite. I am a fan of every style but have always found monochrome illustrations to be extremely interesting and powerful – I’m sure you’ll agree with me after checking the stunning work of Australian Illustrator Nanami Cowdroy. Her work combines fragile free flowing objects with admirable strokes and ink technique while perfectly combining her Japanese-European heritage. Check out some samples after the jump!

Nanami Cowdroy was born in Sydney, Australia with close bonds to her mixed Japanese-European heritage. Growing up with such contrasting cultures and surroundings, has greatly influenced her style of art and creative expression.

By intertwining complex characters and highly detailed objects her pieces reflect a juxtaposition between foreign and familiar entities and environments.
Her imagination is illustrated through works which are elaborate and exotic.
She is drawn to subjects, which may on the surface seem delicate or fragile, but are given strength and depth through her pen and ink techniques, intricate hand illustrative style and mixed media compositions. 

Her signature detailed style reflects a refined monochrome pallette with her name ‘Nanami’ (meaning ‘Seven Seas’ in Japanese ) stamped in red. Fluid line-work, watery creatures and Goldfish are some of her favourite subjects, and distinctive forms which are featured in her artworks.

Visit her website for more goodness!

www.nthread.net

Animation Workshop at the Bag Factory

The Bag Factory invites those interested in animation to attend our upcoming workshop. Participants from any over 14 years old can attend an introductory animation workshop with visiting artists Dathini Mzayiya, Kim Modise and Fidel Regueros Garcia Herreros.

Those accepted will have the opportunity to take part in the production of stop-motion animation pieces involving both 3 dimensional and 2 dimensional approaches. Using plasticene, toys and clothing, the artists will guide participants through the process with the objective of producing a short animation from storyboard to editing.

We only have 10 spaces available, so in order to be part of this fun project please apply as soon as possible by providing your name, contact information, and ID number in a letter of interest as soon as possible to james@bagfactoryart.org.za

The workshop will run from

**Monday 20 June to Wednesday 22 June

from 10am to 4pm**

at the Bag Factory studios in Newtown.

Application deadline: Monday 13 June

Applications need to be in the form of a 1page motivation letter

The Color Bar

The American media / public are apparently getting hot and bothered over this Dove print ad – that according to some commentators could possible be communicating that this skin cream will magically transform a black woman into a Latino woman and then, after continued use, finally to a white woman.


Now the overall racial make up of Madison Avenue is also in question and the public are demanding blood.


But isn’t it just a case of a small spark lighting a bush fire that is primed for ignition. Aren’t we all just a little sick and tired of being stereotyped and convinced that we need to buy the crap that these consumer machines feed us like blind zombies? Any trigger will do.


The industry needs to realise that what people want is authenticity and transparency. In other words, what’s hot right now is something that the global advertising industry is not.

I hope this Dove Ad and others, never reach our African shores!

Tapetastic by iri5

I love non-traditional media artists and the way they can express themselves and create beautiful art with materials most of us disregard as useless or garbage. Iris Simmons aka iri5 is one of these talented artists whose amazing work, specially with old cassettes, is definitely worth checking. I was greatly surprised this morning when I watched Bruno Mars’ music video for his latest single featuring this style of art+animation. Don’t know yet if iri5 worked on this video , but she has been mentioned as inspiration. Whether you are a fan of the video/song or not, I think I rather watch some interesting work by talented artists than some ‘plump’ video hoes and Escalades ;) Oh! and not to mention that the video features the awesome Nathalie Kelley!!! Thanks Bruno….

iri5 is an imaginative painter and sculptor who is driven by an incredible passion for self-expression through art. Her works are often noted for their unique and innovative style that focuses on recycling found materials, such as old cassettes and used books. Her use of such a variety of techniques and materials make her work an excellent choice for a wide range of projects and purposes. iRI5’s art has also been featured on major websites and in newspapers and magazines all over the world.

Her name is Erika Iris Simmons. She is a self-taught artist who works with non-traditional media. Most of her materials have been discarded or donated at some point. She expresses ideas, through the arrangement of very common things, with the hope that some message is conveyed without words.

  She loves the nostalgia of the archaic and I hope that not everything which has outlived its use goes to waste. Right now she lives in Georgia : ) But she is always on the move… She is 26, graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, 2006, with a degree in Russian. ”

Check out Bruno Mars’ video for ‘Just The Way You Are’

Check out www.iri5.com

Typeplace

Are you always snappin’ cool, crazy or funny photos with your phone? I do! In fact, I think we all do it on a daily basis. Whether for inspiration, memories or simply to make fun of some crazy lady and her outfit on facebook. (I’m talking about you lady in the vinyl pants at the supermarket) Well, if you are like me and enjoy using your phone camera, you will love this new app. Typeface is an app that allows users from all over the world to share beautiful typography they find, shoot and upload. See, I knew you would like it…

Typeplace allows you to view photographs of stunning typography from all around the world.

Users snap and upload the typography they find, then this piece of type and its location is viewable to the rest of the community. But hey that’s not all…

★

Depending on how many uploads you clock up, you get rewarded with cool stuff such as badges and unique certificates dispensed to leaders each month.

★

Using the iPhone camera or Photo Library – it’s as simple as snap, label and upload with the choice to post it to your Twitter stream.

With this, the application saves the location of the snap and plots it on a map viewable by everyone, where it can be upvoted.

★

You can view leaderboards and a map of the World plotting a random selection of Typeplaces and your current location so you can view any in your locale.

★

Your profile, which is handled by a simple login with your Twitter credentials, holds all your Typeplace related data as well as your ‘Trophy Cabinet” documenting your achievements.

★

Add friends on Typeplace so you can see what cool Typography they have been finding and what rank they’ve reached.

★

Typeplace is aimed at visual creatives with a passion for typography and want to have some fun along the way.

www.typeplaceapp.com

GET IT HERE!

DesignArmy + Adobe

There many Adobe Artists series videos I love and have bookmarked, but this new one featuring DesignArmy (DC Agency whose work I happen to love) is now amongst my favorites. Adobe visited DesignArmy’s DC office to talk about their work, ideas, and of course, Adobe products in use. Check out the great video after the jump!

You can also watch this video in better resolution HERE 

See Design Army like never before in this exclusive, behind-the- scenes video for Adobe. Get the bare-bones, straight-up story of what really goes on at a design firm, and see what it takes for this small army of creatives to consistently drum out project after award-winning project. The five-minute feature includes revealing interviews with studio co-founders Jake and Pum Lefebure, footage of Design Army headquarters and an in-depth look from concept to production of the “Wonderland” site using Adobe’s Flash Catalyst software.

 

 

Thanks to the good people at Design Army headquarters in Washington DC.

Grew up watching this

"Captain America: The First Avenger” will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes and Peggy Carter to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull.