The Eighty Seventh Doodle

Well well well, it's that time of year isn't it. When we creative types battle it out to try and grab potential customers' attention, squealing 'Buy something from me! It's unique, it's art, it's NOT MAINSTREAM!'

 

It is relentlessly difficult trying to wiggle your way in there and hook new customers who you'd like to think look at your work and say 'Yeah, I like that. It speaks to me, and I want to hang it on my wall and look at it.' DREAM.

 

I think with art/illustration/design it is becoming more about what your image is printed ON (as in a mug, a notebook, a t-shirt) and not so much about prints or posters. But I shall march on and always offer prints, as that is what I do. I am stubborn.

 

But so, good people, do check out my online shop http://ruthjoyce.bigcartel.com/ for all your illustrative Chrimbo needs.

There's prints for sports fans (London Olympics anyone?), prints for tattoo and alternative fans (rawrrr), things for animal lovers (as long as they like wolves) and even some iconic cities in there for good measure (London baby, have you met New York? Oh heyyyyy!).

 

In addition, you'll find my brand spanking new t-shirt design, 'The Lady & The Beast'. This is available in unisex small, medium and large for £15.00.

 

So yeah, if you or someone you know does enjoy my work, do please buy a print or a tee and support an independent artist in this big bad world of commercialism and what not.

 

 Thanks in advance, big smooches X

The Forty Eighth Doodle

This is a fox. Obviously.

I actually drew this chap a while ago, and only recently remembered him. He was one of the first drawings I did when I was in the process of moving my style and work forward, and I remember drawing him and going 'oh, this is a bit different, I like it'. That chaotic way I draw is obviously just the natural way I do things; messy and a little surreal. That's me all over.

Here's the pain now though - I designed myself a wee fox tattoo, as foxes have been a favourite animal of mine for ages. Then what happens??! I fall head over heels for a boy whose surname is Fox. God damn and blast it. I can't get it now can I, I'll look like a crazy woman! The boy in question obviously finds this all hilarious. 

Perhaps I will just have to keep on doodling them on paper rather than on my skin then. Blimmin' men ey.

The Forty Third Doodle

Well, this is pretty different to what I usually do, wouldn't you say? Well my dear people, you'd be right. 

I recently took on a tit-for-tat project with an animator called Jason Fox (www.jasonfoxcreative.weebly.com), wherein I drew out a tattoo design for him, and he made an animated portfolio for me. It was fab. Watch it here.

We then began talking about doing more together, and he mentioned that he'd be keen to actually animate some of my drawings. We threw around a few ideas and came to the conclusion we wanted to try to do an animated story based on one of Aesop's Fables, the Fox and the Goat. We had very similar ideas about how we wanted it to look - a dark, almost macabre style to it, with old fashioned, human-esque characters, the dominant colours being browns, bronzes, dark greens and blacks. 

So, I began doodling some ideas. Above you can see my first sketches I made to get a feel for how these characters may look, and I must admit, I've had some great feedback to them which I was dead chuffed with! I looked at old illustrations for stories by Dickens and Poe to get this old sort of design and feel, and I think it works well. I'm really excited about this project, I think it's going to be a good 'un!