belfry

I got a thing for cozy old buildings. One of the things I miss most about New England is the architecture, nothing in Florida feels like it has quite the same history or charm. If I make it to The Homeland this summer, priority #1 is taking pictures of interesting houses. 

Funny how things can end up being major influences on you, not just other artists but really your environment growing up. My mom has subscribed to Country Living for as long as I remember, and though I'm in no position to revamp a seaside cottage, that aesthetic seems to be ingrained in me (teapots!). I've been going through the old issues and drawing whatever buildings catch my eye, so expect more soonish.

NEW?!

New Layout, hope you like it. :]

heirloom

Not sure if this one is done yet, though it is fitting mayhaps that my first post-graduation piece should be a sunrise (or sunset, I suppose.) This is part one of a longer series I want to work on, this way of working is relaxing to me. 

I went to Oklahoma for a week to visit Drew's family, and on our way back to Florida, our flight out of Oklahoma city took off at about 6 in the morning, so we go to see the sun rise from thousands of feet up in the air, it was pretty crazy, the light was pure pink and the horizon had this odd mist to it. I guess normally I'm not awake in the morning to enjoy these things, but sunrise from an airplane was surprisingly beautiful.

Here's an obligatory airport drawing. :)

Now that I'm done with school, I have a lot I've been meaning to do but got pushed to the back burner during the whirlwind that is senior year/thesis/job hunt/meltdown. Now, it's nice to have the time to make some new work, redesign my website, all while going through the piles of boxes in my storage closet of a room. Not moving out over last summer meant I had a accumulated a lot of stuff, and every time I have to move out, a minimalist lifestyle always seems so appealing, especially right now. If all else doesn't work out, I'll buy a Tumbleweed House and try my luck in the mountains. 

THESIS ENDS

1984 by George Orwell
Ink on toned paper, Digital


Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Pencil drawing and Digital


Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley
Pencil drawing and Digital
This book was a short, nonfiction reflection back on the predictions from Brave New World that came to fruition more quickly than expected. I used the two novels as an opportunity to do a sister cover to the first piece


The Giver by Lois Lowry
Watercolor and digital


The Children of Men by P.D. James
Ink drawings and Digital
a note- the book is absolutely nothing like the movie. Both were very well done, and took place in the same world, but the plots were very different. The book was much more of a character study of what the effects of the inability to have children had on the whole human race, instead of the action being driven by one event. I wanted to kind of show that the world was messed up, and so Trish suggested I have the kids upside down, as nothing in their world quite worked anymore.


Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
Ink drawing and digital


The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Digital
Ended up never putting type on this one, I didn't feel like it needed it.

A few people have asked me about prints. All of these are available as 13"x19" prints for $20 each, just email me or leave a message on here.

To explain, here is a summary of my artist statement-

Dystopian Literature - Negative or undesirable societies, visions of "dangerous and alienating future societies," often criticizing current trends in culture. These books describe the state in which the conditions of life are extremely bad, characterized by oppression, the effects of pollution on the environment, or any suppression of humanity
Why I picked this topic- I loved these books in high school, and wanted to create interesting covers that would reach a wider audience. The novels remain very relevant in warning against current issues in our society (for example, wire-tapping, genocide, global warming) and possible futures if we aren't mindful of ways to prevent these outcomes.

About a month into the semester I was starting to really worry about my topic, I was scared that it was too negative (for applying to Hallmark and Children's book publishers), that the books were too overwhelming, but all in all, I'm really glad I picked something I cared about, and the work didn't turn out to be too negative at all. I wanted to use this semester to create a body of work that really reflects on what kind of person I am and where my interests really lie. After doing the covers for Black Swan Green and Double Bind I felt like it was an affirmation that books are, and have been, a very important part of my life (sup librarians). I have always loved reading, as much as I love art even, and wanted to do a body of work that scratched the surface of that, and wasn't just work I knew would get me hired somewhere.

After long projects like these you always feel like there was more you could have done, but I'm pretty happy with the books I chose, and was happy to hear from some people that they'd read them and liked them as much as I had. 

To everyone who came to the show, thank you, hope you grabbed a postcard :) To the other illustration seniors, I think we had a pretty rockin show. I am really proud of our class.

Perspectives

My first tearsheet! My Hallmark piece got on the cover of Ringling's magazine, and there's a nice profile of me on the inside. I listed Paul Pope as an influence, and my mom thought I meant The Pope.

Real nice big post Friday once thesis is up, you will see what I've been doing all semester.

Longest. week. ever.

peripheral

The final design I ended up printing for my business card. The drawing is mine, I liked having an icon of sorts, it takes less explaining and it's easy to identify.


Getting some stuff together to send out to children's book folks, I plan on finishing this one. 

One of the most precise and helpful critiques I've gotten was from (I think) Sarah Caterisano, who told me that sometimes the ages of my subjects are too ambiguous. Sometimes this can be to my advantage, this girl could be anywhere from 8-11, covering a range of children's book projects, but when a girl could be 13-23, that starts becoming a problem.
I've never owned a dog, and am decidedly more of a cat person, but man, something about Scotties gets me, I bet they have a lot of integrity.

Recently, Ryan Hammond asked a bunch of us to contribute drawings for a project being done at the Design Center. He liked mine and asked for a few more, so I finished these up last week. He specifically wanted them to look like "raw hand-drawn maps" as the poster was centered around maps, and the career responsibilities of some of our alumni. I had a lot of fun doing more loose, sketchbook kind of stuff.

(I don't know if the L train goes to the east village I just do what they tell me people!)

the title is "digital film director" I left it off because I kinda blanked on what would be a good type solution, and figured the real designers would know better.

My favorite one because I got to draw knobbly hands


I picked up my cap and gown for graduation the other day. That was pretty surreal, but we're all so much on auto-pilot now that every surreal experience has started to just melt into the fog that is senior year. I don't regret anything about my time here. That's a good way to feel.

penelope

Penelope

Next Monday starts National Library Week, so I felt like paying homage to my place of employment, and drawing some library themed love. I've worked at the library for 4 years now, and being as I'll be uprootin myself en route to another endeavor, I think I will miss it, as much as you can miss a job. If nothing else, the library exposed me to a lot of different artists and random information, just by flipping through the books as I put them away. Though I got sick of putting away DVDs, because you can't flip through those.

catacombs

Changing gears a bit, I wanted to do some work that wasn't a dystopian book cover. Book covers come with a certain expectation; they sum up the story in a singular, graphic image. Doing these little environments has been really fun, and feels way more open ended. I've come to realize that no one has just one set of skills, it's a bit more like a venn diagram, where you can have commonalities but go pretty far in opposite directions. I'd be equally happy as a graphic designistrator (real technical term) or doing more painterly stuff for visual development avenues.

Really though, these are for comics class. In my story, lonely lighthouse boy wishes his scientist girlfriend didn't always have so much homework, she feels bad and builds him a flying machine to bring him something nice. It's based on a true story.no it's not


I've always thought that I kind of suck at drawing guys, but if I can give them big ol Freddie Highmore ears, I seem to have more fun. I just can't seem to pull off a drawing of a really manly man.

I'm volunteering this weekend for "Accepted Student Day" at Ringling, meeting the next crop of new art students and telling them fun horror stories about the work load (which are always grossly over-exaggerated). I remember when I could not wait to get here. Now I'm waiting for the next big chapter of my life, and the uncertainty is taking it's toll. We'll all land on our feet, I just wonder where.

in the mean time

The Giver

I've been trying to keep most of my thesis stuff under wraps, since I don't want the senior show to be super anticlimactic when everyone's already seen all my stuff on my blog, but I figured this was unfinished (still needs type) so it's alright to show.

I never read The Giver in middle school, it seems like the people who did all had a really strong response to it. Luckily, the cover is pretty ugly, so that gave me a lot to improve upon. I decided not to do A Clockwork Orange as a cover for a similar reason, I don't feel like any solution I can come up with (that is still an illustration) can compete with the image and the style of Kubrick's movie. The Giver was a really awesome book, it was fun to read it for the first time in the context of all this other "adult" dystopian literature. A Kid's dystopian novel is still pretty scary, and the old cover shows none of that.

Lately I've been doing what I refer to as "everything other than art" which seems to be the harder, stressful part of being a senior. The work, we can do, we just don't have much time to do the work when we have to cut mats, frame stuff, get something ready for a company, etc. When I was an underclassmen I had the impression that the seniors must just be in their rooms all the time working on their thesis, when really, working on thesis is a treat compared to this other stuff. I have 2 covers left to go, and then I'm done with my thesis, which is a weird feeling.

In the mean time, trying to not lose my voice!

sesquipedalian

Cat in a Box

you heard me.

This past weekend I participated in an on campus Hallmark workshop with some Ringling grads and a bunch of other students. I did the same workshop last year, and both times I had a lot of fun. 

This year, we changed things a bit and spent the whole time concepting ideas for celebrating something for someone specific in your life. I ended up coming up with a cat-suitcase-bed for my sister, since she has a new pet and travels with it a lot. The cat wouldn't actually be closed inside the box but would be a bed when it was open, and closed, would hold all the pet necessities. I had a fun time doing something different, and it was nice doing something other than thesis.

Here are my original concept drawings-

The one on the left was the other idea I liked, and would have been an entertainment chest for Drew and would have included a cool dresser, with a top that folds out into a ping pong table, a refrigerated top drawer for beer and wine, and a bottom drawer with party games and a bar set.

All in all, a fun time.

like a little astronaut

Sometimes thesis gets me thinkin too serious like, and I feel like drawing cute awkward girls. Can't decide which jacket I like better. I think the red is nice but olive green holds a weird soft spot in my heart. Funny how in art school, you stop having a favorite color, and you develop a favorite palette. I tend to favor warm colors, and I think the palette in Amelie always lurks in the back of my mind.


Being as it's my last semester, I wanted to take another figure class to round out my time here, and I'm really happy I did. Having figure with Hodges Soileau is really awesome, and it's nice to be painterly without the mess of paint, and to be in the studio some more. I've been drawing almost entirely in conte and chalk, and I do not miss oil paint at all. Haven't painted with oil since last April.
Funny how linear all of my stuff is, but when I draw the figure (or anything from life) I want to be tonal and painterly.


Sketchbook drawing I did during comics class. Sketchbooks to me, always kind of feel like long term relationships, being as this book is in your life for sometimes months at a time, and you invest a lot of care and time into it. So naturally, there are times when we don't get along or things feel kind of uninspired, and sometimes all is well. I miss sketching as much as I did last year, focusing entirely on finishing work doesn't leave time to sketch and wander and experiment.
So, my sketchbook has been a bit neglected this year, and only gets attention when I'm bored, or as a place for process work. This will change after graduation, I hope.

Tomorrow, my whole apartment, plus a big group of Ringling folk, are going to Megacon to represent the school. It was quite an experience last year, and this year, I feel way more prepared. I'll be selling some prints and stuff too, Hope to see you there :)

indubitably

Guess what book this is for?

Back cover for another thesis piece. Sometimes drawings look better upside down? Funny thing is, I showed this to Thiel right side up and he hated it, turned it upside down and jazzed it up (thanks Trish) and suddenly he thought it was awesome.

And that same drawing before I went to work on it, which I do like right side up, and so that you can see his cool hair

Also, lately I've had a bit of a thing for scottie dogs and sloths. I figure once we all get sick of drawing owls and birds on tree branches, sloths will have their day.

Classes and all have been going pretty well. I'm halfway done with thesis, and it's midterm, so I think I'm in a good situation. I have a lot of reading left to do, since I've done covers now for all the books I've read already. Spring break will be a time to read and sleep, and eat homecooked food.

bloom

The Bloom Tree

I hope everyone enjoyed their respective Valentine's Days. I made chocolate chip scones and tried to shape them like hearts, some of them ended up as less romantic organs, kidney shaped perhaps. 

Also, recently I went and saw Persepolis with my comics class. I liked the comic and the movie, and it was a refreshing animation style, almost a moving comic. It's nice to see the expansion of possibilities of the medium. I feel like the animation industry in America will soon need to reinvent itself to keep up with the foreign advancements in technique and style. Tekkon Kinkreet is another notable movie I've seen recently, I wish there were more stills available online, the style is pretty breathtaking.

It's Oscars weekend and for the first time in a long time, I haven't seen many of the movies. I guess there's bigger things on our plates right now. :)

get out your measuring cups

Randolph

A fellow of kindness and sophistication, he and his loyal cat Kingsley review recipes for the Oxforshire News.

1984 Back cover, in progress

I don't want to give away all of my thesis pieces before the show, so for the next two months, I'll post only secret snippets of thesis stuff, and then the rest of my sketch work and other illustrations. 

I just finished reading 1984 for the first time, and I can see why it is such a benchmark in dystopian literature. I'm currently rereading V for Vendetta, but it may be difficult to compete with all of the existing imagery from the movie and comic to make an original illustration. Wasn't really crazy about the art in the comic, but it still set the standard nonetheless. Probably next up is to finish the cover for WE, get cracking on A Clockwork Orange, and retune Children of Men. All of these books are pretty awesome, and I hope I do them justice.

intertwined

I was working on this over break, and I'm not sure I'll take it any further than this. I had wanted to set some type to it, but can't find a proper idea that doesn't feel forced, and I'm pretty happy with how it is.

So, as you probably already know, I won the Hallmark contest. I am really happy about it, and blown away by how many people helped me win. I still have a lot of thanking to do, and I hope everyone knows how thankful I am. As for the money, after I take my lovely roommates out for a nice dinner, and maybe buy myself one small nice thing, I plan on saving it for when I graduate in 4 months, and will probably have to move across the country somewhere.

Still readjusting to being back. Still haven't cleaned my room. Still, pretty happy.

Hallmark Ends tomorrow

LAST CHANCE TO VOTE

Hey everyone, this is the last time I'll mention this. The hallmark contest ends Today, Thursday, at midnight. If you can vote, and ask your mom, neighbor, and second cousin to vote, I just might make it. I'm a poor college kid and I'm nice to my elders, and I think I have a pretty nifty card. Thank you very much, for everything you've done for me already.

Also, if you need to contact me, please email me at emcguire@ringling.edu , rather than here, I like this to stay a nice and happy place. Thanks!

THESIS BEGINS

Handmaid's Tale
first thesis piece in progress

For my thesis, I'm doing dystopian literature. In high school, I loved reading Brave New World, The Handmaid's Tale, Clockwork Orange, etc etc. So, in coming up with an illustration thesis idea, I figured, now was the time to do work about what I really loved.

So, after doing the book covers back in November, I realized that there was one thing I knew for certain when it came to illustration. I love books. Children's books, comic books, art books, journals, and novels. I have since I was little, and my life has never seemed to stray too far away from reading. I do work in a library, after all. After I thought of it that way, no other idea seemed to stick with me that I felt so strongly towards.

I was initially concerned that the work would be too serious, that in doing a body of work about nightmare societies, I'd completely ruin my portfolio for children's books and greeting card markets. But after spending the break reading and rereading dystopian books, I found that they weren't any more depressing than how life really is, and that the universal idea presented is that people will fight for a better way of life, always. It reminds me of that Gandhi quote-
"Whenever I despair, I remember that the way of truth and love has always won. There may be tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they may seem invincible, but in the end, they always fail. Think of it: always"

In other (happy, awesome) news, I finished my first children's book!! I won't post all 18 adorable pages, lest I lose my street cred, but here's one I like. The book is about a bunny who goes to the zoo and after causing all sorts of shenanigans, settles in for the night. This is the last page.


And with that, happy new year, and adieu.

crisp

For Christmas, I finished this drawing as a piece for my sister, and made her a set of personalized stationary. She liked it a lot, which made me happy.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas, I was pretty overwhelmed by the handmade teapot/tea cups my mom gave me, and all in all this was a good year. She also gave me an automatic shower cleaner, I think she is trying to tell me something.

The Hallmark Contest ends in exactly two weeks, and I am tied for first place. which is nuts.

And, sorry to be one of those people, but my sister got a kitten recently, and I managed to snap this picture while she had climbed our Christmas tree. She is crazy.

Self Portrait

Well, it's that time of year for seniors, the time of senior self portraits for the poster.
I wanted to take a simple approach, but I ended up doing three versions before finding one I liked


This is the final version, the one that's going on the poster, just pen and ink


this was the first version, I'm not crazy about it now, I look like I got caught outside in the rain


And this was my second version, which was okay, but I still look about 12 years old, and it doesn't really look like me

There are times when it all clicks, times when you have to fight a bit, and times when you need to not be scared to start over and do three versions. Students expect it to always click, and I don't think it's like that for anyone, for every piece to come naturally. As Pratt says, you can't always be shooting off fireworks.

Also, for the Hallmark Contest I'm tied for third place! You can vote every day if you want. Thanks to everyone who has voted so far :)

Good News!

Hey Everyone, remember that hallmark contest I mentioned two entries ago?

I made it into the final round of judging for Hallmark's Product (RED) Card competition! Hallmark just joined as a partner for Product (RED) and ran a contest to design cards that will be sold to benefit the Global Fund, helping with AIDS, Tuberculosis, and other diseases in Africa, so it's a really good cause.

If I win, my cards are printed and sold in Hallmark stores for a year (!!!!), and money is donated to the Global Fund in my name, plus I get paid for the design.

Please take a minute and vote, my design is named "Delivery"
(it's the one with the teal background and red trees.)
Please pass this along to anyone you know!
Click here!

Thank you very much!!!