Drawing for kids.

This post has been in pending stage for quite some time. I finished a freelance project where I worked as an illustrator and created sample book layouts. The book is written about mental and physical growth of kids and their eating habits. I should consider this one of the earliest work where I tried to fit in as children's book illustrator. I had done a few earlier but that was a long time back. I had become used to drawing in realistic manner which often keeps you in a tight grip of how your artwork shapes. This project required me to loosen up with my line qualities and that too with very limited medium. There is just one drawing from the inside page that I adore. I think the reason behind me liking this artwork comes from my personal experiences.

I created a few sample book covers too for this project. I like twisting the use of type and often use it for projects where you can afford to give it a shot. This also helps in breaking away from the grim look and invite readers to pick up the book (atleast for their kids). 

The time is inching close to start work on my own book. The work is going in abundance right now to wrap up old projects and hopefully post Diwali celebrations will bring updates on my book. Till then it's a long labour ride.

Brainwave. Issue 10. Sounds Amazing.

I have been internet deprived for quite some time and the new Brainwave issue has turned 12 days old. Better late than never. The latest issue is dedicated to sound and features an exclusive interview with Resul Pookutty, sound designer and editor. Talking about my contribution for the Magazine this time - I shall start off with the layout changes brought into the section headers. I redesigned all the section icons working with pixels to keep consistency along the pages. It also lends a personal say from the design aspect than using available clip arts.

Moving on the regular section 'Ask us why', Dr Srinath Perur have answered why not to eat upside down. 

To start off the cover story, I decided to work with onomatopoeic words and make a collage out of it. 

To follow the cover story, we used comic strips and infographics to show the various experiments conducted by scientists in the area of sound. Here is a glimpse to some of the artworks. 

We have a 'DIY' section for this issue where we help you in making four different musical instruments, each showcasing the way sound is produced in a specific manner through vibrations. Here is one of the spreads dedicated to Instrument making. 

Apart from the cover story, we have a new section called 'Shoebox' where the purpose of using a globe and a map has been analyzed through the story of two siblings. Bangalore to New York - 

I will end the post with 'Heads and Tails'. This spread talks about the famous case of Mike, the headless chicken and two head transplant surgeries conducted on animals. I worked with drawing inks to do the title and the illustrations in duotone. The good thing about drawing ink is that the black works well for inking as it's not water soluble. This helps in using layers of colour on top of the inked artwork.

Right now, the work is running tight with the next issue inching close to deadline. Hopefully, I will have my holidays soon. 

On the wall

David Fletcher is from Vancouver, Canada and an active member of Sketchcrawl community. He liked some of my sketches form the past few sketchcrawls and took my permission to put them on his wall. He sent me a photograph of his wall where two of my sketches are put with his cousin's who works at Pixar. :) He is planning to add a lot more sketches from around the world to his 'Sketchcrawl Hall of Fame'.