Gaia Bordicchia Illustrations

A Wish

2010-02-08T13:06:00.005+01:00

Luna Pernox is a regular presence in my sketchbook since my school days. She appears when I'm approaching the dreaded "low tide" of creativity we all experience every now and then. Therefore, she's never really welcome. Her name means "full moon" in latin and it's a nickname someone gave me a long time ago, due to my well-known moodiness. This is the first time I attempt to give her a little colour... She has a wish and I have one too.

On a more interesting note, this week I'm starting to work on a new editorial project. I'm very happy about this. I know it is something I'll greatly enjoy, it also has a nice layout. The graphic designer I'm working with is very helpful, friendly and willing to go over the many language barriers between us (huge plus!) I'll share more when I'll be allowed to.

Little red fox

2010-01-20T15:41:00.005+01:00

A quick illo for this week's theme on Illustration Friday: wilderness.
I grew up in Sicily, where my parents moved when I was very little. Bright sunlight, colorful flowers and olive trees everywhere. And the sea, of course... As soon as I turned 16 I had permission to spend the summer holidays by myself and where I wanted. Ironically, the only place I wanted to be was the mountains, the woods and quiet landscapes of the Dolomites.
This week's "lucky fluke" is this incredible 4-texture combo I found for the background. I know I'll use this again. Sleepy Hollow comes to my mind. Staying up late sometimes leads to positive results!

My Beloved Monster and Me

2010-01-15T11:02:00.006+01:00

Well, Happy New Year!! About time too. Sorry for the lack of updates, christmas cards and silly little christmas stories. I wasn't in a very cheerful mood this year. Thank you for all the beautiful cards, wishes and emails. I know I still have to answer to most of them, you know how bad I am with replies, I apologize... The new year will be quite busy. I'm working on a couple of projects I'm enjoying and hopefully share soon. I have the usual load of things I have to do and don't enjoy at all, but that's how it goes! I'm also working on three new Kokeshi Dolls, will share pictures very soon.

I might be in London again in early March. I'll keep an eye on the boards, meanwhile if there will be a Sketch Crawl London around that time, keep me informed. I should be able to join the fun!

I was talking with a friend about Shrek's soundtrack not too long ago. This is the result, I'm sure most of you will get the music reference (if not, here is one of my fav versions, the one on the soundtrack was a bit more rocky). I guess I'm ready for Valentine's Day (...humph...)
I'm very happy with Mr Monster, he looks great, my kind of monster in every way! I'm not too happy with Lady Monster, she looks a bit like those hyperactive girls that are a pain to deal with. I'm finishing off another illustration with a similar theme and if nothing gets in the way, I will do another update in a couple of days. Hopefully this will pay off for the lack of activity in the last few months. Until then, take care and draw! :)

Entangled

2009-12-03T13:45:00.004+01:00

I've been slacking on the blog more than ever before. I'm almost afraid of opening my Google Reader and find out I'll never be able to catch up with everyone... I'm working on some "wintery" illustrations, hopefully I'll finish before Christmas. Here is a quick thing for IF. Very autobiographical, as I'm trying to make myself a pair of "mermaid mittens" I found on Ravelry and I often feel more "entangled" than I should be!

Fall colors

2009-11-03T12:02:00.012+01:00

October came and went so fast, I'm still trying to get in full autumn mood!

This illo sat there for a while and like every other piece that I drag around for too long, I can't quite decide if I'm pleased with it or not. I'll know in a couple of weeks... If you have any suggestions, as usual I'd be happy to hear them. (Click to enlarge, I can't figure how to upload a wider preview...)
This morning I used some of the elements to create patterns. Not sure what for, but it was fun and relaxing. I'd like to upload the birdies to Spoonflow er and maybe use the fabric to cover journals, what do you say? Hope you're all having a great week!

Fairytales on the phone

2009-09-30T12:13:00.006+02:00

Among other things, this week I worked on a submission for a contest. There's still plenty of time to join in if you're interested, it's called the Grammar of Figures and it celebrates the work of a very popular italian author, Gianni Rodari. Details and rules of entry are here.
One of Rodari's books is titled "Fairytales on the phone". In the introduction he tells the story of Mr. Bianchi, a salesman often on the road and away from home, who calls his little daughter every night for a goodnight storytime. The flower pattern on the blanket is a rather lame excuse to play with Illustration Friday!

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-09-22T14:22:00.005+02:00

Here's my little contribution to Terrible Yellow Eyes (click it! Some amazing illustrations there!), a collection of works inspired by Maurice Sendak's classic and organized by the very talented Cory Godbey (check out his blog, Light Night Rains) Hope you're all having a great week start, mine seems hectic as usual!

What I should not be doing...

2009-09-15T13:57:00.005+02:00

I should be finishing a couple of illos for Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but the TV is working against me. Yesterday I caught a glimpse of Narnia, while washing the dishes and this is what appeared on my sketchbook today. This morning I managed to pull a screen door square on my face (don't ask... you must be very low on caffeine and have a lot of talent for a stunt like that!) and now I have a purple thing growing on my right eyebrow. As a friend of mine said a few days ago "purple is the new black", so I guess I'm sort of "trendy"... I certainly could join the cast of Star Trek without needing any makeup. Now what's next? Unicorns maybe?
Off to what I hope will be a more productive afternoon!

Running with crayons!

2009-09-09T23:00:00.009+02:00

Every time I expect a quiet week, I find myself chasing deadlines. These past three days have been super busy. I recently discovered that one of my fav papers (Shoeller's Hammer) and brand of pencils (Karisma) are no longer made. I looked all over the internet and ebay, to save a little stash. It's not easy to win on those auctions, so far I've missed two, I guess Karisma crayons are still going strong (this week's theme for Illustration Friday, click on the image for a larger view) *** By the way, I'm sure "Running with Crayons" is somewhere with "Kicking Bird" and "Stands with a fist". There must be a Dances with Wolves director's cut...

New Blog Design

2009-08-12T16:07:00.006+02:00

Hello everyone!
I've been missing in action for a while and I spent several weeks re-designing the blog. The reason why it took so long is of course, my lack of CSS knowledge... I hope everything works, it seems to be so with Firefox and Explorer, but please drop me a line if you happen to notice strange things (ie missing margins or broken links)
I'd like to have everything working before moving to a custom domain. I'll do this through blogger, so if you have subscribed or if you have been so kind to add me to your links, you won't need to change anything. Blogger will do all the "dirty work"... or so I hope!
Now time for me to catch up with my fav bloggers out there and to finally, pick up a pencil again!! Take care :)

Still Drifting in color

2009-06-22T16:00:00.007+02:00

Unexpectedly I had a couple of spare hours to colour the sketch I posted previously for Illustration Friday. It's still my little "Graduate" drifting here in the pool... The original sketch is here, as you can see I changed a few things around, the water is maybe a little dark... I'll play with it a bit more this evening. Have a wonderful summer!

Locked - Illustration Friday: Craving

2009-06-09T15:41:00.006+02:00

I'm craving for anything Steampunk related!!
I guess the kid in me, can't resist the fascination of seeing everyday objects turned into "machines" that seem to belong to a Jule Verne book. One of my favourite website is The Steampunk Workshop, where you can find all sorts of cool stuff with step-by-step instructions (wish I had the guts to try the altoid tin etching!) and the other one is Molly Friedrich's album. I'm also craving for a pair of those headphones she makes using the old crystal radio sets... and I could live with a pair of those goggles too! Check them out!

Illustration Friday : Adapt

2009-06-02T14:51:00.004+02:00

Flower Fairies adapted so well to their new garden, that it was a pleasure for Matilda to watch them bloom and fly away.
I'm adapting this illo to this week's theme, since it didn't make it to final selection of a contest for a children calendar. The contest will take place next year as well though, so I'll post the link as soon as it will be updated, in case you might be interested in joining. I'll not partecipate again, but I'll be more than happy to translate the requirements for you. Just ask!!

Illustration Friday : Contagious

2009-05-19T14:07:00.006+02:00

Piggy Sue is a healthy, non-Contagious, super frilly little girl!

Let's see if I can get back to the good old habits like Illustration Friday... and if I don't post next week, you're allowed to leave the meanest comments :D

One more little mermaid

2009-05-15T11:15:00.006+02:00

I've been neglecting my blog and the beautiful blogs I follow, one more time! Argh!! I got lost preparing a couple of illustration contests here in Italy and managing my creative time is always hard for me. I'm also trying to gather all the infos for some international contests that are still running. I'll post the links soon, just in case others are interested. Until then, here's is one more little mermaid... apparently she's still haunting my sketchbook and sneaked in again.

Breezy, yummy weekend...

2009-02-28T14:00:00.007+01:00

This week's theme for Illustration Friday is breezy and my Little Mermaid seems quite fitting, with her hair and seashells hearts flying in the wind. It's another illo I made for my portfolio a couple of weeks ago... maybe a little too "manga" compared to the rest of my stuff, but I like it very much. Surprisingly enough I was very quick with it, while I'm usually not at all. Maybe becouse just like Moon Quiet, it comes from a feeling I could not express, it's a sort of "disguise"!

Yesterday I finished "Il Fornaio", I had a blast with food, I think I'll do more... maybe a "tea for two" scene where I can add more details. I'm still not 100% sure about the shop's window. Maybe I should try to add a light reflection, what do you say? The funny thing is, the lady is someone I meet quite often when I do my grocery shopping... similar outfit too!I had many people asking about textures. While I'm very pleased that you like how I use them, I feel rather unqualified to give advices... I play a lot with Photoshop, most of what I end up with, is not planned at all. I try to use my own textures, becouse this way I'm sure I'm not breaking any copyright. I scan all sorts of thing, mostly fabrics and paper: the background for the shop's wall is a piece of recycled paper, the lady's coat is a piece of linen and the boy's pants are actually a scan of my jeans.
I do not use them as they come out of the scanner, becouse I try to keep the black channel empty, so I end up with brighter colors. I usually erase what is on the black channel or I copy and paste it onto a new layer, use Image-Adjustments-Hue/Saturation-Colorize to turn it into a colored image and set the layer to Multiply. This way when you erase the black, you still have that part of the texture... hope this makes sense!
There's also a fantastic group on Flickr called Textures4Layers that you may want to check out. Read the policy of each image before you use it, though.

My lovely friend Vittoria of Faruffando gave me a beautiful Kreativ Blogger Award and as usually I'm late passing it out! Make sure you stop by and visit Vittoria's blog to see her colorful works and use her new beautiful Google Theme!

Illustration Friday: Flawed

2009-02-01T17:33:00.005+01:00

Mia firmly believes that anything can be fixed. Even a flawed heart, with a few stitches will soar again...

I'm enjoying drawing this little character, I might use her for a couple more illustrations. It's a useful and fun excercise. I may consider making some prints for Etsy, not sure yet. It will be something new to try out and the designs are large enough for prints instead of cards!

Illustration Friday: Climbing

2009-01-26T09:47:00.006+01:00

Teddy was sure that climbing in bed with Mia and Bunny to read a bedtime story, was not a good idea. The book was certainly scary, Mia loved "scarytales". Children abandoned in the forest by their parents, giant beanstalks, dragons, evil queens with yummy apples... maybe even VAMPIRES! After all, Mia was already six and probably in her imagination, Prince Charming was being replaced by an handsome undead guy with a brit accent... Better stay here, near the light and keep an eye on them!

Illustration Friday: Pale

2009-01-19T13:27:00.003+01:00

Here's something I was working on before Christmas but somehow I wasn't able to finish. The original concept was different, since it was supposed to be a mermaid but I got stuck at one point and I wasn't happy with it. I did like her face though and I decided to turn it into something else... it fits this week theme even if it was not made for it.

Illustration Friday: Resolve

2009-01-07T17:55:00.005+01:00

Hello everyone and Happy New Year!! :)
I've been missing for a while... lost in the festivities whirl. I had my parents visiting, I only see them a couple of times a year and I spent so much time cooking that now I only wish for "take away food"!

As for the new year resolutions, the list is always long and I know it will vanish along the way. Or so hopes my little AlterEgo Bunny, freaking out at the bottom of the sketch! He's obviously thinking: "if she even attempts to keep up with this, she'll be worn out by the end of the month!" I hope I'll not forget to put the wacom away every now and then. I'd love to be playing again with brushes... we'll see. There's nothing worse than a blog entry to remind me, if I fail!

Illustration Friday: Balloon

2008-11-30T14:36:00.004+01:00

The Moon is like a pretty balloon ... alright, maybe not,I'm recycling illos again!
The Mega Flue I caught at the beginning of November eventually mutated into an ear infection and my creativity level dropped below zero for several weeks. I'm not slowly getting back on my feet, just in time to prepare christmas presents and other fun stuff. A couple of days ago I started a new illo, this Moon is just a the top part. There will be a mermaid at the bottom. I'm trying a few new things so working very very slowly... we'll see how it will turn out! Stay tuned!!

During the last couple of weeks I've been Tagged by two super nice bloggers, Monica of The Art of Puro and by Kerridwen Niner. Since I'm so behind on everything, I'll link back to my olderTagged post, here... hope you don't mind!

Illustration Friday: Pretend

2008-11-18T16:18:00.003+01:00

Mousy loves to dress-up and pretend to be a Tooth Fairy. A super quick digital doodle for IF this week, made with basic selections, patterns and textures... we are still recovering from the mega flue Elia caught at kindergarden! Yuck!!

And the Winner is...

2008-11-16T10:57:00.006+01:00

My very first giveaway ended friday, so time to announce a winner! Since Elia is still sick, I had to use a number generator. Not as fun as having a 3 year old pick numbers from a hat, but a little faster this time. I've numbered the entries in the same order of the comments and drumroll please...

The winner is # 12 - Melanie of Whimsical Creations
Please get in touch with me, I need your snail mail address to send you the cards! I hope you'll like them! Just to make sure I'll leave a comment on your blog later this afternoon.

A big thank you to all who entered, I wasn't expecting so many and I was very very pleased and excited. It also gave the chance to know even more lovely blogs I'll be visiting as soon as I have a little time. I only had a quick look when you left the comments and I saw some fantastic creations I want to bookmark and follow on blogger. I'll certainly do more giveaways in the future, have a great Sunday!

A Giveaway to Thank You!!

2008-11-09T14:44:00.007+01:00

Another week passed and while I was busy with Elia, my little "flue collector", I couldn't do much else. When I started this blog I hardly knew what blogging was and very shortly I discovered a whole new world of wonderful, creative people. My google reader now has over 20 bookmarks and though I often fail to keep up with everyone, I know that reading your blogs is always fun, inspiring and never fails to give me a good laugh!

This week I've receive two Blog Awards. One is from the super talented Candace Trew Camling. Check out her beautiful work, she now has a new wintery banner that is so cute! The other one comes from the always so very kind, Yoon See of Greener Pastures.
I should be passing these beautiful awards on, but time is so short these days. So to say a big Thank You to all of you who find the time to stop by my blog every week, I decided to do a little Giveaway instead. Here are the rules:

- Enter a comment on this post no later than November 14th. I'll number each entry and have Elia sort one... I'll try to take pictures of the process, he loves to do this sort of things for me!

- Prize: The prize will be two Snow Catcher Cards and two Big Hug Minicards . As I said it's a very small Giveaway, but hopefully will arrive to you before Christmas!

Illustration Friday: Vacant

2008-11-02T14:50:00.004+01:00

Recycling a piece of the Snow Catcher illo, this time the base. I'm not completly happy with the full illustration, so I'm not posting it for now, but this little house looks rather vacant.

For curiosity's sake, the snowy tree was made using a scan of a piece of islander moss. Not sure if you'll see a closeup by clicking on it... In any case, it was very fun and quick to do. Islander moss already looks like a mini tree top and turning it into a snowy tree took very little effort. If you want to try, I suggest scanning a "blob" of moss with an open scanner, then use Adjustments-Hue/Saturation-Colorize to match you background, Adjustments-Levels, set the layer to Multiply and have fun! If you make one, drop me a note, I'd love to see it!