The Doodle Blog

Rubber Penguin...

2012-01-30T17:09:00.001Z

After a little while away and a bit of a rethink on the design, my site Rubber Penguin is back.

At the moment I am using it as a site to showcase some of my illustrational work, but in the future months I would like to fill it with some products that are available to purchase.

I know I have been threatening this for quite some time now, but once I manage to control my workload (and not say yes to everything that comes my way), be prepared for me to unleash a variety of products your way.

As well as Rubber Penguin, don't forget to keep checking my personal site. I do need to update the portfolios on there, but you will be able to find my latest blog entries there.

Raphael

2012-01-26T07:23:00.001Z

Despite supposedly now being an adult, I have never been able to shake my affection with the Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles.

Growing up as an 80s child meant I was able to see first hand the huge impact these little reptiles had on the world. To say I was obsessed with them would have been an understatement.

I collected everything that had even the slightest glimpse of their little green faces on; from the figures and comics, to the more random items such as toothpaste tubes and shoelaces (all of which I still have – gross huh?).

I was forever drawing them and it even got to the point where we were banned from doing so at our school, the world literally went Ninja Turtle mad. Since then though, I haven’t ever really taken the time to draw them again. I’ve done the odd doodle, but nothing I’ve ever put my heart and soul into… Until now!

Below is a drawing of Raphael that I have been working on. He is based on the original comic book character design, rather then the more jolly cartoon style. In time I would like to produce all four characters, but for now I will leave you with this one.

Thanks for dropping by!

You can also find and rate him on my dribbble page.

Resolutions

2012-01-09T15:00:00.000Z

With the start of a new year comes the inevitable promise of new resolutions.

I have never really been the kind of person who binds themselves to something like this or do I ever really intend to. I know some people see the beginning of a new year as a gateway to shed their old skin and start again, but to be honest I have never felt that need to do so.

I am certainly not saying I live a perfect life, as trust me there are plenty of things I can improve on, but from a personal point of view I don't see the new year as that kind of opportunity for me. If I wanted to cut back on chocolate, I will. If I wanted to join a gym and get ripped then I will (well, I would at least try).

For me I want to use the beginning of this year to set myself some targets and build on what I have already achieved in my career. Over the few years I have been freelancing, I have achieved a lot, but I have never really set any goals or targets. I have worked through the year without really thinking about where I want to be and what I want to achieve.

The main aim for me is to increase the amount of illustrations I create throughout the year. The last few years has seen quite a big decline in the amount of illustrations that I had produced. This is mainly to do with the success that I have had as a freelance designer. That has kept me busy throughout the year, leaving little or no time for me to produce anything. This is obviously a bit of a catch 22 as it's fantastic to be kept so busy, but I also have this craving to produce more illustrations.

In 2012 I need to find the balance between the two and hopefully get myself not only producing more illustrations, but also getting myself a little more established as an illustrator.

I have been lucky enough to work on many commissions over the years for a variety of companies across the globe, but it is still my yearning desire to have an illustration printed in a publication or better still, to work on some form of children's book.

I want to continue the development of my style as I still think it has room to not only improve, but to grow and evolve.

By the end of the year I also want to have designed products available to purchase through my site, like greetings cards, badges and maybe t-shirts.

From a personal point of view, 2012 will probably be the last year of me living in the town I have spent my entire life growing up in.

Over the years I have watched the town become a tired, lifeless area which has more trouble on the streets then I am comfortable with. As I grow older and consider having a family myself, I look at the area I grew up in through different eyes. I think about my future children growing up in the area and the thought of it makes me really uncomfortable.

Obviously my families safety is my main concern, but from a creative point of view I think moving away from the area will do me the world of good too. Last year I was fortunate enough to have spent a month travelling the States and taking this time away really made me realise just how stagnant I feel I have become over the years. I have spent too long concentrating on producing the work, without considering my approach to it and I feel a new start and taking the opportunity to travel when I can will help inspire not only me, but my work too.

I hope that by writing these down, it will inspire me to keep pushing towards these targets. As the year unfolds I will obviously share my insights with all you lovely people.

Happy 2012 folks!

Yeti

2012-01-02T12:46:00.000Z

Happy New Year folks…

What better way to start it off then with an illustration of a Yeti. This file will be available to purchase from my iStock portfolio.

I have included the complete process, as well as some larger screenshots of the illustration so that you can see the detail a little clearer.

All designs and concepts are strictly © Copyright Dan Bailey.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T13:13:00.001Z

Just before we wave goodbye to 2011, I thought I would post a couple of illustrations I have worked on over the Christmas break.

They aren't anything amazing, it is just some character design work I was doing in between that lull of Christmas and the New Year.

You will notice that I have created two different executions for the same concept, with the idea of the man taking his head off. It is a bit of a warped idea that I have had knocking around in my head for quite some time. Though when it came to drawing it, I wasn't sure which style I wanted to do it in and so produced it in both.

As always, these illustrations will be available to purchase from iStock.

With that, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for reading my mindless rambles and to wish you a Happy New Year and a successful 2012.

All designs and concepts are strictly © Copyright Dan Bailey.

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 24

2011-12-24T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 23

2011-12-23T07:00:00.000Z

Dribbble

2011-12-22T10:33:00.000Z

After about a year of waiting, this week I got the ultimate Christmas present when I received my invite to be a player and upload my work on to Dribbble.

For those who don't know, Dribbble is a show and tell site for designers where you can upload snapshots of your work for the world to see. You can register to view the other designers work whenever you wish, but it isn't until you receive an invite from another 'player' that can you start uploading your own work.

I first found out about Dribbble about a year ago, when a friend mentioned the site as something I could be interested in. I looked into it and was instantly in awe of all the amazing talent on there and I knew it was something I wanted to get involved with.

It took me quite a few months to get my invite, but even without it I found the site simply amazing and such an inspiring resource.

You can see my Dribbble home page here.

For me this rounds off a brilliant year. I haven't been able to do as much drawing as I would have liked, but this is due to me being kept busy with my freelance design, which is obviously a great situation to be in.

I have been fortunate to have worked with some outstanding agencies on some very prestigious brands this year, including the biggest home entertainment launch of all time in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

I have also been fortunate enough to spend a few weeks in the US (another dream that came true for me), where I met and saw some incredible things and made some fantastic new friends.

I am hoping that 2012 continues in this vein and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Thank you so much for taking the time to look at my work, it really means a lot to me.

As a final present to you all, below are a couple of illustrations I have finished his week.

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 22

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 21

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 20

2011-12-20T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 19

2011-12-19T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 18

2011-12-18T07:00:00.000Z

Travel disruption...

2011-12-17T09:39:00.000Z

I have recently been working on this illustration and thought rather then just uploading the final image, I would upload my entire process.

The illustration itself is based on every commuters nightmare… Having to stand near the guy who has his music blaring out so loud that your brain begins to throb. It will be available to purchase from iStock in the next few weeks and so if you are interested in it, let me know and I will forward on a link.

The first thing I normally do when drawing, is to roughly visualise what I want the illustration/composition to be.

From that I start thinking about the characters I want involved within the illustration.

Once I am happy with the characters and composition, I then create the final sketch which I scan and trace over in Illustrator.

I always try to add as much detail as possible, especially to the clothes, as I feel it gives more personality to the characters.

I know that isn’t the most exciting process of working, but I wanted to share it so that you can see the journey my illustrations go on, from the beginning of their life as a simple doodle, to the completed image.

Please do not use any of this material without first seeking my permission.

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 17

2011-12-17T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 16

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000Z

If anyone has ever had a pet eat the tinsel off of their tree, then they will know exactly where I am coming from with this :)

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 15

2011-12-15T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 14

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 13

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 12

2011-12-12T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 11

2011-12-11T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 9

2011-12-10T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 8

2011-12-08T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 7

2011-12-07T07:00:00.000Z

Doodle Advent Calendar – Day 6

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000Z