Published Illustrator and Season Greetings

This autumn I wrote about some illustrations that I did for a new magazine, Sesat; it's published now and features some articles about shamanism, religious studies and hoodoo/voodoo. If you're interested check out Religionsvetenskapliga föreningen on their facebook page and ask for it, it's also available as a pdf. It's written in the language of kings and legends, Swedish...

For their first issue they wanted something with symbols from the five big religions. After giving it some thought I came up with this symbol which includes them all.

With this illustration I wanted to show the pool of resources, that you nowadays can pretty much choose what religion you want to adhere to. For these illustrations I wanted a simplicity that I've been striving for lately, and not to overdo or overcomplicate things.

Last week I wrote about the script that I've been working on lately. Yesterday I met my friends that had read it, and they gave me their thumbs up! So what happens now is that I'm going to give their suggestions some thought and read it through a couple of times and then probably print it and put it on the bookshelf, and start with the character design...

I hope that I during the holidays can get some drawing done on Pilgrim...

For 2013 I wish you a fair wind and following seas!

And on that note I leave you, and we'll meet again on the other side of the New Year.

Writing done?

Last week I put the last touches on the script that I wrote about. This week I sent it to two pals of mine, they are going to read it and give feedback to me. That means that it might be done or that I need to fix some things that I've missed. When I'm working on something I tend to be a bit blind, that I don't always see what is clear to someone who has not been starring at the project. That is why I let my friends read or look at the stuff that I do. Without their look, the projects would not be half as good as I think they are. And not least it boosts my confidence, which sometimes fluctuates... So letting someone else read or have a look at your project is something that I truly recommend.

So what is going to happen to the script if it's done you ask?
Well, if it's done, and I mean done-done, I will print it out and put it in a folder and let it age on my book shelf! The script to Pilgrim was aged almost two years, before I began drawing it!

Today I'm going to get back to the clean-up that I'm in the middle of...

Take care!

More clean-up

The clean-up has continued and here is one of the panels:

The script that I wrote about last week, is kind of done, but it must simmer a bit before I make a decision if it's done or not. Maybe I let some friends read it (yet) again.

Last week a friend of mine asked me if I wanted silence or sound when I worked. It's interesting because for me it differs:

When reading and writing, I need absolute silence, no music, no sound at all. For example these posts are all written in silence...

When drawing/inking, music is allowed and appreciated. Listening to the radio is functional. But the best option is to listen to a whole cd, or album. As I wrote earlier when I was inking, classical music lends itself greatly for that purpose.

When doing stuff in front of a computer, with Photoshop or an animation software, silence is preferred but it's ok with both music and sound, like radio. But if I'm doing something with an animation software that takes a lot of thinking, like putting the right pose on the right frame while moving the camera in a certain direction, silence is golden!

Take care.

Writing

Well, last week I did clean-up, which I'm going to continue with this weekend. But today I'm going to devout myself to a script that's been laying around for awhile.

I let my friends read it a couple of months ago and I've been processing the feedback that I got but I haven't really had a day when I've written on it, it's just been small ideas scribbled down on a piece of paper. Maybe I'll get done with it today?

What's it about you ask?
Well, it's kind of hard to tell, because I don't want to give too much away. It's kind of a relationship drama, and following your dreams, leave town or stay behind kind of thing. I see it as a comic, but lately I think it could actually be a short film... We'll see about that, the future will tell what's it gonna be.

Take care!

/P-G

Clean-up has begun part 2.

Well, here's the first half page, almost done, I'm going to give it some more thought, like the horse and so on...
I thought that it would be fun for you to se how it looks, since I shared the page earlier today.

Take care.

Clean-up has begun!

This week I've begun with the clean-up! I've got mixed feelings towards the clean-up. It can be fun and and interesting, and sometimes quite the opposite... Well, today it's clean-up time!

A friend gave me these words a couple of weeks ago, "They can't keep a good man down". This week I really needed to hear that, and I'm very happy that he gave me those words, and now I'm giving them to you!

Take care!

Sketches in blue

Last week I transferred the thumbnails with blue pencil. Sketching in blue keeps it loose and processy... you can play with it more and it's not the whole world if you must begin anew, because it's just a sketch in blue pencil.
The page below is interesting because I'm not sure if I'm going to keep the top panel as it is...

Take care!

Next chapter

Last week I introduced my web comic, Pilgrim. It felt really good to put it out there, and let people read it. This week I've started working on the next chapter. I've been doing and re-doing thumbnails of the pages. I usually don't bother with keeping the characters on model at this stage, but some panels turned out fine!

Take care!

Pilrim is launched!

Yes it's true ladies and gentlemen, it's finally launched! My first venture in the web comics and comics field! It's up and running so head on over to it and read, the link is to your right and below:

http://pilgrimserien.blogspot.se/

It feels go-ood!

After spending some time in front of the screen and decide how to publish my comic, I decided to do it with Blogger, because I already know that tool and it's nice and easy for me to use and that makes me a happy man! I took a glance at comicpress but you needed some hard programming skills that I don't possess, so I let that one go, I also took a gander at the various webcomic places on the web but I didn't really find one where my comic would place. So Blogger it is! I truly think it's a win-win situation, it's easy to use and easy on the eyes to read and as a reader you don't have to spend time waiting for pages to load!

It will be very interesting to see where this will take my comic. Will it be read? I hope so... Speaking of reading I decided to publish it in the language of legends and heroes...Swedish! I did this to stay true to the script that I've written. But in the future there might be translations. But I don't think it will be that hard to follow even if you don't speak the language.

There will probably be things that I miss along the way, one can only try so much to do it right. If there will be things that I missed, like facts or other stuff, I will take the opportunity after the final chapter to write an essay or article where I put things right.

Now it's only to go ahead with the second chapter!

Take care!

Coloring and the Exorcist

Last week I've been coloring my pages with Photoshop. I'm done with my first pass and today I'm going to look at the pages to see if there are things that needs to be sorted out. Hopefully the first chapter will soon appear on a net, close to you. In just a few days...it's so close now I can almost feel it!!!!!

Tomorrow (30/10) I'm going to give an introduction to the screening of the Exorcist, at Gothenburg University Humanisten at 18.00. Be there or be square!

Take care!

Inking done?

Well, almost... As I wrote last week I had to re-ink some pages, and I'm going to take a look at them with fresh eyes today to see if they are alright. This thing with fresh eyes is very important, because some drawings you think are great one day, might not be that great the next day... If I give them my thumbs up, the inking is done for this installment of the story. So with any luck or whatever you might call it, they are going to get scanned and colored, and put on the web! So stay tuned!

A discovery that I've made during this particular process is that classical music lends itself greatly for inking. Many years ago I bought some themed compilations CD sets with classical music, and these couple of days I've re-acquainted myself with them, and they work, very well! Classical music and inking is a great combo!

Take care!

Do over!?

Well, this week I've finished the inking and I was ready to scan the pages, or so I thought... After having another look at them I realized that the process had only begun. So today I'm going to have a serious look at the pages and see what I'm going to do about them. Some pages will be re-inked because some lines are very nervous looking and scribbly. And we don't want that now, do we?

Last week I forgot to tell you that I've done two illustrations for a magazine! It's called Sesat Magazine and is published by Religionsvetenskapliga Föreningen at Gothenburg University. I will tell you more about it when it's published, if my memory serves me right it's going to be available both as a paper product and online.

Take care!

The inking continues

Here is a page that I've inked:

When I've inked them all I'm going to go over them ones more to make sure they are alright.

Is this an accident waiting to happen?

Of course I'm referring to the flask of ink, do you say that in English or do your say container or bottle? And also the fact that I have to reach for the button on my lamp under the drawing board to switch it on and off... It feels like I'm only a moment of unawareness from having a big black ink blot on my keyboard...  But the main question remains, is the iMac keyboard ink retardant?

Take care!

Inking

Last weeks to-do list is now done and I have begun the process of inking, which I'm going to continue with today.

Last night I thought about the process of creativity. If it hadn't been for this blog I don't think that I would have realized how much of a process it is! At the beginning I kind of hid behind the process and wrote "...you thought that last weeks drawing was done, it wasn't, I've done more work on it, so here it is again..." Previously I've kind of worked through the various phases of production, like, I'm done with this, now on through the next phase... Now with the concept of process firmly in my mind, I just don't go through it, I rework, and change, and do it over until I'm satisfied. For me that is a grand stride, that hopefully will result in better quality of my work.

Take care!

A to-do list

Yep, that was the result of my work last week on the project. Since I'm kind of done with the clean-up, and am collecting strength and courage to begin the inking. I decided to take a closer look on the pages, and that look resulted in the above mentioned to-do list! It's kind of funny that how thorough you think you are, there are always things that pop-up that you need to sort out. Things like design issues or small details. So later today I'm going to tend to this list and also to give the other projects a looking after.

Take care!

The hour of creativity!

This week my project hasn't moved that far, I'm going to work on it today when I'm done with this blogging.

A couple of days ago I remembered two distinct occasions when I've been so into a project that my planning for that particular day kind of revolved around it.

First story is many years from now. I worked crazy early hours back then, and this week I was also attending the Swedish Book Fair. So I went to work, and then to the Book Fair, and after that I got back home and sat by the drawing board for about an hour, and then head back into town to meet friends. At that time I was working on a new demo reel. I think I did clean up that day...

Second story is kind of similar, it was only a couple of years ago, on a friday. I had to go to a lecture during the day, to save time I ate at the restaurant at the university. After that I went home, sat an hour by the drawing board before I had to get back into town to enjoy International Animation Day (I think it was). At that time I was experimenting with comics...

The stories themselves are not groundbreaking at all, but for me they are important. I wouldn't have sat by the drawing board if I didn't want to. The funny thing is that I can have these whole days when I don't get that much done (they are few, but they exist) but I also have these days when I only get that one hour, but that one hour is so important. I may not have made grand strides of improvement but the important thing is, I think, that I sat there and got things done.

Take care!

The process of writing

I don't see myself as a writer (not yet anyway). But it's something that I enjoy doing. After a while I usually send the piece to some friends that I trust, and who knows what they're doing, and I ask them to give feedback on the piece. I do this to ensure quality in the project and to get some new pairs of eyes on it. Because I get a little bit blind on my own text, and the new eyes that read the text can tell me things that I can do to get a better result. We usually do this a couple of times, depending on the project. I write, they read, give input, I write, they read etc. My experience tells me that it's a good and easy way to get a better result. But even though I trust my very well chosen friends, I must feel free to sometimes follow their lead and to sometimes say no please, because it's my project, and I must be at the helm! 

Yesterday was a day when I met my friends that had read one of my scripts. Now I'm going to think on their input and see what I'm going to do with it. I also showed them the first pages of Pilgrim, the comics project I'm doing at the moment. I got some good input on that one as well. After yesterdays session I think I've gotten a little bit further on the road to being a writer, and why not, since I fill my sketch books with writing and not sketches... and from the input yesterday I got that the script could easily be transformed into a novella, and also that Hemingway was name dropped! ;-)

Take care!

Clean up and inspiration

The process of clean up continues as you see below:

This is the second half of the second page. As I'm rolling along with this project I've noticed that I'm way outside of my comfort zone, which is good and challenging but also a bit scary. How will the end product look like? Will it be any good?

If you remember, I wrote about inspiration a couple of weeks ago. The question was, when do you do the best work, is it when you're inspired or is it when you're not so? I remember when I was animating a sequence a while back, one day I had this huge inspiration, I worked fast, the papers just flew around my drawing board, later when I did the linetest, let's just say the sequence needed much more work, much, much more! Another time on the same project I really didn't feel the warm wind of inspiration on my back at all, it was just cold and damp. But when I did the linetest, the sequence worked fine! So the question remains, when do you do your best work? Of course there are lots more parameters to take in, but it's an interesting question to ponder!

Speaking of inspiration, these last weeks I've tried to look for it and to obtain it through different ways, looking in books, browsing the internet etc, I've even tricked myself into drawing, and it worked! So as they say, every way is good except the bad! The reason why I tried to find the inspiration, is that I wanted to try to get inspired when I was not. Maybe that's just the way it is, some days your inspired and some days your not. My latest research in this area tells me that if you just begin your work, you will soon get inspired, if not, you can try the multitude of ways to get inspired. Only you know how you can get the fix of inspiration! Boy, I'm starting to sound like a self help book...

Take care!

Two year anniversary!

Time goes by quickly! It's hard to believe that I started this blog two years ago! As you can see I've done some changes.

New title
The old title was kind of pushed out in just a few seconds, I didn't really give it much thought and during my posts and updates, I've noticed that it hasn't been that much animation and or illustrations (depending on how you define illustration of course). When I decided to get a new name I tried something with process and creativity but it didn't really talk to me. The main reason behind this was that I noticed that I quite often write about the process. I decided instead to crank up the egocentricity and just put my name there!

About me
Here I've also put a new text, something like a declaration of what you may find here.

Language
For some time now I've been writing this in English, due to the international visitors, they are not that many but I kind of wanted to include them here as well. A funny thought is that maybe they all are swedes abroad... I've been giving it some thought and I'm going to continue writing it in English, but there might pop up some Swedish here and there, I think...

Projects
The projects are rolling along nicely. I've begun clean-up on my comics project, and I've put thoughts and sentences in a document for my horror project. Oh, and I almost forgot that I've also sent a script to some friends to read and to give feedback on.

Here I would like to share a picture of some sketches where I experimented how I would look in various beards and moustaches:

Last week when I decided to cut my beard I tried the look, no. three from the right on the lower row. It looked real cool, but I think I'm going to save that one for when I'm applying for a job at West Coast Choppers...at least I will look the part, even though I don't have the skill set they require!

Take care!

Yet another project?

Well, I kind of wanted to share this with you but I got so involved in the blue pencil earlier that I forgot it! So what is this?

Well, this is how the very seed of a new project might look like, when I put it on paper. It's a horror story, and the idea is quite clear but what you see here, is all there is. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to just write it or do it all myself. The future will decide!
It's kind of funny, me doing horror, like, I'm the easiest person to scare, a simple "Hello" might sometimes do the trick... honestly! And my horror-drawing-skills are yet to be found...
But I'm going to be careful with this seed and plant it, and nurture it and maybe it will bare fruit someday!

Take care!

Sketches in Blue

Wow, that sounds kind of poetic...

Today I wanted to share with you some sketches of the project. Previously I've been quite hesitant to put early sketches on the blog because I only wanted to show good stuff. Eventually though I've been thinking that it can't really hurt to show them, it's a piece of the process!

Here is the thumbnail for the first page!

As you see here, I've been working really loose and my main goal has been to get the pacing and the composition right, so the reader will be able to follow the story, that has been key in these sketches.

When I was satisfied with the composition I have enlarged the sketch on two sheets of paper, this because it's easier when I'm going to scan them, and its easier in handling the sheets, instead of having a big ass sheet of paper! When publishing it will also get easier (I think) because I can then choose to publish it in half pages or in full pages.
As you can see here I've been working very loose at first, just to get the pacing and the composition right (yet again). When I'm (again) satisfied with it, I've worked more with getting the characters in there.
For this I've used a blue pencil, why you ask? Well, me and my blue pencil don't go that far back, actually! When you open a book about comics or animation, you will soon see beautiful sketches done in either blue or red pencil. When I went to animation school I tried the blue pencil for some sketches, but it kind of went south... I was working on my thesis project, and I was using a blue pencil on some drawings. At that time my sketching was very fast and very... inaccurate, I could end up with lots and lots of lines, and think for yourself having lots of lines in blue, it felt like I'd used a blue crayon! And when I scanned it, it was even worse! So that use of the blue pencil meant more work, so I put that pencil in the pencil jar and there it has been laying around until now... kind of. When I have animated a walk cycle or something like that I've used the blue and red pencil to distinguish the right or left arms and/or legs. Lately I've seen some comics artists using blue pencil and I thought that I should give that a go, and thus far I like it, the lines get kind of loose and you can easily correct them. So maybe I'm a blue pencil guy after all!

Take care!

The cast!

And here they are, the whole cast! Maybe not all of them, but at least the ones that moves the plot forward. The character designs might change a bit when they come into play.

This week I've finished with the pre-production, and I've started drawing it. I'm a sucker for pre-production, I really like that phase of a project, you're energetic by the new idea that holds promises of greatness! And that's because you haven't fouled it up yet!! You start looking for inspiration and plan the project. And you start writing it, and putting words on your idea. Pre-production is kind of foolproof, you can hardly mess it up! So it feels safe, currently I'm out of that safe zone and I've started drawing it, which feels a bit scary, and also fun at the same time. It's alway fun to finish a part of the project and move on to the next.

Yesterday though I had one of those days where I kind of got things moving, but the inspiration wasn't really there, ok, I know, behind all creativity there's 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration! But sometimes it's nice to feel the wind of inspiration on your back, you know! I have my ways of getting the fix of inspiration, but it just didn't work. I will write more on the subject of inspiration later on... I know that some days are just like that, and you just have to get in there and do it.
The all so important question is when do you do your best work, is it when you're inspired or is it when you feel not so inspired, I think I have a theory on that one but I'll share that with you later on...

Take care!

Character design and Inspiration

This week I've finished the character design for my main characters Quentin and Héloise. You can see a quick snapshot of the character sheets below. When I have begun drawing the comic there might be some small changes, but I'll take them as they come. Right now I'm working on the design for the supporting characters.

This week I've also realized that even though I like the current project that I'm working on, I'm already thinking on my next project and planning that. At first I thought that I didn't like the current one, but I do. And then I thought that it might be that the grass is greener on the other side, but I came to the conclusion that: the thought of the next project fuels me with inspiration, force and energy to finish the current project. As an example I can take my last project, the lipsync, when I was working on that I thought on this comics project and could hardly wait to get going, and now when I have, I'm thinking on my next project and planning that one. I guess that's how I work.

Another truth that I discovered this week is that my different ways of expression (animation, comics, icons, violins) gives inspiration and force to one another, and takes time and effort at the same time. Heavy, huh? What I mean is that the different expression or craft gives inspiration to other ways of expression. But at the same time when I'm working on one expression, that one takes time and effort that I could've given another expression. Heavy, indeed!

Take care!

Linked in

Today I joined Linkedin!

I will shortly see where this takes me!

So far I've put links to this blog and to my portfolio, that's the most important stuff I guess.

Take care!

Taking breaks?

These last weeks I've been out of town and honing my gardening skills... So sadly my project hasn't moved an inch! But on my break from the project I've gotten some ideas that I'm going to develop further and see where they take me, exciting indeed!

Speaking of breaks, I've been giving it some thought now and again. Sometimes I feel like I have to be working on my projects because I want to finish them, and I want to move forward. Sometimes I feel that all I want is a break from it all. I guess the best thing would be to integrate work and breaks/pauses. I think it's good to sometimes get a break from whatever you're doing because then you can look at it with "new" eyes.

So what I'm trying to say is that breaks are good and I hope my conscience thinks the same way...

Take care!

New project!

A few of the positive things with actually finishing projects are the feelings of accomplishment and pride. These last weeks I've been finishing some stuff that I've been working on for a long time. Maybe the best feeling is that you ask yourself, what am I going to do now? It feels like you are on an open road with a full tank of gas!

Well, last week I started a new project! This is a comics project, that's been wanting to get made for several years. The basic idea, is very old (back in '97) and in 2006 I started writing this script, that I finished in 2010. The idea then was to begin drawing it as a side project. But in a moment of clarity I decided to put it on hold because, well, I'm a guy and, ok, I'm opening up now... it's hard to do two things at the same time... Back then I was also in the middle of an animation project that took a lot of my time. So the script has been lying here just waiting to get drawn!

This last week I've been re-acquainting myself to the project, reading old notes and of course the script. I've also been working on the character sheets, I put them on the blog in 2010, so I thought that it would be a good thing to rework them. That work will probably continue today and next week also. And after that I'm going to look at the thumbnails of the first chapter that I drew in 2010. I'm quite happy with them, but there might be some changes to do.

I'm thinking of working on the project chapter-by-chapter to get some variety. I've got some thoughts about publication, but that's something that I think will get sorted out later in the process.

Ok, I have no idea when it will be finished. No clue at all! I'm hoping for next year, but I don't know. And I also don't know if I'm going to pull it off. Like, am I ready for this kind of project? Do I know what I'm doing? Will it work? Will people read it?

Speaking of reading, it's going to get published in Swedish, that's a decision that's been made, because I want to stay true to the original idea, and the script. But that doesn't mean that it will not get translated later on, so don't get sad because you're not fluent in Swedish!

I'm thinking of letting these blog posts be some kind of "behind-the-scenes" of the project, but I don't want to do posts that are like "Still drawing, no, I'm not finshed yet!" When you visit my blog I want there to be something for you, so you don't feel like it's a waste of time.

Take care!

Swedish summer night sky

Last night I came up with the idea to take a few snapshots of the summer night sky, so you can see how it looks. My camera isn't the best but I think the idea comes across quite well.
The bright summer sky is something I can't get enough of, I stand on my balcony and look up and just taking it in. Although I know that the summer solstice was last week, I'm in total denial over that, we will have many, many bright nights left to enjoy, so there!

Take care

This photo is taken 22:20, and we see the sky over Mölndal and Gothenburg.

23:00

23:40, here my camera decided to put horizontal lines in the picture, don't know why...

0:20, this one became quite dark, in real life it's much brighter, trust me.

Why animation?

After looking at the pile of drawings for the previously mentioned lipsync, one might ask that question. Why among the various ways of expressing art did I choose animation?

Well, as many kids I had a love for animation, as I got older my interest deepened and I started to read magazines and books about animation and comics. I've always read and still reads comics, but it was something special with animation. We're in the 90s now and animation has a boom going on with great movies coming out from Disney and other companies. I had a rough talent for drawing, and I believe it was in '95 that I made the decision to take steps towards the animation field. So I took art lessons. Those lessons led to art school and that art school led to animation school!

But why animation?
I mean no sound man can put so many hours on a clip that takes a few seconds to watch...
Well, to go deeper into this mystery, I think it has to do with the drawing that moves. I think that's the only way to explain it. The still drawing that moves. When I put the drawings into the computer and it works, that's the greatest feeling. That's when those hours by the drawing board pays off. And when it doesn't work, it's equally frustrated! For me animation equals hand drawn animation, even though I've seen lots of 3d movies and liking them, in my head animation still is hand drawn.

My next animation project will be to explore the digital scene, if it will be 2d or 3d I don't know at the moment, maybe it will be both? But before I do that I'm going to do a project of mine that's been calling on my attention for quite some time, more news will follow...

So here is the pile of drawings for the lipsync. I haven't counted them, because that is not so important to me, the important thing is that the animation works!

Take care!

New Demoreel

I've just updated my demoreel! It's on my portfolio and demoreel-blog, the link is to your right!

I want to extend my warm thanks and gratitude to my mentor to whom I've sent pieces of animation to look at, and he in his turn has sent notes to me. Sometimes within deadline, sometimes outside... ;-) Thanks!

Take care!

Lipsync

I'm now finished with a piece of animation that I've been working on for quite some time now, it's been an ongoing project that I've been working on, off and on. And now it's finished! Well, as you animators know, one can tweek the animation and work more on it, for me it's the piece itself that explains to me when or if it's done... I'm now going to share the linetests that I did along the way, so you can follow the process. The finished clip is at the bottom.

The character (Raccoon) is created by me.

The audio is "borrowed" from American Pie 2, it's one of the band camp kids that explains why you shouldn't bring food to band camp.

After analyzing the audio, thinking about what he is saying, how he is saying it. I did some sketches, took photos of the them and put them together with the audio, to get the feel of it.

Here I've done some more work on it, but still it's very crude.

Yet more work, and still keeping it loose to really find the right keys. On the above tests I haven't been focusing on being "on model" what's been more important is to find the right keys that can carry the sequence. My goal with this animation was to really breath life into the character, I wanted the animation to to be a "a piece of life".

Here is the first linetest with actual animation, although being very loose and still trying to work it all out. This was the first test that I sent to my mentor, so he could get me pointers on where I needed to do more work.

Here is the first cleaned up test, right about now I started to think that I was done with it, but I wasn't...

I needed to change a few things so I did...

When I sent this test to my mentor he gave it his blessing, maybe he was more tired of it than I was...? But I still found some things to work on...

...so I did and here it is, the finished animation! Ta-daaa!

Take care!

My first violin ever!

It's done!

This update might be a tad longer than usual so grab a cup of tea, just in case...

It's actually done! I'm so proud of it I might burst at any minute! This is the violin that I wrote about a year ago, the one that I had hanging in my kitchen window. This spring I've put varnish on it, 14 coats, and simply put the rest together, the bridge and so on. I've showed it to a professional builder and he suggested to lower the nut (which I did) and also to readjust the sound post, I might do that later on, when I have an abundance of patience...those of you that have put a sound post in a violin knows what I'm talking about! I'm also going to let some musicians have a go at it, so I can get their input as well.

This might sound silly, but I'm so pleased with the fact that it actually sounds, it makes sound! Alright, I'm not sure it could fill the Royal Albert Hall with music, but I've got no plans to go there, yet!

Why then have I built this violin, from scratch, out of pieces of wood that doesn't look violiny at all?
Well, as many of the things that I do, it has the basis from a movie! When I went to animation school I saw this french movie, Un coer en hiver (www.imdb.com/title/tt0105682/) with the always brilliant Daniel Auteuil, and Emmanuelle Béart. It's a slow paced love drama where two men falls in love with the same woman. These two men have a violin shop together, and those scenes in that shop, you could feel the craft of it all through the screen. The production must have had a luthier that helped the actors and the set. This was in '98 or '99, and I got the idea that some time in the future I would like to try to build a violin. But since I'm all thumbs, as I've written before in making the violin varnish box, how would that be possible?
Another reason why I wanted to build a violin, is that I like the shape of the instrument, it's kind of the ultimate beautiful object. It's curves and curls, that is present all over the design.

We go forward a couple of years and I get the opportunity to craft knifes, I think this is very important because without those knifes, there would not have been a violin. In making those two knives, that I gave to my father and brother, I kind of reawakened my more practical side and boosted my confidence.

We skip forward a couple of years and in 2004 I enrolled in this violin making class, and I can honestly tell you that I didn't know what I was doing at times. And for sure if they would have had an ability test in the beginning, I would not have been accepted. This has truly been a journey, with frustration, fun, craftiness and work. The reason why it has taken so long is because in the beginning I only worked on it in class, and I didn't do anything at home. This because I didn't know what to do! And I must also confess since this is my first violin, I've made all the mistakes that you possibly can do, well maybe not everyone, I saved a few, for later... In making these mistakes I've truly learned a lot. And let's face it everyone is a beginner at first, even Stradivarius was a beginner... But honestly for some time in the beginning, it really felt that I took one step forward and two steps back. But after a while I thought that if I move a little forward every week, then that's ok and even good! And now we're here!

The reason why it's red? Well...uh...it's...a movie! ;-) A couple of years ago I saw the movie The Red Violin (www.imdb.com/title/tt0120802/). Where we follow a red violin through three centuries, from being made to present day. It's also kind of slow paced. I can recommend it, and from that film I got the idea to make this violin red. The film also has a beautiful soundtrack.

I'm actually already working on my next projects. Hopefully these will not take as long to finish! So this is not the end, I'm going to continue working with these beautiful instruments! I'm looking forward to learn more and to be able to get better results.

Here are some pictures of the violin, as you know by now I'm not a photographer, this meaning that it looks even better in real life!

On the picture above, you see my biggest "mistake", I didn't get the roundness in the back as it should have, actually what I got was what they call a goats back/getrygg. Well, I learned from my mistake and on the belly I got the roundness that it should have.

Landscape in water color

Hi!

The last couple of weeks I've been looking at this old water color painting that I've got on my wall, yes, I'm one of those that has his own paintings on the wall...

I kind of discovered water color when I went to animation school. It was there and then I really picked it up. It was both acrylics and aquarelle, but mostly aquarelle. I can't say that I'm a painter of landscapes, all in all I've done five landscape paintings. Here is the best of them. I painted it in 2000, we were a couple of friends visiting a summer house up on the west coast here in Sweden. It was a beautiful day and the sun was warm and I did this painting, quite effortlessly. It just flowed, everything just got into place. And maybe that's the way you should paint landscapes or whatever, effortlessly!

Take care!

New Concept

This week I'm sharing pictures of a new concept of mine. I've developed it for some time and for the moment I'm not sure what's going to happen with it. Will it be animation or comics? I'm not going to write a lot about it, only that it's inspired by french-belgian comics and that the main character is a photographer. Through the pictures I think you get the basic idea of the project. The pictures are in low resolution. I dashed some color on one of the drawings to get the basic color idea.
I'm being a bit secretive about the concept because I don't want it to fall in to the wrong hands, which means that the hands are not mine...

Take care!

Composition in RGB 2

Today we will finish the series of compositions with one of the last pieces that I painted.

But we start with the story!

Last week I told you about the project RGB where I wanted to explore those three colors. In 2009 I did this painting, acrylics on canvas. This piece in some way finishes the composition phase in my painting. The figure in the middle is an abstraction of the form of Christ as it is pictured on the cross of resurrection/uppståndelse korset. As a confirmation gift I got one of those neck pieces where the figure of Christ on the cross is taken out, so you can look through the cross. This image has had an impact on me and I've done a few works about it. The three fields of color can symbolize the Trinity, when I've looked at the painting I can sometimes see a bird in the blue field... My object with this painting was to keep it fresh and vibrant, and also to find harmony in the whole painting.

And with this piece we close the chest on the compositions, and as I've written elsewhere these works were studies to explore and to play and to learn. It's been fun to share these works that is more arty than the other stuff that I put up here. Not to say that the drawings and such are not art, but what is art anyway...? That is a question I'm not even going to try to answer...! I'll save that one for another day!

Be sure to check back next week when we will look at some new and fresh artwork for a new concept of mine!

Take care!

Composition in RGB

Hi there!

We continue with yet another composition. This piece is part of a series with paintings where I based the paintings on red, green and blue. I wanted to explore these colors more and see where they took me. I also thought that it was cool to paint anological with the colors that monitors or TVs base their colors on. In this period I almost only painted with acrylics on canvas. And as you see I've taken a photo of it.

The challenge with this painting was to get harmony between the larger fields but also within them. I think I painted it in '06 or '07. If I remember correctly it took some time to paint it, because I didn't want one small color field to pop out! In this period I painted squares, it sounds silly I know, but I did! Now, when I look back on these paintings I see them as training or exercises in blending color. And as you acrylic painters know if it's one skill you get with painting in acrylics, it's color blending, because the color dries so fast, so if you have to make corrections you need to blend exactly that same nuance that you painted with earlier!

This makes me remember what one of my class mates from animation school said, about her first semester in preparatory art school. As she remembers it, what she did that first semester was to blend colors.

Take care!

Composition in color

Hi!

This wednesday the nostalgia here was so thick you could cut it with a knife! But now we're back in business!

I'm continuing with a composition in color! It's hanging on my wall, and I've just taken a quick photo of it. It's acrylic on canvas. I will let it speak for itself.

Take care!

Camp Jened

This post will be a longer text based post!

Yesterday I stumbled across this documentary:

http://www.amotherscourage.org/

It's about autism and how families cope with it. I can really recommend it. When I watched it I remembered my summer as a camp counselor at Camp Jened in 1995. This post will be a trip along memory lane... for some time now I've thought about e-mailing the Camp, just to say hi, but it seems that they don't exist any more, I haven't seen any website and the e-mail I wrote bounced back. If anyone has any information, please let me know. I watched a couple of videos from camp on youtube earlier today.

What is/was Camp Jened?
It was a camp for people with special needs. As a camp counselor you got one or two guests to take care of and let them have a great experience at camp. The camp was situated close to Rock Hill and Monticello in New York state in the USA.

What was it like?
Well I can only speak of how I remember it back in '95, but a normal day was like this:
Wake up and go to the guests cabin and wake them up and get them to breakfast.
Eat breakfast with your guest.
Activity
Lunch
After lunch you got about an hour of free time.
Activities
Dinner
Evening activities
Get your guests to their cabin and ready for night.
At this time the clock was about 10 at night. You could at this point go and hang out with your friends before it was time to go to bed yourself.

The guests stayed for 5 or 9 days, I'm not sure but it was something like that. They stayed at cabins that were named after the indian tribes, one was named Hopi. I stayed with the male counselors at the Convent. During the guests stay, you got one day off and that day was a whole day including the evening before. I remember that I teased my fellow counselors when I had my day off! I remember that I often went to Monticello, just to get a change of scenery. We went to the cinema quite often, the first movie I saw at an American cinema was Die Hard, with a vengeance! Seeing a movie that takes place in NY when you for the first time are in the that same state, that was so cool!

We got a whistle and a pen, that we had to have on us at all times, I think the whistle is hanging in my old room at my parents house and I think the pencil stopped working in autumn '96...

My memories from that summer are quite scarce. On the whole I enjoyed camp, a lot! But it was also a lot of work. The friendships you got were real friendships. I stayed in touch with a couple of friends from camp, for many years. What do I remember more? Of course the Rock Hill bar! Where a beer cost one dollar! When I left camp in early august, I had to take a ride that left camp crazy early in the morning. And before taking that ride to get me close to NY I shaved, and one of my friends came and he wanted to get a photo of us together, so he did. When they left I sensed that I had shaving foam on my ear, so somewhere there is photo of me with shaving foam dangling from my ear...

The guest that I had that I remember the most was Alan, he liked to paint. On everything, and he was meticulous when I blended the paints. He painted the inside boxes on a Trivial Pursuit board game, that got me in trouble with the games-lady and also with the arts and crafts-lady. So I smuggled paints and paper to Alan so he could paint. I also remember the rain that we got, I then understood the saying "it's raining cats and dogs" the raindrops really pounded on your head. We each had what they called "over night awake duty" which means you stayed awake and took care of the guests during the night. I had some comics that I read and I also spoke to the other counselors. I remember that I also had micro waved popcorn that I ate from 5 o'clock in the morning, so I could stay awake those last hours before the other counselors came to prepare the guests for their breakfast.

We had one longer break between camps so a couple of us travelled to Boston, there I met with my grandma's cousin, which was great, sadly she passed the year after. But I'm very glad that I got to meet her.

So did we experience the USA?
Well, we experienced one slice of the US. I can't say that I know how it is in the USA because I stayed at a camp for 2,5 months.

On my way home I stayed in New York for a couple of days. Which was quite refreshing after experiencing the every day life of camp. On my last day I ran out of money! True story! I managed to get to the airport and to tell you the truth I was very hungry after only eating two bananas...

The year after, in 1996 I got a letter from Camp Jened if I wanted to return. After thinking about it I decided to not go back, because my friends from '95 were not going back and I thought that my summer there in was so great. Can it be as great as it was, the year before? So I didn't go back. I don't regret it, but if I'm going to be in the neighborhood, I will look it up. I would like to revisit the old camp, but who knows when that will be.

I think that summer meant a whole lot for me, I don't think I can express it clearly enough. I think you have to experience it to "get it", and understand it. There is a special feeling with places where people from all around the world meet, and get along. Camp Jened was one of those places!

To all you other camp counselors out there, I hope all is well with you. And I hope that Camp Jened will be up and running some time in the future.

Take care!

Composition

I did some sketching this week, or maybe doodling is more correct. I like this composition, it's clear and light. I was into compositions a couple of years ago. I found it very rewarding and challenging to make the paintings work, to get the colors communicating to each other. Somehow I stopped with those paintings to do more figurative artwork. Maybe that's just how it is, you go through various phases in life. But you can always go back if you want, and maybe that step back will in fact be a step forward. And on that philosophical note I leave you for now!

Take care!

Me and Modesty part 5

Welcome to the fifth and final part of my Modesty Blaise project! As always we begin with the story...

During this project I've experiencing every sentiment from "happy happy, joy joy" to "Oh my Lord, why has thou forsaken me". I first thought of the project as something fun, and kind of trivial actually, but that soon changed and it began to be more and more serious. I'm quite amazed by that!
So how have I chosen to end this project? Of course with a comic strip!
In doing this comic strip I wanted:
-action!
-that the strip be somewhere in the middle of the adventure.
-close-ups
-show the kongo/yawara.
-to give a picture of the whole adventure.
-to show Modesty and Willies relationship and their past in Network.
-Tarrant.
-a classic Modesty strip.
-clear (ink)black.
-a cliffhanger?

Well, I'm not sure I could fill only one strip with all this, but I sure tried!

When I had done some work on the strip I figured that the third panel didn't quite work so I made this panel instead which I think suits the strip better:

A couple of days ago I noticed that this panel could be added to the the original strip as a fourth panel, but I didn't do that because I wanted the trip to be only three panels.

And here it is in all it's glory:

I wanted to use similar fonts as they use in the Modesty Blaise books published here in Sweden by Egmont in 2006. I think I've gotten quite close.

As a bonus here is the strip inked with brush, (my previous attempts with inking with brush has been epic fails) I was so amazed by the fact that it came out alright that I wanted to share it with you:

And that's it for me for now.

Take care!

P.s And of course as you probably already knew Modesty Blaise is created 1962 by Peter O'Donnell (1920-2010) and drawn by several artists but the first to draw the comic was Jim Holdaway (1927-1970). I hope I haven't enraged them in doing this tribute...

Me and Modesty part 4

Here is last weeks drawing inked! As I wrote last week I wanted to give Willie a go, and also to show their relationship, and get them in a cool pose. The cool poses are something I have to work on...
This project will get it's finale next week, so be sure to come back! It will be a smash!

Take care!

Me and Modesty part 3

Due to the coming holidays (Easter) I'm writing this update on a wednesday evening and not as usually on a friday.

As I'm continuing to experience this truly is a learning experience! When I looked at the last weeks Modesty drawings I noticed that one of her feet didn't look right. I tried to cool my nerves and tried to stand in that pose myself to reassure that the pose was alright! I've got one word for you: Ouch! Mental note, if you can't strike the pose you are drawing, it's probably best to rework the pose. So here they are (again), the first drawings of Modesty Blaise in pencil and ink:

But there will be something new for you as well. This week I also wanted to draw Willie Garvin and try to visualize their relationship somehow. Actually I found Willie quite hard to get right, to tell you the truth I'm not sure if I've found him yet.

Take care!

Me and Modesty part 2

Hi there!

First I must write that the earlier update this week meant quite a lot for me and for this blog, maybe I'm taking it too serious but I think it's very important to be clear about things and why they are as they are. This blog of mine is kind of organic but the maine focus is creativity, and I want to keep it that way! But later on there will be some changes, so stay tuned!

We continue this Modesty Blaise project with an inked drawing of last weeks sketch. Even if the project is quite well defined (in my head) I now know that I will return to Modesty later on. I'm still kind of searching for the character and getting to know her and Willie. I'm trying to be close to Holdaway, but I'm also trying to find my own way. So far it's been quite challenging, to find the character. I stand in aw for the comics artists who do such great work. What I mean is that it's kind of easy to just draw a figure that looks like Modesty, with her clothes and traits, but the real challenge is to draw the character, the person.

Take care!

A learning experience.

This blog of mine really is a learning experience! A couple of weeks ago I posted that I was looking for work. Which is true. But during the last week or so I've given it some more thought and I decided to delete that post. I'm writing about it because I believe in honesty and transparency. When I wrote that post I kind of lost track of what this blog is all about, creativity in a quite broad meaning of the word. My goal with this blog is to have a showcase where I can show what I do, and to keep improving my skills.

I'm not sure if these are the right words to write, but here I go, "I stand corrected".

Please be sure to come back this friday for another drawing of Modesty Blaise!

Take care!

Me and Modesty

I'm trying something new and a slightly bigger project for the upcoming weeks. And the theme for these updates will be Modesty Blaise. One of the coolest comics characters ever! But first there is a story, as always...!

Me and Modesty Blaise don't go that far back. I kind of knew of the character before I read the comic. I can't remember when I read the comic for the first time, but if I'm going to pin point it, it would be somewhere in the 90s, I guess... A funny thing though is that I may have seen the movie from the 60s before I read the comic... Talk about getting not the ultimate introduction to the Modesty universe! Speaking about the movie, I kind of like it in it's 60s camp and groovy way, it's sad though that they couldn't get movie makers that had a feel for the comic. I think that would have made a better movie that way. But back to the comic! So there I was not having giving it a fare chance, not until my nephews wanted to sell books and magazines for christmas 2009. While I was browsing what was on offer, I stumbled upon the "Agent X9 Specialalbum 2009". So during the holidays 2009 I got to read my first Modesty adventures, for real. And since then I've been reading it steadily in the comics magazine Agent X9 here in Sweden. The magazine had fanart from Swedish comics artists for a while and I thought that I would give that a go!

So without further ado I give you my first sketch of Modesty Blaise, it's in pencil, when I scanned it I tried to get it as clean as possible. Here I've just tried to get a feel for the character and trying to get a cool pose. Actually I "borrowed" the pose from one of the posters by Yves Thos for the James Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". One of my top three Bond movies! I think it's kind of cool that I borrowed the pose from a Bond movie, when it's a common mistake to take Modesty for an agent, which she is not. She just sometimes helps Tarrant out when he finds himself in a pickle!

Take care!

Self portrait

Hi!

This week I made this self portrait, so I figured it might as well be my update for this week. I've been thinking that the camera can be quite crude in all it's details and portray the object very naturalistically. Which doesn't come as a surprise because that's what cameras do! But do they capture the essence of the object or the person?
I think that depends on who is holding the camera! I find it hard to be a photographer, which you probably have seen here on the blog. I just press the button and hope for the best, that's my philosophy when it comes to photography!
But when I draw a self portrait, I find it easier to find the essence and I don't get as disappointed with the end result as when I've been photographed.
The drawing below is how I found myself this week. It's been my way of portraying myself for a couple of years now, and for you who doesn't know your animation history, it is inspired by the early animation style of the 20s and 30s, like the Fleischer studio. If you are interested in finding more self portraits of me I suggest you go to the earlier updates when I started this blog.

Take care!

My second repair of the violin

Since my last update was the tootiest, ever! It feels great to go back to what this blog is all about, namely creativity! This week I finished my second repair work on a violin that's been in my family for some years. And as always there is a story, but you know that by now, eh!

When I spoke to my father yesterday he told me that the violin was his fathers (my grand father) and that he got it from my fathers grand father, that would be my great grand father on my fathers side. He was a farmer outside of Lidköping. But if he bought it or built it or got it some other way, we don't know. We estimate that it might have been built in the beginning of the 20th century, maybe in the 1910s or 1920s. But we don't know, it might be older... It's a good thing I didn't know that! I thought that it was built much later, maybe in the 50s or 60s! We don't know who has built it, there is no note inside it. Since it doesn't have that, you might come to the conclusion that it's an amateur that built it. But since the sound is so great, one might think that it is professional builder. My violin teacher loved this violin, and he would know!

So it was in my grand fathers care, and then my father got it, I think my big brother played on it as well, and since some time I have it in my care. Funny thing is that I don't really play the violin, I know the scales, and how to set it up and tune it. Every know and then I pick it up and tune it and play some scales and that's it! But all along the years when I have moved to new places I have always brought this violin.

So what was this repair about? In short:

I mended a crack in the belly.
Glued the belly back on to the ribs.
The end rest was loose, so I glued it back.
Put another purfling where the old had loosened.
Exchanged a tuning peg, and cut the ends of the pegs.
Repositioned the sound post.
Exchanged the tail gut.
I also took away three fine tuning devices.

I got great help from Nisse who is the go-to-guy when I build violins! He knows it all!

I've taken photos along the repair to show you what I have done.

Here it is in all it's glory, before the work begun.

Here you see the old tail gut.

The four fine tuning devices.

Here I've taken away the chin rest. And as you see the purfling was loose and also the end rest. And the belly was loose from the ribs.

 Here we've glued it all in to place. In mending the crack I took away the old glue that the former repairer put in to the crack. I think that was how they repaired it, they just put glue in the crack. To put it together as tightly as possible I loosened the belly from the ribs all along the crack, and then we glued it together. And after that we glued the belly on to the ribs. In taking away the old glue one has to put water on it and when it solves, you take it away, but since you don't want water all over the violin, you have to apply it one water drop at a time!

 In looking at this part of the instrument I think the back has loosened from the ribs, but I'm going to examine this further... I noticed this today, when I'm writing this update...

 As you see here it's quite easy to tell the old and new purfling from one another... Well quite frankly I just took the purfling that we had at the violin club. But it has the right width so it fits like a glove, even if it's a bit funny on the eyes... I don't even know if you can buy purfling like the old one.
Just to state the obvious, if this instrument had belonged to someone else I would've gotten the right looking purfling! But since I'm the owner of this instrument I don't mind that it looks mended, it just shows that it's an old instrument that's been around for some time.

Here you see how much the new purfling shows when you have the chin rest on! Here I thought I was done, but I wasn't...

 ...because one can't have tuning pegs that looks like this! I had to exchange the upper one because it's gotten to short, and I also cut the end of the pegs.

Much nicer pegs!

 The mended crack, and less fine tuning devices.

The new tail gut and the new purfling. I must say that the new tail gut looks much better than the old one!

When I was done with it, I tuned it and played some scales...

And that's it for now, later today I'm going to put the fifth coat of varnish on the violin that I'm varnishing.

I must say that I've enjoyed the repair work so far, I really like to mend the instruments and put them back to their glory, without hurting it further! I don't know when I'm going to get to mend another instrument, but I hope it won't take too long.
Maybe I'm over thinking this but I like the fact that I get to work with an instrument that a craftsman has put together way back in history. Maybe it's the craft of it all that's gotten a hold of me, I don't think I can really explain what I mean. When I can, I will post it here! Or maybe it's just something you are not meant to explain... And with that philosophy in mind, I leave you for now.

Take care!