cd package for A. David MacKinnon

Spent most of the last six weeks working on a very fun project. A cd package design for a yet to be released album for an excellent artist. There is an image for each song and I'll post the rest over time. They are very much in the style of fifties, minimalist animation. 

Slow and Tootie

Here is the latest chapter in the life of one SLOW IMPETUS. 

Joey Ramone

The first three Record Changer images took mere hours. This one was a killer. Worked on it for days. Now onto Joe Strummer and then Johnny Rotten. 

PHONE JAZZ

Simply put, phone jazz. Business scat. Scatological. Mobile nonsense.

Piano Men

Some sketches I did in Flash over the weekend. Was thinking of those old Record Changer and jazz album covers. Scanned in some R.C. magazines and worked my images into them with a little help from Photoshop. Gene Deitch did a lot of covers for Record Changer. Et voila, here they are, a few hours later all amped up and ready to gig.

Lazy Eye

Here are a few images from a pitch I'm working on for a video clip for the band The Minotaurs. Going for a fifties meets 2011 style. 

Assault and Battery

FOLK BRUSH

     Some brushed up folk.                                

As I Walked Out One Evening

If you click here you can see my latest short film if you'd like to.

Analog Computer

computer head

ONTARIO TIRE STEWARDSHIP

A project for Resonator. 

AS I WALKED OUT ONE EVENING

Here is a still form a short film I recently finished. 

CROSSTOWN TRAFFIC

I'm just re-posting a few things that are getting lost in the past and undermining the artistic arc of my portfolio.

A Man and His Dog

I like this particular image because it reminds me of old style chalkboard animation by pioneers like Emil Cohl.

FEEDING FRENZY

Did this yesterday. May still add some patterns to the fish bodies to make it less like animation and more like illustration. Or just more interesting all around. This is the place where Doctor Suess and I meet head on. But it may still seem that George Grosz is winning the battle for the control of my disposition.

HAUNTING

I have been working on an idea like this for more than a year. Last weekend I made a card for my neice (Zoe) and then revised it, darkened it. Still working on a stronger composition, as you can see by the thumbnails.

ANGRY TOWN

I am posting this because it reminds me of George Grosz. He is one of my favorite artists of all time. This was a pitch for a Honda job that never happened. A lot of things never happen. That's why these guys are so angry.

BLUE

I guess I have been neglecteing this site, but it's not like anybody is looking at it much, and I have been busy with work and pitching for work. I have always hated that phrase "pitching for work". It is very sport oriented. Like baseball or lawn bowling or even worse, fucking cricket. (the assholes' version of baseball) None of which is the point...here are some blue things. Brush and gouache and a speedy delivery. If you have something to say to me I can be reached on tom-gravestock@yahoo.co.uk

LATER TOOTS

You might begin to think I am obsesseed with red and black but I think it is just coincidence. Anyhow this was a project I made for the windows of Hibbert Ralph Animation (HRA) in London. There were fifteen A3 panels telling the story of a land/space/underwater pursuit which culminates in a party.

Orange Drop

Here is a series of worksheets I illustrated for the Orange Drop recycling program. They're in a grey scale so the kids can color them. The larger sheets (including the one with the map) are for Kindergarden to Grade four and are folded into three sections, printed on both sides, creating six pages. The other two pages are for Grades 5 to 8 and are folded in two creating a four page mini booklet .

Something for Bryden

Here is a business card I recently completed for a friend. Kind of fun I think.

Easy Chairs

I did this series a quite a few months ago and thought I had posted it. Here it is now. There are actually about ten in total. That's some birch bark as a texture in the background. I think I draw better than that now.

ICBC

This was a very easygoing and pleasing project to work on. It is supposed to be one continuous line but if you were to look closely you can see that I cheated a little.

Upper Canada College

Here is my version of something I did for UCC. The final didn't really please me at all as it lost all it's energy and become too straightforward. But that is how it goes. I wasn't doing it for me.
That said, an artist still wants a project to have as much of "them" in it as possible.