Special Edition ROUND ROBIN for Japan

UPDATE: All paintings are SOLD!
Thanks very much everyone who has been supporting our efforts to raise funds for Japan! We have donated 795$ to Red Cross (that's 1590$ with the Disney match)!!! Thank you, thank you!

In an effort to raise funds for the victims of the heartbreaking crisis in Japan, we would like to offer a limited number of Special Edition ROUND ROBIN books, and donate all the proceeds to Red Cross. Our contribution will be matched dollar for dollar by the Walt Disney Company.

Each Special Edition Round Robin book will come with an original painting, and will be sold for 65$. This is a great chance for you to own original art while contributing to a worthy cause.

Please email us your choice of painting at katy-wu (at) hotmail.com
We will process the orders on a first-come, first-served basis.

Let us know if you'd like:

1. Book only 25$
2. Painting only 45$
3. Book and painting 65$ (5$ off)
4. Painting only, if already purchased the book 40$ (5$ off)

Thank you in advance for your support and solidarity!

-Dani, Katy and Jennifer

SOLD

Art 1-6 by Daniela Strijleva, 3" x 4", Gouache, Pencil and Pen
Art 7-11 by Jennifer Chang, 3" x 4", Watercolour and Pencil
Art 12-13 by Katy Wu, 3" x 4", Gouache

If you wish to donate through other venues, please consider the "Artists Help Japan" fund, organized by friend and co-worker Dice Tsutsumi and the Give2Asia Organization, or Red Cross.

Artists Help Japan
Red Cross

Round Robin - Available Online - Update

I'm happy to announce that you can now get ROUND ROBIN through Katy's blog! This is a limited run of 300 books - we will sign and draw in each copy.
We're very excited to share our art with you and we hope you like the book!

Here is another image from it:

Sketchoholic Interview and Contest

On November 7th, at 2pmPT I will be interviewed by my friend Bobby Chiu on his website Sketchoholic.


Bobby has been conducting a great series of interviews with talented artists working predominantly in the film, illustration and comic book fields.
As some of you may know the interview is always accompanied by a drawing contest based on a theme chosen by the guest. In this case I went with the idea of "Ghosts". It is definitely a very wide theme, so participants should feel free to go off of existing literary/film characters or with your own spooky creations. (Poe and Gorey sure come to mind!)

I hope this subject inspires you to draw and I hope to see you all Sunday!

Birthday ghost

For a friend.

ROUND ROBIN

Here is a sneak peek into our illustrated book for APE 2010.
The book is called ROUND ROBIN - a joint effort between Jennifer Chang, Katy Wu and myself. There is no story in the traditional sense of the word but Jennifer came up with the idea of illustrating a word game, which in turn created its own playful narrative. I must say it has been a delightful collaboration!

Today we are happy to share three finished paintings from the book. Below is mine and here are links to Jennifer's and Katy's. Go look at their brilliant work!

APE 2010

This year I will be exhibiting at APE, or Alternative Press Expo, an event showcasing indie comics, small press books and all art self-published. I'm excited not only to be sharing a table, but to be collaborating on a small illustrated book with friends and co-workers Jennifer Chang and Katy Wu.
Here are some tidbits of art: notes, inspiration, research, thumbnails, in-progress paintings, and so on. In the last picture the painting is backlit by actual sunlight, which made me see clearly problematic areas and also how much further I should push tones and light before I begin inking.
More to come soon!

Bonaparte

Here is a new painting I did of young Napoléon at play in his Ajaccio family home, in 1776. I bet he liked sneaking in his dad's office to play with forbidden grown-up things!


And here are some sketches and colour studies.

LEGO

The other day I saw a primary-coloured ship loading at the Port of Oakland. When you think of it those crane operators above are paid to play with giant LEGO blocks all day.

Big Sur

I'm pretty busy with our film at work so I try to relax as much as I can come the weekend. Last week I spent time with friends near Russian River and the last two days James and I traveled South to Big Sur, one of the most beautiful places we've been to.
This morning I painted these 2" by 3" little things to remember the big picture by.

Look, A Ship!

I see cargo ships every day on my way to work (under those Imperial AT-AT Walkers at the Port of Oakland ). I'm amazed by the size and capacity of the freighters, and I especially wonder where they're off to. I also love how the departing ships, full to the brim with colourful containers, become real-life Paul Klee paintings.

Here is one from the Maersk line.

Pig Headed

My second favourite boar at Four Barrel.

Sketchbook Selections

From the past few months!


Also, you should check out these paintings James just finished!

Happy 2009!

Bon Appétit!

Totoro Forest Project Update

Hi from snowy Montreal!

Let me give you a quick update on the "Totoro Forest Project".
The art auction that took place in September at Pixar was very well attended and extremely successful - we raised more than 200 000$!!! The Totoro Foundation promptly used the sum to buy off a small portion of Sayama Forest in order to protect it from land developers.
Bravo, Totoro artists!

Before I move on I would also like to tell you a little bit about my piece. "My Neighbor Totoro" is one of my favourite Ghibli films, and it is definitely the one I relate to the most. It reminds me of what it was like to grow up as the little sister, of learning to accept my family responsibilities, of helping the elderly, and of understanding that nature commands reverence and respect. I love this film for its balance of truth and fable, grown-up themes and childlike whimsy.

Naturally my painting is mainly inspired by the film itself so just like Satsuki and Mei (or my older sister and I) it depicts two sisters at play in a field on a warm summer evening. I went back to my own childhood for inspiration on subject matter and look. When I was little outdoor play was the most fun because stick, stone or leaf, just about anything could become a plaything. It was far more adventurous than staying indoors anyways.

Visually, I wanted my piece to be reminiscent of 18th century French landscape paintings and of fairy tales illustrations, both of which fascinated me when I was younger. I looked at Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and Théodore Rousseau for colour, composition and mood, but I also referenced some favourites - Ludwig Bemelmans, Maira Kalman, Mary Blair and Aurelius Battaglia for execution and style.
Here below are some references, my digital study and the final piece, again, for those who may have missed the previous post about it.

Well, this is it for the Totoro Forest Project for now.
If you would like to see this or any other Totoro collection pieces, you can still do so at "The Cartoon Art Museum" of San Francisco until February 8th, 2009.