Teenager character sketch

This is a sketch for a teenager character that I had in my recent project. She is mopping a floor, which is a bit vulgar for her shiny image. I would love to draw mops more often.

Ice hockey cheerleader 6/14 - KalPa

My project of drawing an imaginary cheerleader character for every team of finnish ice hockey league is almost halfway. Number 6/14 is KalPa from Kuopio. As I've tried to include some reference to the team or its image in characters, this time I had hard time coming up with any. Therefore I merely aimed to have a nice looking character in KalPa's colors.

Those of you that anxiously want to find some deeper reference to KalPa may see a wolf wheeling around its prey before the final strike. That concept of delayed pleasure actually goes hand in hand with the famous sport related expression in Kuopio dialect: "ee laakasta, naatitaan" / "let's not shoot yet, let's enjoy".

Oh, what does that wolf thing to do with KalPa..? It used wolf's head in its logo some years ago. Fortunately it was dumped and replaced with the original KalPa logo, which I happen to like much much more.

Hard working mother

My latest piece of work was an illustration for a short story telling about a hard working mother. Here's the very first sketch - the mother wading in deep snow carrying armful of firewood, a broken ax handle and a bucket.

That would have been hard enough, at least for me, but because the story was written tongue in cheek, I thought it wouldn't harm to overdo a bit. That's why in the final drawing I made the armful of firewood a huge load of wood. Here's the final drawing before coloring.

Painting over the doubt

Here's a small illustration that I did recently for a magazine. It was about removing uncertainty, and I came up with hands that are painting over a question mark. It's done in Illustrator from start to finish. I tried some new things here, such as the bumby edges in shapes. That's someting I'm definitely going to use in the future. I'm also quite happy with the quality of paint rollers' track.

Ice hockey cheerleader 5/14 - Kärpät

Finally, after couple of urgent work projects, I got some time to go on with my series of ice hockey cheerleaders. The next team to get a cheerleader character is Kärpät from Oulu. Kärpät (translates to ermines) is one of the 3 teams in finnish ice hockey league, whose name refers to an animal.

And animal-lead I did follow. Only I didn't want to be too obvious and clothe her in fur. Ermine is tiny, agile and a predator, and these qualities I tried to emphasize for example with her racy stance. Also, with her white hair I tried to refer to ermine's tail.

The mood of take off

As I've lately been doing a lot of informative illustrations, it was very pleasant to do so called mood-illustration for a change. For this illustration I needed to capture the mood of take off. This is about how I saw it...

Here's a rough sketch that I made to present my idea to a client.

... and here's a random clip from the clipboard from the beginning of the process.

Facebook profile images for Snow White and co

As a part of my recent project was an interesting version of the Snow White. Some of the fairy tale's turn of events were told as if the characters were in Facebook. Here's my vision what their Facebook profile images would look like - Queen, Huntsman, Queen (she changed her profile image), Snow White and Prince.

Ice hockey cheerleader 4/14 - Jokerit

Next up in my series of ice hockey cheerleaders is Jokerit from Helsinki. Because Jokerit translates to jokers, it was pretty obvious how to handle this cheerleader character. First I tried to come up with some clever reference to the theme, but in the end I thought why fight the obvious - a joker is a joker.

Timing of this post couldn't have been better, 'cause in two days Jokerit is celebrating its 45th anniversary. So, by posting this character I say Happy Birthday Jokerit!

Set of inuit themed spot illustrations

Here's a set of inuit themed spot illustrations for a recent project. Those totem poles and masks are pretty fascinating, although slightly beyond my understanding.

Ice hockey cheerleader 3/14 - Blues

Here's the third character in my set of imaginary ice hockey cheerleaders for the teams of finnish ice hockey league. From the teams that haven't yet got the cheerleader character, it was the Blues from Espoo that was highest in the standings and therefore earned the character number 3.

Already long ago I have heart claims that Blues haven't quite managed to win the hearts of Espoo citizens. It has also been said that the image of Blues is a bit tasteless and boring. During the start of the on going season their effort has been so strong that at least lousy performances are no longer a valid reason to look down on Blues.

There wasn't any particularly obvious feature of Blues that I could grab on. In the end it was actually the song that they use to play when Blues scores that gave me the idea. That song is "Who let the dogs out" from Baha Men. And speaking of dogs, some have used a metaphor of hound dog to describe the energetic travail of Blues.

Instead of including for example a dog leash, bone shaped teething ring... or some other dog related element in the image, I wanted to use a more subtle reference. With the gaze of the eye and the body stance I tried to achieve something from that brief moment when someone, who had walked into an unfamiliar yard, suddenly realizes that the sign telling: "beware a raging dog" wasn't there for nothing.

Illustration Friday - Mirror

This weeks IF illustration I made in cooperation with Aaro, 6 years, who's a big fan of superheroes. Isn't it the self, that's one's worst enemy? Thanks a lot Aaro, your character won this time :)

Ice hockey cheerleader 2/14 - Jyp

Here's my second piece of a set of imaginary ice hockey cheerleaders for the teams of finnish ice hockey league. I started with SaiPa, that had a wonderful flying start for the season 2012-13. Unfortunately its days of glory seem to be over for now and the first position in the standings has changed for a pretty moderate ranking.

Jyp instead has managed to keep up a strong pace, and it's now having the leading position in the standings. That's why it's clearly Jyp, that's highest in the standings and therefor my next "victim".

As with SaiPa I had this strong space related thematics to scoop from, with Jyp there was a hurricane and twirl to base on. Strong, dynamic, twirly ambiance I hope I managed to create.

Bad hair day ? - experimenting new techniques

I just tried out some new things... and found a new way to amuse myself - drawing huge volumes of hair is addictive.

Illustration Friday - Crooked

After a (long) while I found some time to participate in Illustration Friday. This week's word tempted me to play with limbs, posture and different meanings of the word.

Sketches for a cheerleader character

Here's some sketches for a cheerleader character that was in my previous post (Ice hockey cheerleader 1/14 - SaiPa).

Ice hockey cheerleader 1/14 - SaiPa

I'm not a hardcore hockey fan, but I follow the sport enough to have a favorite team (in finnish hockey league). That team is the mighty SaiPa from Lappeenranta. Well, to be honest that "mighty" depends a little bit from viewer's point of view... usually when a season ends SaiPa can be found from some of the lower rows of standings, and its role is merely to be the pain in the bigger teams' asses than to fight in the finals. As SaiPa's succes can't be taken for granted, every victory has normally been happy news.

Therefor the start of on the going season (2012-2013) has so far been too good to be true for a SaiPa fan - 4 wins in 5 games and SaiPa is holding the first place in standings. I know that it's too early to start any fireworks, but at least the flying start lets us expect an interesting season.

Being happy for my favorite team's nice effort I drew this cheerleader for SaiPa. Let's hope it gives the team a little bit extra boost for the rest of the season. That may be needed when kicking other teams' butts.

As there is a satellite in SaiPa's logo and its nickname is "Sputnik", it was pretty obvious to include space related thematics in the image.

Drawing this was so much fun, that I set myself a goal to draw a cheerleader for every team of the finnish hockey league. I hope to have that extra time during the on going season... I'll always pick the team which is highest in the standings at the time. Well, isn't that something to fight for? :)

EDIT (7.12.2013)
Now available as shirt. The text is customizable.

Some croquis after a little while

I had to persuade myself to go drawing croquis, but I'm glad I did, because it was fun... as it always is. Thank you Kunsthalle Helsinki for arranging these drawing sessions.

Reino slippers - spot illustration

This week I was honoured to illustrate the true classic of finnish slipper design - Reino slippers - "Reinot" or "Reiskat" as they are called in finnish. Well... actually I wasn't asked to illustrate them... it was merely my own decision. I did an illustration for an article about care of memory disorder patients. As that's more or less senior citizen stuff I used an odd pair of Reino slippers to refer them.

Yes, I'm aware that some teenagers use Reino slippers as well, 'cause they think that's pretty cool.

How to protect yourself against dropbear koalas

Illustrating, like so many other things, is constant learning. Not just learning things concerning illustrating itself, but also vitally important knowledge.

An illustration project I'm working on at the moment increased my knowledge of animals with a highly important bit. I knew that there are bears called koalas - lazy, slow, harmless bears sitting in treetops eating eucalyptus leaves. What I didn't know before, is that there is a certain subspecies of koalas called dropbear. Dropbears are much bigger and they are lurking in trees waiting for a catch to drift under them... and then... oh yes, they drop down... Everyone can guess what happens when a creature with sharp teeth and claws attacks from above onto one's head. And by the way, they eat meat.

Luckily there is a way to protect yourself against dropbears: rub toothpaste behind your ears and you'll be safe.

Here's an image I drew to illustrate the story of dropbears. Unfortunately it was rejected by publisher. They wanted the dropbear instead of a person projecting himself agains dropbears.

Captain Australia sketches

Here's some sketches for a super hero character Captain Australia and his sidekick, that I just did as a tiny part of a bigger project. There had to be slightly funny and ironic touch... for example Captain Australia has a sidekick only to laugh at his bad jokes.

When Captain Australia's cape was described to be totally impractical, but looking cool, it was quite an obvious decision to place the sidekick standing on the cape.

Some final polishing in poses...

Illustration Friday - Carry

This time I went after the very first idea that popped into my mind... I just wanted to try out a new style.

Illustration Friday - Space

This is my tribute to my childhood hero Kössi Kenguru (Kössi the kangaroo) a finnish animation character from 1970 something. Back then animations were not stuffed with action and fancy effects. In one episode Kössi travels to space (take a look) and meets the zodiac dragon. Those were the days :)

Football doodles during Euro 2012 QF, England - Italy

The quarter final England - Italy in Euro 2012 was expected to be a boring game due their defensive playing strategies. That's why I equipped myself with a drawing pad and pens. Even though they didn't score until the shootout, the game wasn't actually that bad.







Doodling during the game was almost like drawing croquis. Only I wouldn't recommend it if you really want to enjoy the heat of the game. Thank god for the replays :)

Grandma feeling dizzy sketches

I just did an editorial illustration and needed to include a grandma, who is just about to faint. A man carrying a fish in the background I managed to sketch just like that, but the grandma I wasn't happy with.



In addition to her face, the hands and the feet and the general pose had an important role when creating an impression of a fainting person.



After trying several different poses, I found some good ones, but in the end I rejected them, because I was afraid that they were too slapstick-like. So I ended up to choosing a pose that is pretty similar than the one I started with.



Here is the final line drawing before coloring. Now that I look at this, there's too much suffer in her face and she should have been slightly more out of balance. It looks more like she's just having a headache.



Like so often, only once you do something, you know how it should have been done. Better luck next time. I'm already looking for a chance to draw a fainting person :)

Illustration Friday - Hurry!

This weeks IF-word "hurry" made me think motions, and the most hurryish motion that came to my mind is a running penguin. That's pretty hard to beat.

Actually there is a counterpart for a running penguin in human world that makes a good runner-up (literally). If you have ever seen a... well, I don't know what's the name of the folk that wear ultra tight jeans that are hanging half way down... anyway, if you have ever seen that kind of creature running (or moving fast at least), you may know what I mean. I've seen such a phenomenon once, and I'll never forget it. It was HILARIOUS. No wonder you don't see that every day.

Evgeni Malkin - MVP - Ice Hockey World Championship 2012

It was hockey time once again. This time Finland was the hosting country in the World Championship and defending the championship title in home rink. The whole nation had some wary expectations, and the Finnish team wasn't that bad. There seemed to be some chances... at least a slight one.

But first of all there was a spell to break. The hosting team hasn't won the title in 20 years or so.

And secondly there was Mr. Evgeni Malkin. Evgeni really stole the show with his outstanding performance. It was also Evgeni's 3 goals against Finland in semi-finals that put an end for the hopes of Finnish hockey fans.

So here's the Most Valuable Player of the Ice Hockey WC 2012 - Evgeni Malkin. Hats off.

Illustration Friday - Sight

Having just struggled with dynamic poses (See: Track and field sketches) it felt more than comfortable to do similar stuff.

Track and field sketches

As a very tiny part of a bigger project I just did some spot illustrations for track and field topic. Analyzing and sketching those sporty-kind-of postures was such a good lesson of anatomy.

What I found especially fascinating, was the "cross step pose" in javelin throw that takes place just before the actual yank. It's like a calm moment before a storm. In this sketch there is also a high jumper in act.

There's actually quite a similar moment in pole vault - the very brief floating moment when the upward speed has lost all its power, but the gravitation hasn't yet started to take it all back. Accompanying sports here are hurdle race and relay race.

The climate is getting colder in Europe

This is a piece of work I just recently finished. In case you haven't heard it yet: the climate is changing. One of my clients is saying the change is towards cold, at least in Europe. What I tried to do, was an exaggerated vision of that statement.

I only hope that this really turns out to be an exaggerated vision. I'm afraid I'm not very good at knitting woollen hats to seals.

Illustration Friday - Jump

It's a less known fact that they have actually had Olympic Games already in the middle ages. At least I guess so... And I'm pretty sure that there must have been long jumping competition for knights in full armour.

Illustration Friday - Heights

There may certainly be different kind of causes for fear of heights.

(Forgive me mr. Mole, I know this wasn't nice, but I couldn't help myself.)

Illustration Friday - Puzzled

This is what I was when I first read this weeks IF-topic... I was perplexed, befuddled, abashed... and maybe also a little bit baffled. Nice topic indeed.

Illustration Friday - Vocal

I suppose there is no such thing as sick leave in the world of cuckoo clocks.

Illustration Friday - Return

The mother and the father of all returns... and the ultimate relaxation.

Illustration Friday - Swamp

The day #47053 after the great SWAMP'alation...

Why NY? No particular reason... I only needed a recognizable object and the statue of liberty only happened to be the first that came to my mind.

Sketches for a cop character

Some sketches for a cop character I did for my previous post (Illustration Friday - Shades). Hunting for a smooth and vivid pose is fun!

Illustration Friday - Shades

This is how it went this time:

> SHADES
> it's like shadows, tones... but what else...?
> English dictionary:
> oh, it's also sunglasses...
> sunglasses it will be!
> sunglasses, sunglasses, sunglasses...
> a COP!

EDIT: See sketches for this piece!