A N

I L L U S T R AT I O N P O R T F O L I O

W I T H E L E M E N T S O F D E S I G N

B Y

{ J O H N B I D D L E }

T h i s P e n d a n t Wo r l d

A S T U D E N T O F L I V E R P O O L

J O H N M O O R E S U N I V E R S I T Y

@ J O H N _ C _ B I D D L E

w w w . t h i s p e n d a n t w o r l d . c o . u k

MMXII

• PROCESS AND PRACTICE 6002GD = { MATCHSTICKS } • 01

• PROCESS AND PRACTICE 6002GD = { MATCHSTICKS } •02

MATCHSTICKS

PROCESS AND PRACTICEMEDIUM = MIXED

PAGE 01I painted straight onto the

20” x 16” canvass with

acrylic paint.

The image is an abstract

pictoral representation of the

lyrics of a Loved Ones song.

This piece later formed the

inspiration for a series of

digital and silk screen prints.

PAGE 02Inspired by lyrics from their

song ‘Matchsticks’ I created

3D typography of the band

name using 6 boxes of

matches and a gluegun.

Positioning the letters

together in differing cuboid

shapes created interesting

geometric sculptures which

I then photographed to carry

the theme of the artwork

through to the reverse.

The illustrations at the top of

the page are some concept

ideas for the album cover

based on photographs I took

at Chester Cathedral.

PAGE 03Often I spend time doodling

small cubes in notebooks and

in fact these cubes regularly

make an appearance in my

sketches and illustrations.

For this piece I spent 3 days

filling an A3 piece of paper

with thousands of them, then

screenprinted them onto rag

paper. To finish the image I

painted onto it in Acrylic.

PAGE 04 - 05Taking inspiration from my

‘Matchsticks’ acrylic painting,

I drew both these pictures

freehand in ink and then

digitally coloured them in

using Illustrator.

I have concentrated on a few

themes within the song and

interspersed them with my

own illustrative flourishes.

• PROCESS AND PRACTICE 6002GD = { MATCHSTICKS } • 03

• PROCESS AND PRACTICE 6002GD = { MATCHSTICKS } •04

• PROCESS AND PRACTICE 6002GD = { MATCHSTICKS } • 05

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { VASCO DA GAMA } •06

VASCO DA GAMAEP SLEEVE

CLIENT = PERSONAL MEDIUM = INK + ACRYLIC

For the release of their debut EP on Payper Tiger Records I created this record sleeve design and a matching release poster for Liverpool band, Vasco Da Gama.The concept behind the design was inspired by conversations with the band and the limited colour pallette I continued to use in further designs for them.

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { VASCO DA GAMA } • 07

VASCO DA GAMAPOSTER DESIGN

CLIENT = STATIC GALLERYMEDIUM = DIGITAL

I’ve had a relationship with

the Liverpool band Vasco Da

Gama for quite some time

having designed the record

for them on the previous

page and so when I was

asked to create this poster

for their show at Static

Gallery I literally jumped at

the chance.

The concept was to cut the

design to the bare minimum of

colours and populate the poster

with small pieces of information

to build up the design.

I chose to use relatively wide

kerning for the type as the

logo I had designed for Vasco

Da Gama fitted in with this. In

the background I accentuated

the ‘V’ of Vasco by mimicing

it with the 3 colour thin lined

background which helps to tie

it all together.

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { EYE EMMA JEDI CONCEPT ART } •08

EYE EMMA JEDI

CLIENT =EYE EMMA JEDIMEDIUM = DIGITAL

These digital illustrations are

part of some concept artwork

that I worked on for Norway

based band, Eye Emma Jedi.

One of their tracks was

entitled ‘Chameleon’ and

so using this as a starting

point I experimented with a

limited colour pallette and my

trademark pattern illustration

to build up the final images.

SHIPPING FORECAST MURAL

CLIENT = MERCY + CHIBUKUMEDIUM = MASONRY PAINT

Fellow illustrator Michael

Cottage and myself spent a

day in August 2011 in the Beer

garden of the Shipping Forecast

Bar in Liverpool organised by

Mercy Design Agency.

With two buckets of masonry

paint and some paintbrushes

we created these murals

inspired by quotes from

The Old Man and the Sea

by Ernest Hemmingway.

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { SHIPPING FORECAST } • 09

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { REAL EATS EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION } •10

THANKSGIVINGDINNER

CLIENT = REAL EATSMEDIUM = INK AND DIGITAL

For their November 2011

Thanksgiving Issue I worked

on these 4 illustrations to

accompany a piece about

Thanksgiving in New York,

Miami and Paris.

I have had a relationship

with Real Eats magazine

as a regular contributor for

nearly two years now having

illustrated many interesting

and varied stories for them.

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { REAL EATS EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION } • 11

HOW TO SHUCK AN OYSTER

CLIENT = REAL EATSMEDIUM = ACRYLIC + INK

These are a pair of editorial

illustrations for Real Eats

Magazine to accompany

an article about the annual

Walrus and the Carpenter

Oyster picnic which takes

place on the sands of Totten

Inlet, just outside of Seattle.

I used Lewis Carroll’s short

story as inspiration for the

main image and the spot

image is a short illustrated

guide on how to correctly

open (Shuck) an Oyster.

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { SPIEL MAGAZINE } •12

SPIEL MAGAZINEILLUSTRATIONS

CLIENT = SPIEL MAGAZINEMEDIUM = INK AND DIGITAL

The two spreads on this

page and the illustration on

the following page I drew

for international Football

and Arts Magazine, Spiel.

Spiel usually give me free

reign to draw whatever I like

as long as it relates to the

piece. The articles pictured

here are regarding the New

York Cosmos football team;

a football match between

Spiel and a Liverpool band

named Vasco Da Gama; and

a halloween bear for their

autumnal issue.

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { SPIEL MAGAZINE } • 13

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { CELESTA HUM } •14

CELESTA HUM

CLIENT = PERSONAL MEDIUM = INK + ACRYLIC

Having started reading Ulysses during the summer this year I drew this representation of the Tower in Dublin where Joyce once lived (on the following page). Included in the image are Buck Mulligan in his yellow dressing gown heading to the roof of the tower for a morning shave, Stephen Dedalus (Joyce’s alter-ego) sits inside the tower and the dead mother about whom Buck made an innapropriate joke lies mournfully on the roof. Other small references include a deaf man mowing the lawn, the future trip to the shore and a clock telling the time of the event. Painted in Acylic ink and then drawn over with indian ink.

On this page is illustrated a fox from the school teacher’s unsolvable riddle from chapter two of the book. This was painted in acrylic paint and finished with indian ink.

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { CELESTA HUM } • 15

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { HAIRY RECORDS } •16

BUCK’SDREAM

CLIENT = HAIRY RECORDSMEDIUM = INK

As a precursor to painting my mural in Hairy Records I sketched out a few ideas using the Buck Mulligan character from Ulysses.

As the logo of Hairy Records was a butterfly I imagined the character Buck as a butterfly and went from there. There drawings are both indian ink sketches.

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { HAIRY RECORDS } •

OF BUCK ANDBUTTERFLIES

CLIENT = PERSONAL MEDIUM = INK + ACRYLIC

I was given free reign to paint

whatever I liked on the 22’ x

8’ record store wall, the only

stipulation was that it had to

be in black and white. Using

the Buck and Butterflies that

I developed in my sketches I

covered the wall in 9 different

illustrations of them. These

then formed the centerpiece

for the upstairs live lounge

part of the new store.

17

LAST AND FIRST MEN

CLIENT = LOVED ONES MEDIUM = INK + DIGITAL

PAGE 18 - 21On the following pages

are 4 illustrations for Olaf

Stapledon’s Last and First

Men. Taking phrases from

the book I used them to form

the basis of the illustrations.

The book tells the history of

the future, describing from

First Men (us) to the Last Men

(Giant Brains).

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { LAST AND FIRST MEN } •18

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { LAST AND FIRST MEN } • 19

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { LAST AND FIRST MEN } •20

• SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS 6003GD = { LAST AND FIRST MEN } • 21

• PORTFOLIO AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 6004GD = { LIME PICTURES PLACEMENT } •22

• PORTFOLIO AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 6004GD = { LIME PICTURES PLACEMENT } • 23

COLLEGE COFFEE BRANDING

CLIENT = LIME PICTURESMEDIUM = DIGITAL

As part of my placement at Lime Pictures I spent a few days working on branding ideas for their new coffee shop. My logo was used in the set as was my colour scheme as can be seen in the photograph above.

HOLLYOAKSCANVASSES

CLIENT = LIME PICTURESMEDIUM = DIGITAL

PAGE 22 I produced a series of eight

A2 digitally printed canvasses

for display on the set of the

Liverpool based television

programme, Hollyoaks.

Pictured are 4 of the finished

images that I created entitled:

‘Rock Climbers’; ‘Deer Tree II’;

“South Stack” and “North Stack”.

• PORTFOLIO AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 6004GD = { TRINITY MIRROR PLACEMENT } •24

GRAND NATIONALCOURSE GUIDE

CLIENT = TRINITY MIRRORMEDIUM = FLASH + ILLUSTRATOR + PHOTOSHOP

On my placement at Trinity

Mirror I created an interactive

Flash map of the Grand National

Racecourse. A print version

of the map featured in the

Liverpool Echo’s special

publication with the interactive

flash map appearing on their

website. As the animated

horses make their way around

the course, infographics flash

up highlighting information and

photographs relating to the

different jumps.

• PORTFOLIO AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 6004GD = { LOGO DESIGN }• 25

LOGO DESIGN

CLIENT = VARIOUSMEDIUM = MIXED

Six logos that I have designed

in the last year during my

placements and during my

modules at LJMU.

SO ABLETT

CLIENT = SPORT MEDIA

MEDIUM = MIXED

Gary Ablett’s family are setting up a cancer foundation in his name entitled ‘So Ablett’. Of the 8 options sent over for approval, this was my favourite that I created. The purple of the heart is a mix between Everton blue and Liverpool red as of course he famously played for both teams.

THIS PENDANTWORLD

CLIENT = PERSONAL

MEDIUM = MIXED

In the first session of drawing with my ink pens I draw a portrait of a grizzly bear. This last two years I’ve always had a soft spot for it and so it was a no-brainer to digitise that same bear into hexagons for my logo. The hexagon is of course the outline of an isometric cube which feature regularly in my illustrations.

TECHTUNG

CLIENT = LIME PICTURES

MEDIUM = MIXED

Of the many logos that I designed for Lime Pictures was this one for ‘Techtung’. The logo is for a technology company and was used to adorn the packaging of a tablet PC, the packaging of which I also designed.

LOVED ONES

CLIENT = LOVED ONES

MEDIUM = MIXED

During my Process and Practise module I created some typography using 175 matchsticks. This logo that I designed for the band ‘Loved Ones’ took a verticle view of those matchsticks in cubes of 25.

COLLEGE COFFEE

CLIENT = LIME PICTURES

MEDIUM = MIXED

As part of the branding for the Hollyoaks Coffee Shop, College Coffee, I came up with this concept for the logo design which was later developed into the large letterforms which take centre stage on the wall of the set.

SCRAPPBOOK

CLIENT = SPORT MEDIA

MEDIUM = MIXED

A first task for my placement at Sport Media. They were developing a series of Ipad Apps which would take the form of a scrapbook, tellingbehind the scenes information of a series of celebrity and sports stars. My logo utilised the idea of a fold out book to create the logo.