Animal House

Animal House
Originally uploaded by Wilson Swain.

There used to be this great little stop motion piece of animation on Pinwheel, a Nickelodeon show back in the 80s. A strange little boy and girl with big hats would scoot around as blocks built themselves into buildings, amorphous shapes, tunnels, bridges and all sorts of things--all the while singing this weird little pixieish froo froo music. I loved the simple structure of the blocks contrasted with the more complicated forms of the characters. That's what I was going for here, tho I think my structure is a little complicated. I like the monkey at the very top best.

frogs

frogs
Originally uploaded by Wilson Swain.

Love is a strange emotion. People, or frogs as the case may be, are both drawn towards one another and repelled. Where does the interest get sparked? This could be a childhood crush yet to bloom fully. Or perhaps she's stalking an ex. Regardless, she's not happy here, but he seems pretty content with that fish.

Bunny Final

bunnyfinal
Originally uploaded by Wilson Swain.

I posted sketches a little earlier, but the characters changed some. The husband got fatter and softer, and now he's wearing shark pajamas. The wife is far less angry. I'm not sure who's out in the shadows, but it can't be good.

I'm strongly influenced by stage design and I like the idea of compressed space as well as flattened perspective. I keep exploring these areas.

Bunny sketch

bunnysketch
Originally uploaded by Wilson Swain.

I always talk about being a fan of animals in clothing, but I almost never draw any. A friend was talking about desperately wanting a rabbit for a pet, and I think later this week we're going to a rabbit rescue shelter to visit the bunnies.

These were the preliminary sketches for a piece I'm almost through with. I like the idea of cute and cuddly animals with a 'don't touch me' look in their eyes. Rigid bunnies--it doesn't take much to make me laugh. The lady and the lion were just for fun--this is really just a page of loose sketching.