Kustom Blogging

 http://sarahactivated.blogspot.com/

One thing I like about blogs is the ability to customise the look of it. You could be reading two different blogs that look miles apart yet they still use the same Blogger template. I always prefer reading someone's unique blog over a generic-looking Facebook page any day, and I have seem some awesomely awesome blog designs. But because I have basically zero knowledge of web developing, html, css, I've sometimes felt a tiny bit limited by some of the customisations I've seen other people do and what I was able to create.

But my friend Sarah has helped me out by explaining how to make customisations in her blog. Things like how to change the favicon icon (that small square in the tab), adding a contact form and how to add a related posts widget. I can definitely say that it wasn't as hard as I originally thought it would be.

So if you have a blog and want to know how to create some cool custom widgets and doodads, I suggest taking a look at Sarah's bloggity blog.

xoxo

Happy Valentines! I know I haven't posted anything new in a while so here's a tiny bit of my latest illustration. x

Eponymonstrous

I thought I would share another book I've recently bought, this time it's Eponymonstrous by the insanely talented Ragnar. I've always loved his bold and colourful illustration style, and the book covers all his work from 2000-2010. It's quite unbelievable just how prolific the guy is, because the book is THICK - 320 pages - and it is just filled with artwork after artwork.

Lizard

For the last few months or so my garden has had a new resident. A lizard, to be more specific. I've named him Stumpy and he is very cute! He's also very shy, so I'm amazed that my sister managed to get this close to take a photo.

CALMA

While I discover so many amazing artists through the internet, I always like to see their work as a printed collection because there's so mush detail that you can miss out on when looking at a computer screen. One artist that I love is the Brazilian illustrator Calma. His name comes from the Latin words Con Alma meaning 'with soul' which is very apt because his work is just packed with iconography and sacred art symbols. The pictures are of his book which I recently bought called Calma: the Art of Stephan Doitschinoff.

Extreme close-ups!

One thing I love about vector illustration is the ability to add so much detail into the work. It's something that people often comment on when they see my work printed, however its not so apparent in the medium-sized images on my website. So many times I've been staring at the screen at some unearthly hour, zoomed in at 3,000% on some strands of hair which I'm laboriously working to get 'just right'. It's at those moments that I wonder if anyone even sees the level of detail? Well, I've just updated my website with some close-up views of some illustrations, so if you're interested you can check 'em out here, here and here.

Hangin' with Muse

Wayne's World  Meeting Alice Cooper : We're not worthy!

If you've read some of my previous posts (like this one) you might know that I'm a massive fan of Muse. That's why I was super-excited last week, not only because I saw them in concert but because I got to HANG OUT BACKSTAGE AND MEET THEM! It was completely surreal to be casually talking to the Muse guys after years of listening to their music, reading countless interviews and seeing them live so many times. But it was great because they were super-lovely and very down-to-earth, happily signing my guitar for me and chatting to me about the cricket. Going backstage reminded me a bit of the 'We're not worthy' scene in Wayne's World. My pal Sarah (who I've mentioned before here) heard my incessant talk about Muse and came up with a comic to describe my meeting with them. It's cute! You can view it here, and you can also check out her previous weekly Friday comics here.