Category: 52 Week Illustration Challenge - Cavanagh Art

challenge completed

3/1/2018

The good news is that I made it, completing an image every week according to the #illo52weeks themes for 2017 as well as the bonus Christmas image - and each one was done within the weekly time frame.

The not so good news is that there's lots of doubt over whether the Challenge will take place in 2018 - although a list of themes for 2018 has been released.

So here's my work for weekly themes 48 through to 52...

Week 48 was Africa. For this one I used ink only and a photographic reference of an animal from Southern African called a gemsbok, which is a type of antelope.

The theme for Week 49 was Purple, and as it was Advent, an Advent wreath seemed appropriate.

Week 50's theme was Window, and this one has echoes from a long running ABC-TV children's show that used windows to introduce adventures.

Shopping was the theme for Week 51, and I needed an idea that would make me smile. Maybe some of you will relate to one or other of the protagonists.

And for the lucky last for 2017, the theme was Celebration. Nothing quite beats the elation of welcoming a new member into the family.

And that's a wrap for 2017.
2018 has begun, may it provide all of the open doors and opportunities that 2017 sadly lacked.

recent work in the illustration challenge

11/12/2017

These are my images from Weeks 42 to 47 of the 52 Week Illustration Challenge #illo52weeks

The theme for Week 42 was Door. For this one I revisited a hand-drawn imaged and gave it the digital treatment. The original image was an illustration of Baptism as 'the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments' CCC 1213.

Week 43's theme was Friend. For this one I went with man's best animal friend.

Week 44's theme was Delicious. Meet Igerrom. He's a character from Book 2 who thinks that a cup of tea is absolutely delicious and offers a cup to everyone he comes across.

It took a while to settle on what to do for Week 45's theme of Homage to a Favourite Artist. In the end I went for architect Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) who designed the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) cathedral in Madrid.

Week 46's theme was Pencil. What do you think coloured pencils would say to each other if they could talk?

Reptile was the theme for Week 47. I decided to go non realistic and smile inducing for this one.

I enjoy the variety that the Illustration Challenge offers me.

Earlier this week I picked up copies of my 2018 Calendar from the printers, send me a message if you would like to purchase a copy.

further challenge work

23/11/2017

It is nice to have good news to share. The Facebook community for those doing the 52 week illustration challenge #illo52weeks has been so popular that they stopped admitting new members during the year and asked new entrants to wait until November. Thankfully they admitted me as a member as soon as the doors were open.

Week 38's theme was Jump, and I liked how this one turned out. I tried a much looser style with both line-work and digital colour.

Week 39's theme was Grandkids, and this one was fun to do.

Week 40's theme was Rope. At the time I needed another image that said 'family', so putting rope and family together resulted in this:

For week 41 the theme was Bookshop, and after the many hours spent on Rope in front of the computer, something simpler was needed:

Currently I'm in the middle of work on Week 47, so hopefully I'll get the others uploaded soon. If you are unable to wait that long, visit my Twitter and Facebook pages :))

more creations due to the 52 week illustration challenge

26/9/2017

These are from Week 34 to Week 37 #illo52weeks.

The theme for Week 34 was Deep, and because I felt a need to mix things up a bit I scanned a sketch into the computer and then used Photoshop to build the image. This intelligent deep sea creature is the result:

For week 35 the theme was Bucket List. I don't have one of those yet, so I thought about others who might have trouble choosing. Again I sketched first, and spent even more hours on Photoshop. Here he is. His bags are packed, and the taxi is waiting outside for him. But where of all the places to go on his bucket list, should he go? His solution is a blindfold and a 'pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey' type pin.

Week 36's theme was Printing. There were several ways to go with this one, but I decided to go with the blocks of type-set letters that were used before printing text became electronic. For this one I went back to ink and watercolour.

Week 37's theme of Queen could have gone in many different directions too. But my inspiration was drawn to build on Lewis Carroll's character, mine being a bit more regal and less likely to yell 'off with his head'.

This is the kind of stuff that I like to do, bringing ideas and images to life in a variety of ways. What I don't know how to do is make a living by doing it. I have gone down many paths that have proved to be dead ends. If you can see an untried new path for me to explore, please get in contact.

some more from the 52 week illustration challenge

23/8/2017

These are from Week 30 to Week 33 #illo52weeks.

The theme for Week 30 was Home, and for a change I did this one 100% digitally. Yes, there is an influence from Martin Crane's beloved chair in the TV sit-com 'Frasier'.

Week 31's theme was Tools. I decided against a garage wall scene, and although a Wile E. Coyote with ACME products was tempting, I finally went with this....since Father's Day is approaching.

Week 32's theme was Secret. A well fortified box is where many of us would like to keep our secrets safe.

The theme for Week 33 was Sadness. I decided to experiment with some wet wash effects for this one. Here is the first version, which is cropped.

For this second version I adjusted the colour brightness to get the image closer to the original idea I wanted to achieve.

I know I haven't posted anything yet about the First Flight course with Oatley Academy. I've done plenty of sketches and mood boards, and I'll get around to sharing some of them soon.

more work from the 52 week illustration challenge

20/7/2017

Here's the #illo52weeks report from Week's 26 to 29:

The theme for Week 26 was San Francisco, so I decided to go for the holy man himself and not the city.

Week 27's theme was Bush Countryside and came straight from my imagination. For this one I decided to keep it Black & White and use some ink wash.

Week 28's theme was Growth, something that every child knows about:

Week 29's theme was Swing. For this one I went for ink and ink wash again, with just a smidgen of colour:

I am now a Facebook newbie, having had a page for just on 2 weeks.
It was necessary for taking part in a short course with The Oatley Academy called 'First Flight'. Gradually I am getting through the hours and hours of podcasts and hopefully will get to the drawing part soon.

the 52 week illustration challenge continues

2/7/2017

Week 26 is complete, but that will be reserved for a future blog-post. So this means I am half-way through this year long challenge for 2017. Yay!

Here are my illustrations for weeks 22 to 25:

Week 22 was Favourite Things. What artist could go past pencils, brushes and ink pens as their favourite things? I couldn't.

Week 23's theme was Texture. This one was outside my normal comfort zone. Yet I know that texture is what seems to excite viewers of art most. It isn't something I consciously seek to include. You could look at these three as Light, Sand and Vines or as City, Journey and The Wastes.

Week 24 was Multiculturalism. Yet another Buzz word. When I started looking at how many countries the things we use every day come from, then I got my idea. This type of hat is British, the mobile phone was made in Korea, the cappuccino hails from Italy, the laptop from America, the clothing from South Africa, hamburgers started in Germany, and thongs are what Australians are known for wearing.

Week 25's theme was 'The Past'. Although this image looks futuristic, it is actually a compilation of bits and pieces I have drawn in my sketchbooks over the past 18 months or so.

To see the full list of 2017's themes, visit http://illo52weeks.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/challenge-themes-for-2017.html
and scroll down a bit to find them.

To see what other artists and illustrators have been doing with the same themes, plug #ill052weeks into your favourite social media site and enjoy the variety.

latest from the 52 week illustration challenge

14/6/2017

Since the themes for Weeks 17 and 18 were dealt with in last month's blog-posts, here is what I did for Weeks 16, 19, 20 and 21.

Week 16's theme was Experiment, and I had fun with it and with the ink washes I don't usually apply.

Week 19's theme was Music.

For Week 20 the theme was Saturday, and most Saturday mornings will find me swinging one of these (thurible filled with incense).

The theme for Week 21 was Red, so I went a bit sci-fi with it.

If you ever don't feel like waiting for the next blog-post, I've been posting each week's illustration on Twitter as soon as it is done. Find me @VJCavanagh

one thing leads to another - part 2

21/5/2017

The theme for week 18 of the 52 Week Illustration Challenge #illo52weeks was storm clouds. It has been a while since I only used watercolour to produce an image:

But it did inspire me to draw this mother bird and baby bird, since it was getting so close to Mother's Day:

Those at home thought that I should develop this idea further, - and of course -make the birds bigger:

And this was the result, which I called, 'Being with Mum is good'.
went on to use this image for this year's Mother's Day cards for family.

one thing leads to another - Part 1

21/5/2017

The theme for week 17 of the 52 Week Illustration Challenge #illo52weeks was Long Haired Animal. It took a while before I came up with an idea, and I went with something from the imagination based on the prehistoric.

I mixed things up a little and did the watercolour first and the ink second.
Then I decided to find out what would happen if I tried to make this creature 3D.
With the help of Cinema4D software, this is how the skin-only version turned out:

And then I added in some hair, some lighting and shadow, and shifted the angle of view:

I'd like to turn more of my 2D drawings into 3D, but I often lack the time required to do it to the point where I'd be satisfied with the outcome.