You can draw anything... with cartoons and illustrations

8/14/2019 You can draw anything... with cartoons and illustrations

1/138

You

can drawanything...with cartoons and illustrations

Alec Ellis


2/138

2


3/138

3

You can draw anything...with cartoons and illustrations

Volume 1

Introduction

This collection is just a small selection of cartoons and illustrations created for

clients over the past 10 years. If you can get into the feel, meaning, if you can

understand what the client wants and get an idea who the client is, you can

have great fun cartooning or illustrating. You will find yourself chuckling awayand even laughing with the result.

If you draw with conviction the client will accept it everytime. As a

favourite painting or sculpture, if there is soul put into it, the

image will stand out of the crowd. So too will yours.

This is a journey of experience, how you

draw early on will not be the same as

in the future, that is why I kept all that Icould, once gone it is lost.

Please enjoy what you see inside.

The purpose of this book is for

the budding artist or illustrator to

get ideas. If you feel you need to copy

anything in here and use it as is, with no

change, do it! Your punishment will be

that you will have missed out on your

own experiences.

Use this book to inspire your own art.

Enjoy yourself.

Alec


4/138

4

Ants!

They do so much. This was part of a series of illustrations, the idea was to

design a character who could handle any of the experiments. I loved this

character, he could do anything.

Experimenting with hot water.


5/138

5

Am I stirring it properly? Better not let the heat out of my skull, nice hat!


6/138

6

Hmm... I was sure I could walk on water, oh no this is mud, what to do now?


7/138

7

Wow flickering pictures, I believe this was how they started movie making,flicking, flickers... bit of slang for you, meaning cinema.


8/138

8

Woo hoo. Bounce it baby! Bet YOU cant sit there with your legs crossed,bounce four balls with two more legs, use another leg to shade your eyes and

the last to look like a tea-pot!

Look how high.... yeah!


9/138

9

Hahahaha.... have you ever seen this out in your garden, or on your path, I betyou thought he was just struggling to get up, nah, youre as funny to him as

he is to you. Ha ha.... love em eh?


10/138

10

Hmm... I knew they could make little coke bottles, better be carefull though,but someone shook it up. Hope its diet coke.... cant wait to get rid of this rock

between my legs!


11/138

11

I wanna go, no I wanna go, no I wanna go, no I wanna go..... you all have to takeyour turn. Too many legs.


12/138

12

Time for a cuppa.... oh yeah, me too.... back in a mo.


13/138

13

Sorry got caught up watching this candle with a nail through it and balancingon two cups...... Dont ask!


14/138

14

Yeah it works. Egg, cheese, milk and something else!!! Wow! makes raggedantennae.... coool!


15/138

15

Yeah well, cant always have a good day. Dont wanna!


16/138

16

Spinning and spinning. I have no idea what this was done for, but I do believeit was for another experiment, or I was a bit frustrated with having ants sit

down all the time!!


17/138

17

This was papier-mache day. You can sure make a lot of it with six legs. Findingthat, using different things to breakdown the paper, and how long they do it

is pretty interesting.... not!


18/138

18

More experiments. Anyone for a cookie! I call them Jec-n-hides... heehee.Come back if you change your mind.


19/138

19

I dont know.... but I do know I got paid alot of money for this series... yeahbaby!


20/138

20

Hey thats me! Grrr...!


21/138

21

Direct Debit the best way to pay bills

Had to show that staying at home in comfort, saving time, doing something

else with your time was a certain when you paid your bills with Direct Debit.

This was a cute series which I enjoyed very much, as staying in out of the rain

and wind etc is my cup of tea.... just part of being British.


22/138

22

Where as baby will agree to staying at home asleep, it will be years beforehe will experience a seat in front of the fire a fresh brew a paper and the odd

collection of carefully strewed books. Better this than off out to pay your bills!


23/138

23

Going for a ride with baby and me! Better this than struggling in a carparksomewhere. Saturdays are for pleasure, not shopping!


24/138

24

I think I might prefer taking a walk to pay my bills than playing bowls. Butthats just me!

Nah... the job was to show you had more time using Direct Debit. Good aint

it!


25/138

25

Citizens Advice and all it involves

This set of illustrations was to show very basic actions within the citizens

advice world, and consumer affairs.

The illustrations would go behind the text etc, and be used as background

graphics, to give the feel of this service.


26/138

26

Pyramid schemes and fraudulent scams, very popular when this series cameout.


27/138

27

Free offers, this was signage on a laundrette, lots of signs were plastered overthe front of Laundry windows as they were communal get-togethers for the

less wealthy, who were picked on the most.


28/138

28

Handing over personal information is never a good idea until all informationis researched and you feel comfortable its legit!


29/138

29

Question all contracts, do not sign anything until you are sure.


30/138

30

Beware of phony awards attracting you to contribute, then offering chancesof winning things. Lots of traps, but starts off with wonderful offers.


31/138

31

More mail scams.


32/138

32

Back and forward to the post offi ce with your Ebay gifts.


33/138

33

Beware of sale staff offering great deals and easy payment schemes. Be carefulnot to get trapped into regular payments you can really maintain. Obviously

car sale yards were the most common dens.


34/138

34

Wouldnt it be nice if you REALLY could get part of the Sydney Harbour Bridgefor only a few bucks... now come on, for real!!

Unfortunately there are people out there who are this gullible, and though

these scams are the most obvious this illustration made the problem instantly

recognisable.


35/138

35

Price changes that are unfair, out of date, stocks appearing like bargains thatshould be taken off the shelves instead. It happens.


36/138

36

Products made in Australia and in other places. There were many occurrencesof what was stated was not actually true or very far-fetched. Labels were

to be investigated into but until then it was advised to enquire with the

manufacturer if unsure.


37/138

37

Prize packages

I had to produce these for a magazine, on average 8 per month. These were

prize packages. I was given a couple of plastic bags of items and had to

produce a picture of each set, ready for colouring. These were great fun and

added another element to the illustration, groups of items and lots of play

with perspective.


38/138

38

Emotions and actions in inanimate objects

Quite obvious what these were, the descriptions of computer actions, this can

be used not only with computers but all inanimate objects. Dan da-da daann!

Would find myself making accompanying noises, if you listen close youll hear

them..... nah not really! In my head.... in my head!!!


39/138

39

Power me up.... power me down... what a life!


40/138

40

A family of buses... aaaah! These were so simple yet so effective. Makenoises, talk to yourself... its easier to get into the act, then the pictures draw

themselves.


41/138

41

Crowded by overseers, you can use emotions so easily, just an arc upwards ordownwards will totally change the feel of the picture, much like life really.

Actually VERY much like life, in fact this is what you must think about while

your drawing.


42/138

42

General one off illustrations

There is always room for an illustration they are easy to do and make great

fillers. They also make light of a text solid article or story, plus anything can be

portrayed in an illustration.

In the above Incident Reports for an accident.


43/138

43

Edison used human hair in the first experiments with creating a light bulb,it was used as the filament, then coated etc. This illustration was used in a

science experiments book.


44/138

44

Just a nice little doctors white coat, note the hammer... hehe...cool!


45/138

45


46/138

46


47/138

47

A group of images as a montage, for the local Health Department, showing avariety of services.


48/138

48

Robotic experiments... used in a kids science mag.


49/138

49

The jigsaw of life.


50/138

50


51/138

51


52/138

52

Three Aussie soldiers, native animals and of course the obligatory fly or two.Very different style to usual illustrations, more aggressive style.


53/138

53


54/138

54

Sailing off to Bali and Kuta Beach, one only knows the significance when onelives south of the Equator. Even Bluey can recognise the symptoms.


55/138

55


56/138

56


57/138

57


58/138

58

This was used in a group of images discussing drugs in sport and the banningof them. This was to suggest to talk to your chemist when taking over the

counter drugs and doing sport, how will they affect you and your performance,

and are they legal.


59/138

59

A set of healthy foods to consider, used in a booklet.


60/138

60


61/138

61


62/138

62


63/138

63


64/138

64


65/138

65

Have a heart! Used with a variety of health illustrations, including Respiratory,Cardiovascular and other issues.

This was interesting work, I had to understand what was happening and what

the originals looked like, they were realistic with a cartoon bent.

To the left was a variety of Aussie animals used for decoration mainly but still

had to research and draw at 150%.


66/138

66

Drawing representing atoms, nucleus and chemical reactions, a very generalatomic image, simple but effective.


67/138

67


68/138

68

One of a few mouses a cartoon of a real mouse with a cable for a tail, thiscomputer mouse with a nose and ears, and another like this with a tail.... it was

actually great fun and the results were very nice and made the client laugh

too.

You know when its good, you cant help a giggle.


69/138

69


70/138

70


71/138

71


72/138

72


73/138

73

This was great fun, no smoking signs for a health department, used in postersabout helping smokers give up.

I did quite a few roughs, but eventually came up with this and still love it, the

colour version was good too.


74/138

74

Another aggressive drawing. This series was an exercise in illustrative freedom.More art than demand.


75/138

75


76/138

76


77/138

77

One of a few small illustrations for the Defence Department, for a newsletter.One of 6 months of issues.


78/138

78

This was a very cubist style illustration. Another more artistic solution, this wasthe start of realising that you didnt need to restrict yourself, and you were an

artist too.


79/138

79


80/138

80


81/138

81


82/138

82


83/138

83

The Toucan, created to go on a milk carton. Had to have a character that wasable to express the full range of emotion, the simplicity ensured the body

actions wouldnt get in the way.

It was quite fun, but didnt go ahead.... the client liked the dog instead.... never

mind, the dog was cool too.


84/138

84

The Toucan laughs....

On the right side: this was for federal Aboriginal department. This represented

motherhood, the leaflet was approved by elders and the illos were commented

on positively, that was better than being paid.


85/138

85


86/138

86

A second illustration for the motherhood leaflet.


87/138

87


88/138

88

Cartoons

With a hint of humour and artistic licence. The above cartoon was used as

part of a series in a book of experiments. The audience for this book was

school children , thus it was great fun coming up with little stories within each

cartoon. I had to look through the book, pre-written and choose interesting

examples to illustrate for that page.


89/138

89

This was part of an experiment that proved the benefits of wool.

The illustration was one of an average of 15 per month, used for publishing in

a kids scientific magazine.


90/138

90


91/138

91

As shown, one of the panels on a leaflet showing how coins were made, I

had great fun with this, they werent sure what style the design should follow,

meanwhile I came up with this idea of a mad scientist conveyor belt system.

They loved it! .... Me too!!


92/138

92

This was part two for the Australian Mint, it connects to the previous cartoon.


93/138

93

One of a few cartoons as examples of how DNA adjusting can be used inagriculture.


94/138

94


95/138

95

Which to choose, open the box or take the money. One in the hand is worthtwo in the bush!


96/138

96

The caterpillars choice is not an easy one.


97/138

97

A student with head down in the Saturday paper, pretty obvious what theproblem is.


98/138

98

Another employment cartoon, this was used as a small icon style cartoon.There are all shapes and sizes when cartooning, some images are bigger and

need more detail. Small cartoons are best down at 150% so you can see that

they are busy enough when they are reduced to use.


99/138

99

Another icon cartoon with great simplicity but effective when used at a smallsize.


100/138

100

... and yet another small icon style. This was to represent employment.Research the subject: brief case, wages, clock and paper. Old fashioned items

still suggest overall subject.


101/138

101

... eating out at your favourite restaurants.


102/138

102

One of a series of cartoons used in a brochure about checking for Drugs inSport. Doing work for this agency was great fun, there was so much scope and

once you get to know your client and they get to know you, they let you go

off on your own judgement. These are the best clients and you produce the

best and wildest results.


103/138

103

Though this was a cartoon for the aged and computers, it is now quiteobsolete, as it has been shown that people who use the internet and the

computer personally the most are people in their twilight years, probably that

fact they dont have task masters anymore and can get on with using their

brains!!


104/138

104

A government department I worked for was moving to new premises. I had

worked for these wonderful people for 10 years providing graphics, illustration

and cartoons. It was a great pleasure working for them and like I mentionedpreviously, was easy to come up with gems. Most of these characters

represented someone in the staff, and even at this size most people could

recognise themselves. I got a great acknowledgement from the Director of

the department. ...... I was very happy.


105/138

105

A picture of health....


106/138

106

This was so cool! I laugh everytime I see this cartoon, sorry, I know its bunniesbut the myxomatosis virus put paid to alot of these seemingly gentle kind,

vicious monsters. (hmmm). The bunnies would stare, in the middle of the

road, at oncoming traffi c just before they were road kill. I love the question

marks!!


107/138

107


108/138

108

A little worse for wear. Now.... I could have shown a nice clean and orderlywig, all prim and proper. But I have a friend who works in this field and with

stories of the hours they work, and what they go through, listening to all sorts

of amazing stories from all sorts of amazing characters, that I have drawn this

wig to what I think it would look like after one week of sitting on the bench!


109/138

109

The army have a step they use which is basically a get out of step step, forcrossing bridges. Apparently, if they dont, when crossing the bridge, the

frequency of the march can match with the frequency of the metal or forces

in the structure. End result is the collapse of the bridge. Unfortunately this was

disproved by the Busted team. Dont you love em.


110/138

110

One of a series of finance cartoons for the defense department. The cartoonswere used to assist the information as there would have been so much text

which was hard going. It became a little booklet and theme was Contract

Performance Management.... woo hoo.


111/138

111

Beam me up Scotty... note the Echidna and the startrek craft. You can so muchfun when you have a good relationship with your clients. They can trust your

judgements, and allow your humourous quirks.

I ride a motorbike too.


112/138

112

A different style yet again, this style came later and was less cluttered. Thefaces were minimalistic, but had just as much character.


113/138

113

Too little icon styles for the local bus company. I had 5 years of providingall artwork and layouts for the company newsletter. The company provided

the stories, via an external editor, who just left the layout and illustrations to

me. This was so free that I wasnt advised of anything... this was yet another

favourite client.

You need freedom to produce quality.


114/138

114

Guess who... the US and the Aussies. A financial alliance.


115/138

115

Two more small icon style cartoons, one was for the busses and the other waspart of the science series.


116/138

116

Planting and gardening is such a tiring effort, the bucket and the plants havehuman qualities of their own, one might think that the spades human side

is out to lunch.... hoho! Nah... it is what it is... gardener will be back soon. All

good fun!


117/138

117

Stack of papers can represent lots of work, heaps of research top workthrough.... or.... a stack of papers, when illustrating its accuracy that is required,

when cartooning it is what the cartoon suggests most commonly.


118/138

118

Roaming around space... on a bike, yeah, I was probably taking something Ishouldnt. Love the startrek model though.. eh? A space craft represents aliens

and space travel etc.... a startrek illo suggests the same but with fun.


119/138

119

This is a powerful icon, just the closed eyes and opened mouth, the blacknessstands right out.


120/138

120

Caveman having made the first wheel, just finished stonehenge in thebackground. Doing cartoons like this is a favourite of mine, I like lots of things

happening in the background, I tend to create illos and cartoons that tell

more than one story.


121/138

121

Sheep in winter woolies. They look very happy too.


122/138

122

Business cartoons were the most common I had to do, that is because thegreatest part of government is business and not the actual subject the

Department is named for. But this does give a great variety of practice for

honing your skills.


123/138

123

When I would draw a cartoon about a subject, for instance the one aboveabout the need for final check lists, I couldnt help putting in my own humour.

When you read the brief (the clients needs) more often than not you get an

instant mental picture, then its just the question of getting down a very quick

rough, a note book would be great but a scrap of paper would suffi ce, at least

until you get back to the drawing board.


124/138

124

The need for decisions, there are so many directions that one needs toresearch. The choice is then much clearer.


125/138

125

Winter woollies... are great unless twenty sizes too big.... probably best foravoiding the dangerous slopes.


126/138

126

I cant remember what this image was used for but it is obviously Americawrapped in paper and a ribbon. I do love the little crafts though, four little

icons that say so much and give the cartoon such character.


127/138

127

Yes I got this idea from me!... lots of notes and sticky tape!

Also I like to use a large loose drawing board..... just feels good.


128/138

128

What would you prefer doing instead....??


129/138

129

One of the staff of the local bus company was leaving, he was going to betruly missed This was part of a very nice article about his life on-the-buses.


130/138

130

When a small business is becoming a bigger business, the lesson here wasthe need to recognise this fact and to plan for expansion before the growth

happens too quickly. I had to show a frightening situation.... I think that

happened!


131/138

131

A nice little group...


132/138

132


133/138

133

This was fun, explaining x-rays in the science magazine. This followed a seriesstyle of child.


134/138

134

Gardening illustrations

These came from one job to make as realistic as possible but in a cartoon feel,

with detail as a crucial requirement. With the photos I had, and having met

one of the people in the photo, the client, I was able to get right into the joy

of gardening these people quite clearly had.


135/138

135

One of the staff at the nursery and displaying one of the plants of theirGardening Kit.


136/138

136

This was the clients mate and copartner, a very jovial guy.


137/138

137

The total contents of the Gardening Kit. All the cartoons together made up aflyer which was to be used on top of the kit, bound in using clear plastic. It was

very effective and gave the kit a fun appeal.


138/138

You can draw anything... with cartoons and illustrations

Documents

Transcript of You can draw anything... with cartoons and illustrations