My oh Myers!

Movies!

2011-07-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

Life takes you in funny directions, I never thought I would make illustrations/do graphic design for movies. Actually, it hadn't occurred to me that illustration and film would intersect (outside of animated films and story-boarding), they seem like such different artistic media. But now I spot it in every film I watch - those Wedding invitations in the latest chick-flick? Someone designed those! Same with store logos and signs, the paintings on that wall behind the actors, the menus they're ordering from, even bumper stickers on the back of a van.

But then my sister becomes a production designer for films, and voila! She has an instant art/graphics team (my mother and me).

It really feels like any other illustration or graphic design assignment - you start with concept sketches, then move on to the final version once one is approved. Or if the schedule's really tight, you trust your gut and go with what you think would turn out the best.

You [almost] forget what it's being used for, so that it's almost a surprise when you see something you've worked on in a film clip:

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/video?id=7871234

(Keep an eye out for the wild-dog patches on the uniforms, pain-stakingly drawn in Illustrator with a Laptop mouse) :-D

Check out my IMBD page for some of the films I've worked on the art for:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3973440/

Imaged Words Show

2009-10-03T08:07:00.001-07:00

My it has been a long time since my last post. It's been an eventful summer!
I had the good fortune to be part of the Imaged Words exhibit at the Eclipse Mill Gallery, with a lot of wonderful artists. If you have never been to the Eclipse Mill (North Adams, MA) it is a really neat place.
Here is my piece in the show. It is titled Thistle Shirts. It is a variation of the fairy tale of the seven geese (sometimes told as twelve geese, seven swans, etc).
I have an earlier interactive version of the story on my website.

Hope

2008-12-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

It is always interesting to get an assignment that deals with an abstract idea.

If Hope were to shop in a grocery store, what would she look like?

I had the chance to explore this idea when illustrating a wonderful story by Rachel Snyder for the Women's Times.

My first thought of what Hope would look like was a little fluffy flying creature, with wide, trusting eyes:

She's very cute, but at the same time perhaps the most powerful form of hope is being very aware of everything that could go wrong, but still being hopeful anyway.

The illustration that was chosen eventually is a mix between a modern woman and the mythological "Hope."

Keep Hope with you!

Cookies + Fall = Mighty Delicious!

2008-10-30T19:09:00.001-07:00

My friend Alice is offering a six-week baking course at the Clinic for Women (in Connecticut)

www.clinic-for-women.com

It will be lots of fun, I wish I could go, but it's a long hike from Massachusetts!

Website Gets a Facelift

2008-10-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

The front page of my website has now received its much needed facelift:

http://www.anna-myers.com

Now I have more recent pictures on the front page, instead of a piece from 4 years ago.

I've also been working on a wonderful series of books called Spec Tales: Social Stories for Kids with Autism and Related Disorders, which you can find at http://www.spectales.com

Two new pictures, and one sprained ankle

2008-10-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures I submitted to the WestConn alumni art show, which will be up through Sunday afternoon.
I had meant to go to the opening last night, but unfortunately I managed to sprain my ankle, and the doctor instructed me to stay off of it as much as possible. I had to miss work today too, sadly (I really enjoy my job).

Obviously, both asian inspired pictures. It's kind of funny, I keep returning to Chinese and Japanese inspired images/fairytales in my work. I worked on a completely different idea for my graduate work, but now I think I'm ready to go back to some of my asian fairy tale ideas. I find I work best when I'm exploring several different ideas, or go back and forth between different projects.

Oh my, it's been quite some time!

2008-09-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted. The summer flew by!

Here are two more pictures from the ABC at GourneyJourney (although from a few months ago, I am truly behind!): http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/

This one was inspired by the Steam Punk genre, of which I am very fond. There is a comic I enjoy called "Girl Genius" http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php which has mad scientists controlling the world (think sentient pocket watches).

And here are illustrations from the July and August editions of the Women's Times:

Gina was kind enough to pose for me for this one.

And Mom patiently posed for this one, although I changed her hair and features a bit. The article was about women becoming poets, so for inspiration this poet has photographs of women writers behind her on the wall.

MFA Thesis Show in NYC!

2008-06-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

The reception for my school's MFA show in Chelsea is tomorrow! I am very excited!
The show will be up through July 5th, at the Blue Mountain Gallery on 530 West 25th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues.
Here is the gallery's website:
http://www.bluemountaingallery.org/

Hurray!

Rabbit Castles in the Clouds...and Clinton and Obamarama!

2008-05-14T05:54:00.001-07:00

When I read the ABC for this week, it made me think of a castle I drew back when I was in the second or third grade, inhabited by a rabbit prince. Everything had bunny ears attached to them, including mirrors and chairs and doorways. The story itself resembled Beauty and the Beast, except there were unicorns everywhere, and a dragon to contend with at the end.
So, in a way this piece is an homage to my much more creative, younger self, who now seems quite alien to me.

I will have to find that original rabbit picture someday and post it on my blog with this one.
The quote for this week was: "It may have been a castle, but it was unlike anything you'd see in history books. An alien hand had drawn the blueprints; I was willing to bet on that."
Here's a link to James Gurney's Blog, where you can see the rest of the ABC entries:

http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/

And on a completely different note, I thought I would post an illustration I did for the Women's Times for an article about the Democratic race between Clinton and Obama, and the conflicting feelings women had about who to vote for, because of the two movements they each sort of represent the triumph of (the civil rights movement and the women rights movement):

Monkey Girl for ABC

2008-05-08T09:17:00.001-07:00

So, my friend Lucy sent me a link, and after following that link I found a link to James' Gurney's blog; Gurney Journey. Every week he posts a quote from a science fiction novel, and then illustrators (students and professionals) send him an illustration based on the quote. He calls it "Art By Committee" or, ABC. The picture above is my entry for this week's ABC.
It is a whole lot of fun!

Here's a link to James Gurney's blog:
http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/

Lucy also sent me a link to this great website that has 30 second model poses, for art students:
http://www.posemaniacs.com/pose/thirtysecond.html
Their main site also has other great resources, like three-dimensional models of hands and feet and torsos etc. that you can rotate in any direction to sketch from.
http://www.posemaniacs.com/blog/

Still tweaking my book, getting ready to send it to publishers. Hopefully soon I can post some pictures from it.

2008-05-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

Women's Times Illustrations

2008-03-12T04:27:00.000-07:00

Playground Revolution!

Revolutionary Tikes

Woodchuck Dreams

I thought it would be fun to post some of my illustrations for the Women's Times. The first one is the most recent, and was published in the March Issue. The woodchuck was published in the January issue. It's been really great working for the Women's Times, I read it cover to cover whenever the latest issue comes out.

2007-09-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

Here is one of my characters from the book I have been working on.
You'll just have to wait until I finish the book before I tell you who she is!
I will tell you that eventually she'll be completely blue. Literally.

Another Random Sketch

2007-05-16T12:09:00.000-07:00

Summer seems to be a good time for generating ideas. Perhaps the sap flowing in the trees also get the blood flowing in the brain.
Alien Victorian Feminist Bounty Hunters. Perhaps.
From left to right: Samantha Pluet, human, wielding her trusty stun-gun. She's the negotiator, but occaisionally she has to knock some heads in order to get her crew out of bad situations. Dr. Quill (Medicine Woman) who comes from an advanced species of crows, once a very warlike people who have turned their knowlege of anatomy to a more peaceful pursuit of advanced medicine. And then there's Treebee...what can I say about Treebee. Don't let her Goldilocks look fool you. She's 500 years old. Of course for her species (humanoid, experts of teleportation) 500 years is about the equivalent for 10 years of our time.
I might pursue this as an actual project sometime in the future.

Random Sketch

2007-05-07T07:41:00.000-07:00

This is what I worked on last night when I should have been working on a paper.
I started the sketch waiting for my Room-mate's daughter's talent show to start, and finished it last night.

I think I'll call it "Old Man of the Swamp."

Very First Post

2007-05-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

Ah!
Hello!
This is my first post on blogspot.
Still getting used to the layout options.

Here is a painting of Benjamin Franklin. Yes, there is a dog on a treadmill. And no, Benjamin Franklin did not invent movies.

If you are interested in seeing more of my artwork, head over to my website:
http://www.anna-myers.com