Quokka- McQubbin

This one is based on Frederick McCubbin’s iconic painting.

Quokka, issue 704, February 4 2010- McQubbin

For those of you interested, I painted the background using some semi-transparent brushes in Photoshop. I drew the foreground quokkas with pen and ink, then coloured the lines in photoshop… I figured leaving the black lines in wouldn’t sit right with the painterly background.

Quokka- Back to School

Remember getting all your new books and stationery for the year?

Labelling your pencils and textas… spelling out your name on your pencil case using the pre-cut letters… getting a new school bag… I always felt a nerdy excitement leading up to this yearly ritual.

But there was one stressful part I dreaded- covering my books.

When I first started, there were pockets of air everywhere. It looked like I’d covered my books with bubblewrap. But as years passed, my skill level increased. I was able to branch out from hardcovers to softcovers, even ring-bound books. No challenge was too great. I surpassed my mentor (my mum), then travelled to India to study with the greatest book coverer of our time- Swami Contakta Bhukava.

Swami Contakta lives in a cave in the Himalayas. The rough rock walls of the cave are entirely coated with adhesive plastic sheeting, with not a bubble to be seen anywhere. Swami says the cave has been like this since the beginning of time- in fact, the whole world used to be covered in plastic, and one day it will be again. I’m not exactly sure how that will work, but I do know that everything will be easy to wipe clean.

Quokka, issue 703, January 28 2009- Back to School

Quokka- McCubbin photo reference

Here’s a photo reference for an upcoming Quokka cover- the painting ‘Down on His Luck’, by Frederick McCubbin (1889). It’s owned by the Art Gallery of Western Australia.

I’ve added in the original caption, found amongst Fred’s journals.

Here’s the first rough sketch I did for the cover. We binned it after I realised it didn’t make any sense without the first image. Still, it made me laugh.

Quokka, issue 704, Feb 4 2010- draft #1

Quokka- Australia Day

Every Australia Day, Perth has a huge fireworks display.

Quokka, issue 702, January 21 2010- Australia Day

Some fisherpeople and boat-docking enthusiasts might recognise this as the Coode St Jetty in South Perth.

Quokka- mining

Quokka, issue 701, January 14 2010- mining

Here’s the reference photo I used-

It’s great to see a marsupial working in a job normally reserved for humans. They’ve been discriminated in the workforce for far too long. Quokkas are people too.

Well, not quite.

SCBWI- Scribblers Cover a Bovine With Illustrations

Local members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) are part way through painting a cow.

Me painting a cow's bum

Why, I hear you ask? Before you call the RSPCC, it’s not a real cow… it’s an art project for the Cow Parade, coming to Margaret River in March.

Have a squiz at Frane Lessac’s blog for more pictures of our group at work.

Quokka- skate park

Here’s the first cover for 2010- which will be on the 700th issue of Quokka.

This has to be the cleanest skate park ever- not a hint of graffiti to be found. Truth be told, I ran out of time with this one and would have liked it to be more authentic. Still, it was fun shading all the different levels and slopes in the park.

Quokka, issue 700, December 7 2010- skate park

Quokka- New Year’s edition (beach)

Another big one this week.

Quokka, issue 699, December 29 2009- New Years (beach)

Quokka- Christmas (shepherds)

The lighting in this one was a lot of fun. I’m not sure how quokkas would go being shepherds, seeing as how they’re a little bit smaller than sheep…

Merry Christmas everyone, thanks for reading the Quokka this year… thanks for all your comments. Have a safe holiday break.

James

Quokka, issue 698, December 17 2009- Christmas (shepherds)

Quokka- toy shopping

It’s a big cover this week, for the bumper Christmas edition.

Quokka, issue 697, December 10 2009- toy shopping