Tickle Me Pink & Yellow &...

Signage & so on

2011-09-16T23:00:00.000+01:00

For a better look at the signage and menus I created for Le bar des mots, all you need to do is find your way to their new locale, at 36 rue de la Krutenau (Strasbourg, France) the next time you're craving a light bite at lunchtime. A warm welcome and good eats await you! (Soon to come: a few photos...)

Go... Growl?

2011-04-21T23:00:00.000+01:00

I had a lot of fun with this project: a game of something like Go Fish, created with one of the groups of children who participated in my studio classes this year. I'm going to miss this group, with their smiles, their stories, their imaginations and, of course, their monstrous drawings!

2011-03-21T23:00:00.001+01:00

Central Vapeur will have a stand at the international comix-festival Fumetto (Lucerne, Suisse) the weekend of April 9-10.

But before that happens, we're organizing a "Before Fumetto" weekend in Strasbourg, the weekend of April 1-2, including a conference, sales stands and festivities, with David Basler (founder of Edition Modern and Strapazin - THE Swiss comix-magazine) and illustrator/author Kati Rickenbach.

For information about Central Vapeur (in French): www.centralvapeur.eu

And for more about the Fumetto festival: www.fumetto.ch

And more about...

Edition Moderne : www.editionmoderne.ch

Strapazin : www.strapazin.ch

Kati Rickenbach : www.katirickenbach.ch or www.strapazin.ch/kati

Travel sketches / 25.12.2010-01.01.2011

2011-01-06T11:46:00.003+01:00

drôle d'oiseau

2010-11-10T00:00:00.022+01:00

It's finished! It's being printed! And it will be out on the market soon!
Drôle d'oiseau (Strange Bird) was a project I had the first bits of an idea for about a year ago. When it started coming together, I sent it to Éditions MeMo, one of my favourite French publishers, and... the rest is history — or so the saying goes!

It's already on the Amazon.fr and Fnac.com sites. And you can click on their name for a closer look at what Éditions MeMo does.

sketching - The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962)

2010-10-18T09:36:00.003+01:00

Sketching while watching films is good for developing quick sketch techniques, but it's also good for expressions and movements one wouldn't otherwise think of. These are a couple that came from last night's watching of the 1962 version of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Tout un tas

2010-05-19T09:45:00.005+01:00

Another project that was well worth the effort: A book created with the children who participated in my illustration classes this past year.

The ideas for this class started coming to me last year, when I was working with a different group of students. They were older (from 8 to 11 years), and were very vocal with the complaint that they couldn't draw "the way you're supposed to". I explained that there was not one way of drawing, and we spent several afternoons trying out different ways to illustrate the characters for the Seven Families card game that we were creating. Then we worked on the calligraphy we needed in a similar way.* Even the most recalcitrant of the students became enthusiastic participants. What started out as a challenge turned into a great time!

This year, I had three groups of smaller children (from 2 to 5 years). For a certain number of them, it was difficult even to hold a crayon! And many of them were already saying that they couldn't draw, though they were but 4/5 years old. The challenge was somewhat greater than the year before, it would seem.

I searched and dug around and tested ideas... And the courses that resulted convinced me that the result was worth much more than the effort. The children's joyful squeals (when, for example, a scribble turned into a dog before their very eyes) convinced me, week after week, to keep on trucking'.

This book is the product of the series of illustration classes that I proposed over this last year. If you'd like a PDF or paper version (though the series is limited, so there aren't many of the latter), my contact information is in the upper left-hand corner of this page.

* I was extremely fortunate to have paricipated in the calligraphy classes of the magnificent master calligrapher, Glen Epstein. Many of his ideas - æsthetic and otherwise - helped me to create the courses I gave over the past two school years. I also owe alot to the illustrator Ed Emberley, who has helped several decades' worth of children around the world to realise that they, too, can illustrate!

A couple of pages from the book:

childrensillustrators.com

2010-02-22T01:44:00.010+01:00

It took the poor victims of malicious hacking a while, but I'm happy to say that childrensillustrators.com is back up and running. You can view my page here.

2009-06-23T12:08:00.006+01:00

At long last! Our project is finished. This book was created with the bilingual kindergarten class at L'école Saint-Thomas, in Strasbourg. Two groups of 25 kids, two teachers full of energy, culture and know-how, and me in the bargain. Great fun!

The children spent their second trimester working on the life cycles of ladybugs and butterflies, as well as other garden inhabitants. It was up to me to take their work and turn it into a book that retraced their their adventures, and which will remind them later on of the time they spent with their much-loved teachers.

The various illustrative elements were created by the children (with the help of their teachers, of course!), and I put them together, in order to make the finalised illustrations. The children also created the story, with a bit of help from a book that they read together in class. The layout and a few of the illustrations are also my work.

The first double page spread includes the drawings which represent the groups in which the children worked for the story's illustrations and text. And the very last double page spread contains the same background, but in the place of the drawings, we see the names of each of the children involved.

And now for a few pages:

2009-04-06T09:48:00.004+01:00

Poster created for a cultural festival.

2009-04-05T09:40:00.000+01:00

Visual for the 2008-2009 season at Les Tanzmatten theatre.
(Sélestat, France)

The suggested theme for this year's bids was:
"the good life / lightness of being / relaxation"

Best Wishes For 2009

2009-01-11T21:17:00.005+01:00

Fable Boxes

2009-01-08T15:09:00.004+01:00

From a series of boxed fables. The illustrations wrap around the box; the text is in the form of an accordion book, folded into the box; and the moral is on the bottom of the box.

2008-09-10T14:14:00.000+01:00

A poster created for a Spanish wine maker.

Le Cheval Blanc

2008-04-02T22:49:00.001+01:00

Visuals for the 2008-2009 season at Le Cheval Blanc theatre in Schiltigheim, France. The more adult-oriented season is collected under the name L'Échappée Belle, whereas the more youth-oriented season is collected under the name Récré Théâtre.

CD packaging

2008-02-21T15:26:00.000+01:00

Blond(i)e & Belle

2007-11-30T14:27:00.001+01:00

One of the sketches for an upcoming book concerning music, memory, emotion and motion.

S'MAG - final edition

2007-11-01T16:15:00.000+01:00

If you'd like to see any of the S'MAGs from September to November 2007 in their entirety, please contact me at idink(at)orange.fr

S'MAG - October 2007

2007-10-01T14:00:00.000+01:00

S'MAG - all new look

2007-09-02T13:16:00.001+01:00

As artistic director, I designed the magazine's layout, as well as the logo an the font.

Oh ! La vache !

2007-07-01T19:33:00.000+01:00

A book for a project realized along with the "petits/moyens" preschool class at St. Thomas School in Strasbourg, their teacher Muriel Levresse and the veterinarian and epidemiologist François Moutou.

The project began when one of the pupils asked, "Where does milk come from?" during their morning snack-time. The children visited a bio-dynamic farm, the Zoological Museum, the Vaisseau (science museum); they participated in various workshops (old-fashioned butter making, for instance); they made cows and other animals out of all sorts of materials...

For my part, I accompanied them on their outings; I conducted drawing workshops; and I put the children's illustrations into the pages of this book, for which I also did the layout, the scientific illustrations and that of the main character, and the activity and quiz pages.

We were very honored to have received the 1st prize for primary school projects (2007) from La main à la pâte, the jury for which was presided over by George Charpak.

If you wish to find out more about the project, please click here:
La main à la pâte

If you wish to consult the pages within this book, please click here*:
Oh ! La vache !

*Or contact me at idink@orange.fr

Pest Sound @ Printemps de Bourges

2007-04-02T13:43:00.001+01:00

Publicity for a band which was chosen to represent Alsace at the Printemps de Bourges festival.

À La Hache 03

2006-11-15T23:55:00.000+01:00

The third in a series of four. (S'MAG - December 2006)

À La Hache 02

2006-10-15T22:26:00.000+01:00

The second in a series of four. (S'MAG - November 2006).

Les Riches Douaniers

2005-02-02T00:04:00.000+01:00

February 2005, Polystyrène (cultural magazine) - Strasbourg, France

One of a long series of illustrations done for Emmanuel Dosda's monthly rubric, Electrochoc. Each month, the article dealt with a different electronic musician, DJ or group thereof in the Strasbourg area.

Karejka (May 2004)

2004-05-01T11:25:00.000+01:00

May 2004, Polystyrène (cultural magazine) - Strasbourg, France

One of a long series of illustrations done for Emmanuel Dosda's monthly rubric, Electrochoc. Each month, the article dealt with a different electronic musician, DJ or group thereof in the Strasbourg area.

Guinguette / Jardin des Deux Rives

2004-04-23T20:00:00.000+01:00

One of two signs done for the Jardin des Deux Rives festival.
(Strasbourg, France & Kehl, Germany / April - October 2004)

And me in front of the Guinguette, with one of my wee twin boys.

Polystyrène, December 2002

2002-12-01T10:35:00.000+01:00

December 2002, Polystyrène (cultural magazine) - Strasbourg, France

One of a long series of illustrations done for Emmanuel Dosda's monthly rubric, Electrochoc. Each month, the article dealt with a different electronic musician, DJ or group thereof in the Strasbourg area.

Polystyrène, February 2001

2002-02-01T09:57:00.000+01:00

An illustration done for the 50th edition of the cultural magazine Polystyrène (Strasbourg, France).

Literature & Theatre, Summer 2001

2001-07-01T10:49:00.000+01:00

Two illustrations done for the summer issue of Polystyrène's rubrics for Theatre & Literature.

Polystyrène, April 2000

2000-04-01T12:34:00.000+01:00

These were the first in a long line of illustrations done for the cultural magazine Polystyrène (April 2000 - Strasbourg, France). These four represented the rubrics Art, Literature, Music & Theatre...

A Logo ( ? ) for BKN

2000-04-01T09:36:00.000+01:00

A proposal for an "anti-logo" for the advertising agency BKN (Strasbourg).