Random, I know.

I’ve been doing some client work in Flash this week, and it just feels so bizarre to be working in it. I keep trying to use Illustrator short-cuts. How quickly we forget, huh?

We found this little chap on the street a couple of weeks ago - eyes glued shut with with cat flu, all dusty and sodden. Gluttons for punishment that we are, he’s now living in the lap of luxury and terrorizing the rest of the animals. Doesn’t he make a good model, though?

For any Flash-to-Illustrator converts out there, the Illustrator CS equivalent of expand/contract fill is Object > Path > Offset Path. Phew. And, of course, it’s five million times more powerful than Flash. I feel like I’m having an illicit affair with Illustrator and cheating on poor old Flash. It might be love.

Here’s another quick Illustrator test. Er, yes, I do have an odd fascination with drawing vector paper, why do you ask?

I’m still not as quick/fluid at drawing straight in Illustrator as I am in Flash, but I’m gradually getting the hang of it. Gradient mesh looks like insane fun.

After spending most of the week glued to the computer, I thought it was time to break out the inks and paper, and get my hands - and the kitchen - thoroughly dirty:

I’ve come to the conclusion that my inks are Not The Best, and I’m never going to get decent prints with them. They’re the ‘Color & Co’ inks - the cheapie, water-based stuff used in schools, but I just can’t find anything else over here. Actually, tell a lie, I discovered some Schmincke block printing inks on an Irish online art store, but a search on the WetCanvas printing forums reveals nadda about them. I’m thinking about trying some oil-based inks from Daniel Smith, but they’re based in the states, so shipping will probably be prohibitive and take ages. Grumble. I am impatient. My right arm is also rather unhappy with me today as a result of all that burnishing with a wooden spoon! Oh, for a press.

Anyway, here’s a photo essay of my step-by-step process (clicky for full images):

A whole table of prints: