The Peacock and the Crane (Reworked)

I did some alterations to the Aesop''s Fables images. I decided to black out the face for the beginning image to try and make the king more anonymous, and also to put more emphasis on the detail on his clothing and tail. It still has too much connection to Henry VIII i think and I am thinking of replacing his head altogether for an actual peacocks head, and perhaps have a peacocks body and putting king like clothing on it.

I blacked out the wings on the middle image so that it was more in l,ine with the beginning image and also because it simply looked better on the white background (which i have no control over as its part of the brief). The head of the angel may be replaced by a cranes head as it may communicate better.

Final image is still to come, and more reworked images to follow.

The Peacock and the Crane

The beginning and middle parts for Aesop's Fable Brief - The Peacock and the crane.

A peacock spreading its gorgeous tail mocked a crane that passed by, ridiculing the ashen hue of its plumage and saying:
"I am robed, like a king, in gold and purple and all the colours of the rainbow; while you have not a bit of colour on your wings."
"True," Replied the crane;
"But i soar to the heights of heaven and lift my voice up to the stars, while you walk below, like a cock, among the birds of the dunghill."

Fine feathers don't make fine birds.


The beginning image for the fable. I chose the use a king to represent the peacock as a king is a character that dresses and appears to "great" but may not be all that special. There is also a reference in the fable where the peacock says that he is robed, like a king.

The tail took me quite a while to do, but it got finished in the end. I was criticized for using Henry VIII as the king as it has too many strong links to him rather than a generic king image i am trying to promote, which i really agree with.


This is the middle image. I used an angel to represent the crane, as an angel is someone i've seen (in stories and pictures!) and expect to be pretty dressed down in simple garments, much like a monk or something like that... only with wings. There is also a reference in the story where the crane says it can soar to the heights of heaven.

I've been thinking that the heads of both pictures could be replaced by the corresponding bird heads to make them anonymous, something to think about.

The final image for the fable is yet to be done.

A New Leaf

So after a good talking to, i have decided this blog will now contain much more of my work and be more of a log of everything i do from thoughts all the way to final outcomes instead of its current format which is just shows pieces

I got my formative assessment back today and it had some good info about what i needed to improve, especially with regards to my learning agreement.

I;ve got to concentrate much more on my research and references, and really look into the opposites theme, something that i have always been interested. Some comparissons to note:

Abstract vs. Literal
Flat vs. 3D
Monochrome vs. Full Colour
Digital vs. Analogue
Style vs. Content
Shape vs. Line
Detailed vs. Suggested

My personal favourite being style vs. content. I have been struggling to find the correct balance for this and at the moment my work is very much concentrated on the content, whilst previous years was all about style... so with some hard work i will hopefully be able to strike the perfect balance.

A phrase a coined up was me trying to wrestle with stlye vs. content, and then a joke was made about an actual wrestling match... now it seems like a good idea to use a wrestling match as a theme for my learning agreement! I had previously been looking into mexican wrestlers, well actually it was more about vintage posters during a period when i was really interested into vintage design. You see how i like opposites? jumping from vintage to vectors?

So just something to think about really... perhaps a book or something, like a programme to be handed out!

How to Iron v2

This is my second outcome of the Guy Browning "How to Iron" brief. I am much happier with this illustration because communicates better about how not to iron.

This however was rejected again so v3 to come soon!

How to Iron

Illustration for the Guy Browning brief. The illustration is for an article titled "How to Iron".

I think i should have used a better reference pictures because some of the angles dont look quite right.

Who Needs Nine Lives?

An illustration for the New Scientist brief, to illustrate the text given in an article titled "Who needs nine lives?"

I had originally had some background elements into the image but i thought they just made it a little cluttered.