This guy is ‘King’. This is a painting I have been working on for a couple of months (on and off). Now it is in the final stages where I am fixing details, adjusting contrast, and basically making it look believable.
King of the Golden Mountain
16 Jun 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: Abu Dhabi, art, Australia, blog, Brothers Grimm, dark, detail, fairy, fairytale, illustration, Jodi, king, King of the Golden Mountain, magi, oil, old man, painting, portrait, tale, U.A.E., UAE, work in progress
Because they can
14 Jun 2013 Leave a Comment
in Completed work, Paintings on canvas Tags: Abu Dhabi, antique toy, art, artist, Australian, blog, building, composition, environmental art, illustration, Jodi Magi, magazine, oil, paint, painter, photo, toy animals, toy bear, toy deer, toy lamb, traditional art, view, window
Photograph of the view from my window here in Abu Dhabi.
‘Because they can’, oil on canvas, 76cm x 51cm, 2013.
Because they can
29 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, artist, bear, blog, city, colour, construction, deer, illustration, Jodi, lamb, landscape, magi, oil, painting, traditional, view, window
This work in progress is a comment on humanity’s need to build, construct and demolish, as seen through the eyes of 3 toys looking through a window. Lamb asks Ulysses the bear “Why are they always building? Where have all the trees gone?” to which Uly replies “They build because they can”. Titled ’Because they can’, oil on canvas, 76cm x 51cm (in progress).
Seven Ravens
04 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Completed work, Illustration / commercial art, Vector artwork and/or digital manipulation Tags: art, artwork, bird, Brothers Grimm, castle, concpet, crow, damsel, digital, fairytale, figurative, fly, illustration, illustrator, Jodi Magi, mixed media, photoshop, raven, story, surreal art, traditional, vector, vector art
My question to myself: Can illustration and art co-exist together in the same piece? And can a digital work be as emotive and soulful as a traditional piece? Having finished this piece, I still don’t know the answer, however I do think it is a lot more difficult to generate that organic ‘arty’ feeling through the digital medium. On the other hand, other things are easier, such as changing and moving elements, adjusting colours etc.
I am really liking using photographs of fabric in the clothes at the same time as detailed vector elements and art textures. I think this combination is something I will be using more in the future.
Inspired by ‘The Seven Ravens’ by the Brothers Grimm.
Photoshop, Illustrator and traditional techniques.
I Told You This Day Would Come (revisited)
03 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Completed work, Paintings on wood, Vector artwork and/or digital manipulation Tags: atmosphere, australian art, castle, clouds, clown, digital art, doll, Flight, french clown doll, hot air balloon, illustration, Jodi Magi, marionette, oil painting, photoshop, pop art, pop surrealism, sky, street art, surreal, surreal art, traditional painting, wood
This is a digital update of my oil painting titled ‘I Told You This Day Would Come’, on a wooden window shutter, shown in this previous post. I am slowly opening my mind up to the concept that artwork doesn’t have to be purist in order to have integrity: it isn’t ‘selling out’ to let a piece live a new life using Photoshop. For me it is enough that a work is created using traditional techniques, and if the digital medium can add depth or atmosphere when traditional skills couldn’t (for what ever reason), then why not utilize it?
Vector illustration
02 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Illustration / commercial art, Vector artwork and/or digital manipulation, Completed work Tags: art, Australia, Australian, character, commercial art, enthusiastic, excited, game, happy, illustration, illustrator, in progress, Jodi Magi, man, montage, motivated, photoshop, Stake My rep, U.A.E., UAE, vector, vector art
I created this using Adobe Illustrator for the face and hands, and Photoshop for the rest. I think it is important to retain a sense of authenticity / organic-ness in digital illustration in order to encourage some sort of emotional connection. Sometimes digital stuff can look cold. This is why I use a lot fabric photography (the shirt and hat) and traditional textures (ink splatters in the background).
Vector illustration
01 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, Australia, Australian, character, commercial art, enthusiastic, excited, game, happy, illustration, in progress, Jodi Magi, man, motivated, U.A.E., UAE, vector, vector art
Getting there….
Vector illustration
29 Apr 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, Australia, Australian, character, commercial art, game, illustration, in progress, Jodi Magi, man, U.A.E., UAE, vector, vector art
This is a vector illustration I am part way through, for an online challenge game about to launch. Though it is done digitally, it should be known, this is no quick trick!
King of the Golden Mountain
27 Apr 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: artist, Brothers Grimm, colour, dead, directory, face, gestrual, gothic, head, illustration, illustration art, illustrator, Jodi Magi, king, man, mountain, oil, painting, surreal, surreal art, traditional
This is a detail from ‘King of the Golden Mountain’, oil on canvas (in progress). I am quite enjoying being more gestural in my paint handling technique so far. Click here to view my initial digital mockup of the composition.
The process of creation
26 Apr 2013 1 Comment
in Progress shots, Uncategorized Tags: air, art, Australia, balloon, castle, child, clown, detail, doll, escape, France, French, hot, illustration, Jodi Magi, marionette, oil, paint, painting on wood, road, toy, work in progress
A friend suggested I might like to share the process of creating a piece of art in gallery format, so everyone can appreciate all the work that goes into the research and composition stages, as well as the final stage of painting. This gallery shows the work-in-progress shots of ‘I Told You This Day Would Come’, oil on wood panel, 2012.
Cleaning and preparing the wood.
Concept drawings and brainstorming
Composition of concept based on the dimensions of the panel
Visual research into the costume of my French marionette doll
Character drawing for style and positioning of the limbs
More practice on the ruff collar was needed before I started painting
Painting has started. Here I am tracing the pencil outline I made with fine white lines in oil paint.
Oil painting underway.
The doll character as it is positioned on the panel. At this point I realised there was way too much unused real-estate above her so decided the composition required more thought… Enter the hot air balloon.
Research and drawing into the make-up of a hot air balloon from the early 19th century
Detail from the top section.
Detail from the bottom section.
‘I Told You This Day Would Come’, oil on an antique Dutch colonial window shutter. 2012. 72cm x 28cm
Seven Ravens
15 Apr 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, artwork, bird, Brothers Grimm, castle, concpet, crow, damsel, digital, fairytale, figurative, fly, illustration, illustrator, Jodi Magi, mixed media, photoshop, raven, story, traditional, vector, vector art
This is a little challenge I set myself: Can illustration and art co-exist together in the same piece? And can a digital work be as emotive and soulful as a traditional piece?
Inspired by The Seven Ravens by the Brothers Grimm.
Photoshop, Illustrator and traditional techniques.
King of the Golden Mountain
20 Mar 2013 Leave a Comment
in Preliminary sketch, Progress shots Tags: Australia, Brothers Grimm, drawing, fairytale, Gold, illustration, in progress, Jodi Magi, king, mountain, pencil, study
This is my King-to-be. A pencil drawing in progress for my next painting inspired by the Brothers Grimm’s The King of the Golden Mountain.
Click here to view my initial digital mockup of the composition.
Digital mockup for ‘King of the Golden Mountain’
09 Mar 2013 1 Comment
in Progress shots Tags: Brothers Grimm, concept, fairytale, golden, grimm, illustration, Jodi Magi, king, mountain, work in progress
I have just commenced studying a Masters course of Visual Art (scary!). My area of interest will be a modern visual interpretation of fairytales by the Brothers Grimm. I am also interested in incorporating typography within the painting as I want to explore the boundaries of art/illustration/graphic design.
This is a mockup created in Photoshop using my own photos, a photo from the net of a snake and net sourced images of paintings by Rembrandt and Caravaggio. It represents the story ‘The King of the Golden Mountain’ as told by the Brothers Grimm.
The final painting will be oil on canvas, and will be quite ambitious. Naturally I will completely change the faces – this is a starting point in terms of the colours and composition. Fingers crossed it works out.
If Only for a Moment
07 Feb 2013 1 Comment
in Completed work, Paintings on wood Tags: animal, art, artist, Australian, bird, character, children, deer, fable, fairytale, hewn pine, huon pine, illustration, Jodi Magi, journey, light, magic, painting on wood, spiritual, story, tree
‘If Only for a Moment’, 46cm x 32cm, acrylic on camphor, 2012.
Her Metamorphosis (Retrograde)
29 Jan 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: artist, Australian, dark, emerging, fingurative, gothic, illustration, Jodi Magi, metamorphosis, oil, painting, portrait, regency, UAE
So far so good…
Work in progress, oil on canvas, 80 cm x 80cm
In progress
10 Jan 2013 Leave a Comment
in Preliminary sketch, Progress shots Tags: art, Australian, children, drawing, figurative, girl, illustration, Jodi Magi, new, painting, pencil, sketch, UAE, work in progress
Another drawing for the new painting…
In progress
08 Jan 2013 1 Comment
in Preliminary sketch, Progress shots Tags: Abu Dhabi, art, Australia, child, drawing, illustration, in progress, Jodi Magi, U.A.E., water
This little lass will be in a painting I will start work on in the next few days.
Woman in Black
02 Dec 2012 Leave a Comment
in Paintings on canvas Tags: art, artist, character, dark, ghost, gothic, illustration, Jodi, light, magi, oil, painting, story, traditional, Woman in Black
Recently, a publisher said he thought my work was ‘obviously geared towards the children’s book market’ which I thought was interesting as I don’t see it like that at all. So, partially as a reaction to that comment and partially to challenge myself to complete something within a few hours (instead of weeks) and in oil (instead of acrylic), I painted this today. My inspiration is the book and movie ‘Woman in Black’ by Susan Hill.
In Progress
30 Nov 2012 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, character, deer, fairytale, fawn, forest, illustration, in progress, Jodi Magi, painting, painting on wood
A little bit of additional colour, worked in from the top down, seems to have brought it to life and heightened the sense of depth.
In Progress
27 Nov 2012 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, artist, Australian, character, children, deer, fairytale, fawn, figure, forest, illustration, in progress, Jodi Magi, painting, painting on wood
In Progress
27 Nov 2012 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, character, deer, fairytale, fawn, forest, illustration, in progress, Jodi Magi, painting, painting on wood
Work on the background has started. It is tricky to find the balance between incorporating the wood-grain, painting an interesting scene which sets the context of the story and over-powering the foreground.
In Progress
23 Nov 2012 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: Abu Dhabi, art, Australian, bird, deer, doe, fable, fairytale, fawn, haunted, illustration, in progress, Jodi Magi, painting, painting on wood, whimsy
I think the figures are finished, now what to do with the background?
In Progress
20 Nov 2012 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: Abu Dhabi, art, bird, character, fairytale, illustration, Jodi Magi, lantern, light, narrative, painting on wood, U.A.E., UAE
So far so good. I am hoping the sketchy figure on the right is obvious enough as he is without me doing more than just emphasising the wood..?
Cold in the Shadows
14 Oct 2012 Leave a Comment
in Completed work, Paintings on canvas Tags: acrylic, art, cold, illustration, Jodi Magi, monster, painting, shadows
Cold in the Shadows, 31cm x 22cm, acrylic on canvas. This is actually a re-visit / touchup of the initial version completed a couple of years ago. I have been meaning to fix certain things such as toning back the light rays, changing the colour of the character and adjusting the shadows, and today I finally did.
The Bright Ones
13 Jun 2012 Leave a Comment
in Completed work, Illustration / commercial art, Vector artwork and/or digital manipulation Tags: character, children's book, colour, comic, ebook, illustration, Jodi Magi, kid, stylized, The Bright Ones
After having finished the painting, I am back illustrating my children’s book ‘The Bright Ones’. Here is the latest double page spread.
Once, there was the sound of leaves…
08 Jun 2012 Leave a Comment
in Completed work, Paintings on canvas Tags: art, Australian, fairytale, forest, horse, illustration, Jodi Magi, pop art, stories, street art, surreal art, traditional
Finished. 60cm x 60cm, acrylic on canvas, 2012.
Horse painting in progress
30 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: acrylic, art, artist, Australia, horse, illustration, in progress, Jodi Magi, moon, night, paint, painting, pop art, surreal
Having finally finished painting the trees (which took a few days), I added some contrast to the foreground grass as well as around the base of the trees in order to anchor them to the ground, and here you see me painting the base colour for the moon. A constellation of stars to follow soon.
Horse painting in progress
30 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: acrylic, art, artist, Australia, horse, illustration, in progress, Jodi Magi, painting, pop art, surreal
The two lead characters in the narrative, the trees behind them are yet to be worked on. Acrylic on canvas 60cm x 60cm
The Bright Ones
02 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Completed work, Illustration / commercial art, Vector artwork and/or digital manipulation Tags: children's book, ebook, illustration, Jodi Magi, night, owl
My latest illustration for ‘The Bright Ones’.
The Bright Ones
01 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Completed work, Illustration / commercial art, Vector artwork and/or digital manipulation Tags: children's book, colour, comic, ebook, illustration, Jodi Magi, kid, stylized
Page 2 – 4 illustration for my new children’s story.
