Sam Singh Illustration

C.A.T.M.14 Happy 2012!!

2012-01-09T21:00:00.004-05:00

Welcome to the first Case A The Mondays post of 2012!!

2011 was a pretty awesome year: I had my first two interviews, blog features, art shows, and I did some pretty good art work too (if I don't say so myself, hehe). So lets keep the good luck going by introducing my first new art piece of 2012:

Rough sketch. I wonder what my foul mind is up to now...

This is a concept sketch for an art show I will be apart of in February (deets later). The show's title is Menagerie: A Series of Anthropomorphic Illustrations. As you can guess from the title, there will be a heavy emphasis on animals in this show. I am very much looking forward to seeing where my mind can take me because I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I don't draw a lot of animals. Which is a good thing because I do love a good challenge :D So far what I've come up with here is an illustration on viral cat videos on the internet (you know which ones I'm talking about)! If you pay attention to each video and how many views each video has accumulated, you'll understand why thousands of people worshiping a cat on a computer screen is appropriate here. And I will admit I do love me a few funny cat videos once in a while :P

To clearly get the message across, I'm gonna need a lot of kneeling people. Here's a few I've already started:

I'm already very excited about this piece, and I can't wait to share the rest of it with you! Wish me luck :)

Well you know the routine by now, so let's get to some sketchbook goodies!

Commuters, my favorite :)

There are two major things that kept me occupied last year: Young Justice (I heart Robin!) and Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (I heart Link!).

I posted this on my Facebook Page last night. I never knew how much fun drawing a face in the crease of your sketchbook could be :)

And that's it for now folks! I'll post more information about the show as soon as it becomes available to me. In the meantime you may Like my Facebook Page to stay up to date on any Sam Singh news. Happy New Year!

C.A.T.M.13

2011-10-03T23:15:00.002-04:00

Summer 2011 is over and Fall is upon us! And that means it's time to update the blog (yipee!!). Believe it or not, I have been keeping myself creative over the summer while having fun in the sun :)

I started a new portrait today!

Production seems to be going well. Lots of heads so far and still LOTS more work to do :)

This will soon be a portrait of a Brit band I've come to like called The Cribs. I had this concept sitting in my sketchbook for a very long time and I could never find the right opportunity to bring it to life. Now that summer is out of the way, I guess now is good time to get started! I'm really excited about this project because I hope to include it in a series of portraits for my next promotion (deets later).

Next are two projects I started during the summer:

I choose you PIKACHU? I mean PACMAN?!

This is a really fun project I can't wait to finish! I've been meaning to give my online shop a major facelift for a while now, so I've got a line up of fun new prints to be made available soon, so stay tuned!

The Black Mamba not looking so hot eh?

In case you haven't figured it out by now, this is Kobe Bryant (haha, I still can't look at this without laughing). You've probably forgotten about this news, but during the last NBA playoffs Mr. Bryant was put on the spot for his "potty mouth". It's a little unclear from the sketch, but the big empty space in his face is reserved for a bar of soap. I've had this sketch sitting on my desk, ready to be inked, for a while and I promise to get this finished in time for my promotion ;)

By now you're probably thinking, "gosh Sam, you've been slacking all summer". Hopefully these selected pages from my summer sketchbook will change your mind :)

Gotta squeeze in a few commuters on my way to work!

During my adventures this summer I did have to make a quick stop to the doctors office (good thing I had my sketchbook with me, hehe). It's all fun and games until you get attacked by Hay Fever...

Hi new sketchbook!

Fun with ink blots <3

That about wraps up this weeks Case A The Mondays. Next time I'll have some finished work for you (pinky swear) Toodles!

Sweat Show in T.O.

2011-07-13T13:12:00.000-04:00

It's finally happening ya'll!
Our anticipated Sweat show is kicking off this Friday from July 15th - July 29th at Oz Studios, Toronto!

Check out this sweeeeet poster collaboration by Kate Thornley, Chelsea Canlas, and myself. It really doesn't get anymore sweaty than this!

RSVP on our Facebook event page here!

There will be a merchandise table full of awesome prints and homemade trinkets for sale during the duration of the show. So stop by opening night, have a drink to cool down, and beat the heat this summer at Oz Studios on July 15th 2011. See you there!

C.A.T.M.12

2011-06-27T19:45:00.001-04:00

SUMMERTIME! Sorry for disappearing for a few months, but there is just waaay too much summer out there to ignore! But don't worry I'm back and keeping myself busy with new art work. I think you know how this blog works by now, so let's get started on this weeks Case A The Mondays!

New sketches!

Now who do those perrty lips belong to? Hahaha!

For a while now, myself and a few friends/illustrators have been promoting art show proposals to several galleries around Toronto. After several let downs, we finally got our big break (yippee!!). So on July 15th, Oz Studios will premiere "Sweat", featuring myself and several other Toronto based illustrators. This show should be mountains of fun, so don't miss it! I'll announce more details later :)

For now, this current piece I'm working on is 1 of 2 pieces I'll be exhibiting in the show. There's a vital portion of this drawing that is still missing (I'm still working it out), but it should be good for a laugh once it's complete :)

And as usual, I'm always doodling on the buses and subways of Toronto:

Loved his fro!

Sleepy head.

Rush hour.

Finally, a few weeks ago my friend and fellow illustrator Kate Thornley hosted a Sketch Night at her studio for the Illustration Project contributors.

From the wine glasses and the lack of drawings, you can probably tell we spent most of the night drinking! I had a great time though, and we all went home happy (very happy, haha!!) And that wraps up this week! Come back soon to hear more details about "Sweat". Toodles!

Noire Digerati Interview

2011-05-31T16:12:00.000-04:00

Exciting news followers!
About a month ago I was approached by Michael Lang, Founder/Creative Director at Noire Digerati, to do an interview about me and my art work. Noire Digerati is an online publication dedicated to driving diversity and inclusion for technology and creative professionals. So I've been featured as a Creativist on their official website. Pretty cool huh! You may check out the lovely write up about me by Dionne Walker here!

Website: http://www.noiredigerati.com/

Finally I would like to make a special shout out and thank you to Michael Lang who has given me the best compliment any illustrator who's just making funny pictures could receive. Thank you :)

Computer Arts Projects 147 online!

2011-04-19T13:45:00.001-04:00

Guess what everyone!
Remember last month I made an announcement about an article I gave insight for called Computer Arts Projects? Well this morning the team from Computer Arts released an online version of 'Work With Creative Trends' (awesome!). You'll find lots of really smart Do's and Don'ts about art trends from 20 artists and designers from today. You can read the article here, so take a quick read and take some notes too!

Computers Arts Projects 147

I also want to make a quick shout out to Anne Wollenberg for including me in her 40 tips for how to spot a trend. Thank you!

Emoticonputer

2011-03-28T11:24:00.001-04:00

What's up followers! Good news: Emoticonputer is complete!

It's change a lot since my sketch, but I think it's working quite nicely! It was a real pleasure working on this piece, and I really like this subject. I might revisit it again down the line because I've got pages of concepts about email etiquette, but I believe a universal new keyboard is a nice step in the right direction, to achieving better email etiquette. Enjoy!

C.A.T.M.11

2011-03-21T21:32:00.000-04:00

What's up everyone!
I've got good stuff to share with you this week so let's get started shall we :)

Jeez my desk is a mess! Guess that's what busyness looks like :)

Final drawings for the hands. Guess you can say I'm a real "hands" on kinda person! Hahaha, too lame?

You can always tell when I use my own hands for reference: skinny, awkward fingers haha!

Care for a little tease?

I couldn't be more pleased with the way this piece is shaping up, esp the colors! They're so fresh and Spring like! This piece should be all wrapped up by this week (or by tonight if I'm lucky), so stay tuned for the final unveiling of Emoticonputer sometime this week!

Usually I've got a whole stack of doodles to share with you for this portion of Case A The Mondays, but I've been pretty focused on getting this piece done. I can however show you my digital warm from this morning :)

Sometimes I like messing around with an old sketch and Photoshop before I work on a final piece. Gets those juices going you know :D

So that wraps up this weeks update. Hope you enjoyed it, and check back in soon to see my finished piece. Toodles!

C.A.T.M.10 + Announcement + Illustration Project

2011-03-14T23:02:00.000-04:00

Long time no see followers!
Before we get to the fun stuff, I've got an announcement to make! Before the New Year a writer from the UK asked me and several other artists and designers to do a small interview for the digital art magazine Computer Arts Project issue 147. This issue is about trends in art and how to/how not to incorporate trends in your own work. I love Computer Arts, and they always have helpful tips and tutorials from todays top creatives on their website. So if you live in the UK pick up a copy today!

Now to the good stuff!

Rough sketch for an emoticon inspired piece. You can always tell when I use my own hands for reference: skinny, awkward fingers! Hahaha :D

Few weeks ago I came across an article about email etiquette and the value of using emoticons as emotional cues in emails, so you don't accidentally send the wrong kind of message to people. It's a lesson we can all brush up on especially if you're a young, beautiful, freelance illustrator like myself :) However, I'm not completely sold on the composition yet, so I'm in the middle of changing it totally and cleaning up the line work.

Vector version of the laptop. Hands are not my forte, but I enjoy taking my time and drawing them correctly. I'll be adding those shortly :)

I want this piece to be relatively clean cut and sharp, so I'm sticking with vectors for the laptop, and I'm taking my time drawing the hands until I'm satisfied. Things are really starting to come together for this piece, and I'm excited to get it done!

By the way, this also happens to be this month's topic for another blog I am a member of called Illustration Project. It's a blog hosted by 7 illustrators to keep us creatively fresh, sharpen our skills as young thinkers, and to share our process and artistic endeavors with you. So much smart stuff happening there, but don't take my word for it!

Follow me and 6 other good friends of mine on illustrationproject.blogspot.com today!!

Sometimes the best part of my day is the morning commute to work :)

Would you believe me if I told you I saw a turkey on my bus ride to work?

Spring's coming up soon, and that means more opportunities to have art shows (foreshadowing), and I'm working on a new promotion too :) So stay tuned for more exciting news in the months to come! Peace <3

Figure No. 1 Art Show!

2011-02-17T10:56:00.000-05:00

Join me and 4 other talented ladies for the opening reception of our Human Body inspired show!

Figure No. 1 | 285 Dundas st. West | Thursday February 17th, 2011 | 6pm-8pm

RSVP on Facebook.

They'll be wine and delicious treats for you all night long, so come on down and see our awesome art work + Slanguage all lit up one last time!

The show will run from February 16th - March 12th. Be there!

Jonah Hill's Cupid

2011-02-15T15:23:00.000-05:00

What's happening everyone? I'll tell you what's happening, I've got new work to show you!

Jonah Hill: could you imagine a more perfect baby cupid :)

This is the Valentine's Day promotion I mentioned to you in my last post. Isn't he adorable :) I had a lot of fun working on this piece, and it only took me roughly 25 hours to finish, haha! I was in the middle of finishing up Health vs. Play when I thought, jeez it's 2 weeks before Valentine's? I need a V-Day card stat!

In between waiting for my massive file to save on my poor Macbook, I scribbled an inaccurate yet close Jonah Hill.

Yes I sometimes use Link from Legend of Zelda as reference, haha!!

And here's the final drawing. The cage I did in illustrator. God bless Adobe!

Neat huh! Fun times with Jonah Hill. Can't wait to show you my next piece! Toodles :)

New Work: "Health vs. Play"

2011-02-05T16:19:00.000-05:00

What's up everyone! It's a Saturday afternoon and I've got new work to share with you.

Health vs. Play, my Lakers inspired art piece :)

Don't they look fabulous, hehe! This was so much fun to do. What better excuse do I need to look at Lakers photos than to do a basketball art piece. This time last year I was into nothing but x-rays and slang words, but I've come a long way since then and it only gets better from here on :)

Last week I sent out my first mailer promotion!

Sexy new postcards!

Nothing fancy, just a few postcards featuring Health vs. Play and a Valentine's Day piece I'll share with you in a few weeks :D Doing mailers is fun, and I'm actually working on another more elaborate mailer for my Slanguage series that I will distribute to very specific clients. I can't wait to get started on my new promotion, and I've got a few ideas floating around for new art work! Lots of exciting stuff coming up in the next few weeks so stay tuned. Peace <3

C.A.T.M.9

2011-01-10T21:23:00.001-05:00

Welcome followers to another Case A The Mondays!
It's a whole new year and that means it's time for some new work! Today has been a pretty awesome day (one of the best days in a long time), so without further a due, let's see what I've been up to all day :)

New work YAY!!

Look mom! No pencils!!

I'm much more hands on with this piece. Had to break out the sand paper for this one :)

If anyone watched Saturday Night Live with Jim Carrey last weekend you'll recognize this, hahaha! Great time waster!

This is a piece inspired by an article I found on the Lakers Blog via Los Angeles Times (yes I am a Lakers fan!). The article discusses the importance of maintaining the teams health and sharp play. This has become a recent issue because a number of the players continue to play games with their injuries and it's affecting their gameplay (ex. the embarrassing Lakers vs. Miami Heat game on Christmas, but that's a whole other story, haha), and of course the Lakers want to maintain their championship title (so do I!). So, as I was reading the article, this image came to my head. Poof! I love those unexpected epiphanies :)

I've also decided to change my usual art making routine for this new piece. Rather than starting with a sketch and carefully inking my pencil lines, I've gone for the direct approach. No pencils, no sketch, just ink to paper! While it is taking me a little longer then usual to draw each figure, I find this approach very liberating, hehe!

Now for some sketchbook nonsense!

Day well spent! I hope everyday in 2011 is like this one. That's it for this week, I gotta keep going on that B-ball piece. See you next time! Toodles!!

American Illustration 29 is HERE!

2011-01-06T17:18:00.002-05:00

After months of waiting my copy of American Illustration is finally here!!

Cover for AI29 courtesy of Sam Weber.

Front and back cover.

Poster inside the book jacket.

As I've mentioned before in an older post, Sam Weber's cover is truly one of the best American Illustration covers in a very long time. My only regret is not meeting Sam himself when I was in New York a few months ago :(

And now here's the star of the show!

Achilles Heel!!

Absolutely thrilled to share a spread with Owen Smith :)

Beautiful <3

2010 was an amazing year: Graduation, American Illustration, and Creative Quarterly! I'm sorry I had to say goodbye to a nearly perfect year, but 2011 is my year to really shine :) Hopefully I'll have more exciting news to share with you soon!

C.A.T.M.8

2010-12-20T21:50:00.000-05:00

Season's Greetings everyone, and welcome to a new Case A The Mondays!
As you know Butterfingers and Achilles Heel are featured in Creative Quarterly 21 (yaay!). The issue doesn't hit stores until January 2011, but CQ has posted the current issue on their website:

Here are two screen shots of CQ21! Butterfingers is on the right :D

And there's my other beauty Achilles Heel on the left.

I honestly wasn't expecting to get two solo pages, but I don't mind I guess (hehe!) There are some outstanding people in this months issue so go check it out on CQ's website.

With Christmas just around the corner, I sadly have not had much time to produce finished work. On the upside, my sketchbook and I have been strengthen our friendship :)

Winter morning bus ride.

Serious noodle fetish :)

Midnight doodles. I think I was watching Sherlock Holmes while I was drawing this. Not that this is suppose to be Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. or anything, haha.

My failed attempt at Chris Bosh. Better luck next time :)

Christmas is only 5 days away, and I'm truly looking forward to a bright New Year. Keep your fingers crossed :) Ciao!

C.A.T.M.7 | November Recap

2010-11-29T21:59:00.005-05:00

Hey everyone! Sorry for taking an extra long vacation, but I'm back and better then ever! It's been a pretty wild month, and I have so much to share with you. She Creeps opening night, AI29 Launch Party, Sketch Night in NY, and more!
Let's begin with a recap of She Creeps opening night!

Guests of honor on opening night.

And there they are! My Three Famous Witches finally made their debut :)

Illustrators clearly excited for their own opening night :)

Loyal black cat accompanying her witches.

What a spectacular opening night that was! The gallery was filled with lots of new and old faces, candy, cupcakes, and 13 dazzling illustrators who rocked Function 13 that night :) With all the success from She Creeps, I just hope I can bring the heat in February at The Student Gallery for our untitled Body Show! Details later.

As you know, I just recently came back from a trip from New York City for the American Illustration 29 Launch Party!

Inside Angel Orensanz Foundation building where the party was held. Very nice place for an illustrator to get her drink on!

Sam Weber's AI29 cover. Truly one of the best American Illustration covers to date.

AI Selected winners wall. Can you find Achilles Heel?

Introducing Sam Singh, the American Illustration 29 Selected Winner with her award winning piece Achilles Heel!!

Now how many times in your life are you gonna be able to pose like this :)

Unreal is the only way I can describe that night! So many of my heros all in one building. I don't wanna drop too many names, but lets just say I got to rub elbows with a few people like Jesse Kuhn, Liz Lomax, Heads of State, got reacquainted with the lovely Anita Kunz, and ended the night having a long chat with Gary Baseman! :D Night well spent! It wasn't until I held that book in my hands and flipped to the page with Achilles Heel when reality hit me. I need to bring the heat for the next submission deadline because New York is an amazing city and I can't wait to go back!

Also during my adventures in The Big Apple, I participated in Sketch Night at Society of Illustrators. Once a week the team from Society of Illustrators host a night of life drawing at their headquarters. In honor of Illustration Week in New York, several illustrators pose alongside professional models while live Jazz music was performed by The Half-Tones featuring illustrators Joe Ciardiello, Barry Blitt, and other award winning illustrators who are also professional musicians.

The very last thing I thought I would be doing in NY is life drawing. Anything can happen in New York City!

The energy and atmosphere was incredible that night. There was a bar for people to get their drink on, chairs, easels, buckets of water, paint, charcoal, you name it! It was like being in school all over again, and you can tell everyone in the room felt like home listening to Jazz and drawing models :) That night I was also reacquainted with Victor Juhauz whom I met at the OCAD Grad Show this past Spring. We talked and did a little show and tell with our sketches. You can find his sketches here. Then Victor was nice enough to introduced me to John Cuneo (another hero of mine WOW!) One seriously unreal week in New York City :D

Now that vacation time is over, it's time to get back to real work! This week I posted a new piece on my website:

"Brothers: not in blood, but in bond".

This is from a page in my sketchbook based on the duo from The Black Keys, whom I've grown to love over the past few weeks. I drew their portraits from memory, so I wasn't trying to get an accurate rendition of their faces, but I was pretty close right :)

And I guess that wraps it up for this week. Intense month, but I would gladly do it again if it means spending another week in New York. Thanks everyone, see you next Monday for Part 8!

C.A.T.M.6

2010-10-18T23:25:00.000-04:00

Hey ya'll, and welcome to another Case A The Mondays!

She Creeps is less then a week away, and I feel everything but prepared (oh no), but I think it's because I'm excited about opening night. We all got a chance to take a peek at each others work for the show on our official Facebook Invite, and let me tell you, I am damn excited to see this all come together! For now, let's check in to see what I've been up to this week:

You can't even imagine how much fun I'm having with this sketch :)

Are those nipples? Hehe!

After much debate and hesitation, I decided to scrap the sketch I shared with you last week and start a new concept for Witch #3. I felt last week's sketch was too weak, and pale in comparison to my previous witches. This one I'm much happier with, and I can't wait to finish her :) I now realize, drawing nipples on anything makes a sketch more enjoyable, haha!

I also did a little shopping this week. Guess what these bad boys are gonna be used for:

It's good to work at a party supply store during this time a year!

I've already decided how I want to display my work for the show, and I thought of a name for my series: Which Witch is Which. See what I did there, hahaha.

Lastly, here's a quick midnight painting I did in my sketchbook:

Isn't he cute!

It's been a while since I've picked up a paint brush and gouache, and now I realized how much I miss it. I'll try to share more paintings with you because this one was fun to do.

And that's it for this week. Next Monday marks 4 days before the show, think all my witches will be done by then? Here's hoping! Ciao!

C.A.T.M.5 + Announcement!

2010-10-11T22:30:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! Sorry for the two week disappearing act but I've been mad busy promoting She Creeps, finishing up my pieces for the show, and I got a new part time job. Check out the postcards I picked up from the printers last week:

As I was killing time before I had to go to work, I picked up the postcards, devoured some delicious Butter Chicken, and doodled a toilet paper loving monster. Halloween card foreshadowing?

As you can see I've been a bit of a scatter brain lately, but I'm back on track now and ready to update the old blog! But first I have some exciting news!
#1 - Almost 3 weeks ago I got word from Creative Quarterly announcing their winners for CQ21, and guess who got 2 winning pieces in the upcoming December issue?! ME!! Both Achilles Heel and Butterfingers are winners in the student competition! Not bad for a graduate eh :D
#2 - I have a Facebook Fan Page! Become a fan of Sam Singh Illustration!

Well, I think I've done enough gloating for the day, so let's get to the new stuff:

Witch #2 is complete!

Again I don't want to reveal too much before the show, so we're gonna have to settle with a screen shot. She's a little more obvious than the last witch. Any guesses?

I have also begun production on Witch #3, but this one is totally out of the park compared to the last two pieces.

???

You'll probably recognize this silhouette right away, but it might be a little harder to guess the correct witch. I'll give you a hint: She cackles a lot, and has a taste for wabbit stew, haha. The show is only weeks away, and I absolutely can't wait! We've got so much in store for you, and I hope you can all make the trip to come opening night for all the festivities and good treats for your tummies :D See you next week for C.A.T.M.6!

She Creeps!

2010-10-06T09:07:00.000-04:00

The moment we have all been waiting for is finally HERE!

On October 28th join us for our opening reception of She Creeps at Function 13 in Toronto's Kensington Market, for an assortment of eerie illustrations created by a bizarre group of people:

Melanie Banks - Alex Boake - Inga Borisenoka - Kiyomi Burgin - Chelsea Canlas - Anjo Chiang - Erica Glover - YooJin Guak - Frances Lee - Kristi McConnell - Kira Shaimanova - Sam Singh - Kate Thornley

Gotta give props to Kira and Chelsea for designing this bad ass postcard! We're gonna knock um' dead ladies! Hope to see you on the 29th :)

C.A.T.M.4

2010-09-20T22:51:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday everyone! Sorry for posting this so late, but tonight was the season premiere of House! I think Mondays just got even better!! Ready to check in to see this weeks Case A The Mondays?! Here we go:

Witch #2?

Any guesses as to who she might be?

Guess the secret's out. Witch #2 is on her way, and she's looking pretty wicked if I do say so myself (see what I did there, wicked!). Still finalizing the sketch, but she should be done and ready to ink by tomorrow morning. I'm starting to have a lot of fun with this one. I'm playing with proportions a little bit, and I intend to exaggerate even more when I start applying color. Can't wait!

For this portion of Case A The Mondays, I usually post something new that I've been working on for the past week. Sadly, I've been too busy to make any finished work to share with you today. Who has time to draw for fun when I gotta make promos for the upcoming show, Witch #2 is begging for my attention, and I got my birthday party to plan for this Friday ^_^ So as a slight change of pace, I will share with you a piece from my thesis that I did not include with my final series. For me this piece felt incomplete, and did not fit well with the rest of the series:

Eyes on the Back of Your Head: This means to be thoroughly aware of everything that surrounds you.

I still really love the concept for this piece, and I was hesitant to exclude it from my series, but in the end I still feel I made the right choice. What do you think?

That's it for now everyone. That Witch is calling me again, haha. Tune in next week because C.A.T.M.5 will be comin' at you full force with no excuses! Ciao.

C.A.T.M.3

2010-09-14T00:10:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! Almost didn't make it this Monday, but I got less then half an hour before Tuesday is upon us so I gotta hurry! This is actually going to be a short post because I was unfortunately scheduled to go into work today, and I just literally walked through my front door 15 minutes ago. Boo! So here are some time wasters from my adorable square sketchbook <3

Frustrated West Indian woman on the bus. She was so cute and angry, but she really did say those words! Pretty freaky looking hand eh?

Another lonely bus ride to work. Gosh those glasses and hair look familiar...

I was watching Much Vintage Vibe a few nights ago. Remember the song: "You Got Me" by The Roots feat. Erykah Badu? Man, those were the days.

I do have good news though! Witch #1 is COMPLETE!! And I bet you want a sneak peek don't you? I really don't want to give anything away before the show, but I'll see what I can cook up for you:

Remember the shoes I was talking about from my last post? Ta-Daa!!

Sorry guys, a zoomed in screenshot is the best I can do for now, haha. You'll just have to come to the show on October 29th, 2010 at Function 13 to see the rest. Mark it down! Good night everyone, see you next Monday for Part IV!

C.A.T.M.2

2010-09-06T22:08:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, Happy Labour Day weekend and welcome to a new and exciting Case A The Mondays blog post! So let's check in to see what I've been up to on this rainy long weekend:

Looks like I had to pull out the big guns today with the light box.
I don't know what I would have done without my precious,
homemade light box. And Stella Artois :)

Production for the She Creeps show is in full swing, and I'm working on the first of my Famous Witches. This one in particular is probably going to be the most conceptual piece out of the bunch because it is the only one that isn't a portrait. But I have to say, I am a little exciting about this one :D

It's not easy taking a picture with your iPhone in your left hand
while holding down sheets of tracing paper with your right.

I'm not going to go into details just yet because I still need to ink up my sketch. But I will tell you, I spent most of the day drawing a pile of shoes and I don't think I want to see another shoe again for a long while.

Last week I really enjoyed sharing a more finished piece with you. Unfortunately my witches have been eating up most of my drawing time. So this time around I'll share my warm up sketches from this morning.

First page of my new square sketchbook.
I just know we're gonna be the best of friends!

Guess I got a little carried away with the inky pens. Oops!

I believe at this point I was done with the warm up and ready to start some real work.

Well, that's it for this week. Hopefully I'll have a finished Famous Witch (trying saying that 3 times fast) by next week. Finished Famous Witch! Finished Famous Witch! Finished Famous Witch! Toodles!

C.A.T.M.1

2010-08-30T21:34:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the first post in the Case A The Mondays series! I announced last week that I will be starting a sketchbook series here on my blog to share some of my artistic endeavors with you, but mainly it's to kick start my lazy butt into posting something new every week, hehe. So without further delay, let's see what I've been up to all day:

Sketches.

Sketches...

And more sketches!

Just in case you haven't figured it out by now... I've been sketching all day! Last week I mentioned that I'm going to be in two shows a few months from now. The first show is coming up in October and it's called She Creeps: An Art Show for the Bizarre and Eerie. In a nut shell, it's a horror show featuring 13 female illustrators who wish to exploit the realm of the horrifying. I'm working on a series of portraits of Famous Witches! Still trying to figure everything out, but I really like where my sketches are heading!

And if you were looking forward to seeing something a little more finished, check out this self portrait I finished this morning. It's part of another series of portraits but this time, it's personal...

I'm looking to change my palette a little bit. What do you think?
Does the purple do me justice :D

And that's all I got this week. See you next Monday for the continuing story of Case A The Mondays!

Announcements!

2010-08-24T20:33:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! Sorry I've been so scarce lately, but there is just too much summer out there to ignore :) However, I do have a few announcements to make!

#1 - For a while now, I have been living on Cloud 9 because I received word from American Illustration a few months ago that yours truly has a piece selected to appear in the American Illustration 29 Annual! AND the piece selected is Achilles Heel from my thesis! How crazy is that?! So later in the year I get to go to the Launch Party in New York, where I get to rub elbows with art directors and meet some of my biggest influences in the illustration community. I'm so excited, and I will definitely keep you updated :)

#2 - My online print shop is now in full swing! There are 5 awesome prints you may choose from, and they're all on sale! But don't take my word for it! Head on over to Sam Shop on Bigcartel.com to get your print today!

#3 - I'll be launching a new sketchbook series here on my blog next Monday called C.A.T.M (Case A The Mondays). Let's face it, Monday is not the greatest day of the week for me. I usually spend most of the day indoors with my sketchbook and laptop. So to keep my blog from collecting dust, I'm gonna make it a habit to post something every week.

#4 - And I have two shows coming up a few months from now, but more on that later!

Well, that's it for announcements today, but make sure to tune in next Monday to see what I've been up to all summer! Peace.

Sir Michael Caine

2010-06-04T00:22:00.001-04:00

Now that school is out FOREVER, I thought it would be nice to draw something else besides slang words and bones for a change. So what you see here is an editorial style portrait of Sir Michael Caine. I saw the trailer for Harry Brown a few weeks ago, and I got so excited that I had to do a portrait of Mr. Caine. For inspiration I looked up a few movie reviews for Harry Brown, and most of them mention Caine's awesome performance and concluded that the man just get better with age. So my portrait is a take on a photograph of Michael Caine from 1965, at the height of his career, sporting his "signature look", except he is a little older now, and has a few Sam Singh modifications.

The original photograph is black and white, so initially I started my piece thinking it would end as a black and white piece. Unfortunately I'm a lover of color, so I could not resist the temptation. But I really love the black and white version just as much. I'll let you guys be the judge of which one looks better. Enjoy!

Cost an Arm and a Leg

2010-05-12T12:44:00.000-04:00

Refers to an item for purchase that is so expensive, it would cost an arm and a leg to afford it.

So here's a piece I recently reworked before the OCAD Grad Show. Which was a HUGE success by the way! Thank you everyone for coming out and supporting OCAD graduates. It was so much fun, and I ran out of business cards and postcards before the last day of the event. YES! This piece definitely got a lot of attention at the show. I love standing beside my setup and watching people pointing and smiling at this piece while saying: "Ohhh! That's fun, I get it!" Then they walk away with a few postcards and business cards. Hehe, best feeling ever!

Virgin Ears

2010-04-29T01:19:00.000-04:00

Virgin Ears refers to a patient whose ears have not been exposed to profanity, to protect their auditory virginity.

Yet another favorite of mine. To me, this one seems really different from the pack, but I don't mind it at all. I've been drawing so many bones and X-rays for the past 7-months, that I think I owe it to myself to venture out into new territory :) I honestly couldn't be happier with the way this piece turned out. I'm just so in love the ear, the drips, and splatters!

Third Leg

2010-04-29T00:42:00.000-04:00

Not gonna say too much about this piece except that, Third Leg Syndrome occurs exclusively in males and not females if you know what I mean. Enjoy!

Brown Nosing

2010-04-29T00:19:00.000-04:00

Brown Nosing refers to a patient who is overtly friendly to their superiors to win their approval for personal gain.

Now that the semester has simmered down and I am soon to be an OCAD graduate, I think it's time we updated the blog :) This piece has to be my #1 favorite now! This particular piece came together so quickly in terms of concept and final outcome. I've been experimenting with a more simple work method that begins as basic black and white solids to get a coherent tonal range, then adding color overlays. It took me a while to get accustom to, but I think I have finally stumbled upon a work method I am pleased with. Keep a watchful eye on the horizon because I got lot more stuff to share real soon! In the meantime you can check out my latest work on my official illustration website: Sam Singh Illustration.

Cat Got Your Tongue?

2010-03-04T18:59:00.000-05:00

Patients suffering from Cat Got Your Tongue experience a sudden unwillingness to speak. Here the mouth of the skull is open and trying to speak, while the patients mouth is pinched shut.

Fun With Gouache

2010-03-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with gouache these days. It's not my preferred choice of media for illustration, but I love working with this stuff just for fun. The colours are so vibrant, and happy, and I love throwing paint around and seeing it drip :D More paintings coming soon!

Achilles Heel

2010-02-18T22:33:00.000-05:00

Your Achilles Heel is also known as your Vice, meaning your weakness, character flaw, or something resulting in your downfall. Here the vice grip is blocking the Electrocardiograph that monitors heart rate; therefore resulting in a flatlined patient.

Ear Worm the SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME VERSION!

2010-02-18T21:58:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been rethinking my approach to thesis. I realized I don't have enough colour in my pieces. So what you see before you is a super touched up version of this piece with all the kick ass Sam flavor you will ever need :) More thesis comin' at you soon!

Rubber Necking

2010-02-18T20:47:00.000-05:00

Drivers with Rubber Necking syndrome commonly stare at highway accidents with undue interest. As a result the neck becomes soft and rubber-like to accommodate the extensive rotation of the neck.

Think this piece is totally bad ass if I do say so my self :D Maan that spine was a real pain in the neck to draw [hehe] but it was waaay worth the pain ^_^

Motion of the Ocean on YouTube!

2009-12-04T12:35:00.001-05:00

Hey peoples! The moment we have all been waiting for is finally here! My first ever animation is complete and uploaded on YouTube for your viewing pleasure :D check it out here

I couldn't be happier with the way this turned out. We all did soo friggin fantastic, and I can't wait to see all the good stuff from the Monday class! Enjoy :)

Belly Aching

2009-11-05T18:07:00.000-05:00

Signs of chronic belly aching include intense stomach pain cause by excessive complaining.

What started off as a very abusive relationship, turned out to be my 2nd favorite piece in my thesis. I struggled for like 2 weeks on this one, but thanks to my friends and classmates I was able to turn it around and make it work. THANK YOU! I'm honestly quite happy with the way this turned out. I've been experimenting with different colour combinations all semester not only for my thesis, but in my painting class as well, and I think I'm liking the results :D

Do you think the hand closest the stomach jumps out a bit? I'm trying to show the "aching" portion of the phrase with the tense hand gesture, but do you think it needs to be less obvious?

Butterfingers

2009-11-05T16:16:00.000-05:00

To be diagnosed with Butterfingers means to be an extremely clumsy person who is very accident prone, and tends to drop things a lot.

Alright folks here is the 2nd piece, and my personal favorite so far :) This one looks more like an x-ray no? I really like how the hands turned out, now I can't stop drawing hands :P

So tell me, i was thinking about dropping another colour in the background behind the black areas. Should I or should I not? I really like what's happening with it right now, but I'm just wondering if there's anyway to make it better, or if I even need to improve on it? Any suggestions?

Ear Worm

2009-11-05T15:37:00.001-05:00

Concept: Medical diagnosis's caused by slang words and colloquial phrases. Each slang word includes the name of a human body part and is represented as an X-ray to closely examine the symptoms and characteristics of each expression.

This first piece is Ear Worm. To be diagnosed with an Ear Worm means to have a song or tune stuck in your head, and there is absolutely nothing you can do to remove the song from your mind.

"SHA-KA-LACK SHA-KA-LACK MO YOU MA NEGRO" So the moment you have all been waiting for is finally here. I am posting my thesis!! Sorry for the delay, but I wanted to get at least 3 or 4 done so I can post them all at the same time so ya'll can get the full effect ;P So this is the first piece in the series. I'm ok with the way it turned out. I like the worms and skull, but it was pointed out to me from the first critique that it doesn't quite look like an x-ray at the moment... But not to worry, I immediately fixed that for the 2nd and 3rd pieces which I will be posting shortly :D And as always criticism is welcomed ^_^

Stalker

2009-10-30T11:12:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my good friend Yoojin, I was able to finally figure out how to upload my animations :D This is actually my second attempt at using After Effects. First attempt wasn't as successful or as pretty as this one. Sorry for the bad quality. The original file was super HUGE, so I had to reduce the resolution a lot just to submit it for school. The next animation isn't as complicated, so it should look better than this. More animations coming soon!

oOoo Chalk Pastel

2009-10-23T16:35:00.000-04:00

As unbelievable as it sounds, I actually had fun working with my mortal enemy chalk pastels... I decided to stay away from the smudging thing for this one, and use lots of layers of colour to describe the form. I think it turned out pretty nice. Again, the face is my favorite part :)

Black and White

2009-10-23T16:15:00.000-04:00

No, not the Michael Jackson song from the 90s, but another piece from Chris's drawing class! It's pretty obvious what we were required to do: draw only the highlights on black paper. Really fun to do, but mine is a little half finished because I work REALLY SLOW! Think I need to do something about that? I don't know. Even though I took a long time, the proportions seem off to me, but this was a really tall and lanky model, and I have this disturbing need for perfection.

However, I like how the face turned out. And there's nice mysterious quality to it :D So I don't completely hate it. More to come soon. Laters!

Activated Surface

2009-10-23T15:41:00.000-04:00

This is a piece I did a few weeks ago in my drawing class. We were required to bring an "activated surface" to draw or paint on. So this is a random piece of wood I found in my basement that I sanded and stained, then painted with india ink. Not really the kind of thing I'm used to, but I love it! The way i see it, this is my last opportunity to be really experimental and just go nuts with everything, so I'm trying not to skip my drawing and painting classes this year, haha. Can't afford to hold back anymore in my last year of university :)

ALSO I'm really loving the stuff I'm doing in Harvey's painting class. Can you believe it? Samantha Singh actually enjoying a painting class?? I never thought I would see the day -_^ Once we get our pieces back, I'll start posting. Ooh and there will be some thesis stuff coming your way soon, alright. Peace!

YEAAH! I'M ONE OF THE COOL KIDS NOW!

2009-10-22T01:47:00.000-04:00

since this is my final year here at OCAD, i thought i might as well jump on the band wagon and get a Blogger account like the rest of my OCAD peeps :) it might take a while to get some decent work up, so you can check out my DeviantArt page to check out some old and resent work. in the meantime, here is a work in progress piece for an animation project i'm working on for school. i love this class, but DAMN, the course load is heaaaaavy!