Tauro Tauro Animation

In February of 2010 I was drawing a lot of mystical bulls. I was doing a self-made residency of sorts in Northern Saskatchewan and I came up with an idea for a stop motion photobooth animation using the imagery. Fast forward to May 2012, I shot the photos for the animation at the Auto-Photo Warehouse during a visit to Montreal.  Over the last year I edited it in my free time, and finally two months ago I asked Aaron Read, an incredible multi-disciplinary artist, to score the animation with his dreamy sounds. 

It's been four years in the making and Tauro Tauro is finally finished! I've submitted it to a couple of film festivals, but honestly, I don't know if that's the best route for it. (It is a very experimental and niche little film.) So, pending on the success or failure of those submissions, I may just post the full video online for anyone to enjoy. For now, here's the poster!

And for anyone in Edmonton, my animation LaCuna is playing at the Edmonton International Film Festival this Sunday at 1pm at Empire Theatres downtown.

T-shirt and Poster Designs

In the last six weeks I wrapped up designs for five different theatre and music related festivals and shows. I'm able to share three of those projects at this time.

The first is a t-shirt design for SPUNK, which is the Zurich Improv Festival. Their existing logo uses a rhino, cowboy and balloons. We wanted to keep the same elements so I re-imagined them and came up with this variation.

Secondly, I collaborated on these five posters for Instant Theatre's new season of shows. The photographs are by Dylan Maher, the concepts are by Alistair Cook and the drawn elements are by me. I had a lot of fun coming up with the hand-drawn text for these. 

 

 

And lastly, I made the t-shirt design for Improv Camp again this year. My first ever illustration job was for Improv Camp 2009, and I've made one or two designs for the camp every year since, totalling seven designs. It's interesting to see how I've grown as an illustrator using these shirts as markers. 

This year, I came up with an island with areas named for famous improvisers. The ensembles at the camp are also named after famous improvisers, so the shirt was a way of acknowledging each ensemble too.

Self-Portrait for UPPERCASE

Last week I received my copies of UPPERCASE's Work/Life 3 book! I'm delighted with how it turned it and so happy to have been involved with this project. (Read more about it here.) I'm halfway through reading it and honestly it's been comforting to read about how other illustrators cope with the highs and lows of this sorta unusual job.

The book is a great resource for illustrators, artists, designers and art directors. You can buy the book here. 

My assignment for the book was to "Draw a view of your desk featuring items of biographical importance." Here's a look into my process, from sketches to print tests to the finished piece!

 

The finished piece!

 My spread!

UPPERCASE's Work/Life 3 is Ready!

I'm still waiting for my physical copies in the mail, so for now this teaser will have to do!

Work/Life 3: the UPPERCASE directory of illustration from uppercasemag on Vimeo.

My illustration does appear in the video, but it goes by mighty fast! I'll have to wait for the actual thing to get a good look at how it's turned out.

Viewfinder

I assembled these photos in the winter and just remembered them. The pairings of pictures are from 3 months of paper, chemical or filter tests I did at A&A Studios in Chicago.

The Model 11 booth is in the showroom, where vintage and antique cameras are on display, so I often grabbed one to pose with when taking a test strip.

Couple Tidbits

Wow, it's been a while since I have updated my blog, which is definitely a reflection of how busy I've been lately. I've got lots of news that I'll be able to share at the end of August/ start of September. For now, here are a couple tidbits.

I'm really excited to say that my animation LaCuna is an Official Selection of the Edmonton International Film Festival and will be screened on Sunday September 29th, as part of their "In Our Own Backyard" programming. I made a simple website for LaCuna, www.lacunaanimation.com, and this short video on the Making Of LaCuna. Personally, I love to see behind the scenes stuff.

The Making of LaCuna from Meags Fitzgerald on Vimeo.

Right now, I'm putting the finishing touches on some material for my publisher, Conundrum Press' catalog, which is a preview of their upcoming books and recent backlist. For the catalog, I drew this "author's portrait" of myself.

Best Podcasts List

I listen to eight to fourteen hours of podcasts and audiobooks almost everyday. Without them, drawing at my desk by myself gets very dull. Friends frequently ask me for recommendations, so rather than responding individually, I made this categorized list!

I recently counted and I’m subscribed to over ninety podcasts in iTunes, all of the ones I listen to are free. This isn’t a list of everything I listen to, just the ones that I feel are consistently good quality.  I’m going to keep this list updated as I find new ones. And I’m always looking for more to enjoy, so leave your recommendations in the comment section!

ARTS & CULTURE

-99% Invisible
-PRI/WYNC: Studio 360
-NPR: Tiny Desk Concerts (VIDEO)
-PRI/WYNC: This American Life
-NPR: Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
-CBC: Q with Jian Ghomeshi
-The Walrus

SCIENCE & ECONOMICS

-WNYC: Radiolab
-Freakonomics Radio
-NPR: Planet Money
-TED Radio Hour
-HSW: Stuff to Blow Your Mind

HISTORY

-HSW: Stuff You Missed in History Class
-CJSW: Today in Canadian History
-LearnOutLoud: Great Speeches of History
-History of Photography

SPECIALTY KNOWLEDGE & FACTS

-CBC: Under the Influence
-Grammar Girl
-MaxFun: Put this On (VIDEO)
-MaxFun: Sawbones
-From Scratch 
-HSW: Stuff You Should Know
  
COMEDY, CONVERSATIONAL

-MaxFun: Stop Podcasting Yourself
-Hang out with Me, Myq Kaplan
-MaxFun: Jordan, Jesse GO!
-MaxFun: My Brother, My Brother and Me
-Earwolf: Comedy Bang Bang
-MaxFun: Dave Hill’s Podcasting Incident

COMEDY, GAME SHOW FORMAT

-NPR: Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me
-MaxFun: Judge John Hodgman
-MaxFun: International Waters
-APM: Wits

COMEDY, SCRIPTED & IMPROVISED

-CBC: This is That
-CBC: The Irrelevant Show
-Superego 

STORYTELLING, PERFORMED LIVE
 
-The Moth
-MaxFun: Risk

STORYTELLING, WRITTEN
 
-MaxFun: The Memory Palace
-PRI: Selected Shorts
-CBC: Wiretap
-Slate: Stranger than Fiction
-Librivox: Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece

SEXUAL HEALTH & POLITICS
 
-Savage Lovecast
-MaxFun: Throwing Shade
-Life on the Swingset

FEMINIST & WOMEN'S ISSUES
 
-Bitch Radio
-MaxFun: One Bad Mother
-HSW: Stuff Mom Never Told You

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES & ILLUSTRATION
 
-Escape from Illustration Island
-Etsy: Handmade Portraits (VIDEO)
-Big Illustration Party Time
-Paper Wings

12 Questions

I feel very lucky to have been invited to participate in 12 Questions, an award-winning arts & culture blog with a twist. Each featured artist is asked the same twelve questions and can respond with whatever medium they choose. It's been interesting to read all the answers!

You can find my responses here, http://12questions.us/2013/07/17/meags-fitzgerald/.  I made four little illustrations for the piece. I made this one in response to "Cat person or dog person?"