Case Studies
This section is still in progress. Please check back; I will also mention its completion on Facebook, so do join me there.
Dave Britzius
animation | character design | website icons
online courses | image retouching
Dave and I met in 2007 when he was looking for an illustrator/designer to help with his online courses he was planning. We worked on these together, and later I designed an avatar for him to use as a signature element.
Later still, Dave expanded his high-end computer business and went into building aircraft simulators. So he needed a new avatar with an animated scarf blowing in the wind. Most recently, I designed a cover for his e-book on how to construct your own simulator. This also involved some retouching of the photo of his simulator already built.
Jeanne Welsh
yoga cards | instruction booklet | e-book |
package design | toy
Together with Nia Thorpe, Jeanne van der Merwe co-founded Calm Classrooms.
Now, as Yoga for Classrooms and Yoga for Kids, Jeanne brings yoga to schools using classroom materials in the form of 35 yoga cards and a teacher’s guide contained in a custom-designed box. Later we added an e-book as well.
Since a calm child is much more teachable, the learning experience benefits the teacher and the class.
GIZ and UNICEF
adult education | animations | comics
For POEMA, I did illustrations for several books since 2015 and a poster, as well as animations for coursework modules. Our clients were UNICEF and GIZ.
GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit) creates capacity in governments and empowers communities internationally to carry on the work themselves.
UNICEF is known for their work supporting the welfare of children living in poverty.
Swala Aerospace
artist’s impressions | explainer video | whiteboard animation | website design
Swala Aerospace is John Hollaway’s company in the UK. The work began with a diagram of the seven stages of the Swala spaceplane flight; then, several artist’s impressions of the craft: first the Swala and then the prototype, ‘Baby Swala’, which is to be constructed as a proof of concept.
Next we produced a 11 minute film to sell the concept to funders, and finally a website, www.swalarlv.com. I can’t wait for lift-off!
Centrepeace
logo and general corporate id | newsletters | course materials | script, costumes and props for play | website
Louise van Graan invited me in 2012 to help her set up an organisation empowering Early Childhood Development teachers. We developed the logo first, then worked out the corporate identity for teaching materials for the workshops; enrolment forms, courses, flipchart designs, and flyers.
A script for a short play followed, all about fear and the reactive mind, and I designed props and costumes. Once the workshops were going well, we issued a monthly. Tragically, Louise succumbed to cancer in 2013 and her work abruptly stopped. I live in hope that it resumes.
One World
animated teasers | folder designs | cd covers
banners | illustrated dividers for folders
One World is active in helping countries to manage and become resilient to the effects of climate change, with constrained resources with a focus on a science-policy-development interface. RCCP for whom I did the conference materials featured here, is a subsidiary.
The conference prepared delegates attending COP15 in 2007.
A few facts about my projects
It has always been difficult to explain what I do. At the time of writing, at the beginning of 2020, there are five projects on the go (more a saunter than a go, actually) excluding the six animation projects I’m busy with.
The five projects are:
Dappleshades: functional art in the form of paper designs from Nature;
Top Drawers: a drawing course in 12 modules to be taught online;
Visual art: digitised pencil drawings currently sold through Society6;
Xuki Handmade: handmade shoes, also related to a character from one of my TV shows in development, and the last one, the Lendit Book, I will keep under wraps for now.
The animation/screenwriting work is all on this site under Walkie-Talkies.
So… what to do… until a Barbara Sher video on YouTube enlightened me. I’m a polymath. Though I prefer ‘omnivore’. And there are many others out there. We are not necessarily geniuses, but we are deeply fascinated by many things. Our time is now, and I’m loving every minute, since the good Ms Sher says we can do it all. If we never sleep again. Kidding – one of the group has now put up a diary system that enables people to forge ahead without having to clone themselves.
So – here it all is, and you can pick and choose and not be confused. Nobody’s going to need all of it but I do hope you’ll find your way easily. And am open to comments and constructive suggestions.
P.S. I have found a new truth, to do with overwhelm. Check it out: Slow Multi-tasking. And it has some illustrious practitioners in its long history. Patience is key!