Fun with Rhinos - Gallery of Illustrated rhinos by RhinoInk Illustrations Ltd.

Experimental Rhino Illustrations from my Sheridan College days.
Scratch Board "The Dealer"	Acrylic "Pop Rhino"	Resist "The Edge"
Ink "White Rhino"	Ink/Digital "Rage"	Resist "Moutain Rhino"
Collage "Ox Pecker"	Collage "Queen"	Resist "The Slope"


Three Art College Experiments: Baby White Rhino Homemade scratch board, acrylic over wax base	The Juggler Homemade scratch board, ink over guache base	Rhino Wanted Poster magazine collage

Graphite Over Digital Photo This is a technique I've been experimenting with lately. I will spend a lot of time developing a tonal drawing wit graphite pencils, making sure there's a lot of lights and darrks and in between shading. Then I superimpose the drawing over a photograph. I look for images that have a lot of the same tone throughout, like landscapes or sunsets. Having a lot of the same colour unifies the image while a little bit of random, different areas gives my illustrations an unpredictable freshness.

Rhinos Doing the Tango This illustration was prompted by Illustration Friday's word of the week: TANGO. Considered doing a couple caricatures for the movie "Tango and Cash" but didn't love any of the photos I found. Couldn't think of anything else clever so dancers was it. Plus, it seemed like another good excuse to draw rhinos. Why not? My favorite part are their horns. The female, getting the shorter, curved horn was a natural decision and it kind of acts like a continuation of the arch of her back (rhinos aren't that flexible).The male, on the other hand, was kind of forced to look that way since I drew him way tooo close to the edge of the page. His ears are laid back because that's the only way I could squeak them in and his horn stretches way out for the same reason. But it all worked out in the end. His expression is perfect and I love the way his horn mimics / frames the females extended leg. I think, had I had enought room, his horn would have gone almost straight up and that would have looked weird with a tall spindly spike towering over the rest of the weighty composition.

Seeds of Inspiration - A Self-Promotion Piece I drew a package of flower seeds with a black rhino in full bloom and a baby rhino just beginning to bud. I think it's a terrific idea for a self promotion piece. I'm sure it wold be easy enough to get this printed and turned into actual seed envelopes. I wonder what kind of seeds an art director would appreciate getting in the mail. As long as they don't expect to grow rhinos...! It would be a tactile, visual, olfactory, auditory... sensual experience. Memorable.

White Rhino - You Smell Nice This illustration was prompted by Illustration Friday's word of the week: WIDE. The Afrikaans word "weit", meaning “wide” is a reference to the shape of its mouth. The broad flat upper lip is ideal for pulling up mouthfuls of low-growing grass. Kind of like a cow. This African herbavor is an endangered species. Black rhinos are also gray but they have pointy lips designed for picking leaves out of bushes. That funky texture on the rhino hide and back ground you see is a result of a few hours I spent one afternoon, running around photographing natural textures. The textures that come with photoshop are too obvious that they are repeating patterns so I wanted to create my own. I now have a little unique library of stone, wood, lichens, rust, chipping paint... that I can go to any time. Digital cameras rock! The name "white rhino" is actually a miss-nomenclature. Rhinos are gray.

Rhinoceros Goulie So I was just sketching this White Rhino when my husband looked over and said," What the heck is that supposed to be?!" From his perspective all he saw was this nasty goulie with a missing eye and warty lip. That's funny. Give a sketch a spin!

Composition Experiment:
This series of images demonstrates
assorted compostions:
random, centered, diagonal, assymetrical...
To make the assignment feel like a cohesive project I chose to illustrate the poem "Sing a Song of Six Pence".
I was also influences by the writings of Wilber Smith and his stories about big game poaching in Africa.

sing a song of six pence

a pocket full of rye

four and twenty blackbirds

baked in a pie

when the pie was opened

the birds began to sing

now wasn't that a dainty dish

to set before the king

the king was in the counting house

counting out his money

the queen was in the parlor

eating bread and honey

the maid was in the garden

hanging out the clothes

along came a blackbird

and snipped off her nose

Christmas 2008 (above) - Holiday Rhino Under the Kissing Ball Christmas 2007 (below) - Christmas Rhino, Graphite & Watercolour

	Got some pretty good milage out of this image. The original assignment was to creat a digital illustration in Photoshop that used a sketch as a plan rather than be the supporting image. I liked the original sketch better. It shows up over and over on my website and on my company letterhead / busiess cardsimage has evolved. He's just so darn cute!
	Detective Andy Rhino Sipowitz Conte, Acrylic Paint, Coloured Pencil The character Detective Sipowicz on TV's NYPD Blue as played by actor Dennis Franz... portrayed as a rhinoceros. Wink, Wink. Nudge, Nudge. Know what I mean?