Illustration Friday - Balloon

Original Art © RhinoInk Illustrations Ltd
I confess, I'm globaphobic. Or more accurately I have ligyrophobia, fear of balloons popping. And I'm not alone (Google is a wonderful thing).
We had this assignment where we had to illustrate a fear. When asked "what's with the little green freak?" I answered that it was the personification of the fear in me. He looks like how I feel.
I've had some more time to think about why I illustrated what I did. Being afraid of balloons is silly. I know they can't possibly cause me harm. And yet as the potential of a balloon exploding increases, so does my panic.

Kids with balloons give me the willies.

The sound of a helium canister gives me the heavy-jeevies.

A balloon bouncing off a stucco ceiling drives me snaky.

A bouquet of balloons, with that hollow sickly sound and occasional squeak as they bounce and rub together, coming my way leaves me literally paralyzed with fear.
Oh, the horror of it all!
I know it's irrational and just plain silly to be that afraid of something so harmless. Guess that just makes me a freak.
Bing! Light goes on... that wasn't the personification of my fear - that was a self portrait. I turn into that little green freak when confronted by what scares me most.
What's with the colour green and powerful negative emotion?
Why does the Hulk turn into a big green monster when he's angry?
Why do people become green with envy?

Illustration Friday - Opinion

I recently saw a special about commercial farm practices. I was mortified when I saw the living conditions of your typical egg laying chicken. Crammed in 5 to a cage that was just over 2 feet cubed. They were so crowded that the chickens could barely turn around. The cages were stacked 5 or 6 high so that the lower birds were covered with droppings and the cages filled a warehouse. The chickens typically survived in these conditions for 2 years. It really is a nightmarish practice.
In my opinion, that's just wrong. I've switched to free range chicken eggs. Happy chickens just produce better tasting eggs.

Illustration Friday - Pretend

"Grandma, sometimes I feel like I'm pretending to be something I'm not. Do you ever feel like that?"
Meduim: coloured pencil
Original Art © RhinoInk Illustrations Ltd

Illustration Friday - Wise

Meet the Royal Wise Guy
Jesters were more than just acrobatic comedians. Theirs was a complicated job. Yes, they were there to amuse the king and the crowds but they were also liaisons.
The jester's roll in the royal court was to act out on the foolish actions of royalty without coming across as defiant. Their humor was laced with sarcasm and satire. No one else dared speak out against the kings decisions. But if it was just the fool being a goof, that wasn't really ridicule. It was a way of communicating the concerns of the general population to the king without coming right out and saying "the taxes are to high" or "this war is stupid".
The jester also had to instill fear in the general public - "you can't touch me, I have the kings ear." It couldn't all be the mocking of the king or that would get tired in a hurry. Everyone was a potential target for the jesters wit.
Medium: coloured pencil
Original Art © RhinoInk Illustrations Ltd

Illustration Friday - Vacant

Hockey Smile
Ok - not one of my finest works. I doodled this in Photoshop because I wanted to get the concept down. Kind of looks like my Malkovich painting (previous post). The humor is there. It'll make a good illustration some day. I'm just too busy to sit down and render right now.
Medium: digital