Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Monday, October 29, 2012

Le Cool Cover- October 2012

Co-founder of Half and Half Exhibitions Kevin Corcoran talks to Le Cool Dublin..


Interview with the cover designer

Kevin Corcoran



Who are you and what do you do?
My name's Kevin and I'm the Creative Director for a start up here in Berlin, but my real passion lies in illustration and making things.
Tell us more about this cover
A while ago I found myself drawing odd little creatures hiding behind things, I could barely sign my name without adding one of these little guys in! So when It came to illustrating a spooky cover for Halloween I couldn't resist to give them a home amongst the lettering.
How do you create your stuff?
My illustrations start off with very rough drawings which I scan in and then render with found textures that I photograph, which brings a bit of reality into the image. I like using the wrong material for the subject, for instance the tree bark is stone and the sky is wood. I quite like using an abundance of shadow, everything shouldn't be so obvious. I mean a bit of deciphering is healthy!
Where can we see more of your work?
My most public example was the Cork Opera House's 2012 Spring Brochure where I had to illustrate a room for every act playing that season. It was by far my most enjoyable job but apart from that you can check out
weatheredrobot.carbonmade.com. Or if you have a keen eye on Berlin's U-Bahn there are a few examples stuck around ;)
Dream Commission?
Working with Playdead Studio, the guys behind a beautiful indie game called Limbo. You should check it out if you haven't!
Who should design the next cover?
Lily Reilly's delicate illustrations would compliment my rather dark style quite nicely.
Whose work do you currently admire?
Daniel DangerArnt Jensen and Peter Broderick. Not all illustrators but they produce amazing work all the same.

The Big Draw Berlin

Here are some images from The Big Draw Berlin which we recently attended. I just stumbled across the event by accident and it looked amazing. You can find out more about the event on their website here

'Inspired by the London-based Campaign for Drawing and mirroring many similar projects internationally, The Big Draw Berlin starts with the most basic, most democratic means of visual expression: drawing. Beginning on October 12th, the weekend-long art festival spread itself over Berlin–and everywhere, it seems, that people will draw. The concept behind the festival, now in its fourth annual installment, is to foster engagement with this otherwise hidden, often inaccessible process.'



This on-site cafe was really nice...





Moleskin Sponsored Wall (take a notebook and leave a drawing in it's place). Can't wait to see the end result of this!



Kev drawing on the walls..












Fun with Straws!









'Work For Money, Design For Love..?'

So, we have launched the brief for our third exhibition and the interest has been.. interesting. In our last two exhibitions artists have had the opportunity to sell their work and we took no comission. For this exhibition, there isn't the opportunity to directly sell your work and it has been disheartening that creatives aren't inclined to submit to an exhibition without the prospect of making money. Is it a sign of the times? We want to encourage creatives out there to remember that we are doing this for the love of it- that's why creatives create! Your subject matter for the poster doesn't have to be deep and meaningful- don't overthink the subject, just do what comes naturally to you. We wanted to leave the brief as open as we could so that you don't feel stuck in that box. Create something based on anything you support- surprise us ;)!


The poster is actually the cover of a book by David Airey and The Design Company

Berlin


We have been living in Berlin since early summer now and here are some photos of this amazing and inspiring city.. Mauerpark Flea Market in Prenzlauer Berg is a photographers dream!


Part of the Berlin Wall..!



Friedrichshain..



Kreuzberg..




Friedrichshain.. love this Graffiti! 



Berlin Festival..











Friedrichshain..



Mitte..








Friedrichshain..




Kreuzberg..


Festival of Lights, Potsdamer Platz..


The Sony Centre, this place is pretty impressive!