Stephen Embleton

#Inktober 2019

My latest short story, Why Not Magoos? , was published this week at The Kalahari Review. On 14 June 1986, Durban nightlife and civilian society in South Africa were ripped through by a bomb outside a beachfront hotel. Today, echoes of the past remain. Read it online:  https://kalaharireview.com/why-not-magoos-41dd2bfff25f

I dusted off the old Blackletter calligraphy to have a heap of fun designing the logo for two awesome reptile-friendly humans. Final Design Final Design A single logo but with two distinct people working together as a team. I dusted off the old Blackletter calligraphy to have a heap of fun designing the logo for two awesome reptile-friendly humans 🐍❤️ @simonkeysofficial and @siouxsiegillettofficial (Snake City) Elements of tattoos and reptiles. Who can ask for a better brief! #logo #designing #calligraphy #brand #corporateidentity Hosts of the successful NatGeo WILD series, Snake City, Simon and Siouxsie needed a brand identity that represented who they are and their passion – reptiles and tattoos. Blackletter has a certain edge to it, and with the combination of snake scales and a custom “S”, they gelled nicely. In my view, all logos have to work in black and white. With that as the solid groundwork, I then added watercolour for the full colour treatment – and the colours needed to r

Rebranding is a fine line between reinventing and revitalising. We were asked to relook the existing brand identity for US-based ICG, but not stray too far from what the industry recognises already.  THE PROCESS: Taking our lead from the existing identity (bottom of page), and apart from some cosmetic refinements (spacing, font, alignment), we felt the logo lacked the “fire” component of the company’s fire protecting paint solutions.  THE LOGOMARK (emblem): It was firstly important to maintain symetry no matter what we did, and set about working within a circular dimension. Then, by extending the “C” around and upward into a flame we gave some extra dynamism to the stroke effect. Simplicity is a key factor on the likes of social media where small logos need to work, so we simplified the rough paint effect as well as added the ICG lettering – important when the emblem/logomark stands alone. VARIATIONS & THE BRAND BIBLE: Providing the client with options as well as suggested usage is

Guardbridge Books has offered to publish Soul Searching ! Aiming for an April 2020 release. The work now begins on revisions and edits to really polish off the manuscript. I will be posting regularly on social media about that progress... 12 October 2019 Tucking into the notes. Making revisions. #amediting #sf #SoulSearching2020 15 October 2019 Paper notes and edits done. Next step  💻

Although from 2009, I wanted to show the large lion rubaway I produced in 2009. With my appreciation of the Indiana Jones posters and the art of Drew Struzan, I wanted something that was close to home (nature) and use a similar technique. I used rubaway, watercolour and charcoal. Illustrations (learning rubaway) from 1993 & 1994 The Mill (1993) illustration was from a photo reference I took of the Midmar Dam mill (no longer there) for Art of Drawing subject – second year Graphic Design. The Giraffe (1994) and Zebra (1994) were done a year later using offcuts from the Mill board.

I wanted to try out a large rubaway (one of my favourite techniques – see the Sunset Pride from 2009) and decided to illustrate a white rhino and gift it to my brother, Michael, who works on a game farm in Limpopo. Over a few weeks I developed the picture and finally gave it to him at his home we we as a family visited him and his wife. The Work In Progress: Applying gesso background Pencil work plus masking fluid added to whites Watercolour wash Wash dried Removing masking fluid Rubbing away highlights Rubbing away dust. Rubbing away highlights Adding detail and dark tones.