'Momo' Puppet Show poster illustration and design

Added on June 21, 2016 by ellapointe.

I've been away from my blog and illustration challenge work for a while, working on a commission: A poster illustration for a puppet show based on the fabulous Children's Book (Novel) 'Momo' by Michael Ende. The client wanted it to be apparent from the illustration that this will be a puppet show and what kind of puppets they were going to be; larger than life rod puppets which the puppeteers wear and move from the inside.

I first encountered 'Momo' when I was 19 years old and was taking my first steps into learning german. An Austrian Co-Worker suggested Learning german by reading 'Momo'. With a dictionary in one hand and my Austrian friend to help me understand the grammar, we embarked on this adventure... We progressed incredibly slowly and I ended up reading the book in English long before my german abilities enabled me to get through the first chapter of the original.

It's a truly wonderful Children's book which has a depth of truth and insight that can nourish and inspire many adults as well. To read more about the puppetry project follow this link.

A funny thing that happened in the process of working on the poster was that by the time the poster was finished the costume designer had decided that Momo's coat would not be green as they initially told me but would be red, the painting was already finished. I wonder if it was surprising for people to see the main character's coat look so different...

I thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with this magical tale and the characters Momo and Cassiopeia.

illustration for a poster for the puppet show 'Momo The Time Titan'

Color study for a palette inspired by Anita Jeram

'Collector' Week 17 in 52 Week Illustration Challenge

Added on April 28, 2016 by ellapointe.

It seems like you can never have enough friends, but not all of them can sleep in one bed together.

I felt like I needed a bit of a break from the world of saturated colors and heavily detailed pictures. So although the theme 'collector' is particularly suited for a detailed and jumbled interpretation, I chose to go with a subtle and calmer motif.

Something that has occupied me lately is the idea of beginning to create works that are a kind of dialogue with some of my favorite illustrators. In this case I chose to search for a subdued and calm color pallete of warm grayish/brownish colors, inspired by Anita Jeram (guess how much I love you and more...)

I wasn't interested in copying her colors directly, as much as trying to bring a similar quality of softness and mood that her illustrations usually have. I wasn't entirely able to stick to it and I didn't have the courage (that Anita would have) to go into this softness with pen and ink outlines...

Nevertheless, it was an adventure to (consciously) try on another illustrators shoes.

It seems like you can never have enough friends, but not all of them can sleep in one bed together. A watercolor illustration by Ella Lapointe

'Ocean' Week 15 in the 52 Week Illustration Challenge

Added on April 25, 2016 by ellapointe.

'Under the sea... Under the sea...'

I struggled a little to keep my head above water this week and not get lost in so many details. I was initially inspired to represent an ocean themed room- full of drawings and crafts that were related to the sea and it's inhabitants and to show a little girl enthusiasticaly drawing lots of pictures of fish. But ultimately decided to simplify my concept a bit and focus on an imaginary ocean that fills the room as this little future marine biologist dives into a book about the ocean.

What interested me was to see if I could convey that the world around the figure comes tom the figures own imagination or what is brought to life through her imagination. I found myself struggling to keep my imagination free from feeling obligated to scientific accuracy.

my scientific mind would nag me as I worked:
"do these fish come from totally different parts of the world? do corals and jellyfish even coexist in the same regions"

"Does it really matter?" imagination replied.

Here's the watercolor illustration I created to the theme Ocean

Ocean a watercolor illustration by Ella Lapointe — *Ocean* a watercolor illustration by Ella Lapointe

'Camping' Week 14 in the 52 Week Illustration Challenge

Added on April 11, 2016 by ellapointe.

I recently found this exciting illustration challenge called '52 week Illustration Challenge' it's open to anyone and the only rule seems to be 'make something great'... I love their list of themes which they give ahead of time, for every week of the year. Their Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/418616991575037 features so many lovely creations from artists of all ages...

The challenge for week 14 was the word 'Camping'. I was inspired by my experience of camping as a child: the mysterious shapes of the trees and bushes when one looks at them in the dark, how loud all the insects are- and it feels like the whole world belongs to them.

I worked with colored pencils, this was partially because I started out just sketching (on scrap paper) but then it evolved into something I wanted to execute in color, when I tested on a different piece of the same kind of paper it became apparent that this paper could not handle any type of wet media, not even pens or markers (!) It's always worth taking a moment to test the paper you use and see what it will tolerate.

'Camping' A colored pencil illustration by Ella Lapointe, April 2016

Just For Fun #1: Rearranging cut paper to create different gestures

Added on April 1, 2016 by ellapointe.

I've been trying to get back in the swing of things but I am feeling a bit blocked lately, After drawing and erasing for a while I decided to just play for a bit. Letting one's imagination breath and wander freely a bit but without committing to anything can really help when one is beginning to feel a bit stressed and frustrated, give it a go!

Playful little activities to exercize those creative mussles in a safe place. #1: cut some random shapes, arrange them...
Posted by Ellapointe Studio on Friday, April 1, 2016

Illustration Friday 'Village'

Added on March 2, 2016 by ellapointe.

This week's Illustration Friday challenge was the word: 'Village'. I enjoyed working on this rather sleepy village, where everyone must be taking their afternoon naps today...

V is for Village, illustration by Ella Lapointe

Fireflies and Mixed Media

Added on July 10, 2014 by ellapointe.

A couple weeks ago I bought a nice mix of hand printed Japanese papers for my collage needs… This morning I was drawn to play a bit with some of the nice deep greens and patterns that were in there, also had a couple of mixed blue inks that needed using… Here's the result:

'Where do fireflies come from?' an illustration by Ella Lapointe

Summer!

Added on June 20, 2014 by ellapointe.

A mini collage that seemed fitting for this week's Illustration Friday Challenge, the word 'Summer'.

Ice cream at the end of a long day at the beach...

I hope I will have time to do another one because summer is quite a wonderful theme.

'Ice cream on the beach', a collage by Ella Lapointe

'M' is for Mask

Added on June 18, 2014 by ellapointe.

This weeks Illustration Friday Challenge was the word 'Mask'.

I have been interested in illustrated letters for a while now and thought I would give it a try. It was both challenging and interesting to try and create a specific character even though her face is completely covered with an oversized mask, similarly to balance a recognizable letter of the ABC that would still feel like it was something else as well, maybe a ginger cat...

'M' is for Mask, a watercolor illustration by Ella Lapointe — *'M' is for Mask,* a watercolor illustration by Ella Lapointe

Illustration Friday: 'Temptation'

Added on May 30, 2014 by ellapointe.

This week's topic was the word 'Temptation'.

As a child whenever we had cake in the house, which was not very often, I would ask: "what's this cake for?". Hoping the answer would be something like:" oh, we can eat it right now if you like!'. Alas, this was seldom the case. and so I would have to wait patiently until the time of the event which the cake was intended for. It may have only been an hour or so away but it felt like eternity to resist the temptation… Maybe that's what this little girl is feeling...

'What's this cake for?!' a watercolor illustration by Ella Lapointe.

*I originally created this illustration for the word 'Refrain' but did not have a chance to post it to IF at the time.

Illustration Friday: 'Universe'

Added on May 29, 2014 by ellapointe.

“Look up at the sky. Ask yourself, 'Has the sheep eaten the flower or not?' And you'll see how everything changes...

Antoine de Saint Exupéry

A watercolor and ink illustration for IF challenge: 'Universe'.

Illustration Friday: 'Retro'

Added on May 22, 2014 by ellapointe.

This week's Challenge was the word 'Retro'.

'What wonderful treasures Grandma has at her house!'

'Retro', A watercolor illustration by Ella Lapointe

Five Minute Collage

Added on May 16, 2014 by ellapointe.

The Sketchbook Project have some awesome free challenges lately… Here's my submission to the 'Challenge Accepted' five minute collage #CAfoundcollage… I knew these paint swatches would be useful for something...

May Give Away

Added on May 15, 2014 by ellapointe.

ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN

a set of Five high quality printed illustrated cards with matching envelopes. (like these)

HERE'S HOW:

1. SHARE your favorite picture from Ellapointe Studio's Illustration Friday Album On Facebook.
2. leave a COMMENT to tell us you're in. If you want to, you can also say which picture you shared.
***To assure that your name is entered please do this on the original post in Ellapointe's Timeline.***
Two Lucky winners will be chosen in a blind draw of names from a hat,

WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED MAY 20TH

Good Luck!

Illustration Friday: 'Vanity'

Added on May 1, 2014 by ellapointe.

Visiting my sister in London. She kindly gave me free reign to cut into her piles of Bridal magazines, left over from when she planned her wedding about five years ago. It's funny how I originally had the idea to play with the contrast of big very extravagant figures and a small plain one, I was thinking about an urban setting and a little girl, perhaps a clothes store?! As my idea evolved further I landed at a well known fairytale which enabled my imagination to go wild... Can you recognize it?