Allan Lorde

[allanlorde]

*twitter's on fire and shit*

Well, guess I gotta fire this puppy up again, huh?

*proceeds to blow off nearly a year of dust, coughs profusely*

Stay tuned.

[allanlorde]

Yo.

Other than some year-end/holiday/resolution/birthday posts, I'm gonna be kinda scarce on social media. Life needs to be lived and all that shit. I might be around, but ghost-like.

God willin', I'll be hanging around more starting on the 17th of January.

Y'all take care!

[allanlorde]

I've got a brand-spankin' new site via Carbonmade! I watched a Brave The Woods video to see what it was all about, gave it a shot, and it answered my prayers. Hasaportfolio did me well for several years, but it was time to upgrade.

This blog ain't goin' anywhere, either. I hope to use it more often.

allanlorde.com

[allanlorde]

Wow, an overdue blog post!

Hi!

Because my portfolio site is Tumblr-based and I've been wanting to edit it, I've been poking around here a bit lately. Other than sprucing up my about page a bit, I haven't been able to do what I really want to: add new work. I hope I'll be able to figure things out.

With folks freaking out about the changing focus of Instagram, algorithms, and non-sequential social media timelines, some illustrators have been talking about the possible resurgence of blogging. With this very post, I may be ahead of the pack. Stay tuned!

[allanlorde]

Listen while you can, because this posse cut (which I did the cover for) won’t be on SoundCloud for long. Eventually, it’ll be on vinyl. I’ll keep you posted.

[allanlorde]

I did the #meettheartist thing. I had all of this in my sketchbook a few months ago but didn't have time to put it together until this week.

[allanlorde]

A release show party poster for Yy's An Uneven Eleven, hence the total of 11 fingers.

[allanlorde]

Me and Aaron Draplin at the end of Mondo Con 3. What a wild ride that was! Here are my photos. I thought I’d come back to Winnipeg wondering why I bother to pick up a pencil, but I instead I came back fired up. Kinda needed that.

[allanlorde]

My Personal Takeaway From Inktober 2016

General Self-Analysis: I'm doing my best to not be hard on myself for falling behind with Inktober. I fuckin' HATED myself last year for failing to finish when really, it's not that big a deal. Failing is part of being human. Failing publicly is a good gut check. If anything, I have to reassess how I use my time. Am I really busier than I was in 2013 and 2014? I'm not so sure. Am I more depressed? Possibly, although I was at a pretty low point between late 2012 and the tail end of 2014 professionally. Perhaps I'm down because I didn't gain a lot of ground? More soul-searching is necessary. Writing this down has helped.

Ink Wash: No, I didn't do any this year, but it something I should mess with. I need to work on my order of operations when it comes to the sketch, the ink, and placement of color; be it via watercolors, markers, or colored pencils.

Crosshatching: Again, something I didn't use, but it's a method I should look into. Haven't really used it since college.

Rediscovering the Love: I love drawing again. It's taken a while. I've just been drawing for the longest time because I know I can and always have. Now, even when it's not going the way I'd like to, it just feels really good to put lines down. I needed that. If there's a win in any of this, it's about gettin' the love back.

New Follows: If it wasn't for this year's Inktober, I wouldn't be following Chihiro Howe, Bertrand Todesco, rad dar, and Emily Warren Rice on Twitter. So talented, so inspiring.

Wow Factor: I wanted to make myself say "Damn, I think I really pulled something off here" at least once this Inktober. I think I managed to do that twice. Not bad.

More, More, More: More buildings, more figure drawing, more vehicles, more surroundings/backgrounds. That's a daily set of challenges, not just an Inktober thing. I'll never be as flexible as I wanna be until I draw these subjects regularly.

Lastly: Me and @tallblackguy got a nod in this: http://ivwall.net/blog/diverse-artists-inktober-2016 Pretty cool, eh? Dude was looking for PoC, women and LGBTQ folks doing Inktober and we stepped up.

Well, here's to next year! (raises glass of Pepsi Max in a Mondo Con 2016 glass)

[allanlorde]

Inktober

The plan was to do individual blog posts for each piece, but time isn’t on my side. I’m keeping up, but these blog posts ain’t the move right now. Therefore, y’all should keep tabs on my illustration IG. Sound good? Y’all keep drawin’, too!

[allanlorde]

From top to bottom: - Sakura Pigma Sensei 06 (I've got an 03 hanging around, too) - Kuretake Fudegokochi Brush Pen - Pentel Brush Pen - Staedtler Pigment Liners (the .03 is in my workspace somewhere) For the underdrawings/sketches: - Prismacolor Col-Erase Pencils (Lavender, NP Blue, Grass Green) - DDC Brand No. 2 Pencil

Inktober is days away. I'm both excited and anxious. Excited, because I'm looking forward to the fun of it and the leveling up of my skill set. Anxious: I haven't drawn anything substantial in days/weeks and I have a millstone around my neck in the form of an unfinished project without a due date. I'm making progress on the latter, though.

Last year, I got almost halfway through and got bogged down due to getting a new 9 to 5 and the scheduling mess that came with it. There's no shame in that, but I felt pretty bad that I hadn't finished the month. I had become some sort of Inktober evangelist among my Facebook friends and I felt like I had let them down, although no one ever told me such a thing.

I really wanna fucking kill it this year, but I'm tryin' to chill, too. If I get too worked up, this won't end well. Follow me on here on Tumblr to check my progress. Peace.

[allanlorde]

Allan Lorde turned 5 today!

Actually, it was yesterday, which was Canada Day. I spent that day free of obligations for once. If you’re still tuning in, I thank you for hanging around and seeing what I’m up to. Time to ramp up the activity!

[allanlorde]

I’m not sure if any of y'all are aware of this, but gigposters.com – as we know it – died on June 1st. I’m bummed about it, because nearly 15 years of my life took place on that site, and I’ve met so many terrific people through it, virtually and IRL.

The site’s demise has sorta brought me to a crossroads in my career as I’ve been contemplating leaving gig posters behind because I no longer feel suited for the form, at least on the local tip. A lot of my favorite local bands and solo performers have broken up or perform sporadically, some venues have in-house designers, band management deciding that an ad mat is the best method for poster making  – all of these are factors that are shutting me out, in addition to not keeping myself relevant in the eyes of performers. It’s all good though; I’ve had a good run.

Don’t get me wrong, man; If @nestorwynrush or @grandanalog needs another poster from me, I’ll drop everything for them. Or, if my dream scenario were to happen – creating a poster for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, I’d probably call it a night right there because nothing would top that.

So, I’m not calling this a retirement, and it’s not a plea for attention. It’s more like a public downsizing of services. And now, as outlined in my Adventures In Design episode, I’m just gonna continue finding out what my thing is.

Keep tabs on this here blog and my Instagram.

[allanlorde]

The flipside to my man @nestorwynrush‘s forthcoming 7-inch record. Here’s a reminder of what the other side looks like. The blowfish picture might not be in the final version.

[allanlorde]

A 7" cover for my man @nestorwynrush. It's bound to get modified a tad before printing, but this is the gist.

[allanlorde]

For National Cereal Day or any damn day.

[misterlorde]

Me in my workspace for Blackout. When I took this, i should’ve been in bed.

[allanlorde]

Five in the morning-type vibes, man.