ST. KÖNIGSHAUSEN • Graphic Design • Illustration • Comic

  Sketching and letting the idea take shape.     Proper outlines on the Watercolour Paper. Soak a dark tea with little water. Create the paintings background with different layerings of tea wash. Add some details with the tea to shape the white foxspirits. And use Watercolours for the tea cups.                            The final pair of "The Tea Foxspirits" with poem and signet seal.

A pair of 2 Watercolours on Water colour paper 20 cm x 40 cm.  The brown shades are made of tea. I wrote a poem on both of the pictures. It´s  inspired by drinking chinese tea (gonfu cha). More about chinese tea culture on Wikipedia.   The poem on the first picture says: "Stiller Nebel, duftender Tau... ( Silent Haze, Fragrant Dew...)                                     And the poem continues on the second picture:   ... der Fuchs unsichtbar lacht" (The Foxspirit Laughts Silently).   The calligraphy is inspired by chinese characters, the letters written from top to bottom.    

I´m the Nemo Fox Pictogram of St. Königshausen – developed from the Fox-Profil-Picture (below). The first step to make a Pictogram with high recognition is to simplify the shape and to find out what details are not essential for the design. I made a few quick thumbnail sketches of the Nemo Fox to find the right balance between a stylized design on the one hand and not to lose the characters important characteristics on the other hand.       The next step is the digital compostion of the Fox. The definition of the design, to define the coloring and to make sure the pictogram is working in small sizes too.    Voilà! The finished pictogram in context with typography, ready to be used as Facebook-Header for St. Königshausen :) https://www.facebook.com/st.koenigshausen/

The Dreaming Fox − Acrylpainting on Canvas, 15 cm x 15 cm.            

Everything started with a spontaneous idea that I had to scribble into my sketchbook at once. A few days later I started to work on the picture. I made a sketch of the Dreaming Fox in the intended final size. After that it took time to find the right colours. First I thought of a dark night sky but later I´ve decided to paint a sunset.    The Dreaming Fox is ready to fly!

  I had a rough idea of the picture already in my mind and started directly the scribble in the intended size.                 For the coloring I worked with complementary colors. After that I applied strong black outlines to give the picture a Comic-Style.                 The finished picture. Nemo Fox is ready to take a sip of delicious tea and planning of new creative stuff.

Maneki-neko Waterpainting on Water Colour Paper 20 cm x 40 cm.  I used different layers of tea to create the background and watercolour for the other colours. Maneki-neko (the beckoning cat) is the notorious japanese lucky charm. Maneki-nekos come in all kinds of colours. But the traditional colour combination of white, gold and black is regarded to be the best for ultimate Maneki-neko Good-Luck-Power. You can find more about Maneki-neko on Wikipedia.   I painted the Maneki-neko Picture two times with different "Good Wishes" in Kanji on it.                                      

Nemo Fox Portrait − Acrylpainting on Canvas, 15 cm x 15 cm.    

Entwicklung des KOLIBRI-Characters für das Magazin. Dazu grafische Gestaltung von Titel und Layout für das Online Kolibri-Kulturmagazin seit 2021.  Das KOLIBRI-Kulturmagazin ist ein Online-Mag für Grafik und Literatur. Keine Diskurse-über-Kunst − nur Kunst. Ungefiltert. Ehrlich.  Der KOLIBRI erscheint in unregelmäßigen Abständen und featured in seinen Ausgaben verschiedenste kreative Beiträge zu unterschiedlichen Themen. Hier der Link zum KOLIBRI-Kulturmagazin − Signale:  https://wortlaterne.jimdo.com/kolibri-kulturmagazin/

I was searching for a Maneki-neko and I found it after a while in my sketchbook. Colored proper Outlines on the Water Colour Paper. I created the brown background with tea and the other colours with watercolour paint.  

Hello Ox − Bye-bye Rat! Das 2. chinesische Tierkreiszeichen nach der Ratte ist der Büffel (oder Ochse). Acrylfarbe auf Papier 24 cm x 17 cm.   Ganz viel Info zur chinesischen Astrologie gibt´s auf Wikipedia.

Bleistift und Aquarell auf einem runden Stück Aquarellpapier ∅ 29 cm. Es ist tiefer Winter und ein Rabe sitzt in den kahlen Zweigen eines alten Baumes. Um ihn herum wirbeln dicke Schneeflocken. Er sitzt schon eine ganze Weile still im Geäst, so daß sich auf seinem Kopf ein kleines Häufchen Schnee angesammelt hat - oder ist es eine Schneekrone? Der kalte Nordwind weht um die Äste und lässt die letzten verbliebenen braunen Blätter erzittern. Der Rabe lauscht dem Säuseln des Windes und dem verlorenen leisen Rascheln der Blätter. Er atmet tief die Winterluft ein und träumt vom nahenden Frühling.      

Bleistift und Aquarell auf dickem Bütten Aquarellpapier 15 cm x 10,5 cm. Das Sicherinnern Und das Erinnertwerden: Des Alters Frühling. — Ryoto

Autumn Fat-Cat, Painting on Wood, 20 cm x 30 cm.    

Bleistift und Aquarell auf dickem Bütten Aquarellpapier 15 cm x 10,5 cm.