ST. KÖNIGSHAUSEN • Graphic Design • Illustration • Comic

  Book Cover for "Geradeaus ist gerade aus". Do you remember the 90s - the last analog decade? The author tells in this 324 pager the journey of Robert a twenty-something . How will he finde his way in a time of break-ups, when everything seemed possible and the future is only slowly taking shape? You can grab your edition at amazon and find a way.

    A look into my sketchbook. Basic concept for the Book Cover "Geradeaus ist gerade aus". It´s the story of a young man in the 90s - the last analog decade. The author tells the journey of Robert a twenty-something . How will he finde his way in this time of break-ups, when everything seemed possible and the future is only slowly taking shape?

  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/

left: first concept of Fuchsfeuer in my sketchbook right: working out the details of the design     Prepare the black background and transfer the design on top of the dark painted wood. Then I continue to draw the fine lines with acryl-pencils. And Voila!

Fuchsfeuer / Kitsunebi − Painting on Wood, 20 cm x 30 cm.  Inspired by Kitsune ( 狐, キツネ, the japanese Foxspirit), the picture shows a Fox with a glowing ball (狐火 kitsunebi or kitsunebi-tama). More about Kitsune on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune          

Tief unten im Meer, wo kein Sonnenlicht hinabreicht, herrscht absolute Finsternis. 
Dies ist das Reich von faszinierenden Lebewesen wie Quallen und dem Tiefsee-Anglerfisch. 
Diese Tiere haben eine ganz eigene Art zu kommunizieren.  Hier in der unendlich scheinenden, 
schwarzen Weite des Ozeans sind optische Signale angesagt. Mit Biolumineszenz kann man locker 
Beute oder einen Partner anlocken, warnen, drohen und mehr. Quallen-Gangs ziehen unbemerkt im Schutz der Dunkelheit umher. Sie umzingeln lautlos ihre ahnungslose Beute, um dann plötzlich leuchtend aufzutauchen. Da gibt es kein Entkommen mehr und das Opfer wird lebendig aufgefressen, wenn es nicht entsprechend Bakschisch zahlt. Oder der immer hungrige Tiefsee-Anglerfisch. Er wartet reglos auf der Stelle schwebend und lockt Meeresbewohner mit seinem Leuchtorgan an. 
Dieses Leuchtorgan ist die ultimative Beuteattrappe. Er wedelt damit unwiderstehlich vor seinem Kopf herum und lockt Interessenten direkt in sein riesiges Maul.

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