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Thank you all so much for the tremendous support and positive feedback you have given to two of my favorite creations, Otto and Victoria. i have been asked about them a lot lately so i thought i would do a journal entry to offer a little back story as well as a look forward to what is in store for these two unlikely p
artners.
looking back to about a year ago i had doodled a very rough sketch in my sketch book of a girl walking an octopus. and when i say rough i mean rough. the sketch itself was nothing more than a study of contrasting silhouettes. i was drawn to the play between a very rigid character and a squiggly one.
i had forgotten about that sketch until i heard about a steampunk t-shirt design for www.welovefine.com. i thought that this design might have a chance so i went ahead and finished it off. well it got alot of attention and i am happy to say that it won the competition. the shirt started to sell well and people i talked to were very interested in Otto. i guess it goes to show the power of naming something. i had titled the piece, "walkies for otto" i wanted to suggest that this was just a daily routine of a high class lady and her pet. i might have been making some commentary about boutique pets or pets as accessories too but above all i was embracing the up surd.
what follows was several months of exploring different scenarios inspired both from my experience of raising two young children with my wife as well as a one year old mutt we adopted from the pound. I've talked before about the importance of finding a universal idea that many can relate too and throwing a twist on it and that is what i tried to do here:
those of you with young pets and even young children know how frustrating it can be to housebreak young ones. also how important it is to socialize ones pet with others to encourage good behavior. when you render it with an octopus it just adds a lot of character.
not only was i having fun with drawing Otto, i found that i was having a lot of fun drawing Victoria and her fashions. she is definitely an iconoclast in her society. a bohemian among the upper-class and her style is a blend of classic Victorian design as well as some more recent gothic lolita influences. in fact i started building a whole tumblr site devoted to these styles to keep as reference as i sketch. tophatandgoggles.tumblr.com/
as i worked on these they started to get more and more attention online and that just inspired me to do more. i was so grateful for the comments. next thing you know i started getting people cosplaying as victoria! the amazing ~itsrainingneon its-raining-neon.deviantart.co… sent me these amazing images that were shot by aryn jurgensen www.facebook.com/arynjurgensen… !
i was etremely flattered! it was incredible to see victoria come to life through this amazing recreation. and then i received the ultimate compliment...
body art! well it's been a crazy journey so far and these two have offered me a lot of creative expression as well as the opportunity to meet and work with some amazing people! i am excited to say that i have been working with mrbabytattoo.deviantart.com/ to publish a book of all of my otto and victoria art that is due out next may. thank you again for all the support and stay tuned for more adventures. cheers!
this just in! check out this awesome interpretation by none other than britt315.deviantart.com/
Dressing your Octopus!
Hey everyone! it's been a while! i've been been pretty storyboarding zootopia and then right on to moana but in the mean time i have been working on my latest otto and victoria project and you can help make it the best it can be by contributing to my kickstarter at www.dressingyouroctopus.com
i'm very excited to share this project with you. the funnest part for me when i draw otto and victoria is designing what outfits victoria wears in each illustration. in this book those outfits are brought into the spotlight as well as some new designer looks for otto. after all "clothes make the octopus"
in addtion to my own designs i have reached o
my new book is available for pre-order!
hey everyone! i'm super excited to announce that my new book, TRAVELING WITH YOUR OCTOPUS is available for pre-order here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/207280396/traveling-with-your-octopus-special?
everyone that pre-orders will receive the special edition version which is signed and detailed with decorative metallic corners.
here is a brief description of the book which is published by baby tattoo books
A lavishly illustrated Victorian era travelogue chronicling the international journeys of Octo-Victorian globetrotters Victoria Prismall and her pet land octopus Otto, this scenic follow-up to Brian Kesinger's instant classic Walking Your
Otto and Victoria Coloring contest WINNERS!
thank you all for your colorful entries! i am excited to announce the winners today!
first up is Josh age 6 supmitted by
JK5-Inks
next the winner of the 13-17 year old category is
EmyColoursOfTheWind
and the winner for the 18+ year old category is
Ejderha-Arts
each winner will recieve a copy of coloring with your octopus with a random page hand colored by me. please email me your shipping address for your prize to bluenitro@hotmail.com
thank you again to all who participated! keep sharing your creations and keep an eye out for future contests!
cheers
Coloring Contest!
to celebrate the debut of my first coloring book, "coloring with your octopus" published by baby tattoo books i am hosting a contest here on deviant art. the grand prize is a signed copy of my coloring book with an original hand colored image by me inside! the rules are simple: just download any of these hires images, (you can either print them out or color them digitally) when you are done, upload your work and be sure to add the tags, #briankesinger and #ottoandvictoria. please do not remove any of the text or copyright information from the page and most importantly have fun. to give people a fair chance, there will be three age group categ
© 2012 - 2024 BrianKesinger
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Mr. Kesinger, thank you very much for your talent and inspiration. Today I am the biggest fan of the Steampunk art & lifestyle and, as a designer, interior contractor, architect, brass metal crafts maker, leather shoes and cloths creator, genius and whatever I startup today, your creation is simply perfect.
The sensibility, kindness, innocence and powerful performance and personalities makes your project drive to the stars in a steam express machine.
Thanks again,
Humberto Delgado-López