I have been drawing guns for years now. Grandiose, fantastical and most likely completely dysfunctional weaponry that looks good.
I grew up watching movies such as Star Wars, Predator, Alien. All movies with fantastic weaponry depicted in them and somebody somewhere had dreamt them up to look the part, without worrying about how they would actually work in reality. The earliest recollection being Martin Landau’s Stun Gun which now looks more like a 2020 paper stapler.
When I share my “Unlikely Weapons” on Instagram and other social platforms, they seem to draw massive interest from military people and gun enthusiasts, which is great. I don’t tend to have problem with responsible gun owners. However, although not deliberate from the beginning, these artworks have developed a dichotomy that I find quite interesting.
The weapons are intentionally unlikely to work by design, they just look cool. I know diddly squat about the inner workings of a gun, nor am I ever likely to find out. This knowledge would likely ruin the potential for any new designs, creating boundaries that I would feel couldn’t be crossed.
To the anti-gun activist, this could represent the best kind of gun on the planet, one that doesn’t work. But the cool aesthetic of the weapon really appeals to the pro-gun shooter.
Personally, I think guns are here to stay. Without wanting to get into the sticky weeds about “Concealed Carry” or “Self Defence”, responsible gun owners should be able to own their guns, whether it be for target shooting, hunting, etc. The Military unfortunately would be a little useless without them. I have never felt the need to own a gun myself, but would love to actually shoot one.
What’s happening with Unlikely Weapons now?
So this year, straight after Inktober 2022, I got to doodling in front of the TV as is my wont. And produced a steady stream of new guns, in a much smaller and free style than I have been used to. This is the first opportunity to try and make these work digitally. So I’ll be looking to re-create them on the iPad during November and see what happens.
I really did try replicating them on the iPad with Procreate. I need to try harder, but I think I spend far too much time working each line. And with pen and watercolour you just have to go with the flow. I have so far made two pieces of unique guns on A3 Bristol Board, both accommodating an A4 space.
I’ve even picked up a couple of guns to focus on as a bigger illustration with a little more detail. Bristol Board on A4.
I will post more of these later….