Brazilian Culture

I was watching 'City of God' earlier on. The colours struck me and I sketched one of the characters (Lil Ze, below) in 25 minutes. I really like this blocky messy style and feel like exploring Brazilian football culture. Any new samba stuff will be posted here. People's opinions and ideas really help my work so if anyone has them don't hesitate to comment or tweet me with them.

This feels like it will be an exploration of the whole culture of samba. It's a massive thing and ignites thoughts of certain colours and sound whenever I think of it. My dad always used to play samba and Brazilian music in the house and car when I was small so if I get certain inspiring youtube vids I'll stick them in here too.

As usual tweeting my work to other like minded people really helps my stuff get a new audience and I am so grateful for anyone that helps me out in this way. Thanks!

Lil Ze, a character from the film 'City of God'

The main character (Rocket) in 'City of God' is introduced playing football in a slum with other kids his age. The film plunges you head first into a colourful, vibrant world which communicates certain aspects of one way of Brazilian life. Everything is infused with music and colour. The tight maze like alleys of the favellas are at once a backdrop and one explanation of where renowned Brazilian footwork is developed. The film is so kinetic and full of flair and inventiveness it is like watching a Brazilian national team in full flow.

Pele leans to the left, defender sails to the right. 1970.

While browsing photos of Pele on Interleaning I spotted one that really showed how he changed direction at pace. I wanted to illustrate it with geometric simplicity. This is the result. I think I got some of the dynamism of the movement across with the flat blocks of colour. As usual I'd love your comments.

He's a magician.

Watching Ronaldinho in his pomp at Barca was the most exciting thing football has offered me. Messi is getting near it but not in the same way. Ronaldinho brought groove and funk to football. When he played there was magic in his feet. His goal at Chelsea where he toe poked it past Cech was one of the best goals I've ever seen. In this illustration I've tried to convey his sense of balance in tricky situations while doing something amazing.

Edison Arantes do Nascimento

To an extent he is the face of football pop culture. I've found it's hard to seperate the man from the enduring myth. He seems like a superhero that is incapable of doing something wrong. For me he embodies a joyful simple side of the game and with this illustration I wanted to capture a bit of that joy. It's why I play football and why I make my illustrations so I can understand it. Here he is; Pele.