Illustration

Illustration

experimentation: 3D, Graphics and 2D

20/05/15

After creating numerous illustrations using Jason Thielke and Lis Clements as inspiration, I realised that, while at first I was very happy with my drawings, they could use a lot of improvement. To do this, I abandoned the drawings for the time being and began to think about how I could improve the drawings. 

I wanted to use flowers and people so that I could make a collection of drawings that united both nature and mankind, even if in a minimal way. To do this, I began researching different types of flowers, focusing mainly on flowers like Peonies, Carnations, Ranunculus, and other flowers like this.  This also gave me an opportunity to try to loosen my drawing style so that I could become more expressive with my illustrations. 

Later, I thought about using different media, and having some 3D aspect within the illustration. So taking this idea, I began researching how to create paper flowers, and also experimented using fabric and tie dying material. 

The instructions to make the paper flowers were, at first, a little difficult to get my head around, however, after doing it how I thought it should be done, the instructions then became a lot clearer.

the end result was a little messy, however, for a first attempt, it was very good. 

The material flowers were little short of a disaster. I had made a flower using material once before, however it was a long time ago, and so the knowledge had slipped my mind, so I tried using different types of material, such as netting, a silky material and some regular scraps of material, I attempted to create flowers. 

The first few attempts were very bad, and quickly allowed me to figure out the capabilities of the different materials. The silky material was very useful in terms of making rose like designs, however the other materials were either too stiff or too heavy and so provided no structure to the designs.

As well as experimenting with different 3D materials, I also experimented using 2D materials, such as Acrylic paint, Graphic markers, Water colours, pen and pencil.

Tie dying:

The tie dying was relatively easy. I used a canvas material and tied it in different ways and then soaked it, so that the dye would absorb easier. I then put two different pieces of material into both a bucket of red and blue dye, poked it down using a stick so that I was sure it was all covered, and then left it for about 30 minutes. The red dye took a lot more to the material than the blue dye, as the blue dye washed off, and I learnt that folding the canvas didn't work. Next time, I would also use a different material, as due to the canvas' almost waterproof properties, where the material was folded, no dye for into that area.

Illustration

Illustration

Painting and portraits

10/06/15

To further my experimentation, I will be using acrylics to paint acanvas. Instead of using the same style I used to create my previous illustrations, I will be painting from a photo, and will be aiming for realism. I am still trying to incorporate my theme of "nature and people" and so will be incorporating flowers and other elements of nature into the drawing.

The first step of the whole process was to cut out a sheet of canvas to  my preferred size and then prime it. After this I could then begin sketching out the image I wanted to paint, looking at a photograph for reference. It took a while to get the proportions right, however, I eventually managed to get the drawing to how I wanted it. Once I had done this and checked the proportions, I could then begin to paint. Getting the right skin tone was a little difficult at first, and still needs changing a little, and the blending of shadowing was the most difficult part, however, I intend to paint the entire face, section by section, so that I will be able to then start adding more shadowing after to add more dimension to the face.

To further my experimentations I will research into other portraiture artists and look at their style and preferred waay of painting, so that I may try and develop my own style.

Illustration

Illustration

Research into portraiture and painting

11/06/15

As part of my experimentation and developmental work for this project, I intent to use numerous different media to build up a portfolio of experiments. As I have not yet used acrylic, and was keen to try, I will be looking at various different portraiture artists and their techniques and will try to incorporate some of them, or at least develop my own style using my research.

Charmaine Olivia:

http://www.charmaineolivia.com/

Charmaine Olivia uses a lot of colours and creates pieces with an ethereal image. Her work incorporates as much colour as possible, as well as elements of nature, such as flowers and water, as I wish to do. The people she paints are all female and all have some ethereal qualities, such as their beauty. She paints well known faces as well as people she creates. The faces of her subjects are flawless at first glance, and the brushwork is very obvious surrounding it.

Zaria Foreman:

http://www.zariaforman.com/

While Zaria Foreman does not specialise in portraiture painting, her talents lay in painting water, which I will be hoping to incorporate into my own artwork. She works in large scale and puts detail slowly into everything she produces. She specialises in Realism.

Marisa Parga:

http://www.marisaparga.com/

Marisa Parga uses water colours, and are less flawless. You can see the blocks of colour used and the over laping colours within her work.

Techniques in Portraiture Painting

Illustration

Illustration

Unit 78

23/04/15

After the illustration project for Unit 12 finished, we were then able to go our own way in terms of development, characters and idea's. We were no longer limited to using inanimate objects as our characters, nor were we to create a story. The unit that Illustration had been moved to, Unit 78 (realizing fine art ideas) meant that we could do whatever we wanted, and that it showed the development of out artwork. 

The style that I have adopted is a mixture of Jason Thielke, who drew directly in one continuous line, and Liz Clements, an Illustrator. Both artists use portraits, particularly women, as a focus.

 Jason Thielke's work consisted on hand drawing these portraits directly onto wooden panels, all the while using a continuous line to do to, while adding finer detail later.

I've taken the idea of using a continuous line, while looking at the different positions he would draw the model in, and tried to make my own twist on it.

Liz Clements style is a lot neater and clean cut, using ink to create flowing lines. Her line drawings are later coloured up by other means, however, sometimes, a little colour is added before hand. Once again I am taking inspiration from her by looking at her line work, however, my main focus is on the position of the heads.