Exercise:Viewpoint

 Client visuals

Based on the requirement to produce visuals, or scamps for a client prior to actual art work, the exercise now is to choose a theme, either festival, morning after, summertime or workshop. Then photograph, crop and draw thumbnails from sections in different formats to find a viewpoint which best expresses what you are planning to illustrate.

I chose the theme workshop as a challenge. The mundane and everyday things found in a workshop or basement could be an interesting theme and as we have been doing so much work around our house, it seemed an interesting theme to try.

stacks of wood

workbench in repose

toolbox

I looked a different ways to capture interesting aspects of the images. Using 2 l-shaped pieces of card, I cropped the most interesting ones into different shapes.

from the sketchbook, different aspects

In the end I decided  I preferred the workbench hanging on the wall. It symbolises workshop to me. and the fact that it has its own place to hang, shows a permanence of place. 

Changing viewpoints certainly was an excellent exercise and I enjoyed seeing the 'mundane', or things that you would not normally look twice at, in a new light.

Redone to a larger format, I think this would
work very well as a watercolour with washes
of grey and rusts contrasting against the
aluminium and wood bench.

Project: Diagramatic illustration

In order for the viewer to 'read' a diagram it is essential to create an image which if both simple to follow and graphically pleasing to the eye. The exercise is to diagramatically illustrate either making a cup of tea, playing an instrument or getting to my house.
To start it was important to research other diagramtic illustrations to understand how they work.

Because my house is located in a little village I jumped at the chance of illustrating a little map to show not only where I live, but show the village at the same time. Initially I thought of doing a full colour map as the village is surrounded by beautiful ochres, but on reflection, the house is the subject not the village. Also I felt the drawing should be pencil rather than done on the computer to reflect the antique quality of the area rather than a modern feel. As the instructions were to do a visual without words if possible, I thought I would do a drawing similar to the road trip illustration, but without all the detail.

My first attempt including thoughts of what I needed to include

Without making any comments, I took the map around to some friends and family who were all in agreement that it was not only easy to follow, but they also enjoyed the simple visual aspects of the map. Even though it is primitive and plain, I like it and decided not to change it as I was not sure how to improve it other than giving it a new frame. 

suggested viewing/reading

Thea Brine

My tutor has recommended looking up the works of Thea Brine and I must admit I found her drawings absolutely wonderful. They depict everyday life in its simplest form with a hint of humour and parody running through the themes and drawings.
I believe I can create a number of drawings like this in my sketchbook which I will update later

Project: Abstract illustration

Relying on marks, colour and structure, the assignment is to communicate an idea or story using abstract medium and colour. With the choice of 4 musicians, I decided on the Gypsy Kings because of the energy of their music.
I downloaded the 'best of' and listened to it several times. I also did a search on the internet and found some of their old album covers that use an abstract format. The first two didn't do anything for me but I liked the last two, especially the last one.

As I listened to the music and started drawing, I felt there was a definate red energy, images of flamenco dancers, stomping feet, guitars and trumpets. Some my first drawings reflect that energy. Unfortunately I felt they didn't have the abstract feel I was looking for.

I quite liked the idea of the little singer who doubles as a guitar, so I decided to have a go in Illustrator and see what happened. I'm still working out how to use the tools and find the drawing a bit daunting at the moment, but the only way to learn it is to use it, so here is the result.

I asked for some feedback and got a negative on what it represents, so decided to try to do a representation of the other drawing which to me represents movement and energy of the music. However, I quite like the little guitar king, especially as it has lots of energy, music and colour.

So here is the illustrator file. I enjoyed the drawing and using the colour, but could it make a CD cover? I'm not sure. It's definately abstract but I do prefer the guitar king.