Illustration1

Referencing the 1950s I've referenced a wide range of 1950s related images on Pinterest boards (see below). Pinterest is a fantastic tool for collecting and grouping visual reference material.  It is an easy and convenient way to build up a bank of stimulus and reference. In this case digital sourcing was easy compared to the difficulties and trials of trying to hunt out and find newspapers and other materials related to the 1950s. I am aware that a wider range of source materials would have been more beneficial, and one should not rely on just digital sources.  But it is a genuine convenience for the purposes of getting this exercise done.  Otherwise I genuinely don't know how I would manage in a hunt for 1950s reference material: Review of the 1950s from a Visual Perspective If the 1940s were the difficult and traumatic war years, then the 1950s were a time of significant cultural and economic change; a vibrant and exciting time in the visual arts...

Exercise details For this exercise I will choose the word exotic .  A few years ago I went on holiday to Morocco and throughout I was struck by the sense of how exotic the culture is compared to our western culture.  The word exotic could bring to mind an extremely wide variety of visual stimulus and associations. However, for this exercise, I wish to limit the scope my "exotic" to specifically "Moroccan exotic". This will still provide me with wide scope for my moodboarding, yet focus my mind onto something I'm captivated by. Also, it would be easy just to create a digital moodboard of found images, and it appears that some other Illustration 1 students have done digital only moodboards.  However, I have the intention of adding in a few of my own drawings to supplement the found images. Final moodboard Below is a picture of my finished moodboard.  I added in my sketches of the veiled woman and the mosque: This was certainly an interesting...

Exercise details: For this exercise I've had to choose from a list of words, and then draw everything that comes to mind. The word that I chose is Kitchen because of the physical immediacy of the kitchen at home; and the wide range of different objects which I am able to draw. I've pulled out certain sentences from the exercise detail (in the course materials). These sentences below summarise, to me, the most important aspects of this exercise and the learning experience from doing it: "Imagine you are moving around the scene with a camera and recording each element to create a visual checklist a catalogue of images." "Be conscious of the details and qualities of each subject or object you draw to communicate its qualities and function." "visual editing..." "distillation of information" Final composition: I decided to compose my drawings into a moodboard style presentation: This style of presentation (above)  has enab...

Artwork 1 The artwork below was painted by the Bloomsbury Group artist, Duncan Grant .  It was painted to be placed on a panel in the music room of the Lefevre Gallery in 1932. The media is oil and chalk on canvas: I was attracted to this artwork for both the uneasy qualities of the sitters, and the rather quirky composition (i.e. the drape in the foreground).  The artwork makes me feel slightly awkward and I feel somewhat of an intruder on the scene.  The associations that come to mind are being in a room with people who don't particularly want you to be there.  The body language of the two sitters is defensive; a crossed arm gesture and and the 2nd man has his leg up in an almost blocking position. This scene is not welcoming. I cannot fathom why such an uneasy picture would be required to decorate a music room.  The clothes suggest that these two men are dancers or physical performers.  Ballet dancers even? The brushwork in this painting is ...

In this exercise I had to explore four words; creating a mind-map for each. The four words are Seaside, Childhood, Angry and Festival. - - -  The first word I explored was Seaside. I found this a pleasurable and fun activity and the associations kept flying into my mind.  I couldn't resist adding a few little drawings and images to bring the mind-map to life a little more: Next - Childhood. A more difficult brainstorm compared to seaside; the word associations were more difficult to bring to mind. Perhaps the main difference between seaside and childhood is the nature of the words.  With seaside visualisation, there are lots of "stuff" and "things". Plenty of nouns.  However, with childhood, there are more complex visual associations and words produced.  More adjectives for sure.  And perhaps this is why the childhood spider diagram has a different feel to me compared to the seaside one. However, overall I'm fairly pleased with the outcome...

The purpose of this exercise is to take a piece of work by an illustrator whos work I'm drawn to, and then reverse-engineer a brief for the chosen illustration. - - - The choice I have made is the front cover of Glennie Kindred's Letting in the Wild Edges . The illustration on the front cover, and throughout the book, is created by Glennie herself. I'm drawn to her illustrations because of their beautiful portrayal of the natural world. She seems to capture the mystery and splender of nature and our place within it.  The cover is below: I've asked myself a series of questions to help me analyse and study the image in a little more detail: What is happening in the illustration? Wild overgrown late spring/summer foliage in the background.  In the foreground, what looks to be chive just starting to sprout out. What is the image is trying to say? The image is trying to say that life is overflowing and abundant.  That plants blossom, grow and come into fl...

Final artwork Summary  I set out to create an image that could visually represent aspects of myself.  I was intrigued by the possibilities of visual storytelling and the use of typography in the artwork.  And in my final image, I incorporated text to convey direct messages about identity and one's sense of self.   Further, I conceived of this image as primarily showing a 'striking' self-portrait.  Again, my intention has been realised in the final illustration. Producing this artwork has been an very satisfying and enjoyable process.  In contrast to my assignment/exercise experiences during the Drawing 1 module, doing this first assignment on Illustration 1 has had a very different creative flavour.  Certainly it has exercised my visual problem-solving and allowed me to be a lot more open in my creativity. What I've particularly enjoyed is the creative possibilities in combining drawing with digital work. In the sections below, I explo...

Exercise details: For this exercise I will need to take an article from a newspaper or magazine and then create an image based on it. The process will involve analysing the article, highlighting the keyword(s), and then exploring them in order to form ideas for the illustration. Getting the gist: At first, this exercise seemed rather daunting, I flicked through the morning newspaper and didn't feel particularly inspired by the mainly political stories and articles. I then skimmed through a random collection of old magazines I have piled up, and my imagination was captured by a small piece about hibernating queen bees in the June 2012 edition of Buzzword newsletter from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.  I immediately started visualising a drawing of a bee cozy and protected from the harsh winter around. I have a keen interest in the natural world and conservation, so the topic has both an intellectual and emotional pull factor for me. The first step was ensuring that I had ...

After completing the last exercise I still felt motivated to do some further exploration.  I love some of the drawings of E.H.Shepard, and I wanted to sketch some of the Winnie the Pooh and Wind in the Willows characters in my sketchbook: What strikes me about E.H.Shepard is the economy in his use of line in creating character and mood. E.H. Shepard's drawing of the Winnie the Pooh characters tend to be incredibly nimble with minimal lines.  The strokes tend to overlap, with lines overdone (and not corrected).  To me this enhances the visual spontaneity of the drawings.  

Exercise details: The purpose of this activity is to explore how illustration has evolved over 50 years.  In the first part of the task, one of six (listed) notable Illustrators has to be chosen and explored, then followed by a contemporary Illustrator whose work I like.  The task then requires an illustration to be drawn in the style of each artist, selecting similar subject matter and using similar media. Exploring the work of the Illustrator, Edward Bawden: Of the six artists listed, it was Edward Bawden's life as an artist, and his illustrations, that I wished to explore in more detail.  I was drawn to the visual character of his artwork. Bawden was taught at the Royal College of Art  between 1922–6.  After graduating he worked for Curwen Press and many other publishers. During this pre-war period Bawden produced a large variety of commercial illustrations, leaflets, posters and advertisements.  During the Second World War, he gained a commi...