Assignment 5: Application and Context

 Application and Context

For this assignment I had to choose  one of three options to generate a new sketchbook based on suggested themes provided by OCA. Whichever direction I chose I had to start with a blank page of a new sketchbook.

In this new sketchbook, I would  try to apply all the knowledge and understanding I acquired throughout this course in the shape of working with different  sorts of materials, observational drawings, approaches that included narrative, reportage and imaginative purposes. This assignment gave me the opportunity to further investigate the illustrative potential and function of my drawings. 

This array of options , because it was so vast, created an overwhelming feeling when I was trying to decide which option to choose.

Based on my action plan and the goals I ascribed myself into, I went for Option three: Everyday Stories where most of the words included coincided with the words from my action plan, namely "narrative", "sequential", "imaginative" and some reportage. It was a great opportunity to further explore the relationship with words and images.

My tutor suggested in one of her feedbacks to explore themes like "experiences of a student/ double lives as a student and an illustrator", which, working at a secondary school, this theme proved  interesting to me and one which I took as my starting point. From there, and throughout a mind-map of idea generation, I found the theme of a "double life of a Teaching Assistant and student illustrator" quite compelling and personal to work through on this assignment, I’ve also added to this theme the Lockdown scenario and how I juggle  with these three elements on my everyday. 

My choice of sketchbook was a squared Seawhite of Brighton, I liked the hardcover, how portable it is and  the appeal of being a diary as well as the quality/price ratio which is quite affordable for the price. 

Below, in my sketchbook, it shows my process of generating words based on my everyday:

I went through a Roget’s thesaurus to look for synonyms of the word "Everyday" and found the word "Routine"

These word generations helped me further to solidify my ideas for my drawings, with each step of the way getting myself with a clearer picture of what to illustrate in my series of six drawings .

Based on the word "Routine", I thought of illustrating my typical weekday from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep during the pandemic whilst working as a TA and studying illustration in between and filter the key moments into six drawings.

My chosen moments were waking up, driving to work, work, exercising, drawing and sleeping.

I added the exercising because It is an important element of my everyday that allows me to switch off from the day of work to getting ready to an "artists’ mindset" due to the relaxation effect it provides and it’s mind refreshing.

With this six keywords in mind, I started creating thumbnail sketches for each stage, trying to fill up a whole page with ideas even when I already had an initial idea, but I went on because you never knew if a better idea could arise. What I’ve found and perhaps it’s a coincidence, Is that the initial idea was the one I mostly end up choosing, could be because of the time it took to conceptualise that one idea compared with the remaining ideas.

After this process of iteration, I chose the best thumbnail for each key word, I had to think about how I would best combine words with pictures,  which visual style would better complement the drawings, I had the initial  idea of making the traditional short comic story, however, following this path would imply more imagery to link everything together into a clear and streamlined story.

My tutor had once suggested to look at a  book called "The Boy, the mole, the fox and the horse" by Charlie Mackesy, due to the similarity of style that this book had with one of my exercises in part 4 and I thought that this style would fit well in my drawings, in the sense of adding short sentences or even a single word to emphasise the message of that drawing and that’s what i did.

Before I started with the actual six drawings, I made an initial character design for myself, which in the end , I didn’t make much use of them. These were based on my ideal imaginative self which I didn’t use pictures as reference, I used the Andrew Loomis method for constructing a figure.

Character design of myself for the picture sequence, I must admit, I’ve drawn myself a bit slimmer than how I really look

Also I developed some imagery whilst working, to develop as potential material for the sequence, such as these two drawings below.

A small reportage drawing in which the objects described perfectly summed up this duality of roles 

This picture had the initial intention of making it into the sequence, however,  since I wasn’t included in the drawing, It wouldn’t effectively portray the idea of it being my workspace 

Before I started the drawings, in order to transfer the composition from the thumbnails and amplify them to the actual page size, I made an under drawing with an orange coloured pencil as I found them to be more visible than a non-photographic blue pencil when doing the ink-marks on top of the pencil, as well as being easier to rub out. This process was used throughout all the drawings.

Orange coloured pencil under drawing which later will be traced on top with an ink pen.

Below is my story sequence that portrays my double life of being an education worker and student illustrator during lockdown. 

Th

What went well:

• I think that the single word/single picture  dynamic in this sequence conveys that feeling of a routine in a mechanic/ticking clock manner based on that phrase "wash, rinse and repeat" which emphasises the monotony or tedious repetition of my current routine, hoping that the lockdown restrictions ease up so that there are more options available to break that monotony.
• The pictures I believe they are clear to read and understand 
• Applied most of my action plan goals
• Took more risks by abandoning the comfort of digital media to keep proficient at traditional media and learned or consolidated processes along the way.

Even better if:

• The illustrations I feel like they could carry a more linear or consistent visual language, in terms of how my figure was drawn throughout the different pictures as well as the choice of using colour in one picture and not in other, this was because some choices of composition, particularly the "work" picture , I thought of using colour to be able to provide more clarity in the message as well as to be able to depict well how my workplace functioned without the need of additional words, keeping the single word idea.
• Perhaps the idea of adding sentences instead of single words could add more depth to the meaning behind the drawings .

• The first picture of the sequence could have been better illustrated, namely the drapery of the duvet and its folds and textures as well as how it wrapped around the figure as well as how I rendered the shading for the creases within the duvet drapery, maybe taking photographic reference with similar lighting conditions could have helped.
• Wasn’t totally convinced with the face and overall proportion of the figure in the first drawing , this was because I use a .5 pen, quite thick tip to draw small details in a relatively small square sketchbook, had I drawn in a standard a4 size, there would have been more room for details.
• One of the "perks" of traditional drawing, is that once you add in colour, it’s very difficult to remove it, this was evident in the first picture as I added the yellow for the light and blue to emphasise the shadow, I later realised that I wasn’t very happy with how it ended. To avoid this in the future, I would test colours in a thumbnail sketch, or do drawing iterations until I find a satisfactory result or test the colours digitally and try to emulate that combination in the traditional media, or even draw the picture digitally, then alter the ink marks to light blue, print it and then trace it with ink.

Final Reflective  Statement 

As there are a range of topics to approach in this statement I will better structure my thoughts by answering the questions.

How did my creative approaches to drawing and mark making develop over the course?

By comparing how I was before the course in terms of creative approaches to drawing I had a limited range of how to approach drawing, relying on a ton of reference in order to create a picture with a satisfactory end result, and I felt I had a decent drawing technical ability but was yearning to find ideas to put those technical drawing skills in action, to be able to find methods in a pragmatic way to develop my ideas. 

This course and the knowledge I acquired throughout, made this process of generating ideas much more simple, a moment where I felt this evolution was in the inktober 2020 challenge, where it was easier for the ideas to materialise compared to the previous year, by either applying the techniques I learned, such as simply sketching my everyday, what’s around me , or by having a more thorough iterative drawing process.  I just felt I had a broader drawing "ammunition" skill set.

 In terms of mark making, during the occasions where experimenting different types of marks , I believe I didn’t took much risks and gravitated towards the use of ink and digital media as it was something I wanted to further develop, to excel in a particular material rather than work with a range of materials and be average at all of them.

How did the use of observational drawing as a form of visual research and idea development change?

It changed considerably, it is now in my daily habit list to have a sketchbook wherever I go . I realised how important it is to note down all that is around us even the most mundane things. 

Working now on a graphic novel of the "Brushman", all that you currently see in those panels are a result of my observational drawings, even the imaginative ones. Observational drawings is like food to my visual library.

What do I feel and think about the processes of experimentation I have undertaken with a range of materials and mark making.

I felt a bit uncomfortable in attempting to experiment with different materials, as I felt like in some situations, that I was starting over learning how to draw, particularly with some materials, or maybe realised there’s some much more to learn on top of what I am wanting to learn. Paradoxically, as I look to other artists, one of the main things I look at is how they use a material different from the ones I use, in a way, I see how to make good use of that material, same as hating cabbage but looking for recipes that make cabbage enjoyable. 

Same with mark making, I’m more aware at how artists make their marks, how they approach similar subjects ,in order to inspire me and absorb elements I enjoy into my work.

How have my ideas about the everyday evolved over the course.

Over the course, the idea of the everyday, it’s meaning and central role in a sketchbook have grown as I progressed through the course. I realised that literally anything around me, even the most dull things have so much potential in terms of narrative , I think that all around me is something worthwhile of putting in my sketchbook. Before the course, I had a narrower view of subjects to sketch, picking a limited number of things to sketch such as sketching people in a cafe or a building, over the course, I started sketching things that I didn’t think of before such as the tip of a brush, a simple and dull object which , in the pareidolia exercise gave origin to my original character "the Brushman ".

How has looking at other practitioner’s sketchbooks and reading about their work expanded my understanding of illustration?

I realised or became aware that every artist on the planet, from the old masters like Da Vinci, Michaelangelo to more contemporary ones, have or had a sketchbook, that it is at the heart of their creations, all the visual media around us, from books, museum masterpieces, movies, posters, they all had its origin in a sketchbook. 

My current favourite type of book to read is one that shows sketches and processes of my favourite artists.

What does visual language mean to me?

I like to compare the meaning of visual language to the language spoken in a certain country, a visual language is how one expresses himself in his own distinctive way, It’s how I myself visually manifest my ideas according to my experiences in my particular way, in my style to a canvas or paper, for example.

Every notable artist has its own particular visual language which is easily recognisable in the moment one looks at his work.

What did I learn from being part of the book circle?

Unfortunately I didn’t get the opportunity to be part of the book circle for various reasons but I hope to jump in that bandwagon at some point during the course.