For this exercise the main point, at least what my interpretation was to allow yourself to make mistakes , which can understandably be a challenge to people who are "perfectionist" with their sketchbooks. This exercise was an attempt to loosen up and not to be so "precious" about my sketchbook.
To achieve that in practical means, I was told to make quick marks on 4 sheets of A4 paper and then fold those sheets in order to make a mini-booklet with 4 different mark making tools that I seldom used and therefore were completely outside my comfort-zone. The picture below shows my mediums chosen + heavy cartridge paper.
Below are the materials used:
-Heavy cartridge paper
-A set of chalk pastels
-Ballpoint pen and Charcoal stick
-Thick black marker
-Cheap school crayons
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Below you’ll find my 4 drawings, each one made with different materials. I’ve decided to use my workplace as the subject for the “Everyday” theme. A bit of context, this was the point of view from where I usually sit during my lunch break.
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| 5 minute front view sketch made with Crayons |
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| 5 minute back view sketch made with thick black marker |
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| 5 min right hand side view sketch made with ballpoint pen and charcoal stick |
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5 min left hand view sketch with chalk pastel
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The next step was to produce 4 smalls book using a specific set of fold and cutting methods of the 4 drawings.
After going through the pages of the little books, I found really interesting abstract shapes with great compositions that sparked other ideas or even keep the position of those shapes to add more detail in the future.
Even the cheap crayon gave me some ideas that I'll expand upon.
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| This composition gave me an idea for an almost surrealist illustration in the line of Dali's paintings, I can see a head of a giant crow on the right with 2 dead fishes in front of him. This would be a desert scene, with a house on the left. This came from the crayon drawing which I so dreaded. |
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| From the crayon drawing, I see in the middle dark pattern what could be a city with the white spots being built up areas, surrounded by sky and something else which I'm yet to discover, compositionally, it has potential to develop. |
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| From the ballpoint and charcoal stick drawing, I've also found interesting shapes. |
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I selected these pictures because I thought they are compositionally interesting and could be explored.
Conclusion
When I started this exercise I was apprehensive as I could not see the use they would have.
After completing the exercise, I reflected upon the process and realised that what I thought were mistakes had some potential in them. The pictures when they were still uncut, I had the sense of frustration because I thought they were poorly drawn.
But I think that was not the point of the exercise, the point was that by drawing fast, you create the gesture of what you intend to draw, you decide quick on what to keep and what to remove in order to best recreate the essence of your subject.
What I would change if I've done it again, would be to change the pastel and crayon for a wet medium like acrylic, watercolour or black ink and use a big brush. Also due to be making this activity in my workplace I felt a bit limited in terms of material and planning of a subject.
The format which gave me more ideas was the Thick black marker and, surprisingly, the crayons.
After folding and cutting the drawing, the shapes which appear on some of these pages have so many dynamic gesture which would be difficult for me to reproduce in large scale, maybe because these lines are dictated by the subconscious, you don't think about them. With this method If I drew on a larger paper I would be able to reproduce thumbnail sketches in large quantities.
Furthermore, the small books I see them as a source of inspiration and will keep them in a box rather than a sketchbook as I find it a bit lumpy when drawing on it.
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