We are now concluding my fifth semester at AAU…my first semester as an illustration major, and I must say that
I have learned so much! I won’t say that
it hasn’t been a frustratingly painful journey because it has been.
In my Clothed Figure Drawing
class (ILL610), I’ve been learning to draw figures, expressively, in line
(bold, soft, thick, thin) only. It has
been a journey, one that I will continue beyond the semester.
More on that class later. Today, I want to share what we are doing in
my other class!
In this class, we are learning the process of
creating an illustration, from concept to completed artwork. We are still on the first two projects
because each project takes weeks to complete.
The great thing about this class is that we ARE learning the process!
Project #1—Inside Book Illustration
In the first week of classes, we were giving about
10 different story scenarios and were asked to choose one to create an
illustration. We learned that there are
two kinds of illustrations: symbolic and
literal. Literal illustrations are those
that come with very specific instructions, including what is to be included in
the illustration. Symbolic is more like
an idea wherein the artist comes up with the best way to communicate that
idea. This first assignment is
literal. We were given scenarios in
different genres. Since we are studying “literal” instructions on these first
two assignments, the description gave all the components of the
illustration. It is our job to compose
it.
For my inside book illustration, I chose to
illustrate a scene in a circus! Scenario: a clown applies his makeup in front of a
small mirror in his tent and draws a small crowd which included a couple of
“little people,” a bearded lady, and a strong man.
The first stage of the illustration
process is to generate some layout ideas.
The “characters” of the scene were given to us (literal), so we move on
to the first stage of the illustration process:
the thumbnail (preliminary) sketches.
This is the stage where the artist generates ideas without being partial
to any single idea. One thing I learned
here is that these thumbnails are for me and my benefit…and no one else. There’s no need to be self-conscious of
them! The key is to generate as many
compositions as possible. This is not
the stage to be “judgmental” of any composition idea. It’s like a brainstorming session (during the
creative stage) wherein ALL ideas are great ideas! I generated several. Here are two of the preliminary sketches that
I submitted for approval:
Another rule is don’t get attached to any one composition
idea because that could hinder future ideas.
I got attached to the reflections in the mirror idea…and it actually did
hinder future ideas. When I got my
feedback, he chipped away at the idea, although he liked it in general. But we had to make it work, so my original
composition wasn’t doing it, although it was a great idea. I had to let it go so I could generate a
better composition based solely on that idea.
Here’s a revised sketch of the scene. I came up with after looking at some pictures
that I had already taken and heeding the professor’s advice. He liked this one much better…and I still get
a bit of my reflection idea in the mirror.
The next week, we were to submit
a more refined drawing of the “approved” sketch. Here is mine:
From this point, the instructor
and other class members gave critiques with many pointers that would help
strengthen the message. The objective is
to be sure that there can be no mistaking what is happening in the scene, so
all changes help to clarify the message to the viewer. Also, at this point, my value pattern isn’t
nailed. So, I worked on developing that
better so that every character is separate and distinct.
Here’s the result of that work
along with a copy of the final revision submitted today:
I'm
so proud of my very first illustrated image! But secretly, I'm still
not entirely satisfied with the outfit of the short person on the left.
If I change it I will post the new image.
In
all, we completed four projects. I'm sharing three, including the one
above which shows the long process involved in creating the image. I
will post the other three projects, original submission plus final
submission, but I won't show all the steps list above. Just know that
each project went through the same process.
Paperback Novel Cover
Advertisement
Magazine for Lysol Kitchen Cleaner
Tagline "they had made breakfast for their mother."
Type of artwork: Photo manipulation
To be continued…
On a side note…working on this
project has given me an idea for a project idea that has been in my mind for 11
years! Yes! I said 11 years!! I will work that project into my schedule
beginning this weekend… more on that later, also!
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