Having reached end of this section, I reflected on the Assessment Criteria Points. Demonstration of technical and visual skills – materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills. I am very aware that I need to experiment much more with different materials and techniques. However, I was pleased that I persevered with two… Continue reading Part 1: Reflection
Category: Part 1: The Practice of Illustration
Assignment 1: Invisible Cities
Produce an illustration that visually responds to the provided extract from Italo Calvino’s 1972 novel Invisible Cities. Try and reflect the visual depth portrayed in Calvino’s writing. Choose how you do this, either by applying the principles of perspective or throwing out the rule book to create an image with its own visual logic. Research… Continue reading Assignment 1: Invisible Cities
Exercise: Visual Depth
Produce three drawings depicting a room in your house using one-point, two-point and three-point perspective. This is an exercise to develop your understanding of the principles of perspective. Find places that can exaggerate these different viewpoints. For example, you might look up (or down) to show three point perspective. Produce a fourth drawing using isometric… Continue reading Exercise: Visual Depth
Research Point: Flat Surface Illustrators
Find examples of illustrators who have designed wallpapers, fabric wrapping paper or for other flat surfaces that you find interesting. How do their illustrations play with the idea of flatness? I began by searching on Pinterest for ‘flat illustration designs’ and created a board with some of the results. The majority that I found were… Continue reading Research Point: Flat Surface Illustrators
Exercise: Less is More
Identify a palette of no more than three colours that could work in combination. Remember that black and white are also colours. Pick colours that work well together, provide some contrast and can be used as dark, mid and light tones. Use this palette to illustrate five domestic items beginning with the same letters of… Continue reading Exercise: Less is More
Exercise: Mixing and Matching
Working around the theme of ‘hybrid’, create a series of illustrations using the following processes: Starting on paper and moving onto a computer, follow this process: DRAW – SCAN – COLOUR Starting on the computer and moving to paper, follow this process: COLOUR – PRINT – DRAW Are there other combinations of mixing and matching… Continue reading Exercise: Mixing and Matching
Exercise: Draw, draw and draw again
Pick some reference material to draw from, perhaps a single photograph with a figure and some other details. It could be a photograph you’ve taken or one you’ve found. Draw what’s in the photograph – the figure, their expression, their clothes, the setting. Try and record all the information from the photograph in your drawing.… Continue reading Exercise: Draw, draw and draw again
Research Point: Start a Visual Diary
You may have already developed ways of recording and reflecting on your own visual language and the work of others through sketchbooks, blogs or scrapbooks in which you’ve collected examples of illustrations and other visual information that catches your eye, or which you might want to refer back to at a later date. If you… Continue reading Research Point: Start a Visual Diary
Research Point: Reflect on Your Personal Voice
Reflect on your illustrations, drawings and sketchbook work (this might be work you have done previously) and identify the pieces that best reflect a personal voice. Pick out the pieces you have most enjoyed, the ones that you feel are closest to what you are interested in doing or reflect your interests best. You might… Continue reading Research Point: Reflect on Your Personal Voice
Research Point: Who’s Out There?
Find out about the world of illustrators by asking ‘who’s out there and what are they doing?’ Identify a range of illustrators whose work or ideas you find interesting. What do these illustrators tell you about current illustration practice? Where do they fit within the different areas of illustration practice? Answering these questions is as… Continue reading Research Point: Who’s Out There?