The fun side to illustration!
I like nothing more to get new art supplies, as I love testing them and so such excitement comes with the fact I have so much to learn.
I also am one of them artist / illustrators that use whatever is to hand as I can get in the moment, I’m also always “losing” things, so I’ve had to be creative with my supplies in the past!
I’ve been waiting for a chance to explore more in depth ways to use and create things, so I’m using this exercise as the chance to allow myself to do this. I didn’t want to limit myself to a couple of mediums, but be open minded about them all. So I spotted I had a little theme happening in my sketchbook at the moment, which is trees/nature and leaves. As it is my really is “everyday” view at the moment, so this does makes sense I should really allow myself a chance to investigate/ play with ways I can create my trees, bark and leaves ? Maybe even push colour palettes a little as well in the process!
Honestly since I’ve looking at others and my tutors sketchbook I’ve been wanting to get into micro-studies
I’m expressing a great interest in working with gouache, editing digitally and adding textures. I’m keen to create more textures/patterns myself so this is a good goal I can think about while I explore.
First mini test on this exercise, (above personal sketchbook) Is a page with an overlap of this exercises. Here I started “testing” some mark making and was the moment I had a theme for my micro studies and chapters.
It was more about laying down the paint, thick and messy!
My investigation (Above – Main course sketchbook) started with the leaves and working out ways to create texture… Using well, everything and anything really I had to hand at the time.
Gouache, ink (liquid) watercolour, Ink (pen), water based markers, coloured pencils.
I tried different methods to add, from cotton buds to my fingers.
These studies moved on to the tree, I wanted to gain the impression quickly (that was my only rule with this chapter).
Page one (above)
Next came the bark test, this was all about mark making to create textures, part of this I even added some pastel paper to a section so could give the charcoal a more grainy texture.
Top. charcoal, acrylic (technique one), Brown ink.
Bottom. Brown pastel, Acrylic & gouache, more brown pastel but applied differently (and on a different surface)
Page two (Above)
The branches are in four different sections but I overlapped these on purpose to see how work next to each other and with each other, even adding newspaper to see how reacts to ink and watercolour.
Top to Bottom – Gouache, watercolour and ink.
Next (above) was more in the theme of “doing things differently” I created a collage by tearing up two pages from a magazine, which isn’t something I’ve really done before I also tried both cut up leaves and doodle leaves to see which method I liked.
(in the corner is some finger print leaves, the paint dried more blue that I mean it too. So it looks more like flowers.)
I randomly realised that I was still being neat!
So wanting to relate my sketchbook work (both digital and physical together more with “studies”) I recreated a version of my hearing aid question mark illustration in water colour pencils and sprayed water on it to “mess it up” sadly didn’t “run” as much as I would have liked. Maybe worth testing this in a thick watercolour !
A little side track…
I’m including something a little “side track” topic to the exercise (but it’s important for the development that happened over a few exercises. Very much in tone with my personal message, finding my actual voice, lost in the sea of sound etc!) – finding my creative voice, it also will influence some of my course work.
In my personal sketch book (above), on the recommendation from my tutor was looking at the artist Lynda Barry, I loved the little messages / notebook. I made my own page inspired by Barry’s sketchbook and while at the time just thinking I should add little messages to make my sketchbook more personal! This little “research” would lead to something so much more…
Is this the END, nope!
This is just the beginning, I really want to experiment more, I will be going many more micro-studies throughout the whole degree from now on!
I do wonder if I should have made my “studies” more limited by to a couple of mediums, just the leaves, close up, details, colours and keeping more simple. But, the way I see this is this exercise it really is the start, I could easily use many many papers just testing and trying things, just used what was inspiring me at the moment.
Emclemmie OCA Sketchbooks 