Assignment 5 Brief
I have been asked to design a family portrait as a birthday
present for my friend's partner. My
client is therefore my friend as I will be liaising directly with her. The target audience is my friend's partner
who is 40 and my friend is 26. Since it
is a family portrait the target audience could also be considered to be the
whole family, including the client herself.
The illustration has to be fun and cheerful and appropriate
for the occasion (a male 40th birthday gift) as my client likes unusual and
quirky ideas and she would be happy to receive an illustration that stands out
from a typical family portrait.
The form of the illustration has not been specified by my
friend, nor has the size or colours.
The deadline is 3rd
March 2016 . The rough draft
should be submitted by the middle of February.
Day 2
Today I will make a few sketches based on the photo that I
have been given by my client. I hope to
work with pencil on paper and make a good base for the final work.
Reflections:
This simple sketch looks fairly good for a start. The female character (my client) is quite
like-life. The little girl (their
daughter) on the left side has the potential to be a good part of this
illustration, however the main male character in the centre (Tim, whose
birthday it is) needs a lot of work. The
baby on the right side has barely been touched so I cannot make a comment.
Sketch no. 2
It looks better; however it is still just a sketch. The shapes of the baby are more visible.
I am ready to work a bit more with the colours, using water
colours and waterproof ink.
Reflections:
I am pretty happy with my first attempt. The colours are good, warm but subtle. It is hard to work on the details on such a
small sized-paper, it is A5. There is
not enough space for the whole family. I
know I have to try a bigger size, possibly A3 so the client can frame it
without any problems and it will look good on the wall. I have to check this detail with the client
tomorrow morning.
The materials I have used today are:
- A5 sized paper for watercolours
- Watercolours
- Black waterproof ink
- Pencil (for my sketch)
- Gouache.
Day 3
I have checked with my client the preferred size for the
illustration. A3 will be great so I can
work on this format. I also asked her
for a special meeting where I could take some more photos of her and her
family. The client responded positively
and we arranged an 1 hour session the next day.
I have also introduced my client to the possible new concept for this family portrait. As I know her partner likes unique ideas and they have some items connected to the Alice in Wonderland story contributed to my different way of thinking. I have asked if she would like to see her family picture as some characters from this book at the tea party. She loved this idea (luckily).
Day 4
I managed to take some good photos of my client and her children;
however I could not capture her partner whose present the illustration will
be. He is not allowed to know about this
surprise therefore I still have to build his part of the illustration based on
other family photos they have.
These are some of the photos taken by me this morning:
Today I will try to produce a good amount of sketches of individual character, starting with Alice. I am very glad to have more photos of my client which help me to study their position and the general look much better. I will also work with different media to establish the best choice for this type of illustration.
General reflections:
I created this character using black waterproof ink. The character has her hair tied up which made her look like she has no hair at all! I don't think it is a good idea for Alice. We all know and recognise Alice with long hair and similarly, my client has lovely long hair. I have to make some changes to the next drawing.
Picture No.2
I am very pleased with this one. The character looks more like an illustration as I have used watercolours and pencil. The lines are more settled and soft as there is no black ink involved. I think I will stick to this version of Alice. The hair looks longer and the blue ribbon gives a nice touch to it. The colours are vibrant and yet settled.
Day 5
My plan for Today is to work on the little girl. I am going to draw some sketches and that should help me working on actual style, colours and overall look.
I am very pleased with my Todays work. The last picture looks promising and makes me think I am going in the right direction. Will keep the style as it shows on the last picture. Pencil and the watercolours seemed to be the best media so far.
Day 6
What is my plan for Today?
- Do a research on some illustrators who created Alice in Wonderland books.
- Spend some time on the Mad hatter character and designing a page layout.
Research:
I looked first of all for the classic illustrations of the Alice in Wonderland created by John Tenniel. It is style I could consider for this assignment as I like using black ink and calligraphic dip pen.
Alice in Wonderland - Tea party with Mad hatter illustrated by John Tenniel
When I searched on Google there are a few main illustrations appeared on the internet. Mainly pictures from the latest Tim's Burton movie, another one very popular image is from Walt Disney animation movie. However by typing Alice in Wonderland books I discovered much bigger choice of a proper illustrators representing different styles.
There is good link where I found big number of surnames however there is non style I could choose for my illustration beside Helen Oxenbury. I am amazed by the way she managed to capture all characters. She used soft line and settled bright colours. Her illustrations are similar to my one of the little girl dressed as a mouse where I use only pencil and watercolours.
https://www.stellabooks.com/article/illustrators-of-alice
Poster from Tim's Burton movie
Alice in Wonderland by Walt Disney
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
Kasia Lovick first stage of developing the girl character.
I think I am ready to work with the Mad hatter now. What do I want to achieve is the sense of illustration that is not to childish and not to serious. The character has to look similar to the person I am going to deliver this illustration and is celebrating his birthday in March therefore it has to be fun and vibrant. Let see if I can deliver it what I want. I hope I can meet my own expectation and the client as well.
Reflections:
First pencil sketch needs a lot of work however it is not bad for a start. There is something that does not make this face look like my client. The proportions are there but the smile and the eyes spoiled the overall look.
Reflections:
This portrait makes my client look older than he is in real life. I am not happy at this sage so more study needs to be done on his face.
Reflections:
This third sketch looks better as the smile is smaller and the teeth are in proportions to the face. The lines are softer and he looks more friendly and happier on this sketch.
Reflections:
The colours bring some happiness and they cheer up the character in my opinion as well as making the lines softer. The size of the big hat is good comparing to the size of the head so I think I will keep it and use later on. Not really sure if I want to use the oil pastels as the main medium for the reason I can not get the details I want. Possible will keep the colours as they are but want to experiment with the medium again. I am looking the medium which will be good to draw nice details on the faces. I will possible stick to the pencil and the water colours.
Day 6
The plan for today is to put all my characters on the A3 paper and make sure I am happy with the composition Then I have to find the best medium and try to draw as much as I can.
First, I will have to plan carefully every part of space
I had a few ideas for the composition and this one I think is the best. This pencil drawing will come to life once the colours are added. I am going to use watercolours and a very fine brush number 1 and 2. The composition is interesting in my opinion and the main male character is sitting in the middle of the table as the most important person, however his hand points to the top left corner and that leads the viewer's eye straight to that point. There is a lot going on on the right side of the page and the top left corner has a bit more room for the eye to rest. I am very pleased with the result.
Reflection:
I am using black waterproof ink mixed with water for the outlines. I think it is all going well so far with the bright but settled watercolours. The heavy paper for watercolour makes a big difference as the paint looks great on this surface. However, I am not happy with the Mad Hatter's teeth look unnatural when painted with black ink. I have to make them less visible by putting different colours around them. The little boy in the teapot looks good enough so far as well as Alice on the right. She is in good proportions and the lines are strong enough to be visible
Reflections:
So far so good. The little girl dressed as a mouse looks great with a lot of fine lines of different colours, which giver her a nice shape and imitate fur. I am very pleased with that and I have to try not overdo her face as I still haven't finished some details like her nose or eyes. The Mad Hatter has a lovely green coat to complement the hat, however that right arm has started to come forward too much. The blue dress on Alice has a nice settled colour.
Reflections:
I added some colours to the details like cups and the tablecloth and it brightens up the whole page. I am still a bit scared to touch the faces, but I know I have to meet this challenge soon. I will leave this picture for today and come back tomorrow. My eyes need rest to have a fresh start the next day.
Day 7
Reflections:
Today I made the decision about the background, it has got a lot going on. I love every part of it and think it looks great. I am still terrified to tackle the faces.
Reflections:
Yes, this little character looks amazing, there's a lot going on. What a lovely face, with great eyes and a small smile.
Reflections:
The Mad Hatter looks very close to the actual person (my client's partner), possibly I spent too much time on the hand, this was because I had no reference from the picture I had from the client. Unfortunately it draws my attention too much and I am not convinced it looks great. I still have some doubts about the teeth and think they look too visible in my opinion. I shouldn't have used tipex to whiten them up a bit - not a great idea! It looks tragic now. I am getting frustrated with this part of my work as I don't think I can make it work. I am afraid I have spoiled the illustration. I tend to focus on negative parts of my work, instead of looking at the positives, live the rest of the picture. Grrrrr!
Reflections:
This part makes me happy, compared to the Mad Hatter, and I wouldn't change a thing. The face looks good as well as the dress and hair. Yes, I am pleased with Alice so far. The little boy in the teapot makes me pleased too. Nothing to change at the moment.
I am now faced with a dilemma: Should I start it again knowing I have little time to finish before the deadline (the birthday). I just can't stop looking at the negatives.
Day 8
I made my decision to try creating another illustration. I do not have much time for that; however I do not think I could sleep without trying to give my client another choice.
Why did I make my decision? I was looking at my current illustration and just thought I completely forgot about the bleeds. My client has framing business and she would like to frame the illustration and give it as a birthday present to her partner. I know I should leave more space around the edges and therefore I have to think about the composition with the next illustration. There are also some small parts of my first work that bother me slightly therefore I will change them a bit.
I would like to follow this short tutorial from You Tube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3oUFXq6Msc
This is my first stage of my first illustration. I needed to place it at the beginning to make the comparison easier.
The list of changes:
·
mouse nose is different and
smaller
·
the Mad hatter does not have the arm
raised up
·
Mad hatter hat has different shape
and his teeth are different
·
The top from teapot on the little
boy's head is different size so it could fit to the size of the pot.
·
Alice
·
I left space for the bleeds
Day 9
I am very pleased with the drawings I have made yesterday. I should be able to finish this illustration Today I suppose so. The plan is to use as less colours as I can. I want it to be different to the first illustration. I will use only different colours of ink. I want to give my client something less childish in my opinion. The finish product should be colourful but not to much.
Reflections:
Wow! This looks great in my opinion. The wash with only black ink makes such a dramatic impression and this is only the braining. I love this illustration already.
The colours are nearly there. I placed a big floating teapot just to check if it looks good as a composition. I wanted to add some magical detail towards this illustration. The teapot is defiantly too big. I will possible think about changing the size of it.
part 1
Assignment 5 - being self reflective
I started this assignment by finding a client. It happened to be one of my friends so I did
not have to look too far. Initially I
did not make any ideas boards; I was presenting some ideas to my friend as I
progressed to update the client.
I have made some basic sketches of the family members;
however they are not in my sketchbook. I
had to meet the client to take some photographs once the idea was clear. I needed to get some reference points for my
assignment. I drew from primary
sources. The drawings did not help me to
create the idea as it was already in my head.
The vision was clear and I knew what I wanted to achieve with that. The research helped me a lot to develop the
ideas.
The list of media I used for this assignment was
surprisingly impressive. It shows
clearly that I did not want to limit myself to just one technique:
- Gouache
- Water colour paint
- Pencil
- Ink and waterproof ink
- Dry pastel
- Soft pastel
- colouring pencils
- Collage
- Tipex
I looked at some artists in terms of style and technique
such as Helen Oxenbury to get some inspiration for the composition and the
overall look and feel of the illustration.
The most influential artist for me was a girl I have
discovered on You Tube introduction to illustration. This artist helped me to
understand the process of wet wash technique which I have never used before,
but I fell in love with it when I saw this tutorial. It helped me to broaden the use of ink. I have also used some old Alice
The content and composition of my idea did not develop too
much, however as I progressed I developed two different styles that I
progressed into two finished illustrations which are distinctly different in
style and show that I have considered various possible solutions and colours
while the composition remained nearly identical.
To describe the final outcome of my two illustrations is not
that easy. The wet wash technique is the
one I am really pleased with, however my client prefers the other choice. I really loved the limited palette of colours
and simplicity. My client enjoys the
vibrant colours to express the family's joy, whereas for me now I have some
distance I think the content of the illustration is enough to show the family's
joy.
To sum up my client has chose the first illustration as a
birthday present for her partner. She did not mind the mistakes I have made and
were really annoying for me. The technique I used to create this one was more
appealing to her and her partner therefore she decided to frame it. This is the
picture she has sent to me. I am happy as my client has a choice and it was her
at the end of the day.
