Line: Tone, Mark and Pattern

Task/Aims

After completing the previous task and finding it difficult to not include tone, mark and pattern within my line drawings, I was looking forward to completing this task and really appreciating how much detail can add to a line drawing.

My aim for this task is to look closely and consider my reference material when communicating and recording selected information by way of tone, mark and pattern. I want to focus on high amounts of detail using stippling, cross-hatching and other patterned techniques.

Practice tone, mark and pattern techniques

Dream catcher - stippling technique

Teepee - stippling technique

Smoke signals - stippling technique (unfinished)

Reflection

I was really disappointed when I was unable to finish this task. Other commitments, deadlines and areas of the course took over and I found my approach to creating images centred around tone, mark and pattern were so time consuming that I was only able to complete 2 in the time allocated.

Despite this, I really like the outcome of the images I managed to complete. I feel the stippling effect I explored was really effective and interesting - conveying a lot of the information that I had wanted to put across from my reference imagery.

If I had had the chance to complete this task, I would have liked to repeat these images but focus on a variety of different patterns to compare which results were the most successful/ effective at conveying key information. I would also work in a variety of different media and maybe even explore digital solutions to add interest.

Studio Brief 2 - A Day in the Life: Ideas & Development

Here are some of my initial ideas and roughs for the Visual Skills brief 'A Day in the Life'. 

Out of the 10 articles given, I originally chose 'The age of loneliness is killing us'. I found a lot of ideas came to mind regarding divides in society (such as old and young) and how loneliness is affecting people in different ways. I looked into how loneliness in younger people is partially down to this need to have friends and socialise and how different forms of technology hinder this and can cause people to feel really isolated. I also looked into how the older generation are affected, left lonely by the passing of a spouse and how the elderly don't always understand the progressions in technology around them and this again can cause loneliness.

Initial ideas

After coming up with a few initial ideas, I decided to change the article I wished to work from. My friend recently committed suicide due to depression caused from loneliness and I found having to draw in relation to this article quite difficult. The personal connection to it seemed to stir darker and darker imagery as I went along which wasn't a very happy process.

The article I chose next was one that also really inspired me. 'Can you learn self-control' isn't a new concept but I think everyone can relate to it which means I can play around with imagery and whilst translating the information from the article, I can also try an incorporate humour, character design and other elements in order to push myself and my drawing skills. 

'Can you learn self-control?'

Reading this article, you can't help but find it funny the situation these children have been put in and how they must have reacted to the marshmallow test. Children act naturally when it comes to wanting something they can't have and I really wanted this to come across in the images I make in response to this brief. 

I researched the original Walter Mischel marshmallow tests carried out at the Stanford University. Here is a video I came across, which really helps bring to light the comedy of the tests and the honesty and natural urges in children.

I also really like the ideas explained in the article surrounding how some of the children overcame their urges by imaging that the marshmallow in front of them was dirty, smelly or something entirely different like a ball of fluff. Using imagination and turning the marshmallow into something the children would no longer find hard to resist, maybe something that they didn't particularly like at all, gave me the idea of marshmallows in costumes and disguises. The costumes and disguises being things that children commonly don't like, like vegetables. I really like this idea, however I am struggling with how to fit this into a series of images with the set dimensions given.

"Marshmallows in Disguises" - Ideas to prevent losing our self-control

The following roughs are how I aim to have my final 3 images. I really liked the characters I was able to come up with and feel that their characters and actions really display the comedy in how these children reacted to the marshmallow test. As this is a series/set of images, I wanted their to be a narrative and outcome which is why the first set of images show the children struggling/cheating/failing the test...

2 rough ideas for image 1:Temptation. Dimensions: 290mm x 105mm

The second image is of one of the children acknowledging the time frame and the reward if he waits the 10 minutes of the test without eating the marshmallow...

Rough idea for image 2: Realisation. Dimensions: 105mm x 200mm

...and the last image is of the boy succeeding in not eating the marshmallow by using his imagination to change the marshmallow in his mind to something he no longer finds difficult to resist. The hand outstretched is the sign that the test is over, so can he now have his extra marshmallow reward.

Rough idea for image 3: Success & reward. Dimensions: 200mm x 200mm

Next steps

The next steps with this brief are to tweak my ideas in terms of composition and decide on colour scheme and choice of media. I would also like to find a way of incorporating my marshmallows in disguise idea bit I am still struggling with a way to this. I would have also liked to go digital with this work, but I am not sure I am confident enough to complete the work in the specified timeframe to a standard I am happy with.

Ideas for media:
Ink and brush
Fine liner and marker pen
Acrylic
Paper cut/collage

Line: Cowboys & Indians

I chose the theme 'Cowboys & Indians' to work on during our visual language sessions because I really wanted a challenge. I am not the most confident when it comes to drawing figures and faces, but this theme really inspired me when it came to mark making and progressing my drawing skills.

I began by searching for reference material so that I could get an idea of what Cowboys and Indians look like, what they wear and trinkets / accessories and props usually associated with them. In the library I managed to find one book (after lots and lots of searching) on the American West which had one image of a 'Cowboy' in it. The pose of the subject wasn't particularly dynamic as this task had asked for so I turned to internet sources for more reference options.

After choosing my 4 images ( 2 Cowboy images, 2 Indian images), I decided on what media I wanted to use. As I knew the task of drawing these figures and faces was going to be hard, I chose to do 1 set of images in a media I am comfortable with - fine liner. This was so that I could really focus on the quality of line work without having too much difficulty with the media. The second set of images I chose to do with ink and brush which I have not used very often, and the third set of images I chose to complete in a medium I have hardly ever used - charcoal.

Indian man, Indian woman - Charcoal

Cowboy left - Brush and Ink
Cowboy right - Charcoal

I started with the hardest media - charcoal, began to draw all 4 images I had chosen and found it really difficult. The grain of the paper I used really did not lend itself well to using the charcoal and precise lines that I had in mind just didn't happen. I did enjoy using this media though, and slowly got more confident with it the more I used it. I really liked the texture it gave to the images, however in the future I think I will look at using charcoal for work geared towards tone and gesture instead of precise line work.

Cowboy left - Brush and Ink
Cowboy right - Charcoal

Indian man, Indian woman
- Brush and Ink

Using the charcoal introduced me to the images I was working with, so moving onto brush and ink increased my confidence in the lines I was making. For me, I would have liked to use a smaller tipped brush with this medium to achieve the high level of detail I like in my images, but overall I really liked the effect that the different tones of ink achieved and feel I was able to create quite strong and defined lines. I also felt quite free when using the brush, which helped me explore a more fluid, loose and expressive approach to image making.

Cowboys - Fine liner

Moving lastly on to the fine liner was really fun. I knew the images well enough now to play with the information I translated from the reference and put my own marks down. I feel the images created with the fine liner were the most successful as I like the detail I managed to achieve and also managed to draw the Indian faces in particular quite successfully which is a big step for me.

Indian man, Indian woman - Fine liner

Studio Brief 1 - Initially: A - Z Poster Final & 200 Word Evaluation

Final poster as a whole

Contents of the pockets

I feel this brief went well and that I really pushed myself when it came to delivering on an idea. Choosing to do such a large amount of paper engineering for this brief meant that time management was an issue. The pockets themselves were not the main part of the brief however most time was spent on creating them. Not a lot of time was left for the contents of the pockets to be drawn and if I had another chance at this poster, I would spend more time on the contents and maybe fill the pockets with a variety of items linked to that letter (as pockets usually have more than one item in them), or even theme the pockets and their contents to represent a certain person e.g artist, thief, pirate etc.

As a poster, I think it catches the eye and works well although I am not sure how practical it is. The weight of the poster is considerable more than most posters and I would have a hard time rolling it up. These issues could be down to using different stock media. 

My poster does have its uses though and once up on a wall could be used to store a variety of items such as flyers, letters, business cards etc.

Overall I am really pleased with the outcome of the poster and I feel it has answered the brief in terms of the theme of pockets and its individual contents being something personal. I also reached my own aim in producing something a little different from 26 drawn vignettes and I was able to produce something that stands out and that the viewer can interact with.

Studio Brief 1 - Initially: A - Z Poster Process

Layout

I had a really tough time laying this poster out. With the "Pocket" theme decided upon, I knew I didn't want each pocket to be uniform or the exact same size or appearing on the A1 sheet all next to each other in nice straight lines. Looking back this obviously would have made the process a whole lot easier, but in terms of composition - I had to do things the hard way to achieve what I wanted to aesthetically.

I began by drawing a bunch of squares and rectangles on a sheet of A3 to try and get my head around what I wanted to go where. I roughly divided the sheet into a 5 x 5 grid as I knew that would essentially give me 25 squares, then I sort of wiggled things about a bit taking into consideration the variety of sizes I wanted to incorporate and tried to fit in the extra 'pocket' square I needed to make up 26 areas.

Once I had a very rough layout, I stuck two A2 pieces of paper together (as I had no A1 single sheets at the time) and began transferring the information across from my previous A3 workings. All of the squares and rectangles were completely random in size and in no way accurate to a measurement, so once I had everything where I wanted it to an A1 poster scale, I started matching squares and rectangles of similar size. I figured that If I am going to be drawing, cutting, folding and sticking 26 individual pockets I may as well make it easier for myself in terms of the net template design and have a few that were the same dimensions as each other. I marked similar sized squares and rectangles with the same letter for reference and then measured the size of the areas. This way I knew I what size I wanted my net templates to be and where I wanted them in the final layout and also how many I wanted of each. 


For example:

Net Design Letter         Dimensions(cm)       Amount Needed       Orientation
            S                              20 x 20                              2                        Square
            X                              10 x 20                              4                        Portrait
            P                                7 x 14                              3                        Landscape



Process

After I had all of my square and rectangle dimensions and I knew how many I wanted of each, I began drawing out the net templates. I have some experience of paper engineering so I knew how a pocket net design works in theory. The square / rectangle dimension needs tabs on 3 of its sides in order to be attached to the A1 backboard. The bottom tab just needed to be simple tab and the left and right side tabs needed to be divided into 2 so that each could be folded down the centre line to create the pop-up pocket depth. 

First net template design

A variety of pocket net templates all for
the same pocket dimension of 10 x 10 cm

Curved bottom pocket net template

I knew that I wanted some of the pockets to have a flap/lid and so to create this I drew separate net templates in line with their accompanying pocket dimensions. Each flap/lid design had just one primary tab on the top side so that these could be folded back and stuck to the A1 backboard. (All very fiddly and complicated but necessary in creating the desired look)

Tools

After the net template had been drawn, I cut them out using a scalpel and metal ruler for guidance. I then scored with the back of the knife along the necessary fold lines and began to bend the net template into the desired pocket shape. Once this had been done and I could see the pocket take the desired shape, I flattened the net template out again so that I could start designing, adding colour and finishing touches and details the pockets.























I chose to use blue as my primary colour within this brief as I felt it leant itself to the design of the pockets I was creating. I was going for a denim feel as people often associate pockets with the ones they find on their jeans, denim jackets and bag etc and so to create the look I coloured each individual pocket using Pro Marker pens in a variety of blue shades. I also used a variety of grey shades in the final designs of the pockets which now looking back I think may have not been in line with the brief, but it helped make the pockets stand out individually and as a whole having another colour/shade to work in its favour.

Selection of blue pens: Uni Posca,
Pro Marker, Sharpie, Copic Marker etc

Selection of white, grey and black pens:
Kurecolour Marker, Pro Marker, Sharpie
Rotring, Uniball etc

Details of stitching were added with blue, white and black fine liners and other details such as mini additional pockets, patches, buttons and studs were also cut, coloured and stuck on individually.

 

The completed pockets with their stud, button, patches and small pocket
details completed

Once the 26 pockets had been completed, I laid them back on my A1 draft sheet in their respective places to get an idea once more of the final composition. I shifted the pockets around to get a balance of colour and shape and once I was happy with their positioning, I began the very time consuming and very fiddly task of securing them to a back board.

I managed to find an A1 sized white gloss piece of card for the back board, which I was really happy with because it needed to be a strong material in order to hold the pockets and their contents along with the adhesive I was going to use. I didn't want to make any marks on the backboard as it would ruin the final presentation, so throughout the whole process I just used my A1 layout model (above) as reference, sticking one pocket on at a time, starting at the corners and working my way in. I used double sided tape along each tab on every pocket and fiddled, tore, stuck and frustratingly repositioned every pocket again and again until I was happy with the outcome.

Now that the pockets were complete, I could finally begin on the A - Z contents. Using a variety of reference materials including actual contents of friends pockets, I sketched out one item for each letter of the alphabet - one item for each pocket. Once the items were sketched, I finalised them in pen continuing with my blue colour scheme. After each item was complete, I cut them out again using a scalpel and scissors etc and placed them inside the pockets, a random pocket for each (to create a bit of mystery). With all the items in their pockets, the poster for this brief was finally finished.

A few of the completed pocket items: Pen, Plasters, Comb, Coins, Fluff, Sunglasses, Durex Condoms,
Filters, Headphones, Plectrum (Pick), Bus Ticket, Bottle Cap

Studio Brief 1 - Initially: A - Z Poster Theme Feedback & Self Evaluation

The feedback I received on my initial theme ideas during our peer review sessions in the studio was really positive. I found the whole process of group feedback a little daunting as I don't have the most confidence in my own work or when it comes to showing other people my ideas. However, after beginning the session and getting to know the other 3 people within my group, I began to relax and found the whole process really helpful and enlightening. It was really interesting to step out of my own little poster bubble and see how the others had approached this brief, their ideas and processes etc, and it forced me to look more critically at my own work as well as others.

Here is the feedback sheet I received:

Page 1

Page 2

Overall i think my ideas were liked as they caused the group to think about what the theme was and they weren't too obvious. The main themes liked were the "Pockets" theme, the "Rainforest Creatures" theme and the "Leeds Pubs" theme. The roughs ("scamps") were well received although a bit too neat meaning less room for further development which I agree with.

Self Evaluation

How effectively do you think you have tackled the first part of this brief? Have you been able to exhaust your ideas? How well have you used research to support the development of your ideas? Has drawing allowed you to visualise your ideas and evolve them further?

I found generating ideas for this brief a little difficult because a lot of my initial ideas were very obvious/straight forward and I really wanted to push myself and have the work I create for this brief be anything but ordinary. I think some of the ideas that I did manage to generate were inspiring and a little different, either telling a hidden narrative or being a completely unique subject matter. With the themes I chose, research was paramount in enabling me to meet the brief and find a subject for every 26 letters of the alphabet within a theme. Most themes I knew a little about, but researching them in person, via the internet and in magazines etc, really helped secure the idea. Drawing also helped me visualise my initial ideas floating around in my head. Once the ideas was down on paper (however crude) I could really work at them to make the image the best it could be. The time constraint and aim of 260 images was a little daunting, but once I got over that it meant I had to rely on the simple and natural task of thinking and drawing, thinking and drawing until imagery I was happy with started to take shape.

In light of your feedback, what theme/ideas do you intend to develop into a final deliverable poster? Please describe your intentions for the tone of voice/functionality of its artwork

After listening to the feedback in my group and also getting a little insight into how other people were approaching the task, I have decided to develop my "Pockets" idea further. It is a little different in that it is all paper engineered and the idea that each pocket is the individual vignette with the A - Z item inside was received well by the group. I think pockets and their contents are personal and overall I aim for the poster to have a very physical function in it being very hands on for the viewer. I want the poster to be interactive, creating more of a personal experience - a mystery as to what item can be found in each pocket by each individual person. 

Outline briefly how you intend to generate the final deliverable artwork. Consider media, method, design and application. What are the next steps required in development and refinement in your poster?

The next steps in developing my poster involve the refinement of the individual pocket design and each of their contents. I need to consider colour, medium and what the pockets/contents are to made out of e.g cartridge paper, heavyweight paper or card. As each pocket will be a different size and shape, I will also draft out the positioning of the 26 pockets and their various sizes on to an A2 sheet of paper to play around with the overall composition and to make sure they fit aesthetically. I will then use this information to generate the sizes of the pockets and how they are to fit onto the final A1 sheet.