shelter 2

once i knew what was going where i began creating some two tone sketches to try and highlight key areas of form, this was done from some photos of myself in a chair with an open brolly, it really helped to try and convey the individual content with his environment.

the pencils on the right are a pretty good example of how i see the finished image looking, i enjoyed bringing this sketch to life as it has been a long time coming, however as soon as i acquired reference things came together very fast. ill ink this in a fashion similar to the image on the left, i quite like the large contrasting blobs of black and white they make the image appear quite final.

shelter 1

my progress on shelter has been relatively slow although i am now at a point where i have produced images which fit my revised theme, after some initial pencil sketches i broke out the big brush and ink and began thinking about compositions. this is an incredibly quick way to start an image preventing procrastination on details, allowing for an image to be composed in its entirety quite fast. 

 i wasn't particularly content with the static nature of the image i had thought of first, this led me to sketch again trying out something new or developing the original concept. i settled for latter, the sketch in the top right was my starting point and seemed to me the strongest of all my ideas.

these sketches on parcel wrap help to outline the staging and also necessary components, it is a good opportunity to experiment with light and shadow. one element which i was keen to incorporate was a family portrait i really wanted to emphasise the nature of the seem, really make it appear this individuals home is in the street- quite literally. i thought this could be easily stretched over two covers by making the front appear very much like the inside of a house with a leak, with the back as a clear portrayal of the street.

fish final

this is a photo of my fishes final, its mostly there i think theres one change to be made, during my tutorial with phil it was suggested that i add some of the more expressive marks to fish, it does help to suggest form. its mostly there, a scan will be uploaded as soon as i make one. 

  

second surprise fish print

my second surprise print revolved around some tighter initial drawing, i based the line drawings on the more detailed watercolours i had produced of the goldfish, they helped me establish a far better sense of shape and character in the fish. the other change i decided to make was to the litter, i felt if it was submerged with the fish it would be a more fitting print, the composition would flow much better. looking at it now i can see that there needs to be a bit more space between the bottom fish and the cluster that occupies the bulk of the image.

the ink drawing above was to try and establish a suitable line width and expressiveness with the brush, and black details to fins really helps define the shape, however it can also cause the image to become dark and messy, almost to the point of scruffy. 

a surprise fish print

after creating two fish in a style which i felt wouldn't be too imposing if repeated in a pattern, i set about making a surprise print as the brief required. the surprise in my print was hopefully going to be a humorous juxtaposition, it came about when i was thinking of the peaceful ponds at home, how at home the fish, ducks, trees, shopping trolleys and carrier bags all are. There is no abundance of the latter its just that it rarely shocks to see something so unnatural in such a setting, we have become so used to these blights in our landscape that it almost seems they belong as much as anything else. my initial idea came from a simple sketch which later led to some slight refinement. with the simplistic nature of the print i soon became in discontent with the resolve and so set about refining it, so although this isn't the final it is quite close.

my proposed next idea, although it is quite sketchy it shows a shift in the use of space, i felt it necessary when i looked at my initial final for the fish print to rearrange the composition as to create a more engaging image, one perhaps with an implied narrative and mood, well more so than the previous effort.

sumi ryukin

Drawing the fish under pressure from video sources forced me to be reliant on visual memory, this immediately made me consider sumi-e practice as a visual approach for the fish brief. we were asked to produce a print which could also work as a pattern. Patterns in my opinion work better when they are simply rendered, the repetition of busy and complex images can lead to an image which is almost offensive to the eye. Keen to avoid this i took to my pure squirrel brush and a pot of indian ink, working fast to simply visualise the fish as best i could form memory, hoping to outline the character rich features i had become aware of.

the idea of the shopping trolley came about through having to impose a surprise in our prints, i thought the juxtaposition of traditional media, subject, and technique, contrasted with a modern blight to many ponds would be quite funny.

sumi

Sumi-e is a Japanese zen principle evolved from Chinese brush and ink wash painting, true sumi-e is painted on a thin and incredibly absorbent paper, using mentally recalled imagery to represent the subject the painter has viewed. it is done without any underdrawing and requires a decisive approach to the canvas and image making, consequently representations can be created quickly in a stylised manner. due to the lack of reference or preliminary work the brush is used as a library of marks, from which inspiration can be drawn, variations in the application of pressure, loading, or bristle width can all imply subjects.

a rather poor example of this can be seen in my attempt at painting a Sumi-e chicken for one of our hellish briefs, using the paintbrush to form the basis of the beast, i am still refining my skills so please consider this as an experimental foray into sumi-e. 

Goldfish Competition Aquarama 2011 Ryukin Senior Aquarama.

one of the videos i used for reference, the `Goldfish competition'

fish

I do like fish, i think they are interesting subjects to observe, they truly come in all shapes and sizes and can be a great source of inspiration for characters, they taste pretty nice too. We were asked to select one fish out of the plenty that are in the sea, my instant thought was a goldfish. They are something which have been present in my life quite often, after a bit of research i discovered the sub species of Fancy Goldfish. The most elegant and rich in character goldfish are a member of this genus; Oranda, Ranchu, and my choice the Ryukin. They have been the game of the East, bred into all shapes and sizes with enlarged features differing colours and all imaginable colours. 

under watercolour

To begin this exercise i painted the fish in as realistic a manner as possible, i wanted to establish the defining features of the fish to see if there were any consistencies across the variety. one thing i did observe of the fish was how distinct its shape is, almost comically so. the roundness of its body and distinct series of humps make the fish almost instantly recognisable

Of the three observational paintings i produced i believed the image with the fish nibbling on broccoli was most successful, the gradual washes appeared smooth, almost printed. This is one technique with watercolours i am finally beginning to grasp, being able to represent a value in a single wash results in a less worn surface, and a far more polished resolve, easier to read and more pleasing to the eye. 
 

Shelter

The shelter task revolved around creating subject matter from a single word, in this case it was shelter. As a table we brainstormed trying to cover all ideas, from there, individually we explored a more concrete visual. I hoped to base mine around a single individual, a grisly character, someone deeply exposed to the environments, weathered. 

our tables combined ideas, some more obvious than others, that was part of the advantage of pooling ideas, no two people on the table were thinking alike.

my initial sketches from the brainstorm- slightly gutted i didn't develop the turtle image further. 

this little sketch helped me to imagine how the character looks in relation to props and setting. the image below is a stronger visual in my opinion, i can just imagine him surrounded by other furnishings outdoors.