A Day In The Life - roughs

This brief is all about learning about and creating a piece of editorial illustration. We have to create 3 illustrations, in different formats - portrait, landscape and square, communicating our responses to a given article. 

My article, entitled "Can you learn Self-Control?", focuses on an experiment conducted by Walter Mischel in the late 1960s called 'the marshmallow test'. Young children, around the age of 5, had a marshmallow placed in front of them and were told that if they did not eat this one in the next fifteen minutes they would receive another. When these children reached around the age of 18 or 19 Mischel tracked them down and found that those who had exercised self control in this experiment were more successful than those who had given into temptation. This success was determined by the grades they were receiving at school and their overall physical health. As an extension of this, the article goes on to discuss the route of temptation in emotional and physical desire and that self control comes from a conflict between this and the rational part of our brains. The rational part can employ methods to resist temptation such as distracting yourself, associating the object of desire with something unappealing or the reward of emotional gratification. It also talks about how our willpower can be weakened, such as the ways in which we value an immediate reward in opposed to delayed gratification. 

My first response to this article was to produce images illustrating a child tempted by a marshmallow, referring directly therefore to the experiment central to the arguments in this article. I was able to watch a video recreating the experiment and also the article speaks about 'the children sitting on their hands, covering their eyes, looking away from the marshmallow, staring at it, smelling it…' therefore I found a lot visual potential in this idea. I do like the images I produced in response to this as I think their simplicity and composition is charmingly childlike and have an atmosphere of tension. Despite this, however I was not wholly pleased with this idea as I felt like it was an obvious response to the article. 

After this initial response I decided to revisit the article to help form my own opinion. I found myself disputing the validity of the experiment as there are many other factors that come into play such as - what if one child doesn't really like marshmallows? Also it seems obvious to me that self-control can be taught, as it is clearly something we learn and are not born with. I also found myself feeling sympathy for these children as their parents used this test as a way of determining their hopes for the future. Surely it is completely unfair to judge a the success of a young child on the basis of whether they can or cannot resist eating a marshmallow...

I found the crit, in which we presented our 9 roughs, very useful as it allowed me to see, through a number of perspectives, the illustrations that were effective, and therefore the ones that were also ineffective, in communicating my ideas. It also allowed me to reflect on what I was trying to communicate through each image and how I aimed to achieve this message. The rough above for example is intended to represent the struggle between the rational mind and physical desire, however this did not come across well at all - perhaps because it was not drawn well enough, but I also feel because the idea is too abstract. 

I decided from this crit the 3 ideas that will be most effective and I would like to take forward are:

- (although perhaps obvious) the child trying to fight temptation

- parents looking on as their children take part in the experiment, and either celebrating or being disappointed in their childs choice. 

- An illustration showing the way we value delayed gratification over an immediate reward. 

Due to my scepticism regarding the ideas discussed in this article I would like my illustrations to take a satirical tone, as well as making the images quite playful and childlike responding to the fact that it was children that were used in this experiment. In order to achieve this I think I will explore media that creates quite a naive and light aesthetic - such as coloured pencil, ink, watercolour, cut paper...

Line: "Drawing as you see it"

"Creative art begins with creative line. Creative line can only be the line as you see it and prefer to draw it. Projecting literal contours by and artificial means can only result in stifling your most valuable asset- individuality. Draw from copy as you would from life. Have always the courage to draw it yourself." Andrew Loomis. 1947

I included the quote above, from this seminar's presentation, as I like the way Loomis talks about the value of using your own tone of voice and the importance of having the courage to do so...

Drawing is not something that can be taught, but that you have learn to yourself as each person has a unique way of seeing and recording information. 

"There is no standard for good drawing - In illustration this is determined by the unique craft of its maker, the context it exists within and how it communicates its message"

I should aim to be experimental - drawing with lots of different media and tools. The lines I create should be dictated by what I use to make them, as well as different physical means of drawing - fast, and slow, controlled or loose, soft or hard pressure... ect. 

Our task from this seminar was to produce 20 different drawings of the same subject. My topic being 'Rainforest and indigenous cultures' I choose a ceramic figure from brazil, as I liked his character and thought he would be good to draw using lots of different lines. I found, however, that he was almost too simplistic and that all my drawings ended up looking the same. On the other hand this may have been because I was not experimental enough. I used different media and tools - such as ink with a nib and also brush, charcoal, different sizes of fineliner, pencil... But I should have been more adventurous, perhaps using collage, drawing on different surfaces, using negative space... I also think I did not venture far away enough from my reference material.  

Despite this, however, I do really like this drawing. This was one of my final ones as I moved into brush and ink. I like the flow and variation of thickness in the lines, as well as the simplification of the shapes of this ceramic figure. Comparing this to the ones above, I think it demonstrates a better understanding of the shape of this figure as well as a confidence in application. Therefore I do think I learnt about line through this exercise and definitely, maybe improved slightly in my drawing; however in the next exercise I am going to push myself to be really inventive and experimental with the way in which I am drawing my subjects. 

Typology: Development and the Final result

Developing my final outcome:

• I was not happy with all the idioms I had chosen in my original list of A-Z, because some of them contained very little opportunity for a good visual representation. So I did some further research and found better idioms to replace them - drawing illustrations for a couple each to choose the one with the best visual result. 
• I did a couple of plans for the composition and decided that - since I wanted it to represent very much an A-Z rather than just a poster, a grid system would work best. 

• For the title I did a number of small mock-ups. Type is not one of my strong points, so I just kept it very simple and to the point. My use of type, however, is something that I would like to begin to improve and give more consideration in relation to my work. 

The Final result: 

My final poster

Things I think are successful:

• Something that I think is perhaps the most successful aspect of this poster is the concept behind it. I really like the idea of illustrating the literal meaning of idioms as it makes opportunity for some really absurd and humorous images. Idioms are also collective knowledge making these images fun and relevant to anyone. 
• I think the images that I produced, the layout and type overall give a peculiar and childlike feel to the poster. Due to the nature of the idea and the idioms I choose, I think overall this tone of voice is appropriate, and therefore successful. 
• Finally I feel that some of the final images I choose work really well in illustrating the idioms in a humorous way as well as highlighting the absurdities of the phrases if you were to take them in literal sense. 

Things I found difficult in this brief:

• Time management on this brief was an issue for me. I got it done in time, but to be honest I do not feel like I did everything to the best of my abilities. I would have particularly liked to have spent more time on developing my final poster. 
• Something I found difficult especially at the beginning, and then improved towards the end, was being relaxed with drawing and planning my images. I become too uptight with getting things right and sometimes this can hinder me from producing work at all. 
• I found generating ideas throughout this brief quite difficult. I think I held myself back from thinking 'outside the box' and ended up producing images that seemed obvious or simple. I want to be more adventurous and daring with the way in which I generate ideas surrounding briefs, as I think this will lead me into making more interesting and unique illustration. 

Things I would like to develop:

• I would have liked to improve the crafting of my final images. I would not change my use of ink as it fits the monochrome requirement of the brief and also I just like the overall look of this material. My images, however, could have definitely looked more professional and well-thought through, and I think this would have come from just spending more time on drawing them out. 
• In my crit, it became clear that my composition was not one of the strong points of the poster. I went for the simple grid system, which is alright but maybe a bit boring. Small things like making sure all the text is aligned and the same size would have just made the final result look more professional. I think this also comes down to my problem with time management and the fact that I did not spend enough time thinking about how I could improve the composition.  
• Finally, I would liked to have developed the individual ideas behind each idiom a bit further. I feel like this concept has real potential and I did not fully achieve what I wanted with each image.

In our final crit of everyones posters we talked about the following words to discuss what had been successful or unsuccessful about each others final outcome:

Crafting - Skill - Media - Process, Concept, Character, Research, Authorship, Colour, Design, Imagination...

The discussions that we had about what each of these words mean and finding examples of how they had been successful in people's posters, really made me think of the components that make up a successful piece of illustration. In following briefs I am definitely going to use these words, almost as a template, when developing and also evaluating my own work. 

Sketchbook seminar

We had a talk on the importance of using our sketchbooks as a place to explore ideas and imagery. Recording ideas and creating personal drawings will feed into college work and help with the development of my own tone of voice. The purpose is to draw and not to worry about creating final pieces of illustration. I like the idea of not having to censor myself, because I often worry too much about creating something I'm proud of - occasionally making drawing a stressful and discouraging experience. I have realised that I need to become more active in drawing and that it is repetition, experimentation and not worrying about making mistakes that will really help me improve. This is the approach I will be taking, especially into visual language as we explore new media and different ways of drawing.

In this session we were given the task of choosing from a list of subjects and creating 4 pages of drawings inspired by what we had selected - drawing from reference, creating characters...
I choose 'Rainforest's and Indigenous tribes', as indigenous cultures is something that I am interested in and would like to research. I was also excited by the potential for character, colour and pattern that I could bring into my work, inspired by the traditional dress and customs of indigenous cultures.

When creating these 4 sketchbook pages I initially started with charcoal portraits and recording the shape and patterns in some of the traditional dress. As a progressed, however, I became more interested in constructing characters inspired by the patterns and jewellery of indigenous tribe's traditional dress. Unlike the initial drawings I did, I felt like when creating these characters I was more free and relaxed with my drawing. I was thinking less about the final result and was just doing it, yet I still felt I was striving towards something. I was not completely happy with the final result, however in the seminar I got quite a positive reaction from this work...so I think I should probably just continue to let go and draw like this more often. 

Drawing from reference vs. Drawing from observation

In this workshop we drew from reference and from observation to learn the difference between the two, and the merits of both ways of recording information. Drawing from reference is when you use a visual aid such as a photograph or an exiting image, whether observational drawing is recording something directly from life. 

This is a drawing I did from reference material. I like the lines and marks I have used to describe the flow of the clothing and the way in which it sits on the model. Being the 2nd time I drew this subject, I also had more consideration for composition. On the other hand I feel that the figure is out of proportion and I could have definitely been better in my use of tone. 

These are two observational drawings I did during the workshop. I choose these drawings because they show my experimentation with different ways of recording the shape and texture of the plant. 

A key aspect of this workshop was also producing multiple drawings of one subject. Repetitive drawing can be a really positive exercise because -  - it makes you evaluate your subject more closely, especially as you start to notice things that you did not necessarily see the 1st or 2nd time around.  - As you become more comfortable with the subject  you get more experimental with the methods of drawing and mark making techniques you are using.  - It allows your own tone of voice to start developing in the work more naturally and you start to develop a really authentic representation of the subject.  The key things I learnt from this workshop are - - That it is important to regularly draw from reference, from observation and also from your imagination, as all three feed into each other and help you to develop your own tone of voice. - Experimenting with how I draw and record information is key to improving my practical drawing skills, and so I should stop resting on what I know and constantly try new things even if they fail. - That repetitive drawing will also be very important in helping me to improve my skills. - To actively think about how I am recording and then translating what I see in front of me so that I am not just creating a realistic representation, but a drawing that contains my own tone of voice and personal perception of the subject - because this is more interesting!

Typology - selecting a final idea

In response to the brief we had to generate and visually explore a minimum of 10 ideas that would work as themes for our typology posters. I struggled to find many that would compel an audience as well as provide content for 26 images and all the letters of the alphabet. Here are some of my best ideas that I considered to use for the final poster - 

The annoyances of being just a little too small or just a little too tall

For this idea I created two characters - one that was very tall and another that was very short - and illustrated them getting into exaggerated daily situations in which their heights inconvenienced them. In the crit, my partner liked that this idea was character driven and contained almost a narrative. I think this theme also contains a lot of opportunity for humour and appeals to my personal taste in illustration; however I struggled to find enough content to provide something for letters A through Z.

The countryside

I grew up in the countryside, so this was a more personal take on the brief. My partner in the crit suggested that this had real opportunity to be a nice idea if I focused on creating a calm and cosy tone to the illustrations, as well as basing it on my own personal experience of the countryside. I agree that this idea has potential, however, it did not personally thrill or motivate me enough to take it forward.

The circus

This again was a sort of personal approach to the brief, as I used to go with my family to a traditional circus a lot when I was younger. I really enjoyed creating some of the drawings for this, especially the acrobats and trapeze artists, however I felt like it did not have the most potential out of my ideas. It would just be drawings of things you find in a circus, and would not contain anything much more interesting.

Idioms

My final idea is to do the A to Z of idioms. When I was discussing and presenting this idea to people, many did not know what an idiom was so I searched up the definition -
-- a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words.
I want to use this theme for my final poster because I think illustrating the literal meaning of idioms has the potential to create a piece full of humour and character. I also managed to get a dictionary of idioms, so I will not struggle to find content for the 26 images and phrases that match each letter of the alphabet. I really like the relationship that illustrating the literal meaning of these phrases creates between the text and the image, as well as the fact that these phrases are collective knowledge making them relatable to everyone. In order to develop this idea, I need to start working to refine my illustrations, so that they best reflect the literal take of the idioms, as well finding appropriate media to achieve the fun, animated and humorous tone I want the poster to take. 

Typology - Initial Ideas

   

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• I felt like I came up with some fun ideas for the brief today, for example I like the idea of doing a poster of 'someone just a little too small and someone just a little too tall'. I think this could be really nice if I developed some charming characters and thought of good visual ideas for each letter.
• I am scared, however that I will struggle to make 26 images out of some my ideas. I think some of them run the risk of becoming a little exhaustive and boring e.g. choosing daily actions like turning off your alarm or using chopsticks. 
• ...in terms of ideas then, I need to think of some that have more options to what I can illustrate for each letter - the best ones most probably coming from something that I know about, or have experienced myself. 
• Exploring my ideas visually is something that I also need to do more of at his stage, as I know that once I start doing this I will be able evaluate more clearly which ideas do and do not work. 

Look, think, draw

organic/architectural/walking/unnoticed

I have divided my work into two groups to reflect the two separate occasions we did observational drawing. I think by making this differentiation you can see trends forming in the work. With the drawings I did above they are all in pencil and mostly are simple line drawings. This is because in the first session I was mainly focused on recording shape and did a lot of them with only occasionally looking down at the page. This was important to do as it loosened me up and helped me focus more on what I was drawing rather than the final result. 

held in your hand/organic/organic/old/unnecessary

After the first day of drawing I felt like my work was quite bland. Therefore on the friday I tried to experiment with a range of different media, as well as working to add some tone, texture and colour to my drawings. I started thinking more deeply about the object in front me and what would be the best means in which record it, such as what materials I could use and which drawing or mark making techniques. 

Overall I enjoyed observational drawing and now really can understand the value of studying something from life as apposed to a photograph. I also forgot how much I enjoy studying and drawing people, and I think this is something I would definitely like to do more in the future whether this be in life drawing or simply sitting and drawing in public.