Reading Week

Over reading week I decided to take out a couple of books on animation as I would still like to explore this further.

The two books I got out were: '

"The Animation Bible!' The Guide To Everything- From Flipbooks to Flash' By Maureen Furness

'Animation: A Handy Guide' by Shelia Graber

Drawings from My Sketchbook

I normally draw small, detailed drawings so here I was trying to experiment and fill an A3 page. I'm a perfectionist so it took me about 5 hours to complete the bottom image... and the top one just took so long I gave up (which I never EVER do).

Tree which took far too long to draw!

Black fine liner

A3

Tree Silhouette

Black Fine Liner

A3 Double page spread

"Tree Silhouette" (bottom):

It wasn't until really near the end that I realised I had miss judged the size and would have to spread over to the other side slightly, which I feel ruins the image (although you can't actually see thins in the photograph).

• I should plan out my illustrations in pencil first
• or work on paper larger than necessary, making the assumption that I'm going to miss judge

Life Drawing

I went to life drawing classes between 1st- 22nd 0ct. I had been last year and classes before that, but i still felt it was important as an illustrator to attend.

Skill

Life drawing classes- 3hours once a week for 4 weeks.

Approach to learning

There was a life drawing tutor, Claire, who came around and help us individually

Key Tips from the Learning Process

1. Sometimes I found I was struggling to get the proportion right. I then learn about negative space and how this is as important as the figure itself.
2. LIfe drawing allowed me to experiment with different media, such as a feather quill and ink. It was a messy way of drawing but it made me less neat an tidy and allowed me to explore.
3. I used to be really sketchy when drawing. Life drawing has taught me to become more observant and to have confidence in drawing solid lines.

Overall...

I really enjoyed these classes, which made me realise how much I missed it (I used to go 3 hours once a week for 2 years) If they occur again in the future I would definitely put my name down.

Drawings from My Sketchbook

Drawing Darwin as a tree

Small Sketches from A3 page

I had an idea that Darwin could be a tree: they're old and often said to hold secrets. I thought I would draw some sketches without any reference as this is something I don't do very much and would like to get better at it.

Adjusting the anchor points

You can't really tell on my blog because of the scale of the image, but I have spent a while neatening up any unwanted jagged edges on the image on the left. I did this by adjusting the "anchor points"-an adjustment you can achieve after you "live trace" an image. The image on the right is an exaggerated version to give and example of what I mean.

Process Notes

Adjusting the Colour using Adobe Photoshop/ Illustrator

Skill

Learning how to add colour and tone to one of my illustrations using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator

Approach to Learning

First of all Matt showed everyone in a group tutorial how he added colour to his illustrations. I forgot to take notes so I watched tutorials on line, borrowed an Adobe manual and asked Kate (who is Vis. Com Yr 1), for help as she has been using the Adobe suit for years.

Process Notes

Key Tips from the Learning Process

1. The pencil lines of the original image were too faint so they did not scan. I went around all the drawings with a black fine liner.
2. Shading can make an image look more "alive". Kate told me that if I change the opacity on the paintbrush tool you can gradually build up the shading instead of persistently changing she shade from the palette.
3. It is quicker to scan the image into Adobe Illustrator, live trace it, then place it into a new Adobe document. This also means you can adjust the size of the image while "placing".

The original image, just scanned in-

The image "live traced" in Illustrator-

The image without shading-

Overall...

I took me a while to grasp the process but found it a very useful exercise. I still think I have more to learn about Photoshop, but generally feel more confident and have realised that if I am struggling there are many ways I can find help. The only thing that would have made the process easier is if I had used a graphics tablet as it would have made the shading more accurate.

Drawing from My Sketchbook

Swinging Monkey

Black Fine Liner

A3 Double Page Spread

Tutorial

Drawings from My Sketchbook

Study of Darwin

Black Fine Liner

A3 Double Page Spread

Again, I have tried to speed up my drawing. The drawing top right was drawn from memory and the drawing on the bottom right was drawn without taking the pen off the paper. It helped me to pick out Darwin's main/ key features within his face (big nose, big bushy beard and eyebrows, deep wrinkles and prominent ears).

Drawings from My Sketchbook

Drawings of Tree

Various Media

A3 Double Page Spread

I have experimented with various media and colours- fine liner, water colour and pencil crayon. I am a bit of a perfectionist and far too precious about my work, thus making me a very slow drawer so here I have tried not to spend too much time on each image.

Drawings from My Sketchbook

Tree

Black Fine Liner

A3

This tree took me at least 10 hours to complete. Despite this it has made me realise how much I love spending time on the minute detail of illustrations, I feel it gives the tree more character.

Mini Adobe Photoshop/ Illustrator project

I then changed the colour using the paint bucket tool:

"Live Trace" on Adobe Illustrator

Skill

Scanning in one of my illustrations, adjusting the levels and putting it into Illustrator to be 'traced'

Approach to Learning

In one of his critiques, Matt showed us how he "live traced' one of his illustrations to make it look crisp and shaper around the edges.

Process Notes

Key Tips from the Learning Process

1. If I am 'tracing' the image, I can scan it straight into illustrator. I do not need to adjust the levels first. This will save time.

Before "tracing" After "tracing"

Overall...

I didn't take any notes when Matt showed us the technique so I had to rely on memory. Although this was risky I found that I can remember how to carry out the process better due to this- because I had to remember it seems to have stuck. The only thing which would have made the process easier would be to use a graphics tablet.

Mini Adobe Photoshop/ Illustrator project

I used adobe Photoshop/ Illustrator a little last year but I want to brush up and advance these skills to a higher level. I am going to scan a drawing in and spend some time manipulating it an illustrator/ photoshop... this could take some time.

Drawings from My Sketchbook

Drawings from My Sketchbook

Com Tech 2: Illustration Brief

Someone who has changed the world...

It took me a while to think of someone to study for this brief but I am going to study Charles Darwin. Naturalist and scientist I think there will be a lot of information on him to explore and illustrate.