New Poster

So, I decided to redo my poster. I loosened it up a bit, and the line art I added in, while it adds structure, also has a much looser feel to it. I'm still not totally sure about my font, the placement and such, but it is definitely looks better than it did before. Redo rather successful, if I can say so myself

Poster

So, I was in the lab in the library working on this, and then I realized that I forgot my flash drive. So, I decided I'd post it in proof that I'd actually done something. Here she is.

Redo Self Portrait/Poster Design

So I began with redoing my self portrait, and I'm glad I did. You can see the new version serving as my profile picture here. It definitely turned out better the second time around, and slowly  but surely I'm starting to understand some fun little things watercolor can do.

Now for the poster design:

This would be for the International Film festival, though it isn't quite portraying the look I want, as Rusty said it looks like a "rotten orange with funny colors" and we don't want that, do we. We'll see

Self-Portrait

Take one: I definitely continue to struggle with being super loose with the coloring, and using colors that I don't see for different shades and values throughout the piece.
First try, I for real need to vary the color more, so we'll try this again.

Digital?!

Seems to me like this class is full of completely new things for me.  And now, another new concept for me, constructing what we've been doing with line and water color on the computer. I'll spare a bunch of cheezy antidotes because I know the class will inevitably read this in their search for my computer work, so here it is:

And I struggled... couldn't quite figure out the background situation. This one was line art, then me coloring it in.

As was this one:

And now to try pigment, then line... take one:

In trying it again...:

And one to round it all off:

The computer definitely lends itself to creating a whole other look or style, though I find something to be desired... I probably just need to figure out how to use the program better.

Color AND Line

And as the practice in the world of watercolor continue, for the first time, I feel like I'm really struggling with the concept of control, which doesn't really make sense. You'd think with the added medium in the line I wouldn't have this issue, but rather I had a hard time getting loose enough, even though I knew I'd be able to add line art on top of it. Therefore, the results were as so:

But I really liked the whole "line-art first" concept more than I thought I would. To me it felt like painting by number, which I can totally do. In my opinion, they turned out better. Not as good as I would like, but still, better.

Next class, we'll experiment with different styles, as well as a digital aspect. Stay tuned

Structural Watercolors

So, I didn't think my work could look more childish, until I tried to do this set of watercolors. Not only did I continue to struggle with watercoloring as a whole (though it is getting easier), but creating things with actual substance is significantly  more difficult than things as free flowing as clouds. Without good control, I really got frustrated quickly, on causing super awkward compositions, as below.

So I went a little more plain for the next one.

For this one, its if-y still.

But after doing a full size one and adding in a little more interesting background (even if thats only a more dynamic color), I feel like I may improving a tad. It seems as if I really need to practice a ton more to be at an acceptable level.

Stay tuned for more tales in the struggles of watercoloring.

Little Watercolor Cloud-scapes

These were so frustrating. I couldn't create anything without it looking like a five year old sat down with their Crayolas and started messing around. Going through the 10, there wasn't really any I wanted to post, but I knew I had to, so here it goes.

This one I used a papertowel to pick out some color, but I wasn't satisfied. I soon learned that adding white paint isn't the answer. The white is sort of warm and didn't blend with the cloud well at all. That still doesn't change the fact that it looks like a little baby could do a very similar thing so what I did.

So I moved on in hopes of creating something better, but instead, I created whipped topping on a blue background.

Seriously, it looks like the top of an ice cream sundae.

But even after seeing the result of using the darker outline on my clouds, I didn't learn that that wasn't the best technique for creating the texture I wanted in the clouds... I also didn't learn that I really shouldn't be using white paint for definition. And even though I can't say I'm super proud of this one, it was still easily the best one I created.

I did, however, like it better when we re-did them larger in class. While it still has its flaws, I think there are some improvements.

Now I wonder what challenges the structural watercolors will pose? Surely an abundance. 

3 Hour Illustrations

For these pen and inks, I can't say I didn't enjoy them.

I'm not totally satisfied with everything about my bikes, however, and I think the issue there is my struggle with the permanence of pen and ink. If I mess up or make an unsteady line, the only way to solve the problem is to thicken the line. Between that and my awkward tracing surface I was using, the wheels got a little skewed in this one.

And for this cat, I just find it too cute, so I had to enlarge it. Believe it or not, the shape of this guy is not too easy to create. As I was almost done with that guy my friend dropped and shattered a ceramic plate in the kitchen and scared the crap out of me, hence that little line in the armpit. I erased it in photoshop for the real one, so I'm actually kind of glad we had to scan these in to print them.

Now I wonder what we're doing with these next...

And Illustration Begins.

Aside from blogging being something completely foreign to me, Illustration is entirely new as well. Jumping into a class is definitely intimidating, but so far, so good.

For the first 10 pen and ink drawings, I was a little confused by the vagueness of the assignment, but what I came up with turned out fine, I suppose. Drawing is probably one of my weakest aspects of art (that could be my lack of training...).

I at least felt I'd been adequately trained in the past on the concept of contour lines and using line to create value.

But afterward, when we were supposed to trace photos rather than just using a photo reference I felt much more comfortable, despite my make-shift light table I created out of a clear plastic drawer and my desk lamp.

Though, pen and ink does leave something to be desired: when you mess up with pen and ink, the only way to fix your mistake is to thicken your line or start over. That's what led to the inconsistencies within my drawings, such as the bike tires or slats in the bench.

 

But none of the issues with pen and ink can even dare to compare to those experienced in photoshop. To start it off, I'm not at all familiar with the idea of drawing on the computer, whether it be with a tablet or a mouse. I couldn't keep my lines straight and I couldn't manipulate different pieces of my work in the ways I wanted. 

Especially with this bike piece, I felt as if my finished product looked like something a small child would come up with, with such varying line weights and such. At this point I realized that this much variation in line weight was not good, so I moved on in hopes of creating something better.

I did start to like the more stylized and cartoon-ish vibe that I got when I started using more blocks of black than I have done in the past with pen and ink. And let me tell you, if you even need anyone to draw you a trash bag, I'm your girl. Experimenting with the different tips and sizes allowed me to get some really neat textures on the bags, as well as create more depth within the entirety of the piece.

I really like comparing what I did by hand in the second pen and ink assignment compared to what came out when I illustrated on the computers. It really is neat how a different medium can create such a differing style.

In the end, I was glad I did this assignment, as annoying and tedious as it was, because I felt like I did legitimately familiarize myself with something that was necessary to learn, and I'm not just saying that because the person assigning my grade with probably eventually read this, I'm saying it because it's legit.