Yr 2: ILLU5020 (S1)

Project 1b: Illustrators Toolkit

Ink:

For this project I am tasked to explore and experiment with different types of ink media and techniques, draw from both still life and myself and document and reflect on what I’ve learned from artists who specialise in this media.

Alphonso Dunn:

Alphonso Dunn is an artist and an art instructor. He uses his YouTube channel as a way to teach viewers the process of drawing and develop skills using different types of media, such as pen and ink, watercolour etc. Alphonso primarily uses pen and ink for his work, mainly using fine-liners, whether they are brand new or even worn out, to create his work. When working with his fine-liners he uses hatching techniques to provide a three dimensional feeling. He follows the shape of the drawing using his technique to strengthen the 3D feeling and realism.

Drawing: Water Bottle

Using what I learned from Alphonso, I attempted to employ the hatching techniques into my own drawings to provide the same three dimensional feeling Alphonso provides. Following his techniques I followed the shape of the bottle while also applying the basic skills of light and shadow. However, the bottle I used was translucent and was a bit difficult for me to identify the light and shadow combination. Regardless of this problem, it will help improve my understanding of the hatching technique and how to properly apply it to certain drawings.

Reflection:

While Alphonso primarily works from observation, usually life drawing, particularly focusing on faces, his techniques are effective when employing texture and tone. However, the one downside of this technique is that you must stay absolutely focused on the hatching, making sure it comfortably follows the shape of the part of the face you want it to show. You must also have some understanding of the face and its anatomy to refine your understanding of how to properly apply the technique.

Lucinda Rogers:

Lucinda Rogers is an artist who specialises in working from her real life surroundings and putting them on paper. Her work mostly consists of buildings in her surroundings, from her own experiences in London to even New York. She uses ink but what’s different about her style is that she washes the ink to help provide tone to her drawings. She also uses dark outlining which helps draw the viewers eyes to the outlined drawing.

Charrles Dana Gibson:

Charles Dana Gibson was an artist associated with the creation of the Gibson Girl. He specialised in using pen and ink to create his sketches, but not only does he use slight texture, he also focused on the control of tone, showing the darkness of clothes or for shadows.

Roz Stendahl:

Roz Stendahl is an artist who specialises using ink and watercolour, working from live subjects. She has created many pieces demonstrating her control of tone and line weight in her work. The level of control she has for applying different levels of tone, to show light and darker areas, is aesthetically pleasing.

Drawing: Self-Portrait

Drawing: Self-Portrait 1:

I decided to apply the techniques I learned from Lucinda Rogers to self portraits of myself, to understand how to invoke the feeling of importance and the basic but effective understandings of tone. The top left drawing, I combined what techniques I took from Alphonso Dunn with Lucinda’s methods, to create something new. Using hatching on the darker tones for clothing, to create texture, and ink washing for the skin, I put the two techniques together to take the style to a new direction.

Reflection:

Drawing: Self-Portrait 2:

The drawing on the top right, inspired by Charles Dana Gibson’s work, I was focused on showing the emotion behind the piece. However, in order to employ this feeling I had to be rough with the hatching technique. Whilst trying to stay true to following the shape of the drawing, being rough with the hatching also demonstrates the angry emotion behind the drawing of my face. The angle of my face also strengthens the emotion, which originally wasn’t my intention.

Reflection:

Drawing: Self-Portrait 3:

The bottom drawing I decided to use only the ink wash technique. Ink wash, whilst similar to watercolour, has a heavier feeling to the technique. This technique I used, inspired by Roz Stendahl’s methods, was to primarily control the tone on the drawing of my face. Although the line weight is very basic, the tone was the most important aspect of this drawing. The control of the tone was not absolute as I could be free to relax and apply the necessary pressure to certain areas.

Reflection:

Drawing: Still Life

Using techniques, such as using only black to control massive areas of shadow, and stippling, I drew my skull piggybank using these very techniques.

Room Drawing:

Using what I learned from the artist Paul Heaston, I decided to use five-point perspective in this next task of drawing a room in my house. I drew the living room in my house using my new found knowledge of five-point perspective. Combining a variety of techniques, such as cross-hatching, ink wash and heavy tone, I created this piece.

3D Making:

In this project I am tasked with creating 3D models of cats and dogs, made from recycled materials and other appropriate materials.

Masks:

Tommy Lee Wallace: Halloween

Tommy Lee Wallace was one of the key people who took part in creating the iconic Michael Myers mask in the original 1978 film. Tommy stumbled upon the mask whilst walking along the street, looking into a shop window and discovered the origin of the mask: a Star Trek’s Captain Kirk mask. Tommy had taken it upon himself to ‘reset’ the mask by painting it completely blank, darkening the hair and slightly enlarging the eye holes. This became one of the most famous icons of slashers in the horror genre. The first time this new mask was revealed to the rest of the film crew, everyone was, and I quote, “Oh fuck me”. I want to use this for my own masks, but to also develop even further.

Plague Doctor Mask

Plague Doctor masks were a massive thing back in Victorian times, intended and designed to try and protect the wearer from being infected with the Plague. However, the mask was still rendered ineffective. Despite this, I find the design of the mask very interesting, especially looking at it from a horror aspect.

In addition to creating the 3D models of cats and dogs, I have also been tasked with designing and creating masks, with the intent of expressing and revealing our personalities as much as possible. Much like the models of the animals, I am to take pictures of the mask as I wear them. From everything in my surroundings to the clothing I wear will be considered to express the desired genre and emotions of the masks. My favourite genre involving wearing masks is the horror genre. The unsettling feeling residing in the atmosphere where an individual’s face is obstructed by a mask, displaying both a fake emotion and revealing a hidden nature from their personality. This especially rings true for the horror genre. A worn out mask covered in stains of fresh blood can make one feel uncomfortable and disturbed by that individual. I wanted to capture and incorporate this feeling in this first mask.

Although the plague doctor mask was used in Victorian times, designed to protect the wearer from the Black Death, there is something unsettling with the appearance of the mask. The long beak gives the impression you are no longer human, and have a predator’s deep, hidden instinct to kill. So I intended to make the mask look as worn and damaged as I possibly could, to display the sense of an experienced killer.

Even the most basic designed masks can be very effective in the world of horror. I treated this mask as a blank canvas, painting the mask white as this feature, inspired by the original 1978 Michael Myers mask concept, is very effective. The blank look on the mask represents nothingness, as if emotion does not exist on the face. However, taking further inspiration from Batman’s the Joker, I went a step further by incorporating a blood filled mouth, overflowing with the substance whilst in the shape of a smile. I also included blood around the eyes, placing a bloody tear running down the cheek. Additionally, to finalise the outlook of the mask I added a bloody scar cutting across part of the mask to show damage and further paint the blankness with even more blood.

Watchdogs - Defalt:

Paint:

I am tasked with analysing the style of watercolour and acrylic artists, and use their style to create self portraits or still life pieces.

Ambrose McEvoy:

Ambrose McEvoy is an artist who primarily works in watercolour for his self-portraits. However, his work is very textured, almost like he used wet acrylic instead. Despite this, I will take inspiration from his work and attempt to apply it to my own self-portraits.

Brian Sanders:

Brian Sanders is an artist whose focus is primarily around watercolour.

John Singer Sargent:

J C Leyendecker:

Jenny Saville:

Anne Magill:

Watercolour Practise:

Before I decided to get into the proper work, I decided to practise using the watercolour medium and apply it to a self portrait of myself in a mask. I want to keep a consistent theme with these pieces for Halloween. I mainly want to keep a horror theme going in this work, to keep the focus of the viewer to the mask.

Acrylic Practise:

As I did previously with the watercolour practise I also did the same thing with acrylic. Using myself as the subject once again, I wanted to replicate the same feeling like I intended previously. Additionally I split the practises into two, using acrylic on its own for the first one and mixing water into the acrylic for the second one.