1.1A - Pen & Ink

Ronald Searle

To start this project I wanted to try out the different ways of using pen and ink so I used a dip pen to draw my self-portrait. I did it in the style of Ronald Searle using local tone to add minimal shading to the face and add a sense of volume. I think that going straight in with ink worked well in this instance as it gave clear, purposeful lines rather than more hesitant and shaky ones if I were to have drawn in pencil first.

Bob Sheriffs

I decided to chose Bob Sherriffs' work for brush pens as I like his bold marks and the simplicity of the drawing he creates.
I started by drawing a quick self-portrait to get used to the brush pen as I find it the most difficult to manipulate of all the ink materials. I then practiced sketching with it, trying to emulate Sheriffs' style by slowly simplifying each component of the face. I think the final drawing shown bottom right is an improvement on the initial sketches but could use some more work to appear more visually interesting.

Aubrey Beardsley

I used a fineliner for this final portrait using Aubrey Beardsley's flat block style that only uses solid colour. 
The use of only flat black makes it more complicated to add depth to drawings, resulting in a more two-dimentional appearance.
I think that experimenting more with drawing different patterned fabrics could help add more character to the drawings.

1.1B - Keep It Simple

Cross hatching to add shading and depth to illustrations is something I've always found difficult to work with, so I found this somewhat difficult. 

In my first attempt, the quality of my lines weren't consistent and the use of just single lined hatching that curved along the pencil case's form appeared messy. I think that the thickness of the fineliner contraibuted to this as well as the time I took to draw each line.

For my second attempt to improve upon this, I chose a 0.5 pen rather than 0.8. In addition I spent a lot more time carefully drawing each line to avoid them touching and looking messy. I this this worked a lot better and gave a cleaner look to the piece. However I do think the hatching on the inside of the pencil case would have benefited from a more angled hatching as well as darker to give more depth since it is a cylinder. 

For the drawing of my room, I first drew it out on an A4 page. I think that the bed worked out looking visually appealing but drawing on the larger scale made the lines of the chester draws more obviously wonky with poor perspective.
​

Chris Ware

I drew my room again, this time at a somewhat smaller scale and with a thinner fineliner to match. I think that this worked better as the detail was much easier to make clear. 

I then chose to emulate Chris Ware's style of shading which uses singular, small strokes in the direction of the objects within the room. I think that this helped break up the different objects, stopping them from merging into one and looking too overcrowded. Although I do think perspective of the draws still need work so I want to redraw it using an initial sketch with a ruler.   

1.2A - Cats & Dogs

For the three-dimentional model making, I decided to first use packing paper. This was easy to scrunch up and mold into different shapes with the help of masking tape. I decide to model it after one of my dogs as he sits in an exaggeratedly slouched manner that I thought would give my model character.

Moving on, I cut up a plastic bottle in half and used it in combination with cardboard toilet rolls. I used the toilet rolls for the legs and tail, cutting them to create the contours of the legs and curling them for the tail. I then used a textured packing paper to create the fur which I think helped bring more life to the model.

Using a different model making technique, I used tinfoil to make the base of my stretching cat and then used paper mache to build up the body. This was the most time consuming of them all and was quite a fiddly technique.

1.2B - Masks

I started by making a caricature of myself, trying the make it exaggerated and expressive. I cut of cardboard and stuck it together with masking tape to build up layers and make it more three-dimentional. I think that the result was alright but wasn't all that interesting and could have benefited from a more interesting shape.

I decided to make another mask that was a more abstract expression of myself and sketched out some possible ideas before starting. I chose 'beast'-like design as I thought that it would work best in 3D and was the one I could most realistically make within the limited time frame.

1.3 - Paint

​John Sell Cotman

I chose Cotman's technique for landscapes as I like layered, more solid colour approach.

My first attempted didn't turn out too well as I used too much water, making the different layers bleed together.

In my second attempt, I made my marks more obvious and made sure to avoid blending anything together. I think this was a lot more successful. I used a flat watercolour brush for hills and sky and used a round brush for the trees and bushes.

​John Singer Sargent

I found working in watercolour for the portraits was a lot more difficult than the landscape. I attempted to create dramatic lighting similar to Sargent's work. If I have time I want to add more detail to these pieces.

J C Leyendecker

I liked the brush strokes that Leyendecker included in their paintings so I enjoyed replicating that style for my own self-portrait. I think that it worked out well.

Ewan McClure

I chose McClure because I like the looseness of his work that shows his brushstrokes.

Since I was using acrylic, I had to work incredibly quickly to create the smooth, blended look. I think that this worked best for the pencil case as the thick, layered paint gave the desired effect. For the rubber duck, the paint wasn't as think so it dried much faster and was more difficult to blend.