The Creative Process

My creative process after an assignment is handed to me changes from time to time. Shaped by my teachers over the years, I try to start off with some research, since even fiction is grounded in fact. I'll use a painting I did to illustrate my particular method of madness.



After I get a vague idea of what I want, I look at a bit of visual reference. For this painting, I knew that I wanted to make a Japanese-influenced image to sell in the annual Holiday Bazaar, so I looked at Japanese prints. My main source is the internet, though I also have a few books of my own and access to the MCA library. Memory has a big part in this, as well.

If I can't come up with a vague idea, I start thumbnailing, a process we've used in all of my illustration classes. Basically, I crank out as many small stick-person sketches as I possibly can, then select the best one to develop into something good.



My next step is to make a full-size, loose sketch resembling a stick person (or object) which I go back and refine. I then use graphite paper to lightly transfer the refined image onto the surface I plan to use for the final product.



Finally, I employ the media I choose. Depending on the needs of the project, there are sometimes color studies that happen before this phase, but not always.

My creative process could probably benefit from more sketching before I make the full-sized stick-person. I'm thinking anatomical studies, like da Vinci, or a more detailed, smaller stick drawing to come before the full-sized. I guess what I'm getting at is that there should be more drawings and sketches to warm up to the final drawing. Skills are always more productive after a little warm-up and practice.



http://www.dilbert.com/blog/entry/the_creative_process/

I like what Dilbert creator Scott Adams has to say about his creative process: When speaking about how he comes up with his ideas, he likens himself to a grizzly bear trying to catch a salmon. If the bear misses, he just waits for the next fish; he doesn't dwell on the one that got away. In 19 years of strips, that's a lot of salmon!

A Dilbert strip doesn't materialize instantly; Adams sketches the first panel and the next and the next, letting his brain figure out the details during the initial drawing. Then, he goes back to finalize the wording and refine the drawings.

Neat to know that everything doesn't need to be neat at first.

Post 2: Prefered Pieces

Out of all the art I've made the piece above is one of my favorites. I had fun during the entire process of designing these stamps for my illustration class. It's also the first time that I've created separate pieces with the intent to put them together later. Every part of it turned out the way I envisioned it!



This is a scratchboard piece, an illustration for the Arabian Nights tale "Sinbad." Everyone who has ever seen this drawing has loved it, and it's certainly another personal favorite. One of the reasons people enjoy it is its level of detail and loving craftsmanship that I put into it.



This informational page I made in Intro to Computer Graphics is one of my most surprising works. Ordinarily, I feel I'm a mediocre graphic designer at best, and I was extremely happy when this page was so well received by my teacher and my class.



Thumbnails are very important to me, and that importance lends itself to a certain level of beauty. This is page 9 of my upcoming comic "The Nine," a sort of suspense story about a hotel in Ukraine.



A sketch of my hubby, asleep. After all, he was my model first. I like this doodle for its line quality.



This lady is a drawing for a logo project that I worked on under the direction of Tom Martin. I love its simplicity.



Who doesn't love a cartoon chicken? Reminds me of old timey comics and cartoons.



The story behind this very angry woman? I was bored one evening on the farm, so I thought to myself, Hmm, I feel like drawing an amazon in a heroic pose! So I did. Maybe I might make a finished piece out of it a little later. By the way, I do not endorse militant feminism, so don't go there with this little sketch.

Retrospection

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Yes, it’s that time again; I’m back in school and my last semester! Nutty!

For my Illustration 5 class, I have been asked to look back on my work from the last 3.5 years and start to look at what it means to me.

sketch for my upcoming comic "The Nine"

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I would have to say one of my favorite media for drawing is ye ole china marker, a.k.a. litho crayon. I love its buttery smooth stroke and its ability to create a lot of value with a little effort. I also like to paint, mainly watercolor and acrylic, although I used to love oils. I haven’t produced any of those in a while, as they tend to take an eternity to dry, so they’re not ideal for school. Scratchboard is fun for me, as well. It’s so satisfying to reveal positive forms from a negative space.

Charcoal is a medium from hell—er, well, it’s just burnt willow twigs. Not only is it extremely smudgy, it gets in your lungs and turns your boogers black. Gouache, if used in a watercolor-like way, is all right, but trying to push the paint to make flat shapes with consistent thickness is infuriating.

Somehow, I’ve never gotten into collage during my art career. It looks beautiful, and I’d love to try it one day. I’ve also never had any instruction on the subject, so I’m a bit scared to just jump in on my own, but who knows? Maybe some day…splash!

planar development drawing

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I’d have to say that Life Drawing with Fred Burton was and still is a huge help to me in my illustration. Of course, knowledge of the figure is crucial to any artist creating representational work of any sort. Graphic Design is next in line just because an illustrator needs to understand the relationship of his or her work and its final destination. Then there’s Drawing Composition. Pardon my bluntness, but if you can’t make a pretty picture, you’re not likely to be a successful artist.

One can’t help but be influenced by her peers. Seeing their projects turns me on to new techniques, new media, and ideas I would have never conjured up on my own. Also, it’s good morale to work with each other to bounce around ideas and have work-in-progress criticism.

personal painting from last semester

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000189 EndHTML:0000001965 StartFragment:0000001525 EndFragment:0000001929 SourceURL:file:///My%20Dungeon/Users/admin/Desktop/FA09/blog%20posting/post_01.txt The subject matter of my work is almost wildly varied. I prefer fantastical creatures or epic scenes, but there’s a place in my heart for quiet, serene pictures, too. I really like things from the imagination, from fiction, myths, fairytales. Drawing from life is fun, though it doesn’t carry the same giddiness for me.

graphic adaptation of Steven King's The Dark Tower Books 1 & 4

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It stems from my love of fiction. David Burton (my Lit. Survey teacher, not related to Fred) put it best, that mankind has loved stories since our creation. I’m no exception. And I’m a sucker for romance novels.

The music I love almost doesn’t fit with what I read for leisure. Metal, rock, and alternative are about the only genres I listen to, coupled with a bit of opera and the occasional Weird Al. That man is a genius, doing what he loves and making money off it at the same time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrowbOGZJwg Pure genius! Amish Paradise by Weird Al

Thor, Squeaky, and Fonti: Rhode Island Reds

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I grew up on a farm, and many of my hobbies and interests reflect my upbringing. I know how to drive a tractor and ride a motorcycle, though I’ve never ridden on pavement before. I love keeping pet chickens and turkeys, just like my mother and grandmother, and her mother before her. Bit of a tradition, eh?

I have an affinity for really small cars, little four-cylinders or smaller, so underappreciated by their owners and mocked by SUV owners. Fossil fuels, people.

canopic jar

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000189 EndHTML:0000002071 StartFragment:0000001525 EndFragment:0000002035 SourceURL:file:///My%20Dungeon/Users/admin/Desktop/FA09/blog%20posting/post_01.txt Speaking of fossils, if I could own any museum item from around the world, I’d enjoy a calendar stone from the Maya or the Aztecs. Their intricacies would amuse me for many hours. I’d also appreciate a Japanese painting or print because of their flat, illustrative qualities. A canopic jar would be cool, but I don’t know if I could deal with having someone else’s organ in my home. That might be too creepy, even for me.