View Point and Depth

View Point and Depth

I devised, planned and developed a piece of artwork that features three figures with a sense of depth and a consideration of a view point. I looked into retro swimming scenes and outfits and found a photograph of some swimmers sat down scattered on a beach which I thought had a really strange mystery to it and I thought it would be a great image to use as a reference image as I could pick out three figures from it. They are all dressed similar so they have a relationship and link to each other, however they are not actually interacting physically. I arranged the figures and scenery so they overlapped in order to create depth. I also used a foreground, mid-ground and background - each with a figure in and a 'hill/slope' of land (which was meant to suggest sand dunes as they are wearing bathing suits). The view point and point of perspective is from behind the first figure lower down the hill looking up, this allows me to draw the figure larger which means it can overlap more of the other parts of the image conveying depth further. I tried to keep the image balanced by placing the three figures in a triangle shape, triangles are a themes throughout the image; in the patterned land which is also in the form of a triangle and the bodies with the head as one point and the knees as the others. I think this creates balance and consistency to the image but also composing the figures with their backs to the audience and having them scattered in very ordered placing adds some mystery and strangeness to the image; this makes the audience engage emotionally with it in the way of feeling somehow peaceful yet uneasy at the same time.

I produced a more refined resolution during my dry point workshop in which I focused on line quality and mark making. We were informed about how important it is to have some space between lines and that if we cut out a large area the ink would only stick to the edges and it would not print out as ink but instead a blank space as the ink would not stick there. They suggested that instead we should draw lines close together to suggest shadow. I did this in my piece for the shadows on the bodies and hat, and then drew lines slightly further apart but close enough to suggest shadow in the background patterns. The scenery also helped to create depth as the patterns made a distinction between the different levels of scenery which meant they can overlap and help to develop depth.

If I were to do it again I would add some more interest within some different poses for different figures, and I would also add some objects or noticable points in scenery just to create a more interesting visual scene.

Line of Sight

Line of Sight

I decided to look at transport in India because it is known for over crowding and it is very different from the safety obsessed British transport. It is full of characters and gives me a very interesting subject to draw!

I have found some reference images that I think will be useful: 

My rough thumbnails exploring how the line of sight could travel: 

If I were to improve this piece and explore this idea further I could try to use water colours and pen keeping George Butlers work in mind. I would bring the front van closer and move the vans more to the left so that most of the background scenery is in the top right hand corner so that the line of sight travels in that direction. At the moment I feel that the left hand background disrupts this line of sight as it causes a distraction allowing the eye to wander to the left.
http://www.georgebutler.org/commercial/g2-cover

Compositionally I looked to employ a strong line of sight diagonally from bottom left to top right as well as considering other compositional mechanics such as view point, depth and frame. The viewpoint is facing the truks and the background as this allows for them to be the centre point of the image, as they are the key element: transport. The frame also helps to do this and allows a small amount of the city in the background to be in view and the important elements of the woman in the bottom left; the baby and the waving hand- seeking refuge in trying to get transportation away from the city. I created depth by using various objects in foreground, mid ground and background and tried to overlap these elements. However if I were to do this piece again I would overlap them more such as overlapping the woman over the front truck more.

The synthesis of reference material and my own imagination was fun to do as it was good to be able to create an image in your imagination and develop a narrative with it, but then be able to make the image look realistic by using reference photographs to make each element believable. My chosen mode of transport was an Indian truck as I found this really visually interesting and it is something today in Britain we would never see. I kept the environment and landscape in keeping with the indian theme and used an indian skyline to inspire my city background. However I used an imagined narrative to support the transport as I wanted the trucks to be transporting people away from the city and had the woman trying to get on with her baby. I used planes to direct the eye towards the city in the line of sight diagonally from bottom left to top right. I wanted to generate a feeling of urgency, excitement and danger but also convey an atmosphere of heat and spirituality- which I tried to do by overlaying an image I had previously drawn which looks like someone in traditional dress overlooking the city and watching from above - god like. (I used Photoshop and layers to create this overlap.)

Greetings From... (Cities of the World -postcard project)

In this project I will be using the skills that I develop in the Adobe Illustrator software workshops to produce a set of 4 post cards based on four major world cities of my choosing. My illustrations will aim to effectively communicate the individual identity of each city but simultaneously work as a set.

My finished cards will be 120mm x 210mm with the format orientation as portrait. 

I will aim to communicate purely through image and not use type as a means of communication. 

I have carried out research into some images from around the world and I found some beautiful photographs below:

Combining elements such as portraiture and the nations food / animals/landmarks 

Use the persons face as a canvas -paint the city on it (a bit like the earlier Holi elephants)

Fashion illustration would be cool to try out in this project - experiment with line and media effects using illustrator or just editing them on this ?

I was thinking about focusing on world cities with festivals. According to Buzzfeed some not to miss include: 

After researching into these festivals and their prospective cities I think this would be a really good idea to follow for this project. The festivals represent the successes and fun and life of their cities. They represent the people and their culture as well as specific aspects of the city itself. I will narrow down this list of festivals to four for my final postcards.