a compilation of illustration (near) mastery!!!
The following is a collection of pieces from this semester that I feel highlight what I have learned through practice with the different mediums of illustration. In the end, I feel the most comfortable with gouache, and I hope to continue practicing with it, whether for clients or for my own personal work (hellooo, family Christmas gifts ;) This class has also helped me realize some of my strengths and weaknesses with illustration (and creating art in general), which include the following: I neither enjoy nor hold proficiency in creating photo-realistic illustration; I do enjoy the initial stages of sketching out ideas/brainstorming as well as experimenting with different materials. If I pursue illustration further, I want to continue to develop the sorta Fauvist/expressionistic style that I think comes more naturally to me- i.e. drawings made with very expressive lines, paintings that have a loud use of color but also retain the quality/texture of the paint itself, etc. I really have learned a lot as an artist in this class, and I'm proud of what I've made.
The following is a collection of pieces from this semester that I feel highlight what I have learned through practice with the different mediums of illustration. In the end, I feel the most comfortable with gouache, and I hope to continue practicing with it, whether for clients or for my own personal work (hellooo, family Christmas gifts ;) This class has also helped me realize some of my strengths and weaknesses with illustration (and creating art in general), which include the following: I neither enjoy nor hold proficiency in creating photo-realistic illustration; I do enjoy the initial stages of sketching out ideas/brainstorming as well as experimenting with different materials. If I pursue illustration further, I want to continue to develop the sorta Fauvist/expressionistic style that I think comes more naturally to me- i.e. drawings made with very expressive lines, paintings that have a loud use of color but also retain the quality/texture of the paint itself, etc. I really have learned a lot as an artist in this class, and I'm proud of what I've made.
book illustration6.25 x 9.25 in., gouache and photoshop
The assignment for this piece was to create a book cover for a popular book that has several editions and has thus had numerous book covers through the years. It was a challenge to relate the illustration to the content of the story in a way that hasn’t been done before.
missouri postcard 4.5 x 6 in., gouache
The assignment for this piece was to create a postcard for the state of Missouri using imagery outside of typical Missouri topics (e.g. St. Louis Cardinals, a barn in a field, etc.) I chose this angle of a cow’s mouth to reference Missouri farm culture in a new way.
overheard conversation10 x 10 in., gouache
The assignment was to illustrate an overheard conversation. I heard a girl telling about a dream she had in which flowers grew out of her fingers. I thought the gouache medium would be great for attaining a dreamy effect.
d.m.v. cartoon6 x 3 in., pen and photoshop
This cartoon assignment was an introduction to storytelling via illustration, as well as an introduction to incorporating hand-drawn work into computer-aided illustration.
large watercolor20 x 30 in., watercolor on paper
This was an exercise in large-scale watercolor painting.
cheesy airbrush12 x 10 in., airbrush on board
We were assigned to choose a “cheesy” character to illustrate via airbrush. I chose a Lisa Frank dolphin.
gouache exercise7 x 9 in., gouache
This was an initial exploration in the gouache medium.
world record poster13 x 19 in., gouache and indesign
The assigment with this piece was to advertise a world record from the Guiness Book of World Records on a 13” x 19” poster with a bleed.
