When I first read the brief for this exercise I got the strangest feeling of déjà vu: where had I seen this before? That's right - Key Steps in Illustration! During that module, there was an (in)famous exercise to research the 1950s period and then complete an illustration to convey what it was like living at that time. You can find the write-up of that exercise here [1].
Honestly, that exercise didn't leave the best of memories. The research was tedious and painstaking, and I found it very hard to motivate myself to essentially repeat myself. I procrastinated. A lot. When I finally built up the motivation to get going, I did remember that this time, at least, I had the option of choosing the decade I was able to research. After some deliberation, I decided to build on research done in Assignment 1 and chose the 80's as a decade that meant something to me (in the hope that it would sustain my interest).
Initially, I did try to see if I could find any external sources of information in the OCA/UCA online library, but there were no useful resources that I could find. Given that, at the time of writing, we are still in lockdown, I was limited to just web searches. When I first started learning about illustration prior to starting my degree I had discovered the idea of a swipe file, and building up a repository of references to use at a later date. As I started the degree proper, I soon came to realise that this was a huge amount of work and that people had already thought about how to easily collate images together - particularly Pinterest. This was the resource I used for the previous exercise, so I decided to make use of it again.
I painstakingly used my web searching skills to track down photographs of the era. As I collated things into categories I tried to make sure that I was swiping images from UK and US perspectives, so as to not give a stereotypical depiction when it came to the final part of this exercise - making an image depicting a street scene during my chosen decade.
As I completed these sections, I got a nagging feeling - particularly when looking at the people and architecture - that these references didn't feel like my 1980s. I spent most of the decade growing up in Saudi Arabia - I had a mix of British and American influences, but all of them were influenced by the unique environment I lived in. I strongly started to feel that I needed to reference my experiences too. As I was not able to visit any family to use my own photographic reference, I did my best to source references from the web too.
It was wonderful being able to see familiar sights and places from my childhood - I even managed to find some familiar faces too! I realised that this needed to be the main reference for my image. The brief called for an A3-sized image with lots of reference detail depicting people on a street corner. I used my sketchbooks to explore different ideas and remembered one of my favourite family activities - going for a shwarma while out shopping. So I decided to explore this idea as part of coming up with potential compositions in my sketchbook.
I wasn't certain which option to choose, and so went to the Vis Comms Discord server to ask other students what they thought. Most of the feedback was to try and do the isometric view, but as I sat and thought more about it myself, I decided to go for the final thumbnail: a 2-point corner perspective. It seemed basic, but I thought it gave me a great opportunity for some visual storytelling.
To get the perspective working correctly, I scaffolded out my first layer of pencils using simple shapes and blocks. This allowed me to get a sense of overall composition and flow.
On top of this, I used the layout to then add in detailed pencils. I used reference photos for vehicles, buildings and dress. Rather than copy, I tried to find aspects I liked or thought would work well, and incorporated them into different parts of the piece. I was also able to draw from my own memories and experiences to depict the kind of signs and buildings that would have been there.
In layering on top of the layout, I was able to address and fix elements of composition and posture. The more I worked on the details of the piece, the more vividly the memories came to me. The piece started to mean a lot to me, and I was reminded about one of my reflections from Illustration Sketchbooks to put more of myself into my work. I really felt like I was doing that. All of a sudden the detail that I had found daunting became something to relish. Using this energy, I moved onto adding inks on top.
With the inks, I could start to add even more detail. I used the opportunity to add extra details into the image, using references to get things like logos correct. Where possible I did these by hand, using the references as templates after first adjusting their perspective to make them look right when placed into the image. The only aspect where I used plain type was for the Arabic signage - it's been over 30 years since I wrote Arabic regularly so I used Google Translate to get the words right, and then adjusted the text perspective to fit them into the image.
I started to colour the image, having done some experiments with watercolour and tones combined. However, I quickly found that this was extremely difficult given this was meant to be a night scene. I was pouring hours into trying to get it right. It was becoming a blocker for me finishing the exercise and completing my other exercises and assignment on time. So given the timekeeping constraint, I decided to use blocks of halftones to add some depth in the sky, road and darkened apartment windows.
I felt that the image was good enough, and left it there. I would really like to come back to this image and finish it off properly with colour. It really meant a lot to me by the end. So much so that I included the 1980s Woodward family in the piece. I was nice to spend so long looking at my Dad's face again.
I'm looking forward to revising this image and doing it the justice it deserves.
The 1980s - A Visual Review
The 1980s evolved from the disco trends of the 1970s, becoming louder and more extravagant. Fuelled by the rise of neoliberal capitalism, the '80s became about excess. Bright lights, patterns, colours became more prominent. Electricity and electronics seem to have been a large influence on visual styles. As consumer electronics became more affordable, neon lights were increasingly used for decoration and advertisement.
People started to push boundaries, creating many sub-genres through the decade from new romantics to goths, ska skinheads in the UK and a very clear trend towards 'power-dressing' in the USA. Big shoulder pads and bold brash colours were very much in trend. A whole aesthetic emerged out of Miami in the USA made more visible by Miami Vice. Pastel colours rolled-up sleeves on jackets and romantic sunsets became a whole trope that continued to influence TV and video games well into the '90s. It's still a stylistic genre today called 'Vaporwave'.
In the US and UK, these emerging visual trends related to excess, wealth and identity were juxtaposed by an increasing amount of social injustice and wealth gaps. Not everyone could indulge in the new visual styles, so designs still had a legacy of the '70s with muted beiges, browns and dark colours visible in clothes, transport alike.
The architecture was very blocky - increasing use of glass in buildings was driven by the ever-emerging growth of skyscrapers in the US. Aspects of Brutalism were still being employed but not always in bold, striking buildings. Much ended up being drab, boring and blocky.
The increased wealth, technology and opportunity created an increasing tension in Saudi Arabia, as new western cultures fought for the attention of the Saudi youth from a strict traditional national heritage. Electronics were everywhere, and bootleg music became a very familiar sight all over the country. Paradoxically, playing pop music in public was banned, and many album covers would be censored with black markers. All this just made the new influences more taboo and desirable for residents and ex-patriots alike.
In Saudi, fashion always had to be tempered. Women would have to wear abayas - black cloak-like garments - over their normal clothes and you had to be careful to dress conservatively and respectfully. The Mutawa - religious police - would freely beat anyone flaunting their strict Islamic doctrine.
Underneath the religious dress, however, even young Saudi women would wear the latest fashion. I think it really sums up the Saudi of the 80s visually - a melting pot of cultural tension, vying for a future identity. Bright lights, American chain stores and opportunity everywhere, all covered in a thin veneer of cultural oppression and heritage.
References
Woodward, D., 2019. Illustration1, Exercise 2.5: Using Reference. [online] Danwoodward.art. Available at: https://www.danwoodward.art/post/illustration1-exercise-2-5-using-reference [Accessed 16 February 2021].
Woodward, D., 2021. 300 1980s ideas in 2021 | 1980s fashion, 80s fashion, 1980s fashion trends. [online] Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/danwoodwardart/1980s/ [Accessed 16 February 2021].
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