When I am working, I am well-known by my colleagues for re-iterating that I don't mind if I or others fail. I only mind if we fail to learn as a result. This exercise was due to put me, and that perspective, to the test!
The exercise wanted me to go through sketches that I had created so far throughout this unit, and select three that had promise to be re-interpreted. I went through all of my sketchbooks that I had to hand (I am still waiting for my first to be returned from assessment for Key Steps in Illustration). The three images below seemed to speak to me most.
Part of the exercise was to look for an ability to re-visit and repurpose images. The exercise gave me one mnemonic to help me do this, SCAMPER:
(S) substitute- change one aspect of the drawing for another
(C) combine- for this process, you could either combine different pages from your sketchbooks or add in other images to the mix from other sources, photographs you have taken, words, other drawings etc
(A) adapt
(M) modify
(P) put to another use
(E) eliminate
(R) reverse
I started with the image of two women chatting that I sketched whilst out-and-about last year. I have always been pleased with the sketch and loved the narrative already at play. I didn't eavesdrop at the time, but always got the sense that one of the women was consoling the other.
I really struggled with what to do at the start. I was flipping through all of my sketchbooks so much, I am surprised that I didn't break their spines! Whilst I was looking at my Inktober sketchbook, I saw the toadstools that I drew for the first challenge. I then got the idea to combine the images, and the idea struck me to re-interpret the image if it was made for children. And I decided to depict the pair as fairies, sitting on toadstools.
I used coloured pencils to start playing around with colour and added wings, which I tried to tie into the emotions shown on the faces of the fairies. The creative tap had started to open by this point, and I revisited the SCAMPER prompts and thought if I could use substitute somehow. As my mind went to work a few things started to emerge. The relative heights of the two, the long hair of the woman on the left.
Then the alchemy hit! I was watching The Marvellous Mrs Maisel whilst doing my coursework. A character in an episode owned a pair of Afghan hounds. My brain clicked! Instantly I saw the left figure replaced with a dog, sat on the couch. I knew I didn't want to depict the scene with pencils again, so decided to see if I could replicate the flat colours used in a lot of gouache editorial illustrations.
I used chalk and charcoal on top of the paintwork to add some of the lines, as I wasn't happy when I used black paint for the lamp and stand. This was good fun, and I learned more about the properties of the paint, and its ability to be transparent and opaque. It was hard to be as precise as I wanted to be when I started, so I decided to learn from that and use it, which is when I decided to use the charcoal for the lines. I made myself focus on communicating the ideas over the representation and to be economical with the combination of shapes and lines. I think it's quite a successful image, but I think the colour palette ended up being a little murky.
Going back to SCAMPER, I was wondering what to do next. Reverse... what could I swap? Then I thought about 'reverse' in a different way. What if I could place the camera behind the pair. I also used the opportunity to combine with the sketch of the Portsmouth horizon to create the following:
I really wanted it to be different from this. In my head, I could see the glow of lights from the sign, and the twinkling glints of city lights in the distance. But it ended up being an interesting premise which if I were trying to take to final render, could have definitely been worked on more. It reminded me that sometimes we are trying to test the ideas as much (if not more, at first) as the execution.
So, I had managed to try three aspects of SCAMPER but had done so on only one reference image. I decided I had best try other aspects with the other two images. I picked the angular quick sketch next. I really love what I have captured gesturally here. Taking inspiration from my work trying to geometrically interpret the Town Hall in a previous exercise, I wondered if I could start to represent this image in more certain angular and geometric shapes.
I decided to modify and just keep to outlines. It's pretty successful, but I think it loses some of the energy and life of the original. I kept the line weight consistent, and I could see an iteration of this being used for, say, commercial business illustration. Wanting to get some of the energy back, I wondered how I could re-render it.
I ended up being inspired by the quick sketch I made of the inside of the public toilet I did whilst my son was 'bursting' during the first exercise of this section. I decided to combine the ideas and modify the man to be sitting on the toilet.
This seemed to regain the lost energy whilst still being more considered and refined than the original. I really love it and weirdly writing differently had an amazing effect on my ability to let go. In using my handwriting in a different way, it almost felt like writing under a pseudonym. It was freeing, I could try new things and a different tone because I could assume a different character. But is that character less, or more, authentically me?
Finally, I turned to the drawing I had done of Dan Berry as a lighthouse keeper. I decided that I could take the same energy and pseudonym identity and see about trying to create a narrative image from a picturebook. Modifying the image to place the lighthouse keeper at the top of the structure.
I like the cleanliness of the image, but it also feels a bit restrained. Some of the energy isn't there again. It is because I am going too slow? Am I overthinking while drawing?
I suddenly felt a bit despondent. I wasn't sure how to do my last edit.
The reference drawing was done in jest as a fun exercise on social media. The image nonetheless, had a lot of narrative already. Originally it was inspired by a photo and illustration of Dan dressing up in a new hat and jumper, which I replicated in my style (as seen at the top of the article), placing him in situ.
I support Dan through Patreon. He's a funny chap and often accompanies his supporter posts with random photos of him wearing different hats. So I got the idea to dress him up. I found a promotional photo of his and stuck it into my sketchbook. I then got a small pocket envelope and stuck that in too.
Then I set about drawing and painting a number of hats for him, which I cut out and placed on top of the photo. I took a photo for each one and then stitched them together to make a small fun animation. Afterwards, I stored all the hats in the pocket. I like the idea that if I ever get fed up or bored, I can come back and make him a new hat to wear!
I think this is one of the most fun things that I've done on this unit, and I seem to have found (or rediscovered?) a way to tap into the absurd and silly, and go in really weird directions! I like this. More importantly, I think it shows an increasing resilience to failure and mistakes. I would like to explore the idea of an illustrative style pseudonym more. Use it as a way of taking more risks without fear of rejection.
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