Project: Tools and Materials

Exercise : Identifying Tools and Materials

Artists used for this exercise, have been catalogued in groups according to similarities in style.

Group 1 – Kathryn Elyse, Stina Persson and Nicole Guice.

Group 2 – Judy Brown and Maria Bogade

Group 3 – David T Wenzel and Steve Carroll

Group 4 – Grzegorz Wrobel, Jackie Morris and Sarah Bell

Group 5 – Leanna B.C., Claire Tindall, and Kate Smith

How do they distort or exaggerate the representation of elements in their work?  / How do they communicate through use of metaphor or symbols?

Group 1 – This group is mainly made up of fashion designers/stylists, so their illustrations have to be flamboyant and exaggerated enough, but also they have to represent  the fashion world and what it means.

There is some use of line- Nicole Guice uses splashes of colour on top of her line drawings, instead of colouring the whole illustration.

Kathyn Elyse  - uses less line than Nicole, choosing to colour the whole illustration exaggerating hair and poses to give a sense of movement on the catwalk, and overall quirkiness.

Stina Persson  - doesn’t rely on linework to give her work structure, she uses sweeping brush strokes instead, to give her illustrations form.

Group 2   - These two ladies both work in book illustration, in the same quirky style, and probably for the same age group.

Bright colours have been used by both, this is important if it is going to catch a young readers eye.

Judy Brown uses a more solid line, than Maria Bogade, but both use thin watercolour washes to describe their subjects.

Group 3 - David  Wenzel and Steve Carroll have both drawn editorial illustrations, and looking at them they seem totally different in style, but both rely heavily on line to describe their human subjects, choosing to colour the drawings with watercolour  washes , instead of using brush strokes to describe them.

Comic element is important, so both illustrators have to make sure that the colour is not overpowering.

Group 4  This group is made up of illustrators, Jackie Morris, Sarah Bell and Grzegorz Wrobel, all have one thing in common, they all use loose, brushstrokes, on wet paper, to produce their illustrations.

In particular, Sarah and Grzegorz, use wonderful washes, to give a realistic view of their subjects.

Group 5  - Kate Smith and Claire Tindall.  These two illustrators use strong blocks of colour and solid washes to describe their imagined characters.

Kate Smith does use some linework in her illustrations to give her characters more structure and form.

Choose one image which you most appreciate visually.

I have chosen this image as the one I appreciate the most, it is by artist and illustrator, Sarah Bell.

Sarah Bell has a degree in illustration and Graphic Design, and has worked as a freelance illustrator for 15 years.

She has produced work for book publishers, magazines, advertising/packaging, and particularly enjoys working on logos and corporate identities.

She illustrates her own range of greetings cards and has had some of her designs published by Henhouse Greetings cards.

As well as using watercolours, she also works with a black brush technique, woodcut and pen and wash to produce her work.

Sarah has produced this particular work, using washes on a pencil outline, it is loose in style and representational of a bottle of olive oil.

This particular brand of olive oil is found on any supermarket shelf, so colour is important, it has to be close to the product itself, if it is to be used in packaging or advertising.

The wash describes the smoothness of the glass and the different brush strokes on the lid, describe the ridges of texture that make up its surface.

Sarah hasn’t produced this image in a stylized way, it is representational in its manner, and true to the form of the actual product.

This piece of work does fulfill its purpose, which was for advertising and /or magazine reproduction.

I liked it because of its colours and tonal values, and resemblance to the actual product, which I know and use a lot in cooking.

This is the other image I liked out of the ones I chose.

It is by artist and illustrator, Steve Carroll, who works as a caricaturist in Scotland.

I love this image because of its clear lines and pale colours, and the likeness of the two characters to their real counterparts is brilliant.  It is a very unfussy image, despite having a lot of content.

Steve Carroll gained a degree in illustration and printmaking.  He worked as an editorial illustrator in Majorca, (Baleares and Majorca Daily Bulletin) producing pen and ink caricatures of local personalities, celebrities and politicians.

When Steve returned to the UK, he went to work for “The Scotsman’ newspaper, and continues to work for newspapers and professional magazines.

Image in the style of Sarah Bell

Image in the style of Steve Carroll

In Conclusion

I had quite a few problems trying to replicate someone else's style and approach, but I chose two images that had been used before as part of an larger one.  I am not sure that I was successful in reproducing their techniques but I think I did a reasonable job, and I think that the image in the style of Sarah Bell worked better.