Shape & Colour
____________
Task 1
Full disclosure, I’m not the biggest fan of one-line sketching. Along with using thick markers as my tool, I’ve always been the type to lean toward thin pens and detailing. So, a fair warning if the eyes in my last drawing scare you, they scare me too.
Below are the pictures I chose to create for this exploration. I wanted to aim for a selfie that shows as much face as possible, but differs from the first. Notice the second has a bit of ‘drama’ with an off-side angle, and one that clearly shows the face but isn’t facing the camera directly.
Below are the pictures I chose to create for this exploration. I wanted to aim for a selfie that shows as much face as possible, but differs from the first. Notice the second has a bit of ‘drama’ with an off-side angle, and one that clearly shows the face but isn’t facing the camera directly.
____________________
Task 2
Pen-tool and anchoring takes me back. Since it’s been a while from the last time I’ve worked with it, getting back into the swing of it started off a bit sharp. Using a blend of purples/pink, I wanted to focus on making sure the ends of the hair and the arms were flat, rather than risking it to be overly curved or not filled enough.
After getting used to the pen tool, I wanted to experiment with rounded shapes. Focusing on the highlights and contours, I specified a different shade for each element. A while back I remember getting frustrated with the pen-tool because I couldn’t get the hang of anchoring back once you make any rounded edge. After cracking that (I’m sure for many) obvious code, continuing this and the next artwork was a blast. Interestingly I didn’t notice until now but there’s a clay colour theme here!
And lastly this 1960s mystery show theme. Just kidding I didn’t even think of that until now. Here’s where I really let myself play around with highlights and tones with the pen tool. I wanted to challenge myself using a gray-toned palette, since they’re quite similar in shade. The hardest part about this artwork, was choosing when to use the medium and dark tone. Fearing I could’ve made it look as if there were no highlights or contours at all. But all in all task 2 was a lot of fun.
____________________
Task 3
Until it came to the textural portion, I didn’t realize how many options I had, and how many I used. And so I went with these:
Until it came to the textural portion, I didn’t realize how many options I had, and how many I used. And so I went with these:
Task 3b
Okay this is where I absolutely lost it. I don’t know what it was exactly, but once it came to the clipping mask, I just accepted my fate. Luckily the tutorial to achieve the same effect with Photoshop saved me in every way possible. It was odd that the ‘making groups and compound shapes’ portion worked out for me no problem. But the second I got to clipping masks, it was like Illustrator hated my guts. I tried 8 times before I just silently sat in my chair, reflecting. Despite watching the tutorials over and over, it just wasn’t working out. Every single time, the artwork went invisible or the wrong portion of what I selected to layer became that layer. At some point only the outline of the entire artwork worked. But it did look cool!
Task 3c
Luckily the tutorial on photoshop worked and here are the MANY results, quite frankly because I couldn’t choose which were my favourite. As for the backgrounds, since I had a lot of texture photos left, I decided to use those and see what I could come up with.
I did end up focusing more on the last two pictures:
I was curious if there would be a significant difference, if I took the black outline away. With the flowers as the background, I can’t help but feel aesthetically pleased.
This one is my personal favourite, the way the sunlight hits the plants is perfect since it equally highlights the visible side of the face. And with the fuzzy shot, it has an enchanting feel.
Comparing to the last artworks, this next batch has an abstract sensation.
By adjusting the texture of art in the background plus the bright blue colour, I was curious to see how much of a difference the aesthetic of the portrait could be affected. And what possible moods may or may not change.
____________________
Though the project was to focus on 3 colours, I wanted to see how well I could accentuate more highlights and contours through various shades. From monochrome to mosaic rainbow, I thought I achieved it quite well! :)
