For this exercise I was asked to create a sketchbook from a variety of papers, with different textures. I was asked to choose an object to draw using different material for each drawing, exploring new media and techniques that are unfamiliar to me.
For my project I decided to use a kiwifruit as my subject and used a range of different papers, including tracing paper, tissue paper and glossy photo paper. I have not done much experimental work or testing of new mediums, so I was quite looking forward to this exercise, as this would give me the chance to experiment and try new things. I found it difficult to come up with ideas of what to use, especially towards the end as there was lots of ideas. I wanted to try such as food dyes and using dilute bleach. However, due to being in lockdown I was unable to source these materials.
The tracing paper did not lend itself terribly well to any of the mediums I chose. The most successful was probably the acrylic paint, which I stippled. I think that acrylic paint splattered would have worked quite nicely on the tracing paper, which may be something to explore further.The blown ink, I would like to try again on a larger sheet of paper as it was very difficult to control on such a small scale, it also did not lend itself to the particular rounded form that I was creating, but I would be interested to see how this would work with other subject matters.The acrylic ink splattering was my favourite. It was fun to do and I like the effect of the layering of the colours and the texture, whereas the watercolour Kiwi is my least favourite. Although I quite like the way looks the colours soak straight into the paper and caused bubbling and the colours looked very weak.I love the way the marker pens left translucent colour and delicate effect on the tissue paper. Although unfortunately this cannot be seen in the photographs.I was most excited to try working on this glossy photo paper. However, I was quite surprised by the results. And although I knew it would be difficult to find mediums that would work. I had expected that the mediums would go on a lot smoother and have a nicer quality to them. Particularly the gold marker which did not go on smoothly at all and disturbed the surface of the paper, causing discolouration to show through if I was to go over the same area. The alcohol marker also did not go on smoothly and caused streaks. However, it has left a glossy sheen which I do quite like. I do quite like the way the acrylic paint looks, even though it was quite hard to get it to spread on the page. I did use very thick paint that was not watered down too much, as I was conscious of needing it to dry and stick to the surface. I was surprised how fluidly the fine liner went on, although I do not like my end result as I feel like this centre of my Kiwi was not what I was trying to achieve. I do like the marks for the Kiwi skin and that they look like they are part of the paper as if they have been printed on.The black paper also did not work as I had hoped. However, I like the vibrancy of the pastel pencils and really like the way the dry brush came out. Once again, it is hard to see from the photo, but I really like the texture and marks and also the way I could layer colours like the pale greens with the turquoise blue and pink colours I used. This is something that I would quite like to explore on a larger scale where it would be easier to use and more effective.Although the colours do not shop so well. I do like the way the alcohol markers blended on the brown paper. I also really liked the pastel colours I chose for the acrylic painted kiwi in real life. They are more vibrant than they are showing in these photos do quite like that they are not realistic colours.For the pastel paper. I chose less experimental mediums and chose to work with mediums that I thought would be interesting on the textured surface. The watercolour went on really quite smoothly, I chose to use contrasting colours so that they stood out in the green background. I really enjoyed the way the chalk pastels went on so vibrantly and worked well on the textured surface. They were easy to use and I like the effect they gave. Similarly, I liked the texture created by using the graphite stick. I think both the graphite and the pastels would lend themselves to working on a larger scale, as they are less suited to detail work and are both mediums that I would like to experiment with further in the future. I tend to work very detailed and for a while have been wanting to try working on a larger scale, with a medium that would lend itself to looser work where I would not get so hung up on the details and would have a chance to try my hand at new techniques.
Ashley's OCA Illustration BA Blog 