Creating Illustration in Response to Writing - Ofelia

The second year part-time MA Illustration students are working on a collaborative publication, which involves us as illustrations responding to the Creative Writing BA class' pieces from a recent trip to Cliffe Castle (where we also visited).

A lot of the pieces really spoke to me but the below was the poem I decided to work from first:

Ofelia - written by Evie

She lays face down amongst the green reeds

Becomes one with the lilies and weeds.
Calls to the people ‘do a good deed’
Watches them weep and clutch their prayer beads
Then leave her in the pond to die, to bleed

Using a free photo reference from Adobe Stock, of a girl laid in grass, I created the above using gouache, wax pastel, pencil and watercolour brush pens. I wanted to keep the water shallow and green like a garden pond, with lots of texture and energy in the water in comparison to the figure being still and muted, surrounded with specs of flowers, grass and reeds. I thought about how it might look printed alongside the poem, and wanted to keep the edge unfinished so it blended into the page. 

Doing this pieces has reminded me that its the energy and texture that I love to see in my work, when I think less and focus more on how I feel then how things should look. A very fun and enlightening exercise.

Folktale Week - Narrative Play - Version 2

I've made a few changes to my Folktale Story, I really wanted to lean into the idea that this is an anti-capitalist story, and that "the fool", eg. the worker, discovered that they aren't valued, noticed or important, and rebel against that.

• The Fool & The Tree - The same journey every day. No matter the weather, no matter the season. They relied on her. Through the woods she went, to find the biggest tree, and then she climbs…
• Star - And as she reaches the top, just as the sun goes down, she masterfully sows tiny crystals into the sky. 
• Rebel - But tomorrow will be different. She had grown tired, and it was time for a break. A trip to the village. With her cloak , so no-one could recognise her. 
• Costume - The gates swing open, and what a blinding sight. LIGHTS! Strung from houses, hanging from poles, in every colour. Was it even nighttime anymore?
• Potion - All this time, to work so hard for something not to be seen. She pulls the bag of crystals from her belt and throws them into the drinking well. 
• Victory - The next day she does not begin the climb, and when the sun goes down…. It is darker than ever before, and the stars still shine.

I also decided to switch the character to she/her pronounce and have them be visually more feminine, to be able to put myself into the story a little bit more. Below are a few of my pages were I am experimenting with colour for the first two prompts, and the final one with the character inserted using the collage technique I have before.

Really love the finished product, and think adding a little bit more depth will be very closed to being something I am ready to call a finished piece.

Adding Character with Collage

I was having difficulty adding characters into my scenes, after a day of trying various ways I decided to try a different tactics. To complete my scene and character separately, cutting the character out and gluing them in place. I was extremely happy with the outcome, and feel like I've overcome a big hurdle that was holding me back. 

Here is the process video for my first attempt:

@okaychloegreen Some surprise cutting and sticking #tiktokillustrator ♬ Wes Anderson-esque Cute Acoustic - Kenji Ueda

Writing Workshop - Andrew McMillan

I caught up on the Andrew McMillan Writing Workshop, although based around the Folktale Week Prompts it was incredibly thought provoking and gave lots of exercises to help think beyond what was the initial thought brought forward by the word. He also discussed how to change the timeline/perspective of the story. Below are a few of my notes from the call, which may not make much sense detached from the workshop.

Fool - 3

Tree  - 1

Star  - 2

Rebel  -5

Costume   - 7

Potion - 6

Victory  - 4

Foolrebel

Everyone scoffs at her ideas, they call her a fool for rebelling against the rules don't seem to get her anywhere, yet she always rebels. And not many people understand why… She seems to distrust all authority, and cause trouble in doing so! But yet, she seems so controlled and full of strength. Should that strength be something that we follow? Maybe she does know best.

Tree

Star

Fool

Victory

Rebel

Potion

Costume

The tree was full of stars, or so it seemed, the fools claimed their victory at its discovery, and praised it as a wonder of the world. They didn’t expect the people to rebel against the prophecy of the tree, so they created a potion from its leaves and bark. Something something costume

The tree was full of stars, or so it seemed, the fools claimed their victory at its discovery.

They used to say that the tree was full of stars, but now, the fools know they claimed their victory too soon.

The tree was full of stars, a reminder of the victory, but it wasn't there any more.

The stars shone down on the tree, a beacon of the village, but now, they knew they were the fool.

Source: https://www.patreon.com/sarahdyer/posts

Folk Tale Week - Thumbnails and Character Building

Having played around with the narrative for folktale week, I thumb nailed out my ideas and started working on the details on the main character.

Thumbnails

I want to ensure there is a magical, folky feel to the panels, I'll achieve this by using a fantastical size for the tree, having cottage/stone built style houses, gas style lamps in the street. 

Although the thumb nails are very quick drafts it's made me realise that I want to go with a more natural colour pallet, but keeping the pink sky!

Character

Working fictionally is very new to me, but it's exciting to create something from scratch. Keeping the character simple and identifiable was important to me, and hopefully I created that with a distinct outfit and clear colour usage. As well as something easily replicated.

This exercise is definitely pushing my out of my comfort zone. I often shy away from using figures in my work, but having the Fool in each panel is really important to the story, so I'm excited to get going on the actual art pieces.

Review of Past Work - Diary Sketchbook Pieces

I have kept a diary sketchbook for a long time, often pieces that are unshared and quite personal; even if that isn't something that is immediately obvious to the viewer. Below are a few snippets:

I worked the same on every page, in pencil and ink, a drawn boarder with a short sentence, occasionally one that spanned two images, often with dates and locations. 

Each image is drawn from a reference photograph, for that reason I think they seem quite stiff, with errors that you would get my not exploring the piece in real life. I am proud of these images, they emote a specific period in my life.

The below are from 2017-2020

The bottom piece was when I begun experimenting painting with ink, and was the first time I had taken a sketchbook with me on holiday, and although not drawn on location, it was drawn whilst still in the country, Belgium, from a photograph I had taken.

Comparing past to present; the themes within my work, and what I am drawn to are still very much the same. Interesting buildings, nature, hidden narrative. And although I have definitely grown from these pages, eg. experimented with many materials, drawing on location, adding more colour etc. it's clear where my interests lie and it's enjoyable to see that consistency. 

Folk Tale Week - Narrative Play

The seven prompts for 2022 Folk Tale Week are: Fool, Tree, Star, Rebel, Costume, Potion, Victory. I want to encompass each prompt into a continued narrative. As mentioned, to push myself out of my comfort zone, to learn to work to others suggestions but also, just to enjoy and play with my illustration.

Darkness - Initial Narrative Draft

The Fool And the Tree (combined) -  His unquestioned duty, like those before him and those after him, is to climb each day to the top of the tallest tree.

Star - And as he reaches the top, just as the sun goes down, he masterfully flicks tiny crystals into the deep blue to create a beautiful night sky. 

Rebel - But why should he keep suffer all day, and work all night? Its time for a rest! And a trip to the distant village, perhaps, in xxx's clothes so not to be recognised. 

Costume - He pushed open the gates to the village, and what a blinding sight. LIGHTS; strung from houses, hanging from poles in every colour. All blocking his magical, hand-crafted sky.

Potion - How could they do this to him? To work so hard for something not to be seen. He pulls his bag of crystals from his belt and throws them into the drinking well. The water bubbles and boils as he walks away.

Victory - The next day he again begins his climb, and when the sun goes down…. It is darker than ever before