Exercise: Choosing Content
Exercise: Choosing content
I began this exercise by thoroughly reading through the extract, for me often it takes a while for me to read something and really imagine it. Unless it's obvious then I just need to process it. This extract particularly was quite 'wordy' and highly descriptive, even if it wasn't obvious descriptions for example facial features, this gives me a huge idea about how the man looks and gives me a lot of creative control. For example the fact this gentleman has been working on the same case for 15 years and its continuing to anger and frustrate him shows not only is he an older gentleman but I can picture him to be quite solemn looking and hardened. I highlighted a few more key elements of the extract to help me to process it and not forget details.
I also highlighted parts of the extract that helped me to envision and build the scene around him, such as where the light entered the room and how the room was completely empty and lifeless.
'Make notes on the following questions'
1. If this were to be made into a film what would the main character be like
I believe this man be a figure of authority given how he has control of police reports, I also think that he is respected and good at his job given he has been doing that role for 15 years. I think this could lend quite well to him being arrogant and not a team player, just from how empty his office is I think that could reflect how empty his life his. This job is making this man angry year after year, he is very emotionally invested into his role and I think this has caused a rift in his family. He believes his job his more important and the role he has in society. This is a cycle that means he throws himself more into his work. Overall these aspects give me a good idea of how he looks, the stress and pressure of his career has given him a constant fierce glare, this is both because his face has changed shape and that he is constantly angry at the world from being such a horrible hate filled place.
I began this exercise by thoroughly reading through the extract, for me often it takes a while for me to read something and really imagine it. Unless it's obvious then I just need to process it. This extract particularly was quite 'wordy' and highly descriptive, even if it wasn't obvious descriptions for example facial features, this gives me a huge idea about how the man looks and gives me a lot of creative control. For example the fact this gentleman has been working on the same case for 15 years and its continuing to anger and frustrate him shows not only is he an older gentleman but I can picture him to be quite solemn looking and hardened. I highlighted a few more key elements of the extract to help me to process it and not forget details.
I also highlighted parts of the extract that helped me to envision and build the scene around him, such as where the light entered the room and how the room was completely empty and lifeless.
'Make notes on the following questions'
1. If this were to be made into a film what would the main character be like
I believe this man be a figure of authority given how he has control of police reports, I also think that he is respected and good at his job given he has been doing that role for 15 years. I think this could lend quite well to him being arrogant and not a team player, just from how empty his office is I think that could reflect how empty his life his. This job is making this man angry year after year, he is very emotionally invested into his role and I think this has caused a rift in his family. He believes his job his more important and the role he has in society. This is a cycle that means he throws himself more into his work. Overall these aspects give me a good idea of how he looks, the stress and pressure of his career has given him a constant fierce glare, this is both because his face has changed shape and that he is constantly angry at the world from being such a horrible hate filled place.
2. What clothes would he be wearing
Because of his job and how he is obviously higher up than your every day police officer he would be wearing a smart suit and possibly a hat. I would say this story is set in the 1950s maybe or later but definitely not modern day for example the girls who had been abducted in this story are described as 'feeble-minded' as if they were weak for getting abducted, I would pin point this level of misogyny and victim blaming into that period of time especially as it is set in England which as a country doesn't experience blatant equality issues as much anymore.
3. What furniture is in the main area in which the action takes place
As we know the office in which our main character works is empty, I can take a very educated guess that that doesn't mean literally empty as we know he has a desk. I would say he would just have his basic things, possibly a notebook and pen as well as a desk lamp to help him read in the dark.
'Collect visual reference for the items on your list'
I browsed the Internet thoroughly for my reference images, I found quite a few images of noir detectives however quite a few didn't fit my vision of the character, they looked too young. I didn't rely on google to find images of exactly what I want as after the first task in this exercise it has helped me to develop a greater idea of who my character is. However in terms of my moodboard I thought it would be more beneficial to have images of character that at least resemble my idea even if they aren't perfect. I have also included some visual references for example the casted shadow over the faces of the characters and the bullet marks on the image. I feel these could really add some character to the illustration. For example I have the idea of placing a bullet mark on his heart, maybe its his job that could get him killed or maybe hes shooting himself in the heart by abandoning his family.
'The next process is about textural and colouristic visual brainstorming and idea generation'
I think this is a vital part of any project and I personally use this process a lot before exercises and assignments. Specifically I will create a colouristic moldboard, this helps me to create a palette of colours before beginning my work, I often work closely with the colours and they help to guide me through my work acting as part of the foundations.
The word I chose is 'Lonliness'.
I chose this word because deep down through his incredibly thick skin he is lonely, he never receives praise from anyone high up so the job is a thankless task. He prefers his own company because he thinks others will crowd his mind and throw him off. He has no one to open up to about his feelings as he has driven his wife and child away as she pursued a carear in Pharmacy in the States. She had a great opportunity for her new job and she thought crime is everywhere so with his credentials he'd find a job and come with her. However he was so invested in his city and viewed his job as an unfinished task, so he refused to leave. Now he keeps a journal where he pours his heart out too.
I feel like this also more importantly captures the mood of the whole image, from reading this extract I get a real sense of loneliness not only in the character but also in the setting. Its for a start, physically lonely, if you considered the room a person and the objects inside of it their friends then its for sure lonely. Also light is what makes a room feel open and bright, it has been known to lift peoples moods and make them happy, but the idea that in this story there is a 'creeping parallelogram of light' it makes me feel that it isn't welcome and apart from the light 'creeping in' the room is full of darkness. Darkness has huge connotations with loneliness, when a room is dark its as if the life has been stripped away, its empty and desolate just the way someone who is lonely would feel.
I put together a moodboard of colours and textures that are associated with loneliness. The first thing I did was find a colour that reflected the mood. When I was researching I discovered how interesting 'grey' was as a colour. Grey almost never exclusively contains just tones and tints of black and white, it often contains other colours such as blue and green. In my case I began with grey and mixed in some purple and blue. Purple is a mix of 'somber blue' and 'active red', it can represent coolness, mist and shadows, it is often considered a mournful colour because its quite soft and lonely. Because Grey is a dark colour itself it already represents loneliness quite well, adding purple just enhances it.
I then began colouring my character. For this I used a set of watercolour brush pens I got for Christmas. They allowed me to add so much texture to the character and blended reall well. For his all outfit I really tied in the colour purple. Even though his trench coat is grey, I used a purple brush to add highlight and then also used a dark purple to add shadows to the other side. Where possible I wanted to include some level of texture from my moodboard in the drawing. Drew on a wood texture to one side of his jacket. As the illulstrations purpose was to reflect a word I thought that even though it would take away from the actual physical texture of the jacket it would add more to the meaning of the illustration.
This I my final piece of work, to finish It off I enhanced the shadow on the right side of his body and jacket just to add more contrast. I did this my adding a really dark purple to the lighter side and then faded it into pure black. I also added more black to his face as well. One of the elements that I really think I did well with, is his skin colour, I wanted to make my character black, however I had to use a mixutre of browns to get the skin colour bang on so it had different shades within it. I attempted to colour it with one solid colour but it looked nothing like a face and more like a pancake it was so flat. That is one thing I love about these pens, there is a lot of forgivness and I can just build up more layers of colour to shade and enhance the face. I then added a purple background, I used two different shades a lighter shade for the left side and a darker shade for the right side. This was to make the background more cohesive with the illustration itself. Within the coat I have also added a cracked wood texture within it so I can enhance the drawing and throw in a few metaphors and extra layers to make the illustration have deeper connections. The last thing I added as the bullet hole, granted this didnt come out as well as I wanted however I think the effect is still present, it gives the illustration a noir feel and fits in with my moodboard. I wanted to have the bullet hole to portray what life is like as my character, he is constantly hunted and the way he abandons those around him for his work is killing him. Overall I think I have achieved the basis of this exercise and have used texture and colour to portray a deeper meaning inside my illustration.
I browsed the Internet thoroughly for my reference images, I found quite a few images of noir detectives however quite a few didn't fit my vision of the character, they looked too young. I didn't rely on google to find images of exactly what I want as after the first task in this exercise it has helped me to develop a greater idea of who my character is. However in terms of my moodboard I thought it would be more beneficial to have images of character that at least resemble my idea even if they aren't perfect. I have also included some visual references for example the casted shadow over the faces of the characters and the bullet marks on the image. I feel these could really add some character to the illustration. For example I have the idea of placing a bullet mark on his heart, maybe its his job that could get him killed or maybe hes shooting himself in the heart by abandoning his family.
'The next process is about textural and colouristic visual brainstorming and idea generation'
I think this is a vital part of any project and I personally use this process a lot before exercises and assignments. Specifically I will create a colouristic moldboard, this helps me to create a palette of colours before beginning my work, I often work closely with the colours and they help to guide me through my work acting as part of the foundations.
The word I chose is 'Lonliness'.
I chose this word because deep down through his incredibly thick skin he is lonely, he never receives praise from anyone high up so the job is a thankless task. He prefers his own company because he thinks others will crowd his mind and throw him off. He has no one to open up to about his feelings as he has driven his wife and child away as she pursued a carear in Pharmacy in the States. She had a great opportunity for her new job and she thought crime is everywhere so with his credentials he'd find a job and come with her. However he was so invested in his city and viewed his job as an unfinished task, so he refused to leave. Now he keeps a journal where he pours his heart out too.
I feel like this also more importantly captures the mood of the whole image, from reading this extract I get a real sense of loneliness not only in the character but also in the setting. Its for a start, physically lonely, if you considered the room a person and the objects inside of it their friends then its for sure lonely. Also light is what makes a room feel open and bright, it has been known to lift peoples moods and make them happy, but the idea that in this story there is a 'creeping parallelogram of light' it makes me feel that it isn't welcome and apart from the light 'creeping in' the room is full of darkness. Darkness has huge connotations with loneliness, when a room is dark its as if the life has been stripped away, its empty and desolate just the way someone who is lonely would feel.
I put together a moodboard of colours and textures that are associated with loneliness. The first thing I did was find a colour that reflected the mood. When I was researching I discovered how interesting 'grey' was as a colour. Grey almost never exclusively contains just tones and tints of black and white, it often contains other colours such as blue and green. In my case I began with grey and mixed in some purple and blue. Purple is a mix of 'somber blue' and 'active red', it can represent coolness, mist and shadows, it is often considered a mournful colour because its quite soft and lonely. Because Grey is a dark colour itself it already represents loneliness quite well, adding purple just enhances it.
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| Thumbnail sketches |
I began this exercise by producing various thumbnail sketches in my sketchbook, all in all these were quite rough concepts but I was just playing around with different perspectives and layouts. I really wanted to have this dark shadow casted over him just how it was described in the extract. I thought this would create a cloud of mystery with my character. I also really liked the idea of encorporating a bullet hole in my portrait just as an extra to add to the image. This would tie nicely into the noir detective vibe and show that as a detective a lot of people want to see him dead.
I chose to go with a more full body illustration, this way I could capture a lot more of his outfit. I liked the idea of him with his arms out stretched, I thought this would look likes hes ready for life and for any criminal scum to come for him. In that pose he has his arms out ready, almost teasing anyone around. That also ties into his large ego and confidence as a detective.
I fleshed the drawing out and drew on his clothes. I chose to go with a 3 piece suit and a long trench coat. It's a classic outfit for a detective however his clothse reflect that as a man he is well put together and looks the real deal.
I then went in with a 0.3 mm fine liner and inked the outlines. I always like to go in with a smaller thickness fine liner just as a base as its more forgivable and gives a clearer sense of direction when it comes to inking with the 0.7mm.
I then began colouring my character. For this I used a set of watercolour brush pens I got for Christmas. They allowed me to add so much texture to the character and blended reall well. For his all outfit I really tied in the colour purple. Even though his trench coat is grey, I used a purple brush to add highlight and then also used a dark purple to add shadows to the other side. Where possible I wanted to include some level of texture from my moodboard in the drawing. Drew on a wood texture to one side of his jacket. As the illulstrations purpose was to reflect a word I thought that even though it would take away from the actual physical texture of the jacket it would add more to the meaning of the illustration.
This I my final piece of work, to finish It off I enhanced the shadow on the right side of his body and jacket just to add more contrast. I did this my adding a really dark purple to the lighter side and then faded it into pure black. I also added more black to his face as well. One of the elements that I really think I did well with, is his skin colour, I wanted to make my character black, however I had to use a mixutre of browns to get the skin colour bang on so it had different shades within it. I attempted to colour it with one solid colour but it looked nothing like a face and more like a pancake it was so flat. That is one thing I love about these pens, there is a lot of forgivness and I can just build up more layers of colour to shade and enhance the face. I then added a purple background, I used two different shades a lighter shade for the left side and a darker shade for the right side. This was to make the background more cohesive with the illustration itself. Within the coat I have also added a cracked wood texture within it so I can enhance the drawing and throw in a few metaphors and extra layers to make the illustration have deeper connections. The last thing I added as the bullet hole, granted this didnt come out as well as I wanted however I think the effect is still present, it gives the illustration a noir feel and fits in with my moodboard. I wanted to have the bullet hole to portray what life is like as my character, he is constantly hunted and the way he abandons those around him for his work is killing him. Overall I think I have achieved the basis of this exercise and have used texture and colour to portray a deeper meaning inside my illustration.
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