Experimentation: Mono-Printing

I used my primary images to create mono-prints of children's toys. I think that the process was very successful as the style of the mono-prints responds to the style of Edward Gorey; It's a very dark, gritty style which also links to the story of the book - depression. 

The mono-prints didn't come out as well as I had hoped, I think that I may have used too much ink, which is why I will continue to experiment with this technique to try to improve them.

Primary Images: Children's Toys

Following on from the 'Front Cover Layouts and Designs for Children's Book' blog post, these are the primary images which I have taken to experiment and create my Children's Book Illustrations further. The reason that I have chose to photograph a chair, teddy bears and toys is to relate to my target audience - children.

Artist Response: Quentin Blake

Quentin Blake's work

Quentin Blake's illustration for Michael Rosen's 'Sad Book' of Rosen sitting on the bed looking sad is a very memorable illustration. The use of color and line add to the mood of the illustration which is very sad and depressing.

My primary photograph for response

The photograph on the right, of my mother, is the image that I worked from to respond to Quentin Blake's illustration. I responded to Blake by using the same technique in which he uses to create his illustrations. I placed my primary image on a light-box and then placed a piece of watercolor paper on top.

Quentin Blake speaking about his technique

My response

The image on the right is my response.

I think that the most successful part of my response in the face. In the image above, Blake explains that he always starts with the most hardest part of the illustration first, which is usually facial expressions - this is a process which I also chose to use from Blake.

I think that the response could be improved by using less shades of grey; there are too many different types of grey in the image which overpowers the actual illustration.

I enjoyed using the light-box and I think that it is a very useful technique which I will be continuing to use in my practical work.

Visit: The National Art Library

On the 9th January 2014 our Graphics class visited The National Art Library to find more resources that could be used as references in our A2 Graphics Essay. For me, the visit wasn't greatly beneficial, but I did find a few Edward Gorey illustrations which I had not seen before and I also found a page in a book where Quentin Blake explains how he creates his illustrations.

Below are scans of what I found useful from the visit.

Front Cover Layouts and Designs for Children's Book

I have been thinking of illustrations for my book which could be child-friendly but also communicate the dark theme of depression. Edward Gorey's illustrations are very subtle, but his words are categorized as 'dark humor'; In my children's book I want my illustrations and words to both be subtle, but to communicate the feelings of depression effectively.

I created these designs by using secondary images from Google. I will soon be taking primary images of chairs and teddy bears to make these designs more effective.

The reason that I have chosen to illustrate a chair and a teddy bear on the front is because it shows that someone has been there, but isn't there anymore; a child. I think to make these deigns more successful I should add a cushion on the chair which has a rear-dent in it to show that someone was there before more effectively. 

Artist Response: Edward Gorey

Edward Gorey's work

The way in which Edward Gorey illustrates with pen and ink drawings is one of the main reasons why I am drawn to his work. Illustrating dark themes in such a specific way like this is what adds to the Gothic theme of his work, which I find really interesting. He uses multiple line in a repeated, scratchy style to create a feeling of discomfort.

My response

I responded to Gorey's work by drawing this image to the left in my sketch book by using pen and ink. I looked carefully at the formal elements such as line and pattern in Gorey's work to repeat these techniques in my response.

The most successful part about this response, in my opinion, is the first wall above the flooring. The thin lines going downward, with the darker lines above them creates a dark, depressing mood in the young girls bedroom.

My response

As I was intrigued by Gorey's pen and ink drawings, I decided to create a second response. I think that this response is less successful than my first response because I have used less of the formal elements such as line and pattern. I believe that this response would be a lot more successful with more lines and patterns; The reason that I did not do so is that I thought it would have been quite hard to find the young boy and knife if it was surrounded by so many lines and patterns.

I am going to explore Gorey's technique of pen and ink drawings further as I find that it is really successful in illustrating dark and taboo themes.