Murder Mystery Still Life

For this assignment we were to set up a still life at home that looked like the scene of a murder, and then reproduce it in a drawing medium naturalistically.


I threw stuff about in my room and set up the still life. I don't actually own a severed head, so I just had to wing it without reference. Same with the blood. I rendered the still life on 18"x24" drawing paper with washes of ink. I wanted it to look a bit awkward, so I basically painted the image with indian ink and water. The image vacillates between naturallistic and stylized, which I like.

Murder Mystery Still Life, ink on paper

Drawing II Spring 2010

Kelli Kelli Kelli Kelli Kelli Kelli ......

This assignment was to create a painting from one photo-reference using goauche thickly. My roommate Kelli was so awesome as to let me dress her up and take a photo-shoot of her for this assignment. 


This assignment was a good learning experience for me. I believe I had mentioned before that before this year, I have never taken a formal painting class. This was the first painting I have created working with the figure and using goauche this thick. I think I did a pretty nice job. My only big criticism would be the lack of value in the face, making it flat compared to the rest of the texture in the composition. This is how we learn :)

Commercial Illustration test run

This illustration was for Illustration Word and Image. The assignment was to draw the commons at PNCA from observation, then take on of the model drawings we had down from class and superimpose it in the commons drawing. Then we were to tie it all together, with color and/or text if necessary to create a complete illustration. I found this assignment especially challenging as it is so far from the stuff that I normally due. Thankfully I have few issues drawing from observation.


To make a long story short, I drew the commons, drew the model, used light washes of gouache for color, inked in all of the contours, and then tied all of the empty spaces together by putting text over them. 


The text is totally irrelevant, I used the poem The Human Abstract by William Blake, and then as an extra something I wrote "BEESTICKS: what secrets do you hold?" in the background.

The Human Abstract

Illustration Studio I Spring 2010

Ink translation of a black and white photo

Just what I said. Drawing II Spring 2010

Sketchbook Shinannigans!

Work from my sketchbook was integral to my curriculum this semester. Up until this point, I mostly used my sketchbook to hash out compositional thumbnails for bigger pieces, practice through my own sketches of other people's work, and for general rough sketches. This semester I took Illustration Word and Image from sketchbook luminary Kurt Hollomon. It has been YEARS since I created any complete compositions of my own in my sketchbook, so I wanted to display here some of the pieces from my sketchbook this semester that I was especially happy with.

My version of a Tara McPherson piece, acrylic

Still Life. Simple, but I like it. Ink.

Portrait of Aleister Crowley, ink

Another portrait of Aleister Crowley, goauche

experiment in naturalistic illustration, goauche and micron

The only drawing I have made start to finish with only ink, no graphite preliminary sketching!

In-class warm-ups/assignments Spring 2010

These are pretty self-explanatory, just a collection of exercises and lesser assignments that I would like to display. 

Drawing II

Trompe L'oeil

Still Life (Hobo Shrine)

Still Life (Adventures of Pierre the Badger)

In-class Model

Illustration Painting II

5 minute tissue paper paintings

landscape

In-class Models

Holy Updates! aka Painting Final from Last Semester

Oh My God, this blog is waaaayyyy overdue to be updated. Professor Kurt Hollomon strongly disapproves!!!! Well, as per his suggestions, I will do my best to keep this thing current.

I will start this mad barrage of updating with my Illustration Painting Final from last semester. I know, that was last December, but I didn't get the thing back 'til February... and then I got busy. MOVING RIGHT ALONG!

I created a prototype of an illustrated bestiary, specifically about creatures from Anglo-American folklore. 

This is an accordion book, the cover created from illustration board and book cloth. Each illustration was 4"x4", with a little description and background info next to each creature.

I believe the Jackalope needs no introduction. Fear him, he thirsts for your blood.

Ogopogo, the famous lake monster from British Colombia. For reference I used an image of an albino alligator and an image of a white eel.

And my favorite, the Wampus Cat. Obscure, cursed cat-woman from Native American mythology.