Brief
For the following brief, students created six self promotional postcards, each in a distinct contemporary visual style. The illustration set needed to convey, broadly, the idea of an ‘inner world’.
Concept:
I illustrated six of my own poems, bringing to life my ‘inner world’. I predominantly worked in traditional media, with some illustrations executed in pen and ink, others in acrylic paints, in lino, and one in willow charcoal
I then brought these images into Illustrator and played around with them, finding the appropriate look for the six styles, namely: liquid neon, shadow surrealism, painterly realism, flat illustration, granules and gradients, and mechanical realism.
The final postcards show the illustrations on the front, and an extract of the accompanying poem on the reverse.
The final postcards show the illustrations on the front, and an extract of the accompanying poem on the reverse.
Final Illustrations:
1. Mechanical Realism
"the thunder clouds stay far away // so does the sickness and the fear// all because of the straight limbed spirits//which dance around my home // holding hands// singing us all to sleep"
2. Liquid Neon
"the ocean bobbed and weaved //its strange horse head at me //the crest the mane the sea a snake// neck all beautiful // all crazed"
3. Shadowed Surrealism
""and a black figure in the water // wonder if it was Jesus // the sound of thunder// perhaps my mother’s heart beating"
4. Granules and Gradients
"I’ll bleed and I’ll birthlike a circle being drawn in salt// where the crystals cross over// I will live there // where the water is drawn from the air // I will live there"
5. Painterly realism
"and now I look down and there’s light pouring from every part of me// out of my skin // my hairs // my spit // my tears// and I’ll never need to cling again"
6. Flat Vector Illustration
"our love was strong // dogs packing // hackles raised and tongues showing // and there was a softness there however rare // but my bones dissolved into blood and milk// and you knew it in the end"
Reverse Designs:
Mockups:
Reflection:
I enjoyed combining various digital and traditional media in this project. I started to discover my own style in illustration - even though each piece is executed in a different medium, I do believe there is visual harmony between all six illustrations.
The barking dogs illustration, done in Procreate, especially opened a door to considering digital illustration and the use of a strong colour palette in my work, which I usually leave in black and white
I especially enjoyed manifesting my writing visually. When I write, I can clearly see what I'm writing about. It was rewarding taking those moments and visualising them.
The barking dogs illustration, done in Procreate, especially opened a door to considering digital illustration and the use of a strong colour palette in my work, which I usually leave in black and white
I especially enjoyed manifesting my writing visually. When I write, I can clearly see what I'm writing about. It was rewarding taking those moments and visualising them.
