10/24/16- 2D Design

Today's Class- Today we moved from the basic drawing phase of the class to more of the design portion, with students creating something at least partly from their own heads.  The assignment was to create an illustration inspired by a literary source, such as a novel, poem, short story, etc.  The medium would be something new to most students- a woodcut print.  Prints were introduced in a slide lecture last week, and today was spent developing the drawing ideas and starting on the carving of the blocks.  Some were very motivated by the medium or the assignment and actually finished carving  their blocks before the end of the class meeting.  Some time was also devoted to safety tips and some got to try some actual woodcut tools that I brought in for the occasion.

How to make this up- You can't make the block without having the wood.  I did provide small panels of luaun plywood to each student, the same wood I used for many years in making my own prints.  These panels were 6" x 8", 1/4" thickness.  Those who were not there today can pick up a panel from me next week, or go to a lumber yard and get some suitable wood yourself.  Meanwhile, you can work out the drawing ideas on paper.

As book illustrations, each image must relate to the narrative of the source material in some way.  It can depict a specific scene from the original story, or be something that sums up the book.  It must be representative, but need not be realistic- the story is more important than how well you draw the subject.  However the design is important- this is an assignment in black and white composition, so we are seeking a balance in positive and negative space, and interesting interactions of black and white shapes.  Make all parts of the panel interesting, as well as balancing the whole composition.  I posted some examples from past students on this blog, which can be found here or just scroll down to the next post.  The compositions can be either vertical or horizontal.  To speed up the process, I suggest you come in next week with a worked out drawing on paper, and I will spend some time going over it with you and making suggestions before you start creating your block.  At least in pencil, though most will also use a sharpie marker to provide the drawing with the proper black effect.

The original hope was to have this ready for a proposed foundations classes student show, and as of Monday there was some question as to how it would work.  I learned on Tuesday night that the deadline for entry of that show is now on November 4, 2016.  Work submitted by then will be evaluated (not by me) for the show.   For the purposes of the class, the block deadline is the Monday after that, and that's not changing, as I think it's more important for the class that you do well in the focus of the project.  However, if you have finished your block by next week and wish to submit it to the student show, I will have materials to print the images in class on October 31st.  Bring your completed block and a piece of paper large enough to print it (standard drawing paper at least a few inches larger than the block in all directions).  For mounting purposes it was asked that students use black foam core or black mat board.  I can go over that with you in class next week.

Homework- This graded book illustration project (the carved block) is due at the beginning of class on November 7, 2016.  On that day, while everyone is working on another assignment, I'll take everyone individually over to the print tables and help everyone print a good proof of you block. We will critique them in class later that day.

For next week 10/31/16- We go to work on the other important principle of 2D design that we'll need to know this semester- use of color.  I will go over the history of color in art, discuss basic color theory, and we'll do some exercises in basic color mixing.  Bring your 18" x 24" pad, pencil and eraser, tubes of black, white, red, yellow, and blue acrylic paints, paint brushes, mixing palette, and a water container.