Drawing The Fantastic Figurative - Spring 2012

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Homework Assignment 1 - Self Portrait As A Creature
OVERVIEW:
*Note: see more detailed descriptions below the Overview


Part 1: Decide on a creature and do your Research!

Your first homework assignment is to reimagine yourself as a creature. It's up to you as to what creature that may be, but you must combine your own portrait with that of an animal or fictional creature.

You need only create the face / neck and the top of the shoulders - no body! I am looking for QUALITY, not quantity in this piece.

Decide what creature that you want to combine with your self portrait. This can be a real life animal or any fictional character.

Reference Resources:

• Google Image, Flickr, Pbase, and your own books or books from the library are all fair game as reference resources. Just be sure to not directly copy any copyrighted references that you find - you must significantly alter any reference image in order for it to be considered legally yours. Also be sure to look through some of Peter Konig's work and your favorite artists as inspiration. Check through some of the blog links below to get your creative juices flowing.
• If you have other resource sites that you would like me to link, let me know.

Part 2: Ideation

Process:

• Create a set of small, rough silhouettes in your sketchbook (or digitally if you prefer) before embarking on any linear sketch. (*Only your references and silhouette drawings will be due 1/26 - no line drawings - see details below). Try to convey the mood and atmosphere of the piece before ever adding any details. Think of the mood which you want to convey and a background story for this morphed creature's head. 
• Write a short paragraph describing the nature of this creature and his / her background. You will be asked to read this aloud in class next week. Is the creature grotesque? Scary? Cute? Funny? Obnoxious? Gentle? Patient? Organized? Dyslexic? You decide the backstory and write an entertaining description of the creature's characteristics:
• Personality
• Height
• Self Image
• Projected Image
• Background - Where is it from? Where does it live? What does it eat?
• Etc.
• Check out some of these sketches as inspiration by artist Maurice Novembre:

Some Cool General Inspiration:

http://design-milk.com/octopus-chair-by-maximo-riera/#more-65332



Above: I came across the work of artist Travis Louie via CGUnit, check out his interesting work on his website here.

Above: Check out the work of artist Bogi Piroth / aka "mikkamakka" for a nice dose of inspiration. This is just completely bizarre because no sooner did I post this artist's link to our blog did she up and join the Workshop I previously ran on this topic on CGTalk.

Click here to view some great work by friend Shreya Shetty.

Project Considerations / Criteria:

• No boring, fully front on views of the head without any sense of dynamism or expression! Give some tilt or twist to the head / neck to make the pose more interesting. Maybe even the head is in the process of speaking, giving a snarl or smile, in the middle of "lunch" (whatever that is) etc. Try to evoke a mood as much as fulfill the basic requirements of creating a morphed head.
• Consider a strong sense of lighting / chiarascuro. Look at the work of Caravaggio to get a strong sense of lighting. Note the clarity of the light source and the strong sense of design via lights and darks alone:

Detail of Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio

Media:

• As always you can use the media of your choice. You can use a sharpie marker on paper, or you can do your silhouettes digitally. I prefer that these remain in your sketchbook, 8.5" x 11, or the digital equivalent.
• For critique on Thursday, 1/26, be sure to photocopy your traditional sketchbook page so we can put it on the wall, or to print your work if you are working digitally.
• I prefer that this remain in Black / White only.

Part 3: Final Drawing / Digital Painting

• We will discuss this further down the line. Your final piece will not be due for 2-3 weeks at least.
• A few examples of previous completed student work is below - please note that these were the final images which had been developed from previous silhouettes and sketches:

 Above: Allison Reimold

 Above: Audgrey G

  Above: Audgrey G




Above: Veda Tsai

Above: Sarah Wolfe

Also, should you ever desire a paintover before any class, email me a jpg of your drawing / digital image at 800 pix maximum width, 72 dpi, and I will do a paintover with suggestions for your image. (My email: rebeccak4_at_gmail_dot_com) (minus the underscores _ )

Below: Examples of Preliminary Line Drawing Sketches 
*(Please Note - Line Drawings Are NOT Due Next Week!)

Have fun and bring in some great references, silhouettes, and backstories on Thursday!

~~~

Homework Assignment 2, Parts 1 & 2: Reference for Creature and Self Portrait - *Both Parts 1 & 2 Due Thurs.,1/26

Part 1:

There are infinite online resources for finding reference images. It's very important to go online or check out books that have images and information that you need to best inform the development of your characters. A lack of research will be obvious even in your initial sketches. If you have not done enough research by the end of the project your project will ultimately fail.

References, Resources, & Inspiration:

• Google Image, Flickr, Pbase, and your own books or books from the library are all fair game as reference resources. Just be sure to not directly copy in your artwork any copyrighted references that you find - you must significantly alter any reference image in order for it to be considered legally yours. Also be sure to look through some of Peter Konig's work and your favorite artists as inspiration. Check through some of the blog links below to get your creative juices flowing.
• Tor Book Cover Illustration
• Creature Spot Blog
• CGPortfolio
• CGHub
• Conceptart.org
• UGLY OVERLOAD - blog of ugly creatures (highly inspirational!)
• Cute Overload 
• Creature Art Facebook Page
• Cool Fossils
• If you have other resource sites that you would like me to link, let me know.

Homework Assignment 1, Part 1 Overview:
*Please Note - I highly suggest doing this Research in the next day or so as you will need the rest of the week to complete Part 2 - your silhouette sketches. 

Your RESEARCH is Due Thurs., 1/26– You must bring your PRINTED Research Images with you to class on 1/26. Images must be printed and not digital files. No exceptions. Your research will be graded according to completeness. Please no tiny, impossible to see images. 1 – 2 images per page only.

• 10 Realistic photographic references for the CREATURE

• B/W prints (photocopies from books or prints from the web) of 10 separate references for the creature with which you would like to combine your self portrait.

• 10 Realistic photographic references for your SELF PORTRAIT

• B/W prints (photocopies from books or prints from the web) of 10 separate references for your self portrait. I highly recommend having a friend / relative take photographs of you specifically for this assignment. Be sure to use a single light source and to think about the kind of lighting you might ultimately like to use in your final "Self Portrait As A Creature" assignment. (You can also always later retake photographs as your idea develops).

• 15 STYLE references (they must be distinct) for the character design treatment of the Creature Self Portrait.

• You want to show examples of the style which you are going to use to create your Creature Self Portrait. The style can be scary, funny, silly, etc. - it does not have to be of a particular genre. Some general style examples are below:

Etc.

You can also bring in a print or prints of work by your favorite artist/s whose style you may wish to emulate. Below: work by James Jean:

The point is to bring in 15 different images that show 15 different possible styles that you will eventually choose from to create the characters for your interpretation of "Creature Self Portrait".

YOU MUST PRINT ALL OF YOUR IMAGES / DO NOT BRING IN DIGITAL FILES. You will be graded on whether or not you bring in the correct number of reference images for Parts A & B.

* Note: Please do not bring in tiny reference images. If you Google images, use Google Advanced Image Search and set the 'Size / Return images that are' drop box to at least 'Larger than 800 x 600'.

Creature Reference:
*Please note that for any reference that you use, you must modify the reference significantly in order to avoid copyright infringement.

Suggested search terms: Creature Design, Creature Concept Art

____________

Homework Assignment 1, Part 2 Overview:

Your initial SILHOUETTE SKETCHES of the Creature Self Portrait are also Due 1/26 . Images must be printed (if digital) or photocopied (if traditional) and not digital files. Images must not be just left in sketchbooks (because you will need them to refine for the following week). No exceptions. Your sketches will be graded according to completeness. Please no tiny, impossible to see images. (See examples on the blog).

Due 1/26:
• 10 silhouette sketches of your Creature Self Portrait 

 You can fit several to a page (see below for examples of good silhouettes). Emphasize action and movement in your drawings, and consider their sense of gesture. Keep these initial sketches loose and don’t labor over them. These are ideation sketches to be refined. This does not mean to have sloppy sketches or ones that are dashed off at the last moment. Plan your time wisely and do your research on one day (that won’t take long) and give yourself the remaining week to create great silhouette sketches. These will be graded on clarity and distinctness.

We will critique your silhouette sketches as a group on 1/26 , so be sure that they are stunning and that you have clear photocopies to put up on the crit wall.

Example silhouette sketches by previous student:

More example silhouette concept sketches on Google