ILLUSTRATIONS
Things I wish I was
October 2017
Exhibition Text
These digital illustrations, titled Things I wish I was, were done by Susana Flores in 2017. It draws lots of interests, since it contains so many aspects which are symbolic to myself. In these illustrations, I am depicting to the viewer my aspirations in life through comical drawings. The intent was not to draw a realistic scene but more "cartoony". I am also using symbolic elements found in other art works to express my feelings. This is a piece about my overcoming insecurities.
Exhibition Text
These digital illustrations, titled Things I wish I was, were done by Susana Flores in 2017. It draws lots of interests, since it contains so many aspects which are symbolic to myself. In these illustrations, I am depicting to the viewer my aspirations in life through comical drawings. The intent was not to draw a realistic scene but more "cartoony". I am also using symbolic elements found in other art works to express my feelings. This is a piece about my overcoming insecurities.
Artist Inspirations: Polly Nor & Vicky Katzman
Polly Nor |
Polly is best known for her dark and satirical drawings of women and their demons. Her recent body of work features a range of hand drawn, digital illustrations and sculpture work. Interweaving themes of identity, female sexuality and emotional turmoil throughout her work, Nor is inspired by her own female experience of life in the internet-age. Her Illustrations often tell stories of anxiety, self doubt, and the struggle for self-love. Since graduating in 2011 she has been commissioned by a variety of clients including Bloomsbury Publishing, Dazed Digital, Hunger, Dr Martens, Complex Magazine and Gucci. She has also been a guest speaker on the digital arts for the Apple Store hosted by Dazed Magazine |
Vicky graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in illustration. Since that time, she has worked on a freelance basis for clients such as The New York Times, Condé Nast, Yoga Journal and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, with projects ranging from book jackets, t-shirts and poster design, to signage and shopping bags. Her work has been recognized by American Illustration, Communication Arts, Print, and the Society of Illustrators.
Whether paper-cutting or printmaking, Vicky's process is firmly rooted in the handmade. |
Vicky Rabinowcz Katzman |
Planning Sketches
My inspiration for this piece was from two sources; one, an image I found on Instagram by an artist with the username PollyNor. The "hip" imagery paired with the perspective of the piece and the simplicity of it all were things I wanted to incorporate into my piece. My second inspiration was the piece "My Body" by Vicky Rabinowcz Katzman; the composition as well as the cartoon style again were things I definitely wanted to involve into my final piece.
Right away I knew that I wanted to do a self portrait and that I wanted it to be a digitally illustrated. So I began to make some rough practice sketches. I began with simply looking at an image and drawing a small copy in a cartoon style, I then began to practice the basic face structure looking in various directions. While I was making these practice sketches I decided that just simply making a digitally illustrated self portrait wasn't enough. So I decided I would make it a sequential piece as well. I continued with the practice of my eyes and finding my nose type. |
|
Experimentation
Below I was focusing on the style of illustration. I used black ink so that the emphasis was just on the style.
I created a light outline in pencil.( It is important to try and avoid leaving dark enough lines that can be seen through the gouache and watercolor.) I then began to add details such as light and dark in the sketches. I wanted the contrast in these drawings to be heavy. Once I outlined the pencil sketch with ink I waited for the ink to dry so I could erase the pencil lines.
My main area of experimentation was within the color scheme as well as the blending in the piece. I wanted the subject to look semi realistic, but i also wanted to draw inspiration from Polly Nor's artwork (as seen below).
|
Process
I started with some lineart then decided on a palette color. In my case I was sticking to pastele colors and some shading to create the illusion of depth.
|
Videos that aided in the process
During the course of this project, I found myself struggling a lot with overcoming art block and what it meant to develop a style of illustration. So I went to the internet and found tips on how to overcome this trouble.
|
|
|
Connection to the ACT
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
Polly Nor has interweaving themes of identity, female sexuality and emotional turmoil throughout her work, Nor is inspired by her own female experience of life in the internet-age. Her Illustrations often tell stories of anxiety, self doubt, and the struggle for self-love. In my illustration(s) the theme is based on the same inspiration that inspires Polly Nor and Vicky Katzman.
What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme for this piece was
What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Polly Nor has interweaving themes of identity, female sexuality and emotional turmoil throughout her work, Nor is inspired by her own female experience of life in the internet-age. Her Illustrations often tell stories of anxiety, self doubt, and the struggle for self-love. In my illustration(s) the theme is based on the same inspiration that inspires Polly Nor and Vicky Katzman.
What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme for this piece was
What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?