The following two exercises were related, since using the same list of words we were asked to make them into pictures and to create a mood-board based on some of the words from the same list. The words are: 

• Childhood 
• Exotic 
• Destruction 
• Kitchen 
• Wild 
• Fashion 
• Travel                

​1.Turning words into pictures 

For this exercise I chose the words: Kitchen, wild and destruction. Like expected (and it was stated in the exercise” it was harder to work on the adjectives. Most of my mental process was based on remembering. After choosing the words I kept thinking on related items or concepts form the thing I know or i’ve lived. 

During the process I encountered myself thinking and making quick research on the topic of actual drawing (since I was making little drawing or sketches). These line of thought took me to: 

1. The Gestalt Theory in design 
2. “Drawing on the right side of the brain”, book from Betty Edwards 

​I didn’t want to deviate from the main goal of the exercise which wasn't the aesthetics of the drawings, but I think these two concepts or ideas are worth looking at later.
 
To begin with I created the drawing for the following three words in two days in a row, however I’ll keep doing the rest of the words kind of as a morning warm-up practice. I’d like to include more materials as I only used markers and wax crayons.

The idea of the exercise was to create an illustration based on a magazine or newspaper article and after reading it a couple of times and finding the key words or concepts. 

I chose an article with the title: "The Writing Cure" which explained the therapeutic benefits of expressive writing. 

The main words that kept repeating over the text and the ones I chose to base my illustration on, were: 

• Writing
  
• Private journal
  
• Mental health
  
• Therapeutic
  
• Experiences
  
• Emotions 

To produce this illustration I started drawing small icons that related to each of the words of the list. This process I did digitally, even though since the beginning I had in mind using markers for this piece. Then I went back to my sketchbook for some other tryouts and finally did the illustration in a small A5 paper. 

I'm very pleased with the final result, specially with the original piece since the process of digital editing the image didn't capture the colors and textures as I'd have liked. 

Link to the article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/yes-is-normal/202004/the-writing-cure 

​

Activity I: Research 

​For this exercise we were supposed to explore the work of former illustrators and from nowadays. The idea was to identify differences in style, context and production between the two. I chose Kathleen Hale from the reference list of illustrators from the past 50 years, and Abbey Lossing as a contemporary illustrator. Then I reflected on the following questions: 

• Did the work of the illustrator that you chose from the list seem old- fashioned? If so, what was it that made it seem so?

In general, I didn’t find Kathleen Hale’s work old-fashioned, in fact many of her watercolors look like the work of some contemporary illustrators I follow, especially her series of landscape painting’s of Portugal. These were my favorite pieces and the main reason why I chose these artists from the list. 
Kathleen was well known for her child’s book series “Orlando the Marmalade Cat”, which after 70 years is still being published by the same publishing house that did it in the beginning, Penguin Books. In these series of work, the elements that might seem old-fashioned are the settings, clothing and accessories around the characters, however, I find it unsurprising as it is a reflection of the times it was drawn on. To me the value of this work is number one: understanding the capacity of an illustrator to create and tell stories, and secondly the ability to produce a long series of related work, in this case 19 children’s books.

• What was it about the work of the contemporary artist that attracted you to their work?

The main thing that attracted me to the work of Abbey Lossing was the simple lines, yet complex messages she addresses in her illustrations where human figures are the main focus. Also, I appreciate her use of patterns and colors. Her style is eye-catching and she makes it look effortless but without neglecting harmony.  

• How did each artist produce their illustrations – what tools and materials did they use? 

Hale used mainly watercolors, which she combined with gouache and crayon pencil sometimes. When creating her books “ Orlando the Marmalade Cat”, she wasn't happy with the lithographic process, so she did it herself. 

Lossing’s work is mainly digital. She says in an interview that her current favorite working tool is Photoshop and she includes some animation with After Effects in her work.
The main difference of the work of these two illustrators is of course the use of technology, another difference is the number of elements and detail in the illustrations, while Hale said she cared a lot about the details, one can easily observe a more minimalistic approach from Lossing. However, I’d say they have a similarity in the way they use color: bold combinations.    

• Kathleen Hale: https://www.parkinfineart.co.uk/kathleen-hale
• Abbey Lossing: http://www.abbeylossing.com/

        

Activity II: Draw in the style of a contemporary artist you like

I decided to start with the digital illustration in the style of Abbey. However, I choose using Procreate instead of Photoshop. In order to make this illustration I had to look at various tutorials since it was also my first time using Procreate. By doing this I found a couple of different approaches to drawing and painting with the tool, so the first hours I had to spend getting to know the program as such. I would say it took me four days of use and about four different drawings to feel comfortable with the tool. 

The most interesting thing that resulted from this part of the exercise, is that I ended up deepening into the style of another contemporary illustrator instead of the one I chose. Working in the style of Abbey felt a bit unnatural to me, so I went with a second designer that I also really like (Soleil Ignacio https://www.choleil.com/personal-illustrations ) and made something in her style. The result of this second set of drawing was much more appealing to me and they were closer to what feels more authentic to me. 

Creating my traditional illustration with watercolors, the pressure was much higher. I think it’s a medium that is closer to art than illustration and doesn’t feel as practical, but is the one I've been using the longest so I have more experience using it. I think I need to make it a bit more simple and not be so precious about these types of pieces, focus on simple shapes but beautiful colors. Think on a more graphic approach. 

Overall, the exercise was interesting to me since it isn't what I normally do: looking so closely at other people's style. It was the first time to me actually approaching my practice this way because I never looked into the work of others with such detail. This gave a big understanding of the possible techniques they used, and therefore the ones I could use. It also showed me the results I could achieve and compare more closely my results with others.