Visual Communication Taster

This week I've been introduced to visual communication (Graphic Design, Illustration and Animation), and it's safe to say I have really enjoyed it. I think experimenting more with line drawing and being introduced into drawing type has been a great introduction to this area of art and design. It has made me realise that these specialisms aren't all about design softwares such as Photoshop and Illustrator, it's actually a lot broader than that and traditional methods of art and design are highly appreciated too. I have never really considered myself as a good drawer, however drawing type and using different types of media such as ink and oil pastel has helped me to develop these skills and also enjoy using them.

These are two collage pieces of line drawing made up of objects associated with the senses and type from different types of packaging. I really liked the effect of the white emulsion using a dry brush on these grounds as it creates a textural, soft effect which is good to draw on. I think the ink drawings look most effective on these grounds as the back contrasts massively and really stands out on the pages. Things that didn't work too well was the high heel shoe on the objects piece as the grey felt pen didn't show up very well on the paper and sort of gets lost on the page. On the type piece I think the bottom right doesn't look as effective as the single lines of graphite also doesn't show up as well as the ink, block graphite lettering and the oil pastel. Apart from these negatives I really like these pieces as a series and I think they work quite well.

I also enjoyed experimenting with different types of type in my sketchbook as prep for my two final pieces. I think a lot of these look really effective and as a double page spread I think they are eye catching as a whole and are interesting to look at. 

These are thumbnails from my sketchbook when planning for my final pieces. I found that fine liner pens worked really well for getting the finer, intricate details of the type which overall made them look neat and professional. I also enjoyed using charcoal as a way of filling in the type as it really made it stand out and look bold. The only downfall about this is that it can be quite messy and could smudge all over the page. Less successful media used in these was the graphite, as it didn't get the sharp edges that I would have liked. To improve these, I should have experimented more with grounds in my sketchbook so that I had a range of surfaces to work from beforehand. 

This is my one hour drawing of the inside of a cupboard. I really enjoyed doing this as it is something I have never done before and I think it went well. I got really into the different lines and shapes when drawing the individual objects. Adding detail on these really brought the piece to life. I also enjoyed focusing more on the different types of font used on the labels of these products as it tested my ability to concentrate and think more carefully about what I was drawing. The only downfall about this is that some objects aren't the right proportions as I wasn't looking at my objects as much as I should, although I do really like these pages in my sketchbook and it's one of the things I've most enjoyed doing since being on the course so far. 

This is part one of my final piece for Visual Communication. I used pages from an old music book and brown paper with white emulsion as my grounds. The materials I used for drawing include, collage, fine liner, sharpie and oil pastel. 

The type used looks rather flamboyant and elegant which I really like, however the bolder type could have been improved by being straighter on the page. 

This is the second part to my final piece. I really like this as the collage letters really stand out, especially with them being outlined with marker pen. I also like the contrast between the elegant writing and the boldness of the 'you' at the bottom. The yellow arrow created with collage and oil pastel also attracts your attention and looks prominent on the page. As a set I think they have been successful and I really enjoyed doing them.

As a whole I have really enjoyed these taster sessions and I will seriously consider choosing this to specialise in later on in the course.