Basic 101: Class 31
Compositional Chaos
Well, I hope you guys have really enjoyed our first foray into the pen and ink world. I've said from day one that my vision for this program involves taking you beyond the basics, and introducing you to different media as well. In short, my goal and responsibility is to make you better artists, and to help you discover new ways to convey your artistic vision to your viewer on paper. I hope that I am not failing you thus far in that regard.
In the spirit of the above, we of course have two very important classes in our near future: colored pencil and realistic portraiture. One will not necessarily immediately follow the other, but both will be covered very soon. Given the subject matter of these classes, they will each be very lengthy and hopefully very fulfilling for you all. Now, it also occurs to me that we have had several very intensive, lengthy classes of late, between ink and glass/water/metal madness! Most of you seem to have enjoyed these, and ALL of you have improved as a result, whether you can see it in your results or not. I'm very proud of all of you for your efforts in this program, and how quickly you've been able to adapt to all the different things I have thrown your way. That in and of itself is a testament to how good you are as artists.
But isn't it time for a relaxing, fun class that isn't so grueling? Of course it is! But you should know by now that nothing is as it seems with my classes. There is a method to my madness, and while this class may seem relaxing and fun, perhaps even silly, you can actually learn a great deal and grow as artists if you approach it with the right attitude and enthusiasm. It can either be an incredibly stupid class that does nothing for you, or it can be a tremendous experience that teaches you something about yourselves as artists, and allows you to exercise those parts of your artistic brain that generally don't spend time thinking about things like composition and design, tonal balance, and so forth.
Now I sense even as I write this that some of you (Stacy, maybe?
) are beginning to fear what may be coming. So I will let you off the hook and just go ahead with the assignment. It's not as bad as you think!!!
The assignment is simple. First of all, I guess now would be a good time to tell you that I have decided this will NOT be an ink-only class. With only a few limitations, this class will be a free-for-all of sorts, allowing you to experiment or to go with whatever works best for you. I want you to duplicate the following drawing, and then create your own composition to complete the picture. You can choose to emphasise or de-emphasise this building in your composition. It can be a tight shot of the building with some surrounding shrubbery, or it can be this building along the horizon, seen across the expanse of a corn field or perhaps a lake or stream. It can be a toy building sitting on a monopoly board, with a seemingly giant hand reaching down to pick it up and move it. You get the idea? This is to be YOUR creation, and I want you to really put some thought into it and come up with something that shows off not only your ability to render objects, but also your creativity and your ability to conceptualize and compose a complete picture. This is an opportunity for you to really blow people's minds by letting them peek into yours. Above all else, have fun!
Here is the building to be used (***cool moment of the day! I intended to re-draw this picture today without all the background scenery, in order to avoid confusion for you guys. I was feeling lazy and put it off all day long, and then I remembered that now I can use my trusty photoshop to crudely erase all the bg stuff! Thank you, Adobe!!). The only requirement for this assignment is that your final picture includes this building as a compositional element. Its role or importance within the composition is up to you. Technique, style, and medium (excluding digital nonsense and paint, of course) is up to you as well. In fact, those of you who feel so bold may even do this one in colored pencil if you dare. Just remember - Cindy's watching!!!
Linear Mode
