The Mechanics of Visualization
Visual images have been used for centuries before this time, everyone a pioneer of the visual language with use of space, form, light, composition, color, etc. And relatively recently in history, there have been dozens of movements to express art in many stylistic ways. And also quite recently commercial artists have been able to progress in their own work in the marketplace because of the diversifying need of the market, giving illustrator’s more freedom to experiment.
The many movements of art, their rise and demise, is because of political and social upheaval, technology advances, and transfer of ideas.
The book then shows a few images of graffiti art and war illustrations.
It’s better to employ a few techniques to a with space, form, tone, light, composition, color, etc then to use all of them at once. It allows the viewer to better engage with the work and opens up imagination verses a dry artwork that’s not interesting.
The message is everything, so don’t over focus on technique. It’s also important to not under-do on your techniques that the ineptness hinder’s the work.
Drawing:
- There are different types of pencils, from 9H lights, to EE darkest to create many different types of makes when applied. There are also chalks, crayon, and pastels, “softer ten graphite” to make broken lines, however they need to be “fixed” with a spay to prevent any judging.
- Paper is also highly important with many different weights and surface treatment, and it can difficulty affect the pencil marks.
- And next is the eraser. There are rubber ones, and there are also putty rubber erasers for things like charcoal and graphic stick. There is also a technique to cover a paper entirely in graphite, use at the putty rubber, and create a negative drawing.
- You must also use a sharpening tool like a sharpener or even a craft knife to not break softer lead. Of course, there is pen, ink, and brush that can be used for drawing as well, and computers can be of use to draw too.
The Sketch
Sketches are a great start from getting what’s in your head out into the world. It’s be explored, added too, improved, and refined along the way. It’s a process that can be frustrating but have fun, explore, experiment, and make the necessary changes.
The Drawing:
It should feel complete, and contain accuracy in observation and authenticity-that’s what makes it convincing. Finished drawing can be split into mow main categories, the observed and the imagined.
The Observed:
It’s drawn from life, specific, and contains energy and dynamism. The illustrator needs to react to life around them and the skill lies in choosing what to include and what to leave out. The minor details can be added later but if too much is done with refinement, then the raw energy of the drawing might be lost completely.
The Imagined:
It’s about knowing your subject through research, as well as elucidating ideas about the subject, creating a feeling that a literal photograph cannot.
Painting, printmaking, and assemblage.
Colors have been used from the natural world and applied to walls, paper, animal skin, wood and canvas for hundreds/thousands of years. Paintings have been made as “final "pieces or small limited edition prints. Printmaking on the other hands reproduces a limited edition or in vast quantities over and over again.
Illustrators often use acrylics, gouache, and watercolors to make their work along with the appropriate brushes.
The book shows various examples of watercolor, etched, inkjet, wood block illustrations from various artists.
Printmaking:
A range of mechanical techniques that reproduces an image again and again such as: Wood engravings, Linocut, Drypoint, Etching, Engraving, Lithography, Screen printing.
Assemblage:
College making, taking, cutting, and restructuring various different found materials for an image.
Traditions in Depicting Space: ‘
Taking the 3D and making it into 2D,and the decoder (viewer) is just a s important as he code-maker (the artist) in creating the image. Ex: To Westerners, parallel lines converge as they move farther away, and to a Chinese viewer, they diverge as they move farther away. Neither is actually accurate, parallel lines stye parallel in space.
The Indian Tradition:
Mogul tradition mainly uses drawing in preparation for paintings. Space relationships are depicted by employing a simple system, nearest the viewer are placed at the bottom, middle forms in the middle, and the farthest from the view are placed at the top. Human figures will not reduce in size as they recede however. Instead one is partially obscured by another to show it is the farther object.
The East Asian Tradition:
Close relations between calligraphy, drawing, and painting. Often, one color and thickness of line is employed. Minimalism and economy of line is used the most, with a single brushstroke used to convey a lot of information. Parallel lines diverge,
The African Tradition:
Drawings are used in preparation for sculpture and painting. Very stylized forms for religious ideas, rituals, etc. Different viewpoints of the human figure are assembled to emphasize features. Head in profile (side-on), torso from front, and female characters often have one breast seen in front on, the other in profile. Also used is an interesting front view of the eye combined with a side view of the head.
The Western Tradition:
Before the Renaissance artist used space like Eastern counterparts. One figure placed in front of another showed spatial recession. Important figures were made large then others.
Filippo Brunelleschi created coherent system for ordering space.
When prospect is ignored or exaggerated these days, it is often for artistic and dramatic effect.
Perspective:
- "Guiding principles Parallel lines appear to converge when viewed obliquely (at an angle).
- Equal dimensions become foreshortened as they move off into the distance.
- Objects of a similar size appear to diminish as they recede into the distance.
- Overlapping by foreground objects obscures the view of more distant objects.
- Atmospheric perspective (or aerial perspective) denotes distance, where atmospheric effects will diminish the intensity of colors and diminish contrast.
- Texture and pattern appear more detailed when seen closer up than when seen from a distance.”
- Other important things are:
- Fixed viewpoint, con of vision, picture plane, vanishing points, and horizon line.
- One-point Perspective:
- Has one line to which the horizontal or vertical lines will converge to creating a single vanishing point.
- Two-point Perspective:
- Has two sets of parallel lines with was set having it’s own vanishing point t create two canting pints.
- Three-point Perspective:
- Three set of parallel lines, with the third one being above or below the object to create a distortion.
Form, Tone, Light:
- We make connections visually from lightness and darkness on objects, which creates a tone, with everything fitting in the range from black to white.
- Light sources affect shadows, with a high light source making small shadow, and a low light source making long shadows.
- Tone with Color creates illusions in our perspective of how things really are. Using tone and knowing all the shaded areas before putting in color for an artwork can greatly helped the overall color feel. Partitioners of light actively create mood, atmosphere, tension and fear though light and darkness.
Composition:
The ordering of shapes on the picture plane. It needs to be ordered in a coherent way to play the eye probably with one of the following: vertical, horizontal, diagonal, or circular elements.
Format:
This relates to the dimension of the image. Countries have their own integrated sizing system for writing. Also, landscape vs portrait is another one.
- The Golden section: Greeks tired to find a composition most pleasing to the eyes, often using math and natural forms to find it. They defined the picture plane into thirds, focusing on the one-third or the two-thirds point of the picture on the sides or the top in the cross sections.
- The Symmetrical composition:Image focused in the center with everyone being symmetrical on the sides or in all four quadrants.
- The Asymmetrical composition:Creates dynamic and vibrant composition by not using any symmetry. Often used by Cubists.
- Cropping: Zooming in or out of an image to create focus and drama, often used in comics as a point of view technique.
Color Within an Image:
- Isaac Newton and the white light through the glass prism showed the seven colors of white light.
- Johann Wolfgange von Goethe purblind the Theory of Colors, mathematically breaking colors down and showing the relations.
- Michel-Eugen Chevreul wrote The Principles of Harmony and Contrast and their Application to the Arts, showing the behavior of one color to the colors around it.
- Red, yellow, and blue are primary colors. Orange, Green, and Purple are secondary, and tertiary are forms of mixes from both primary and secondary.
- Hue: intrinsic color of a color, (e.e, red, blue, etc).
- Value: the lightness/darkness of a color. A lighter version is a tine, and a darker version is a shade.
- Chroma: combination of hue and saturation. High chroma is saturated to it’s purest strength and low chroma is in its most muted grey form.
- Color Wheel: based on Newton’s Color Spectrum.
- Complimentary: colors opposite on the wheel.
- Color Solid: "this is a three-dimensional mixing system that combines a color wheel, a chroma chart, and a value chart.”
- Color Scheme: restricted color palette.
- Monochromatic: variations of one hue.
- Perceptual transparency: illusion of transparency when felt opaque colors of tow colors overlap to make a midway color.
- Simultaneous contrast: how one particular color is changed from it’s neighboring colors surrounding it.
Using all these things will benefit an illustrator’s work, but it’s important to keep in mind the Zeitgeist, or the “spirit of the times” as the world changes with communication and semiotics.
