The Illustration Academy - Week 1

Finally managed to fix a scanner and put some stuff together. Allow me to demonstrate some of the step-by-step process shared by the instructors at the Illustration Academy. This was the first project introduced during the first week of the program in Richmond. The brief was to produce an image with the theme "Slice of Richmond" that would depict some aspect of the city, and the technical limitation was to use only shapes and color, no rendering. The idea was to rely only on 1 or 2 values to define each shape, so the main focus was Composition and Value Structure. Excellent exercise.

During the ideation process, my main thoughts were to explore the lifestyle of a certain area of Richmond called The Fan. The Fan was a very chilled student neighborhood where me and my friend Felipe (who also went to the Academy) stayed for a week prior to the program. There we felt like home and met amazing people. One of them was Chris, a fellow couchsurfer who hosted us during this period. The scene i wanted to depict in my image was one that actually happened: Chris and Emma, his girlfriend, sitting on a couch on a back of a truck heading back home after a chilled afternoon yard sale. Having that as a starting point, i started sketching some thumbnails. Below are some images showing the process from thumbnailing to the final image.

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Finalmente consegui escanear desenhos e montar uma demonstraçao do método ensinado pelos professores da Illustration Academy. Este foi o primeiro projeto introduzido durante a primeira semana do curso em Richmond. O desafio era produzir uma imagem cujo tema era "Pedaço de Richmond", ilustrando algum aspecto da cidade na qual estávamos. A limitaçao técnica para este projeto era usar somente formas e cor, sem renderizar. A idéia era depender apenas de 1 ou 2 Valores para definir cada forma, portanto o foco foi treinar Composiçao e Estrutura de Valor. Excelente Exercicio.

Durante o processo de obtenção de idéias, meus pensamentos voltavam-se ao estilo de vida de uma certa area de Richmond chamada The Fan (O Leque, ou Ventilador). The Fan é uma área estudantil bem tranquila onde eu e meu amigo Felipe ficamos na semana anterior. Lá nos fizeram sentir em casa e fizemos grandes amizades. Uma delas foi Chris, um couchsurfer camarada que nos hospedou em sua casa. A cena que eu pretendia ilustrar neste projeto foi uma que realmente vi acontecer: Chris e Emma, sua namorada, sentados em um sofá colocado na parte de trás de uma caminhonete voltando para casa após uma tarde de yard sale (uma espécie de brechó caseiro, muito tipico na sociedade americana). Tendo esta imagem mental como ponto inicial, começei a esboçar. Segue a sequencia de imagens desde os thumbnails até a imagem final.

quick thumbnails - searching for shapes and composition / procurando formas e composiçao

Value study - making objects read well by juxtaposing different values

Estudo de Valor - Dando leitura a objetos atraves da justaposiçao de diferentes valores

C

Color study - searching for a harmonious color pallete

Estudo de Cor - procurando uma paleta de cor harmoniosa

 Final Linework - Defining each shape and transfer it to illustration board

Definindo cada forma exata para transferir ao illustration board

Final Image with acrylics on illustration board 16x16'

Imagem final em acrílica sobre illustration board 40x40cm

The final image, inspite of not being exactly my most beautiful piece of work, was a very important step forward for me in terms of shifting my attention to fundamental elements of image-making. Value structures and composition are at the core of every illustration and should always be considered. Another great step for me was learning some things about how to mix paint and use colors effectively, something that i've always lacked as a digital painter. Hope this little demontration was useful. Soon i'll be posting some more stuff i've learned during my time there.

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Esta imagem final, apesar de nao ser meu trabalho mais bonito, foi um passo essencial para meu progresso em termos de priorizar minha atençao à elementos fundamentais da contruçao de imagem. Estrutura de Valor e Composiçao estao no cerne de toda ilustraçao e devem sempre ser levadas em consideração. Outro grande passo para mim foi aprender a misturar tinta e usar cores de forma eficiente, algo que, como artista digital, sempre me faltou. Espero que esta pequena demonstraçao tenha sido util. Em breve estarei postando mais coisas que aprendi no meu tempo por lá.

Back and Upgraded

There and back again!
Time to put everything i learned into practice, starting with a fresh website. Soon i'll be posting some of the artwork i've been doing this past 3 months.

Off i go!

 
Time for some intense art-making over summer at The Illustration Academy! Monday i'm off to Richmond-USA for a whole month of illustration frenzy with awesome artists like Sterling Hundley, Doug Chayka and Josh George!! It's gonna be epic!

RAW

“Nothing of any importance can be taught. It can only be learned, and with blood and sweat.”

Little tribute to good ol' wilson. Try to get a hold of his "Prometheus Rising", its one of those books

Sketchbook cover

Exploring with collage and mixed media on the front and back cover of my sketchbook.
Fun times.

Here's the whole thing:

And here's some details:

Television is a drug

"The nearest analogy to the addictive power of television and the transformation of values that is wrought in the life of the heavy user is probably heroin. Heroin flattens the image; with heroin, things are neither hot nor cold; the junkie looks out at the world certain that whatever it is, it does not matter. The illusion of knowing and of control that heroin engenders is analogous to the unconscious assumption of the television consumer that what is seen is "real" somewhere in the world. In fact, what is seen are the cosmetically enhanced surfaces of products. Television, while chemically non-invasive, nevertheless is every bit as addicting and physiologically damaging as any other drug
Not unlike drugs or alcohol, the television experience allows the participant to blot out the real world and enter into a pleasurable and passive mental state. The worries and anxieties of reality arc as effectively deferred by becoming absorbed in a television program as by going on a "trip" induced by drugs or alcohol. And just as alcoholics are only vaguely aware of their addiction, feeling that they control their drinking more than they really do ... people similarly overestimate their control over television watching. ... Finally it is the adverse effect of television viewing on the lives of so many people that defines it as a serious addiction. The television habit distorts the sense of time. It renders other experiences vague and curiously unreal while taking on a greater reality for itself. It weakens relationships by reducing ; and sometimes eliminating normal opportunities for talking, for communicating."
[Excerpt from Food of the Gods]

And here's how the trip is:


Television is a drug. from Beth Fulton on Vimeo.

Sketch