Below is the Anatomy final (the first part was the skeletal structure, not pictured) plus the first three Independent Study pictures, then a few sketches for my Senior portfolio class/Independent study.

The newest work (sketches) are focusing much more on a narrative, as opposed to the original three studies, which began mostly as an exercise for watercolor and painting the figure. Unintentionally, but necessarily my Independent Study project has evolved and melted into my Senior Portfolio work for this semester.

Enjoy.

]]> http://andreaalbanillustration.com/2012/12/26/holiday-update-part-trois/feed/ 0 Bandeau on the cusp of adventure andreaalban Bandeau and Bellamy Bandeau in an alleyway Bandeau vignettes Bandeau scribbles Two page view Bandeau meets Long Eared Owl Bandeau and the Moon Bandeau on the cusp of adventure Momma and Bandeau some type page work Family Portrait Nondescript dummy book cover Book map revisited Book map http://andreaalbanillustration.com/2012/12/26/holiday-update-part-deux/ http://andreaalbanillustration.com/2012/12/26/holiday-update-part-deux/#comments Wed, 26 Dec 2012 14:36:26 +0000 andreaalban http://andreaalbanillustration.com/?p=748 ]]> Click to view slideshow.

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Based on “Teddy” from J.D. Salinger’s “Nine Stories”.

Illustration as Fine Art project

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Senior Portfolio work; Fall 2012

I had hoped to get some face time with my professor, to talk more about what difficulties I was having and hopefully to get specific advice on how to tackle my art in a more productive, successful and constructive way. Unfortunately I was unable to get that, maybe next week.

For this assignment, we’ve been given the opportunity to land a real job- the perks of my teacher being married to an art director (who I’ve heard is one of the best). Needless to say I was daunted, but I was very ready to take on the challenge. Based on the prompt, I thought I came up with some really good sketches- they were right up my alley, I thought they were funny and cute and could be contenders when I had them finished and up on the wall.

The prompt was “Best of the Best”, so I went for the similar phrase “Cream of the crop”. I’ll upload my sketches this weekend so you can see exactly what I came up with. However, the general crit was that everyone focused too much on the implied competition- most if not all of the students pieces included two competitors duking it out (so to speak)- mine included, although I tried to make it much more lighthearted.

Chris felt I should have stayed away from representing too directly the phrase “Cream of the Crop” (my sketches included produce… I was hoping I could represent the pun in a positive way with humor but yet again, my approach fell flat.), but felt that if I wanted to use vegetables and fruits that I could, I just had to find a way to make them represent the best of the best without winners and losers or with being too straightforward with the imagery.

Of course then people started suggesting the produce and pie competitions at fairs, which I had thought of at one point but didn’t sketch out. I felt badly because he liked the way that idea was heading, but felt if I latched onto that idea that I was just using someone else’s good suggestion because I couldn’t or didn’t come up with my own. Maybe that’s my pride getting in the way, but I want to be able to come up with the solid ideas and not always be the one being reminded of them.

For the last half hour of class he had us do quick sketches and other exercises that would hopefully help us all come closer to the best image. I succumbed to the fair idea and tried to come up with sketches of a huge pumpkin that was clearly the best, but trying to avoid imagery of winners and losers. I was able to nab my teacher as everyone was leaving and show him what I came up with and he said one of them was closer to representing the theme, so I decided to work on that one.

It was a very frustrating process- it’s worse when I feel like one of the three who is always picked last, but it’s still discouraging when everyone has the same problem. He admitted that it was tough, but that he knows we can do it. It’s a nice sentiment, and I want to believe it but I haven’t been able to deliver an image that he’s been enraptured by yet. Or anyone for that matter. I really liked my first ideas and wish there was a way to make them work, but if I came up with an idea that he at least connected to more as a better image, I suppose I should go with that one.

I haven’t had so much difficulty in coming up with an image before. I guess all of my images so far have been weak, if my ideas now (at the near end of my college career) are any indication.

In contrast, I seem to be on the right track in my Illustration as Fine Art class. My work is coming along (it just needs to be more polished, my teachers say), but it hasn’t been at all like my Portfolio class, where I keep on missing the mark. I feel that their critiques are more organic and constructive. I don’t feel discouraged, I just know what I should do next, or what I should do to improve it. It’s just such a stark contrast between the two classes. It’s pretty confusing for me in that respect.

I have a teacher that is continually unsatisfied with my work, and then other classes (my anatomy class included) who think I’m doing swimmingly. I’m chugging along in my Children’s Book Illustration class. I haven’t been very happy with any of the finished illustrations I have created so far, but I’m really throwing myself into the production of my book. We have to have all of our final compositions done before Christmas break, as well as a book dummy. We’re all behind, but at least I like my story and characters. I’m very motivated to do really well on this project because it will represent what I want in my portfolio.

Have any of you had or have this struggle, where you just keep seeming to fall just short of the goal or can’t seem to reach it? Or if you keep hearing two diametrically opposed opinions about the quality of your work? I suppose not everyone will like your work and that is just a fact of life, but I know it’s not that my teacher doesn’t think I can draw, it’s that my ideas are lacking and that the execution could be better (but it always can).

If you’ve had a similar struggle or have advice, leave a comment. I would love to hear and relate and see how you overcame or dealt with the problem.

Until next time,

Andrea

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Preliminary character design sketches.

Children’s Book Illustration Class

They were Robyn Ng, Dadu Shin and Greg Kozatek. I hadn’t heard of any of them, but I’m very bad about being informed about my contemporaries. They were all so interesting and had such amazing work. They all graduated from RISD in Illustration and had gone on to do very different things.

Dadu is mainly a freelance illustrator, and has a really great look to his work (BTW, please look these guys up! You won’t be disappointed!) Robyn works at a publishing company as a book designer (among other things)! She does many book covers, and also dabbles in Typography. She was a great example, because many publishers look for Illustrators who have comprehensive knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and other important Adobe programs. She told us to definitely learn how to do something if you are asked to and don’t know how. Don’t say, ‘I don’t know how’, immerse yourself in learning something new! Get help! Both Robyn and Dadu have worked with my portfolio teacher’s wife, who is a well known and highly esteemed art director, and they both had very positive things to say about her, because she knows what she wants.

Greg also graduated from the Illustration department, but had found an interest in set and production design during his last year of school. Luckily he was allowed to pursue it, even in the illustration department and got to do some really neat projects by collaborating with theater and production majors at his school. He currently works with a production company that does indie theatrical productions among many varied other things, and he really enjoys it. He also gets to work on advertising and bookmaking with a small publishing company. He has also done some event design and set design.

But you can learn all about them by visiting their websites- of course!

So let me move on to the true subject of this post.

It was amazing to speak with these three, because they were only a few years older than us (my classmates and I) and had become established in their fields- Greg even designed something for one of Rihanna’s concerts (wow). And what was most important, was that they were adamant about manipulating an assignment into something more interesting for the artist, and spoke about big projects they worked on that they had to re work so that they were successful, and how many interesting opportunities they had gotten by speaking with many people and treating every job opportunity (free or paid) as a very serious matter, where they needed to do their best.

They were such great inspiration, and really cool and very approachable! They even took one of my business cards each (which was amazing) and Dadu told me to contact him whenever I wanted if I needed feedback or advice (which was so nice!) They even did a critique on our homework assignments (we still have to show our teacher of course), but it was refreshing to hear new input, from three people!

They all experienced the lull, apres school, but encouraged us to keep working, if not for jobs, then for ourselves. Robyn said that after school she traversed Europe, and then came back to the States to work, Dadu said he did almost nothing for the first two months after school which also felt nice and relaxing, but he said he felt rusty when he did get a job, because he hadn’t drawn anything for those two months. They all emphasized how important it was to stay in contact with your friends from school, because they have great ideas and cool projects and you can find opportunities for collaborations. And it helps keep you sane and social in a field that can be so insane and so anti-social.

I feel like so many of our teachers tell us about how hard we’re going to have to work and how difficult it is going to be, and how we’re going to get a lot of assignments we won’t connect to, but Robyn, Dadu and Greg were so encouraging because they all said it was hard, but that you can make anything into something you’re interested in. If someone hires you, they like your work, and that means that no matter what assignment they give you, you can turn it into something you’re interested and invested in.

A great example can be found here: http://teaganwhite.tumblr.com/post/33753546883

Teagan got an assignment called “Cars and Trucks”. She loves nature inspired work and at first wasn’t sure how to translate an assignment that seemed so inorganic, to something that could be something she loved. BUT! She was able to do what she loved because she put the assignment into her perspective. Her illustration is beautiful; the car is so distinctive and set apart in color, that it remained the focus of the piece and stays true to the assignment, but it remains consistent with her other work.

That’s what I’m trying to do with my school work, especially now. Before I was so focused on just getting the work done and representing the assignment, that “I” got lost. The “me factor” was missing from my work. My portfolio teacher keeps on saying that my work is boring, and that really stings, but I feel like by listening to Robyn, Greg and Dadu that I can tackle these assignments with more confidence, and feeling like I won’t get lost. My portfolio teacher is very honest and tough, but if I keep trying my best, and am honest with myself and have fun, then I think he will respond better to my pieces.

SO. THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS:

Don’t get discouraged! Being in an artistic profession requires passion, time, talent and dedication, but that doesn’t mean that you’re going to be tortured for the rest of your life. Yes, it will involve some struggle, but don’t ever forget who you are when you make your work, don’t let your assignments dictate how the piece will look, YOU dictate the look of the piece based on the assignment. Don’t limit yourself! I am still working on this, but I feel like so many of my peers struggle with this idea too, so if you’re starting out or struggling while working, just remember this- art is fun because you love it and you make it what you want it to be- don’t let it control you.

I hope this is helpful for other Illustrators, or any artists really! Let’s not cut each other off at the knee, as one of my teachers put it. Ask for the pay you deserve, not for they pay you think they supposedly can afford to give you. You are worth more than their budget and if they like you enough, they’ll pay you what you deserve, but don’t you dare settle! It sets a bad precedent.

With lots of love

Andrea

Click title to view Slideshow.

Character Designs and illustrations for “Hansel and Gretel”

Children’s Book Illustration class

Sketches for “Teddy”

Illustration as Fine Art

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“The Juniper Tree”
12″x14″
Watercolor

Illustration for “The Juniper Tree”

Children’s Book Illustration

Model drawing

Anatomy class

In an earlier post I wrote about a few summer engagements, including being the set designer for a local theater production. Well, I do have pictures, and I would be happy to post them. First I’ll give you a little background:

The sets I designed were for the plays Lone Star/Laundry and Bourbon. LS/L&B contains creative storytelling, Lone Star is about a young man who comes back to a small town in Texas after fighting in Vietnam. He has found that both he and his comfy home town have changed during his discharge, and he finds himself struggling to hold onto things he cherished.

Laundry and Bourbon is the slightly lighter half of the play, which is about the young man’s wife. She must deal with typical Southern gossip, and unhappy news about her own personal life. We see how she is affected by her husband’s actions and the judgement of her peers.

Lone Star takes place late at night in an alleyway behind a local bar, and Laundry and Bourbon is on the front porch of a dilapidated house in the late afternoon.

Here are some process pictures:

Our first brick wall

I had the help of a talented local boy named Julien, who is interested in pursuing drawing in college. He was a very big help and he and I completed the brunt of the work. We began and finished the sets in about a week. It was very hectic as we both had to work around our summer jobs, but we pulled it off none the less. I was able to pool the help of my sister, cousin and boyfriend, who all helped in their own way and made it that much easier of Julien and I.

Starting the brick, window and door details…

I’ll spare you a few unnecessary pictures like the plain brick walls done in base paint and skip to the larger milestones. Here you can see we’ve begun adding dimension to the bricks and have given frames (literally) to our faux windows and door. My original sketches were a bit different, but as many artists know, sometimes you need to adjust your original plan to meet the demands of the job. I feel like this is my most legitimate experience in that way, as I have had to do so for school, but knowing this was for something unrelated to school, it felt more realistic.

At last we see things becoming real… more or less

Is it? It is! It’s finally complete!

As we finished this set, Julien and I both breathed huge sighs of relief- it had taken up the most time and we were scrambling to start the second set, the flats for which had only been brought and painted the base color a day or two previous. I am very proud of how the Lone Star set turned out. Unfortunately I couldn’t make any of the three show times, but I heard that it was very well received- I had watched a few rehearsals and the actors and actresses were really wonderful, especially the male lead. I am hoping to get a digital copy of the play once it is put onto DVD’s.

Next up, the Laundry and Bourbon sets. These went much quicker as we had burned up so much of our time on the Lone Star set, but our approach worked for what it was. I wasn’t as happy with it, but it translated well from the house.

The sets overlapping

From the house

There are two flats missing, one on either side. They had to be adjusted because they were both misaligned with the rest of the set, which is why they aren’t in the picture.

A little closer

Looking back, I wish I had been able to get a richer, deeper yellow, but I had to depend upon the altered lighting to enrich the set, and make it look like afternoon lighting. If the set were pushed back farther, the correct lighting would have hit it, but the support frames for the set were too big to move the flats back without hitting the Lone Star set which was directly behind it at the time (and boy, were all those flats a pain to move!)

I’m proud of how I ended up handling the weathering of the wood, though I wish I had the time to make it look more authentic. The theater owner sung our praises throughout the duration, but I wasn’t always completely satisfied. At the end of it all, it was a great learning experience. I had never done set design, so I was apprehensive, but with my boss’ encouragement and the help of Julien we were able to execute it. At least I can put this on my resume!

I feel like I truly got a taste of what my life will be like in the future. I was exhausted, but I felt very accomplished and my work was very much appreciated.

In a sad turn of events, the illustration class I was going to teach ended up being cancelled due to low enrollment. I was very bummed for at least a week, but I kept telling myself this wouldn’t be my only chance to do something like it. If I end up coming back home next summer after I graduate, maybe I will be able to have that opportunity again.

As far as other artistic endeavors go, much of my other drawings have been kept to small personal sketches. My other job has kept me beyond tied for time, so I have been trying to squeeze in as much time with my family as possible. I feel as though summer has escaped me! Ah, c’est la vie, je suppose.

Until next time!