Black and White Vulture-Acrylic Paint (Bird) and Ink (Background)

Although I chose this style I was at first sceptical because of its simplicity. I decided to skip reproducing the artist image as it would not improve or show any skills I had not yet shown.

Firstly I decided to look at the background. It seemed to plain and simple and I felt this was a good chance to bring something I’d thought of myself into the piece. I created four A4 sized ‘samples’ of backgrounds I felt would suit the image.
 I chose to try out two of the backgrounds at a larger size to see if they would work at a bigger scale. I feel the simpler piece with just red and white drips is much more effective at a smaller size. Whereas the other background is much more successful.

I feel the bird itself is successful too.
The bold black and white tones work well against the background. The stylised way of reproducing the feathers is very interesting and allows the piece to effectively represent a bird without the time consuming battle of reproducing individual feathers. Something to look at for other textures perhaps.

Stylised Bird-Fine Liner Pen

I came across this image after discussing some ideas with my teacher. The illustrator is Si Scott and when I found out this image was hand drawn and not produced on a computer or electronically it impressed me very much. This piece took a lot of time, and although I am very happy with the outcome I feel it will not be beneficial in terms of a style for a final piece. 

General Overlook

After looking over my current work I’m concerned that the project isn’t going in any particular direction. I do not feel as passionate about my work as I would like. I need to find a style that interests me, and then investigate it further than I have previous styles. I’m also beginning to feel that the bird route is not one I want to follow.

Brown Hawk-Watercolour and Biro

I loved this image and just had to re-produce it. I felt the movement and texture would suit some biro work perfectly. I decided to use watercolour paints and coloured biro, as the water colour would speed up the process without losing any quality. The image proved harder than first expected. The angle the bird was facing was difficult to portray. However I feel I have done this well. I am particularly happy with the eye and how the colours have blended together to create a smooth surface, also I feel the movement of the feathers over the head has worked well. If I were to improve this piece I would try to create more texture in the feathers as I feel they appear too smooth and repetitive.

Cockerel-Ink

After searching for a new technique to produce I came across this image. It interested me, the way the colours flowed into each other. I had never worked like this before, it was new to me. I decided to use inks for this piece as they were the perfect consistency to get the colours to run and blend into one another and provided enough vibrancy to capture the right tones. I’m happy with the outcome. I feel the head, which is much more detailed than the rest of the cockerel, works best. 

Brown and Yellow Bird Attempt One-Acrylic Paint

Although I know this is only my second time using acrylic paints in this style I am not happy with this piece at all. I feel I haven’t blended the colours as well as they should’ve been and this leaves the bird with no texture, which was the main aspect I was focusing on.  If I choose to use this technique again I’m going to try to produce the same quality as piece number 6.

Blue and Orange Bird-Acrylic Paint

Following on from the scraper board, which beforehand id decided to begin to work more loosely, I felt this image provided the perfect opportunity to do so. I liked the texture of the bird mostly and felt it gave me a chance to try out a material I had not used so much in the past – acrylic paints. To say this was my first try I am quite impressed with myself. I feel I have captured the rough feathers of the bird well. If I use this technique again I think I should try it out on birds similar to this one, rather than more predatory birds which I much prefer.

Vulture Head-Metallic

I was going to try something less time consuming but then I saw a great image of a Vulture and just had to give it a go. I had seen a piece of work by a previous student in scraper board which was the inspiration for this piece. I love the texture in the feathers, the strong contrast and reflecting light provide real visual power but while the control and technique is very similar to the pen work (Bird Head) it is much harder to distinguish between surfaces. In the pen work the beak, eye and feathers look different - in scraper board it is not so evident. I will need to take this into consideration later on. Feel free to leave a comment!

Leopard-Coloured Pencil

I am still undecided as to what direction to follow so I am keeping my focus wide in relation to my source materials. The photo of the tiger captured my attention. I wanted to use colour pencil and I felt that the fur in this image was suitable. Other images I had seen had been too complex. I am please with the outcome, the subtle changes of colour an the small details have a natural feel about them. I have realised however that using photos as my primary source is leading me to work very tight and while I like the focus on accuracy it will prove to be problematic to produce a final piece in this style so I may need to bring in less time consuming techniques.
Feel free to leave a comment!

Eagle Head-Biro

Following the squid I wanted to try something different so I opted for some biro work. I love using pen and I am really pleased with the effect of the feathers and it works really well against the smoothness of the beak. However I underestimated how long this technique would take and so I am leaving it at this stage to save time for another material.
Feel free to leave a comment!

Squid-Pastel

To follow the snake head I chose pastel to help capture the soft colour movement across the delicate flesh of the squid. The tentacles were a pain. Having finished two, taking way too long, I decided to move onto another material. If I decide to use more squid images I need to look at another way of reaching the same level of quality as what the pastels have done. Feel free to leave a comment! 

Snake Head-Shading Pencil

To start my project I felt I needed to begin with some tonal control, the snake head was an impressive example, I particularly like the contrast of the liquid surface of the eye and the dry rough texture of the scales. The eye is very effective and I am very pleased with the small details at the outer edges. The scales are well controlled but I feel that some of the distinction between the edges is a little fuzzy. Feel free to leave a comment!

 

Introduction

The starting point for my project is the title ‘ALTERNATIVE LIFE/FORMS’.

My immediate reaction is to focus on the ‘LIFE’ aspect. My experience at GCSE was successful and through developing my skills I feel confident that I am able to capture most images using a variety of materials. I think that I need to use the opportunity to direct my own studies so I am going to start with a broad brief – ANIMALS are both an alternative form of life whilst also being a diverse and visually interesting resource. I am sure that the combination of fur, feather, scale, skin and all the other textures and surfaces will provide an excellent starting point to develop my skills.