SUMMER PROJECT RESEARCH

For our first project of the year, my class and I were given the topic ' the natural world ' and were given a brief to complete a sketchbook full of primary research and drawings. Before starting my research I created a mind map of what I could include within my research, such as different places that I would be able to visit, for example, Yorkshire wildlife; so that I could research wildlife animals and the deep; to research sea life. I also wrote about all the research that I had collected from the Liverpool trip that I went on before the summer with college such as evolution, Earth, landscapes and skeletons that I would be able to include. I was really happy with the brief that we were given, as it gave us a really wide topic of things to research so that we weren't struggling on things to draw or write about.  

So far I have created 40 pages of research within my sketchbook, however I intend to to create at least 10 more so that my sketchbook is almost full. These are some examples of the work I have created using a variety of different medias. To start off my research i used some of the images that I had taken at the Liverpool world museum beginning with "mammals of the iceage"  and drew a skull of one of the mammals on display. I feel that I captured this image really well with the material that I used ( coloured pencils) as I was able to include a lot of detail and add definition to the piece.

 

 I have also created a drawing of a human skull from the present day from the Liverpool world museum, which showed a variety of skulls to show how they have developed over time, using coloured pencils and drawing inks. I used coloured pencils to create lighter and darker tones where there would be shadow to help add more depth to the drawing. I then added black and white inks on the drawings to help outline some of the features. I feel that this worked really well, even though it was a little difficult to create due to the perspective of the image.

 

I also researched some of the animals that were in the museum and decided to draw the ocelot on display. To create this I used coloured pencils as a base colour, drawing inks to create the pattern and a white pen to create the whiskers. Once I had added all the lighter shades, I went over certain parts in a darker colour to add more definition to the drawing and used a white pencil to create strokes of fur.

 

I then went onto researching the earth and space and recreated a satellite image of Europe. I feel that this worked really well using drawing inks however i didn't draw it to the right scale so it's now slightly out of proportion. 

 

This is a volcano known as "Olympus Mars" the tallest  volcano in the solar system with a height of 27km and a base of 600km. To create this I fist wanted to use paints, however I ended up using oil pastels, which took me out of my comfort zone a little. I started using oil pastels for this drawing as I was going to use paints, however when I tried to apply a base colour to the page it wasn't thick enough and didn't cover the page so it went a little messy, therefore I had to go over it in oil pastels so you couldn't see the mistake. Fortunately it ended up working really well even though it wasn't my plan, so in a way I'm happy that the first material didn't work out. 

 

 After these I then began research on different cultures that was exhibited. I recreated a print from Ghana, which, when i first created it I found quite interesting, however the more I look at it the more I feel that it's too plain and block coloured which I don't like. I like the colours used in it as they are quite bright, but I feel that it needs more detail.

 

Once I had been to the Liverpool museum, I visited the deep to begin my research on sea life. These are known as blue tang fish which can be identified by their bright blue colouring and yellow tail. I find this piece really eye catching as parts of the drawing are really bright and defined by white ink.

 

I also used drawing inks to create this piece as I liked the effect that it had on previous drawings within my sketchbook. The only problem I had with this drawing was that whenever I had to use a light colour, I first had to apply white ink so that the colour would show on the paper which took quite a while to create.

  

Fossils are the remains of a prehistoric plant or animal which is embedded into a rock. I recreated this by using a 4B pencil adding more weight to create darker and lighter tones. Even though this is one of the simpler drawings that I have done I really like the effect it creates, where I have began to fade the pencil out.

 

The 3rd place I visited was the Yorkshire wildlife centre where I researched some of the wild animals. This is the piece I recreated of a leopard using coloured inks, coloured pencils, a white pen and green oil pastels. I first used coloured pencils as a base colour for the fur and used black ink to create the pattern on the fur. Once I had applied the ink I used a white pencil to create strokes within the fur to add more definition to the drawing and a white ink pen to create the whiskers and to help highlight the features of the eye. I really like how this piece turned out as I feel that the colours and details make it more eye catching and standout. 

 

This is one of my favourite pieces as it includes a lot more detail.  Like the drawing before, I also used coloured inks to create it, however instead of using a white pencil to create strokes of fur, I used white ink so that you are able to see it more clearly what direction the fur is going in. 

 

I also began researching parts of the earth such as waterfall and landscapes. To recreate this image I used oil pastels, as I like the effect it had on the previous drawings throughout my research. I also tried to create a water effect on the drawing using oil pastels, however  it didn't work very well so I had to go over it in white ink, which I really like as it created a slight texture on the page.

 

I then went onto research flowers and trees. This was an observational drawing that I created of some flowers when I attended summer school. I used coloured pencils to recreate this which I think works really well. I decided to draw it onto a black background so that it didn't look as plain. I used a white to highlight the inside of the flowers and a darker colour on the edge of the flowers to create shadow.

 

Artist research sheets and mood board

When designing my mood board, I researched a book called ' the universe and beyond, third edition' by Terence Dickinson, which I photocopied to create a space themed design sheet. I also used an image that I had drawn of the earth within my sketchbook, so that it included primary and secondary research. I used black and white ink to try and re create some of the stars on one of the images which I do like, however I feel that I could have made it look a lot more interesting if I had drawn more images.

 

For my first design sheet I decided to research Julie Rhodes, as I found some of her work on Pinterest and found it really interesting. Her inspiration comes from hours spent watching wildlife, making sketches and taking photographs. I took five pieces of her work and decided to recreate a leopard that she had drawn as I found it the most eye catching. I used the same media that she used to create this drawing ( HB pencils) so that it had the same effect and I am really pleased with how it turned out. I only used one HB pencil, however by using an 8B pencil And applying different weights, I was able to create many different shades from the same one so you are able to see more value in the drawing. I also used a white pen to create the whiskers so that you were able to see it over the black background.

 

I also found my second artist looking through different images on Pinterest. My second design sheet was based on the Spanish artist Oriol Angrill jordá, who based his work on the double exposure technique from photography and merged different things together such as people and landscapes. I also created his work in the same media that he has used to create these pieces of work so that it created the same effect. I used HB pencils to create the woman and wolf so that I was able to add more definition to the drawing, and used a rubber to help highlight some of the main features. I then used water colour paints to create the landscapes and flowers which I was a bit weary of as I wasn't very confident using this media, however it worked out quite well and I am really pleased with the outcome.