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.