Dear diary, part seven

July 26, 2013July 20, 2013 | Anna Cull

‘Stagnant’ billboard design – word map and sketches Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2011) — ‘Stagnant’ billboard design – word map and sketches
Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2011)

‘Stagnant’ billboard design – composition sketches and final illustration Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2011) — ‘Stagnant’ billboard design – composition sketches and final illustration
Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2011)

This was one of my favourite projects at design school: an illustration of flora depicting the word ‘stagnant’ (for a billboard advertising an online dictionary). It had to be linework only (no colour) which meant making the most of tone and texture. My word is deliberately stuck in the mud and claustrophobic. I’m especially fond of the strangler fig around the tree and the tiny mushrooms on the text. The final illustration is a 205 x 405 mm ink drawing and I have no idea how long it took to complete (so please don’t ask) ― the black background alone took about four hours. Madness. Utter madness.

These pages are from the diary I designed for my Design & Arts College exhibition in 2012. Two years of research, ideas, word maps and sketches had to be reduced to a mere 72 pages. It was no easy task but I now have a beautiful, professionally bound journal that I’ll always treasure.

The Old Mill Brewers

July 17, 2013September 16, 2014 | Anna Cull

Boutique brewery logos (student project, 2011)

Here is a sneak peek at the project I’ll be featuring in Friday’s Dear diary post. Oh how I wish these really existed. Sadly, the beers and the brewery are just figments of my imagination. After exhaustive research ( ! ) I discovered that some beers taste of chocolate, coffee, cherries and honey (although usually not all at the same). Yum!

The beetles are coming

July 12, 2013February 8, 2014 | Anna Cull

The sketches and final drawing are from my first year at art/design school (2010). We were fortunate that our graphic design course (officially called ‘communication arts and design’) recognised the importance of drawing skills and provided a lot of opportunities to explore different mediums and styles. This was my first foray into pointillism. The composite image on the watercolour background is from the visual diary I put together for my final exhibition in 2012.

Amy

July 3, 2013September 15, 2013 | Anna Cull

Amy – ink and watercolour on paper, 255 x 205 mm, 2013.

My friend Amy may have lost her fob watch. It’s not easy being a Time Lord if you can’t remember who you are. (Happy birthday, Amy.)

Dear diary, part two

June 14, 2013July 7, 2013 | Anna Cull

Playing cards ‘Sphinx’ and ‘Alchemy’ – refining the compositions and final illustrations Visual diary, two-page spread – ink and digital, student project, 2010 — ‘Sphinx’ and ‘Alchemy’ – sketches, compositions and final illustrations
Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2010)

Playing cards ‘Secret Passageway’ and ‘Ivory Tower’ – refining the compositions and final illustrations Visual diary, two-page spread – ink and digital, 2010 — ‘Secret Passageway’ and ‘Ivory Tower’ – sketches, compositions and final illustrations
Visual diary, two-page spread (student project, 2010)

The design brief for this project was to create four playing cards based on the word ‘arcane’. And arcane is such a wonderful word:

The process went something like: figure out what to draw (using word maps and thumbnail sketches), find suitable reference material (photographs of pyramids, camels, medieval suns/moons, monks, castles…), and then sketch and arrange the elements to make a meaningful composition. You can see the final playing card designs here.

These pages are from the visual diary I designed for my Design & Arts College exhibition in 2012. Two years’ worth of research, ideas, word maps and sketches had to be edited to fit a single, professionally printed journal of only 72 pages. It was no easy task but it’s something I’ll always treasure.

In the style of… A. B. Frost

June 10, 2013March 26, 2014 | Anna Cull

Welcome to my first ever In the style of… which will be appearing occasionally instead of the regular Shoot it, Sketch it posts on Mondays. I plan to draw inspiration from some of the world’s greatest illustrators. It’s really Shoot it, Sketch it with a twist ― I’ll still be using my photographs as a starting point but I’ll be drawing/painting them with a particular style in mind. It’s not about slavishly copying someone else’s art; it’s an experiment in seeing things differently. My hope is that it will take my own art in different directions.

At the beach – ink on paper, 140 x 240 mm, 2013.

Drawing this week’s photograph was a bit of a challenge. The rocks and stones were straightforward enough (believe it or not) but it took several attempts before I was happy with the driftwood. And if you’re wondering who A. B. Frost is…

A. B. Frost

American artist Arthur Burdett Frost (1851–1928) is famous for illustrating Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn characters as well as Joel Chandler Harris’ Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit stories but it’s these two illustrations from A Tangled Tale that inspired this week’s sketch. Frost’s compositions and linework are simply brilliant.