- John
- Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom
- Aspiring illustrator for the computer games industry. Currently Studying Visual Communication at the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
Saturday, 16 October 2010
ITAP - Practices of Illustration
In this post i will be discussing two practices of illustration: Research and Inspiration.
Research is the first stop on any artists creative thought train. It not only provides a deeper understanding for the subject in hand but allows us to communicate, relate and draw inspiration from our surroundings. Research is split into two categories: Primary and Secondary.
Primary research is where there is no existing information available and the researcher must start from the beginning. In an illustrators case this would involve visually recording images that relate to the subject in hand. This is commonly achieved through sketching, many illustrators including myself carry a sketchbook with them at all times or even a camera to work from photographs at a later date. I find primary research more rewarding as you are analyzing your own findings rather than referencing from elsewhere - this brings me on to secondary research.
Sketchbooks play a big part within inspiration, as they are the medium in which you can record your ideas. I like to keep a range of sketchbooks, which have various different ways of recording my ideas and anything that I find interesting. For example I have a small A6 notebook completely filled with text which allows me to record ideas quickly on the go. My other books range from having a portable a5 moleskine, which is great for observational sketches to a4 and a3 books for more controlled works.
Research is the first stop on any artists creative thought train. It not only provides a deeper understanding for the subject in hand but allows us to communicate, relate and draw inspiration from our surroundings. Research is split into two categories: Primary and Secondary.
Primary research is where there is no existing information available and the researcher must start from the beginning. In an illustrators case this would involve visually recording images that relate to the subject in hand. This is commonly achieved through sketching, many illustrators including myself carry a sketchbook with them at all times or even a camera to work from photographs at a later date. I find primary research more rewarding as you are analyzing your own findings rather than referencing from elsewhere - this brings me on to secondary research.
Secondary research is much easier to carry out especially in today's technological climate where the researcher is but a few mouse clicks away from an educated, infinite amount of data. Both types of research have their perks, its not a case of picking one or the other an illustrator should look into the widest range of research possible to get a better understanding of the subject they are focused on.
Inspiration
Sketchbooks play a big part within inspiration, as they are the medium in which you can record your ideas. I like to keep a range of sketchbooks, which have various different ways of recording my ideas and anything that I find interesting. For example I have a small A6 notebook completely filled with text which allows me to record ideas quickly on the go. My other books range from having a portable a5 moleskine, which is great for observational sketches to a4 and a3 books for more controlled works.
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