-Three Traditional Line Art Illustrations:
I chose these images based on their rendering strength in the pen and ink line style. Based on feedback from professors and peers these three images are good compositions and realistic style. I have been focused on realism for a long time so I thought of these as compliments to the work I've put into technique. After seeing the work from the other students in class I realized that expressive style can be equally as strong and just as effective. I learned a lot about my strong desire for control in these examples.
-Two Watercolor Illustrations:
The first example was an in class practice illustration. I chose this illustration because I felt as though while creating it I began to understand the medium. All of the watercolor illustrations that came after I felt were dramatically stronger than the ones that came before. I chose the product illustration of a Hershey's Kiss because I'm proud of the texture and accuracy that I accomplished. I feel as though this illustration best fit the assignment for which it was created.
-Three Traditional Line and Color Illustrations:
I've decided that combining line art and color for illustrations fits my style and the mediums in the most complimentary way. I can be loose with the watercolor, as is most evident in the two portraits, and add the structure that I can't resist with the line art. I chose the landscape illustration along with the portraits because, although much tighter in style, I feel that I accomplished color mixing and matching that accurately represents the place it is portraying and that the line art brings out the texture of this place.
-One Gouache Illustration:
For this example I chose the first gouache assignment, the three image montage. I chose this example because I learned a lot from it that allowed me to become a lot more proficient in this new medium. The main critique I have from this illustration is that the highlights should be brighter. I think the composition is successful at keeping the eye busy and on doesn't allow it to drift off of the page.
-One Digital Line Art Illustration:
Digital line art was a complete struggle for me. This is one medium, if you chose to call it that, that I need to practice a lot more. This example was the last of many attempts and I feel as though I had warmed up to the style as much as I could for the assignment by the time I completed this last illustration.
-One Digital Line/Color Illustration:
The digital color illustrations pushed me to get better at the medium quickly. In black and white illustrations seem to have a strength that color can't hold unless the style itself is in fact strong. My style is weak in this medium but the color illustrations are much more successful and progressive than the traditional black line art illustrations. I let go of a lot of control and began to focus on simply getting the image to work visually and the lines became expressive.
-One My Choice:
My pick is the Abe Lincoln gouache illustration because I think the concept is strong, the composition is neat and fits the parameters of the assignments, and I feel that it demonstrates my proficiency in the gouache medium. I was able to accomplish high contrast, strong highlights and dark, structured shadows. This illustration is a combination of gouache and line art. This is one of the few illustrations I've done where the line art is not the most powerful aspect of the piece and that I did not use local color to express the content. I think that this piece is clearly my tight, controlled style and also a step out of my box.
