Create a sketchbook with different kinds of coloured and textured papers. Use a variety of surfaces including rough textures such as sugar paper and heavy watercolour paper and smooth, shiny surfaces such as brown paper and cheap typing paper.

Collect the sheets together in a binder or with a bulldog clip. Collect a range of drawing implements. Include the cheap and throwaway such as children’s felt tip pens, food dyes, ballpoints, chalks, oil pastels, pots of sample decorating paints.

Force yourself to put familiar materials to one side and to explore unchartered territories. Choose something like: a cake with icing, cherries, hundreds and thousands or other topping; a shoe or trainer; or a piece of fruit with a bite taken out of it.

Draw your object on each of the sheets in your sketchbook using a different drawing material for each one. Practice using the same media in different ways and at different scales. Explore cross-hatching, stippling, splattering, smudging and dry brush work.

Investigate the properties of mixed media; see which marks work together or not, and how you can alter marks with a rubber, and by rubbing and smudging with your finger. Some of the wetter media can be modified by adding water or dilute bleach. Some of the fine line pens or felt tip pens may also be water soluble.

Label each of your pieces of work with the media used and the combinations explored.

OCA Key Steps in Illustration

This exercise was one of the rare ones that I was not able to do digitally and so I had to result to using traditional materials and paper.

To be perfectly honest, although this exercise pushed me outside my comfort zone. I found it very interesting and enjoyable in the end. Enjoyed the way different mediums react to different papers, something you don’t have to think about as a digital artist. I think this is quite eye opening as I discovered that certain materials just won’t work on certain surfaces. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed using cheap markers. They blend so easily and usable on almost any paper types.

Reflection

I think this exercise shown me that sometimes trying out different materials can be really eye opening. I think I will try to use those cheap markers a little more when trying to create my work. I still don’t really enjoy the unpredictability and the amount of commitment traditional art mediums have, but I must admit, there were a few instances during this exercise where I was positively surprised by this unpredictability.