Make a small collection of objects around a theme – choose from: Festival, The morning after, Summertime, Workshop Using a digital camera move around your set of objects. Look at them from above and from underneath. Zoom in and out. Look for interesting combinations of shapes and textures, and document them using photographs. Be unusual…
Exercise: Giving instructions
Using the internet, magazines, reference books leaflets, brochures and flyers make a collection of examples and reference materials that can help you with an illustration to fit one of the categories below. Making a cup of tea Getting to my house Playing a tune on an instrument Start by working out the information you need…
Exercise: Abstract illustration
Listen to a piece of instrumental music by a musician such as: George Gershwin The Gypsy Kings Beethoven Miles Davis As you listen to the music create marks which convey your interpretation of the essence or mood of the piece. Work quickly and intuitively to bring a degree of self-expression to the exercise. Be selective…
Exercise: Image development
Cut two ‘L’ shapes of card or stiff paper. You are going to use them to explore formats, to zoom in and out of compositions. Take an image which has a range of content – a family photo, and interior from a magazine or another artist’s work – and enlarge it to A4 and make…
Exercise: Reading an image
Look carefully at this image. Then in your learning log list the content of the picture – breaking the image into its constituent parts and answer the following questions: • What the image is about. What is it saying? • Work out the narrative and identify the story. • Describe the palette and tonal range…
Exercise: Illustrating visual space
Using internet searches or your own visual references select an image of: each of these A tree A child running or walking A building Photocopy them in black and white at different scales and sizes so that you have several versions of each image. Cut them into individual items with which to work. Working with…
Assignment two: Point of sale display
This assignment will consolidate the skills and knowledge you have gained from the projects and exercises so far. At this stage of your development it is important that you focus on research and gathering and evolving your ideas. The brief To create images which will be used within a campaign for a supermarket, to package…
Exercise: Visual metaphors
Collect as many examples of visual metaphor as you can find. Often metaphors are used within political and issue-based works to give complex or subtle ideas greater clarity. For this reason you are likely to trace them more easily within editorial contexts: newspapers and articles in magazines. Reaching retirement, Dreams of romance, Broken relationship, Censorship…
Exercise: Choosing content
Read the following extract and then answer the questions on the next page: The room was void and unquickened; it was like a room in a shop window but larger and emptier; and the middle-aged man who sat at the desk had never thought to impress himself upon what he entered every day. Comfort there…
Exercise: Using black and white
Produce a line visual around one of these words: Sea, Extraordinary, Building, Journey Through brainstorming you may decide to draw from an object or selection of objects or work in a more narrative way around a scene or idea. Ensure that the line visual you produce through visual exploration and development is very clear, employing…
Exercise: An objective drawing & A subjective drawing
Exercise: An objective drawing Shoe, Umbrella, Pair of trousers, Pair of glasses, Hat Take an item from the list above and explore it visually to become aware of its textures, physical qualities and function. What is the item for – what does it do? Using a pencil or fine liner do an objective drawing of…
Exercise: Exploring drawing and painting
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…
Exercise: Using reference
Collect as much reference as you can find for the1950s period. Catalogue the information you find according to these categories: People and costume, Architecture and interiors, Art – painting, drawing sculpture, Graphic design – posters, books, typography, Advertising, Transport, Film and TV, Surface pattern and decoration. Be eclectic in your sources. Identify the visual qualities…
Exercise: Turning words into pictures & Making a moodboard
Exercise: Turning words into pictures Choose a word from the list and draw everything that comes to mind. Don’t be concerned about the accuracy of your drawing or the prettiness of it. Use your drawings as a form of visual shorthand. Have a broad range of materials to hand and during your visual brainstorm add…
Exercise: Spider diagrams
Create a spider diagram for each of these words: Seaside Childhood Angry Festival Try to remember your own experiences of these things even if you have only experienced them through TV, film or photos. Include a list of objects you associate with each word: list colours, use adjectives, textures, and subjects. If you get stuck…
Exercise: Writing a brief
Identify a piece of work by an illustrator whose work you find some connection with. You might, for example, choose a particular illustration because you admire its conceptual or narrative dimension. Now try to write the brief for the illustration you’ve chosen. Starting from the context in which the illustration is positioned, write the brief…
Assignment One: Say Hello
This first assignment is to introduce yourself to your tutor and give them the opportunity to get to know you and your work. This assignment is not submitted for formal assessmentYou are going to send a ‘greetings card’, telling your tutor about yourself, your interests and inspirations, the materials you feel happy working with and…
Exercise: Getting the gist
Choose an editorial from a newspaper or magazine. Read it for information or pleasure as you would ordinarily. Read it again and this time highlight or underline key words which you think are important to conveying the meaning of the piece overall. You may find that you are choosing a single word per sentence or…
Exercise: The history of illustration
Brief In this exercise you will explore how illustration has evolved over the past 50 years. Start by choosing one from this list of illustrators: – Edward Bawden – Kathleen Hale – Eric Ravilious – Edward Ardizzone – John Minton – E H Shephard Then using books and the internet, find out about these artist’s…
Assignment Five: Your choice
This final assignment is an opportunity to consolidate the understanding you’ve gained so far, reflect on the work you’ve enjoyed and your achievements. It allows you to create certain parts of the brief yourself so that you have the maximum capacity to show off your interests and talents. Choose one of the briefs below. Then…
Graphic Design 