n o i t u l o v e
ar t Of
Observing the growth of a young artist by Krystal Van De Hey -animal and science lover-
About the Artist As a preface, this book is not about ME. It is about my work as a young, developing artist in my Intro to Design class. So first here are some random facts about me, then I will move on to what you really opened this book to see. 1. I first attended college to better my future and eventually get to veterinary school, but I have gained more educationally and socially than I could have ever imagined. St. Norbert spoke my name. I toured during a horribly cold, snowy and icy day, yet I didn’t want to end the tour. I could definitely see myself happy here for four years. 2. Beauty is unique to each individual and also inherent in each and every living and non-living thing. From Table Mountain to Mini Lop rabbits to a newborn’s smile. 3. I love building things. I grew up on a farm so I am used to getting my hands dirty and fixing things when they’re broken. You won’t hear me complain if I break a nail. 4. Not to be overly optimistic, but no matter what others say I still believe human nature is inherently good. We all make mistakes and do crazy things, but every person yearns for happiness and health. It doesn’t matter what you believe in as long as you treat others with respect and hospitality. 5. It is very easy to make me laugh. 6. I am long-term future-minded, driven and passionate. 7. I can always be a better person.
Expressive How does hand lettering communicate differently than digital letters?
Text When I first tried to hand letter I had no structure. I was used to creating plain letters like digital type letters often are. Then I learned about boxing letters out and forming words around different, unexpected shapes. My creativity flew from there.
Expressive How did you learn about hand lettering? I learned about hand lettering by reading online articles. I also studied Oliver Munday, Vladmir Konar and Sean Wes. Those three artists are my favorite when it comes to hand lettering. Munday’s use of melted, twisted and decapitated G.I. Joe figures was morbid, yet very intriguing. Where would you do hand lettering? I could do hand lettering when making a number of different projects in college and for advertisments to attract the audience. It would look good painted on a wall or canvas for decoration.
Text
Dot-Line Guess the emotion associated with each number... energetic rejection chaotic oppression terror trust joy exhaustion stability
1
3 4 1
trial 2
2 3 4
trial 1
2
Compositions How did this project change or affect your idea of abstraction? I am a creative person; however, it is hard for me to come up with new ideas on my own. I usually get inspiration from something else in order to create something new and “out of the box.� For this project, I learned I needed to cut out each individual dot or line and physically move them around the white square until I found the best solution.
It was difficult to represent ideas without illustrating them; however, I learned to incorporate negative and positive space in particular ways to convey a message without illustrating anything. Similarity, continuation, proximity and parallelism are also ways to represent emotion without words.
1. exhaustion
2. terror
3. energetic
4. chaotic
t
sKe Ch Bobk
In this section of Intro to Design, we learned about blind-contour and modified blind-contour drawing.
As you can see, my sketches are not very pretty. This is because I had to look at my partner while “blindly” drawing him or her. My sketchbook and pen remained under the table the entire time while I was trying to draw the details of my friends’ faces. In modified blindcontour, I was able to glance down at my paper every once in a while to be sure my pen was on the right path. Here’s the trick: you can never move your pen while looking at your paper, only when you are looking at the object you are drawing. With practice I was able to draw the three celebrites to the right. Not bad, eh?
Doodles are more than just sribbles on a page. They tell a story about one’s thoughts, one’s emotions, one’s goals. They are accidents. They are ugly. They are masterpieces.
Object Iterations
Trial 1 Reflection: On my first attempt, my iterations were very orderly, but lacked variety and interest.
Reflection:
What did you learn about your object through this process? If you couldn’t tell already, I love cows. I think they are beautiful creatures. But have you ever looked at a cow? I mean closely? The way they move and behave is so unique to them. Through drawing the cows and calves over and over again, I learned they can be drawn in many different ways but still be recognizable. They have several distinct features that set them apart from other animals. Their short, stocky build, wide face, bony back, evidently protruding ribs, large ears, unique udder, soft nose and so on can all be portrayed with even the simplest of shapes, curves and textures. Which media was the most challenging for you? Most enjoyable? I have a hard time working beyond the trusty number two pencil. It was difficult for me to try new techniques such as ink, chalk, paper cut-outs and computer drawing. I learned I most enjoyed my dependable pencil, but that it is important for me to work with other materials so I can grow as an artist and think of new, creative ways to make the same object. If I had to continue with this object for a year, I might use these techniques and more (such as incorporating cloth and other three-dimensional objects) to represent it in new ways.
E d i t o r i a l
T u t o r i a l
Reflection: How difficult is it for you to make a “well-crafted object”? It takes me a lot of time to create things I am really proud of and consider “finished.” If I have the time set aside to create the project, it is usually not too difficult for me. I am a thinker though, and I like to take my time to be sure I am making the correct move before I follow through with it. Although life is short, I would rather spend more time to get down to the detail than quickly and less perfectly.
Discovering Patrick and Pax... Patrick required the look of a wise, old man. As he would become St. Patrick through the story, he had to garnish green. Pax was to be a playful, loyal pup with lots of pep in his step.
The Adventures
Based on the true story of St. Patrick
of Patrick & Pax
What surprised you about working with your partner? I was happy to hear my partner for the children’s book project was my friend, Brigette. We worked together very well, as we always do. We were able to bounce ideas off eachother and give each other ideas and feedback when needed.
What strengths did your partner bring to the project? As an education major, Brigette was in charge of the story-making. Her writing skills combined with her desire to write about St. Patrick created a beautiful piece that was easy to work with as the illustrator. My task in the project was creating all the illustrations, editing them in Photoshop and placing them in InDesign. I was able to strengthen my graphic design skills through this project.
Which aspects of this project were the most challenging? It was most difficult for me to learn how to use photoshop. There are a lot of keyboard tricks and icons that any art major would quickly understand, but for me it was all new territory. I decided it would be best to create my illustrations by hand, then scan them onto the computer, do some minor editing and place them in InDesign. The computer programs were definitely the most challenging; however, I enjoyed watching the book unfold.
What were your sources of inspiration for this project? I was inspired by textures and colors, especially green, since St. Patrick was the main character. I knew I wanted to use acrylic paint to create the background and colored pencil animations seemed to contrast well with it. If I were to do this project again, I would paint with watercolors over my colored pencil illustrations to brighten them up.
This book is dedicated to the one and only professor who would graciously give her dairy-loving student a package of American cheese singles. She would also give her time and thought to students who are continuing to grow and find their niche in the world of art. Thank you for caring about my projects, sanity (through afternoon tai-chi exercises), and calcium intake.