Strokk.// by Nicole

strokk.//

ONTENTS

CONTRIBUTOR’S PAGE

DISCOVER THE SOURCES OF INSPIRATION, CRAZY OBSESSIONS AND THE INTENSE PASSION THAT DRIVES THE STROKK. TEAM’S UNIQUE

“PAINT THE TOWN”

AND INCREDIBLY DIVERSE CREATIONS IN THE CAPTIVATING WORLD

13.27 - 20.01: A PHOTO ESSAY, TAKE A ‘NEON’ JOURNEY THROUGH

OF ART AND DESIGN. A. AIVAZIAN //

THE STREETS OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. A. AIVAZIAN // J. COTTAN // J. FLEMING // N. AVELIANA //

ON YOUR OWN EXPERIMENTS OF HAND-PAINTED AND HAND-

DRAWN TYPE. WE’LL ALSO DECONSTRUCT EACH TOOLS’ QUIRKS

ILLUSTRIOUS WRITTEN TYPE: A HISTORY AND CRITICAL

AND QUALITIES. N. AVELIANA //

ANALYSIS ON ILLUSTRATION, HOW AND WHERE IT ALL

“PEN TO PAPER”

EVERYONE HAS TO START SOMEWHERE. WE’LL TAKE YOU THROUGH EXPLORATION OF ALL THE POSSIBLE TOOLS YOU MIGHT WANT TO GET YOUR HANDS ON WHEN YOU START OUT

“ILLUSTRATION 2 TYPOGRAPHY”

A JOURNEY FROM THE FIRST CAVE DRAWINGS TO TODAY’S

BEGAN, HISTORICAL INFLUENCES AND WHY WE STILL USE IT. J. COTTAN //

“GEMMA O’BRIEN - FOR THE LOVE OF TYPE”

SYDNEY’S SELF CONFESSED TYPE ADDICT SHARES HER SECRETS TO DESIGN SUCCESS AND THE REVIVAL OF THE TRADITIONAL ART FORM OF HAND WRITTEN TYPOGRAPHY. J. FLEMING//

“CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS”

AN EXPLORATION INTO THE NUANCES OF A DIVERSE TRIO OF ARABIC, FRENCH AND KOREAN CULTURES WHOSE HANDWRITTEN AND HAND-PAINTED TYPES HAVE EMERGED AS THE VISUAL IDENTITY OF GENERATIONS, EMBODYING INTRINSIC VALUES MAINTAINED WITHIN EACH CULTURE WE USE IT. A. AIVAZIAN //

REVIEW + ILLUSTRATIONS BY N, AVELLANA

FROM PEN–

PEN TO PAPER //

Here, we’ll have a little look at the pencil case contents of possibly every amateur, professional and enthusiast in the field of design and art, and we’ll examine why everyone probably uses it to do their own doodles and scribbles.

PENCIL

PEN

INK

COLOUR

Ah, the good ol’ pencil. This serves as the go-to tool for laying down quick scribbles and thumbnails but it can be also used to create beautiful pieces of finished work too. In hand-drawn type, the pencil can work for the lightest of sketches, sometimes using wax pencils such or coloured pencils. Sometimes people go for woodcased pencils, and other times, they go for mechanical pencils or lead holders, for the convenience and the consistency. In the end, a good pencil might be all you need to start and even to finish.

They come in different sorts of inks, some are waterproof archive ink while others run when they come into contact with water. They might also come in different sorts of nibs in different sizes (from 0.01 to the chunky 1.0 mm) but one thing’s for sure when using pens, they require a lot of restraint and control. This presents its users with a challenge; to control the quality of their line workbut with every risk comes a reward. Pen drawings look impeccably neat, and there’s a strong presence and charm in even the shakiest of lines.

Colour comes in different forms; the strong pigmented colours of alcohol based markers, the translucent, chalky pigments of watercolours awnd gouache, and the soft, pastel streaks of lightly shaded in coloured pencil. Personally, I’m terrified of colour. It’s one of those things that I understand very well in theory but not practice. However, it’s a beautiful thing to add to your illustrations and even the smallest spot of colour can give vibrancy and contrast that some drawings and illustrations need.

01 Palomino Blackwing 602 – The greatest pencil ever. A bit pricey for a pencil, but once you go with a Palomino, it’s hard to pick up anything else. 02 Faber-Castell Polychromos – Also the greatest coloured pencil. 03 Prisma Col-erase – The best ones for sketching come in nonphoto blue. 04 Hidex Clutch Pencil – Very heavy, makes you feel powerful.

04 Shachihata Artline 200– Great for quick sketches and drawings that require 0 water or alcohol. 05 Staedtler Pigment Liner – This pen was in Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2010). Can handle ink, watercolour, and alcohol based markers. 06 Mitsubishi Uni Pin – A more affordable alternative to 05 but the nibs however are a different matter entirely.

Pen and ink go hand in hand, in the best of times with the latter giving the former the depth it needs if an illustration initially appears too bare. However, ink has the tendency to overpower drawings, especially those on the delicate side. The key to using ink is to understand its consistency; if your pigment ink appears too dark, you can dilute it with water to create a more transparent value that you can layer. Ink has also become more portable as well, coming in a range of refillable brush pens and calligraphy markers, allowing you to create even the most beautiful drawings on the go. 07 Pentel Standard Brush Pen Comes in different colours and brush thicknesses. Everyone’s goto brush pen. Great forcalligraphy! 08 Sharpie Chisel Tip – It’s a big, fat Sharpie. What more can you ask for? 09 Copic Ciao Marker – The most affordable variant in the Copic Marker ensemble, great for beginners and pros alike.

10 Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen– Comes in a great range of vibrant India ink colours, the firm brush tip is great for calligraphy 11 Roymac Revolution Round – A good watercolour brush, good for laying down large areas of wash 12 Pentel Aquash Water Brush Pen– extremely portable and handy, allows you to create watercolour paintings on the go! 13 Reeves Pan Watercolours – A good partner to the aforementioned waterbrush pen

WATERCOLOUR PAPER

DRAWING CARTRIDGE

NOTEPAPER

BROWN KRAFT PAPER

TO PAPER.

COPY PAPER

PEN TO PAPER //

Can take the heaviest, wettest hits you can throw at it when you produce work. Also gives it lovely, subtle textures depending on its weight and roughness. Best for: watercolour, ink, pen, markers

Great for dry media, and alcohol based markers if you don’t mind the bleed, but as the name stands, pencil users might find this paper best for their drawings.

Despite being a step up from notebook paper, printer paper works remarkably well for both coloured pencil and alcohol based inks if you want that smooth seamless ground cover.

Excellent texture, goes well with pen and ink washes, and white media stands out remarkably on this type of paper. If you can’t afford kraft paper pads at art stores, brown paper bags from the Coles or Woolies work great too!

Great for the quick ideas you need to get out your head and onto paper as fast as possible, and for thumbnailing and prototyping. Not so much for final assessments and submissions.

“THIS PAPER WILL NO DOUBT BE FOUND INTERESTING BY THOSE WHO TAKE AN INTEREST IN IT.” JOHN DALTON

// NEIRB’O AMMEG GEMMA O’BRIEN //

emma’s illustrative lettering holds a handmade quality, whilst working with a variety of materials and mediums she tends to initially sketch on paper before translating it into a digital vector work for most projects. Having a soft spot for scripts and lettering with swashes and flourishes she isn’t limited to this alone. Working within the constraints of the 26 characters of the alphabet, she then explores a variety of styles and mediums. WW “A client could say create a piece of lettering that looks “youthful”, “energetic” or “androgynous” …then it’s over to me

to convert these ideas into a style of typography that has the right tone and feel”. 7 With its increasing popularity it is important as a designer to create there own style within your field. Working intuitively and remembering to continue to create outside client work, allowing experimentation, avoiding trends and challenging traditions. But as O’Brien suggests creating your own style don’t. “Necessarily mean you got to entirely reinvent the wheel, rather bring something of you to the table, your personal flavour”.8

Giving and receiving advice is the most valuable gifts to grow, and Gemma’s is invaluable “Know your shit,” Ms O’Brien says. “Have a good understanding of culture, language, type history and design precedents. Be willing to push the boundaries, don’t be scared (and) take risks. Practice and hone your skills by hand and in the relevant software. Look outside the world of design for your inspiration. And, if you are choosing the words, choose them wisely. There’s nothing worse than a piece of beautiful typography with mediocre content or copy.”9

7 8 9

NEON//

RED

PAINT

THE TOWN

PAINT THE TOWN //

PHOTOGRAPHY A. AIVAZIAN // J. COTTAN EDITING J. FLEMING // N. AVELLANA

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PAINT THE TOWN //

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PAINT THE TOWN //

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TYPE AND ILLUSTRATION //

“BE ABLE TO DRAW AN ILLUSTRATION AS LEAST WELL ENOUGH TO GET YOUR POINT ACROSS TO ANOTHER PERSON.” MARILYN VOS SAVANT

ARTICLE BY J. COTTAN //

AN ILLUSTRIOUS INTRODUCTION //

llustration. We see it everywhere. And there are many kinds of illustration that wherever we look, we always seem to find some kind of variation of it. We find illustrations in picture books. We see them as diagrams or infographics on essays and other formal document styles. Illustration is used in signage, as symbols or as decorative art. We can find illustration inside or outside. Illustration is all around us. But what is it about illustration that we feel the need to use it, that we feel the need to illustrate at all? Do we illustrate to show our own artistic talent? Do we illustrate to capture a particular mood, an essence? Perhaps we illustrate in order to represent something in particular, say a brand or identity. Or perhaps we illustrate because we find illustration, a beautiful thing to look at? If this is the case, why do we feel the need to accompany written text with illustration, when the two are completely separate and very different things?

TYPE AND ILLUSTRATION //

“DRAWING IS LIKE MAKING AN EXPRESSIVE GESTURE WITH THE ADVANTAGE OF PERMANENCE.” HENRI MATISSE

WHAT IS AN ILLUSTRATION //

An illustration is an image, which can be a drawing, a painting or printed work, and can accompany a piece of written text. Illustrations have the ability to visually capture or represent what the text’s content or act as decorative embellishments. Originally all illustrations were hand drawn until the start of the digital age, allowing artists to use tools such as Illustrator and Photoshop. Traditional illustration methods include pen and ink, and graphite pencils, which eventually advanced to printing processes, allowing for the replication of images. Such printing methods include wood cut blocks, engraving, etching and lithography. Through the ages, illustration has played a significant role in book printing and magazine printing, developing into a prominent visual art style. This art style has thus been translated into more technical graphic based applications such as poster and flyer design, business cards, advertising applications, comic and cartoon illustration, cards, scientific diagrams and infographics, and animation.

FROM ILLUSTRATION TO TYPE: AN ILLUSTRIOUS HISTORY //

Their history and culture were not only documented on papyrus, they were also crafted into their architecture.

Typography and written text began as an illustration form. Through the use of pictures, drawings and symbols, this type of illustration communication dates back to ancient era, before ‘writing’ and ‘text’ had officially been created. To communicate ideas, to tell stories, and to record their daily lives, people used images instead of words.

By 1,600 BC, symbols were developed by the Phoenicians to represents spoken words. In fact a modern version of these symbols exist in our English language today: “%” symbolises the percentage of something, “#” is used to represent a number.

Ancient cultures had yet to establish a proper letter or writing system to document events. Instead, they relied on images or symbols in order to tell their stories. As early as 20,000 BC, written language, in the form of cave and wall drawings, and illustrations, were arguably the first documented ‘text’ to ever have been recorded. It wasn’t until the Sumerians in 3,500 BC developed and formalised the first written text. As civilisations grew and advanced, so did the need to find better ways torecord more complex concepts and ideas.Around 3,100 BC, the Egyptians developed an image based writing called hieroglyphics and was made from a series of symbols and ideograms.

By 1,000 BC, the Phoenicians developed the first alphabet, which would later be adopted by the Greeks, then the Romans, who would introduce ‘uppercase’ lettering. The Romans also refined the art of handwriting, developing different scripts for formal and informal/official and unofficial documents.

However, it wasn’t until the Middle Ages, when illustration took on a more decorative purpose. With the use of a formalised alphabet for letters to represent words, pictures and symbols were no longer needed. Rather than using images to represent words, typefaces were very illustrative. Unicials and half-unicials (from Old Roman Cursive) were iconic features used in medieval manuscripts as was elaborate lettering.

STRATION TO TYPOGRAPHY // ILLUSTRATION TO TYPOGRAPHY // ILLUSTRATION TO TYPOGRAPHY /

TYPE AND ILLUSTRATION //

More importantly, this decorative text was often accompanied by highly illustrative capital letters. With the use of illustration in the form of pictures and patterns taking on a more ornamental purpose, the beginnings of illustrated typography had emerged.

Ornamental and more decorative types would be replicated en masse by the 15th century, when blacksmith, goldsmith, printer and publisher, Johannes Gutenberg, created moveable type and the printing press. With the development of an ordered-text layout, the act of illustration alongside type became more structured, subtle and decorative, making the text pleasing to the eye. Printing had completely transformed the method in which illustrative font types were created, allowing them to be mass-produced and distributed to audiences across the globe. Bold, experimental typefaces were key when having to communicate ideas to the public, an opportunity seized during the Industrial Revolution. Posters, signs, newspapers, advertisements and periodicals began to use larger, bolder typefaces. They used serifs and sans-serifs, and different combinations of typefaces.

AN ILLUSTRIOUS CONCLUSION // Illustrated typography today is an art form and method of visual communication that is universal as it is popular amongst all types of audiences. The history behind modern day illustrated typography proves that for as a society, we are need a visual form of communication. When something is explained to us, we often require visual clarification, in the form of a quick sketch, image or diagram. Textbased or written documents alone are not always guaranteed to express their intent, not without reiterating their meaning. Illustrations on the other hand have the power to do that, We eventually become bored with writtenbased documents. But with illustrations, the whole story can be communicated clearly and concisely, in a visually entertaining and beautifully interpretive way. Visual communication allows us to record, express and represent our ideas, thoughts, emotions and identity. illustrative texts and illustration grants us the power to captivate our audiences in a far more expressive and visually entertaining manner.

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