Using some of my research photos, I created a few initial drawing pages based on the first hand images I put together.
To start I wanted to use one of my favourite media, I thought this would help me work on form and shape and encourage me to produce something really nice first, to get me excited about the project. I think if I just went straight into acrylic paints, or lino, something I am not as practiced in, I may feel discouraged with the results if they do not turn as well as I think these pages did.
I like the use of the patterns in the leaves, I think they work quite well because of the range of patterns used. Some of the lines in the leaves too are placed to show a bend or a sense of depth to the leaf, this works better when the leaf is folded or something as it then has two layers to it.
I decided to experiment on watercolour, as it is quite a soft media that can produce some nice results. Combining this with the fineliner pens too is nice because it then produces this more graphic representation of the subject, which I think works well. I think some things here look better than others. I think working in a realistic watercolour style is difficult and something I need to work on more as I do not think the results of this worked as well as it could have.
I took a couple of my printed research photos here and decided to work directly from these on the double page spread, I worked using the colour scheme I wanted to work in with these bright watercolour paints and fineliner. I think these designs have worked well but I need to expand a little more, I think coloured pencils would be a nice next step to try a sense of realism then moving into more exciting experiments, such as bleach and lino, as I find interesting motifs within my research pictures and carry on trying them out in various techniques.
Tahlia Paige 