A is for ...
The Alphabet Superset - An Artists ABC
Getting back into the swing of things after a creative lull is always a challenge for me. It can be a struggle to find that flow again, that comfortable routine and ease of working. I show up at my desk having lots of ideas, but nothing seems quite good enough to really commit to. Where do I even start? Once I’ve started a project and have got the momentum going I can easily crack on, but finding that momentum can be tricky.
When starting a new project I tend to simultaneously overestimate and underestimate myself. I will start a project thinking it’s going to be epic and my best work yet, but then I make the first mark in my sketchbook and quickly realise that what’s in my brain will take more than just one attempt to be translated onto paper. This phase is the hardest for me because, as a millennial in a culture of instant gratification, I’m easily disappointed when my hand doesn’t do what my mind wants (which is create stunning artworks immediately). Stephen King writes in his book ‘On Writing’:
“The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better.”
So I know that I need to take a step back and jump straight in instead of just dipping my toes into the water. Or as Yoda said; “Do or do not, there is no try.” I find this to be especially true with illustration, the only way to really get somewhere is by doing and doing lots of it.
The Alphabet Superset
I decided to commit to a challenge and found the perfect one in the Alphabet Superset, created by Struthless on Youtube. This alphabet challenge comes packed with worksheets to help you set rules and restrictions for yourself. Setting restrictions in advance will eliminate a lot of tiny decision making a long the way, leaving you with more brain space for the work itself. The rules are simple. In the first two weeks you’ll work on ‘setting your scope’ by deciding on the constraints you’ll set for yourself regarding medium, style and output. Then it’s time to think of a theme interesting enough for you to explore the coming 26 weeks. So for the next 26 weeks I will be working and sharing my take on an Artist’s Alphabet, starting with this post. My core medium will be these substack posts and every (two) week(s) I will dive into a new topic regarding illustration and art. In each post, next to a more theoretical/topic like artistic practice or world building, I also want to delve into a visual topic like atmosphere or mark making.
For this week’s post I will be exploring Artistic Practice and Atmosphere.
A is for Artistic Practice
What is an artistic/creative practice? I see it as all the things I repeatedly and purposefully do on a daily basis in order to be a successful creative. To me, being and feeling successful can mean different things on different days. Sometimes a successful day means I’ve finished and handed in a project and I will feel proud and accomplished. At other times a successful day means if I’ve managed to get myself to my desk. On these days I’ll (try to) feel successful for trying and persevering.
A few weeks ago whilst writing my morning pages, I tried to get to the bare bones of my artistic practice to figure out what it is that makes me tick. I boiled it down to the following corner stones; Play, Practise, Write and Wonder.
Writing about this here makes me feel a little vulnerable, as I don’t want this to read as a ‘Live, Love, Laugh’ cringe fest, but according to Neil Gaiman, when you’re feeling a little naked and exposed “that is the moment, you might be starting to get it right”, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.
Play
I think that for a lot of artists, no matter their profession, being and staying playful is one of the most important and, at the same time, one of the hardest things to do. Once you’ve decided to monetise your hobby for well, money, a whole bunch of pressures are added to what was once a fun activity. Now we have to make something that sells, something that will get a lot of likes or even go viral. This implies having an audience, a target group, a big following on social media. We’re no longer creating for just us. Now we’re faced with questions such as, ‘what does my audience want?’, or ‘does this fit my personal brand?’. From there it can be slippery slope to creating what you think people want, compromising your authenticity and uniqueness, which confusingly enough is exactly what makes you interesting and relatable.
I have found that when I stay true to my own weirdness and specific interests, I tend to create the work that I’m most proud of and that speaks the most to other people. During my MA I really struggled to find my creative voice and style, and it was only when I gave up searching and started printmaking big cats that things clicked into place.
Here are some of my favourite techniques to get into a playful headspace, that magical, lighthearted place where overthinking or going on autopilot don’t exist.
Allowing myself a 30 minute warm up/play session before starting work.
Playing with materials. I like to grab everything and make a big mess.
Using a different technique or material that is mainly shape based, like collage or clay sculpting.
Scaling up my paper to A3 or A2 and using big brushes.
Creating and then dancing to a Warm Up playlist before starting the day.
Putting on one of my favourite films in the background, like Wolfwalkers or My Neighbour Totoro. I find that it is easier to focus when I’m just a tiny bit distracted by a film, audiobook or podcast.
Practise
Practise
verb
perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to acquire, improve or maintain proficiency in it.
carry out or perform (a particular activity, method, or custom) habitually or regularly.
Where being playful helps me to create freely, sticking to a routine helps me build a sense of stability and order in which to do so. Sometimes it can be daunting to start a new project that is still an abstract idea, like making new portfolio work or coming up with a new picture book idea. I know now that when I do something small everyday I’ll eventually end up with something big and by breaking a project down into manageable pieces I will feel less overwhelmed. This can be applied to all the aspects of being a self employed creative, like doing my admin, writing my morning pages after breakfast and working in my sketchbook. When getting out of creative lull or when things are working out creatively I try to remind myself of all the time I spend learning to play the guitar. Eventually I could play Bach from sheet music, but it did take me five years to get there. Slow progress means steady progress.
Write
For as long as I can remember I have kept journals and commonplace books in which I carefully collected and curated ideas. Writing for me is a way to process and organise the hundreds of open tabs in my brain, it helps me think and figure stuff out. This blog is pretty much a livestream of my thoughts as I try to wrap my head around topics like the best way to approach drawing from observation or what to do when I feel stuck. Writing brings order to my chaos and by positing it here it becomes a shared learning experience when other people comment about their own experiences and insights. Writing is how I study and learn, how I connect ideas, how I document my findings about materials, books and places, cherish memories, process emotions and how I connect with people.
Wonder
Wonder is closely linked to play, but it’s not quite the same. Wonder for me represents being outside in nature, swimming in open water, lying down in the grass to look at the clouds, going to exhibitions and museums, travelling to new cities, collecting pebbles or pretty autumn leaves, going to concerts, eat delicious food, reading books and meeting friends. It’s an active form of resting, activities that give me energy and calm me down at the same time. In the ratrace of everyday life it is easy to loose sight of the little things, so I try my best to find some wonder in the every day. This category exists outside of the world of illustration and is all about nourishing my creativity or as Julia Cameron says in ‘The Artist Way’ filling the creative well.
A is for Atmosphere
Atmosphere
noun
the pervading tone or mood of a place, situation, or creative work.
In this part of the blog we’re going to have a look at some of my favourite illustrators when it comes to capturing atmosphere and how they do this.
Frances Ives
When I think of atmosphere in illustration I immediately think of Frances Ives. We met and became friends during the MA in Cambridge where we spent many an hour in the print room together. It is amazing to see her build up an illustration, I think one of her biggest talents is her eye for colour and value. Using a variety of mixed media and a painterly technique, Frances creates highly atmospheric illustrations that really pull you into the image, whether that’s a moody autumn landscape or a lush forest. In the image above a magical atmosphere is created by a strong contrast between the sunlight filtering through the leaves and the darkness of the trees, the diagonal line of light leading your eye to the little girl enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face. The gorgeous textures and the harmonious colour palette create a magical, fairytale atmosphere without any fairies in sight. On her Patreon Frances is incredibly generous with sharing knowledge of illustration and materials.
Anna Wilson - A Bottle Full of Rain
In this lovely illustration by Anna Wilson we are walking through the Scottish landscape in the middle of a downpour, but luckily there are clear skies ahead on the horizon. Like the little sheep in the foreground we are unbothered by the rain, because the landscape is simply too gorgeous to stay indoors. This is a great example that a muted colour palette doesn’t have to exclude a bright pink or orange.
Julia Sarda
Julia Sarda is one of my favourite contemporary illustrators, I’m a proud owner of many of her books. One of my current favourites is ‘Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein’. The illustrations are stunning and dynamic, and a gothic moody atmosphere is captured throughout the book. The muted limited colour palette add to the dark and spooky vibes in the book. In the image above you can almost feel the storm, the diagonal lines of the trees and the wind in Mary’s hair create a sense of tension and excitement. The warm pop of colour that is Mary’s hair in contrast with the colder blues and greys surrounding her make stand out on the page. Where both Frances and Anna have a softness to their lines, Julia Sarda’s lines and shapes are much more bold and graphic, and both methods work wonderfully*.
DIY Atmosphere:
Use a limited colour palette (bright, muted, monochromatic, harmonious)
High contrast, strong values
Lots of lovely texture
Diagonal lines to create tension
For extra drama, place the lightest value to the darkest one
Think of a theme (Spooky, happy, moody, melancholic)
Using the ingredients we distilled from the images above I decided to give it a go myself for the banner of this blog. If you decide to create an atmospheric illustration using these ingredients, I would love to see it. Share it in the comment or find me on Instagram and tag me there. Good luck!
As always, thank you for being here and see you next time.
Maris
Links
Struthless explaining the challenge on YouTube
Neil Gaiman Make Good Art speech
Anna Wilson - A Bottle Full of Rain
* Thank you Lilla Turi for pointing this out to me.
Love your beautiful image Maris! So hard to get so much atmosphere in black and white - it’s beautiful!