I finished the Light and Shadow for Illustrators course and wow what an excellent and packed course it is!
Artist Comparison Final Assignment:
For this assignment I did two, one of 'fine artists' (artists you might learn about in an art history course) and one of children’s book illustrators.
'Fine Artist' Comparison:
LightandShadow_Assignment_Fine Artists.jpg
from Graphic/Stylized to Realistic
below are names of artists and works following the lines from left to right
Sophie Taeuber-Arp
Lines of Summer
It’s very graphic, flat lines with small gradation in tone in the painted color forms.
Paul Cézanne
Montagne Sainte-Victoire
This work reads as mostly local tone. I struggled to place this one in relation to the Paul Klee piece. But since the assignment isn’t about abstraction of forms then I think this should be before the Paul Klee one in relation to light and shadow.
Cecily Brown
Be Nice to the Big Blue Sea
This one is very similar to its use of tone to Cézanne’s, but there is a shadow under the figure in the foreground and possibly a highlight on their shoulder.
Paul Klee
Around the Fish
There’s a lot of flat areas in the piece, though some forms have a gradation of color, there is a darker tone at the bottom of the bowl that the fish are in with a lighter one on the exterior. Looking closer at the dish it does have what appears to be direct light on the front and a form shadow inside the dish. The blue cylinder seems to have a specular highlight as well. This piece turns out to be quite difficult to place.
Stephanie Hammermiller
Inward
This one has mostly local tone with some highlights and maybe some shadow on the head.
Käthe Kollwitz
The Young Couple
This piece has local tone and shadows, a form shadow behind the frame and from the girl in the front and figure in back. The girl’s face has some highlights on it, but none are specular. Maybe the reflection of the lamp in the frame glass would be a specular highlight.
Théodore Géricault
The Raft of the Medusa
This piece has all the elements of light and shadow present.
Children’s Book Illustrator Artist Comparison:
LightandShadow_Assignment Illustrators.jpg
from Graphic/Stylized to Realistic
below are the names of artists and books following the lines from left to right
Francesca Sanna (author/illustrator)
The Journey
The image is flat. The difference in forms is shown through color and pattern.
Cindy Derby (illustrator)
Outside In
The foreground is a darker tone while the background is a lighter tone. Mostly local tone. I think the light in the foreground is just the light coming down between the tree branches.
Stephanie Hammermiller
Local tone is used in the image. While it is dark out, there aren’t really defined shadows.
Micha Archer (author/illustrator)
Wonder Walkers
This one is also just local tone. The direction the sun is shining gives the mountains their form.
LeUyen Pham (illustrator)
Bear Came Along
This one reads to me as just local tone as well.
Taro Yashima (author/illustrator)
Umbrella
There’s a cast shadow under the girl and wihte areas were left in the image. I don’t know if they would be considered highlights. There’s a form shadow on her face and the lifted leg.
Peggy Rathmann
Good Night, Gorilla
There are cast shadows in this image. Some form shadow on the back of the lion. Maybe some highlights of the zoo keeper under his nose, on his chin and hand because of the flashlight.
Shaun Tan (author/illustrator)
The Arrival
This one seems to have all of the elements of light and shadow, even a few specular highlights on some of the vase forms on top of the building.
From doing this assignment I learned I seem to enjoy works that learn toward graphic and stylized. I like realism too, but may not lean so much into working that way myself. I’d like to work on leaving white space in my images as a design element.
Light and Shadow Completed Exercises:
Using photoshop to do this was 100 percent new for me, so the clear instruction on that was very useful and I can see the possibilities for using it myself in the future. I got the photoshop images to good enough for my patience and skill level. I really wanted to use my finger to blend the splotchy areas sometimes!
Photoshop
LightandShadow_Assignment_working on.jpg
Graphite
robot graphite.jpg
Marker: The robot assembly line mixed up the plates and put a dark color one in the wrong spot...
robot marker.jpg