Illustration Friday Influence
As I felt I had reached a bit of a stagnant point in this project I turned to other briefs to keep me ticking over. It was while completing some more of my Illustration Friday briefs that a thought occurred to me. With the Caitlin brief I had been struggling most with tone of voice, but most of the imagery I'd been making was from imagination rather than reference as my Illustration Fridays' were. Perhaps this was were the problem lay, the lack of realistic input on the images I was creating was allowing them too stylised and far removed from the real issues the book tackled. It was time to look at some women and not just draw some women.
Reference Imagery
It was important to me that the reference imagery I used was of 'real' women; not to say there are real and none real women in terms of body shape ect, just that heavily photoshopped and airbrushed thin models were not going to help illustration Caitlin Moran's book. This had to be relatable and part of that relatability came through human flaws. Cellulite, wrinkles, double chins, awkward stances and wonky features were all welcome here!
Change of Media & Concept
It was around this point I switched the berol marker to a mechanical pencil; the instant change in appropriateness was apparent. Where the berol had made very bold lines the mechanical pencil allowed for a greater degree of sensitivity and detail. This mixture of thin lifework, negative space and pencil crayon created a great juxtaposition in energy and tone. It mixed together immediacy and naivety, themes often touched upon in Moran's book, being a little rough around the edges and full of energy and uncertainty with the more considered and crafted lifework the mechanical pencil delivered. This visual language felt as though it reflected the growth theme of the book well, in keeping with its core themes while exploring them in a new way.
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