DO NOT LIMIT YOURSELF

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Authors own image

Recreating a child's drawing

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Here I have tried to recreate the child's drawing and unexpectedly found it really difficult because only a few simple lines were used; I struggled limiting myself and not adding any more detail. I feel I need to use children's drawings within my final outcome because when trying to create them myself they lose the unique and interesting style of a child. To do this I need to visit my target audience on a large scale - this will allow me to get a wide variety of illustrations.

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I transformed the child's illustration into a textured outcome by using felt and cotton; I found the scale very difficult to sew and feel a larger outcome would be easier. However, I feel it is successful and would consider using this idea further.

Exploring Children's Illustrations

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I do not feel my attempts at child like drawing has been successful so I decided to get children to create illustrations along with the instructions 'Can you draw a bee?' I did not give any other instructions such as scale or colour, allowing them to be as free as they wished. I really adore the outcomes because each one is individual and unique; I feel these would be very difficult to recreate. However, the children were aged between three and six which do not fall into my target audience - 7-11. I feel the age three outcomes could be to young to use in my own design. On the other hand it is interesting to observe how a child can develop their skills within three years.

How did I use to draw?

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I thought it would be interesting to look at the way I used to draw when I was younger - I really enjoy children's drawings as they are always unusual and unique, making them very difficult to recreate. Their choice in colour and scale always amazes me and I feel this could be good to use in my final design. At the age of five I did not want to draw a body - I feel this is a funny consideration of how I really look and has inspired me to use unusual and quirky visuals in my awareness book.

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It is interesting to see how my ability improved with age - my lines became more accurate and the choice in colour seems more appropriate. I feel this research has helped me identify how I can use the illustration style of a child to make my design unique and interesting, but also how I can create accurate illustration which will engage and teach my target audience. I am also adding a drawing page into my awareness book which will allow my audience to develop their own drawing skills whilst learning about an important subject.

Eyes Closed? Left hand?

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As my book is aimed at children I experimented with a range of techniques to create child like drawings including the use of watercolour in 10-20 seconds, drawing with my eyes closed and drawing with my left hand. I feel the techniques were challenging and pushed me out of my comfort zone as I was unable to control the outcomes accurately. However, I feel the outcomes are successful because they met my intention of creating child like visuals. I feel I could use this technique in my design because the style of illustration looks unique and has it's own style. My next intention will involve getting my target audience to create illustrations for me, this will allow me to compare their outcomes with my own attempts.

Combining Texture and Illustration

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I have combined my illustrations with texture as I feel this may look visually pleasing in comparison to having one crop made from texture - This would conflict with the surrounding illustrations. I really enjoy the subtle appearance of the texture and feel it harmonises with the illustrations. I feel the leaves are the most successful as it blends in with the cherries well. I feel this technique would be most sophisticated and successful compared to having a whole page full of material as it may get boring and predictable for my target audience. Whereas this technique will allow the audience to feel and discover the texture.

Exploring Texture