My client:

When I first chose music as the theme of my project, a critical aspect of graphic design I had in mind in particular was designing album covers. It is through this where I believe observational drawing will best fit into my project, inspired by not only the music I enjoy, but also the first hand images I have taken at concerts of musicians. At first my plan was to use this brief to therefore create my own album covers, however I quickly recognised the use of only physical mediums would limit my intended outcome. I therefore opted to used this as a step of learning for later outcomes that can fully encapsulate my intended album cover project, deciding my client would for this brief would just be the artists themselves asking for a unique poster as seen with my Loyle Carner piece, or sticker as seen with my Denzel Curry piece, serving the role of merchandise.

YESTERDAY NITE

Alim Smith, aka "YESTERDAYNITE" is an American abstract artist who uses multiple mediums to expand his style. He most famously draws people using a very unique style reminiscent of Pablo Picasso. Smith claims his art is devoted to creating art that is heavily inspired by entertainment, (music and television) as seen by his drawings of famous musicians and actors. By emphasising a subject's unique features and twisting others, he creates an abstract yet instantly recognisable piece of work. When recreating his work I would like to do a lino print, as it is clear the Smith himself does not conform to one specific medium. However, I believe I may find some difficulty when not being able to use colour as it is clear that the use of colour is one of the key elements of Alim Smith's work. Therefore I'll have to be even more clear to exaggerate certain features in order to successfully recreate the style.

Jay-Z

Tyler the creator

A$AP Rocky

My response

Denzel Curry, Abstract Lino

For my response I decided to use Denzel Curry as my subject. By using videos and looking at photos of him taken from my first photo shoot, I created my abstract sketch in the style of Alim Smith.

I believed it was crucial to replicate the abstract style with exaggerated features such as Denzel's hair. On top of this I skewed certain features like his eyes similar to Smith's work. It took me a few attempts to land on a design that I felt balanced between Alim Smith's style and making my drawings recognisably Denzel Curry.

Overall I think this poster was successful in recreating Alim Smith's style however I would like to redo this critical study with a more complex approach, perhaps using colour too.

Firstly I began with multiple experinentive drafts of Denzel's face, trying to understand how best to manipulate he features in a way that resembled Smith's style.

Once I had landed on a design I was happy with, I had to transfer the image onto the lino, achieved through pushing graphine onto the block to serve as a stencil for my cutting.

When it came down to cutting the lino, I was made quickly aware of how sensitive the process was, aware every mistake would become visible in the final print. I took multiple prints in the end before I reached the one exhibited above, though in the future I would hope to use more colours and layers in my process.

Denzel Curry first hand images

Lewis Rossignol

Lewis Rossignol, is another American artist who also uses multiple mediums to create cartoon like portraits. He ranges from pen to charcoal to paint and even pastels. It is through this range of supplies that Rossignol produces a striking piece of art, full of art and powerful emotion. He is an artist who is "as much about the process as he is the finished piece", and through this approach the layers of his work each tell a different story, all as equally important in creating a amicable character, striking to the viewer. The jittery and anxious line work is complemented by the charcoal shading drawing inspiration from all elements of life, reminiscent of "Basquiat". His work has sparked the attention of Tyler the Creator, who hired Rossignol to create the secondary album art for his grammy winning album "IGOR". I believe it is important when recreating Rossignol's work to follow his view of the prioritising the process over the finished product as I believe it will create a thoughtful moving portrait full of depth, a crucial element of his work.

Loyle Carner, response

For my second response, I chose Loyle Carner as my subject as like Denzel Curry, my first hand images provided necessary references to make my drawing as accurate as possible.

Similar to the lino print, I attempted to push myself out of my comfort to explore as many possible mediums without clattering the piece. Most notably, the use of charcoal was a new experience however became a staple element of the response as it best recreated the strikingly moody atmosphere of Rossignol's work whilst adding a sense of realism at the same time. The use of pen was also a test of my confidence, aware each stroke was permanent, a notion that actually helped instead of hindered the work as it forced me to accept "mistakes" and integrate them into the response, adding to the imperfect perfection of Rossignol's style. It is this very same sense of imperfection that inspired the tea stained foundation, straying away from the tradition of a white background to lend into the anxious deformity of Rossignol's approach.

I began by practice sketching photos of Loyle Carner, using videos and photos from my shoot as a reference. By doing this I could slowly created a design I felt looked best and learn how to draw Loyle Carner.

Next I tea stained my piece of paper to imitate the background of many Rossignol drawings. Then I began faintly sketching my final design distorting and exaggerating certain features.

I then began my drawing in pen and charcoal for the outlines. Once happy with the look, I used charcoal to add shadow and a white pencil for highlights. Finally I used a coloured pencil for certain features like the eyes and lips.

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