Inspiring Creativity at our Library

A couple days ago I met up with Sonia Bernard, from the blog The Misadventures of a Library Assistant. She approached me to offer a short free class, to children in the Young Adult Library. I thought this was an amazing idea that would give me the opportunity to interact with creative young people and pass on my knowledge to them. Prior to this experience I had never stepped into the teaching sphere in regards to art. I had always been the student.

Many people are not aware that the library offers free computer classes to persons, none of which incorporated any aspects of art. It was not something that was strict or rigid because the people who took the class were school children who happened to be visiting the library that day. We pitched the idea of partaking in a free class, taught by myself, using the computer facilities provided by the library and we received a few eager responses. The nature of the class was an individual, one on one lesson, which I personally think is the best teaching method. Therefore only two children were selected.

Due to our surroundings, the many children occupying the library that day and other restrictions we were unable to film the class like we had hoped to. We did however, film a short introduction to the collaboration and a brief interview with one of the participating students.

The class lasted approx. twenty (20) minutes for each student, and was based around the graphic design software, Adobe Illustrator. The public computers available were not equipped with the program so a portable version was used from my personal USB flash drive. The class included familiarizing the two students with the program and teaching them the a few standard tools and basic uses.

A few basic illustrator tools

The tools that I touched on were: the selection, rectangle, paintbrush and fill tool. A combination of these would produce basically anything. I remembered first starting out these were the tools that I felt most comfortable using, until I felt confident enough to use to the pen tool which is a very difficult to master but is the basis of all my artwork today.

Here is a very short explanation of the tools illustrated above.
Selection tool: Used to select, move and transform or manipulate the size objects
Rectangle tool:Used to create various basic shapes: rectangle, rounded rectangle, ellipse, polygon and star
Paintbrush tool: Draws organic paths or strokes (lines)
Fill tool: Fills shapes and strokes with a selected colour

When the students were fairly familiar with the tools, I began to show them how they could be used together to draw a simple self portrait. I was completely shocked as to how quickly the students grasped the concept of the program. They were able to move around and create without much help from me. I really believe that their art showed a lot of great potential and I really hope that they keep pursing art, in any shape or form, not only digital. Here is a short interview on youtube that I did with one of the participants.

Roxara

This portrait had to have been my second most challenging one to date, with my Gaks inspired portrait taking the number one spot in that respect. Sara's portraits have a very sketchy pencil texture to them which was difficult to mimic without it looking too harsh or forced. It was also, pretty impossible for my version to look identical to Roxanne's portrait. Sara's style required me to completely change her face shape and structure, elongate her neck and decrease her large oval eyes.  I of course, however, retained her hair texture, fulling and adding more length for aesthetic purposes. Her lips and nose remained more or less the same. I produced two versions, with a slight variation, one with pupils and the other without. Roxanne requested that her pupils be kept in the portrait. which in my opinion, gives the portrait a soul. 

-S.R

Roxara

A Good Fit: Sara & Roxanne

Continuing on the Sara Golish train, my focus and illustration this week, will be inspired by Moondust. I do not think that my portrait, however, would do her style justice so I have enlisted the help of  Roxanne Coombs, the owner of the blog Things That Annoy and Things to Enjoy. Roxanne has graciously provided me with an image of herself to pick apart for this portrait. 

Roxanne Combs

As you can see from the image, Roxanne has fairly long dreadlocks which ties perfectly into what Moondust represents; the beauty of natural hair. My hair is also natural but in the image that I have been using as a reference, my hair had been straightened using a heating tool which does not communicate the same message. When Roxanne first approached me to collaborate I thought of doing her portrait inspired by an artist she choose. She did not have an artist off the bat, and could not find one that appealed to her after much research. This was when a light bulb flashed in my mind and I presented her with the idea of using a Moondust piece. She was almost as excited as I was and her only stipulation was that I retain the pupils in her eyes, which I agreed to do without hesitation. For this illustration I wanted to dig a little deeper, and truly put myself in the artist's mind to achieve a well thought out portrait that communicated a message.

-S.R

Her Sun & Moon: Sara Golish

Sara Golish, in my opinion epitomizes an artist with a distinct, and extremely unique style. This style has gained her popularity in the past years and cannot be mistaken for the work of another. According to Sara's online biography posted to her website, she is a Canadian visual artist who specializes in  portrait and figurative drawings. Her style embodies the spirit of women and breathes new life into each portrait. From my research of her, I am led to believe that females are her preferred subject. She currently has two completed drawing collections; Sundust and Moondust. Each woman is drawn with an elongated neck, thin almond eyes (sans the pupils), chiselled cheekbones, naturally textured hair, and is adorned with either jewellery or patterns very reminiscent of war paint (sometimes a mixture of both). Both collections highlight the beauty and exoticness of African women.

Moondust

This series, as stated on Sara's blog is her salute to Afro-futurism and naturally textured hair women Afro-futurism, defined by Womack 2012 is

"...the growing artistic movement and critiques that followed narratives of people of African descent in a sci-fi, futuristic treaties."

She is inspired by music of the 70's and 80's, futuristic and retro influences. None of the portraits are actually persons and the eyes are meant to give an otherworldly feel.


-S.R

All images belong to Sara Golish

Sundust

Journey

My character design for the story, Colours on the Wall, is that of Chanel. Chanel is 21 years of age and a close friend of Arona. Though they are distant friends, Arona holds a special place in Chanel's heart. Chanel decides to board a plane in hopes of arriving at Arona's in time to reveal her surprise.

In my design, I tried to incorporate a very warm and inviting feel for Chanel. Nuri is a sweet young girl, facing her own struggles and I wanted Chanel to portray the role of a kindhearted big sister. She is someone who Nuri can rely on and seek for advice. I personally believe that Chanel's eyes really capture her overall positive spirit. Anietha is amazingly talented at portraying emotions in her character illustrations so I aimed to channel that as well. I put a lot of focus into her eyes because it was difficult to get the look of them right. I did two versions, just as Anietha produces, one in black and white and the other in colour. Below are the illustrations as well as the original short story that introduces Chanel into the plot of Colours in the Walls.

-S.R

Journey

The plane was about to land; Chanel quickly grabbed the side of her seat and braced herself before the wheels hit the ground. She then blew a sigh of relief as the plane finally came to a stop. She thought to herself that no matter how many times she travels, she could never get use to this, but at the same time she had to endure it because there’s no way she would miss this very special day.

To read more of the short story, head over to ABCStorytelling.

Illustration by: Shanice Vitalis

Story by: Anietha Charles

Character Design with ABCStorytelling

Anietha Charles, owner of the blog ABCStorytelling is an avid writer and illustrator. In her recent writing, Colours on the Wall, she speaks about a colour blind protagonist, Arona, who lives her life in a wheelchair accompanied by her dog, Nuri. Herself and Nuri have a deep connection associated to their related colour blindness. She feels like an outcast amongst others and her journey begins as she starts to question colour.

Aneitha accompanies each chapter with a relating illustration, first in black and white, then in colour. They help to enhance her story and gives the reader a more personal look into Arona's life and struggle. She has a distinct style in her illustrations, very anime inspired, and using her depiction of Arona, I am going to attempt to create myself into a character that can visually fit into the story.

-S.R

All images belong to Anietha Charles