Course project
Post-Pandemic Flight of Bees
by Peter Wright @wrig
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Thanks James for your input and sharing your talent and thought processes. Your reference to using the Gestalt Principles to build an idea simply, thinking only of the abstract concepts like proximity & similarity to generate initial thumbnails, freed me up to think outside the "square". I think these principles are evident in my 2 finished pieces. And the topic of discovering a whole new world which was your take on our post-pandemic world. Even that idea gave me a new way to approach a topic i.e. break it down to it's simplest form once again, magic. Thank You.
4 comments
Nice job on both finals! I love the clarity of ideas and compositions are strong and eye catching. Glad you enjoyed the course and that it freed up your thinking. Congrats :-D
@yangmeister Thanks for being so quick to reply. Much appreciated. Just a question. I know you have an established "naive" style of drawing, which is your trademark "style", however if you look at my other editorial illustrations I have done for Domestika, they are more realistically stylised, which suited those topics. But I sometimes draw using a similar "naive" style to the one I have done for your course. The Question? In your experience as an established illustrator, is it possible to continue using 2 different styles (as I enjoy both) or is it wise to focus on one? Do you know of other successful illustrators using more than one style?
That's an interesting question. It's normally not done especially at the beginning because it confuses potential buyers but a couple illustrators I know have managed to pull it off. They usually do it after establishing one style because they have built up trust with art directors. If you really want to show both approaches, make them two different sections on your website and see what happens. Usually an artist will prefer illustrating approach over another and one might be easier for coming up with concepts so think about which approach you enjoy the most.
So in short, it normally doesn't happen with new illustrators but just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean you couldn't give it a shot if you separate them on your site as two different things. Here's one illustrator with different approaches and you can see how she broke things up: https://melindabeck.com
hope this makes sense!
James
@yangmeister A great reply, thanks James. I'm exploring at the moment but realise the market naturally sees you as one style and one identity, which is how most illustrators market themselves. However my brain and drawing skills are attracted to both the abstract/simple "naive" approach and the semi-realist stylised approach as they both have skills I do well and enjoy for different reasons. I know it is a matter of letting go of one over another to make yourself more marketable in the business of illustration, so I'm a bit frustrated with myself not being able to choose. I have thought about keeping the 2 styles for separate purposes, like you have suggested. But having a good outcome with this simple approach i.e. being a little freer in the way you develop ideas has got me thinking in this direction. I come from an art teaching background, so part of my skill set to help teenagers explore ideas was this ability to adapt and explore various styles. I've narrowed it down to 2 influential styles out of the many out there. I've looked at Melinda Beck's work and like how she has diversified but still keeping it identifiably hers. So thanks again for you input.
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