Photoshop: Back To Basics

It's been a busy couple of weeks towards the end of term! This is a small selection of my Computer based work done in class :) 

All were made using the most basic Photoshop layering and colouring techniques in an attempt to literally ''go back to basics" with our design and to find out if we can learn anything new from it. 

Koi Carp

Squid

Jellyfish

For One Night Only

As a favour to my friend, I designed this poster for his theatre society in our University although I didn't have a lot of time to do it. It promotes a show they are putting on at the end of the month, which includes comedy sketches, songs and Shakespeare within it. 

I drew the banner/curtain by hand into Adobe Illustrator and using the brush libraries, chose one effect that I thought fitted in with the theme. The skull was a found image on google that I then edited using filters in Adobe Photoshop. I think it was a successful attempt at a poster for a nights work!

Thankfully, he really liked the poster! And so do I!

Face Paint

I've been continuing my self-set task of practicing illustrating peoples faces. I've been using photographs of my friends as templates and then changing them slightly for the final sketch.

At the end of these illustrations, I decided to add a cut-out filter to them on Photoshop just to make them  stand out a little bit more. There's not really much of a noticeable difference but it helps remove any blotches on the paper.

This started out as a photograph of my friend, Sian. 

This set started out as an illustration of my friend, Lucy

The photograph I used of Sian still resembles her in most ways, but I changed most of the face when drawing Lucy. Sometimes I think it helps you draw something just to have an idea of what you're aiming to create. 

The Secret Garden

Today, whilst enjoying the sun - I thought I'd do a few pen illustrations, selecting different parts of the garden to fill the different boxes. 

Watercolour & Pencil

One of many of my favourite illustrations of faces that I have done this summer. 

Watercolour is becoming my new favourite way of enhancing my illustrations.

Faceless Fashion

All summer I've been trying to brush up on my skills of figure drawing and portraiture. From time to time I'd get a moment of inspiration and motivation to do some work and I'd fill maybe two or three pages of my sketchbook, but still feel unsatisfied with the result. If I'm honest, I feel like that a lot when it comes to my work.

Now I realise art is always a process, and everything takes time and practice - But if you knew me... You'd know I'm not the most patient of people and I want to do and achieve so many things, I just don't know where to focus my energy and attention first.

Anyway I've always been interested in fashion, and I also Skyped my fashion-student friend in New York recently. Realising how well she's done for herself made me think how far I could get if i changed my mentality a little, I decided to draw some fashion-styled illustrations. 

The first one is completely off-the-cuff (improvised). I had no idea what I was aiming to create with this, I just let my brush and the paint do the work and this was my result. 

I particularly like the blue, wavy hair. 

This second illustration depicts one of my all time favourite dresses from the brand 'All Saints'. Admittedly the model's hair is slightly different to what you'd find on their website, but again I just let the paint do the work. 

For once, in a very long time I actually like something I've painted. 

Maybe I should try to keep thinking of what's possible with practice, because I'm pretty sure my friend is too busy to Skype me every time I need some inspiration!