Drama in the Theatre: Scene Process
Hello my festive friends! It’s November!
To celebrate the longer nights and frost-filled mornings, I’m sharing another processes post with you! I wrote a similar post back in January, so what better way to welcome in the penultimate month of the year by revisiting some of those techniques! Some things have changed, some have remained the same. Either way, I hope you enjoy it!
A cloud of ideas
For most projects I begin with a brain dump, mind map, or some kind of storyboard, where I spew out all of my ideas onto paper. I like to think of these ideas as clouds swirling in my head. Some are light and fleeting, some are heavy and storm-like, bursting at the seams with inspiration. This particular idea of a dancing bird, has been brewing in my head for quite some time. I decided to sketch out vague little thumbnails on paper, and rearranged them on my drawing board until a narrative began to emerge.
Before I begin working on a scene, I like to get the skeleton of the narrative sorted, aka the storyboards, which over time can be fleshed out with colour and imagination. For this post I’ll be showing you my process for the theatre scene! I loved the idea of all those rich golds and reds filling the page, and my inspiration for this came from the Royal Opera House in London.
Out of the sketchbook and into the fire
As with most projects, I start out with a lot of messy sketchbook work, where I figure out the atmosphere, composition and content of the illustration. Some days I fill pages upon pages, and some days all I manage is a few brush strokes. But! Progress is always progress, so whatever happens, I like to keep my critical brain out of this initial stage, and trust my intuition by letting the ideas flow.
I knew the audience was an integral part of this scene, so I played around with different expressions and costumes until I felt that they worked well together on the page. I’ve tried to make more conscious choices when it comes to diverse characters within my work, whether that involves gender or age or race, and with this in mind, I attempted to create characters with a good balance of sensitivity and playfulness. Once I’ve tested each section like this - the orchestra, the stalls, the curtains, the audience - it’s time to pull them all out of my sketchbook and start playing!
Playtime
In my previous post I also called this part of the process experimentation, but play sounds so much more inviting! Essentially I use this time to piece together each part of the illustration on the page, testing composition, materials, colour etc, etc. Each time I complete a test I can step back and evaluate the entire image without burning myself out, or wasting time and materials on full size illustrations. For this particular scene I also tested different paper, opting for a smooth watercolour paper rather than my usual Bristol board, which wouldn’t have supported the large washes of paint I wanted to use. I shifted a shadow here and a music note there, until I felt that everything was just how I liked it.
This part sounds simple, but in all honesty I’ve found it can be quite disheartening. Every test begins with, “This is my final test!” but inevitably there’s always something I want to change by the end and I have to try again. I do however try and limit myself to three tests; not only do I get bored of drawing the same scene over and over, but endlessly trying to improve something inevitably feeds into procrastination, and I believe that some of the best illustrations are born from spontaneity.
Finals Finals!
Once I’m satisfied that no more improvements can be made, it’s time for finals! Hoorah! Overall this piece took me two days, working on it for several hours at a time. If it wasn’t for the effort I put in at the experimental stage, this section of the process would never go as smoothly as it does. Making sure that you test an illustration thoroughly means that you can be confident with the how the final piece will turn out, and be happy in the knowledge that you only have to create it once!
For this project I chose to work with gouache and pencil crayons (a mix of prismacolor and polychromos) on watercolour paper. I’ve been chopping and changing my materials this year, and honestly I’ve enjoyed discovering what works best for me my practice. I think a lot of us assume that once we get comfortable with a style or medium we’re not allowed to change. But experimenting with different materials can be one of the best ways to learn about what we do and don’t like. Whatever your style is, OWN IT! But if want to try a new medium, own that decision too! I think the best artists out there are the ones who are open to trying new materials and not being afraid to integrate them into their current practice.
Cleaning up
The final step was to scan and edit the illustration on my computer. I decided to add the music notes digitally, and balanced out any colour hues that had been altered by the scanner.
And there you have it! One scene done and dusted. What do you think of the final image? Do you have a different approach to this process? I’d love to know in the comments!
Gems from October…
*Every year my family and I visit Cholmondeley for some gorgeous autumn colours. I shared some photos from last year’s trip if you’re in need of some satisfyingly seasonal content, that one may be for you!
*Since watching Howl’s Moving Castle I read the book throughout October and loved it! It was interesting to see how to plot differed from the film, but overall it was a great Autumn read.
*Last month I met Hannah of Humbug Art at her lovely studio in Eccles. Hannah facilitates a bunch of art classes for all abilities and ages, so if you’re in the Manchester area you may want to take a look at what she offers! You can see her latest classes here.
*And if you’re interested in art workshops, I’m co-running online illustration sessions throughout November. You can sign up here if you haven’t already got your ticket!
Have a magical November friends!
Until next time,
Catherine