evaluation draft.

Project Brief In this project I would like to explore the way different animal species have been portrayed in folklore, legends and mythology - comparing and contrasting this to their representation in field guides and science.

I would also like to research the artworks accompanying these different portrayals - from the fantastical child-like egg tempera paintings in medieval bestiaries to the painstaking, anatomically correct woodcuts from later nature books. I would like to find a way at combining the best of these two styles and mind-sets to create illustrations, which are at the same time feasible and magical.

Client Brief I would like to create a book of animal illustrations based on fables written in medieval bestiaries. I would like to combine the magical jewel colours of medieval art and illumination with the detail and practicality of scientific illustrations of animals and plants. I would also like the text to reflect this style; magical stories retold in practical scientific terms.

The book I would like to make would be something independently published or by an organisation such as Incline Press. It could be sold in independent book or gift shops.

 For my hand-bound and illustrated book of reinterpreted stories from medieval bestiaries, I selected animals to paint based on stories from the medieval books I have researched.  Each individual animal has a watercolour, gold (either paint, gel pen or leaf) and fineliner illustration inspired by medieval bestiary art and illumination as well as influences from the artists I have studied - such as Kay Nielsen, Lesley Ann Ivory and Ulisse Aldrovandi. I wanted to combine the bold medieval inspired backgrounds, borders and gold accents with more detailed, observed illustrations of animals more often found in modern field guides and nature books. This is so that my illustrations are fantastical and vivid as well as having elements of truth; so that viewers might rethink the every-day animals I have selected and view them as something more enchanted. 

I plan to use a Coptic binding for my book- an ancient method of binding, which ties in with my references from the Middle Ages. I plan for the pages to be watercolour paper so that I am able to paint directly onto the book pages. I want my paintings to be roughly A5 landscape; small enough so that I am able to paint a larger quantity of pages and so the book has something small and precious about it.

  
My influences

 I chose to complete the majority of my illustrations with watercolour. I chose this medium because it is versatile enough to be able to effectively cope with my various styles and influences, including bold medieval art, finely detailed field guide illustrations and dreamy fairy-tale plates. It can be applied in bright blocks, in light, flowing patterns, watery washes and dry and high-pigmented, for textural stippling and strokes. It is water based and absorbed by the paper, this means it does not resist other mediums, allowing me to easily work on top of it with other materials, such as ink, fineliner, colour pencils and gel pen. It is because of the flexibility of the watercolour that I have been able to paint in such contrasting styles.

 I think I have fulfilled my client brief; I have competed a set of illustrations and accompanying text that matched my aim.

 I think the contrasting styles I have chosen to work in complement each other very well. The bright bold medieval inspired backgrounds are whimsical and decorative, and frame my more practical animal paintings. The simplicity of them draws out the details in my animal paintings and the bright colours makes them more prominent. The thick, dark outlines turn the mild paintings into something more punchy and defined. The animal paintings also work to focus and relax the gaudy background, so the overall piece has more balance and poise.

Illustration from the book

 I would have liked to have explored this concept further and made my book a little more in-depth, with more animals included, more illustrations and text to accompany it. I’m very fond of my chosen subject and would have liked to explore it further, perhaps illuminating the text more grandly; including ornate start letters like in traditional medieval text. I would have liked to have made a more lavish front cover (although still slightly toned down than medieval covers). I could have made a textured cover; drawing out raised patterns out of string, tissue paper and glue, perhaps also embellishing it with small plastic gemstones, glass beads and gold accents after same style they were traditionally bound.

   

Medieval book covers & start letters