Binding a Sketchbook
For this new assignment, I wanted to create my own sketchbook from scratch. So I did. As reference for the binding technique, I used a YouTube video called “How to Make a Sketchbook | DIY Coptic Stitch Bookbinding Tutorial | Sea Lemon” by the aforementioned youtuber Sea Lemon.
I started out by pulling out my large sheets of drawing paper (100cm x 70cm) and carefully dividing them into eight parts, first by drawing on them, and then cutting them out with a cutter knife.
After I cut out a satisfactory number of pages I started folding them in half in order to create “signatures”. Then, in order to puncture all the signatures in the right places, I aligned them and marked where to make the small holes. I chose to puncture them using the same needle I would be sowing them together with.
When all the signatures were finished, I set them aside to make the covers.
The cover could have been made of sturdy cardboard, but I could not find any that I liked, so I ended up using a board of thin wood instead. I needed to enlist my Dad’s help for this one, because cutting it across required a saw, and making the holes I needed to sow through required a drill. After I had two separate pieces, I filed and sanded the edges down in order to gain a smooth finish. To finish the covers, I painted both boards brown.
The cover could have been made of sturdy cardboard, but I could not find any that I liked, so I ended up using a board of thin wood instead. I needed to enlist my Dad’s help for this one, because cutting it across required a saw, and making the holes I needed to sow through required a drill. After I had two separate pieces, I filed and sanded the edges down in order to gain a smooth finish. To finish the covers, I painted both boards brown.
Once I had my signatures and my covers, I started sowing, following each step from the video closely. Despite the fact that it was tricky to get a hang of at first, by the end it was relaxing to just go through the motions of sowing.
After the sowing was done and secured (ending the thread had been tricky). I carefully arranged the signatures to sit as close to the spine of the sketchbook as possible and started to apply glue in order to secure everything together. I set the sketchbook under a thick book to keep it nice and flat. Then, I repeated the process several times to make sure that the sketchbook spine was solid.
I kept the sketchbook under the book for several days to flatten it out, and then it was finished! Despite the fact that it was a pretty involved process, I greatly enjoyed making my own sketchbook and I definitely will do it again for the next assignment.
Assignment 2
I started out by printing out the characters I created in the previous Pareidolia exercise, and taping them in my sketchbook. For each character, I brainstormed some elements next to their images, then implemented them in the character itself. I did not do much in the way of changing their appearance, especially for the snail and the queen, because I already liked the designs I had come up with before.
The Friendly Sea Snail
The Mechanical Monkey
The 1.5-Eyed Lady
The Queen Squared
The Friendly Sea Snail
For the first character, the sea snail, I decided right away that I wanted him to be bright and colorful, not regular-snail-colored. When I first saw the pattern on the fake marble counter I thought of the creature as a magical sea snail, whose antennae (antlers?) are constantly shifting and changing. I imagined him as the sort of character in a story who helps the protagonist at a crossroads.
When drawing the snail, I tried to mimic the texture of the marble on its skin and shell. The shell itself is far to small for the snail to fit in, but I did not want to change it because I imagined that if his foremost characteristic is friendliness, he probably never uses it anyway, so he decided not to switch it up with a new one (as many sea creatures do).
The Mechanical Monkey
I am not sure why this object was a monkey to me when I saw it, but I’m glad it was. The final character is pretty cute. Unlike the first one, however, he did not have a body with the head, so I needed to design one. The original object was metallic with two bolts, so I decided to run with the theme and make a mechanical monkey.
Designing a shape for the head that would make sense was a bit tricky, but I manage to create a reasonable enough profile eventually. A knowledge of basic anatomy was very helpful for creating the body, because I knew how to divide it in simple shapes. And funnily enough, so did my small experience of drawing armor in my free time. The principles were similar enough that I only needed a little reference. The monkey is almost entirely metallic, except for the joints and abdominal area, which need to bend and so I painted those a different shade in order to show that they are of a different material (perhaps rubber). I colored the monkey’s eyes in red in order to give it a little more life, or to show that the machine is turned on.
The 1.5-Eyed Lady
At first, I shied away form photographing wood grain because wood grain always looks like it has eyes and it felt a little boring, but then I saw this pattern and thought I would like to run with it anyway. When I finished the first design, I thought the character looked like a 1950’s comic book rendition of a lady alien, so I ended up continuing the design in the same vein. I researched some fashion magazine illustrations from the era and tried to mimic the style for the clothing and lower half of the body. For the skin, I used classic Alien Green, and for the clothes I used blue. To match her eyes. Because she’s a classy lady.
The Queen Squared
My bedroom door became a judgmental red queen and now I can never unsee it. I have no idea who is to blame for this. Again the design was good (and her facial expression perfect) from the start, so I simply fleshed out the shapes a little better in a new sketch and colored her in with red, because no other color could have possibly done her justice. I like to think that she’s made of some sort of living metal, as all the people in her kingdom are, but the red color is only acquired by the person who sits on the White Throne. So I refrained from adding any texture or too many details, because I like the simplicity of the design.
I started out by printing out the characters I created in the previous Pareidolia exercise, and taping them in my sketchbook. For each character, I brainstormed some elements next to their images, then implemented them in the character itself. I did not do much in the way of changing their appearance, especially for the snail and the queen, because I already liked the designs I had come up with before.
Environments
The Friendly Sea Snail
The sea snail is a very colorful character, so I naturally gravitated towards the first exercises in my sketchbook where I could find black and white textures achieved in ink. This way the colorful snail could stay in contrast with its environment. There, I played around with the composition until I found a corner I liked and then replicated it with the snail inside the composition.
Capturing an element
Final piece
The Mechanical Monkey
I don’t necessarily think the abstract backgrounds were the best idea for the characters I created, but in the case of the monkey, the vibrant green served very well as a forest that the monkey could live in. The fact that the forest is an unnaturally light green also serves the artificial monkey well, environment wise. This was the exercise where I used a palette knife to achieve the wild texture, though I did not replicate it exactly, because I added some more clear shapes of tree trunks.
Capturing an element
Background with tape
Background without tape
Unlike the previous sketch, I could not include the monkey within the composition itself, so I opted to re-draw it on a separate sheet of paper, cut it out and then glue it to the background.
Drawing
Cut-outs
Final piece
The 1.5-Eyed Lady
Since the green alien lady is inspired out of the 1950’s era, I thought that the peaceful, suburban neighborhood was the most appropriate. And I also chose it because the style clashes with the fact that her skin is green in a very funny way. Here, I included her in the composition instead of making a cut-out.
Capturing an element
Sketching
Coloring
Final piece
The Queen Squared
At first I had thought that the busy background might be a good idea for this character’s simple design, but now I am not so sure. It seems to clash too much. I had chosen that specific corner of the painting because I wanted cool colors with a bit of red in order to balance out the queen. I used the same technique as with the monkey before. I first painted the background in with paper towels (as the exercise had been initially), then I re-drew the character on a separate sheet of paper, cut her out, then glued her onto the new background.
Capturing an element
Cut-outs
Drawing
Cut-outs
Final piece