Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Work In Progress


Now that I have my quote, I need to decide what it will look like and where/how it will be used. Since I will be given a space to hang my artwork, this piece will be a framed work instead of making a small book, box or some other 3D piece.


I draw quick and dirty thumbnails of various ways to write out the quote. I don't need to write the quote out. Just a few lines and squiggles to indicate where things will go. This gives me an idea of what it will look like before going through the trouble of writing it out in pen and ink with the illustration. Thumbnails are a big time-saver. If I hate the layout at 2 inches big, I'm not going to love it any better when it's 10 inches big.


I can write the quote in a circle with the illustration in the center. Write the quote in a straight line or lines with the illustration above. Write the qoute in a curve above the illustration. Write the quote in a curve below the illustration. I can divide the quote into four sections and write each section along an edge of the paper with the illustration in the center. I can go on and on with possible layouts by tossing in how I will hold the paper: portrait or landscape.


The previous layout of this quote was done in a circle with the illustration in the center of the circle. This is the layout I like best and the one I'll use.
How do you go about planning your work?

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for showing us your process. Almost makes me want to draw, except I'm terrible! Which is weird because there are fine artists in our family. I suppose thumbnails are akin to a rough draft.

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  2. I do something like that when I design a cross stitch project. Sure beats graphing the whole thing out over and over.

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  3. Georgiana, this would be more like the "what ifs" you play with your characters. The rough draft is yet to come.

    I hear you, Linda. This small step can save a lot of time and effort.

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  4. This is the topic over on Seekerville today, how you start the process of writing a novel.

    I tend to do a lot of thumbnail sketches in my head of various scenes and things I'd like to see in a book.

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  5. Thumbnails are a great idea and I love your quote!

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