Matilda Project by Ellie

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-20 10:27:20 UTC

Response to the brief,

In this project I’ve been tasked to create a diverse collection of visuals based on the beloved children's story Matilda to be used as a backdrop for the preforming arts departments performance, while also using the themes of childhood and schools, during this project I will collect visuals I feel fit the theme both from real life and other artists to research how they would interpret this theme, In this project I plan to create a body of working using a selection of different techniques and materials, and continue to refine my ideas as the weeks progress, and combine them to create my final piece.

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funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-21 16:53:18 UTC

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This sketch was later expanded on digitally.

Visual references

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-21 16:56:00 UTC

Here I’ve provided my pinterest board, these are the visuals I feel fit the theme for this project, it’s all organised so my research is easy to find.

Coming up with ideas

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-21 17:14:26 UTC

These are some of the ideas I came up with early on, later in this project i plan to refine them and use them to experiment with different media and techniques

Lyrics I feel could translate into illustrations well

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funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-21 17:43:53 UTC

In this piece I’ve experimented with different sized letters, numbers and backwards letters and numbers to create a childish look I believe it came out quite well and the childish look was achieved

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-21 17:44:19 UTC

Here I’ve tried to create a more messy childlike print, I’ve tried with different sized letters and more colours than my revolting piece, I think the point came across well with the messy smudgy look of the print

Tricycle Mono print

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-21 17:44:48 UTC

With this piece I'm happy with my use of shadows and scratchy lines and the contrast of the tricycle against the lighter backdrop, This was my second attempt at mono printing, I learned from my mistakes with first attempt and applied that knowledge with this piece, I am impressed with the end result of this print, I feel I've improved with this process and would like to do it again for future projects.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-21 17:45:22 UTC

This is my least favourite of my two mono prints, I feel the overall look of the piece came out messier than I wanted and the shadows are too heavy for my personal preference, This piece didn't come out the way I wanted, but this was my first attempted using this method I don't feel its too bad given my lack of experience,

Mono printing

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-21 17:45:58 UTC

I personally found this process very fun to do and I feel the results came out pretty decent for a first try, if I were to do this again I would use a sharper pencil if I was printing a face because I feel my little boy print came out a little scary.

Word printing

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-21 17:50:30 UTC

I really enjoyed this process I liked the idea of having to making things look childish, I think I achieved this well especially in the pink piece,

Please keep in mind all of these ideas may not be used.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-22 13:02:29 UTC

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funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 20:15:25 UTC

With this illustration I've tried to explore lighting, By using a darker colour palette in the overall piece and using warmer toned colour for light, By using warm and cool tones for the lighting and backdrop I believe with the use of contrast in this piece the lighting came out well and pops against the background, I'm quite proud of this work.

Fighting monsters piece

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 20:18:15 UTC

This was one of my early ideas I’ve refined into this full piece digitally, I felt I could achieve the vision I had with this drawing better using digital methods, below I’ve provided my process

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 20:19:34 UTC

Some of the process

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 20:20:00 UTC

I really like this piece, I enjoy the use of colour and tone in it, I do however feel the perspective is off slightly unfortunately

The lyric this drawing is based on

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 20:23:17 UTC

From “When I grow up”

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 20:30:22 UTC

You’ll later see this one and the one below expanded on in watercolour

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 20:31:22 UTC

This sketch ended up being scrapped because i felt it was too stiff

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 20:44:26 UTC

Here i’ve used my research to inspire me to paint the cart from the original Matilda

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 20:48:44 UTC

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 20:59:23 UTC

I'm not too fond of this piece I feel she came out a bit stiffer than intended, However in this piece I believe I use watercolour a bit lighter which is something I struggle to do, I'm also not very happy with her face as I feel the expression came out a bit pained looking.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 20:59:45 UTC

I believe I could've improved this piece, I used the wrong paper this first time and I've gone a bit heavy on the watercolour, I plan to reapproach this piece I will try to be softer with the watercolour and change the paper to actual watercolour paper to create a design im happier with,

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 21:00:08 UTC

With this piece I tried experimenting with washes of colour rather than full blocks of it, I feel it came out well, I really enjoy all the colours on the knees, scraped knees and grass stains just screams childhood to me so I think this piece fits the theme quite well.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 21:07:11 UTC

Coloured pencil

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 21:08:54 UTC

I really like the shading on this piece however it didn’t quite come out how I’d planned, I feel if I were to redo this illustration I would try and make her look happier because I feel her expression came out a bit to neutral for what I was going for, I would also use a different technique for the background I feel this one has given her a weird cult leader-y aura and I’m not quite sure how Ive managed that.

Graphite

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 21:10:01 UTC

Graphite

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-23 21:10:25 UTC

List of ideas I came up with for this activity

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-24 13:49:15 UTC

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-26 14:30:43 UTC

In this piece I’ve tried to explore painting leaves without it looking muddy, I do feel I’ve achieved this somewhat if I were to try this kind of technique again I would lengthen drying times and make my colours a little bit lighter

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-26 14:34:47 UTC

My base colours for this piece

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-26 14:50:09 UTC

In this artwork I've aimed to use a more comic book style, I really enjoy this effect, the pops of red in this piece and the greyscale really makes this piece stand out to me, One this I could've done better with this illustration is definitely the arms they came out lazy and I could've done better.

My reference for this painting

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-27 07:49:40 UTC

I've changed some of the details here to better fit my style and my vision for this illustration

Reference

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-27 07:52:44 UTC

I've taken some creative liberties with this piece with the colouring, I felt it would look flat and boring if I just used plain grey so I’ve tried to experiment with colours and brushstrokes in this particular painting

My inspiration for this drawing

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-27 07:55:48 UTC

Here I've used one of Quentin Blakes illustrations to inspire my own work, with this piece I've used him as a reference to base my drawing off of but I've used my personal style instead of copying his work line for line.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-27 08:09:12 UTC

this is one of my original thumbnail sketches i've refined into the piece below

Assessing research

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funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-27 10:34:33 UTC

This is the first storyboard I came up with for this piece some of the aspects of it stayed and some did not, I knew when I first started storyboarding this piece I wanted the main character to have a memorable feature, in this sketch it started off as green hair this was later changed to pink.

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funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-28 19:07:23 UTC

Here I’m trying to figure out how to properly use gouache paint, As I would've liked to incorporate it for some of the illustrations In this project unfortunately I didn't get chance, I would like to experiment different paints than my usual acrylic to break out of my comfort zone.

The thumbnail sketches for these illustrations

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-28 19:26:17 UTC

General health and safety

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-28 19:55:05 UTC

You shouldn’t use any equipment you haven’t been inducted to use
Long hair should be up around the equipment at all times
Dangly jewellery and accessories should be taken off or tucked into clothing in the print space
No drinks should be around computers
Trip hazards like bags should be moved under tables to prevent accidents
Leave the space as you found it
Make sure everything you have used is put away and turned off
If you are using materials like white spirit make sure to use them correctly in a well ventilated space
Do not waste materials
Chairs should be tucked under tables to prevent trip hazards

This process wasn't personally for me.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-09-30 21:06:23 UTC

I think my illustrations in it are funny and emotive, however I just found this activity a bit boring, I'm not fantastic at 3D either and got stumped for ideas at the very beginning,

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-01 10:53:00 UTC

This was my final storyboard for this piece my apologies its not the most visible due to it being on the back of another piece, this sketch really helped me start to collect ideas I needed to research like the unicorn it required me to learn how to draw someone on a horse, this circles back to me wanting to challenge myself with this piece.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-03 13:43:12 UTC

My sketch for this piece changes quite a bit between stages and mediums.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-03 13:53:53 UTC

Here I'm providing my linework for this illustration, I'm really happy with the way the more comic-like style came out, however I did make a mistake with this piece and it was using watercolour on the background to try and save marker ink, this resulted in the watercolour going chalky due to this piece being on marker paper and rubbing off everywhere making it impossible to transport or fold for fear of ruining the art.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-03 13:54:23 UTC

The final traditional piece for this project, With this piece I've tried to experiment with varying line weight to create a more visually interesting look, I've also tried to achieve this by exclusively using a greyscale pallet with pops of pink to catch the eye, however one thing I would do differently is the house, I initially had a different vision for this and the current result was a mistake on my part, not wanting to have to restart the whole piece I had to think of a solution, I don't necessarily hate the outcome its just not what I had envisioned for that illustration.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-04 08:14:05 UTC

As I've reapproached this piece I'm much happier with this end result, Though I feel I failed on trying to use watercolour lighter and it still came out quite heavy, Below I've provided a piece of artwork I used as reference to paint the tree as I got a bit stuck on how to do it.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-04 08:15:50 UTC

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-04 08:54:07 UTC

These are some lists I made at the beginning of this project of both different media and ideas I would like to work on in this project.

Quentin Blake

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-04 13:05:29 UTC

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funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-04 13:11:59 UTC

I discovered this artist while scrolling on Pinterest for research, I love this particular piece for the nostalgia and her use of colour, The vibrant colours are what drew me to this piece in the first place and its a signature of hers, I really love how you can see the paint strokes in this piece that make it look very smooth and painterly.

Artist unknown

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-04 13:17:56 UTC

Unfortunately I couldn't find the original artist of this piece,

However i really love the use of messier line art combined with the smudgy watercolour look of this visual, it just stuck out to me for some reason

Hans Versfelt

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-04 13:18:09 UTC

With this artist the use of the neutral colour pallet and the brushwork gives his work a very soft and painterly quality

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-04 13:18:16 UTC

Natalia shaykin

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-04 13:24:02 UTC

This piece is quite different than the others I've shown in as its much more detailed than the others, This painting originally this work stood out to me because of the bright red hair of the cabbage patch kid and the pink dress standing against the blue sky created a really interesting contrast to me, This piece is also the original inspiration for my teddies on a wash line painting and inspired me to create something similar

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-04 13:26:22 UTC

Here I've provided my artist research.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-04 13:51:56 UTC

Obviously Quentin Blake had to be here, In this project I have both used his work to influence my own in terms of colouring or in some cases I've used his work as refences and them stylized them into my own personal piece without copying his work, I really enjoy his way of colouring and linework, The overall messy but put together look his work is really interesting to me.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-04 13:54:43 UTC

Below I've provided some of the pieces I've collected that really stick out to me for one reason or another

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-04 14:03:44 UTC

The amount of detail he manages to put into his pieces is really amazing to me, His style is so minimal yet he manages to make every piece so visually interesting using his linework and use of colour.

Sari Shryack

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funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-09 13:10:17 UTC

These are the images I collected as research for my final piece.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-09 19:39:09 UTC

The way Sari uses her brush strokes so strategically particularly with the details on the dolls and their packaging is really intriguing to me because of the effect that it gives the overall painting, The dolls themselves aren't super detailed but the impression that the brushwork gives is enough.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-09 19:40:26 UTC

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funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-09 19:41:07 UTC

My reference for the tree above.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-09 20:38:09 UTC

The way he uses lighting and depth gives his work a very lived-in natural feel, The broad brush strokes he uses creates a really interesting visual, The act of painting people in their day to day lives really solidifies the natural feel of his work.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-09 20:52:00 UTC

You can tell how much time went into this piece with each individual brushstroke and line on the teddy bears alone, Unfortunately I cant find much on what this artist used due to it all being in Russian

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-09 20:57:15 UTC

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-09 21:09:52 UTC

This piece was going to be a play on lyric from "When I grow up" from the Matilda musical, Unfortunately I couldn't quite get this illustration to work right in my style.

Problems and solutions

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-09 23:45:57 UTC

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-09 23:50:33 UTC

Sadly with both of these painting I've used the wrong paper and it bubbled, if I were to redo these I would use a thicker paper to stop this issue

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-10 07:11:29 UTC

I don’t have much to say about these 2 sketches I did them at the very beginning of this project, I would say they helped me start to form ideas when I got stuck at the start.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-10 07:12:58 UTC

The thumbnail sketches that inspired this comic

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-10 22:49:29 UTC

Comic research, problem solving and storyboarding.

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funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-10 23:12:21 UTC

This is a mood board of images I've compiled for this piece.

Problem solving with my digital piece

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-10 23:17:44 UTC

One of the problems I encountered while refining this piece was the house I found it difficult to do the texture on the bricks/stones for some reason, they were all too dull for the vision I had for this piece or they just didn't look quite right.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-10 23:17:58 UTC

This is another version of the house I did that I also thought was too dull and dark for the vision I had for this piece.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-10 23:18:31 UTC

For the digital version of this piece I aimed to experiment with tone and pivot away from the greyscale of my traditional piece, For this particular illustration I've tried to give it a duller tone to give the impression she finds her current life "boring" I'm not if it comes across particularly well to anyone but me, I feel could've maybe pushed this affect more to make it more obvious what I was going for, I've given her a teddy bear that wasn't there in my traditional piece, I thought it would give a sense of continuity between the first and last frames of the comic if she had something personal, I've tried to weather it between these 2 pieces to show they've both gotten older together.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-10 23:40:44 UTC

With this piece I've attempted to make her pop out more by using the contrast between green and pink, by having hot pink hair on a vibrant green background I feel she sticks out well with this piece I've also tried to give it a brighter appearance than the piece above to show she's excited for adult-hood.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-12 21:52:18 UTC

The house piece that caused me so much turmoil, I'm still not fully happy with this piece to be honest I know I should've probably reworked this till I was happy with it, However I was on a time-crunch as this was before the deadline for this project was extended and I was running out of time, if I'd had the time to recolour this piece I would've definitely gone for a brighter pallet to fit the colour language that I was aiming for in this comic.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-12 21:53:02 UTC

This is one of if not the most challenging pieces I did for this comic, I've never drawn a horse previously to this so this was a learning curve, I researched many images for this piece and I feel this paid off in the making of this piece, I recognise I definitely need practice drawing horses and their riders this is a skill I plan to work on in the future.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-12 21:53:29 UTC

With this piece I just ended up changing the background colour because I felt the blue washed her out a little bit.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-12 21:53:48 UTC

This is definitely one of the less challenging pieces of this comic, though the cats definitely challenged me as I'm not someone who draws a lot of animals, I've tried to keep up the sense of continuity by adding her childhood teddy but aged to show the time passing, The term "huge bed" might not make sense but in the first frame of the comic I made her feet stick out of the edge of the bed to try and show it was too small for her I'm not sure if this detail was apparent enough, I should've push this idea more.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-12 21:54:07 UTC

I'm not really sure why I went for a lollipop lady for her "grown up job" it's just a very childhood thing for me, I also put a lot of research into this piece to make sure it was accurate I also feel this is where you can see some of the colour language I aimed to convey with the use of vibrant colours to show her excitement for this job.

My final piece.

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-12 21:54:29 UTC

My initial concept for this artwork was portray to adulthood through a child's eyes I've really tried to add a mix of both real and fantasy things in this piece to give the affect of a child's imagination, I feel I've portrayed this goal well

With this piece I've tried to use colours to show the feel of these pieces separately, I've tried to experiment with line weight like I did in my traditional piece I've also tried to interpret my comic style from my traditional pieces into my digital while also adapting it to work with more colour I feel this effect came out really well, With her hair I chose to make it an exaggeratedly vibrant pink I want to let it be known this was intentional aiming to make this character stand out, I also felt it fit the adulthood through a child's theme I was going for,

overall I've really pushed myself out of my comfort zone with this piece and I'm really proud of how much went into it and how I've challenged myself

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-12 22:08:31 UTC

With this piece I aimed to challenge myself and explore things out of my comfort zone, I've decided to do this by experimenting with different media in the forms of creating both a traditional and digital version and also using a more comic-like style for this piece, I've also tried to do things I don't usually do like, houses, animals, and people in situations I've never drawn them in.

Matilda project evaluation

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-13 22:33:58 UTC

funkyspaceunicorn — 2024-10-13 22:36:36 UTC

However I do enjoy my end result though.