I Don't Think So

Lessons I learned from looking at old work.

It is really humbling to look back at old work.  I was getting ready to put a series of illustrations about my tonsillectomy (at age five) on Behance.  I found them and said to myself:  "I don't think so."

Here is one of the pictures, which I did in pen and ink and colored ink washes.

Although I would be delighted  if you loved this illustration and thought I was a GENIUS, I would disagree (but would appreciate your sentiment.)

I've worked hard over the last five years to improve my craft, and I've learned a few things.  Perhaps you will find what I've learned useful, or interesting. 

My teachers at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (SMFA) always said "If you learn one thing, learn how to draw hands."  Now, look at the nurse's left hand; it is disturbingly large and malformed.  My hands are much better now, because I have taken two anatomy classes, drawn daily, and practiced.

I used too much ink and hatching when I drew the terrified little girl on the gurney (me - screaming my lungs out.)  Using less ink and hatching would have resulted in a more satisfying image without losing the terror.

Instead of using watercolors, I used colored inks.  Despite what people tell you, watercolor is not that hard to use.  If you make a mistake, you can often fix it by blotting with water.  No such luck with ink; once it is down, it is there for good.  Ink also reproduces in an odd way.  Some colors come out really strong - others, very muted.  Lastly, you cannot mix different inks - say yellow and red - and get a good orange.

There is also too much going on, with all of the cross hatching and lines of ink.  The busyness distracts from the main image - the little girl and the nurse.  You really want to use as few elements as possible to communicate your visual idea.  

There are elements that work well in this picture.  The overhead view is interesting and frightening.  Because you cannot see the nurse's face, it heightens the feeling of panic.

The negative space is strong.  (Shown by the dark brown areas.)

The part of the picture where "nothing" is happening is just as important where the positive space is.  Good negative space makes the composition visually interesting.

There is pretty good eye "movement" .  A viewer's eye keeps moving around the picture - not getting stuck on any one element, and not flying off the page.

I've shown in red the path that a viewer's eye would take.  This illustration is missing an "entry point", a visually easy place for your eye to enter the picture (often in the bottom part).

I don't get upset about these early adventures that didn't work out as well as I had hoped.  It's all a journey that is satisfying as long as I keep learning.