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Exercise: mark-making

Here I was asked to create a sketchbook with different kinds of coloured and textured papers and essentially try out all media, tools, ideas, paper qualities and textures with the same image to fill the entire sketchbook.

I have to say that I loved this exercise and it really helped me have courage to dive into using different media I was not yet familiar with. I had to do this in stages as I started this during COVID-19 lockdown with a limited amazon delivery ability to Switzerland so as packages came in over the weeks, I continued to explore as I also got on with the other exercises in the course. 

I chose to use a little design of a cartoon-like, multi-tiered birthday cake with a candle on top I have crafted over the years and used as my signature home-made birthday card for friends and family. I figured it was time I re-vamped this design for future cards and also since I knew it well, I wouldn’t get lost in the drawing aspect but could really experiment. 

I filled loads of pages in a sketchbook and tried out all sorts of paper: (sketch, rough, shiny, tissue, sparkly, sand, aluminium, greaseproof paper, old envelopes, cardboard, inserts from actual greetings cards I have received over the year for my own birthday etc.) I also tried out various media (felt pen, ink pen, dip pen with ink, water colours, water colour pencils, pastel, oil pastel, acrylic, and mixing various media too in one drawing. I particularly liked the combinations as follows which I have chosen to highlight: 

Water colour and ink or just black ink on different colours of paper
brown paper, metallic gold acrylic paint and black ink stippling
oil paint stippled onto black paper and dry brush table top
I even tried sponging acrylic paint, letting it dry and then using pastel on top for a rougher look and feel which turned out well
using pritt stick to stick down greaseproof paper then charcoal on top gave a cool black and white look
Rough dabbing of gouache and then worked over with thin felt pen also gives a nice effect
I discovered sgraffito with oil pastel and I really love that and tried out different thicknesses when peeling away layers using coins and paper clips and different smoothness of papers
It’s very simple but I used dip pen and ink to draw the cake and then used a brush with water to blend parts to get a nice effect. Plus the ink came a little glittery so it has a nice clean and happy look to it.
I then used a manual airbrush that you blow through to move around drops of water with water colours in them for a background and then tried stipple ink and messy scribble ink on top, very effective!

I did various more that I collaged here below. I hope to continue to use this to explore other things as I go.

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