Illustration - Drawn to Digital

In today’s creative visual climate, digital processes are prevalent and the hand of the artist within the work can sometimes be lost. This experimental course will introduce you to new ways of working, where you will combine old and new technologies, bringing together the handmade and the digital. There will be plenty of opportunity to explore traditional techniques, all of which can be easily achieved at home, without the need of a large studio space. Starting with handmade drawing, printmaking and mark-making you will be encouraged to develop drawings and texture libraries. By scanning work into the computer you will learn how to manipulate your designs in Adobe Photoshop. You will learn how to clean up images, add and experiment with textures, as well as playing with the possibilities of pattern repeat and digital collage. With the guidance from your tutor, you will be encouraged to explore the transition between these two ways of working to create projects that can be printed and manipulated digitally, but still retaining the hand of the artist. By working in this way you will be able to make digital technologies work for you, and gain the confidence to use these to support your current practice. This is a great way to allow your own personal style and artistic voice to show through in your work. Please note this course is taught on a Mac computer.

Topics Include

• Artist research, inspiration boards and project development

• Creating handmade textures

• Image and texture Libraries

• Digital Collage

• Printmaking (stamps, stencils, lino, mono printing)

• Experimental painting

• Scanning of artwork

• Cleaning of images

• Preparing images for pattern repeat

• Preparing artwork for print and online publication

Course Outcomes
You will leave with an understanding of how personal artistic practice can be enhanced by digital means. You will have learnt how to take a handmade image or texture and successfully scan into Photoshop to add depth and personal style to digital images. By concentrating on using Adobe Photoshop you will be confident with the program to continue developing skills in your own time and finding new ways to add personal style to digital images.

Who Should Attend
Any artist, designer or illustrator looking to use more handmade elements alongside digital work. Suitable for those looking to keep the traditional methods of mark-making alive without abandoning the benefits available with digital methods. An ideal course for those wanting to find new approaches to their practice and find inspiration from working within an experimental environment.

Level
Beginner / Intermediate