Queen of the Bees

My Illustration II class got the opportunity to go see "A Circus Family: Picasso to Leger" at the BMA before spring break.  The exhibit was worth every dollar--I have always taken an interest in Picasso's paintings and studies of circus people, and it was amazing to see some Toulouse-Lautrec prints in living color.  I wasted no time filling my sketchbook with studies of the posters--their strong compositions and energetic layouts will be sure to inspire me in future Illustration assignments.  For our "circus portrait" project in Illustration II, we were to depict a well-known celebrity as a circus performer (acrobat, lion tamer, ringmaster, etc) that somehow related to their image or persona in the real world.  I was inspired by Amy Winehouse's towering hairdo, and so she became a circus freak known as "Queen of the Bees."  (it was between her and Mary-Kate Olsen as the Incredible Shrinking Woman) As always, click for a larger view!

Lighting Workshop

These are from last semester--all Illustration majors were required to attend a lighting workshop in the BBOX performance space.  I'm not sure if you can read my scribbled handwriting, but the topmost sketch is drawn from 2-point side lighting, the middle from "Rembrandt lighting" (creates a triangular patch on the cheek) and the bottom from bottom lighting (also called "up" or "foot" lighting..)  All are five-minute exercises executed in sharpie.

Blood Type

For my Hand Letters class we were assigned a project entitled "Nature's Alphabet," where we had to render an alphabet inspired by natural elements.  (Leaves, birds, vegetables, etc)  I chose the circulatory system, and used my handy 1940s anatomy book to aid me in depicting realistic vein and artery structures.  I apologize for the low image quality; the file size had to be greatly reduced in order for me to upload.  We used this alphabet in a later project---I will post it later this week, if I can recover my lost flash drive!

Ponytail Type