Student Work - Introduction to Abstraction

Pai Ka's scarecrow is interesting. She uses a good balance of iconic drawing and realistic drawing. While Scarecrow doesn't have legs, the figure is drawn in proportion. Scarecrow has an iconic mouth that feels gentle. An interesting character.


Here is Joshua's character, Bulltron Mega. Joshua's drawings tend towards the iconic side; with this assignment I asked for proportionate realistic drawing, however, Joshua goes so over the top with detail and icons I actually really like this. Bulltron Mega has muscles, claw shoes, three eye balls, ear rings and what looks like a tonsil or a little man coming out of his mouth. This is an energetic, inventive drawing. It grabs your attention.
Here is an anthology of Damion creating an index of expressive anatomy. Notice how later on he draws a character and uses creative anatomy to express a sense of concentration. Also notice how Damion uses a GREY SCALE. This is something we'll get into later.

I was very happy with Marco's designed character for it's creativity and observation to detail. Marcos also didn't just draw Abe Lopez in a boring stance. Abe Lopez has taken a stance of exuberance with a facial expression of integrity and rage. Notice how Abe Lopez the space rapper is not standing still - his body is in motion as he raps through space.


I am impressed by David's willingness, his figure's expression and the clarity of his character. Notice when David erases and remember that the eraser is just as important as the pencil itself. To create is fantastic; but to edit is sublime.
Annie's character is a triumph. She understood the assignment inside and out and even went further by adding iconic hearts around Zory. The figure is in motion. The figure's posture emphasizes Zory's personality. Even Zory's clothing says something about who she is. I have a very good sense of this character and thus the assignment is well done.
Here are some facial expressions from Mei Xian. Observe that not only is she making iconic faces, but also the differences in the character's hair. It is important to differentiate characters. Some of you seem to draw the same people over and over again. These characters are all different.

INTRODUCTION TO ABSTRACTION

Let's take a closer look at the difference between Pai Ka's Scarecrow and Joshua's Bulltron Mega. This time, attempt to look at the drawings not iconically or realistically. Pretend that the drawings represent absolutely nothing. If there is no character, no words, no icons ... what is there left to look at?


Presenting the American artist: Jackson Pollock. Pollock focuses on style over content. In the above painting, there is no content whatsoever. Simply energetic, splatter lines. On the one hand, one could argue this is simply a mess with no purpose, but on the other hand, one can imagine the artist going through the process of making this painting. It looks like fun to make, right? Well - I think it does.

Now - notice how GENTLE Pai Ka's line is. And how heavy handed Joshua's depiction of Bulltron Mega is. The WAY in which you draw says something about the character itself. When the line itself has a feeling, or protrays a feeling, it begins to fall into the field of abstraction.

Abstract art is the third type of art we are studying.

Abstraction is used in anime usually to portray emotion, motion or beauty.

For example:


Observe the above Dragonball Z picture. There are abstract lines behind the figures. Let's see what occurs when we remove the abstract lines.

How does the SAME drawing look with the abstract lines in the background?


Often in Anime, abstraction is used to portray MOTION. This is referred to as "FUTURISM" and first came into existence in the early 1900s in Europe. We'll go over this more later. Once again, imagine the above picture without the abstraction. Would this be an exciting drawing that was fun to look at?

Here is another example... what is going on in the background from the video still? I know this will be a black and white handout, but really ... what is all that?


In class today, try to protray an emotion WITHOUT ICONS OR FIGURES.

The emotions you can choose from are:

TRANQUILITY - which means - calmness; peacefulness; quiet; serenity.
ENTHUSIASM
ANGER
JOY

PLEASE USE COLOR.

Once your abstract drawing is done, draw a character that ALSO is expressing this emotion. We will then put the two drawings together by using scissors and glue in the next class!

Here is an EXAMPLE. See how more intense BULLTRON MEGA looks when abstract lines are put behind him!