You are what you eat
Proverbs are sayings that convey popular wisdom in short and memorable ways, such as ‘a stitch in time saves nine’. While they refer to practical home truths, there’s often a hint of judgement. Proverbs are based on metaphors, something being something else, so the stitch in time is a metaphor for doing things in a timely manner. But it also suggests that if you don’t follow the advice, then you’re slovenly.
Choose a proverb to illustrate and produce two different versions, one implying the ‘good’ and the other the ‘bad’ meaning implied by the advice. Think about how you use the two images in relationship to one another. How do you create a comparison between the symbolism of the good with the bad? Think specifically about which elements in the illustration you need to tweak to make this work successfully.
I looked up a list of proverbs to find one I was drawn to to illustrate that had the good and bad, the two sides of the story as it where.
A bad penny always turns up
A barking dog never bites
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
A chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link
A fool and his money are soon parted
A golden key can open any door
A good beginning makes a good ending
A leopard cannot change its spots
A house is not a home
A miss is as good as a mile
A poor workman always blames his tools
A rolling stone gathers no moss
I decided the best one to illustrate and show the two sides was the ‘A house is not a home’. I already had a few ideas of what I could do and include to make this illustration have comparisons between the two. using the research from Gin lane and Beer street would help with the comparisons I needed to make for this exercise.
Definition of a proverb:-
A short well known pithy saying, stating a general truth or piece of advice.
I went on to complete a small spider diagram to get some words for ideas.
I then decided to research the ‘House is not a home quote’ to see if anymore ideas popped up. I found a few movie posters and some illustrations from newspapers and magazines, that had a few different takes on the proverb.
This movie advertising poster has the image of a house as the central theme, but the house is dark and in shadow, the sky is very chilling, and the eyes that you can see right at the top of the poster are as though they are looking at you. There are plants and greenery, but again this in shadow, the image is mainly of the path and the front door. It looks like a house but is it a home, that’s the question that I get from the poster.
This promo for a musical play, is along the same lines, the house is the central theme, but here the design is very graphic and simple, the house to me is not a home its just a box. The background colour and abstract forms in a purple blue, give an uneasy feel, there’s definitely more here than meets the eye, but it doesn’t give anything away.
This little illustration for The New Yorker is a really lovely gentle image, but it says so much, it’s of a lonely woman, looking out onto another house, which she may view as a home. The woman looks as though she is sitting on a chair, yet the shadows are the furniture and plants, its as though the shadows are what she wishes for. She does have the comfort of a hot cup of coffee though, which she is clasping with both hands. The colours in her house are darker than the light house opposite.
This image is also of a house, this house looks derelict, un-loved, and in disrepair, it definitely doesn’t feel like a home! The trees are bare with no leaves and greenery, as though they haven’t been cared for or watered. There seems to be bits of discarded wood, bits of tree branches and bushes dumped in front of the house. Some areas are boarded up as though the glass has smashed. The only living thing about the image are the white flowers in the foreground, that maybe show hope for the future?
The image is in black and white, with a slight sepia tinge to it, this add’s to the feeling of being in a state of disrepair.
So from this images and research, and along with the info from the last research task, I have a good idea of what I need to do to complete this exercise.
I started with some sketches in my sketchbook for ideas, and of what to include in the ‘Home’ side of the illustrations. I started with the classic sketch you would draw when you was a child of what a home would look like.
Working from my previous feedback about experimenting with 3 new digital tools and one physical tool, I decided to experiment with traditional and digital in the exercise’s. I chose Gouache for the traditional medium here in this exercise.
I added a character sketch of a cat in gouache, pets always make a house a home.
Some fine liner flower sketches, to add that feeling of living plants.
This time some painted flowers, again in gouache, to add colour and vibrancy, and life to the illustrations.
And more flowers, this time in black fine liner and watercolour ‘poppies’.
I need to draw some people as well for this illustration, but I want to define the style first before I draw these, I’m unsure whether to draw character style or realistic style.
So then I turned to the thumbnails and some composition views.
This took me to a point where I was not sure how to proceed! I was certain I knew what I wanted to illustrate, but then I thought about ‘what makes a home’?
A home can be full of stuff and people, yet you still don’t feel at home, you could live alone with little stuff, but really feel at home, so what is it that makes it home, if it’s not stuff and people?
Is it just a feeling?
Should there be a symbolism in the illustration?
Should I make it less literal and more symbolic?
I really had to think about this, so I took a break to come back to this later.
So I came back to this a few days later having the feeling that a home can be two things, a place where all the things you love are, and also a feeling. So with that in mind I think I’ll start with all the things people love, then hopefully that’ll show the feeling too.
For this exercise I wanted to stick to using digital mediums e.g. Procreate, but I wanted to use some of my traditional medium alongside this, I’m not sure if it’ll come together but I’ll try and see.
I want to narrow down an idea, now that I have thought more about what a home means, I think I’ll try the house idea I had initially then see how that translates, then work from there.
I started this by working on the outlines in Procreate.
I started by drawing a simple house, this would then be mirrored by another house exactly the same.
I used my traditional art and sketches to create the background greenery and colour, the I added some of the colour to the left hand house, to create a comparison between the two.
I had to leave out the bright colours on the left, and also choose muted colours to make the house look less homely, and more cold feeling.
I added in the couple on the right side, to show how happy they are.
I then added the other elements I had pulled together in my sketchbook, that are considered homely and inviting. Pets, so a cat, flowers in the garden and also poppy around the house, I used as much texture as I could in the right hand illustration, compared to the left hand side.
I have used the same image of the house here, so as to imply that even if you have the same house, building or unit, it docent become a home, it becomes a home by how much you love and care for it, and also where your loved ones are and how it makes you feel.
I like this design but I’m not sure its too literal for the proverb, but then I looked back over the research and found that this is exactly what ‘a house is not a home’ is!
Symbols in the ‘House is not a home’ illustrations
- The same image of the house for each, shows the same building.
- The cold colours on the house illustration, give a feeling of unloved.
- The textures on the house illustration are more floaty, less permanent.
- The bright happy colours on the home illustration show a vibrant and lively place.
- The friendly couple holding hands out the front, show a happy place to live.
- The cat, pets in the home illustration, pets always make your home more happy and loved.
- The flowers in the garden, show the couple tender to their space.
- The curtains in the windows show a sense of care to the house.
- The textures make the home illustration, exciting, fun, alive and active.
I chose to do the illustrations in a long facing rectangle, so you could feel how inviting illustration 2 was with its path leading you up to the house.
Illustration 1 does not have the path, so it doesn’t feel inviting, you don’t want to walk up to the door, with the dark windows, and un-loved feel.
I chose not to make the home illustration scary or evil in any way, I wanted a subtle coldness instead to show the comparisons.
Summery
On reflection I could have had the door on illustration 2 (home) open a little, to show that the door is always open, it creates a welcoming vibe.
I specifically chose not to colour the couple on illustration 2 (home) because I thought it would relay as that anyone could live here, it didn’t need to be older, younger, rich, poor etc.
But thinking this over, I think adding colour would have made the illustration stronger, maybe used some patterns and designs, to reflect some fun or personalty of the couple.
I think adding the words ‘A house is not a home’ would help this illustration be understood as the proverb intended, but with out the words I’m not sure people would understand it? maybe they would think the house was just empty!
I struggled slightly with this exercise at first, but once I understood the proverbs and what was expected, and I thought about it more from different angles, I can see that the illustrations are literal, but that makes it work well.
I could have come up with some other versions, but then I thought they would not be as strong as this one, as this is literally what it is.
I like the collage feel of this design, and I used many more textural brushes for this exercise, I have become very confident in Procreate now, and have learnt a lot about all the things you can achieve with it.
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