Today’s creative challenge idea comes from AJ Power, the League’s illustration and comics instructor. This project combines a scribble-and-respond drawing with an aspect of the panel exercise from Day 2. AJ calls it a “Monkey Wrench” project, because it gets you out of your habits, and gives you something unexpected to work with.
The primary challenge is to respond to the creative prompts in these posts, and see what happens. The alternative challenge is to make a comic based on the year 2020. You choose what you’re up for today.
Scribble Panels
STEP 1: Take a piece of paper (8.5×11″ or larger)
STEP 2: Scribble randomly across that piece of paper, all the way to the edges. Feel free to use any media: pen, pencil, watercolor, charcoal, crayon, finger smudges, ink smears, anything. Do this quickly, without thoughts or edits.
STEP 3: Fold the paper into randomly sized rectangles. As you fold, don’t open the paper back up all the way until you’re done folding. Let folds go over folds. 3-4 folds is good. Do this quickly, without thoughts or edits.
STEP 4: Open up the paper and look at the combination of panels and scribbles. Depending on how you folded your paper, you might have around a dozen rectangles of various dimensions, with some scribble marks in them.
STEP 5: Choose 3 panels to use as little composition starters, and cut them out. Recycle the rest. Take pictures of your panels.
STEP 6: Use these panels as composition starters, and respond to the marks within the rectangles. The three panels can be a sequence that fits together, or they can stand as three separate little works. Responses can be abstract or representational. Since today is “Comics” day, you could make your compositions into a story sequence. Media is artist’s choice.
André Masson., Battle of Fishes. 1926. Sand, gesso, oil, pencil, and charcoal on canvas, 14 1/4 x 28 3/4″
[image_with_animation image_url=”9717″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Today is another in the series of topophilia creative exercises, this one based on mapping your body. The longer we live, the more history we collect in our bodies as we move through the world. Landmarks like the scar from falling off the monkey bars, a crooked toe, or …
I’ll be sharing my drawings on Facebook. I’d love for you to share yours too. Maybe we’ll get some people jumping in to join us. Post your pics on the Seattle Artist League‘s Facebook, or Instagram at SeattleArtLeague. #drawingaday #seattleartleague
[image_with_animation image_url=”11536″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Sacred Shapes – Accordion Book Yesterday I posted Ralph Kiggell’s Temple Dogs series of woodblock prints, and quoted excerpts from his blog that described his process. Today I’m sharing his Sacred Shapes series of 12 woodblocks. They also have a simple concept, repeated in iterations, in which the subject is …
I’ve been talking about how to use hands as expressive elements within a drawing. I love this idea so much, both for technical practice and for powerful personal expression, that I made a class to study expressive hands and heads, and I started collecting examples. Some I collected because I appreciated the rendering. Some I collected because the artist …
30SAL Challenge: Scribble Panels
Today’s creative challenge idea comes from AJ Power, the League’s illustration and comics instructor. This project combines a scribble-and-respond drawing with an aspect of the panel exercise from Day 2. AJ calls it a “Monkey Wrench” project, because it gets you out of your habits, and gives you something unexpected to work with.
The primary challenge is to respond to the creative prompts in these posts, and see what happens. The alternative challenge is to make a comic based on the year 2020. You choose what you’re up for today.
Scribble Panels
STEP 1: Take a piece of paper (8.5×11″ or larger)
STEP 2: Scribble randomly across that piece of paper, all the way to the edges. Feel free to use any media: pen, pencil, watercolor, charcoal, crayon, finger smudges, ink smears, anything. Do this quickly, without thoughts or edits.
STEP 3: Fold the paper into randomly sized rectangles. As you fold, don’t open the paper back up all the way until you’re done folding. Let folds go over folds. 3-4 folds is good. Do this quickly, without thoughts or edits.
STEP 4: Open up the paper and look at the combination of panels and scribbles. Depending on how you folded your paper, you might have around a dozen rectangles of various dimensions, with some scribble marks in them.
STEP 5: Choose 3 panels to use as little composition starters, and cut them out. Recycle the rest. Take pictures of your panels.
STEP 6: Use these panels as composition starters, and respond to the marks within the rectangles. The three panels can be a sequence that fits together, or they can stand as three separate little works. Responses can be abstract or representational. Since today is “Comics” day, you could make your compositions into a story sequence. Media is artist’s choice.
Sand, gesso, oil, pencil, and charcoal on canvas, 14 1/4 x 28 3/4″
Related Posts
SAL Challenge: Body Map
[image_with_animation image_url=”9717″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Today is another in the series of topophilia creative exercises, this one based on mapping your body. The longer we live, the more history we collect in our bodies as we move through the world. Landmarks like the scar from falling off the monkey bars, a crooked toe, or …
Drawing A Day: Day 2
I’ll be sharing my drawings on Facebook. I’d love for you to share yours too. Maybe we’ll get some people jumping in to join us. Post your pics on the Seattle Artist League‘s Facebook, or Instagram at SeattleArtLeague. #drawingaday #seattleartleague
Ralph Kiggell: Sacred Shapes
[image_with_animation image_url=”11536″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Sacred Shapes – Accordion Book Yesterday I posted Ralph Kiggell’s Temple Dogs series of woodblock prints, and quoted excerpts from his blog that described his process. Today I’m sharing his Sacred Shapes series of 12 woodblocks. They also have a simple concept, repeated in iterations, in which the subject is …
Drawings of Hands: Charles White
I’ve been talking about how to use hands as expressive elements within a drawing. I love this idea so much, both for technical practice and for powerful personal expression, that I made a class to study expressive hands and heads, and I started collecting examples. Some I collected because I appreciated the rendering. Some I collected because the artist …