sketchbooksuccess

What can I do in my sketchbook to show that I am
investigating or experimenting with materials or
compositions ?
You can look through this document to see how artists and other
students have demonstrated a real sense of enquiry and visual
thinking in their work –
model your approach on some of these examples to ‘lift’ the
quality of your sketchbook pages
invest time at home to get results in school !
there are also suggestion on some materials you should consider
‘having at hand’ to help you create
positive and visually interesting pages
If you want to succeed you will;
because..
if you really want to succeed:
you will do what is necessary to get there !
an ideal home studio !
Basic sketching kit should include:
1) Watercolour set – and water brushes
(brushes X2 different size/shapes)
small and portable is fine; like the ones we
use in class. you can buy various sets from
art shops… or better still just buy the
individual watercolour ‘pans’ and use an old
tin to keep them in !
Good basic colour selection being ‘6 from’:
• Vermillion
• Magenta
• Paynes Grey
• Yellow Ochre
• Rose Carthane
• Cadmium Orange
• Scarlet / Cadmium Red
• Burnt Sienna
• Sepia
• Yellow Lemon
• Cerulean blue
2) Clutch pencils – much better than
woodstock pencils – have at least two; 2B / 4B
with lead size of at least 2mm – and a
sharpener (you can make graphite dust with
these as an extra drawing material !)
a portable studio – think of making your own ‘art kit’ of
essentials… include a digital camera or camera phone and
you’re ready to ‘art’ anywhere !!
3) Set of Watercolour pencils or
crayons / oil or wax crayons /marker
pens – a set of 12 or better still… buy
them individually from an art shop to
select the best colours for you !
4) Erasers – not for mistakes but to
draw with!
5) Fineliner marker pen black 0.03 to
0.05 size is good
6) Glue stick & ‘White-out’
pages with carefully created ‘colour charts’ involving your observations on mixing and blending paints or textures
pages with carefully created ‘structural analysis’ involving your observations and analysis from your own photographs
pages with carefully created ‘observational work’ involving your thoughts and observations
qu: having seen the first few slides…
What makes a good ‘IB’ investigation
workbook –(iwb)
ans: …………………. ?
Think about this:
examiners can easily see over 100 ‘iwb’ responses to the IB course every year, they have very
clear expectations of what the ‘IB’ standards are and they will not be fooled by ‘short cuts’.
It is easy for them to recognise when someone has ‘made the effort’.
Your process (or approach to developing ideas) is what is most important in your ‘iwb’.
You can get a very good grade if you can show the examiners that you meet their expectations of
both effort and approach.
Please look through all these slides, follow the internet links in the slides and think about what
you are going to do to improve your workbooks to make sure you achieve the very best you can.
Always aim high and then put in that little bit extra !...
Keep some of your
pages quite crisp
and clean looking
Record different stages of developing your
studio work through photographs and then stick
them in your ‘iwb’ as a visual record; you should
always add commentary about the process of
making and any difficulties you may have
encountered – use the reflection sheet to help
you think about what to write
When making observational drawings, sketch
from different ‘angles and viewpoints’ to show
that you are working from ‘real life’ – it will
also help you ‘investigate’ the forms you are
dealing with
line detail work
emphasising shape
annotations
tonal details of texture
full ‘still life group’
colour samples
Use your pages fully; explore observational drawings through general viewpoints and detailed
sections, extract the colour from your objects and place them elsewhere on your page to show
that you have carefully thought about what you are seeing.. Investigate, analyse and then
understand !
Work over unusual
materials like:
pages from old
books, magazines,
old clothing scraps,
previously
‘discarded’
artwork…
Fill your pages with ‘washes’ of colour relevant
to the images you are exploring
Make your
drawings look like
you are
‘enquiring’ into
the objects or the
items that you are
sketching (trying
to ‘find out’
information); do
not just
‘copy/draw’ them
the once
……………show you can be creative
Take your own photographs and then adapt your photos through working with different materials
Be quite systematic (organised) in working
through a range of possibilities as a
response to any photos you have taken
Don’t leave too much
white space !... doesn’t
this page look horrible compared to the others
you’ve seen… ?
Original photograph of a
‘hole/cavity’ in tree bark
this student has developed eight
images in a variety of different
media
and
has ‘jotted’ down (written in note
form) lots of ideas for possible
future development… all from a
single photograph they took
trace, extract, select, repeat, mirror, replace,
rectreate, texturise, media experiments with
watercolour, pens, collage, fabric, ink, organic
matter (tea/fruit juice,spices), drawing
techniques – hatch/crosshatch, any mix or
matching of techniques and approaches can
be applied to a single photographic image
you have taken … even before scanning and
manipulating in the computer.
Use your sketchbook pages productively; vary the scale of the images, overlay your drawings
with details using a variety of materials
watercolours
coloured
crayon
felt/marker
pens
pencil
ink
oil pastel
and
‘white-out’ ‘tippex’
have all been
used on this
‘double page’
spread
You must look to include a variety of media and approaches in
your ‘iwb’ – a basic list of media should include…
•Pencil - colour crayon & graphite
•Own photography b/w, colour, digital
•Paints – watercolour & Acrylic (don’t use oils ! Just soaks
through & ruins your other pages.)
•Collage – flat colour collage and
magazine colour collage
•Crayons/Pastels – wax, oil, chalk
•Inks – pen and wash, hatching &
cross hatching
Use the above materials in combination to explore different ways of developing your ideas, but
at the very least you must use all these media throughout your books..!..
Make your
pages visually
lively …
however
…occasionally a
large single
image is most
effective
If you are interested in varying
how you present your work in
your sketchbook -think about
occasionally working across 2
pages; so some of your ideas
look visually intense.
Critical and contextual studies: wherever
possible avoid ‘just’ photocopying images of
artist’s work; use your skills to re-create their
artwork in your sketchbook yourself. By doing
this you will develop a better understanding of
the artists approach to image making as well
as develop your practical art skills – if you do
include a photocopy try to work alongside or
even ‘over-lay’ with your own attempt at
understanding the artist’s use of media
The examiners do not want to see how good
you are at collecting a scrapbook – so if you have
photocopies they should be used as part of the
drawing /investigating process – ‘over draw’ onto
them; or use tracing paper / tissue paper to ‘work on
top of the surface of the photocopies – when you
paint or draw in this way you more fully explore the
artist’s work. (points are not awarded for ‘glue skills’
nor for being able to press ‘print’ on a computer nor
for knowing how to push the green button on a
photocopier !)
The examiners jokingly call ‘iwb’s’ with pages of photocopies .. “a ‘catalogue’ collection”
Remember these key words
when annotating your own or
other peoples work in your
sketchbook:
• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• How
Use these key words to help you
begin to question and reflect on
what you have in front of you –
as an IB student you will need to
become very familiar with having
a ‘questioning approach’ – it is
worthwhile spending a little time
thinking about what sort of
useful questions you could ask
which start with these words
The Golden Rule for Research:
when including any images or words taken from another source:
ALWAYS NAME YOUR SOURCES !
Wherever you include photocopies, internet print-outs, cuttings from magazines or books
– you must always include a reference to the name of the artist, the work (if possible the
date and where housed) and most importantly where you got the information from.
Artist: ……………………..
Name of Artwork / Date / Media : …………………………….
Publication / Web address: ……………………………………
Wherever you include text that is not your own words – you must always include a
reference to the name of the original author and most importantly where you got the
information from.
Author: ……………
Publication: ………………….. Page no……………….
Web address ……………………………………………
Always give the Website address: (copied from your address bar) ….not… “I got it from the internet”
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klimt/klimt_bloch-bauer1.jpg.html
Golden Rule for Research – yes I’ve
mentioned it already… but it is the
Golden Rule for Research – so it’s
worth it !:
when including any images or words taken
from another source:
ALWAYS NAME YOUR SOURCES !
Wherever you include photocopies,
internet print-outs, cuttings from
magazines or books – you must always
include a reference to the name of the
artist, the work (if possible the date and
where housed) and most importantly
where you got the information from.
Artist: ……………………..
Name of Artwork / Date / Media :
…………………………….
Publication / Web address:
……………………………………
Wherever you include text that is not your
own words – you must always include a
reference to the name of the original
author and most importantly where you
got the information from.
Author: ……………
Publication: ………………….. Page
no……………….
Web address ……………………………………………
Gustav Klimt
http://www.theenchantedg
allery.com/klmt090.html
Your investigation work book can be:
A running commentary on your visual experiences, so it can include all sorts of visual information.
Autobiographical – it is about you, your work, responses, feelings.
.
Your workbook can provide:
Two-dimensional representations of ideas
An information library on many topics
Something to refer back to
A place for you to work out ideas
Visual support for other curriculum areas
Somewhere to record personal evaluations and reflections
Things to include in your workbook:
Drawings from observation, imagination and memory
Colour notes and experiments
Cuttings and photographs
Found objects – leaves, fabrics, textures…
Experiments with different media and combinations of media
Written notes as you draw and collect
Be proud of your workbook and discuss it with other people.
Sharing your workbook is a good way of sharing and developing your ideas.
Compare your workbook with sketchbooks by other artists. When you visit art galleries, look at the way different
artists develop their sketchbooks. Every artist’s sketchbook is different. When you look inside a sketchbook, you are
looking inside the artist’s mind.
“The sketchbook is the window to the soul”
Victoria Crowe Sketchbooks
Victoria Crowe is passionate about the process of working in her sketchbooks, creating exquisite
drawings and making detailed notes, both visual and written, documenting journeys, discoveries,
observations. Her sketchbooks are extremely precious to her. They are irreplaceable, and form the
foundations upon which the journey of her work, and her life, has evolved, and continues to evolve.
Anne-Marie Quinn
This sketchbook evolved out of the
need to form ideas for a commission.
The work had to reflect the sense of a
journey, exploring and discovering
hidden, undiscovered parts of the
world. I worked with rich colours and
textures, building up layers and
thinking about the core of the earth,
incorporating drawings of fossils,
shells, butterfly wings, and then
beginning to suggest architectural
details and elements of the
landscape. I tried to capture emotions
and feelings. Even though the
imagery conveys quite vast
landscapes, I was concerned to create
an atmosphere of intimacy and
gentleness, of sympathy and
humanity.
Matthew Roby - Bat
Sketchbook
Margaret Jackson –
pages from
Venice Carnival Book
I collect images in "maps"
when I'm on a journey.
I make them myself so the surfaces are varied.
I dislike pristine, white paper its too intimidating.
They are practical, easy to handle,
unobtrusive in public places and can be
drawn in standing-up, all important when travelling.
I don't call them
sketchbooks,
I don't like the word
sketch.
They are just "my books".
I number them and I'm
up to No 10.
They are collections:ideas, thoughts, quotes,
photos, drawings,
images, newspaper
cuttings,
messy and very personal.
Jill McCarthy
My sketchbook is a personal
collection of drawings, photographs
and bits and pieces that make up
daily life. Treasured fragments are
concealed in its pages – a tiny silver
paper decoration from my
grandmother’s wedding cake and
shopping lists she wrote as a very old
lady. It is the detail of personal
experience, past events and response
to place that I like to incorporate into
my work as a kind of record or
memorial.
My sketchbook pages
have ‘grown’
outwards in an
organic manner as
the key themes of
family, landscape,
fragments and figure
evolve. Geological
processes have
always fascinated me
and I like the analogy
of memories
released over time
like fossils slowly
revealed through
erosion.
great tips for drawing 3d forms
Sketchbook sketch by an American Art
student who has his own drawing blog
Jean Littlejohn
analysis of a successful sketchbook page
Evidence of
thinking about
possible media to
use
Evidence of
forward
thinking –
planning
what’s
coming next
Evidence of
visually exploring
a range of
compositional
possibilities
Evidence of
thinking about
additional
compositional
possibilities for
studio based work
Evidence of using different media
If you could…. What would you add to this page to make it even more
successful in terms of an ‘iwb’ ……….? (what do you think could be missing?)
Strong Investigative workbooks will contain written
notes, photos, exhibition leaflets, postcards, sketches,
experiments with different media, analysis of
artworks, reviews of cultural events attended, mind
maps, records of discussions, written reflections on
progress as well as more ‘finished’ drawings,
paintings and designs. The IWB is there to support
your development as an artist and specifically as
‘nourishment’ for your studio artwork.
Once you have completed this task you can repeat the process but choose what you feel to be
the most exciting sketchbook page from one of the sketchbook’s that you can link to from this
site:
http://www.gis.net/~scatt/sketchbook/links2.html
Note Taking: historical/cultural, instructional sequence, notes on demonstrations,
vocabulary (accurate), materials, skills, reference to theme or topic, retelling of
information (reference!), a “grocery list” of needs/thoughts
Sketching/Note Taking: visual/verbal connection, direct observation and reactions in
words, research recording from books, visuals, web, on-site sketching (gallery, museum,
model, landscape, travel)
Skill-Building Assignments: media, tools, techniques and skills, brain storm/problem
solve for unique personal style or voice
Media Practice: wet or dry, directly in book, (or…template or thumbnail spaces), photocopies to be glued in then ‘drawn onto’
Collecting Resources: found objects or resources/references for work that are glued,
taped, held in bags, photos-quick cam, Polaroids, note taking on how/why (reason)
behind collection
Informal Critique/Coaching: teacher/student discussions via those annoying little ‘postit’ notes that Mr Sarsfield sticks in your books…. You are supposed to read them and
then respond positively to the suggestions made!
Written Reflection: Short Writing/Constructed Response: reflecting through
sketchbook/journal (or. writing/sketching using the rubrics for ‘writing skill/reflective
writing’) writing reflections on your work gives you the opportunity to shape ideas,
create new ideas and transfer, this understanding to final studio art-works.
Remember - In your working approach include:
•written notes - your thoughts and observations (not direct copies of historical
information from either the internet or books)
•large drawings
•thumbnail sketches
•collages
•technical studies
•samples of materials
•a wide range of media
•Research into artist’s work – remember the golden rule for research
•essentially: make your ‘iwb’ involved; dynamic, visually rich, colourful and textured not only will this help gain you vital marks it will help develop your skills, your
understanding and your artwork.
think about the slides presented here and use these good examples as guides to
approaching your work
Now… are there any questions?
Just two essential questions:
“What makes a good IWB workbook” ?
“What makes a good IB final grade” ?
ans: ….
Well….what do you think ?