Workshop Assignment Thread: #3 - Illustrate a Song

[Outlander00]

Welcome to yet another installment of the Drawing Board Workshop Assignment Thread!


Here is where you are able to put to use your skills, what was learned in the workshops, and other talents in a comprehensive way. The assignments given will have certain criteria that will have to be followed, just like in art schools and, more importantly, the real world.

Assignments are open to all who want to participate and help with the critiquing process. All that is asked is to have constructive, deep comments on artists’ submissions… things that will help the artist progress with their skills.

For those who don't remember the rules, let me break them down:

- Each thread will have the assignment listed and whatever guidelines and stipulations enclosed along with a schedule of when sketches (if required) and final drawings are due.

- If sketches are needed, they have to be posted by the date given. Sketches can be in any medium, but must resemble close to what the finished piece will be. When sketches are posted, everyone is free to critique the sketches and suggest any changes needed.

- Finished pieces that are posted must have a finished quality that meets the requirements… no exceptions. From there, we will have an open discussion and critique the pieces. New sketches and finals can be posted, even after the new assignment is posted. There are no time constraints.

With the basics out of the way, as always, let us get to the new assignment!

Let us try a creative assignment... One where your imagination can run wild.


Assignment: Illustrate a song

Pick a song that you like or has meaning to you and illustrate it.

Medium: Open

Let the fun begin! :D

[Stu]

This sounds like a VERY cool idea!

Now, how to interpritate Spider-Man and can't stop?!

[James]

A great assignment and again, if I have time!!

Feel free to try any of the assignments whenever you want. Outlander and I were talking about this and decided that there isn't really a time limit.. If you want to go back and do assignment #1 and #2 - then feel free to do so! They are there for your benefits.

God, I want to free some time to have a go at this!!

[Ikwig]

Oooooo, this assignment does look like lots of fun - and I have an idea for which song I want to do too! :D First I've gotta finish up my final for assignment #2, though!

Thank you for deciding not to do the deadline thing - given the number of deadlines I have in the rest of my life, having them here too would make it much more difficult to participate. :(

[Outlander00]

A great assignment and again, if I have time!!

Feel free to try any of the assignments whenever you want. Outlander and I were talking about this and decided that there isn't really a time limit.. If you want to go back and do assignment #1 and #2 - then feel free to do so! They are there for your benefits.

God, I want to free some time to have a go at this!!

Dude... Its not like I am going to close it :p

Actually, this assignment is a lead in to the next one... For now, though, I want to see what you guys can do creatively with this. :)

[alienfirst]

Ooooo... wonderful topic. I have the most perfect idea too ^o^

[TimTwoFace]

Here's mine! I posted this at the DB, but it could fit in here, too. I've done a number of pics based on song titles of the years, and this is my most recent.

Stayin' Alive (http://www33.brinkster.com/timtwoface/ras-disco.html)

-Tim

[Magwheel]

oh wow, this is such a cool idea! It just so happens that when I listen to tunes, my brain goes ahead and creates music videos for them. So I've got a LOT of images to put on paper. But not the stuff you see on TV. No bling bling or pimp daddies, unless it's social commentary. heh....

I'm currently thinking U2's Bullet the Blue Sky (http://lyrics.interference.com/u2/lyrics/albums/joshua-tree/bullet-the-blue-sky.html), which is one of my favorite songs ever, but that could be very controversial (they did something with a flag and crosses in that song at a live performance that ... was interesting, or so I hear) Or maybe U2's One (http://lyrics.interference.com/u2/lyrics/albums/achtung-baby/one.html) or Love is Blindness (http://lyrics.interference.com/u2/lyrics/albums/achtung-baby/love-is-blindness.html). Or Jump Man by Buckethead! WOO! whoa ho. You guys opened up a barrel of worms with this one, and now they dug into my brain. Speaking of Pink Floyd, how about Learning to Fly (http://www.lyricsdepot.com/pink-floyd/learning-to-fly.html)! I'd probably use a young Superman. :D I've tried a few sketches of the idea before, but didn't get far.

Alas, I'll be out of the province for the next two weeks though (I'll bring my sketchbook!) so, good thing there's no time constraints. Nice thinking, folks :)

[Outlander00]

I'm currently thinking U2's Bullet the Blue Sky, which is one of my favorite songs ever, but that could be very controversial (they did something with a flag and crosses in that song at a live performance that ... was interesting, or so I hear)

Dont worry about things being controversial in here. Think of it as a college or University type of atmosphere where anything goes (except the nudity or the excessive violence, which goes against the TOS). We are artists, and artists can put aside the political/religious/etc. differences. Here, we concentrate on the art. :)

[Magwheel]

Dont worry about things being controversial in here. Think of it as a college or University type of atmosphere where anything goes (except the nudity or the excessive violence, which goes against the TOS). We are artists, and artists can put aside the political/religious/etc. differences. Here, we concentrate on the art. :)

Heh, I've never liked University atmospheres, but thanks :) Still, my ideas could creep MYSELF out, and I'm the one who thought them :p But I just found out, what they did was they had, probably on a big screen, a burning cross, and it morphed into a swastika. Correct me if I'm wrong, anybody. But even then, my pic would probably be of a different aspect of the song. dunno exactly what... There's also The Unforgettable Fire (http://lyrics.interference.com/u2/lyrics/albums/unforgettable-fire/the-unforgettable-fire.html), which is, I believe, about the holocost. I forget...

With regards to "Love is Blindness" I recently learned it was about terrorists and such extremists, and the love they have for their cause, how it makes them blind to what they're doing. Anyway, I used to think it said "wrap the knife around me," so, I did up a really cool MSPaint drawing of it, andit rocked. Then my friends told me the line was "wrap the night around me," and feeling dumb and frustrated, I deleted the pic, against their recommendations. I shouldna. peh!

I also did a few versions of "september, streets capsizing" from their tune Please (http://lyrics.interference.com/u2/lyrics/albums/pop/please.html). they looked surreal, though I never colored them... yet...

Yup, I am definitely taking my sketching stuff! :D

[Outlander00]

Well, out of 12 songs I wanted to do (1 I really wanted to do, but no clear cut idea)... Here are 4 sketches. Which should I do?

Tao of the Machine - BT & The Roots
http://pratt.edu/~jstone/assign/tao-sk.jpg
There were many metaphores with this song that I like (not to mention the energy behind it), but I chose the basic idea of conflict in the end, using the "man vs. machine" motif.


One Last Breath - Creed
http://pratt.edu/~jstone/assign/1lb-sk.jpg
I kind of used the words in the song and decided to translate them into what you see here.


Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
http://pratt.edu/~jstone/assign/utb-sk.jpg
Very much like the idea above, however this will be blue and black, with the guy under the bridge (looks like a spec) white.


Not Enough - Our Lady Peace
http://pratt.edu/~jstone/assign/ne-sk.jpg
copyright 2003: Outland Productions - Jonathan Stone
I took this song and made it personal, because I imagine one scene in the next GN I am working on in the Archangel series... And this is it.

btw... wheres everyone elses! :p

[Kylewayne]

Ooo! They are all so pretty! I love the all of them...but the Creed one and the last one just attract me more.



btw... wheres everyone elses! :D

Keep your pants on! I'm working on it! :D

[Kylewayne]

Ok, I finally picked a song called "Something Stupid" by Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman. It's a sappy love song for those of you who don't know. Just listen to it and you'll see^^

A young girl thinking of her b/f:
http://clubs.freeserve.com/picvault/14975546.jpg/somethingstupid.jpg

[Nightflower]

Hey, what a coincidence! I just posted just what the new assignment is on the Drawing Board. :)

http://www.sixies.net/users/nightflower/darkness.jpg

[Outlander00]

Simple, practical and very delicate. I like the sketch, KW... Very much so.

Hers is a perfect example of a different approach, which I brought up in the 2nd assignment (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?threadid=76948) ... She used symbolism instead of doing a collage or picking a part of the song to illustrate. She took the songs core and expressed it into something that is well thought out and simple for the audience.

The only suggestion that could be made is to be very basic with the color, with very little or no shading. Be careful with the color choice, though, because you do not want to have the audience feeling something different from what you want to portray.

Anyone else have a comment?

[Kylewayne]

Finished it^^ Hope you all like. :)


"Something Stupid" by Robbie Williams:
http://clubs.freeserve.com/picvault/14992570.jpg/somethingstupid28.jpg

[Outlander00]

Exactly how I pictured it, KW (sans the words to the song, though). I would have much like to seen the background a little darker so that the woman and the balloon would stand out more. The lettering does take away from the raw emotional quality of it as well, but all in all a very solid piece. You kept the simple rendering and kept the coloring basic.

[Outlander00]

Very raw in emotion, NF... I also like you incorperated the words of the song into it because it is handwritten. The wash on the white background only brings out the quality of linework of the woman, which is soft and delicate. It really brings out the emotion and feelings behind the words of the song.

[Kylewayne]

Thanks Professor Outlander =)

I had so much fun doing this assignemnt. Thanks for the tips and the critique. Now I know what to do and what not. Still learning photoshop and it's features but now the program isn't so much a pain in the arse.

*hug*

[TimTwoFace]

Great stuff, Kylie darlin'! *HIGH FIVE* I can't wait to see more of your photoshop artwork, too.

I still say the guy in the thought balloon looks like Hugh Grant, though. :D

-Tim

[Outlander00]

Well, after slaving over everything else... I funally got to these two done... :D


One Last Breath - Creed
http://pratt.edu/~jstone/assign/assign1.jpg


Not Enough - Our Lady Peace
http://pratt.edu/~jstone/assign/assign2.jpg
copyright 2003: Outland Productions - Jonathan Stone

[Kylewayne]

I love them both!
The first one gives out such a big impact and has so much feeling to it.
the second with the Angel looks kinda nostalgic.....as if he is never going to see her again (maybe it's because she is well dead) I like the coloring a lot and it has a sad feel to it.

[Outlander00]

Thank you, KW :)

With the 1st one, I was going for a raw feeling, like in the song... As if the guy feels hopless and does not know what to do at this point.

With the angel one, I wanted that emotion of grief becuase of what I plan for the characters for the graphic novel, eventually (I will redo it to match the lino printing :p). Basically of all his power and strength, it was not enough to save her...

[langden alger]

"superman's dead" by our lady peace


http://thumbs.deviantart.com/300W-96A096/large/indyart/indymisc/SUPERMANS_DEAD_1.jpg

[Outlander00]

I like the rending... Very solid lines and feeling of it... however, I am a little confused as to the what you are trying to illustrate and what the song is (I took the liberty to listen to all of these songs, btw :P)

[langden alger]

i always considered songs as something that gives each person who listens they're own unique interpretation and special meaning in addition to what the actual artists had in mind....so i guess with me when i hear that our lady peace song i imagine the band as expressing maybe they're feeling of the world really losing it's way with no real heroes or leaders anymore. kind of a moody, decay of society type of thing...when i listen i get kind of a personal vision of some kid that's lonley, maybe misunderstood or depressed and missing something to look up to...no one to really help him out of reach out to and has some kind of loss of innocence...so i just thought up a quick sketch of a kid holding superman's tattered cape...since ultimatley a superheroes exsitance thrives through children's imaginations. i just pictured in my mind the kid looking down at the meager remains of his hero and dreams that he's holding in his hands.

...gee i know everyone's feeling really upbeat now. let's grab some ice cream. :D ;)

[Outlander00]

i always considered songs as something that gives each person who listens they're own unique interpretation and special meaning in addition to what the actual artists had in mind....so i guess with me when i hear that our lady peace song i imagine the band as expressing maybe they're feeling of the world really losing it's way with no real heroes or leaders anymore. kind of a moody, decay of society type of thing...when i listen i get kind of a personal vision of some kid that's lonley, maybe misunderstood or depressed and missing something to look up to...no one to really help him out of reach out to and has some kind of loss of innocence...so i just thought up a quick sketch of a kid holding superman's tattered cape...since ultimatley a superheroes exsitance thrives through children's imaginations. i just pictured in my mind the kid looking down at the meager remains of his hero and dreams that he's holding in his hands.

hmmm... An interestesting interpretation of the song and it makes a little more sense as to where you were coming from with the project. I like the approach you took with it.

The master learns from the student :p

[James]

KW: Wow excellent use of colour dear! That is a super pic. So cool to see so many new Photoshoppers! 5 scratches!! :D

[Outlander00]

Okay all... Since no one else wants to take a swing at this... I'll just unstick it and leave it for others to try their hand at it later on :)

On to the next deviously planned assignment! :D