Process and Sketches

Since many of my creations are usually unfinished, my sketches and thought process is an opportunity to illustrate my ideas and what the be a final product should be. Before I start on any of my projects, I first write out my ideas and then select which I think will work best. Second, I will draw a (quite detailled) blueprint of what the final will look like. This step involves understanding how to draw a certain object (which can require research and countless drawings— Like Roger Federer) and getting my thoughts down on paper. This process is very time consuming, since everything has to be just the way I want it to look on the final paper, just in a different proportion. A great example of this meticulous process is the Headline project. I chose "At Top of Game and Seeking New Adventure" since I knew I wanted to do something with tennis. I wrote the headline at the top of the page and then began to write down ideas. The first thing I did was chose the top tennis stars, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray. Each of these players have a distinct feature about them that I wanted to include in the project. Since over the summer I had taken an adventure to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, I wanted Roger Federer to endeavor on the same journey. I knew that I wanted to have Federer in his famous winning position and I spent a lot of time tracing, sketching and observing this pose. After about 30 un-proportional drawings, I got a good one and understood how to draw him like he was. I also planned his famous "RF" symbol to be in his frame for better identification. Secondly, I knew that I wanted to have Rafael Nadal doing a fist pump and showing off his massive muscles. So, I had him ski racing and he had just won so he could be showing off his guns. Lastly, I wanted to have Andy Murray's huge scream, so I though the Iron Man would be an appropriate adventure for him (I had originally thought soccer, since he is good at soccer too). The distinct emblem on his shirt and also huge mouth gives him some identity.

Although the planning stages were time consuming, they were extremely helpful when I approached the final paper, since I had a detailed plan in my head. In some sense, the sketches and planning were just a smaller version of the final project itself.