Footprints Project - Creating Compositions from Everyday Objects on Your Desk!

As part of my degree module on 'abstraction', we explored how objects within your environment can have an interesting ‘footprint’. An object’s outline can allude to the actual thing which casts that shape, but also refer to something by way of a visual metaphor. Creating shapes in this way can help us to arrive at new abstract forms that can be employed in illustration practice.

We were asked to choose eight objects within our immediate environment and trace around these one at a time to create an outline of each. We were told to select objects that possess both simple and complex footprints, so you could choose something as simple as a CD, or as complex as a pair of scissors or a pot plant.

I chose a spoon, mug, tape dispenser, watch, masking tape roll, scissors, ink bottle and a fountain pen. I drew round them with a pencil on an A3-size sheet of paper, cut them out and placed them on a black background so I could see the outlines clearly.

After assessing how geometric, abstract or organic the shapes looked, we explored if they could look like something else and if they could make new and interesting forms if combined.

I started combining the shapes to see what forms I could create (and it was way more fun than I had expected!). Here's a little duck:

A space rocket or submarine:

A rabbit:

A snail:

A bird:

A reindeer:

A surprised man:

A windswept man:

Next we had to combine the shapes into two new compositions.

One is called Animal Gathering:

Here we have the birds in the tree in the background, with ducks, rabbits, snails and a big bird in the foreground, with trees and a reindeer just behind.

The other composition is called On the Rocks:

On the Rocks

With On the Rocks I worked in Procreate, but limited myself to pencils so it was a more traditional picture-book-style of drawing. I felt that it was in keeping with the type of scene it was depicting and the look of the people and the boat.

I put the composition on a layer, turned down the opacity and used that as my guide for adding the pencil. I worked in more of an analogue style, just adding pencil, blending and adding on just one layer to create the look, feel and colour that I wanted.

As you can see here, there aren’t multiple layers for one face, just one layer (although light and shade are additional layers above).

It was really only the lighthouse which required more layers to get the look and texture right.

I worked across every element of the piece and finally this is the outcome:

Animal Gathering

I decided to work in Procreate on a textured background (as per my usual style) working with pen and ink and a limited colour palette. I first worked up a rough sketch so I could ensure the composition was still working.

After drawing in a rough sketch, I worked on creating the detail on the creatures. I worked in layers, as you can see here, drawing in the linework, then the details, such as feathers and then colouring. This is a screenshot I took while doing the foreground bird demonstrating the process.

This screenshot in Procreate, shows layer work for the reindeer and one of the smaller birds in the tree. I went through the same process for each animal.

The final linework and colouring for the animals looks like this:

Then I drew in the background, lighting and shadows, added more texture and this is the final result:

Overall I was genuinely thrilled by how much fun this Footprints exercise was and how effective it was as an entire process.

At first I thought using objects on my desk and cutting round them for the shapes would be really limiting for a final artwork. However, once I had arranged them into animals and different scenarios I started to realise that instead of being limiting it was incredibly liberating. This is because I was no longer working within my standard confines and the construct around keeping work in line with my style.

While I really enjoyed the process and result of Animal Gathering, I must say that On the Rocks was the most exciting piece to work on as it was completely different to the type and style of work I’d usually produce. The shapes of the people, the boat, the animals, even the lighthouse were very different to what I would usually have drawn, but at the same time I absolutely love the result. I could imagine picture books made from the characters shown in both final pieces, but particularly On the Rocks.

I think this is an exercise I will continue to pursue for pushing boundaries and to accelerate creativity and outcomes.