9 Samples

For this first sample I have used chalk pastels as they are bright, colourful and easy to work within my opinion. The colours that I have used are light blue, white, light and dark brown, light/dark green, red, orange, yellow and blue. For the sky I used the side of the pastel and then smudged it with my finger, I used this process for mostly all of the sample. However with the finer details I used the corner of the pastel. I chose to smudge most of the sample with my finger because it makes the overall image cleaner, smoother and generally more appealing. With the details I use the corner of the pastel as it creates a much darker tone, this was perfect because I wanted those features to be defined and to stand out from the background. I feel that these techniques were very effective as the overall image is smooth and realistic in a sense. The details definitely stand out from the rest of the image. I am personally pleased with the finished result but I would make minor changes if possible. If I was to re-do this piece the only thing I would change is the detailed grass. They didn't come out as I hoped, this is because the more you use the chalk corner the flatter/wider it comes. This made it difficult to create good detail. Compared to all the other samples, chalk pastels are one of the easiest mediums to work with. they are very straight forward and simple, the only difficulty I had with them is that they easily smudge. Often when working on other elements of the sample my hand would smudge a part that I had already worked on causing me to revisit that section.

For this sample I used watercolour pencils as they allow easy mark making and once dry they had a clean finish. On this sample I stuck with the normal colour scheme. For the sky, grass, mountain, fence and the main tree I added water to these elements of the picture as these had a vast amount of space to fill. However with the finer details I decided to not use water. I chose to use water on certain areas on the image because they had a large space to cover but also because the water allowed me to spread the colours evenly so that the picture did't look patchy. With the smaller details I had to wait for the main areas to dry so that the colours didn't run/spread, when doing these marks I only used the tip of my pencil as I wanted the colour to be dark but I also wanted the marks to be sharp and defined. If I was to do this again I would change the deepness of the colour I used for the sun and the mountain as they are too light because you can see the sky through them. When comparing the difficulty of this piece to the others, watercolour pencils were easy to use over large spaces and also when creating fine details. Overall this medium is one of the best that I worked with when creating these samples. The only issue that I  can think of is waiting for sections to dry before I can work ontop of them.

On this third sample I have used the medium of oil pastels with the use of a toothpick to help with the finer details, for the sky I used a light blue pastel, for the mountain I used orange and red, the grass was light/dark green, the river was light/dark blue. the main tree was orange and black, the sun was yellow and orange and the fence was red. I used the toothpick on the mountain, grass, sky river and the main tree. When working with oil pastels, layering two colours you put the lightest colour on the bottom. I used the method of layering two colours and then using the toothpick to remove the top layer as it makes it easier to create detail because oil pastels are quite chunky and hard to work with on a small scale. I feel that this technique was more effective in certain areas compared to others. The technique was most effective on the grass as it allowed me to create very thin and solid lines constantly with no trouble, also it gives the grass a realistic look. The technique was least effective on the sky as I was trying to remove large chunks with  a technique that wasn't designed for that, this made the sky look messy, rushed and scratched. If I was to do this sample again I would change the technique that I used for the sky to look better that it currently does, I would also change some of the colours that I used to make the technique more effective. I would have also changed how I made the minor trees as they are also poorly done and don't really resemble trees at all.

For this sample I used watercolour paints. I used the colours in a very different way because I wanted to experiment with the colour pallet for a sample to see if they worked. I also changed the scene slightly from the others with the main tree being set alight. I chose to do this because as a games design student I know that games don't exactly always obey the laws of the real world. With this in mind I began to think that this sample is on another planet or maybe even another dimension. I feel that doing this was very effective as it shows creativity and imagination, the watercolours are also vibrant, eye-catching and blend  together well. The use of the brush stokes makes the overall sample look smooth and clean. If I was to do this sample again I would change how I painted the sun as I am just not pleased with how it turned out. I would have also not set the main tree alight as I feel that it adds nothing to the samples look. When comparing this sample to the others, watercolours were one of my favourite to use because of the colours that you already have and are able to create easily. When looking at the colours from the past samples this one stands out the most which is what I really like about this piece. The only issue that I have with watercolour is the time it takes to dry before you can continue working.  

On this sample I used felt pens. I kept this sample simple and straight forward using basic colours for every element and I also didn't change the scene in any way. I decided to stay simple while using felt pens because they aren't the greatest medium to work with as incorporating techniques onto the page isn't easy. This sample isn't effective in the slightest as to me there is no defined detail, the colours look patchy, rough and unclean. You can't easily blend felt pens together so it's clear where things start and stop which makes the samples uneasy to look at.

On this sample I have used unconventional techniques and mediums to create this piece. For the sky I used newspaper, black acrylic and my finger. The mountain is brown paper with black and white acrylic paint for the shading. The river is constructed from torn paper towels and glue. The tree is also from a newspaper and finally the grass is tea and coffee applied with a brush and toothbrush. I chose to use unconventional mediums for this sample because they are just completely different to everything else. It offers a wide variety of options and textures that can be used in one piece of art. Personally I feel that this sample is more effective in places compared to others. The most effective piece of this sample is the mountain because the technique I used gives a very nice texture to show the roughness of the mountain. The least effective is the grass because you were meant to see splattered coffee to represent the grass blades. I f I was to change anything on this sample it would be the coffee by making it less diluted so that the colour is stronger. Although I am very pleased with how this sample turned out, I don't feel that it is more effective  tan previous samples such as the watercolour pencils and the chalk pastels. More that anything this sample is about the "wow" factor and experimenting with different techniques and materials.

On this sample I have used pencils ranging from 2B-6B so i could really think about which pencil I would use for certain shading/mark making. The 3 main techniques that I used is the side of of the pencil, the tip of my pencil and smudging with my finger. I used different mark making for the mountain, the grass, the trees and their leaves. I used these different techniques and mark making to create multiple textures and surfaces to represent different aspects of the real world. I feel that this sample was very effective because of the techniques that I used and the marks that I made. This sample is realistic and bold, also the use of shading, tone and pressure creates a  sense of depth, distances and edges. If anything I would change the clouds because I feel that they look out of place and not as detailed/finished as everything else. This sample is one of the most effective when comparing it to samples like the felt pens. I most enjoyed creating this sample as there are a lot of possibilities when using pencil but others have limitations.

For this sample I used acrylic paint with a paintbrush alongside other equipment.  For the sky, grass, mountain, river, sun and fence I used a paintbrush and mixed the colours as I worked. For the main tree I used a sponge to apply the acrylic paint and finally for the minor trees I used a glue spreader. I chose to use the sponge for the tree because it gives off a natural shape and look. The glue spreader was used because I needed to create bold, straight lines. I feel that certain parts of this sample are more effective than others. The most effective is the main tree and the river because they look natural and also have a texture that suits them both. The least effective is the minor trees because they just look terrible and don't really resemble trees in my opinion. If I was to do this sample again I would have changed the method I used to create the minor trees. Instead of using the glue spreader I would have used a paintbrush and it would have given me more control. This sample is a lot heavier/chunkier compared to the others because acrylic paint is a thick medium to work with. 

On this final sample I have used charcoal in 3 different ways, the first being using the side of the charcoal, the second is using my finger to smooth sections out and the last is using the edge of the charcoal for detail. Also I used a rubber to create certain objects. I have done this to create a night scene with the mood over-looking everything else. I added the finer detail to give the sample more features and depth. I personally feel that this sample is effective as it creates a certain atmosphere which could be used in a game. To me the most effective aspect is the moon because I think it just sets the mood for the whole scene. I don't think that I would change anything about this sample even if I had the chance because everything works together and I am pleased with the overall look. This sample is one of the most effective out of all 9 samples but I wouldn't use charcoal for my final piece because I prefer to work with colour and also charcoal isn't the easiest to work with as it is very easy to smudge.