This short excerpt from Yuko Shimizu‘s blog post considers the importance of developing a unique visual vocabulary. After reading this prompt, consider how you can use your sketchbook as a tool to develop your own visual vocabulary. What are your areas of knowledge, passion, or curiosity?
“ I believe many of you who are reading my blog are aspiring illustrators. If you are, here is something you may want to remember, or to work on, if your art school instructors haven’t taught you already: we have to be remembered by something we are good at, so when a prospective client sees a topic that needs to be illustrated, they know who to call.
The most obvious themes prospective clients think of in connection with my work are Japanese or Chinese themes. I am Japanese, but I had also studied Cantonese for three years, and I have strong interest in Chinese culture. And people somehow see that in my work. There are other themes, like sexy girls, action and sports, comic-book look, snow, and water and underwater themes.”
What kind of things / themes are you interested in drawing?
What visuals might become important visual signatures for you?
RESPOND IN THE CHAT BELOW.
My interests are grounded in drawing the Black experience, Afrofuturism, and thongs that are inspired by nature like flora and fauna motifs.
I’ve been working on developing my creative style in my painting, so i started experimenting with mixed media assemblage. My visual signature is shiny things like diamond dust, glitter, micro metallic beads, and sequin used to stylized my backgrounds with the motifs I described above.
Things that I’m interested in drawing:
When it comes to drawing some of my interests are drawing animals and, landscapes, especially drawing rabbits, dogs, butterflies, and landscape is the things I enjoy. Sometimes I get Inspiration from fashion like their color palettes, texture and patterns.
Themes I am interested in drawing are monsters, busy scenes, and funny animals.
Visual signatures for myself would be gruesome characters doings something humanistic mostly tasks I enjoy or loathe doing.
You can use your sketchbook to develop your own visual vocabulary by using it as a reference and see what your drawings have in common. You can also experiment with different techniques to see which ones you like and enjoy using. I’m curious to learn how to draw landscapes and build on that to be able to create my own worlds for characters I draw. It is difficult for me to come up with new ideas and I often find myself drawing based on preexisting ideas. I enjoy drawing anime characters from different genres of anime. Characters I’m interested in drawing are those with complex or unusual character design. Some visual signatures that I would like to incorporate into my work are dynamic poses. I would like to learn proportions to the point of exaggeration.
At the moment I have really enjoyed using shapes to create humanoid figures as a way to find my footing in how I draw human bodys while keeping that cartoon style, I also enjoy drawing waves, ironically I hate being in the water. Sunsets and landscapes of the sorts really catch my eye so much that I will sometimes without trying to end up drawing a sunset. At the moment along side my own personal avatar I’m working on I also have a sort of watermark I feel I need to update. I enjoy having a signature for my artwork and have had a few in the past and I feel that having one is just as important as having a type of drawing style, as when one attempts to use a different style or medium that signature is really important in letting those who enjoy your art know that it’s you who has made it.
What I mostly do is paint objects and fruits. I’m not a user of sketchbooks or pencils. I only paint straight on the canvas with acrylic color. I’m interested learning on drawing from shapes, landscapes, objects by only using pencil. Also, something that I would like to learn is drawing humans. I’m really bad at drawing humans especially the face.
I am interested in drawing: Fashion, horror, architecture, nature, animals, food, sci-fi, abstract art, cartoons, comics, graphic novel, humor. My visual signatures may include: black outlines, cartoon look, fashion focus, pencil/ink only drawings, abstraction/fantasy, dark humor.
Things that are of my interest to draw:
My visual signature that i try to implement in each drawing i do is to give it a sketchy look, many imperfect lines outside the design, and also the use of straight lines and a more geometrical look.