No.24 Watch me draw some animals you may not be familiar with
In which I answer my own question from last week, and share some sketches for my zoological playing card deck.
What’s my ‘why’?
Time to answer the question that I left off with last time. Why do I want to do this project? What will I get out of it?
In simple terms, I miss working on printed matter. I’m excited about a project that will result in a beautiful object, but more—one which is accessible and affordable. A card deck can be all of those things; it can be a kind of miniature gallery of artworks. It’s a functional end product, with lots of room to illustrate and design within an existing framework, and to a high standard. Et voilà.
Oh wait— I nearly forgot a very, very important bit: I want a project that’s FUN!
As a self-initiated project to be created (not rushed through) at my leisure (while not working my full-time job or undertaking the myriad other mandatory tasks of life), FUN has to be a major component. And then a thought popped into my head…
“What About Animals?”
Ha! Instantly the project became exciting again as humans and their attendant politics dropped out of the picture. Still requiring lots of research? Check. Applying said research to the illustrations and the design of the deck? Check. Having a lovely time drawing loads of animals from all over the world? Check! Now that sounds fun.
I knew this was the right decision when I began making drawings almost immediately upon having the idea. That’s important. If I spend too much time in research / planning mode. I reach a point at which it feels as if I’ve already finished the project, and then suddenly I’m tired of it— you know what I mean? I’ve done it many times in the past. I have folders of research for projects that never got off the ground. Action! Beginning the making part is crucial.
Before embarking, I had a little chat with myself. I asked myself to imagine it’s waaayy next summer and I’m still working on this. Can I be okay with that? This isn’t a project that can be sprinted through and finished quickly— not if I’m going to do it to the standard I’m aiming for.
So I made a bargain with myself to not rush it; to allow it the time it needs. Surprisingly (to me anyway), this made it feel less daunting— even facing down 54 illustrations, plus the card-back and box design.
Watch Me Draw
Below is a process video of me sketching the endangered Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby. He has s striped tail and is also adorable (unlike the Fangtooth fish who is nonetheless fascinating). The video is super short, a combination of time-lapse and some slower bits. These sketches take, on average, around 10-15 min. I’ve been doing them on plain copy paper, which makes the process less intimidating than doing them in a nice sketchbook. These are the sketches I’m using to design the layouts f with the pips, and will be the basis on which I do final illustrations and paintings for the deck.
Next Time
That’s all for today. I hope you’re enjoying this unfolding project even a fraction as much as I am. At this point, I’ve completed sketches for 30 of the 54 cards. There’s plenty of time for this to change shape at this stage of the process, but the sketches are the bedrock; they help me get my head around the animals’ physiology and will be helpful when I make refined sketches for the actual illustrations.
Next time I’ll share more and talk about design considerations that have been helping to inform the overall look. If you enjoyed the video, follow me on Instagram to see more as I go.
Thanks for being here! Hope to see you back for my next installment.