Plums
Refine Illustrations - Botanical Poster, Graphics Design Diploma
In Refine Illustrations class, we were assigned a project to create a botanical illustration. This would include not just the centre piece (the nature subject itself), but also its typical natural surroundings, as well as how it begins life, & a cross section in order to give a view of the insides !
Development
Famous Illustrator Research
At the very beginning of this project, it was firstly required to conduct some research on a famous illustrator who I'd then draw inspiration from when creating the work itself, I chose Maria Sibylla Merian, who is also known as Anna Maria Sibylla...
Nature Subject Research (Plums)
Next, I had to choose which nature object to draw, & this first required doing some background research so I could grasp a greater understanding... Apparently, they don't require much maintenance, other than the occasional pruning, they're grown in almost all climates throughout the world, & not all plum trees produce edible fruit..
Poster Font Research
Here is my exploration for deciding on suitable fonts for the poster..
Visual Research
I both photographed & went onto the net to collect visual research, and this greatly helped me to get truly accustomed to all that plums are about in regards to form...
Sketches
In the very beginning, I was keen to use grapes as my botanical subject, & so as part of a class activity, we all brought in something & drew it.. Eventually I realised it was far more than I could chew! I quickly decided I needed to choose something simpler!
Here are multiple sketches, which eventually lead to creating some composition options loosely initially, and finally a proper exploration of how things could all be arranged on the page..
Towards the end of the process, I then explored some colour testing..
