Part 2 Exericse 10: Choosing Content
The text:
The room was void and unquickened; it was like a room in a shop window but larger and emptier; and the middle-aged man who is at the desk had never thought to impress himself upon what the entered every day. Comfort there was none nor discomfort; only did the occupant deigns to qualify the pure neutrality of his surroundings, it would surely be austerity that would emerge. The spring sunshine turned bleak and functional as it passed the plate glass of the tall-uncurtained windows. The windows were large; the big desk lay islanded in a creeping parallelogram of light; across this and before the eyes of the man sitting motionless passed slantwise and slowly a massive shaft of shadow. Perhaps twenty times it passed to and fro, as if outside some great joy wheel oscillating idly in a derelict amusement park. And the man rose, clasped hands behind him and walked to a window– high up in New Scotland Yard. He looked out and war-time London lay beneath... on his brow was a fixed contraction; this he had carried from desk to window, and now there was neither hardening nor relaxation as he looked out... during 15 years he had controlled the file of police papers which dealt with the abduction and subsequent history of feeble-minded girls. Here lay his anger as he looked out over London... year by year the anger had burst deeper until it was now the innermost principle of the man.
Some of words and sentences I highlighted to pull out some of the useful characteristics of the scene and character that I could easily access when creating the illustration.
Notes on these questions
• If this were to be made into a film what would the main character be like? Angry at the world, likes to stick to himself, has a routine. but he is a good man wants to help. Feels Unfulfilled or frustrated with his job like he could do more. He dresses well of work, but it isn’t a priority.
• What clothes would the character be wearing?
White button up striped shirt with green or dark coloured tie, brown/grey tweed worn in but smart pants as well as matching blazer, scuffed black boots worn but still look in good condition.
• What furniture is in the main area in which the action takes place
Large desk, large shop like window (uncurtained)
An inspector calls both versions and peaky blinders Thomas Shelby and the inspector Campbell were a big influences for the expression I was intending to illustrate, what the actors portray on screen is something I used to base the man in my drawing off especially because they are both based round the war and the characters often have serious expressions.
Both set during WW1 and 2, there were similar styles in clothing, casual smart was still a suit or a shirt and slacks. But there was not much reference for other things as most of the men during that time were either soldiers, police or in a job wear a uniform was required so there was not many casual or typical job clothing to select from as inspiration.
The word I am conveying is pensive as I feel the character must have a lot to think about, I have also created a solemn feel to the illustration, I wanted to show as much emotion in the eyes to make this image powerful. Although in the text it suggest he is angry I interpret this as more of an internal feeling and instead his expression is a reflection of his exhaustion and unsatisfaction for the amount of awful crimes he must have been tasked with filing for the last 15 years. The whole environement also contributes to the mood of the man the fact that the room is described as void, furniture large, the window tall empty and the ‘creeping’ of the light makes it sound quite and lonely which I feel you can see elements of in his face.
I made 3 mood boards during this exercise
1. For the general style idea and characters for inspiration
2. Colours, textures, fabrics
3. Facial expressions of middle-aged men and characters from the first mood board.
Office Furniture and posters (alot are wooden)
The references I used for the illustrations were good for getting a basic paper sketch using mark making like loops and squiggles as well as tight lines. I wanted to bring this character to life maybe adding a bit more colour, so I used a drawing brush on the app procreate for my final illustration. Doing it digitally meant I could easily alter the facial shape and features; I wanted his face to be a bit softer and rounder then my initial sketch and I could add more shadow and tone to fit the mood. The expressions mood board was very helpful for the eyes and jawline as I was struggling what to do with them the most, I think my paper sketch he looked younger than I wanted so completing it digitally it turned out exactly how I imagined. The emotion you can see in his eyes I focused on the use of light and blending of similar shades of grey to make sure I did not overwhelm those features, yet still wanted them to be the most intriguing part of the piece. When finding references the only struggles I had was finding men’s fashion and styles during the war, luckily it only had to be a head and shoulders portrait so the small amount I did find most were button up shirts and ties which I took advantage of. Book wise I could not find or think of one I could relate to the text, I picked inspector calls only because of the time it was set, the style and the attitude of the inspector.
these were the brainstormings sketches and possible ideas.
This is my final Illustration and I think it turned out great, I captured more or less exactly what I had in my head.To then add onto this, finding and using similar office furniture to the moodboard I created, it set the scene as a whole giving it a background environment using things such as war posters, evidence boards and file cabinets you'd typically find in a detective or police office. Playing around with the lighting I made a version where there is the shadow of the windows shape reflecting on him as hes looking out of in the text.
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