VL Project 2: Visual Contexts 1 Ex 1 - Drawing Comparisons

 Select at least three metaphors and similes from the lists below (or find some of your own). Make some quick sketches which describe them visually in a simple but effective way. Be imaginative with your interpretations. 

Now combine some of these sketches into a single image to create a narrative. Again, be imaginative with your composition. Think of ways you can combine the phrases and make visual sense of the image as a whole.

 

Simile

• As daft as a brush
• As old as the hills
• As cool as a cucumber
• As thin as a rake
• As cunning as a fox
• As deep as the ocean
• As cold as ice 
• As proud as a peacock
• As busy as a bee
• As strong as an ox
• As light as a feather
• As gentle as a lamb
• Run like the wind
• Eyes like a hawk
• Swim like a fish
• Sleeps like a baby
• Fight like cats and dogs
• Eat like a pig
• Slept like a log
• Fit like a glove
• Stick out like a sore thumb
• Sing like a bird 
• Dropping like flies
• Mind like a sieve
• Drink like a fish

Metaphor    

• A heart of stone
• The apple of my eye
• Couch potato
• Heart of gold
• Cold feet
• Wear your heart on your sleeve
• Blood from a stone
• Wrap your head around it
• Feel under the weather
• Cut corners
• Speak of the devil
• Getting out of hand
• The elephant in the room
• Hit the nail on the head
• Caught red-handed
• Wild goose chase
• My home is my castle
• Time is money
• A fish out of water
• Ant in his pants
• Night owl
• Music to my ears
• Raining cats and dogs
• Early bird
• House of cards
  

To test out thse metaphors and similies I did small quick drawings below of a few before picking phrases I found I could communicate better and coloured those ones in.

 

these are coloured in drawings

Picking more metaphors and similies off the list, the ones like the elephant in the room and caught red handed a did a few versions to change the composition on imagery to see which one represented was the best. I personally like the raining cats and dogs visual the most because that is the funniest to look at with the animals looking unfazed as they rain from the sky and onto the umbrella of a happy unaware person in a raincoat. The reason I picked the phrases I did was because I felt confident in my ability to draw them.

I then chose a small amount of these drawings and decided to draw them digitally so I can be more experimental with my compostion and what scene I wanted to create, It's much easier to change things digitally then on paper.

My idea was that this fish is giving an important presentation in the workplace about how it " Raining cats and dog" using "a fish out of water" you can see the fish obviously panicking as though its not prepared for such situation visually communicating the phrase. 'As cool as a cucumber' this character Is what seems to be the boss who the others are on edge beign around even though hes seemingly so cool. However using ' elephant in the room' and the cucumber being  'caught red handed suggests some tension in the room. Perhaps the boss has been caught doing something wrong or the fish employee is hiding something so the presence of the elephant and it being under the table not taking up too much space and handing the boss coffee creates some awkwardness.

In addition to those three phrases I included a pigeon who is just in time to catch the worm becasue afterall ' the early bird catches the worm' Then you see someone with ' the eyes of a hawk' peering throgh the window witnessing everything in the room.