Artwork: Digital Illustration
Riot
Digital Illustration April 2020 76.2 cm x 76.2 cm * Exhibition Text Two figures, both with the nonbinary gender marker for heads, are dancing together. They are done in the style of Keith Haring's work, a notable staple of the queer community. The namesake, "Riot," refers to Stonewall, and the fact that pride started as a riot. *image resized to fit website requirements |
Inspiration
For this piece, I emulated the works of Keith Haring, one of my favorite artists and an icon of mine. As a queer person, Haring is someone I look up to personally in expression of queer issues and feelings. His works have shown me that it's normal and okay to be queer, and I think they've really helped me cope throughout the years. On top of that, I really enjoy his simple but dynamic style.
Another basis of inspiration was queer positivity, and my personal experience with my gender identity and expression. As someone who is non-binary, I often find it hard to fit into the boxes that people create for me. I wanted this piece to be different from my other pieces in tone, and I wanted to express my joy at being who I am. I wanted to be prideful about my identity this time, and I figured Haring's works were perfect for emulating that feeling and message. |
Planning
My planning for this piece was very experimental, especially compared to some of my other pieces. Because of this, my planning and experimentation largely overlap. For planning sketches, I drew out several loose stick figures in various poses, just to get a rough idea of how I wanted the figures in my piece to be posed. After I chose the two that I thought matched each other the best, I moved on to experimenting with color palettes. I was looking for brighter colors, and I ended up choosing the first one I made, because it had the brightest colors and no white space. It also seemed like the colors matched a lot better, and there were more colors to choose from.
Experimentation
In order to experiment, I tried out different poses while sketching my piece out. I did it very loosely, and tried to capture the figures as if they were dancing. Afterwards, I tried experimenting with colors and the gender markers used as heads. Originally, I was going to use the transgender gender marker, but it was difficult to use, so I went with the non-binary one. After settling on colors that I thought fit the energy of the piece well, and after choosing the poses, I got started on the piece.
Process
For this piece, I used Clip Studio. I started by selecting my brush and settings, as well as the palette I decided on during the experimentation phase. Instead of making any sort of sketch, I followed the general shape of the poses I had sketched out before, and tried to create loose, dancing figures. I made the line art for the first, then moved on to creating the second figure. After that, I used the background color to clean up some spots I didn't like, and then I simply used the fill tool on most of the shapes. For some of them, I had to use the bucket tool and then continue filling in all white areas manually so that the piece looked clean. After filling in the shapes, I also had to fill in the background, which I had to touch up afterwards. Finally, I created the border like, and then filled the border in with pink, which I think really added to the energy of the piece.
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Reflection + Compare/Contrast
I'm actually proud of how this piece turned out. It was my first time using a digital software to create an artwork, and I think it turned out pretty well. I think it matches well with Keith Haring's message and style, though I think I could have added more details to really make it feel like I was emulating Haring. The next time I do a digital illustration like this, I probably won't use Clip Studio, since it crashed about six times while I was working on the piece. I'll probably use FireAlpaca, which is free and fits my personal loose art style.
Compare and Contrast
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ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
For this piece, I think it's easy to see the connection between my work and the work of Keith Haring. I did my best to emulate his style and use of brighter colors, and I think it's actually easy to see that.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The research I did was slightly biased, as it was for the LGBT community, but it does also give factual research about Haring.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I made the generalization that, during the time when Haring's pieces were being made, it was difficult for the LGBT community, but people still found the time to celebrate their identities.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme/idea was a celebration of identity, particularly a non-binary gender identity.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I think I made a lot of inferences based on my previous knowledge of the LGBT rights movement and history, which I applied to the piece.
For this piece, I think it's easy to see the connection between my work and the work of Keith Haring. I did my best to emulate his style and use of brighter colors, and I think it's actually easy to see that.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The research I did was slightly biased, as it was for the LGBT community, but it does also give factual research about Haring.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I made the generalization that, during the time when Haring's pieces were being made, it was difficult for the LGBT community, but people still found the time to celebrate their identities.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme/idea was a celebration of identity, particularly a non-binary gender identity.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I think I made a lot of inferences based on my previous knowledge of the LGBT rights movement and history, which I applied to the piece.
Bibliography
- "Bio | Keith Haring". Haring.Com, 2020, https://www.haring.com/!/about-haring/bio. Accessed 20 Aug 2020.
- "Keith Haring". Queer Portraits In History, 2020, https://www.queerportraits.com/bio/haring. Accessed 20 Aug 2020.www.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/enigma-beauty/.
- "Radiant Eros: Keith Haring And Sexuality | Keith Haring". Haring.Com, 2020, https://www.haring.com/!/selected_writing/radiant-eros-keith-haring-and-sexuality. Accessed 20 Aug 2020.