Title: The King of Diamonds
Size: 64mm x 89mm Medium: Digital Illustration Date of completion: August 2023 The King of Diamonds is a design for a playing card inspired by art found in the Book of Kells. It is meant to invoke the familiar feeling of classic playing card illustrations with a unique historical twist. The piece is also an exploration of working with mirrored images and complex yet compact compositions involving repeating figures and objects.
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Artistic Inspiration
Object in Focus: Book of Kells
This piece is inspired by the historical illuminated manuscript The Book of Kells. The book is a copy of biblical New Testament and is thought to have been created by monks in an Irish monastery on the Scottish island of Iona. The book is visually produced in the Hiberno-Saxon style. This style is characterized by its intricate Celtic knotwork motifs and other complex designs that frame the pages. Its intricacy and beauty show that the art itself was incredibly important to the book's original creators.
In my piece, I will be utilizing the gilded colors and general idea of framing using pattern. I will also be heavily basing my work on the stylistic look of the Book of Kells, designing my figures based on the features seen in the book, |
Folio 32 of the Book of Kells
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Folio 27 of the Book of Kells
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Planning
My initial intention for this project was to create a piece inspired stylistically by the Book of Kells that I could use to explore and experiment with composition and format different than what I usually work with. Usability is also fairly important for me as I often feel like I want to be creating art that has a purpose, whether that is acting as a product, exploring a narrative, or both. I also tried to connect this with some of the major focuses of my comparative study, one of which was triangular composition. When thinking of ideas for how to incorporate such a composition into my work I thought that maybe I could do it through making a playing card. I had previously thought about making tarot cards but a regular playing card was slightly more familiar to me and it would be easier for me to incorporate the specifications I wanted. I also decided around this time that I was going to work digitally as It would be the easiest to use when recreating the style of the Book of Kells.
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Process
To begin this process I first began creating the layout of my card, I did this roughly with a light blue pencil like brush on procreate. The purpose of the light base was so I could differentiate my sketch and my final drawing. Then, when I was happy with what I had in terms of composition and general proportions of the figures, I created a new layer and began the process of finalizing my line work. I did this using a thicker black brush tool, generally i tend to use brushes that can vary in width more depending on pressure, because it allows me to have more range in the types of lines I make without changing the brush size or settings. Once I had finalized my line-work I began the process of coloring, beginning with the background then moving on to the figures and the card border. I used this stage to add more details and some shading. I realized shading was going to be difficult since the card is created so that it will look the same whether it's upside down or not. Instead of realistic shading, which isn't prevalent anywhere in the Book of Kells anyway, I opted to do more simple gradients to give variation to the flat colors. I used light yellows and oranges to mimic the color of the gold leaf present in the inspiration piece. I really struggled with the aspects of symmetry in this piece. due to the fact it was both mirrored and similar on both sides, each small difference between the sides was glaringly obvious so I had to be quite careful with measurements and placement of my figures overall.
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ExperimentationMy biggest experimentation throughout this process was composition, I primarily explored different ways I could creatively represent what I wanted through the unique yet restrained conditions of a classic playing card layout. I made several adjustments not just in the planning but also in the process where I added details or shifted figures. Its quite difficult to mimic an older medieval style of art which isn't very realistic, in a way that looks intentional and thought out. I had to be careful with how I created the figures because I wanted to clearly express to the viewer that their odd appearances and unique proportions are in fact intentional in order to mimic the stylistic feel of the original inspiration piece, the Book of Kells. I also explored more unique Procreate features which I had previously not touched, this included line guides and the mirroring/symmetry features. Both of these were quite difficult to use initially as they had a lot of very different options and I was uncertain which would achieve my desired results. The line guides as well as assisted drawing that went with it were incredibly hard to use as I was frustrated that the straight lines I created would not always follow the grid-lines and would always be slightly off.
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Critique
Similarities
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Differences
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- A very simple similarity between the two pieces is format, they are both 2 dimensional pieces although the Book of Kells is more of a set of 2 Dimensional pieces. This could be the same for both if I continued to create an entire deck around this theme.
- Another very clear similarity is style, my piece is directly inspired stylistically by the Book of Kells. Therefore they end up looking quite similar in terms of style including form and color. |
-A very clear difference between the pieces is medium, my piece is done digitally using procreate while the Book of Kells was made far before digital media was invented.
-Similarly the materials used in the pieces have very different value and significance. The Book of Kells is made on vellum with many of its pages gilded or with gold elements. The fact that the manuscript was made using precious materials differs greatly from the King of Diamonds which is made of only data. |
Reflection
This process was quite different in comparison to many of my other digital works in the sense that I was focusing more on composition and style rather than stretching the limits of Procreate and what I knew about the medium. With that being said I did use some features and tools that I previously had never worked with including the mirror or symmetry features and assisted line drawing. These were definitely difficult to use at first but became easier with time and through using them I grew as an artist in terms of my skills with Procreate as a tool. Through this experience I think ive gained some knowledge that can be applied to many of my future digital projects. One thing I really enjoyed about this process was the feeling of making almost a product, it seems like practice for being able to make commercial work that can be sold in the future. Playing cards are something most people have interacted with and I enjoyed putting my own spin on the concept. I also liked learning a bit about more diverse historical artworks and artifacts such as the Book of Kells. One of the reasons I wanted to do a piece based on the book is due to previously having seen it in Dublin, Ireland and thinking it was very fascinating but knowing almost nothing about what it actually was or who it came from. This project as a whole has inspired me to make more cards and similar pieces in the future, perhaps even trying out tarot cards like I initially planned to.
ACT
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
- My inspiration mainly impacted my final piece through style and visual elements. I primarily drew inspiration from the visual aspects of the Book of Kells while also taking into account the way the object has been used as a method of storytelling through art.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- The authors of the Book of Kells were monks and were extremely dedicated to both the book and the original biblical texts they were representing. It is unclear exactly these peoples motivations and reasoning besides purely worship and practice of their religion.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- This research gave me a better look and understanding into the way different groups of people have utilized art for varying means. This specific group used art almost purely for the purpose of religion and storytelling.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
- The major theme is storytelling or creating narrative through art and visual communication. I wanted to incorporate elements of narrative and give the subjects of my card character through purely visual means. I did this by connecting the King with two flanking princes and the visuals are supposed to express this fact of their position to the viewer.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
- I had to make assumptions on the motivations and purpose of the Book of Kells original monk creators. As they existed centuries ago with little written records about any of them personally.
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
- My inspiration mainly impacted my final piece through style and visual elements. I primarily drew inspiration from the visual aspects of the Book of Kells while also taking into account the way the object has been used as a method of storytelling through art.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- The authors of the Book of Kells were monks and were extremely dedicated to both the book and the original biblical texts they were representing. It is unclear exactly these peoples motivations and reasoning besides purely worship and practice of their religion.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- This research gave me a better look and understanding into the way different groups of people have utilized art for varying means. This specific group used art almost purely for the purpose of religion and storytelling.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
- The major theme is storytelling or creating narrative through art and visual communication. I wanted to incorporate elements of narrative and give the subjects of my card character through purely visual means. I did this by connecting the King with two flanking princes and the visuals are supposed to express this fact of their position to the viewer.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
- I had to make assumptions on the motivations and purpose of the Book of Kells original monk creators. As they existed centuries ago with little written records about any of them personally.
Citations
“The Book of Kells.” The Book of Kells - The Library of Trinity College Dublin - Trinity College Dublin, www.tcd.ie/library/research-collections/book-of-kells.php. Accessed 28 Sept. 2023.
Mark, Joshua J. “Book of Kells.” World History Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org#organization, 27 Sept. 2023, www.worldhistory.org/Book_of_Kells/.
Mark, Joshua J. “Book of Kells.” World History Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org#organization, 27 Sept. 2023, www.worldhistory.org/Book_of_Kells/.