Studying Art - GCSE Art Journal Inspiration

I feel inspired after discovering this video of a GCSE Art Book.  I never studied GCSE Art, and kind of wish I did.  Although I have a feeling my school would have told me what artists (probably abstract) to study, and I imagine there would have been a fair amount of clay and pottery sculpture.  Not really what I wanted to study.

I've always been attracted to graphite pencil and colour pencil art, I don't consider myself to be particularly skilled with a paintbrush.  I love what this young Grade A student has produced in an Art Book, she's made illustrations she's proud of, emulated the work of artists she admires, and even experimented with drawing using colour Biro pens - something I wouldn't have thought of.

Here's what she created:

I like the idea of creating an Art Journal, or a kind of Scrapbook Junk Journal / Smash Book idea.  But I hadn't thought of creating an Art Book / Art Journal merely for working on and improving my art skills.  I really like the idea of exploring the work of artists I admire, and experimenting with styles and genres of art I might not have thought of before.  

When I first started to be inspired to create art of my own and aspire to become an artist, I was inspired by the Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Science Fiction Art Techniques, a book by John Grant and Ron Tiner, where I discovered the works of Chris Achilleos and David A. Hardy, amongst many others.  I was also inspired by the Fantasy Art Calendars of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell, and later Luis Royo too.  Since then I discovered the works of Clyde Caldwell, Greg Horn, Amy Brown, and Anne Stokes.

Sketching to recreate the artwork of the artists I admire could be fun, especially as a way of trying out different styles and techniques.  Learning from the masters, only I get to choose who the masters are that I wish to study.  For example, Chris Achilleos work is highly detailed and colourful, whereas Luis Royo's work is usually kept to just a few colours, and he does beautiful pencil illustrations I could learn from.  Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell produce hyper-realistic work, which would be very difficult to recreate, certainly a challenge for me.

What Artists inspired you to create art?

Feeling Inspired To Keep A Sketchbook

After watching Scott Robertson's Youtube video Sketchbooks (embedded below) where he shows off sketchbook pages, and then a few quick sketches of his own at the end, are really inspiring me to start regular sketching again.

I used to sketch regularly in my breaks at work, borrowing a little paper from the printer drawer (copier paper is beautifully white and a great clean surface to have fun sketching on), and I would sketch something new every day.  I was lucky at the time, I got a 20 minute break in the morning and afternoon, by the end of the week I had a sheet full of pencil sketches!  

It was great freeform drawing, not using any reference images, just doodling freehand for a little relaxation and escapism, which really took my mind off work.  Focusing on the pencil line and creating something fun, I felt transported to another world.  It was also interesting to look back on what I'd doodled and see what I'd been thinking about over the course of each week, which I dated too.  

I'd like to try some of the mechs Scott sketches above too, and I love his idea for making a basic rough shape with a grey marker pen, then sketching in details over the top with a black fineliner pen.  I tend to sketch in a 2B pencil, but I could try using the side of the pencil to lightly block in a rough shape, and then use the point to define the details afterwards.  

I think this will be fun to pick up again now, and a great way to relax and take the stress out of my day.  It's bound to improve my art skills too!