The Sequential Image Begins

Hello!

If you’ve managed to stumble onto this post and you don’t know me (very impressive if that is the case!), it’s nice to meet you - I’m Molly and I’m currently studying on the Children’s Book Illustration MA at Cambridge School of Art. Somehow, I’ve managed to survive the first module! So now begins the next 12 weeks of intensive work towards our second module - The Sequential Image.

I don’t often write about what I’m working on. I thought it might help me to start a weekly reflection as I develop my work to help me figure out what I like and what I don’t like about my art, so that I can do more of what I do like. I am mostly creating this for myself as a reminder of what I’m learning each week, but I do know that it has been immensely helpful to discover blogs from other illustrators who previously studied this course. Seeing how others before me tackled each task and the struggles they face throughout has been very comforting and inspiring, so I decided I might as well share this for anyone curious. Hopefully it can help spark some ideas or introduce you to new ways of working, or just make you feel less alone in the chaos!

Week 1 has left me feeling largely confused and unsure where to start. After weeks of observational drawing, our tutors have suddenly opened us up to the possibility of creating something entirely different, and imaginative drawing is now on the cards. Somehow I have an idea already, which I won’t share yet because I enjoy a bit of mystery, but I am really excited about where it might take me.

I started this week with something I’ve grown to know, you guessed it - more observational drawing! After so many intensive weeks of just observational drawing, it has become a familiar comfort that I can rely on. I am eager to continue this practice after seeing how my skills and confidence to experiment grew throughout the first module, but I am equally excited to develop my imaginative drawing skills further and figure out how I want to develop my personal illustrative voice. There will be plenty of printmaking experiments in my future, which I can’t wait to share (both the good AND the bad!)

Mixed media sketch - Following the tennis courts

This week took me on an adventure to my hometown to draw along the routes I used to walk every week as a child, and I also had the opportunity to look back at some old home videos. I love nostalgia, and I feel it deeply, so it has been joyful starting to capture that feeling in my sketchbook. I also did something I never thought I’d do. I learned how to make my very own zine! It still needs lots of work to get it to a point where I can show it, but how exciting is that?!

Sketches from old footage - 5 year old me

Until next time!

Molly