drawing-device 'drawn' drawings

To follow on from my video of the device in use and the results it produced, here are a few still images of the outcomes, too.

It was really interesting with this first experiment to notice how the marks I was intentionally making to draw the flowers, were being translated in the drawing below. The fast pace I drew the petals at resulted in jagged marks made by the device, and the angle I tilt my hand at to draw the stems, didn't leave a mark with the device at all.

After seeing the results of the device above with the clear, precise medium of fine liner, I decided to see what would happen if I used the more unpredictable, less controlled medium of ink- dipped in a brush I constructed from small craft straws. I made a very similar drawing to the first experiment, but the change in media has given it a very different translation by my device. Thinking of the outcomes like a 'language' or 'translation' of the original drawing, using a different media like this, is almost like changing into a different 'dialect' of the same image between the first and second experiment!

Second straw brush experiment

Stick experiment. I like the contrast between the thick starting line, where the device was well inked up, in comparison to the much finer lines that follow, where the ink was running out.

The device's translation of written words is really interesting. This could make a good start point for alternative coding or secret notes to self...it reminds me a little of Leonardo Da Vinci's backwards writing to keep the ideas in his sketchbook secret.

sponge drawing. I really like the faint marks made to the right hand side of the initial green blob- they have a soft quality. Out of all the media I attached to the device, using a sponge was the most noticeable while you drew- it made me focus on the marks I was making, because I could feel it's connection to the paper from my wrist. (as well as obviously the pencil I was also drawing with!)

final testing, playing around- using a subtle silver gel pen in drawing hand, with charcoal stick attached to device-- the contrast in media makes the device's marks are more obvious and prominent, placing focus on the device-drawn marks, rather than the intentionally hand-drawn ones made in gel pen.

 So there we go- now you have the full span of my experiments and reflections! Echoing my thoughts from the previous post, I think the concept of this device could be developed to enhance people's self-awareness of their own drawing style. Having a record of how you draw, which is creating during the very act of you drawing, helps you see how the marks you make influence the drawings you produce. And the act of simply wearing the device and knowing that it is producing a drawing of your drawing, is quite a fun thing in itself. Perhaps it could be used to encourage people who are scared of drawing or being experimental, incase of doing things wrong, to loosen up their drawing style- the loose marks made by the device might help people to see that drawings are valid without needing to be exact or perfectly representational- they can be expressive and free.

my drawing device

The phrase 'drawing drawing' really stuck with me from Stephen Farthing's original lecture a few weeks back. So, thinking about this idea of 'drawing' a drawing, for this weeks 'drawing machine' task, I decided to try and make a device that records the act of a person drawing! Here are my results in video form. I tested several different media with my device, which ended up being a simple structure that strapped on around the wrist using a length of elastic and a clothes peg to hold the drawing media in place. I think it's an interesting way to capture the movements that a person makes while sketching, and it is almost like a translation of the drawing that is intentionally being made-- all the marks created  by the 'device' are essentially a by-product to the drawing that the wearer is actually choosing to make with their hand. The outcome is a record of the wearer's own individual style of drawing. It captures the physical movements that were made by the hand/wrist while the wearer was focusing on drawing their intended image above. 

I hope you enjoy the little video! It contains stills/pans over the outcome drawings (but I'll post images below, too). This is one of my first times at piecing together a video, so that was a fun little extra learning challenge in itself! Here we go:

It would be interesting to develop this idea further by asking different people to test out the device, to see how each persons individual drawing style is recorded by the device. I would imagine that each trait that is natural and instinctive to our individual method of sketching- eg- the angle a person holds their pen at, the speed and force of their marks, the amount of detail/tone, ect, that they choose to include, would all affect the outcome of the device's corresponding drawing.

Perhaps a device like this could help someone analyse their own individual drawing style, through looking at the drawing the device makes of their drawing. I found that even as I used it in these simple experiments, I became more aware and conscious of my own drawing style. I noticed that I tend to pause briefly, and then make a series of marks/shapes in quick succession, before pausing and repeating the process again. The device leads to self-awareness in sketching!