Brief
For this exercise you need to have access to a computer with Microsoft Word or a similar word processing programme with a thesaurus (if not you could use a standard dictionary for this exercise but it will take longer). In Word the Thesaurus is the second option in the ‘Tools’ drop-down box. The starting point for this exercise is an automated word association game.
Here is an example of how to play the word association exercises.
● Choose a word to examine – the example here is the word ‘grass’ as a starting point. Type the word ‘grass’ in a new Word document.
● When you highlight and look up ‘grass’ in the thesaurus you are given the alternative words ‘sward’, ‘grassland’, and then the third definition of grass which is the word ‘meadow’. Now type that word in after ‘grass’:grass meadow
● If you then look up ‘meadow’ on the thesaurus then ‘lea’ is the third alternative word, making:
grass meadow lea
● After continuing this process of looking up and adding the third alternative word for a while, you will eventually develop a word poem like this:
grass meadow lea grassland heath hill mountain elevation boost lift buzz tinkle phone headset phone mobile transportable travel collapsible foldaway folding foldaway
● After a while you will reach a point where the alternative word begins to loop and repeat and you can’t take the exercise further. In this case you could switch to the fourth alternative word, or the fifth if you then start repeating again.
Now think of your own word and try the experiment. Sometimes you might begin to repeat very quickly, but experiment with a few words until you achieve a list you find interesting.
Once you have reached a 20-30 word text or ‘poem’, draw pictures or take photographs of each of the words in the sequence. These can be quick sketches or snapshots, but keep the order the same as the ‘poem’. These don’t have to be perfect drawings or photographs, more a visual record of the text, maybe structured as a comic strip or storyboard. Here is an example of the ‘grass’ poem:
OCA Visual skills 2 – P57
I began typing words into Word but found it quite frustrating as each word wouldn’t generate enough new words to make the word poem.
Below are images of words I attempted.
Eventually I found a word that worked and this was Ocean.
This word poem is:
- Ocean
- Waves
- Gesture
- Signal
- Beam
- Smile
- Twinkle
- Shine
- Glow
- Flush
- Burn
- Smoke
- Cigarette
- Chore
- Duty
- Task
- Assignmment
- Charge
- Impose
- Con
Below are the individual illustrations I created for the poem.
Ocean & Waves
For these words, I painted an image of the ocean with crashing waves. This was created with acrylic paint.
Gesture
For this word, I decided to create a gesture drawing.
Signal
For this word, I created a flag which is a signal to say there is a danger of strong currents.
Beam
For this word, I used Adobe Photoshop to add a beam of light to the sea painting.
Smile
For this word, I created an illustration of a man smiling using pen and water colour paints. Then I enhanced the illustration using Adobe Photoshop using various brushes and the smudge tool.
Twinkle & shine
For these words, I added shine and twinkles to different parts of the sea painting using various brushes in Adobe Photoshop. Below is an example of part of the painting.
Glow
For this word, I added the sun to the painting and creating a warm glow using Adobe Photoshop.
Flush
For this word, I drew a lady looking flushed using a dip pen with black Indian Ink and watercolour then enhanced the illustration using Adobe Photoshop.
Burn, smoke & Cigarette
For the words burn and cigarette, I created an illustration of a lit cigarette and then added smoke using brush tools and blurring the marks using Photoshop.
Duty
For this word, I drew an illustration of a sign warning the public that there is no lifeguard on duty.
Chore , Task & Assignment
For these words, as they were very similar I decided to think about them as one and drew an illustration of a lady litter picking.
Charge
This was my favourite word of all them because I got to draw my pet dog charging towards me. The illustration was first drawn and painted with acrylic paint.
Then using a reference photo of him shown below, I then enhanced and added further detail to the drawing using Photoshop.
Impose
For this word, I painted a picture using acrylic paint of a sign imposing no alcohol.
Con
For this word I decided to create an illustration of a con artist. This particular con artist is an individual who tries to trick people into believing or investing in something that is not what it appears to be. Such as selling fake designer goods to tourists on the beach.
I like to think the illustration serves as a creative way to highlight the issue and remind people to be cautious when encountering such situations while traveling.
This illustration was created with pen and water colour and enhanced using Photoshop to add detail to the face and skin using various size brushes and the smudge tool.
All the individual illustrations I compiled into a final illustration which can be seen below.
Final illustration
Reflection
This task took me longer than I expected, partly because I made some images in great detail. I knew it wasn’t necessary for the exercise, but I wanted to challenge myself and see what I could come up with.
Generating images for each word was challenging to begin with. However, the more I thought about it, the more I could envision an interesting final illustration.
Putting all of the various sketches together helped me to create one cohesive artwork that visually tells a story. For example, combining the con artist’s illustrations generates a visually appealing image.
This exercise enabled me to put complicated ideas into one single image. The final illustration allowed me to express an idea while also displaying my artistic creativity. I hope it engages viewers and provokes thought and emotion.
Visual Skills 2 