Drawing to Music :: Camberwell BA

During the first term of my first year of the BA Illustration course, there was A LOT of drawing. I know, you're thinking... uh- DUH, KIM! You're doing ILLUSTRATION... but what I mean is- we did a lot of intense, quick drawing sessions. Some in the studio, some in museums and some out on the streets. This was one of my favourite exercises we did.That there is a photo of a tutor explaining to us what we were doing. They would play a bunch of songs, with a theme, like 'angry' or 'soppy' or 'funny' of all kinds and our job was to make as many drawings as possible in that time. The aim was to make one or two per song- which trust me, is no mean feat! It's hard! Each song is, like 2.5 min. That's not a lot of time.But- it does loosen you up a lot! It makes you try new things, a lot of the drawings we did were shit- but that wasn't the point. We were supposed to go with out gut instinct, let the pens/brushes/pencils do the thinking while your mind was concentrating on the music. Draw what comes naturally and just go with it.
It was such a good idea. It got everyone thinking- and they made us put our drawings straight on the wall after we made them- it was like a crazy paper factory in there! But, really inspiring to see these little collections of quick drawings. Here are some of mine:(A photo of a quick break in between 'sets')If you're EVER stuck, and need to get going again, I highly suggest trying this out. Put together a 30 min playlist and make 30 drawings. You might be surprised at how helpful it is later on. [:Here's another 'after' shot of what my desk looked like. I tried to clear it up after each set, but it was soooo messy all the time. fun fun fun!
Do you have favourite music that you listen to when you make things? Do you think it affects your final outcome? Kimxo 

Comments

[Juliette]

I love this idea, I have never thought of it before..
I usually listen to music of Jack Johnson, usually to study and be more concentrated. It helps also for draw and write.

[Beka]

Thank you for the tip! I am trying to improve my drawing skills (very rusty) and am currently participating in the ICAD project: I am finding these daily doodles and such are a great way of experimenting. I also have Carla Sonheim's book to spark ideas and techniques to try. I will have to try your drawing to music too - I definately agree that music evokes emotion and feelings that are then expressed through other mediums...

[Amy]

Oh Kim. You make miss art school so bad! Am definitely going to try and raise funds so I can go back sometime in the future! Axx

Ps. My iPhone is not doing a good job with the hotel wifi, so will look forward to re-reading these posts and being able to see all the photos when I get home from Espana!

[Dana Burton]

what a great post! Thanks.

Dana Burton

[Michelle Clement]

Oooh - love this!! :) we used to do something similar in writing class, kind of a free writing thing where you'd get a prompt every minute and it'd be super-inspiring to do...must try this!

[Jessica Zhang]

Haha, I see me in one of the photos!!