About
2016: A Drawing A Day
£5,425
144
In 2016 I set myself a challenge: to do a drawing a day for the whole year. But this wasn't your usual daily drawing project...
Instead of just drawing anything that popped into my head - I made time to observe, experience and record everyday situations from life, ranging from the mundane to the magnificent. The drawings vary in scale, time taken to complete and materials used. From a quick sketch on the train to work capturing commuters reactions to the EU vote result, to new years eve celebrations drawn onto a champagne bottle. The way each drawing is drawn - what they are drawn with, what they are drawn on, what they depict – tells its own unique story; all part of my unique visual narrative exploration of daily life as seen through the eyes of a young Londoner.
Each day, I uploaded the pictures to a blog and instagram.
And now the year is complete, I’m going to collate all of the images and turn them into a book that tells my story of 2016.
I have an interest in reportage illustration. I'd describe it as the first-hand recording of real life events through drawing. A reportage illustrator experiences a situation or story with all of their senses and uses them to inform an image. It’s similar to how a journalist works, however the story is communicated through drawing rather than purley text. In a world that’s getting more and more visual, I believe reportage illustration is a currently overlooked, yet extremely powerful method of communication.
At 380 pages, this book is going to be pretty chunky.
Why so many pages? The drawings will be ordered in sequence, from new years day to new years eve. I want to stay true to the one-a-day nature of the project and feature each image on it's own page. That way the varying sizes, materials and shapes of each drawing will stand out more. From large drawings on paper - to a drawing scratched into a bottle cap, variation will make the book surprising and interesting.
Specification:
- 210x210mm
- 380 pages
- Full colour print throughout
- 120gsm paper
- 350gsm cover
The money will be used to fund the printing and designing of the book. It will be professionally designed by Dan Jones and showcase all images from 2016. The cost of producing the rewards has also been factored into the funding target.
This funding target is enough to print a small batch of books. A number of these books will be given as rewards. The remainder will available to buy online, and at events such as my exhibition of the drawings in May. (Come along! It's on for 4 weeks at The Peckham Pelican in London).
Any additional funding will go towards making even more books available.
As a thank you, everyone who funds this Kickstarter will have their name included in the book. (But if you don't want it included, thats OK too.)
GOAL MET: £5,000!
Like the idea of reportage illustration? Why not try it yourself with the help of a handy guidebook.
If we reach this target, everyone who's pledged will receive a special, bonus e-book to accompany the main book. Inside, I'll share my knowledge, tips and tricks to help you get started.
Amongst other things, you'll get:
- Behind-the-scenes stories from the images in the book
- Equipment guide, how to get started
- Tips and tricks
- How to draw on the go
- How to draw things that move.
- Where to find stories - Mini challenges to help you capture information
Estimated delivery: July
Stretch goal: £5,700
So, now all pledgers will be getting a reportage guidebook, woo! But, we could take this even further... If we hit this next stretch goal, I will adapt the guidebook and turn it into an educational learning resource. This can be used in schools and art classes to help inspire the next generation of reportage storytellers.
If this goal is met, I will give away a batch of printed copies + exercise books to local schools and also create PDF versions so that any teacher can print their own versions, and use how they wish.
(And if you're a teacher who would like copies, send me a message!)
Estimated delivery: October
Risks and challenges
In 2014 I attempted to make my first 'a drawing a day' book by myself. It was going smoothly until my hard drive failed at the last moment, and the scans were lost. The images took months to recover, and the book never got made. The good news is this wont happen again - I've got multiple back-ups now.
As with all printing, there's a risk that the printing/delivery time could be delayed. However, I have ensured enough buffer time to get the books delivered in May.
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Funding period
- (30 days)