Anyone paint as an outlet?

Adam Ladd
Adam Ladd Posts: 290
in Type Design Technique & Theory
Kind of specific, and opened a discussion similar to this a couple months ago...

But I'm curious, given the element of drawing involved in type design, if there are others out there that paint (or other forms of art) as an outlet?

I've tried to pick up a brush again from time to time, but tough to get myself to dive deeper into it and enjoy it as a way to get off the screen and have a more tangible expression. I think it's partly committing to the time and then cleanup involved (considering watercolors partially for that reason).

Similarly, curious if there are certain styles/movements that most inspire you in that area or even inform how you view type design and the shapes? For me, I've found myself drawn to impressionism and the semi-freedom of it to reinterpret but still be understandable.

Comments

  • Mark Simonson
    Mark Simonson Posts: 1,786
    edited 6:25PM
    I have gotten back into drawing (drawing from life or photos, cartooning, caricatures) the last few years. Some of it is analog, some digital. I took oil painting classes when I was ten years old and continued to paint through college, switching to acrylics during high school. That experience has informed my digital painting, but someday I’'d like to resume painting with the real thing. As much as I’d like to try oils again, I don’t think my wife would put up with the fumes. So, probably acrylics.

    As for styles/movements with painting, I mostly favor realism, although I dabbled with surrealism when I was in high school and college. I think at the time I was inspired by science fiction book covers and such, and thought I might try to become an illustrator.
  • Mark Simonson
    Mark Simonson Posts: 1,786
    edited 6:30PM
    As for ways the skills of painting/drawing might have a bearing on type design, I think the biggest thing is training the eye to see visual forms. Type design (except for the sketching part) is more like sculpting than drawing or painting.
  • Adam Ladd
    Adam Ladd Posts: 290
    My wife tried to get into oils too (and did for a while—really enjoying the natural richness of it) but hard to pick it back up... we've talked about perhaps gouache as a possible medium, as it seems to be able to take on acrylic or watercolor tendencies depending on how you use it. (And I don't think has a smell or as much cleanup/dry time.)
  • Nick Shinn
    Nick Shinn Posts: 2,348
    I write a lot, with pen and ink, and my writing—even with the usual rollerball pen—is calligraphic, full of swashes, ligatures and flourishes. Making it into a font, well, that’s a long-term goal, and probably won’t happen.

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