A Dragon is caught up in the hustle & bustle of daily life. Office commuters seem to have forgotten this mighty beast completely. The creature that was once a legend has now been literally diminished to street level and people just don’t care as they roll over him in their little cars. No one can see that there exists but one road that can take you to the moon.
It took me a while to understand what Lauren was trying to say but once i could read her poster, the message struck me like lightning out of a magic wand. In this era of technology and corporations, Graphic Design has become a tool to serve businesses reach out to the masses. This relationship is so strong that often this creative field is referred as ‘commercial art’. Lauren stands as an exception here. Her work is playful and childlike but never gets childish as each artwork is embedded with a deep thought and meaning. She not only succeeds as a wonderful children book’s illustrator but her craft also carries over gracefully to film & concert posters, social communication and beautiful illustrations.
I asked Lauren how she consistently manages to come up with such wonderful ideas and she was kind enough to share her secret. I’m sure this process will be very helpful to students and all aspiring illustrators and graphic designers. The following images reveal her unique process followed by some amazing artworks.
She begins her illustrations by drawing on her chalkboard. This gives her a large canvas to think and pour out her ideas freely. Also, a chalkboard allows her to rectify mistakes easily.
When she gets an idea and composition she is happy with, she redraws the image in the proportions of the assignment. Here the final artwork was a poster so she sets the composition to the proportions of a poster size.
Here is where the real fun begins: She begins to create her illustration by cutting out the shapes of her drawings out of different papers. This is where art and craft are united as one expression.
In addition to paper cuttings, she also uses graphite, oils, and acrylics for my works. She then scans all of the pieces into the computer to assemble her complete illustration where different pieces come together like a jigsaw-puzzle. She also sometimes creates her illustrations directly on the computer with her Wacom Tablet.
Now over to some more amazing work from the artist, followed by her brief biography.
Lauren Rolwing uses various techniques to produce her works: from the most traditional such as collage, graphite, oil paints, acrylic paint, to the more modern computer programs. She received a B.F.A. from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and she has received numerous international awards in the areas of poster design & childrens’ book illustration. She is currently working as a freelance illustrator. To view more of her works, please visit laurenrolwing.com.
