Consume Your Life Illustration
Process
(This recreation of a YouTube ad was a byproduct of the process portrayed below.)
As a starting point in developing our ideas, we were tasked to document one of three options: everything you ingest in one day, everything that you put on yourself in one day, or everything you buy in one day. I chose to document everything I put on myself in one day, as I have an interest in how we interact with commercial products and how they are marketed for personal consumption. To prepare for my documentation, I mentally replayed my daily routine and wrote a list of everything I put on myself in one day. Then, using my list of objects, I took a separate photograph for each item, including them in my sketchbook. Next, I drew colored, detailed images for each product, using my photographs for reference. In addition, I added information for each selected object for more detailed documentation.
While going through the documentation process, I was surprised at the volume of items I consume daily, as well as how much advertising is around us and impacts our lives. I was especially fascinated by the way in which product branding with the use of colors, messages, and target market focus both depicts and influences our personalities. This thought process inspired my thematic approach toward my final art piece – consumerism in modern America.
I desired to capture how we live in a world bombarded by inescapable advertising and media messages through various personal and impersonal channels, such as shopping at a mall or browsing the internet. I wanted to depict the theme of consumerism, so I focused my research on advertising. To come up with a method of presenting this ‘drawing collage,’ I looked at various commercial artworks, past and present, which I could use as a reference point to fuel my creative process. I analyzed various stock images from websites such as Google and Pinterest to help cement my idea for my work. I ultimately decided to create a digital drawing of a collage of objects which I consumed in a day with words that related to modern day consumption. I chose to show the items “trapped” in a giant cloud.
For my artist/designer inspiration, I chose Aries Moross, a graphic designer and illustrator which specialize in creating designs for famous musicians such as One Direction and the Spice Girls. I particularly enjoy how they draw stylistic words which relate to the artist or object they are designing, and I wanted to emulate this technique using my own personal flair.
Design & Illustration © Aries Moross
