“I can say what I like, but I shall never know why people write and how it is people don’t write. In life, there comes a time, and I think it is total, that we cannot escape, where we doubt everything: that doubt is writing.”

Marguerite Duras

READING

Reading is a way of seeing and seeing is a way of reading.

Past the initial attraction of an image, a bit of text or sound lies the questions: why is it immediately attractive, does it have a lasting appeal, and if so, what sustains it? What components, steps and tricks were used to achieve that quality? Were they deliberate or accidental? If it’s the latter, can they be replicated convincingly?

Remember, that reading is a skill, and as such, it should be developed and maintained.

Don’t think of reading as a preliminary process, think of it as part of your work, as important as the drawings that will follow.

ASSIGNMENT 6: PROPS

Design three props for a novel or a short story of your choosing. Be ready to summarize the story and the setting, and the way your designs contribute to it: by being faithful to the style and the narrative, or giving it a new angle.

During the workshop class, fill up several sheets of paper with quick and rough designs—make sure you have at least three different ideas for each piece. For the finals, feel free to use any medium, as long as it conveys the design well.

As for the actual design, pick a direction and follow it in the way your approach the execution. For instance, if it's intended for stage, film or video game, the designs should look clean and simple. If it's for an illustration or a graphic novel, you can afford to be more expressive and loose.

Examples: Anna Karenina's handbag, Frodo's cupboard, Bartleby's desk.

Format: any format.