Judith Van Den Hoek

i first came across this illustrator when researching into artist who use line the line and mark task we were given in visual language. i chose the illustration above as a example of line work- i really like how she has created a recognisable clothing, hand and body shape just by using lines positioned close together and not a outline. i think it is a good example to show how you don't necessarily need to produce a photo-realistic or exact copy of what you are drawing from to make the subject recognisable, it i sometimes more interesting and engaging when a piece allows you to fill in the gaps and make the decision for yourself. 

 

one thing however i do not like about the first illustration is the face and hair area, i feel it makes the piece look too digital. i think a more delicate approach, like this piece above is far more interesting. though Judith has still used the same effective technique or using block spaces to give the impression of clothing, the combination of detail and block colour really provides  powerful focal points. i also like how she doesn't use white as a background colour, i think this allows white to be a considered colour which has a effect, rather then something to fill a background. because she hasn't used white in the background she could have used it to show highlights areas on the face and use the grey background to show mid tones, i feel that white on the face is what this piece is lacking. i think it would make the face more prominent if highlighted tones where shown. 

this is another piece by Judith van Den Hoek, i really like the unfinished look to this piece, in the past i felt one of my downfalls in my work is how i tend to leave things unfinished in the fear of spoiling it  if i add more detail, however the illustrators work has shown me i can use this to an advantage, i feel the way she used empty spaces really adds to the effect and creates a stronger focal point to areas she has drawn. i really like the distinctly line that she has used to outline the whole figure, it really adds importance to the empty and makes them a vital part of the drawing- showing without them, the image would not make sense.