Monday, March 29, 2010

Dragon development...

When looking at Laura's sketch for the Left Coast Eisteddfod lovespoon, I couldn't help but notice that the vinework she had drawn just above the double bowls reminded me of a little stylized dragon.
first sketch of dragon lovespoon design
This was fortuitous as we had both wanted to make sure a dragon was included somewhere in this year's design. Having it 'pop up' like this made working it into the design a breeze...if only designing things was always made so simple!!
I really liked the 'knotwork' effect the overlapping vines were making in this section of the spoon and I was anxious to keep that effect going with the dragon. To achieve the intertwined look it was necessary for the dragon to become much more sylized than last years version. This year, the dragons' legs emerge from the bowls and wind off to become the tail (which will continue on through the design), the wings and the neck/head area. The dragons tongue will also become a nice windy section of knotwork while his chest area weaves over itself and through the framework section of the original drawing. As with last year's dragon, he has a proud but not overly aggressive demeanor.

sketch of dragon lovespoon design
I love to make heart shaped bowls whenever I can, so it was a nice surprise when this sketch showed me Laura likes them too! However, with changes to the dragon underway, it became apparant that the lovely heart-shaped bowls were a bit too symmetric and looked a little bit 'still'. By raising one bowl just slightly higher than the other, we created a little bit of visual tension and gave the area a subtle feeling of movement. Stretching the bowls out a bit made them feel a bit more dynamic as well. I'm pretty excited about the little dragon and am very keen to see what Laura comes up with for the upper sections of the design!


dragon lovespoon design sketch

- Dave




Bookmark and Share

No comments:

Post a Comment