'Nonsense'

Today was the deadline for a brief set to us by Lord Whitney.
We were asked to explore the limericks of Edward Lear, and create an image in response to the rhyme we chose.

Try to work as quickly on this brief and not get too hung up on the researching and the illustrations already produced. In the world outside university briefs often have to be completed in a very short space of time.

We hope this brief will give you a chance to try something different, it's all about ideas and being as playful as you like. There is no set size or media as we want each outcome to be as creative and free as possible. 

I chose the following rhyme:
There was an Old Man who supposed,

That the street door was partially closed;

But some very large rats,

Ate his coats and his hats,

While that futile old gentleman dozed.

We were encouraged to work as quickly as possible, and when I spoke to Rebekah and Amy they advised me to keep the image simple and representative, which meant that my initial ideas changed (e.g. instead of drawing a full old man dozing in the corner, I might include just his legs and feet in view, a 'Tom & Jerry viewpoint').

Due to various inconvenient time restraints I've only managed to pull my image together at the last minute-so my picture now only includes the rat and pieces of fabric I've used to represent the old man's clothes and carpet. I would love to have more time to make the background more elaborate-I think being able to see some sort of Victorian decoration would have enhanced the setting a lot more. Luckily, I will have the chance to work for longer on this before it is used for another purpose.

Although the final image was a bit of a disappointment for me, I am very pleased with how my rat turned out. Every time I make a new animal I seem to be able to produce it faster, but getting it just how I like it does take considerable time and concentration.