The First Years Graduate from the Old School

It's been a very busy last couple of weeks for our first year students as they completed the visual and technical 'assault course' that we call Old School...

Manual skills still underpin much of Graphic Design and Illustration and this was our opportunity to allow our students to find out how good (or bad) their making skills actually are.

Happily, we can report that the overall standard was very good. For a generation who hasn't done any technical drawing we were particularly impressed with their ability to handle constructed letters, draw straight lines, wield a compass accurately and understand the complexities of oblique, isometric and orthographic projection.

Above: work in progress (including colour wheels, grey scales, constructed 3D letter Es and the correct use of a 45 degree set square).

Above: even the Graphic Designers had to use paint...

Above: We supplied some classic imagery for the students to carefully copy


Above: Freehand brushwork for the Graphic Designers.

Above: Everyone was asked to make a perfect, white cube.
One of these is good the other is not so good – can you tell which is which?

Above: Graphic Design students had to make a constructed R and carefully ink it in.

Above: A Frank Newboult poster from the 1930's (right) and a student's copy (left).


IAbove: Illustration students had to carefully copy two drawings by Henry Lamb, a pen & ink drawing by Jim Russell, a watercolour by Peter Blake and an acrylic painting by Brad Holland.

Above: A Brad Holland illustration (right) and a student's copy (left).