Painting and UX Design
In my Sophomore year of college, I signed up to take Drawing and Color to fulfill my arts requirement and because I remembered liking drawing back in High School. From there, I thought why not sign up for a painting class? I had the time and I forgot how much I enjoyed art. And the rest is history. From there on, I would take at least one art class each semester, mostly centered around painting. I had never painted before setting foot in my first painting class in college, so the experience was new and fun for me. I’ve always had a flair for colors and I began to really enjoy the practice of oil painting to capture light and movement in a unique way. I was learning different things in my painting classes than my math or history courses, but I was still developing a way to think and work through problems in a way beneficial to me and the finished product. Below, I worked to help illustrate the process I have developed around creating a painting and how it relates to the process of UX Design.
My general painting progression:
Stage 1: The Studies
Every great painting starts with some mediocre studies. Studies or quick rough paintings, are an essential first step in the painting process as they allow you to explore different compositions while familiarizing yourself with the subject matter. Often studies are done in monochromatic with a mixed neutral, however I have always had a flair for color so mine are usually purple with some accent colors to emphasize sight lines and interesting curves throughout the composition.
Stage 2: Sketching
After the studies comes the sketch on the canvas you plan to use for the final painting. Many people do this stage in pencil or charcoal, but I’ve found sketching in paint to be an easy way to make quick changes due to the nature of oil paint. It also serves as a good warm-up for using brushes and different brush strokes throughout. Generally I spend around 3 or 4 three-hour long class sessions to finish the sketch stage as it is important to have a generally complete idea of the composition before diving into the color stage.
Stage 3: Color Blocking
The most time consuming step by far. This is when the painting really becomes a painting as different sections begin to be built up and redefined in an almost endless cycle. Perhaps it is cheating a bit to call this one step when it is more like ten or twenty steps circled into one. This is where the painting really reflects the process in UX design. Every painting session treats the painting as something new and nothing is set in stone; if something needs to be moved, it is moved, if a color is wrong, it is changed. Peer review, self review, and teacher review become essential as the painting begins to take form. Is the current painting speaking cohesively? Has it accomplished our goal? Is it engaging? Is it accurate? These questions control this step in the process as the painting approaches completion.
And there you go! A painting as easy as 1-2-3… or, realistically, more like 1-2-3-2-3-2-3-1-3. Review is an essential part of the entire process of painting and every step includes constant improvements and changes based on other’s opinions. No one creates a painting alone.
Final Painting
