hello, i've just found your blog and your art is incredible. i plan on buying a couple of prints in the coming weeks! they'd look amazing along with the posters and vinyl i have on display.
i had a question regarding your process for the dictionary sketches - are those traditionally done? like, are you drawing and painting and sketching in the actual pages of a dictionary?
it's such an awesome idea and i love it, i even have an old dictionary lying around that could receive such a treatment, but i feel like the paper would be so thin it'd be a nightmare to work with. do you have any advice for the process?
thank you for your time, and thank you for sharing your work. it really is so stinking cool.
In short, I make dictonary sketches in 3 styles:
Traditionally, where I sketch directly on the dictionary pages and then use ink, colored pencils, and/or watercolor to finish the piece.
Mixed media, where I draw some of the piece (such as the lineart) traditionally and then layer it on top of the dictionary page digitally before finishing it in Procreate.
Fully digitally, where I take a picture of the dictionary page, import it into Procreate, then fully draw the piece there.
Regardless of the method, all use real pages taken from dictionaries and other reference books I get cheap from thrift stores. When it comes to using these pages in digital art, there are a few different steps that need to be taken regarding gradient maps and blend modes to get things going, but that's the subject of another post. Let's focus on the traditional stuff for the moment.
You're right, dictionary pages tend to be very thin and fragile. If you aren't careful, you can have issues with tearing and bleeding. I originally called these pieces dictionary "sketches" because I used the dictionaries like sketchbooks, doing all the art directly inside them and keeping them there, as one would with a sketchbook. I'd leave a few pages between each piece to cushion them and account for bleedthrough, but that doesn't really fix the fragility issues, and it obviously isn't conducive to framing or showing off your art. I soon realized it would be better to remove the page entirely and use a thin adhesive to press it onto a more suitable sheet of paper or canvas before starting. I faced the issue of removing the pages from the dictionaries without ripping or tearing them, and I've found a method that works very well for me regardless of whether I'm dealing with a bulky hardcover or a paperback dictionary. So, here is my foolproof method for (lovingly) repurposing old dictionaries, with pictures. I'm no bookbinder, so apologies if my strategy seems rudimentary.
Step 1: Get out that bad boy and thank him for his literary service.
Step 2: Remove the cover. If it's a nice quality hardcover, you might need to use a knife or scissors to help you out *insert speech about knife safety, go slow, don't cut toward yourself, etc*
Step 3: Remove the endband, if present. This is the threaded part that is often thickly glued along the spine. It needs to go to make the pages easier to separate later. At this step, there are ways to remove/cut off the spine entirely, but I'm not looking to make a million loose pages. Usually I can remove this band just by pulling it with my fingers, but if the adhesive is too strong, carefully heating it up with a blow drier can loosen it enough to be removed.
Step 4: Open the book to the halfway point. You'll notice that with the spine largely removed, it can be opened very flat. Use your knife to cut through the spine, careful not to damage the actual pages.
Step 5: Where once you had one block of pages, now you have two! Repeat the process with each half and subdivide the book as much as you'd like. Smaller chunks make it easier to remove pages later. I usually cut these books into 4 pieces or 8 just to keep them easier to organize.
Step 6: Find a page you want to use for art. Use a knife to cut where the page meets the spine. Do this carefully on both sides of the page, aiming to cut the glue, not the paper itself. If done right, the page should start to come loose on its own.
Step 7: After cutting the adhesive on either side of the page, use both hands pressed on either side of the page to lift it out of the binding, starting from the top and carefully moving to the bottom. This part can take practice, but if you've done the previous steps correctly, it gets easier and easier.
Step 8: You now have a loose, undamaged page! Use a thin adhesive to attach it to a paper/canvas of choice. Then get to making your art! Maybe it goes without saying, but I often sketch rough drafts of my designs on other paper before committing myself to the dictionary page, and I use a pencil to very lightly sketch on the dictionary page before going in with any other materials.
All of that being said, most of the pieces I've ever posted here have been painted digitally, at least in part, and in that case, I usually just take a picture of the dictionary page within the book itself to use. I only disassemble books entirely to use for traditional art pieces. If you want more insight on the digital art process, which does require a little finagling, let me know, and I'll throw together a post.
