Artist Book - Uranometria
2019 – Colored Pencils and Gel Pens
In this assignment, I had to create an Artist Book with my original art. It needed to have a theme and consist of a minimum of six pieces of art. The theme I chose was the Western zodiac signs because I have an interest in astrology, and the zodiac signs easily lend themselves to design patterns.
I separated the zodiac signs by their corresponding elements, Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. Based on these elements, I assigned the signs matching colors. I also took inspiration from Uranometria, a star atlas produced by Johann Bayer. I drew each zodiac sign within a circle, much like the copper plates Bayer used to chart the constellations.
I made the zodiac signs out of simple, geometric shapes because I love minimalistic design styles like art deco.
While I initially planned to cut the circles out of the art board, I found that I preferred the rough edges and shapes. I also liked the “artist palette” I created while I was testing out different colors to go on each design. I love this rough, raw look, and I feel it strikes a balance between my desires for minimalism and distinct colors.
