Sketchbook Sundays With Ranganath Krishnamani

Sketchbooks are visual diaries which capture the thoughts, ideas and inspiration that drive creative minds. For our 9th and final Sketchbook Sunday for 2016, we had the epicRanganath Krishnamani of Discover India, Carts, Sadhus and Hampi Artist Series; share how to use Typography to enhance an artwork.

*Check out our previous Sketchbook Sundays events on the KBlog. During every event we showcase artist works, explore the creative process and offer a short Q&A, followed by a group sketching session or workshop.

Ranganath Krishnamani, a Kyoorius Blue Elephant Winner, ex Adobe designer, made his Kulture Shop debut with a stunning series of images that breathe life into a fairly outdated view of Hampi. With his photo-real design work, and his incredible colour sensibility, Ranganath is on a mission to reclaim our heritage – be it through series on long-forgotten cultural landmark, or a meditation on the various objects seen as signifiers of our culture – such as ornately carved wooden doors or even moustaches!

Famous for his Discover India series, a unique feature of his artwork is the incorporation of brush stroke, hand painted Typography. At Kulture Shop's 9th and final Sketchbook Sunday for 2016, Ranganath shared tips and insights into using Typography to enhance a piece of art. An avid travel sketcher, this Sketchbook Sunday was an exciting one for any aspiring illustrator or established artist. This was a chance to get pro tips on textural type from this talented artist. We kicked off the event with a meet and greet session for the attendees and an introduction to Ranganath.

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Evolution of an analogue sketch

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Digitising the sketch to the final poster

Ranganath gave elaborate examples of how to use analog to fine tune an idea and experiment with texture, which one can then carry over into the digital artwork. He highlighted how he used many of his live sketches from his travels to develop a style for his Typography as well.

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Some of our favourite quotes by Ranganath during the session are:

On developing an idea – "think of yourself as an Art Director, choose your swatches, create mood boards..."
On analogue – "Look for real-life references, develop as much in analogue, like layers, to add more unique texture..."
On developing one's personal style – "I used to be really bad at Typography, practice, keep practicing!"

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After an informative Q&A and some heart to hearts, the participants were invited to use the Typography examples shared by Ranganath, old magazine pictures and try their hand at creating some images with hand-drawn type.

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In Rangnath's own words, "the enthusiasm and the energy of the audience was addictive and was evident in some of the works the students produced at the end of the session. I surely take back a lot of inspiration from this interaction."

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