Distribution Testing and Testing vs Learning. August 2023.
Pen: Lamy Joy (stub nib), Platinum #3776 Century (UEF nib), brush.
Ink: Pilot Black, Diamine Ancient Copper, Diamine Monboddo’s Hat, Iroshizuku Shin-Kai.
Paper: Bristol, 1m x 0.7m.
I made this poster for WoLA 2023 at MIT. It is based on my joint work with Renato Ferreira Pinto Jr. You might be able to see a tiny island called “Confused Collector” in the Lower Vee Sea; our paper on the confused collector will appear at ITCS 2024.
Download: High resolution version. Highest resolution version.
Step 1: Ideas and Sketching.
Ideas for posters usually happen immediately upon waking. If you have no ideas, go to sleep.
Step 2: Blocking.
Sketch out each element on a smaller sheet of paper. This lets you move things around and get a good layout.
Step 3: Penciling.
One good way to help lay out the text, to get the spacing right, is to write the text on another sheet of paper and then put it just below where you are writing.
Step 4: Inking.
I used a brush for large text and a fountain pen with a stub nib for the small text. For the drawings I used a smaller stub nib, two more fountain pens with fine and medium nibs, and a Platinum #3776 Century fountain pen with an ultra-extra-fine nib.
Step 5: Star Trek.
You have about 20 hours of drawing tiny trees to go, so queue up Star Trek: Enterprise or another Star Trek series of your choice.
Also, put your inks and coffee on a stool separate from the drawing surface so that you don’t accidentally knock them onto the poster.
