By Olivia B.
Behind the Instructions
Plain style is a necessary choice for
an author when their piece requires clear, concise information. The article, How to Draw a Rose, is one of those pieces that needs to be
carefully constructed using plain style. Written by Monika Zagrobelna, a polish
artist, the article is a step-by-step guide to drawing a rose. It was published
on the Evatotuts+ website, design.tutsplus.com, where anyone can go to take
free or paid courses in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign, as well as
check out tutorials for different types and styles of art. It is not exclusive,
as many of their resources do not require a fee and pop up on google after
searching for simple art tutorials. This article, for example, was the first
link that came up when I googled “how to draw a rose.”
Due
to the accessibility of the article, the main audience is probably filled with
members of the general public who are just looking for basic instructions to
draw a picture. It is likely that these people don’t have much background in
art and are in search of something simple either to doodle or to include in a
larger project. Because “general public” is such a broad category, there are
varying ages, knowledge levels, and abilities that will be accessing this
article. Some of those people might have an extensive background in art, while
others have none.
Stylist Choices
It is clear that this
article is written in plain style for a handful of reasons. First of all, the
piece teaches readers how to draw a rose through active voice. Sentences start
with actions words like “draw,” “start,” and “connect.” They address the reader
and give clear directions for what to do next. It also uses clear and basic
terminology. There isn’t any jargon that the general public wouldn’t know or be
able to figure out easily, and they explain the words that can't be avoided,
such as "shading." The piece doesn’t appear to be lying by omission
or hiding biases, as it is just a basic set of instructions, however it might
be a way to get users hooked on their site and make them more money.
Simpler Isn’t Always Better
Though there are many
reasons why this plain style is the appropriate choice for this piece, some
aspects of plain style might negatively impact its success. To start, it might
seem oversimplified to a person who has a vast background or education in art.
Because some people do put a lot of time, effort, and money into acquiring
artistic skills, it might seem insulting that this website is claiming to teach
an individual how to do art in this "dumbed down" way. The art
industry is one that can sometimes struggle to get respect, and sites like this
might be contributing to that issue.
Another issue that plain
style creates in this situation is a lack of information. The article claims
that by following the instructions, the reader should have drawn a beautiful
rose. This might be true in some cases, but for a reader without any art
experience, the brief instructions don’t really explain everything. For
example, the later steps talk about shading to add dimension, but don’t explain
how exactly to do that. Step 14 says to “add a subtle texture to the
illuminated parts. The darker your rose, the darker you can go here.” This is
written very plainly, giving directions in active voice, however, there isn’t
much explanation of how to do this. If the reader understands texture and
shading, the instructions are very straightforward. However, if the reader
doesn’t know what adding “subtle texture” means, the lack of explanation won’t
make any sense.
Conclusion
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