Final One week book.- evaluation.

 The colours chosen where a good choice , the black definitely contrast well with the light purple. Overall as a group we were happy with the final outcome, but the printing process was difficult. It was hard to align the black print up to the purple, so a few of the prints were wonky which just made the print look messy. Also the ink wasn't coming through the screen very easily, especially the black, this is why part of my mountains are missing in my piece of the book. The Black could have been bolder as well was very dull.
We used china marker on the plastic sheet to draw the designs on , and this was a good material to use as all of the images came through when exposing, but it did leave the images slightly grainy, but if they had been smother it would have improved the aesthetic. Overall the book works really well as a whole,  every part of the book looks great and communicates the narrative effectively.  As a group I felt that we worked well and completed a good piece of work.      

One week book.

These are pages of independent sketchbook development, for the two page I was give in the book.
We created the character as a group and then independently we were to build our own character based on that group character.
In the developments I used gouache, china marker and cut out paper. the developments then helped me create the final pages.

One book week.

final brain storm story.

These are some quick planes we came up with as a group. It was hard to come up with a story that was simple whilst still having an interesting narritve. The first story idea , it included several characters includeing a witch and a troll, and a really good narrate but it would be hard to illustrate in the given time,  so we condenced it down to a very simple story but it was slightly boring. Then we added the witch back in and it came together nicely.  

Shape.

This was a paper cut I did of a beast wearing a bow-tie with a jumper. I really like this techniques, it is very effective and bold. But I am not sure weather this count as shape or line and mark making. However the white space could be small shapes? but paper cutting is a technique that I really want to continue.

   I then went onto Photoshop to add some colour, which looks good and make the cut outs look more like shapes, but I prefer the black and white one more because it is bolder and I think that the detail showed up.

One week book- research around Leeds.

The most interesting thing that I found out today was about crystals and the belief that they have special property. We spoke to the women who ran the shop that had loads of crystals in and she told me that it is about how you relate to the crystal, and the crystal has to be with you at all times so you feel the effect of the energy field that it creates. I wasn't sure weather I believed the crystal had magical prosperity so I bought this crystal , snow quarts (master healer) , and I am going to keep it with me for the rest of the week, to see weather I felt the effect, because I really like the idea of a naturally occurring object having magical prosperity.       

One week book- research around leeds.

We went to the Lego shop and made Lego models of ourselves, which was loads of fun!!!! felt like a kid playing with the Lego and it was odd how they all look really similar to us , it is weird.

We also made some public art at the arches below a train line, using a ripped page from a sketch book , and we left it up there. it would have been interesting if in a week we went back to see what has happened to it. see if it is still up there.

We also tried on stupid hats at the market for a laugh.

Self Evaluation , 500 words

   Which practical skills and methodologies have you developed within this module and how effectively do you think you are employing them within your own practice?
I have been able to develop my print skills. Using lino printing I have been incorporating repetition within my work to create pattern, movement, rhythm and narrative. I have also found a new medium, gouache, which I have used widely across the three projects and have played and experimented within sketchbook, and development work. The method of using shape to make images and communicate ideas is something new that I have learned during this module and it has helped to develop my own practise, I am now not as interested in making images that are very detailed but simple and effective. 

 Which principles/ theories of image making have you found most valuable during this module and how effectively do you think you are employing these within your own practice?

 Learning how shape can communicate. Shape is something that we all relate to very early on as children, we have a great understanding about and it is something we use to communicate with e.g. fire exit signs. Using shape to communicate is clear and direct, even if it is a poor translation of the object it is supposed to represent, yet we understand it. I have used shape in this module to communicate, for example in Don’t judge a book by its cover, on the front cover I printed a big hat shape, this give an immediate message as to what the book is about and gives clear communication to the viewer.       

3.    What strengths can you identify within your submission and how have you capitalised on these?

I have used print a lot in this module. It is a very effective and useful way producing images and when finished it looks final and professional. A lot of careful crafting, planning and developing of an image is involved however once the image is completed it has a strong aesthetic, bold colour and shape++ Print can also be mixed with different medium for example paints, pencils and cut paper, and by mixing up mediums I was able to get different textures and refine certain details. However print is time consuming and I think that it took away time that I could have used for development, so finding a way in which to speed up this process is an aim for me.   

What areas for further development can you identify within your submission and how will you address these in the future?

The types on the poster and on the book cover I think really needs more development. They can be hard to read, especially the posters type. In the future I really need to take the time to focus on type more by learning the best type to use and how to position it on the page, because it has let me down I think when it comes to the final pieces. Also I really want to use digital medium to create images because printing and repeating shapes in the correct place is hard by hand, but with digital it would be easier and quicker to do this and will allow me to be more accurate and undo mistakes. Experiment more with different mediums as well, I don’t think that I did enough of this and it may have improved my final images and given me more ways of approaching the images.           

In what way has this module introduced you to the Ba (Hons) Illustration programme?

 It has taught me that illustration is about communicating just as much as image making. A good piece of illustration should include both of these things. The briefs set tried to get us to include communication in our work and think about how we are going to effectively visually communicate a message e.g. Day in the life, is a good example of this. It was a challenge to try to visually communicate the main points of the given article but, I learned a lot in that brief about how symbols and simple imagery can communicate effectively and that it doesn't need to be a massively complex image to make people want to read that article, bold shapes and colours I think can do the same thing. 

6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance				x
Punctuality					x
Motivation					x
Commitment					x
Quantity of work produced				x
Quality of work produced				x
Contribution to the group			x

        

Artist:Olle Eksell - graphic designer.

Olle Eksell swedish graphic designer, published by Pie books.

• Really nice composition , spaced out well not over crowed and an easy to read image.
• Brave choice in bold bolck colours, really effective and the colours compliment and go together well , not too over powering.
• Well chosen type , very simple, well spaced and easy to read.
• A child like aproach/effect, things are drawn simply but it is very clear what they are. Really nice used of shape.
• Line drawn people add a good amount of small detail, not enough to control the image but just enough to create a good narrtive. 
• Well crafted , everything is postioned with presition and care. It has all be though through.
• Same colours are used just 5 but they a distibuted well throughout the image, good aesthetic.  

Artist: Laura Carlin- Day in the life breif. moved from ppp blog -orignal post made on 28/10/15

Both images below from: The Iron man written by Ted Hughes, illustrated by Laura Carlin.

• . The first thing that struck me when looking the book was how simple and well the illustrations communicating. The people, animals and other objects are broken down to be very minimal. No faces and not much expression. but because they are so simple I don't think that they need this. I looked at the drawing of a horse for example , I knew what it was immediately because of the shape.  
• The composition of these small illustrations helps to create the dramatic scene that tells a story. And because the drawing are so small she is able to add lots of detail and information into a small space.

• Bright colours as well. It looks slightly better then the monotone image above, and again she is able to add lots of little details and make the image work as a whole rather then lots of little separate images.

Artist: Oliver Jeffers. A-Z breif moved from ppp blog- original post made 27/10/15.

Picture below from : Once upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers.

•   I had a look at his work for the a-z brief because he has a whole a-z book with stories for every letter .
• The simplicity of the characters and shapes is brilliant.  
• His really simple approach to drawing is effective and communicates well to the reader. 
• It also allow for him to have a very nice hand made effect to his work which makes the image interesting and adds texture. 
• I think that his simple approach is very effective. He is able to think very simply about shapes and colours of the characters he creates.

Image below made by oliver jeffers.

• These little guys are a perfect example of this. The many shape is oval and the legs and arm are just drawing in afterwards. 
• The way he trys to translate faces as well is brilliantly original and funny.
•  Expressions are simple and clear. The main material he tends to use is gouache. 
• His work introduced me to gouache and I want to continue to experiment with it because it is good for block colours and filling in simple shapes.

Don't judge a book by it's cover - final outcome. studio brief 3

 

Things I am happy with;

•  I think that the meaning of the book is clear, having the hats included on ever page of the book cover makes it obvious. 
• The pages are consistent with one another , similar colours and shapes. This bring the different sections that make up the book cover together nicely , making it one complete image.
• The big hat on the front with the little person next to it gives a good narrative to the title, however I think that the composition of the text could have been better placed. 
•  Repartition of the hats has a nice rhythm and the individuality of each tiny person is feature that I really like about the cover. 

Thing I want to improve:

• Maybe I could have printed less hats, there is a lot, is it too much? 
• The text is something which I think could have done with more development, the spacing between each letter could have been improved to make it easily readable, seems tightly spaces.
• Using lower case letters may have made the font softer and would suite the style more, or types font would of had structure and good spacing. 
• Colours could have been bolder, they look slightly saturated. 

If I was to do it again: 

• I would spend more time on developing the type I think that it lets the cover down slightly.
•  The composition of the front page could have been neater.
•  In future projects I need to experiment with digital medium more, unfortunately there was a problem with printing so I had to change my ideas to fit this problem, but happy with the outcome.

Development for book cover design.studio brief 3

Tiny people, with different hats, further developments. Really like these sketches.they are simple but yet have lots of character that is shown through the ears and the body. I think that these will look really nice in the cover , so I need to redesign parts of the book to fit these in. They could also allow for me to add some colour into them, subtle? Will need to experiment with that. But they need to be in the cover ! Medium used black coloured pencil.

 

Artist- line, tone ,mark and pattern.- Raymond Lemstra.

 This picture by Raymond Lemstra is a perfect example of line, tone , mark and pattern.  It is an incredibly detailed and complex image that looks to be made up out of individual drawn line marks repeated over and over to form the shape and the fur of the creature. The pattern on the eyes is in what seems a very aboriginal style made up of geometric lines. It has lots of tone in the image and this allows for the image to be well balanced. The tones also shows the figure as well the arm and legs e.c.t. The darkest and lightest points within the image is the expression of the character , I think that the artist did this so we see the main point of focus of the image , the expression.   

Artist- Line- Ping Zhu.

I have chosen to analyse this image of Ping Zue's because I think that it is a really good example of line.  She has made this image using gouache and a dry brush. I really like this piece because of it bold gestural strokes she create to make the forms of the cats. Within the strokes there are the smaller detailed lines that are cause by the brush making contact with the paper. The tones of light and dark are also shown within these lines, which is very interesting and gives the cat depth and form. The quality of line in this image is amazing and really well controlled whilst still letting the tool rule some of the effects. I really think that this is a great techniques and it would be really interesting to try it out see what results I get.

Feed back for "Hatless Jack" book cover roughs. studio brief 3

• Key points:
• Bring together the best parts out of each rough.
• Doing a digital cover will be really hard as, I will not be able to print it out in the mac suite as the cover is bigger then a3 , so digital doesn't look like an option however I could still photocopy and collage an cover?
• The back page hat with the hats inside it is too compacted , everything need to be kept simple. 
• I think that the group preferd the small people drawn in pencil and gouache to the cut outs, they have more character and the cut out seemed a bit lifeless compared to them? could try and develop both ideas more , see which is best? 
• Develop ideas more , but keep it simple all the time. Design had drawn type carefully, consider composition and the design of the page is vital!

Book cover roughs. studio brief 3

Three best out of the 5.

• Type in this one is good but needs more development,  but not keen on the small people , should have done them in coloured pencil  crayon.
•  Like the back page, but front page could have more on it and can be composed better.

•  Big hat with cut out paper person, flat head emphasises missing hat. 
• Has a slight narrative.
•  Composition is okay but the type is squished, really need to develop type more! Give it space. 
• Back page is okay , less hats cold be and option? bit to crowed.

• Really like the side flaps , lots of small hats in a pattern would work really well and adds detail to they simple design on the front of this one.
•  Small person big hat, good contrast in size but the small people.
• Clear that it is a hat and the back page links nicely to the front , leaving it plain black looks better.

Development for "Hatless Jack" book cover. studio brief 3

 Paper cut outs , photography experiment. I used a light and a plain sheet of white paper as a background and stuck the cut outs down with masking tape. Looks really effective, nice drop down shadow behined both, and have a good 3D appearance. This could seriously be an option for the final cover and with the photographs I can play around with the layer and applications on photoshop to get a good composition and add element of hand drawn stuff as well. Only issue is printing, how?

"Hatless Jack" - book cover sketchbook , development work. studio brief 3

• Quick gouache hats to get some ideas and develop and idea for an unusual hat. Really useful , will  have to develop ideas like this more. Could have tried to use more mediums e.g. paper, crayons, ink, but gouache is really good for creating small and big drawings and help to simplify the shapes. 

• Tiny people with big hats, took a while to develop but they could easily be repeated in a line and the bigger hats would add a humours element to it. But I prefer the ones in crayon to the one in gouache ,I think that they have more character, they look a bit more individual. 

Big hat , Tiny person. Really like this idea , I think it could go somewhere and be developed more. Big bold black hat takes the viewer straight to the point, and contrasts well with the tiny person. Drew a hat on him by mistake , he is not so-posed to have a hat . Tiny people need more development. 

Paper cut outs , head and hat. Tiny hats look really good around the edge, emphasise what the book is about. I think that the cut outs are bold and stand out more then the gouache people. Could use with more development though. Could go digital? 

Line,Tone, Mark and Pattern.

These are the most successful sketches out of them all because they fit the brief best. However both look out of proprtion and this is something which I try to tackle on later sketches, but I like the use of coloured pencil to create line which make up the tone. Brush pen was also used in the outlines.

These are slightly more in proportion and tonal but I ran out of room on the page for the foot at the bottom which is really nice but if I had drawn a quick outline in pencil first would this have happened?

Tried to incorpirate it into a made up mythical beast, looks okay but they appear like two separate images , however the foot looks to be in proportion apart from the small toe which is massive!  I think I could have tackled this brief better and challenged my self more technically with the drawings skills, could have put more time into it.

Final images for editorial brief: studio brief 2.

•  I really like this one because the contrast between nature and pollution is clear .
•  communication came across well for all of the final images when speaking to others.
•  The patterns of the trees and birds add movement and the static, stacked buildings, again bring an opposite scenario.
•  The small addition of colour also balances out the image well and emphasises the contrast.
•  Hand printed , this was a time consuming process . I was looking other peoples work and the vast majority of it was digitally put together. This would have saved me time, if I was to do this again I would use Photoshop to put the different elements together.

•  Well composed and communicated clearly. 
• The mood of the image came across well to , clam ,peaceful, the character is at one or apart of nature. 
• Good colours and the repartition helps the image to appear as a whole. 
• The book in his hand could have used with more development, it is clear what it is but it doesn't really fit with the image.  

•  The repetition in this was another strength that others said that they liked.
•  The positioning it exact and it makes it interesting set of images. 
•   I could try coloured paper but I think that white allow the texture of the print to show and add more elements to the image. 
• Overall happy with the choice of media, with how they communicated , but I could have developed them further if I had more time.

        

Development for editorial Brief- Studio Brief 2

 Quick try-outs( 20 x 20 image), worked well especially the one on the left. The shape is clear and the pattern of the trees and the birds around it give a really nice effect, movement.  Adding colour to the trees was hard. I tried printing them in green but this wasn't bold enough they need to be black. So I added gouache onto parts of the trees , this will allow me to add colour easily to certain parts of the trees easily, therefore they will still be bold but have slight colour. The cloud like tree at the bottom right hand corner of the page is a good example of this. Could I use this instead?

Development for editorial brief- studio brief 2

Trying and deciding weather I should add a background circle before overlaying it with detail. No I really don't think that this will work because it is very restricting in that colours that I can use over the top, I  tried lighter colours but it was still to think of a light green or a yellow would work over this. The shapes wouldn't be that bold unless they were in black but that would be boring. So the best route around this is to try and form the shape of the circle out of the trees and building that will be going on top of this.

     

Development for editorial- studio brief 2

This is some further development on the simpler animal shapes, and some other, cars, boats and
chimneys.

 Doing that sheet of small paintings and drawings allows me to go on and develop the birds more, to make them look more like birds because they weren't very clear in my roughs. I tried out several different colours but my favourite is the black and blue winged birds. They are very simple and will hopefully add movement to the final images as well as a small addition of colour.

Final animal development sheet. I wanted to come up with one symbol that represents animal in my images, keeping it simple. having the animals prints with flat backs and printing the same one over and over again, will allow some continuity between them and an order.