End of module self evaluation.

1.  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?

Within this module I have developed my Photoshop and Indesign skills massively and grown in confidence when using them. I think that I have used both programs well as I was able to successful set up the indesign document to print at the right scale and size; I also mainly used Photoshop to put my images together and am happy with the aesthetic it has helped me to create. Another was Learning how to correct discolorations in the images but using the paint brush to carefully go around the pages and getting rid of it, makes the colours even. I made my first Concertina book, However folded the mock up wrong so I solved the problem by reprinting and measuring each width of the pages carefully so it folded and closed evenly.   

2. Which approaches to research have you found most valuable during this module. How have you interrogated your research to identify appropriate ideas?

Talking and listening to people I found was the most valuable approach. From talking to Frank Tolley for example I was able to go away develop story ideas around the information and stories he gave me about his life and his first bombing raid and then going away and doing secondary research you find out more. Also when thoughts ideas didn’t work, I then found some more secondary research from his history in the RAF which gave me my final story about the staving Dutch village. So from just talking to one individual you can uncover and unpick all of this information which can help to form ideas.   

3. What strengths can you identify within your submission and how have you capitalised on these? What aspects of your submission are you satisfied with?

I think that the craft skills I used within my Paper cutting of the villages’ faces and the crows in particular is strong, and it was a process that I really enjoyed doing because it allowed me to add fine details and I used it as the main technique in my final picture book. However it is a time consuming process.  I am happy with some of the compositions of some of the pages, page six again in particular. I really like how the faces look in pain and how they are reaching up trying to get out, also with a small starving person crawling along the top being swapped by crows. I think it is the panicle of the book and is a powerful image.

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

When looking back through the final book, I not so sure that it communicates well because there are so many things going on a once and it has been a really hard situation to try and illustrate. From showing other people who don’t know what the story is about, they get the gist but they don’t seem to full grasp the idea. And I think that I could have made some of the imagery much more obvious as to what it was trying to show and say. Spending more time of the story and less on the artwork could have helped. I also think that the design (the type) of the front cover is very week and it is something that I need to take the time to study more in the future because I think it lets the book down. I really wish I could have developed it more, but due to the time constrains getting the book printed I had to make up a really quick front and back cover.   

5. How effectively are you making decisions about the development of your work? 

Throughout the project I have taken the time to develop and investigate the research and the artwork of my book. Although at times I feel I have been rushing to decision due to the different time constraints. One example after a while of experimenting, if an idea isn’t working I changed it for example the story, however it did take me a bit of time to think of ways to tell it and this delayed me and I feel that if I had spent more time on the initial story then I would have made more sense, and I was so worried about time that I feel that I rush to a decision too quickly.    

What strategies informs this decision making? 

By experimenting a lot with different textures and ways to make the characters and the artwork for the book I think helped me to find the best decision. But the process of developing the artwork in sperate piece and putting then together using Photoshop was a good idea. I was able to change and play around with the composition and make effective decision more easily and quickly. Coming up with different storyboard ideas as well. It was an effective way to get my ideas down on paper and from this I was able to pick the best bits from each on and form a final idea. But I feel I could have done more and it would have really improved the communication of the books theme/idea.

6. How effectively have you managed this project and organised yourself during this module? 

At the very beginning of the project I organised the research trip straight away and by going straight on the trip the Wednesday instead of the Friday, I think that I gained extra vital research time. But after that I struggled over Christmas to organise my working time and got lost in a really hard idea. However when I came back I started time tabling and this really helped me see how much time I have left and where I need to be and when. It also helped me set mini deadlines for myself and if I didn’t meet these deadlines then I would stay behind after studio hours and work till late to make sure the task get done and I can move on the next day. 

7.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

Final book evaluation.

Things I am happy with:

• The layout of the book as a Constina was definitely the best decision, I really like how the story/scene flows over the pages and starts and ends really obviously
• They style I have created the pages I really , it reminds me of an animation horror. Paper cutting is a really effective technique for getting different shapes and movement into objects and faces.
• The grey scale colours, I think it resembles that this happened in the past and emphasises the dark , scary and sinister side to the story. It also allows the details and textures of the smaller objects and the faces to be seen clearly.
• How the flow of the path and the birds move together, it really helps the viewer to follow the story along.
• I am really happy with page 6 because I think it is a powerful image and I think  communicates the desperation of the people well. I also like page 8 , the bird pecking the starving persons eye out get across the sinister scary aspect well too.  

Things I want to improve:

• If I had more time I would have gone back and done more storyboards, because from showing people the book they get the general idea but it hasn't told what I really wanted it to tell and that is a shame. But I think that more storyboarding and it would have helped me tell a clearer story.
• The composition of some of the images , particularly toward the end seem rushed and , I think if I hadn't of been worrying about time as much would have panicked less and taken more time.
• The design of the front cover is poor , really not happy with how this turned out.The font could have been much better and I could have been more experiential with the image on it.
• Some of the pages become quite repetitive as well and this is because I only had a limited time to make a certain amount of faces. If I had more I would have made extra with different expressions to make the pages more interesting.  
• some of the images also seem slightly flat, I had hoped to create some kind of distance by placing smaller objects behind bigger ones and changing the opacity. this has worked a bit but not enough I think. 

If I was to do this again:

• I would take more time over storyboarding, and make sure that the story is clear before trying to rush ahead to get art work done.
• Time management. I should have written up a timetable sooner , this way I may have worried lees and thought more logically about how to manage the work load.
• I would add more detail as well because I think the small houses with small paths behind the main features of the book wouldn't have gone a miss. would have add more levels to the book.     

Artwork Development.

Final Indesing document yay! everything looks really good and I am happy with how the path is flowing.

• When printing I didn't stick to the layout on the document instead I decide to print this out in one long roll which saved time barbecue I could just fold it instead of having to stick each piece together.  
• I then printed the front and back pages out separately and I will stick them on the page of the first and last page. 

• I had real problems however when folding the Constina as the first print out I did , I didn't measure the leanght of each page properly and the paper was also too thick, so as I was folding it , it increased the fold every time. This through all the pages out of line and didn't work so had to re print and luckily it work the second time round.I need to remember to use thinner paper next time I make a book!   

text experiments for the front cover.

This type below os really awful, I chose it because to looks hand written but it is really block and hard to read , and really doesn't suite the theme of the book at all.

 This slightly italic font  looks okay but the leather could use with being more evenly spaced apart , less clumped together.  And I'm not sure weather the white font looks okay with the black it looks out of place?









This font suite the theme of the book well, looks like a classified document. However I am still insure about the white digitial font, it would look better it was hand written and matched the artworks signature.  

Really like this font but it would be nice if i was to translate this into a hand drawn or hand crafted type , just so it fits in well with the rest of the artwork , and I could bring the brightness of the white down by adding textures within the font?

Artwork Development.

I found a really big problem with my images. because I have been laying on so may different image it has created a grey speckle outline on loads of the pages. I did a test print and the image came out really grainy.

To solve the problem I used the black paint brush to go around all the grey marks because even the smallest marks show through, which is incredibly annoying and has taken me ages to get rid of them all. In future if I keep my eyes open for this and clear up as I go along , I will probably save time and not have to go through this agian!

Artwork Development.

• I learned how to change the position of birds and the plains on Photoshop, the short cut is cmd-crtl-t will create this box and will allow me to change the angle and or size of them. This is a really helpful technique as it now allows me to make the birds and plains flow nicely around the main focus of the pages and vary size give the impression of distance.  

Artwork Development.

To create the eye on photoshop I used the initial eye cut out I designed a while ago, placed it over where I wanted it to be and used the subtract option on layers to make the eye invert itself and turn into similar colours and textures to that of the face. I think that this eye fit better then the original , if works well with the face as a whole and it is slightly creepy which meet the mood I am trying to set.

I set body part into the image using the same technique but with lighten instead of subtract. I also changed the opacity of the faces to try and create some distance and overlaps.

After this I built up the image using loads of different layers and placed the birds one by one around the main focal point of the image so the would flow nicley over it and onto the next page.

Artwork Development.

When I was putting the different pages I realised the part path in this page was not alined with the rest of the other pages. So I measured the diameter where the path was meant to be and then created this guideline.










To move the path I selected the polygon lasso tool drew around it , select, and moved the path up.

Then brought everything into line with that. But the underneath looks plain so I think I am going to add some hands underneath before printing? Just so there is some pattern and flow to it, not a black space.

Artwork Development.

In making the backgrounds for my images I decided to used plain black paper , because having the whole background textured is too complex. And by having such a simple, plain background it can show the detailed and complex images better.
 However I have made the path out of texted paper because I want to to stand out as it is the central part that will lead the viewers eye across the book.

I stuck the paths on to each page manually to make sure they all would aline in the way I ned them to.

By adjusting the levels on Photoshop, I was able to make the background completely dark and the paths textures and white marks stand out more.

From this I built up the image.

Artwork development.

The buildings and other image addition are built up in exactly the same way as the faces and bodies. Using textures made by rolled out printing ink on paper. These again have great texture and tone however I am slightly concerned that the when put on Photoshop may be slightly grainy. I this is the case I can try and reduce the noise or adjust the levels a bit ,but due to the time constraints and paper cutting being a time consuming process I may just have to leave them as they are but I will see?  I really like the roof top however (top of first image), the pattern in the roof tiles works well, including more pattern in the final pages would look good I think?

Artwork Development.

The body cut outs are slightly more simpler because I want emphasis on the face because they hold most of the expression, but the bodies will also do some of this. the outstretched hand for example I think will work well in the page when they are stretching out to catch the food. Not too sure how the black parts of certain body will work against a dark background, however it isn't all dark so it may show through.

By cutting out all the individual components separately it will allow me to mix different bodies and hand with different heads, so I can play and experiment with creating the characters more on photoshop.

Textured background experiments.

This background is dry brushed gouache.  It is very hard to see the face against this background and it is very confusing, a darker more simple background would be more effective.

 Where the black background is you can clearly see the face in this one but where the white is it still really hard to see the face. However I think I like the texture and I could decrees the opacity on Photoshop to make it fainter?  








This background works really well and has good texture but if I am worried that on Photoshop the images will be grainy , but I will have to see.










This black background is bold, it shows all the detail well and the white texture on the face doesn't look too flat which it great.

Artist- Grayson Perry.

-Piece by Grayson Perry.

This tapestry designed by Grayson Perry is an extraordinary piece of work. This tapestry is particularly filled with small detail that are built up then overlaid by bigger illustrations or characters. He has the ability to make the viewer really want to look and try and uncover what the message behind the piece is form themselves. The message is portrayed through these details and and for the viewer you are taken throughout this journey and you pick up different bits of information along the way. I really like the concept. There is alway on thing that is running through the tapestry and it is the river, but it flows around and into the featres and becomes part of the image , which is important as it is a key part that make the image flow. The colours as well are really impressive and daring, but work really well together and make the piece more interning. I am going to use this image as a basis for figuring out how to put together my concertina images.  

Artwork Development.

• I have rolled the birds in white ink and worked into the slightly with white pencil crayon to give them more tone so they will not look flat against the black background. they look much better.
• I made this small head for a child character but I don't know weather I will use it I doesn't seem as string as the other cut outs but I could still add some variety into the other face shapes?
• This dog/ wolf , I'm not so keen on, the sketch of the dog I did in  my rough was much better I think. However trying to translate this into a papercut was hard and I tried to retain the body shape and rib cage but it seems to be lost in the fur which is a shame. It still may fit in the book though, I will have to try?  

Artwork Devlopement.

After experimenting with background I have decided to cover all the paper cut with white printing ink. The ink doesn't cover all of the paper instead it leaves this really nice texture which give the face tone and a verity of shades. It also gives the impression of a damage wrinkled skin and this is really effective and will hopefully help in portraying the peoples desperation. Even though on white paper the detail is hard to see on a darker background I think it will show through?

Artwork development.

• I decided to create some more eye to that could go over the top of the paper cut faces. They could be slightly 3D, if I stick masking tape to the back of them? Or I can go on the photocopier and try and lay different eyes on different face? But having the slight colour in the eye would be a nice addition because it will not over the detailed papercut and will just give the face some really subtle colour. 

Full scale rough for Constina book.

•  The way the path flows in this , I am very happy with.
• I will play around with some of the positions of objects and things within the pages on Photoshop because I know that more patterns and sequences can be added.
• I think that page 6 has the potential to be really sinister the expression just need to be different and the arms jagged.
• Playing around on Photoshop is going to be the only way I can reach a structure that I am happy with and I see how each page will flow into one another.  

Story board developments for constina.

 Some really rough Ideas about what I want to feature in the story and how it will work over a consitina fromat.

• I like the idea of the birds flying over and going through the book, leading the viewer around.
• Having big head or something significant in the middle is a good idea as the start could be a lead up to that and the end could carry on from it. 
• Having smaller features help make the story stronger, I think it will be throughs smaller bits of information that will really help to tell the story.

•  Maybe having a path and the birds will help, may acts as a border for the work to sit in? 

• Finial really brief idea, I really need to do a full scale version to so i can elaborate more on it and get a better idea of the scale I have to work with. 

Change of idea and re-write of project proposal.

Picture Book title or theme
Operation Mana.

Idea: What is your picture book about? 

An RAF mission in world war 2 when food was dropped from plains upon a staving village. The village was starving due to the Nazi banning and preventing food from going into it. People where harbouring Jews there and had resorted to eating inedible foods.  They were starving to death and the RAF and a consequence of their action saved millions of lives.




Intent: What are you trying to achieve with the tone and atmosphere of the artwork? 

I want this work to be dark and shocking. When people are looking through it I want them to be able to relate to the humanity aspect of it but I also want them to feel sympathetic but also slightly scared by the starving people. The reason for this is that from looking at image of starving people they don’t look cutie and kind they look sad and desperate and in that respect I want to do an interpretation of this with a very realistic approach.  I don’t want this to be a happy book apart from when they get the food at the end of the book.  I also want to tell it from the villages perspective, but I want to take their situation to the most extreme.



Structure: How might this book function in terms of format, layout and sequence

I need this story to flow well so I am going to be using a consitina format. There will be a path running through the layout of book which will represent the village path and there will be a sequence of image that will portray some of the consequence the village face due to the lack of food and Nazi over rule.



These ideas are based on my research into…
 After a discussion with Frank Tolley an RAF pilot in the war, I have gone on to do some secondary research into what he did. This was when I came across Operation Manna which he was involved in. I then carried out some more research and found articles from people who were in the village and there accounts of the situation.

In order to develop these ideas, over the next few weeks will be….
Experimenting more with paper cutting and comping images using this technique.

Artwork Development.

I am really happy with these crow paper cuts. I am please I have managed to get quite a lot of detail into them and still been able to incorporate some of the scaliness that the faces have around the eyes. I also like the narrowness of the eye it looks sinister and the plain white inside is something which I would like to keep.  It was a very time consuming process and they watch took me about 40mins to a hour.  The black boldness of them is great but the are flat! I need to find a way to give them more shade and tone but without loosing too much of the detail.