unfinished verrrrrrry short stop motion

I started experimenting with stop motion to introduce my work for my assessment but plans were thwarted by poor time management and incompetent technological skills! At least I've started! Next time hey!  ; )

Some amended images post tutor feedback

Life has been a bit of a roller coaster ride recently with the need to rush back to South Africa just before having to hand in my work for assessment. Anyway, I managed to amend a few images before leaving so I have decided to post a few of the amended images now.

1.) Exercise 2.9 : Black and white

Original Black and white version. My tutor made the accurate comment that the sea looked  less observed and therefore took away from the image.

Amended version: I felt that by keeping the water softer in the original pencil meant that the version stayed truer to the atmosphere of the original photograph in which the sea and the sky almost blended into one. I think the softer version is more effective then the first attempt.

2.) Assignment 2: Autumn poster

Original Autumn point of sale poster

Amended Autumn point of sale poster 

Although this is not quite finished, I think that from a composition perspective, it is an improvement on the first image. (above) Getting there!









3.) Exercise 3.5: Giving instructions

Original "Map to my house"

Amended map to my house

This image was a bit tricky to photograph because of its awkward size....learning point for me! Again, the amended version is not 100% finished but I think it is a big improvement on the 1st image thanks to the initial feedback from my tutor. I had struggled to see how to replace the saxophonist and also how to link the sea with the rest of the image. My tutor Christian suggested using the red string  to go everywhere I would suggest en brought to my house and consider including the sea in this. When I did this I immediately thought of replacing the area with the saxophonist, cakes etc which didn't really work, with extra lanes that I love walking down. The string definitely helped the west pier become a bit more united within the image. I also cut out most of the image from the original and then placed it on a flat colour, bright yellow piece of cardboard and I think that this works better then the more textured background in the original version. I am putting this down to the contrast created between the flat colour and the natural texture that is created in the rest of the image simply by virtue of the handmade paper that I used.

There are a few more touch ups to do but I'm happy with the progress that making some changes have made thus far.


4.) Assignment 3: Making a poster
For this assignment I chose to do a few versions of a poster for the band "Of Monsters and Men."
There were elements of each poster that I get worked but there were mostly elements that simply felt wrong! I was unable to put my finger on what was wrong with any of them but my tutor suggested that by limiting the colour pallet in the lino version; rethinking the version I called "northern lights"; fine-tuning the 'forest version and adding one simple colour/detail to the "stars"version. I haven' had a chance to alter the "stars" version yet but having made the changes suggested to the other posters I can see they are already more successful.

a.) Lino version:

Original Version: too many colours distracting the viewer and distracting from any focal point.Just too busy with too many colours.

 Three re-worked images:

I like the blue and green versions the most. The blue version hints at the gig being at night but I think the colours in he green version seem to stand out a little more. Either way I think all three are more successful then the original version simply by using a limited colour pallet especially in such a busy image. Great advice Christian. : ) 

b.) "Northern Lights" version:

Original version that didn't quite work done in gouache, especially the sky.

Woodcut version: more stylised and so very different but I think the simple mark making as well as limited pallet makes the information particularly stand out and in a poster this is important. Again I think it is more successful then the original image.

c.) The Forest version

Original version: main issue was that the black ink I used was too wet for the thin paper and therefore the paper tended to buckle. It also appears a little flat.

This version is probably the most similar but I still think that echoing the 'stained glass' forest colours in  the logo works better as well as the fact that I collaged black cardboard tree trunks on to the poster so there are different shades of black. perhaps the most subtle of the changes but I think that it still works better.

Although I would like to amend quite a few of the other images I have done we will see how much time allows! What this exercise has shown me is that what a big difference small changes can make and it's been wonderful having the experienced eye of my tutor to provide me with some guidance as to what to look for and therefore to amend.  

ASSIGNEMENT 5: SEVEN DAYS

Brief: The title is Seven days.
These can be the seven days of the week or random days that tell a story. Your interpretation can be objective or subjective. You can produce seven separate, one large diagrammatic or a continuous strip illustration. You can decide on the media and methods you will use; the context – magazine, newspaper, book, brochure or poster; and the intended audience.

You need to write yourself a brief that is clear and challenging but manageable. 

Yes, again I found myself becoming a littttle overwhelmed by the fact that this was our final assignment and should demonstrate all the skills that we have acquired and learnt within the course! It probably also didn't help that I failed to follow the final instruction on the brief i.e.: "Write yourself a brief that is clear and manageable"...... mmmmmmmm! I so need to remember to read the brief completely! Oy!

First of all I brainstormed what felt like a THOUSAND ideas to get started and got stuck into researching everything and anything to do with seven days that I could think of. 

My research started around looking into the origins of the names of the days of the week in English and French with their derivatives in Germanic and Latin heritage respectively.  I then toyed with illustrating the story of creation as it follows a seven day sequence. My ideal would have been to do a stop-motion animation, William Kentridge style….but abandoned this due to time and current oil-and-water-relationship with computer technology. I considered doing a graphic novelette around seven days in A and E as it is topical and I work in A and E…but abandoned this. I considered doing a hostage story e.g.: either seven days or events that lead up to the situation...but abandoned this as well. 

The common theme I seemed to return to was the history of the names of the days of the week mostly because they are linked to the names of our planets, which adds a visual element. I considered doing an educational type book with the seven days and their origins but felt this would be more effective as seven posted screen printed or something…Katherina Manolasou stylesque, which I don’t know how to do. I also grappled wit the fact that the book would only be 7 pages or perhaps 14 if you made each one a double page spread …so abandoned this idea…went crazy too’ing and froing and then decided to drink some coffee. 

In the coffee shop….with all background research fresh in my head I decided to just doodle while sipping my flat white. My doodles became the foundation for potential characters that would represent each day.

Initial coffee-shop doodle 

 The idea still stemmed from alien type creatures for various planets that have subsequently become the names of our days of the week. With this idea I was able to develop it into a narrative and then created a rough storyboard. This was a 1^st at doing anything like this so things shifted and changed a lot along the way but once I had the framework of the narrative and the basic outline of the idea for the characters, I could start developing the characters and the story board. 

Rough Storyboard

 

 

Initial character Studies

    
Colour studies: 

Initially Monay was blue..implying 'blue monday" but I ended up with a more natural green to imply that he stunk!

           

    
Final Storyboard:


 

Everything evolved relatively organically…..which was good because I had a week to doo it before submission! The sudden realization of doing artwork for all the pages was daunting so I decided that for this 1^st version I’ll stick to more traditional media ie: watercolour. I also justified my choice as many of my favourite books still being produced are watercolours. e.g.: David Roberts and Quentin Blake, who demonstrate very different ways of using this medium and are both wonderful. As I went along though, I realized that I did not share their skill with watercolours on any capacity and the images were missing something! SO I decided to mix some of the images up with Gouache and collage and I think that this made a big difference. Unfortunately having so many colours at my disposal and so little time meant that working out a limited colour pallet was out of the question as I just needed to get brush to paper! I did try to use all the things that we have learnt on the course when creating the story board ie: cropping; using scale; using diagonals; using mark-making; using distortion; looking at composition and viewpoint. I also feel strongly that drawing from life in my sketchbooks has given me a greater confidence and knowledge of how the human body moves and therefore more able to adapt this to fictional characters. I have certainly gained confidence in my sketchbooks and feel freer also to doodle, which I feel, has really helped inform my more finished work.

Layering the originals

Watercolour carnage....in my lounge!!

This is a scanned version of my colour photocopy version:

I think Monday is maybe a little too roundy in shape...?

Not sure if the yellow speech bubbles are just a little too over-powering....

I'm not sure if the typeface for 'Friday" quite works. 

Oh no, I left out one speech bubble that the little boy says: "Monday you stink!" as well as  the sentence: on the page next door: " Perhaps everyone was better off without him."...written in the bottom left corner of the page i.e.: as Monday exits.

The hand written white writing ? tends to disappear into the background a little too much

uh oh...where's wednesday?

O no! Where is Tuesday's tie??!?

On the 1st page on retrospect, the sentence should have read: "...and although his job to start the week..." so that the second page can read "...even though" and not sound too repetative. 

On the whole I loved the process despite the very little sleep had in order to finish. I am also happy with the little book that I have produced. My second last page I feel has tooooo much text and I probably need to look at either editing the text or possibly adding in a page. I realised I left out a speech bubble and a one line of text on submission which was a shame....happens when you rushing I guess.....note to self!

It was a struggle to make sure that I had consistency within the characters and I know that I forgot the tie on Tuesday in one of the images.  

I also chose to handwrite the text as I know that there were a few pages that I wanted the illustrated only by text. (It also filled me with trepidation thinking about scanning and editing 35pages to add text on my computer!!!!) I think that perhaps a mix of typed text with handwritten text may work better....perhaps that worth is a try later.

I also wanted to do the original artwork just short of A2 but before doing the artwork I contacted a local printing shop to find out the cost of scanning A2 and the cost was just too far out of my budget for the amount of pages I was hoping to scan and print in order to present the storyboard as a little mock-up book. As a result I reduced the artwork to fit into A3 so that I could photocopy it at the local library and scan it in at the library as well. Not quite the same quality I'm sure which is a bit of a shame.

 I would (in an ideal world) like to consider doing another version using different media e.g.: litho or screen-printing (when I have yet to learn to do! lol!) or perhaps even relief printing to see how that would change the images  but on  the whole I have received positive feedback (from very biased friends and family ; )  I wasn't entirely sure if the story targeted adults or children although the images were designed with children in mind. I did however really enjoy making it and I hope that you enjoy reading it.