During this module I have had the chance to explore different aspects of my practice.
I've had quite a focus on developing different processes for different purposes, using combinations of digital and analogue media and I've figured out which ones are suitable for different themes and time frames. My traditional process has developed the most, following on from what I learnt in COP I have invested time in re-honing my technical analogue skills, something I haven't really done since A Level when that was the only option. Doing this in the context of my illustrative practise has been valuable to my work and I think the visual quality has improved across the year.
The briefs I selected have allowed me to explore different avenues my practice could go down. I've tried things I wanted to like book cover illustration, editorial, album covers and childrens book illustration. I wanted to move away from making just comics as it isnt that lucrative or realistic a career path and in trying to work in these different sectors I have opened up new possibilities and contexts for my work to exist in.
From this point I want to hone both of these developments. My processes are just forming and I'm excited to see where rigourous practise will take them and how they will develop with the different briefs I take on. I also want to explore more areas my work could exist in, but also develop upon the ones I've figured out work for me, like childrens book illustration. I would be interested in trying advertising and promotional work, to see how this would affect my practice and how my work would fit into that sector.
For the next year I want to take any work that's coming to me, and refine my process and aesthetic as I think it's starting to develop an individual tone of voice and visual quality which will hopefully aid my career in finding direction and an audience.
Thursday 19 May 2016
Heady Leggy Boards
These are the boards demonstrating the product range of the Space Planet encyclopedia
Wednesday 18 May 2016
cover and insides
making the mock up today so i had to make a quick cover and inside bits
here they are
i wanted to make a fancy encycolpeida cover but this will do for now, it does the job
pretty chuffed wth the pattern though
ive been using it a lot but i finally made it a repeating tile
its sooooo useful
here they are
i wanted to make a fancy encycolpeida cover but this will do for now, it does the job
pretty chuffed wth the pattern though
ive been using it a lot but i finally made it a repeating tile
its sooooo useful
Tuesday 17 May 2016
Primordial Heady Leggies
looking back through old sketchbooks ive found loads of sketches that helped form the heady leggy, i just didnt know what i was doing at the time
isnt that weird
isnt that weird
Heady Leggy mock up with script
It's all coming together
Now it can actually be read!
how exciting
the text is formatted really badly because im not a graphic designer
but it makes sense
its nice to be able to see the text with the images
i think they make more sense
Now it can actually be read!
how exciting
the text is formatted really badly because im not a graphic designer
but it makes sense
its nice to be able to see the text with the images
i think they make more sense
Heady leggy script
This is the script to the book
Space Planet Encyclopaedia Script
Page One
This is Space Planet
He’s a friendly chap whose kindness and zest for life is known throughout the Planet Galaxy.
Space Planet, or SP as his friends call him, is home to the most sophisticated life forms in his solar system.
He is very proud of this.
Page Two
Space Planet lives in Solar System 4 of the Planet Galaxy with his good friends Sun, Moon, Warm Planet, Mr Planet, Planet Land and Planet small.
Angry Planet lives there too but he refuses to be friends with anybody because he is too angry.
Page Three
The climate of Space Planet is pleasant but unpredictable.
There is daily flooding because Moon cries all night when his best friend Sun goes away. He is so lonely and floods the ground with his tears.
When Sun comes back up Moon is so happy that he stays out all day while Sun dries up the mess he made.
This reeks havoc with the tides but nobody minds because Moon is such a nice guy.
Page Four
Away from the safety of the home land there are three main areas; Moss Caves, the Dusty Peaks and Forest Marsh. These are hostile environments where only the toughest creatures live. Brave Heady Leggies come here to collect exotic supplies but most just stay in the comfort of their homes.
Page Five
The Heady Leggy is the dominant species of Space Planet due to their upright stance, opposable thumbs and positive mental attitude.
They are almost perfectly spherical. It’s not so much that they don’t have a body, rather that their head is their body.
Their other distinguishing features are their long pointy noses, their wide goggly eyes, and their wibbly spaghetti limbs.
Page Six
Heady Leggies come in different shades, shapes and sizes but their all the same on the inside.
Everything a Heady Leggy needs to stay alive is stored within it’s head.
Page Seven
The life on Space Planet is happy and diverse.
The creatures get along quite well and they all survive on the bountiful fruits of the land.
Page Eight
Space Planet is a very watery place, what with all Moon’s tears, so there are many Sea Creatures too.
Most animals can live happily on land or in water.
Page Nine
The Planet Life of Space Planet is rich and plentiful.
Often plants are flooded by Moon’s tears so they are all able to survive in water.
Some can even grow several meters on command to keep their heads above water level.
Page Ten
Heady Leggies consider themselves to be ‘at one with nature’ and like to tend to their trim and elegant gardens.
It gives them great joy to watch a flower bloom.
Page Eleven
The Thermole is the only source of heat and light on Space Planet, other than Sun.
They are sweet natured creatures whose fiery glow comes form their warm plasma centres and overwhelming sense of self satisfaction.
Page Twelve
All water on Space Planet comes form Moon’s tears. They are filled with nutritious energy that can fuel critters and cars for many days.
Page Thirteen
The PeragroPod is the vehicle of choice agreed among all Heady Leggies.
It can travel across land, sea and sky with ease.
Due to its cumbersome shape it is not very fast, but that is okay because Heady Leggies are never in a hurry.
Page Fourteen
The Heady Leggy houses are sturdy and round to deflect falling Moon tears.
They have one large window to let light into the social rooms but keep the bedroom in darkness.
The legs are extendable to lift the house out of the water during floods.
Page Fifteen
Unlike Earth animals, creatures on Space Planet can have large chunks of their flesh removed and remain alive and happy.
The Heady Leggy diet consists of this meat, plant matter, fruits, flowers, natural roughage, nutritious Moon water and pink creamy Squooter milk.
Page Sixteen
Here are some examples of Heady Leggy recipes.
They are keen chefs and like to experiment with new ingredients.
Dishes like this will impress the dinner party guests.
Page Seventeen
Heady Leggies can make small clones of themselves called ‘Mini-Leggies’, for when they need a helping hand or a friend to play with.
Heady Leggies are not mortal creatures, meaning there are as many of them now as there ever was. This is how they manage to be such good friends.
Page Eighteen
Heady Leggies came into being when Sun, Moon and SP were bored and wanted a new project to work on.
Taking tiny particles from Sun’s cosy core and nutrients from Moon’s happy tears they formed oozing blobs of life that evolved into Heady Leggies.
Page Nineteen
Music is very important to Heady Leggies. They are all musical in some way. They like to sing about their thoughts, feelings and anything they got up to in the day.
Musical instruments compliment these songs well and everyone can play at least one.
Page Twenty
Art is less prominent on Space Planet than Earth because most Heady Leggys prefer to look at the world around them. They do enjoy some earth paintings but they enjoy them much more when repainted to depict Heady Leggies.
While they may not enjoy looking at art, Heady Leggies love to make expressive marks whilest listening to their friends play music. They are big fans of the suprematist movement.
Page Twenty One
(From left to right)
Eddy Greggy – Embassador of Space Planet. The friendliest chap there is. Runs all external Planet liasons.
Long Legs – Notable for his long legs with make him able to reach tall trees
Tiny Pecker – The smallest Heady Leggy. Can get in little crevices.
Strong Simon – Born with over-developed muscles. Does all the hard work around here.
Page Twenty Two
Ancient Wizzer – The oldest Heady Leggy. Has ‘magic powers’ apparently.
Professer Smart – Very clever. Invented the PeragroPod and designed the houses. Also good at maths.
Kite Champion – The champion at flying kites
Big Stomp – The largest Heady Leggy. Gets upset because sometimes he stands on gardens and ruins them
Page Twenty Three
And here it is in all it’s glory.
A united land where the creatures live in pleasant harmony.
Everyone hopes you enjoyed learning about their way of life
Page Twenty Four
The Heady Leggies love visitors, especially you, so be sure to come back soon and bring all your friends.
Monday 16 May 2016
Typo alert
I made a boo boo and I'm mad at myself
I printed the final spreads without changing the bit in the brain where I couldn't fit nonsense on so it now says nonse pons instead of nonsense pons which is far too close to nonce pons for my liking.
I cant get another slot now though so I'll just have to deal with it
I changed it for the mock up book
but ughghghg so silly
I printed the final spreads without changing the bit in the brain where I couldn't fit nonsense on so it now says nonse pons instead of nonsense pons which is far too close to nonce pons for my liking.
I cant get another slot now though so I'll just have to deal with it
I changed it for the mock up book
but ughghghg so silly
Dolls house
I was struggling to figure out how to propose a dolls house of the heady leggy house, with it being round and thus difficult to imagine
Then remembered that this toy existed
its even yellow I mean how perfect is that
Seems to have been a pretty big thing to girls who grew up in the 80s
As far as i can tell the back comes off and reveals the room, but not sure where the second room comes from or if there even is one
Not sure this would translate to the heady leggy house as it's two stories
I suppose it is just a proposal and I don't have to fully establish all of the physics involved
This also serves as great research for the heady leggy teapot I'm proposing.
Then remembered that this toy existed
Seems to have been a pretty big thing to girls who grew up in the 80s
As far as i can tell the back comes off and reveals the room, but not sure where the second room comes from or if there even is one
Aha, I think the central wall rotates to turn reveal another room
Interesting
Not sure this would translate to the heady leggy house as it's two stories
I suppose it is just a proposal and I don't have to fully establish all of the physics involved
This also serves as great research for the heady leggy teapot I'm proposing.
Friday 13 May 2016
Imagine revisited
It's been long enough that I can look at my imagine picture again
I tweaked it a bit and ended up with this one
I tweaked it a bit and ended up with this one
I actually kinda like it now
It makes sense to the eyes instead of being visually unsettling
If only I'd submitted this version
Oh well
Here it is on a record cover
Thursday 12 May 2016
Products
Thinking about the range
Starting wth the range surrounding the release of the book
Point of sales and window displays and merchandise relating to it like bookmarks and stuff in a pack.
This gruffalo one demonstrates pretty well
Starting wth the range surrounding the release of the book
Point of sales and window displays and merchandise relating to it like bookmarks and stuff in a pack.
This gruffalo one demonstrates pretty well
Mock up solution
I am a drawer, I draw
That is what i do
Thus my solution to the product mock up issue is to DRAW THEM
I can mock up the easy stuff using drawings from the pages onto plain objects but for the invented products that are difficult if not impossible to mock up well like the hats I'm just going to draw them and present it neatly on a board
I've been drawing them rough in my sketch book so it'll just be that but more refined and presentable.
Also i wanna use the same writing as the book to keep the consistency of aesthetic
Eg.
That is what i do
Thus my solution to the product mock up issue is to DRAW THEM
I can mock up the easy stuff using drawings from the pages onto plain objects but for the invented products that are difficult if not impossible to mock up well like the hats I'm just going to draw them and present it neatly on a board
I've been drawing them rough in my sketch book so it'll just be that but more refined and presentable.
Also i wanna use the same writing as the book to keep the consistency of aesthetic
Eg.
Wednesday 11 May 2016
mocking mock ups
on starting the mock ups part of my project I've had a crushing revelation
I SUCK AT MOCK UPS
Thats quite an issue considering the other side to this project is entirely mock up based
Its a lot harder doing these product mock ups than just putting an image on a plain book
This is clearly not working so I'm going to have to try a new approach
I SUCK AT MOCK UPS
Thats quite an issue considering the other side to this project is entirely mock up based
Its a lot harder doing these product mock ups than just putting an image on a plain book
This is clearly not working so I'm going to have to try a new approach
merch inspiration
who knows how to capitalise on product range and distribution like disney
the kings of expensive tat
so I'm browsing the store
Here's some notable examples that i could use, mostly round stuff
I'm most impressed at how they've managed to rebrand frozen as summer merchandise.
Looking at this stuff its clear anything can be merchandised and branded, if you try
Also theres a heavy gender split in the products, not too fond of that but I guess it works
Maybe its disneys fault that it works
Anyway theres a lot of stuff i can use
the kings of expensive tat
so I'm browsing the store
Here's some notable examples that i could use, mostly round stuff
I'm most impressed at how they've managed to rebrand frozen as summer merchandise.
Looking at this stuff its clear anything can be merchandised and branded, if you try
Also theres a heavy gender split in the products, not too fond of that but I guess it works
Maybe its disneys fault that it works
Anyway theres a lot of stuff i can use
Tuesday 10 May 2016
Redefining
Time constraints have dictated that I redefine the outcomes of my brief
It would be physically possible to fully complete the artwork of the book in time to hand in but it would comprimise the quality and quantity of the rest of brief.
At this point I think I've demonstrated the aesthetic and the process, and I've learnt what I can from that. To complete the rest of the pages would be going through the motions and would demonstrate nothing new about my practice or the brief.
Instead I'm going to put this time into the proposed range surrounding the book.
I think in doing this I will evidence an understanding of the scope of the project and the context in which it exists. This is more valuable knowledge to demonstrate at this point than my knowledge of how to create mixed media drawings of the life cycle of my invented creatures.
If time remains after fulfulling the other aspects of the brief I will continue to make the imagery and I plan to complete the imagery for the final show, where the visuals are probably more valuable to demonstrate than the proposed context.
I have stopped at eight completed pages, leaving four and the cover and inlay pages proposed.
I think this is enough to demonstrate my book proposal as the two book competitions I entered requested 4 final spreads and 8 roughs. Doubling this quantity makes it adequately significant.
This decision also means I won't have to comprimise the quality of the drawings. I'd been trying to find ways to speed up the process but it just cannot be done any quicker. Rushing them makes them sloppy and I think that would ruin the product.
So I will be submitting eight finalised spreads, the boards of my product range and a printed mock up of the book with finals, roughs and a typed script intergrated.
It would be physically possible to fully complete the artwork of the book in time to hand in but it would comprimise the quality and quantity of the rest of brief.
At this point I think I've demonstrated the aesthetic and the process, and I've learnt what I can from that. To complete the rest of the pages would be going through the motions and would demonstrate nothing new about my practice or the brief.
Instead I'm going to put this time into the proposed range surrounding the book.
I think in doing this I will evidence an understanding of the scope of the project and the context in which it exists. This is more valuable knowledge to demonstrate at this point than my knowledge of how to create mixed media drawings of the life cycle of my invented creatures.
If time remains after fulfulling the other aspects of the brief I will continue to make the imagery and I plan to complete the imagery for the final show, where the visuals are probably more valuable to demonstrate than the proposed context.
I have stopped at eight completed pages, leaving four and the cover and inlay pages proposed.
I think this is enough to demonstrate my book proposal as the two book competitions I entered requested 4 final spreads and 8 roughs. Doubling this quantity makes it adequately significant.
This decision also means I won't have to comprimise the quality of the drawings. I'd been trying to find ways to speed up the process but it just cannot be done any quicker. Rushing them makes them sloppy and I think that would ruin the product.
So I will be submitting eight finalised spreads, the boards of my product range and a printed mock up of the book with finals, roughs and a typed script intergrated.
Thursday 5 May 2016
codex pictures
had another look at the codex
god its just so mesmerisingly excellent
i tried to take pictures of my faourite pages but i jsut ended up nearly taking every page so heres a bunch of codex pictures.
god its just so mesmerisingly excellent
i tried to take pictures of my faourite pages but i jsut ended up nearly taking every page so heres a bunch of codex pictures.
Briefs Labels Update
Following my tutorial we have separated my briefs out into 8.
They are now as follows
SB1 - Thoughtbubble
SB2 - Secret 7
SB3 - Carmelite Prize
SB4 - Space Planet Encyclopedia
SB5 - Short briefs - Crispin Orthotics, Film Posters, Offlife, Threadless
SB6 - D&AD
SB7 - Penguin Books
SB8 - Guardian
Makes a lot more sense now
They are now as follows
SB1 - Thoughtbubble
SB2 - Secret 7
SB3 - Carmelite Prize
SB4 - Space Planet Encyclopedia
SB5 - Short briefs - Crispin Orthotics, Film Posters, Offlife, Threadless
SB6 - D&AD
SB7 - Penguin Books
SB8 - Guardian
Makes a lot more sense now
Big Kahuna Brief
BA (Hons) Illustration
- Level 06
OUIL603 Extended Practice
|
Product
|
Tone of Voice
|
|
32 page
picture book, full colour full bleed mixed media illustrations.
Imagery
should mimic aesthetic of educational encyclopaedia diagrams but in a less
dry manor, sustaining the cartoon child appealing aesthetic
5 A3
boards showing range of proposed merchandise, full colour.
|
Faux
formality, a la David Attenborough narration but with extra whimsy and
silliness.
Language
should be 80% basic child friendly with smatterings of longer words with a view
to expanding vocabulary and maximising longevity, allowing multiple readings
without boredom.
|
|
Audience
|
Context
|
|
Primarily
children aged 8-11, but should also be appealing to parents and enjoyable to
other age groups, including adults interested in the aesthetic and ideas, the
same kind of audience of adults who still watch cartoons and buy children’s
books for their aesthetic merit.
It
should also be appealing to appealing publishers as a demonstration of my
work and an advert for them to hire me and/or publish my work
|
Should
be made as if it is a published book, to be sold in shops that have a more
specialist interest in the craft and imagery of publictions e.g Foyles,
Waterstones, independent book shops, gift shops and gallery shops where books
are sold e.g Natural History Museum, educational child friendly tourist
destinations.
|
|
Additional information/Considerations
Should work as the core resource for a larger
franchise, including considerations of product, merchandise, other stories
and books within the cannon and moving image, episodes of animated cartoon or
potentially film. This book should act as the blueprint to that world.
|
|
Mandatory
Requirements
|
Deliverables
|
|
Primary
visual research and testing, contextual research into references and where
product will exist, what products will exist,
Planning
and preparatory drawings establishing world and it’s characters, development
of imagery,
Rough
and refined storyboards and layouts of pages.
Completed
imagery with and without text overlay.
Final
resolutions compiled into physical publication
|
32 page
full colour full bleed picture book approx. 300mm x 270 mm
Preparatory
work combined and coherently displayed in folder or box.
5 A3
full colour boards representing proposed range of products within franchise.
|
Wednesday 4 May 2016
Cover
Planning the cover
Taking inspiration from these covers that Adam showed me
They're pretty
Taking inspiration from these covers that Adam showed me
They're pretty
They're very regal
I like this I think it'll be an amusing contrast to the silliness of the material
And an encyclopedia needs a grand cover
Plants
Drawing plants
This bit is the most fun certainly
Going for mostly blue stalks, think they go better with the scheme, but retaining some forrest green too
This bit is the most fun certainly
Going for mostly blue stalks, think they go better with the scheme, but retaining some forrest green too
Tuesday 3 May 2016
Creatures
Been drawing the finals of the creatures today
It's starting to become disheartening because it's taking so long and I have my first print slot on Monday
And they're starting to look a bit dead, I think its always very clear to see in my work when I'm getting bored, maybe just to me, I'm not sure
It's not the project it's the process, it's a bit of a drag.
I'm going to have to lighten it up a bit, to finish in time and to retain interest
They look alright but I think they need brightening up in Photoshop, these ones are looking a little over worked.
It's starting to become disheartening because it's taking so long and I have my first print slot on Monday
And they're starting to look a bit dead, I think its always very clear to see in my work when I'm getting bored, maybe just to me, I'm not sure
It's not the project it's the process, it's a bit of a drag.
I'm going to have to lighten it up a bit, to finish in time and to retain interest
They look alright but I think they need brightening up in Photoshop, these ones are looking a little over worked.
Monday 2 May 2016
Heady Leggy Insides
In the process of drawing the anatomy page
This is the inside of the head
In the initial sketch I drew a skeleton but I don't think he would have a skeleton really, I mean theres just no room in his head for a skull, and if theyre bendy and floopy it wouldn't make sense for them to have a skeleton
So I'm gonna construct a strong muscle system I think, that will support the head
Sunday 1 May 2016
developing font
I've been playing around with the text a lot
I couldnt decide if it should be typed or hand written because typed is more ledgible but handwritten fits the aesthetic better
in my tutorial fred said use handwritten for text thats part of the image and type for the rest
So I've been developing my handwritten font for the book and i think ive finally cracked it
its like a combination of hand drawn futura and the words in the codex and the hobbit
it needs refining a little so i can figure out just how many gestures on each word are necessary but i like this a lot and its really nice and fun to do
I couldnt decide if it should be typed or hand written because typed is more ledgible but handwritten fits the aesthetic better
in my tutorial fred said use handwritten for text thats part of the image and type for the rest
So I've been developing my handwritten font for the book and i think ive finally cracked it
its like a combination of hand drawn futura and the words in the codex and the hobbit
it needs refining a little so i can figure out just how many gestures on each word are necessary but i like this a lot and its really nice and fun to do
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