Animals in Anguish Update 2

Some of the patterns used in my designs

 I have still been working on poster designs, On the left are two characters that will feature in one of them I want to make a series of these characters, merging humans with animals, to shock people into identifying the issue.

I have also uploaded some of my newer drawings from my sketchbook.

Squirrel

Bird

Animals in Anguish Update

For my final project, I have been working on my Animals in Anguish posters. I am thinking that for my final show I want to showcase a few posters petitioning against cruelty to animals. I have a poster I am currently working on which will be an illustrative conveyor belt, going down the page, with chickens getting turned into meat products. It will exaggerate the processes of the production line, and be slightly humorous, but at the same time, sticking to the point that they start off as chickens and end up at the end as meat products.

Another poster I am working on is a series of character models which are humanoid animals. Combining the things which we overlook happening to animals and reiterating them as humans, where we would be very disturbed to find someone 'processed' in the same way. One character is a man on a plate, with legs sticking out, just as a chicken is presented at a classic dinner table. Another is the man with antlers, who has fur and antlers, appearing to be some sort of moose character with his tie being his red tongue. This is stressing a point that he is wearing the animal, we don't think about how our clothes are made, but we are technically wearing an animal, almost like you skinned them yourself without thought to how these are actually obtained. Ethically?

I am still working on some different ideas but they are all sketchbook work for now.

E-Portfolio Feedback - Philippa Lightburn

I sent my e-portfolio to Philippa Lightburn, Philippa is an illustrator who was an ex-student at my university, and has gone on to be a professional freelance illustrator.

"I've had a look through your portfolio and I'm really impressed with both your work and the layout. I remember meeting you at the guru evening and I don't think you had a lot of your work with you so seeing it all together like this is really nice! You've got a great style that is obviously working well for you and your portfolio flows well from page to page."

"My favourite illustration is the pollution piece for the RSPCA. I just think it's such a great idea that has been executed really well and it has an immediate message. The two block colours work nicely and it's very graphically striking. I also really love the Wind in the Willows book cover - especially the trees in the background. They're really beautiful colours and have a lovely texture to them."

Since a lot of my portfolio contains a lot of mixed media between hand crafted objects and work I've made on the computer, it's nice that she can appreciate this, and appreciate the use of colour between them. The Fairtrade piece had a strict colour palette, so it's even better that I managed to hold a good synergy regarding colour in the piece.

"The presentation of your portfolio is really strong and I can't fault anything. All the other gurus I've emailed have had little things that I would change with the layout, but yours is perfect!"

I feel I was happy with the way my work was presented, each page follows the exact sizing and measurements of the previous page, so it pleases my perfectionist side. It made me smile that she used the word 'perfect' though, that was a nice comment to receive.

"The only minor thing I can spot is perhaps some of the typography. I really like the typography on the two book covers, the hand drawn quality of it is really nice and compliments the work well. The fonts on the RSPCA and Fair Trade images could perhaps be a bit more interesting and match the styles of the illustrations more. But this is a really minor thing so please don't take it to heart. I'm only picking up on it because I went to a graphic design agency and the guy said I could do with changing the font on one of my pieces. Graphic designers are really in to type so carefully choosing one or designing your own can be worth your while!"

This has been interesting because Pat Carroll said the opposite, he has worked with graphic designers for years and doesn't think the typeface works with the skyline. I do think the type does fit with the series or books, it's a very hand rendered characterful typeface and I do like it. It's very interesting to receive opinions from people who have experience from the industry, because it's just an opinion, and you can only take from it what you asked for, a collection of opinions gives you a more broad range of feedback.

Overall Philippa was very pleased with my work and I am glad with this. I want to try and improve some of the pieces of work though, there are other potential pieces that didn't make it into the portfolio that maybe I will reconsider.

E-Portfolio Feedback - Gary Prendergast & Pat Carroll

I have been given feedback by two artists, Gary Prendergast and Pat Carroll, Pat has worked with many successful graphic designers and students, and has made LPs for band albums such as The Happy Mondays. They found my portfolio layout to appear very professional, all the pages are perfectly laid out and look as they should. They were both very fond of my illustrative and graphical combinations in my work, and said that they can tell straight away what kind of style I have with my work. 

Pat was very impressed with my RSPCA work and thought they were my strongest pieces, some pieces such as the Josie Dew piece, has a great potential, but is let down by the typeface and the statue in the centre, it would be good if this piece could be amended. I felt I liked the typeface, but agree with the statue comment, it is a bit of an anti-climax, it just looks a little out of place. If after removing the statue, there is too much of an open gap, I could work on making the skyline a bit higher.

They said my work reminded them of an artist called Paul Rand and recommended I look into him, as my work has a similar style. Overall, they said that my portfolio does have a really nice feel and gives off my aura, which I am glad about. I will go into my eportfolio and try to make some amendments to past work over the Christmas holiday.

What does illustration mean?

"As our visual language evolves, the playing field is leveling. Graphic designers, sculptors, painters, creative developers, and even musicians amorphously meander across different parts of our creative industries. As a consequence, I often wonder what the term 'Illustration' now means. Maybe as a medium it might need to do more than vocationalise aesthetics and cultivate a border palate of profundity for its own survival." 
- Michael Salu, Artistic Director of Granta Magazine 
2012 Varoom 

This is a very interesting and provocative quote. Technology is constantly upgrading, and has evolved how art is both created and perceived, is this a good or bad thing? Like a lot of things, there are pros and cons, take the new 'gifs' for example, a way of creating illustrations to be in two or three fast moving images, to create a 'moving' image, these are seen on websites now as an alternative to images in some e-magazines. These being better or worse than how they are shown in physical magazines isn't relevant, whats relevant is how they are being implemented into technology. 

Today we see the art work of Picasso in galleries and are amazed at the presence of the piece next to us, to think his hand once touched that canvas, it has an aura. But seeing the same image online isn't really the same, but how would someone being born into this new technological world perceive this? Would they miss this out, and only see the 'new' (which to them is the 'current') as being worthwhile? The playing field isn't just leveling, it's also changing. New vocabulary is being added to visual language, but I feel that different ages will see this in different ways, some will see it as an addition, and good thing, and others will take it as a change, when a way of working is being implemented, another way of working is being sunk. 

My own work will probably take a toll at this, I work as I want to work, I create images I like and cast it from my own heart, but I can still do the same thing using new technology, or adapting new techniques. I would really like to learn how to make gifs and any new advancement, as a new way of working is another challenge to overcome and maybe it will help me to find a new way of working that I can really enjoy.

"Illustration" to me means to produce art from the heart, this means making designs that I want to make, that I want people to see, not necessarily like. To me, changing or making a new word for illustration would be irrelevant, because it would still be the same thing. I may work on a computer sometimes, but I'm still illustrating, I'm still using my soul as the inspiration for my work, regardless of whatever subjective word is used, so what's the difference?

AOI would also have to change it's name.

Ric Frankland / Dwelle Lecture

Ric Frankland is an architect based in Manchester and hosted a lecture about himself and his company, Dwelle. Dwelle is a company that creates interesting and energy efficient buildings. The advantages of these "Dwelle.ings" are that they are small, sustainable, and fairly quick to set up. They also have a zero carbon status.

Although Ric was talking about architecture, his current struggles and exciting opportunities and successes, I think it was good to take from it that he was just a man that had a large dream of making 'sheds for living', and even though that business may have seemed like a long shot, he got on with it and after 9 months of working from home, he went out and made a successful business from it. Even though he says he has made little money and profit, he has still appeared in magazines, tv home shows and has shown his work in many exciting events, such as Grand Designs Live.

It is clear that just building up your dreams isn't enough to make them real, you have to get out there and try! The buildings look really intricate and homely for a small building, and people pay for sessions with Ric and his small team to learn all about the 'Sheds for Living', a lot can be learned from his journey. I found him and his story very interesting, and I do find the creative process of design to be fulfilling to my creativity.

Hopes Fears and Oppertunities

At the start of the year, I set some Hopes, Fears, and hopeful opportunities. Firstly, for my hopes, I wanted to create work that I (note the bold 'I') both enjoy making and am proud of, and I feel I have gradually felt the freedom of being able to achieve this, as in previous years I have felt that I have restricted myself while searching for how I want to work. During the last two projects I do feel that I am creating work that I want to make, and not necessarily something that someone else would like to see, I am gaining confidence in myself to make what I want to make!

Fears are always present, but I feel I have gained an immunity to criticism, I have always been worried about what someone really thinks of my work, and have always doubted myself when receiving compliments for my art, and think about what the person may actually be thinking. It's unhealthy to think in this way because if you ask someone for what they think, they will generally tell you what they think, when you ask someone for visual feedback, it's a very honest subject but just an opinion.

I feel that illustration is about finding your heart, and this should be reflected in a person's work. At the end of the day, you ask for someone's opinion, and you get their opinion, but that's all it is, and another person will give you another opinion. One human's opinion shouldn't be the only tie when making art, it's about what the artist has to offer (unless ofcourse, the work is for someone, but even then they want a piece of you, not themselves)

For the next semester I need to get involved in a few opportunities as I have in previous years, there's no better way to learn about yourself than to explore the art world, see how people work, get involved with them, see how things are on the inside. I loved working with Lord Whitney last year, it shows that on the inside they were just like me, there's no reason why I can't be as successful as they are. It was also nice to see how casual they are, they aren't 24/7 workaholics (well, only until the deadline date) but you can be both professional and casual at the same time, being yourself. 

I hope to spend time with other artists in the next semester, maybe get some experience to see how different artists apply their methods, and how they cope with stresses and just generally what they're like!

Website Scouting

I am currently looking at various websites as an idea of how to invent my work online. I have looked at a good range of illustrator's websites. Most illustrators websites are very eye catching yet simple, from my observations, I have come to the conclusion that illustration websites aim to have the following qualities:

1. Easily navigate through work - There's nothing worse than looking through a website and not being able to find what you need, confusing titles, colours that make you want to leave, loading videos that make people want to press the X at the top right corner of the screen (or left if you use a Mac) or close tab or whatever.

2. Website should have a 'feel' that relates to the artist - All of the websites I have seen have an atmosphere that gets you into the mood of the person's work, if that art work could have a home, what would it look like? This is the basis for the website, it should point towards the work itself.

3. Look Professional - "talkin lik dis makes ur webi luk shitm8" Making everything look nice and tidy and professional just makes YOU look more professional. Let the design compliment your work and it should all fit together. 

I have looked at Lord Whitney's website (http://lordwhitney.co.uk/) It has a nice intricate design with some of the props they have made as a background. One notable thing they have done with the home page is made it say different welcomes and have different lighting effects depending on the time of day. Such as "Good Evening" and "Good Morning". The actual website has a distinctive layout, with a simple to use black bar across the top which contains options to view the work, news and contact information.

The website really gives a feeling of being in the Lord Whitney home and just what they are about, it has an interesting timeline of each of their work events. The website doesn't just compliment their work, it contains the aura of it, it directly relates to the them.

I have also looked at David Shrigley's website (http://www.davidshrigley.com/) He has a nice white-text on black background theme with a very illustrative typeface, there are many options on the right, the only main difference and flaw with his website is that the link you choose usually leads to a boring white webpage with blue links to view work. It would be nice to see the same theme going throughout. Saying this, the website still does it's primary functions, allows the viewing of work and provides contact details.

David Firth is an animator that makes illustrative cartoons, he has a website called Fat-Pie (http://www.fat-pie.com/) His website hosts all of his different series on the left. There are also links for FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), images, contact details as well as links to his blogs and social networking pages. His website does look fairly narrow and basic, but it does it's job. Unfortunately, Firth seems to be quite lazy and only updates it about once every few months, but just like a blog, it shows his latest posts and additions at the very top.

His website design doesn't seem to adopt any particular style, it's just basic blue with white and black text. Probably because it's more of a showcase blog than a proper professional artists' website.

I have looked at an artist called Lauren Brading (http://www.offthepagedesign.com/), she has a very simple website (I think it was probably made in Wix, a simple website building host), the website looks fairly bland, but is complimented by that nice lovely AOI logo under her name! I personally prefer to look at her work on the AOI website itself, just because her website just looks a bit too small and basic.

I think having looked at some of these websites, people try to do as best they can for as cheaply as they can (Free website makers seem to have limited options, whereas if you build it yourself from scratch, the world is your oyster. I wouldn't say any of these sites are particularly 'bad', some are just better than others. They all serve a websites purpose, but they're illustrators, a website is such a good opportunity to get your style across!

Business Cards

I have made some business cards for myself. just to see what they will look like when I come to make some official ones after Christmas. I think they look decent, they have a very 'shapey' feel to them, and a warm illustrative emotion. Will just have to see what they look like when they arrive...

I have worked with the skyline imagery from the current project to make the cards, I thought this was a nice idea as the skyline works well with all the illuminated lights, it is quite eye catching.


Front:

Back:

I wasn't 100% sure exactly where the cutting will take place, so I may lose a little of the design, but here's to testing.

Little Brown Book Project - Working Progress

A few weeks into the project and here is whats what. There have been a lot of different designs going on, just playing around with different approaches and methods.

For this, I drew a picture of the USA and used a characterful type, it's probably a bit simple, but simple is simple for a reason, it works in it's own way. It's sometimes nice to start again on a white piece of paper and start from scratch.

It's fun to get carried away with bikes!

Tried to work with bigger imagery but it looks a bit too much like someone projectile vomited a premature version of a final design onto here.

Little Brown Book - Feedback

I have shown my work to Little Brown Publishing and they were quite surprised by the work of everyone. Their advice to me was to continue to work with shape and try to forge a concept of using the whole page (front, back and middle), as they particularly would like to see imagery that fills the whole page and not just separate to the front or back, this is an idea I agreed with as I have done this in the past for projects such as The Wind in the Willows, where I have used the double page to plant a whole scene.

They also recommend I work with a Graphic Design student to combine a suitable typeface with my designs, I don't always like working with others as I feel I can think better in my own head and like to think I'd be fine finding a good typeface, but having someone else to bounce ideas and combine thoughts is always good and it will be interesting to work with someone I don't know and hasn't had the same design experience. 

I am going to continue to think about the layout of the page and how this can be used to an advantage, instead of sticking to just using each page separate. I also think that if I use shape in each design and stick to my style, I will have automatically kept the synergy going and that will be the common basis for the 7 designs. 

Little Brown Book Publishing - Basic Designs

After spending some time on forging a few ideas for the Little Brown Book Publishing brief, I have come up with a few designs for several books. I am trying to create a synergy between the books, but not keep them too similar, because they are not a 'collection' but a series of books, and so I want them each to be very different but keep a design consistency throughout.

The last design 'A Ride in the Neon Sun' has taken inspiration from one of my pieces I did earlier in "The Wind in the Willows", I kept the idea of using transparency to give a 3d effect of distance in the image. These are all just very basic starts, but I will gradually introduce detail and use my own drawings in the imagery.

I am going to show these to the Little Brown Book Publishing agency when they visit and see what they think to the ideas.

Little Brown Book Publishing Project

I have been given a chance to design sever book covers for a series of books for Little Brown Book Publishing. The books are by an auther called Josie Dew who has travelled all around the world on a bicycle, the stories seem to be very crazy and funny as she goes anywhere and everywhere on her bike, and it will be a fun and interesting experience to design the covers for these!

I really want the designs to reflect my style of work, as well as Josie Dew's humour. I'd want her to appreciate the thought of design behind the book covers. 

I wanted to start off by making a typeface just to see what it's like (and how difficult it is!) I thought this threaded typeface I designed might look good on the designs, but we'll see..

Creative Review

The Chronicles of Fry

I am really into Stephen Fry's literature at the moment, what's interesting about him is he can rant for days on end and still maintain my attention and at the same time be hilarious. I don't know why I picked this book specifically but Fry has been an inspiration to me for quite some time now. I always used to watch "A Bit of Fry and Laurie", the humor was really smart and quick witted. While I see he isn't everybody's taste, he is a really intelligent person and his quotes are really inspiring, I think he says things that are regarded as quotes without him even realizing it.

"The human cultural jungle should be as varied and plural as the Amazonian rainforest. We are all richer for biodiversity. We may decide that a puma is worth more to us than a caterpillar, but surely we can agree that the habitat is all the better for being able to sustain each" - Stephen Fry This is something Fry said in his book 'The Chronicles of Fry', this makes a lot of sense to me because it is so easy to get bogged down with art being here there and everywhere, even everything else, not just art. We need to be more open-minded to things we turn aside, and things others like that we can't appriciate. Don't get stuck with one favourite, respect everything you may not like as much. There wouldn't be so much competition if it wasn't for the things we overlook, it is far too easy to get locked into a comfort zone.

"I used many times to touch my own chest and feel, under its asthmatic quiver, the engine of the heart and lungs and blood and feel amazed at what I sensed was the enormity of the power I possessed. Not magical power, but real power. The power simply to go on, the power to endure, that is power enough, but I felt I had also the power to create, to add, to delight, to amaze and to transform." - Stephen Fry This is a quote from 'Moab is my Washpot' and it just stands as a true statement for everyone, that is so easily forgotten. We have as much power as any other human being, it is only our emotions that hold us back from achieving. We have the power to be who we want to be, it's just up to us to get there!

Disney Animations

Since I was very young, I have been watching Disney animations, the very first film I watched of these was 'Toy Story', I suppose because I have been watching them from such a young age, the style relates to me, as from making characters and personas that don't exist in real life into virtual beings, the realism hits me more and I feel more drawn to animated films. With real-life films, you need both good actors and a good director to create a successful film, but with animations, the actors are made from our brains. That's kind of why I find them so astounding to watch, the story, the scenery, the movements, every little tiny piece is perfectly placed and has had attention at some point.

A few of my favorites are A Bug's Life, Tarzan, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, and obviously toy Story. I think it's also nostalgia that makes the bond stronger, as I feel more to these favorites than to say Lion King, a classic regarded as legendary by many. Although I watch it a lot and do appreciate it's work and heart-warming story, I just didn't grow up with Lion King, it just became one of those things I missed out on and didn't get to watch properly until I was older. Had I have watched it when I was younger, I would probably regard it as a favorite now. 

I really like the idea of nostalgia and how it means alot to us, we all have something we grew up with that has caused us to bond with it as we got older. It's just a nice thing.



"Taste"


The other day, me and a couple others gave a presentation about 'Taste'. This led to a very interesting discussion. Karl Pilkington (Actor, and renowned as an 'idiot' or a 'man at the bus stop' if you will) was having an interview with David Shrigley, and Karl asked him why he doesn't draw 'properly', to which Shrigley responed "Just because you can play a guitar, doesn't mean you have to play the guitar properly". This quote stuck with me, as too often today, people outside the art world only think art is perfectly drawn sketches and brightly coloured paintings, when there is so much more being missed. What is 'properly'? There is no properly when the criteria is completely opinion based and there is so much to debate over. I do like it when someone says something like this though, it makes me snigger a little inside to know that there are people that actualy don't understand the art world atall and have no respect for those who approach things in very broad and interesting styles. If everyone drew in the same way, what would seperate us? Everything would be dull and repetative.

The quote itself though just shows that you can do that if you wish, but you don't have to. Mastery comes with everything below it and that includes being playful and exploring anything you like, it's all about being true to yourself. Never think twice about something just because someone else's opinion is different, it's what makes us unique and interesting. Just like Pablo Picasso, he could draw magnificently, yet he started Cubism, a completely different method of working from his previous art. Just because you are good at something doesn't mean you have to do it. Many people will be born to be rocket scientists, but if you don't want anything to do with that profession, there's no point.

We also looked at several pieces of 'underrated' art created by a few artists that were made in the style of Ikea, they ere really basic pieces of shelving stuck together. Is that art? What does it mean to people? Some found it interesting, while others weren't interested at all. It goes to show again, that we all have different opinions.

I personally believe that we should aim for our own targets, not the people around us, if you want to be successful  be successful  but through your own eyes, and own hands... If that makes sense...

1, 2, 3

"The human cultural jungle should be as varied and plural as the Amazonian rainforest. We are all richer for biodiversity. We may decide that a puma is worth more to us than a caterpillar, but surely we can agree that the habitat is all the better for being able to sustain each" - Stephen Fry

This is a quote I found while reading 'The Fry Chronicles' and when I first read it, it really stuck with me. He is basically saying that favoritism is great, but we shouldn't disregard everything else just because we prefer that favourite. I think I often turn my nose up to things too quickly and don't give them a chance to sink in, due to me being quite opinionated about certain things, especially with art.

"Stop slackin' and get crackin'" - Lord Whitney

This is something that Lord Whitney have always said, and it is just a true, honest piece of advice. Unfortunately, as I and I'm sure many others have found, there is no time to waste. Every second can be used to an advantage, sometimes there just isn't enough time to complete projects successfully, if too much time is wasted. We all like a break now and then, but I think in a few of the projects over the last couple of years, I have steered away from the brief itself and got distracted. I need to use studio time a lot more resourcefully. I also noticed that deadlines creep up on me so sneakily, and I need to prepare for these in the future.

All in all, I just agree with how truthful this is. Maybe you need to experience being 'on the edge' to properly understand the advice, but for me, I will definitely focus on and regulate my time more efficiently over the next academic year, and ofcourse for all my own personal future projects.

"Just because you can play an instrument, doesn't mean you have to play it properly" - David Shrigley

This quote throws confidence my way because I love being playful in my work and it really motivates me to continue this. The main point of the message is that just because you can draw doesn't mean you have to necessarily do it 'properly' (I hate the word 'properly', just because what is properly?) Once art is mastered, you can use it on any level, for any purpose, in any way that you choose, doesn't have to be 100% realistic to a photograph. David Shrigley is a main influence of mine as well, so it does mean a lot to me.

Wish I'd dun dat...

There have been quite a number of occasions where I've thought to myself "Why didn't I think of that". But time in particular was when I was browsing the work of Peter Callesen for his amazing card cutouts. When I first laid eyes on them I really couldn't believe what I saw. The accuracy, the perfection, the attention to detail, it was all so stunningly creative, and I can't imagine how long it took him to create such pieces of work (, and how many errors he must have made in the process!). 

The main reason I wish I'd thought of it, is just for the time and effort put in, some art is difficult to tell just how long they took to create, but straight away, you can feel Callesen's pain from all the kneeling down and stress from the tiny details he has paid so much attention to. I really appreciate work that has taken time and dedication to achieve.

Although I could just get up and make my own, I feel Callesen has really started the 'trend' now, but his work is and will always be inspiration to me, both to my work and to me myself, it just shows what you can do if you put your mind to it!

Raiding The Air Raid Shelters

I have been investigating the mysteries of the Stockport Air Riad Shelters, I was alone in their which added to the spooky eerieness and left a cold feeling in my spine, the fact that many people were squeezed into here many many years ago to avoid getting killed, it's quite scary to be in here! I came into here primarily to get a feeling of what they look like and maybe snag a few photos, but I also decided to do some sketches in my sketch book.

I wonder what secrets have been boarded up...

Old objects left around, like a wrecked ship!

I really love this, like a stash of old war-time objects, really amazing!

I stroll into an old medical ward...

How the kitchen areas may have looked in war-time

Toilets? Pipes with lids*

The eeriness is unreal, especially on your own! 

So this was my journey through the Air Raid Shelters. I really enjoyed looking through history in this way, it isn't something I'd have thought about doing, had I not done this project for Age UK.