30/4/13

I've been struggling trying to highlight key scenes to illustrate in the story I was allocated but after the tutorial and then chat with Jo after I feel a lot more confident about getting it done. I have an idea in my head of how I want it to look so let's just hope I can get it together in time!
Good luck to me!

Planning PDP Presentation

Through planning my presentation and answering the given questions I had to think amount my work and style a lot and below are the things I have identified. I will use this to help me from now on.

•I think I need to focus on developing my own personal style a lot more as I don’t really see links between my different projects that much. There are subtle underlying themes such as pattern, colour schemes, and intricate drawings, but they don’t come across as obviously as they should.

•I also need to work on completing more finalised looking work as the way I work now in my sketchbooks makes me feel as though I barely create anything worthwhile when it comes to presenting work or putting things into a portfolio.

•In my work I have noticed there is barely any use of bright colours anywhere. If its not b&w then it’s browns and nudes and muted colours. I think this comes from influence from the things that appeal to me, such as vintage albums and imagery, as well as the Art Nouveau style, which is another big influence of mine.

New project: 8x8

Thanks to advice from my tutors I have decided on the 8x8 illustration project as my last of second year! The story I have been given by Tim Rands is fantastic but the scenes and ideas are quite complicated so I'm going to start by finding imagery within in to get ideas and some sketches done.

123

•1.  “If you want to be genuinely inspired or influenced by what I do, then look outside the tiny and insignificant bubble that is contemporary illustration. Watch films, read books, look at other forms of art and design, learn about what's going on around you - anything that takes you outside illustration.”

•David Foldvari

•I find this really interesting. I read Foldvari’s interviews a lot as he is really inspirational to me, but I have picked this quote in particular as it really resonates with me. When I look at artists work for influence I always feel it does damage rather than good as I’ll either feel down because I’m no where near as talented (which I know is ridiculous) or my work will end up looking really similar which is obviously not good.

•2.  “Play!”

•Joanna Spicer

•One of the main things I have learnt this year is that in order to ensure you have the best outcome, you need to spend some time playing with the topic and experimenting before you go straight to the final realization creation. After having this advice towards the start of the year I enjoyed projects more and felt better about my work as a whole and my end product.

•3  “Our culture teaches us that there is a standard that is most desirable and that things that are imperfect are less desirable. You can also see this applied to the emotional realm -- dark, ugly, or negative emotions are deemed dysfunctional; if we are not happy, we need to take a pill to feel better. So we all grow up with some kind of ideal that really has nothing to do with our personal beliefs or reality (accepting what actually exists and saying, "I am not perfect, and that is okay"). Over time we create a set of standards that none of us can possibly live up to, and so we have a tendency to beat ourselves up or become critical with much of what we attempt (which leads to depression). The goal for me at some point became to examine those imperfections, in the emotional realm but also in my creative life. I used to become frustrated when I would make a mistake or when a drawing didn't turn out the way I had intended. This is a natural part of creating, but I wanted to consider what would happen if I approached it from the perspective that those imperfections are not just beautiful but actually the thing necessary to make my work unique.”

•Keri Smith

•I just love nearly everything this woman says, but this theory in particular attracts me as it is a problem for me that I really want to solve. I think I am critical of everything I do in my life and so I create some kind of self-fulfilling prophecy for myself where I’ve begun doing the wrong thing because it’s what I expect of myself. I want this to change and Keri Smiths books are one of the ways I’m going to work on these problems. 

I wish I'd done that...

•Black Mold - Metal Spiderwebs

•This is the video for Black Mold’s (Chad Vangaalen’s electronic alter ego) “Metal Spiderwebs” from his debut album “Snow blindness is Crystal Antz” which is animated by Vangaalen himself. The music itself is incredible in the way that although you can hear the subtle influences, it is so powerfully unique and unusual that it is like he has created his own sub-genre. The combination of acoustic and electronic is beautifully done. My favourite thing about this video though, is the animation. Nearly any animation has the power to astound me as it is something that I have always thought to be immensely difficult and time-consuming, with not much knowledge on the actual process. When originally applying to the BA Hons Visual Arts and Design Course, I chose the moving image pathway as for a long time I had wanted to acquire skills in this area, but when it was cancelled I went for illustration as that is what I had done in the past. In third year I would like to get more involved in this side of things, and will maybe look to doing another course, more animation based, after I have completed this one. As for this piece of animation, it one of the most creative pieces I have ever seen and the best, in my opinion, by this artist. The transitions are complicated and constant, combined with the humorous and psychedelic imagery, it’s just incredible. I so wish I was talented enough to be capable of something like this, and although that will probably never happen, I do want to attempt to learn about different methods and techniques of animating in order to at least try it. 

16/4/13 Tutorial

Today I had a meeting with my tutor to discuss my work and try to get everything for the deadline in two weeks time as I have found myself a bit behind.
It really helped organising the work to make it seem like a less of an undoable amount.
Feeling positive about the 3rd of May now
:):)

After Effects

Honestly it's a challenge getting to grips with all the shortcuts and wording of a new program but I love learning new things and Rick has been really helpful. Thoroughly enjoying what's being produced as well. As I've been learning I haven't thought about taking screenshots but I shall post the final video when it's all done and rendered!

Back From Egypt!

Just had an amazing week in Egypt for my 21st birthday but now it's time to get back into a routine and crack on with a new project.
I think I'll choose the Age UK 2 project which involves creating a moving illustration from the first Age UK project illustration (which I'm really excited about), two patterns for one booklet on Wartime and another on Stockport Buildings. and a new illustration for a building I will be allocated.
Glad to be back :):)

Age UK Submission

Over the weekend and today I have been focusing on getting my final Age UK image ready to submit on Friday. The review tutorial today was really helpful as I knew the piece I brought to it wasn't right but couldn't figure out why. The advice helped and I went away and finished it to a much better standard.

Discussion Forum 25/1/13

Yesterday Corina, Roush and Matt lead a discussion forum based on the relationship and differences between personal and commissioned work amongst illustrators.

The following are the notes I took at this.

• Matthew Richardson
• fine art work - personal
• illustrations - commisioned
• He prefers his personal work to that he is commissioned to do
• Bhushan
• believes there is only conceptual restrictions on commissioned work
• commercial work - conceptual restraints
• personal work - good to limit your media or colour
• with personal work it doesn't matter how the viewer reads it
• with commissioned work  it is a failure if the viewer doesn't read it the way you intended
• Rawle 
• constraints make you more creative
• Authorstrator
• create their own narrative
• allows you to have the benefits of personal and commissioned work
• Foster
• no difference between personal and commissioned work
• sets himself limits
• doing this is a form of self-improvement

We then discussed our own opinions of these ideas and how we work best. There was a range of different ideas, but we all agreed it is good to things you are not completely comfortable with as you learn your strengths and weaknesses. I said that I think I work better within some restraint as if I work to a really open brief I go off on tangents and tend to lose focus. Overall I found it really interesting hearing other peoples opinions and how they differ from my own.