one week book: book planning

As a group we decided that the main themes we wanted to pursue were the people and the state of the market- quite contrasting in tone of voice but we think that can work to our advantage.

The inside six pages will consist of three pages of characters and three pages of the market and its changes over the years, each theme alternating and contrasting against the other.

Printing in two colours could be limited, but personally I like the challenge and aesthetic of a limited colour palette.  It has forced me to think more about the relation of shape and image, which is very appropriate to printing methods, and something I want to continue in my practice.

For the back page I have taken this photograph I took and changed the pigeons into the various bustling characters we saw. This is meant to be humorous and breezy but looking back I worry that people will infer it as the people of the market being equated to what some consider vermin, which is certainly not something I'd ever want to suggest. Because of this I will make sure to keep the image lighthearted and positive, though will still maintain that variety of characters and personalities.

one week book: a trip to kirkgate market

Our biggest struggle in trying to record information from Kirkgate Market was finding a place in which to do so! The market itself does not have many facilities for sketching art students, but we eventually found ourselves a seat (and a sandwich). There wasn't much time to record the busy passersby in the cold so we used the quickest drawing tools we could.

It was also hard trying to communicate and ask questions to the market traders. They didn't seem very interested, and it felt rude to spark a conversation without the intention, or rather money, to buy any of their goods. 

But we managed to record a lot of conversation happening around us! And that natural dialogue provided insight to the interesting characters at the market- and so this became a focal point of what we wanted to record (and emphasise).

We also spent time studying the interesting items for sale, particularly on the miscellaneous stalls. This could also become a part of our project.

Whilst the community of the market, particularly the outdoors one, seemed jovial enough there was certainly a contrasting atmosphere inside where many stalls were empty and abandoned. We shall begin to look at the social aspect of the market and its place in modern Leeds.

 

photography workshop

large depth of field captured with a larger aperture setting

fast shutter speed to catch movement, but also a small aperture for a shallow depth of field

long exposures (slow shutter speed): blur all movement

in the second image I moved the camera so the entire image would be blurred

fast shutter speed to capture movement of moving water in bottle

this image came out quite dark, possibly because of the fast shutter speed: could be solved by a higher ISO setting

visual language: shape

I am enjoying beginning to look at shape as a means of image making, though still find myself slipping into the habit of being reliant on line.

My biggest struggle at the moment for this project is selecting interesting subjects of which to draw, but I have now drawn inspiration from others' work in the feedback sessions.

This image seemed to be the most popular in the feedback session. The textures create a more interesting aesthetic than flat colour, though sometimes they can become a bit of a headache to look at. Perhaps mixing textured and flat(ter) collage pieces is something to try.

OUIL403: VISUAL SKILLS: 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?

I have begun to look at using shape as a means of image making. This was initially informed by my experiments in the OUIL404 Visual Language module but in using it in Visual Skills I have discovered how I can apply this to my more illustrative work. I’m finding that I prefer it as a tool to use and also as an aesthetic in other artists’ work. Textures have also been prevalent in my practice for this module. I have used them in different ways for each studio brief. Most of the time these received positive feedback, though the use of digital textures received a mixed response and is something to be careful with.

2. Which principles/ theories of image making have you found most valuable during this module and how effectively do you think you are employing these within your own practice?

Before this module I did not pay quite as much attention to the importance of roughs and, the even rougher roughs, ‘scamps’. I have found them very helpful, though I feel like I could extend this even more by considering colour and media as well as just the composition when sketching these out. I have also found working in prescribed formats helpful and also understand that this practice is closer to professional illustration practices than without.

3. What strengths can you identify within your submission and how have you capitalised on these?

I have been able to consistently work to deadlines with good time management (for this module). Although some of my work was not as I hoped I feel I have been able to successfully identify what had gone wrong (or just what had not been done) and evaluate how I plan to improve my practice. I feel that the work I have produced has been crafted well to a fairly high standard and thoughtfully produced (aesthetically at least).

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

Often I find that my work can become very similar stylistically, and I am keen to produce and practice a diverse range of image making. As I learn and experiment with media, tones of voice etc in OUIL404 Visual Skills I hope to be able to apply these to my work in other modules, like this one. And when OUIL404 has ended (and in other modules anyway) I hope to continue this practice of not being afraid to experiment. I like to look at work that is very concept/ idea driven but I am finding, especially towards the end of this module, that I am finding it difficult to create, and portray, good ideas myself. It’s a very important part of illustration for me and I am disappointed that it was not one of my stronger points for this module.

5. In what way has this module introduced you to the Ba (Hons) Illustration programme? Blogging in this format has been the newest concept for me. At the beginning I struggled a little but getting into the routine of blogging regularly, and in stages as a brief progresses has helped. Having such short and busy briefs to work from has also been a new experience. I am finding that I am beginning to be able to work faster and arrange my time more in accordance to this.

Play Play Play: feedback and self evaluation

Strengths:

• "Wacky". This was written in the positive emotive response box, and it was nice to see that people had picked up on the fun feeling that I was trying to portray!
• I also received a few compliments in regards to aesthetics and the technique I had used. I am really enjoying using shape as a tool in my image making, in both process and results. The textures seem to offer a unique result. One comment reads "[the textures] add so much to quite simple ideas. Really bold and draws the eye"
• The three work well as a series with consistent use of tone of voice and media choices. However, it has been commented that the blackness in the type as image breaks the series.

Weaknesses:

• Clichéd ideas. I shouldn't be surprised that using a fly for the word fly resulted in some negative feedback. I did try to make it more interesting
• On the other hand, some ideas were too obscure and hard to understand! Seeing so many good conceptual ideas from others in the feedback session has only encouraged me to spend more time thinking about it in future projects.
• Although I decided against adding the door (as seen in my last blog post) I do wonder if I should have kept it, if not temporarily just for the feedback session. I'm concerned that the final out come is boring and whether the pros of adding the somewhat clunky door would have outweighed the cons.

Image as Communication

Text and Image

Text as Image

 Overall this has been one of my least successful projects, but I hope to be able to take these points and move onwards with future works.

Play Play Play: process and construction notes

 This has been the first time I've really investigated collage and papercut as a medium so it took some planning out and technical problem solving! For example, when piecing together the collage I quickly realised that it would be easier to make the pieces purposely too large/ create tabs to stick them together rather than create the exact shapes and have to delicately piece them together with extra slices of paper.

The great thing about collage is that you can move the pieces around and experiment as you go along. My original intention for the type as image piece was a floating portal door, but I was worried that it was too much of an illustration and wouldn't be counted for that category.

It was suggested I look at adding a door to the 'portal', maybe even an interactive one. It would create more of a narrative than just a plain image. However, I felt aesthetically it looked messy and unrefined (and again, too much of an illustration).

Play Play Play: roughs feedback and self-evaluation

SELF EVALUATION:

How effectively do you think you have tackled the first part of this brief? Have you been able to exhaust your ideas? How well have you used research to support the development of your ideas? Has drawing allowed you to visualise your ideas and evolve them further? Has seeing other approaches to the brief made you think differently about your ideas?

Typography is certainly not a strong point of mine and I struggled a lot with this brief, and was thankful to have this crit session quite early on in the project as the feedback I was given was helpful and informative. Regardless, I could have invested more time into the roughs which would have inevitably given better results.

The initial ideas I came up with were boring, cliche and sometimes didn't even make sense! But as I began to tackle through they became more interesting. Still, at the point of the crit I still don't feel like I have pushed my ideas enough, so I will continue to do so.

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In light of your feedback, what ideas do you intend to develop into final deliverable pieces?

The 'FLY' 'door/portal' was a popular idea. The composition has a dreamy energy to it, but I am concerned as to whether it can be classed as 'text as image' rather than 'text and image'. I hope to place the emphasis on the text to make the image more typographical.

I am also going to develop the fly as insect idea, and the humorous bird tattoo idea. However, I also like the fly as cool definition, and it would be a shame to miss that out. Maybe I can incorporate that into the bird and the fly.

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Outline briefly how you intend to generate the final deliverable artwork. Consider media, method, design, and application. What are the next steps required in development and refinement of your finals?

After developing some techniques and inspiration from the visual language module, I am considering using collage to create my final images. For this I will be preparing my own paper to work from. I will test this method, and if I feel it doesn't work I will probably use gouache, possibly in a similarly textured way. I would like the emphasis for this project to be on shape.

However firstly I will need to refine my roughs more!

visual language: tone, mark and pattern

This week I began to look at drawing figures in context of environments. I found it easier and more enjoyable to draw images that felt like they were part of a scenario, as if they had a story behind them.

I think I managed to create a wide range of images with lots of different techniques. I am still struggling with drawing figures.

Looking at other sketchbooks I feel that I should maybe invest more time in practicing more realistic anatomy. Not for the sake of creating realistic illustrations from these, but to create a better understanding of them that should hopefully inform my own work and own tone of voice later on.

'a day in the life of' evaluation

Weaknesses:

A lot of the weaknesses in the feedback didn't come as much of a surprise. One of my biggest regrets and most common comments was the stock I chose to print on. I opted for a more expensive, textured paper without realising that it would curl so much. Before assessment I hope to be able to flatten the piece.

Another common comment was a dislike of the use of texture. I wasn't so sure myself, but I decided to take the risk as it's something different to what I usually do. Perhaps a more subtle use of texture would have gone down better.

Finally, a lot of people pointed out that the images look a little like they're focused on the idea of technology rather than loneliness. It was suggested that perhaps one less of the pieces could have been concentrated on technology, and because of that I regret not using this idea:

(but a landscape version)

Strengths:

Funnily enough, a few people enjoyed the use of texture! It is a matter of taste, and something to keep in mind.

A lot of people enjoyed the colour palette and compositions, as well as the "sense of character". I feel that there are some places where the composition is a little unbalanced or odd (especially in the 20x20 image) but I think it is one of the highlights.