resolved piece for PRESSriso

The brief for this was incredibly open so I didn't really have a solid starting point. Instead I looked through personal sketchbooks to find an image I liked that I could turn into something bigger. I found this image, but didn't think it would be so worthy on its own.

<image>

I figured I could turn it into a larger narrative. It was quite spontaneous and stemmed from an inside joke I had with one of the organisers (though the final series of images had more of a somber mood...)

I had fun with this playing with narrative through quite abstract imagery in places. Really, I was more after mood than events. Though I keep very much making things in this sort of *sequential* genre it's not really something I set out to do. I don't have so much of a desire to go into small press or comics right now, but in regards to things especially like the editorials I was doing I think it's an interesting way of pursuing a topic in one image. Lots of boxes mean lots of opportunities. But it's a wholly different thing to a planned out narrative with developed characters and many pages. Consideration for panels visually is still there, with an element of storytelling, but it's narrative in two different flavours.

In regards to media, I challenged myself to put down the pencil. The method wasn't too dissimilar to what I usually do- I drew the lines by hand and added tone digitally, but this time I used digital screen tone brushes. I think this could have been pursued in a more refined way, but lo-fi looseness was also suited to the piece.

To my knowledge PRESS are happy with the design, and the proof of its success will also be in how well it sells! But all in all, it's been another good stepping stone into working with narrative and mood.

 BA (Hons) Illustration - Level 06

OUIL603 Extended Practice

BRIEF TITLE: Print Design for PRESS Riso Fundraiser

Brief

Design a black and white A4 risograph print to be sold during “Neighbourhood Watch”, a fundraising night (December 22nd) for PRESS riso-press in Milton Keynes. Each artist’s design will be made in an edition of 5, with one being sold on the night for a small amount with those proceeds going to the press, and the artist receiving the remaining 4. There is no theme.

Product	Tone of Voice
One black and white A4 risograph print (design)	Open theme! Similar to the previous Forge magazine project in that is an opportunity to showcase my own voice, but even more open without a theme. Projects like this really allow me to examine the kind of work I want to be making, with an opportunity for it to be for commercial gain and exposure. Regardless, in the end its  purpose is to be displayed, so must have some decorative/ aesthetic value.
Audience	Context
Other people interested in the local (to MK) creative scene	Fundraising exhibition/ night To be hung/ displayed in people’s homes

Additional information/Considerations

Mandatory Requirements	Deliverables
Design must be A4 to fit their printing template, and black and white/ grayscale.	One A4 black and white riso-print design.

AOI Prize for Illustration 2017- no place

I didn't receive any information on my entry through November so I am assuming it didn't place! I'm ok with that, but it means I can post it online now!

• As I found out with the Forge brief, I should stop making individual pieces and expecting them to fit together well without any prior planning! 
• This lead to me fitting the text in as an after thought, and even then it became very unbalanced (very much on the left). That said I think the text itself is quite cute, and the way I drew it (not placed) I would try again.
• Looking back on this a few months later I can see what I was trying but how I didn't quite get there. There are smaller individual pieces in there I appreciate for their energy.
• I wonder if a less flat background would have brought it all to more life too.

After looking at what I've been making recently I've become very reliant on the pencil drawing and digital colouring combo. It works, for sure, and is a way for me to work digitally and be pleased with the result but I think I need to look into a different way of working for the next few briefs. A challenge, as I've already established this a technique that I WILL and SHOULD go back to, but engaging in a larger repertoire in general will be... good.

Forge Art Magazine- trial and many errors

My original idea:

• Paste images of dancers on to nature backgrounds

Result:

• For a start, the pairs put on to 12x9" backgrounds alone, centrally, were jarring to look at, and the background added even more visual confusion

Then:

• I started to combine the dancers together, with extra elements such as rocks and other drawn lines to try and balance it out
• I pasted the backgrounds in different ways, cutting them up and splicing together too. 
• This lead to a LOT of variations and inevitably a lot of personal confusion. It got to the point where it was impossible for me to judge it because I had looked at it too long
• Some of the results were good but looked to harsh for the mood I was going for. Changing the colours to the creams and blues could tone it down. The collaged together backgrounds also offered more feminine and softer shapes that made the piece run a little smoother too.
• I was well and ready to re-do the whole thing, but getting the opinions of others helped no end. I've never been happy with anything I have submitted as a live project, so maybe a little more confidence is in order (though care and critical thinking will not be sacrificed).

And the final, as decided in co-operation with Forge and based on these points

Forge Art Magazine submission sketchbook development

I saw the Forge submission as an opportunity to really enjoy a brief and cater it to some of my own interests- the brief is incredibly open and as it as a feature of me, I suppose what would be wanted is to see what I'm really into.

The theme of "relief"  gave me a few ideas:

• I had been doodling and drawing from dancers for a while, and the idea of being lifted and supported fit into the idea of being relieved.
• In general I wanted the image to have a calm, soothing tone. Driving home at night I saw a warm scene within a cold towerblock (the stairway seen from the outside) and I've been trying to recreate it in an image but keep struggling to get the mood/ how it should look. Though it stayed with me, it was fleeting and I can't really remember what it looked like.
• So I went back to the dancers. It was also a little more 'explainable'
• I also had in mind mountainous and rural scenes- thinking of the calm in wild nature, and personally, how I often feel relief when I am back in rural areas.

 

• The plot at this point is to draw these dancers, and to paste them on to a rural background. The dancers will be quite simple, and the background heavily textured.
• In my mind the dancers will look a little out of place, but in a plotted way. 

Forge Art Magazine invitation

 BA (Hons) Illustration - Level 06

OUIL603 Extended Practice

BRIEF TITLE: Forge Art Magazine Submission

Brief

Requested by Forge Art Magazine to create a submission for their next edition, under the theme of “relief”. Forge is a magazine designed “to give exposure to young artists and celebrate the work of artists making a big impact on their respective fields.”

Product	Tone of Voice
One 12x9 inch illustration based on the theme of “relief”. Three images can be submitted and one will be chosen.	“Relief” Initial ideas: ideas of calm, support, and being lifted. Stylistically, I imagine they are looking for something exciting. This is a showcase, looking for innovation, or at least is open to the new.
Audience	Context
Readers of Forge Magazine. People interested in art, design and music. Publishing young people, which may well mean their audience is too.	Printed publication, and online edition.

Additional information/Considerations I noticed that amongst the previous features that people approach the briefs quite loosely, and it’s quite open to artistic license. It could be an opportunity to create quite a self-indulgent image, or at least, be experimental.

Mandatory Requirements	Deliverables
One 12x9 inch illustration	Three 12x9 inch illustrations to be submitted, and then one will (hopefully) be chosen.