​In 1967, making unusual posters was a popular thing for illustrators of the time, many of them having connections with the music promoter Bill Graham. Maclean experimented with bright contrasting colours and optical illusions which made reference to the  visual effects of hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD. The detailed and slightly illegible typography used on many psychedelic posters, as well as swirling lines, was supposedly  a visual meaasge, who those already indoctrinated to psychedelics could read. However it was also inspired by earlier design movements, such as Art Nouveau. 

The two pieces above are another example of the similarity between Bonnie Maclean and Wes Wilsons work. in terms of the layout of their page and the warmth of their colour palettes it is easy to see where Maclean has taken her inspiration. However I do also find differences between their way of working which includes the fact that Maclean's typography is much more legible than Wes Wilsons, making hers less like that of the hallucinogenic style, but probably a more  successful poster design, as more people can read it. 

Robert Weaver was one of the artists we talked about in the lecture who I was intrigued by. I found that his compositions were unusual, especially the way he uses perspective, with the viewer really having to search for the focus of the image, creating a  voyeuristic feeling as we try to capture a glance of this couple stealing a kiss.

Brian Sanders was another illustrator that we looked into, finishing that his work was experimental and reflected the excitement of the times. He made his work interesting by using off-kilter compositions and bright colours. The medium he worked with was acrylic paint and he developed what was referred to as the ‘bubble and streak’ effect. In 1965, Sanders was commissioned by Stanley Kubrick to be an on set reportage illustrator during the making of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Sanders would draw on the set two days per week and work on larger paintings in his studio, mapping out the making of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

This was my attempt at creating an illustration which shows a mundane moment, I have tried to make this piece look exciting by being influenced by the techniques used by Brian Sanders and Robert Weaver. I have combined elements of the two artists, such as using a painted, streaky back ground like Brian Sanders and trying to play with making the foreground more prominent than the background like Robert Weaver. Yet I still feel like there are a lot more things I could have done to make this piece more visually interesting, including experimenting with a more vivid colour palette and using a less central composition. However, I feel that this practice has allowed me to take a step back from how I would usually work and be more open to learning from such brilliant illustratiors. 

This project has allowed me to explore the technique of creating thumbnails, as it is a fast way of generating ideas and allows more choice when it comes to selecting work that can be refined into final pieces. I feel that I was able to work quickly using this process, creating multiple ideas rather than labouring over one idea, which ultimately wouldn't be as good due to the lack of experimentation and idea generation. 

The first fashion story is from a February 1984 edition of Vogue. The model on the front cover looks playfully out at the audience with a neat and dainty smile. The Vogue logo has been printed in a hot pink to highlight the spring feeling and sits across the top of the magazine. Within the magazine I have selected a purely black and white editorial piece about affordable summer fashion. For Vogue creating a piece about affordable fashion, with items ranging between £10-£40, contradicting the ideal that Vogue only advertises to the wealthy. I think that the use of black and white photography within this editorial makes the model seem more reachable in terms of young women being able to identify with her in that time period and the mixture of styles presented opens her up to a wider audience, as she wears simple outfits that can be dressed up and her poses are used purely to display the clothes that she is wearing which is why she looks so wooden. 

The second fashion story I will look at is from a February 2019 edition of Vogue, featuring Emma Stone. Emma Stone is a well-known actress with much celebrity due to the success of her films.  The front cover uses bold colours and keeps the iconic Vogue font. The way the actress is posed on the front cover displays to the viewer a powerful and serious individual. Within the magazine itself the editorial piece Emma Stone is captured in a grungy lighting, with what appears to be a more natural and comfortable way of posing. I feel that the photography has links to that of Corrine Day, who was a photographer for Vogue in the 1990s and whose work had a more realistic quality, moving on from the polished glamour of the 80’s. 

Overall, from looking at two Vogue editorial pieces from different time periods and cultural influences, I have been able to recognise the way that Vogue changes to fit with the movements of the time and how in someways it has become more inclusive, but on the other hand it has become immersed in the publicity of celebrity, rather than having the sole focus of bring fashion to the people. 

Within my collage, which I created using photoshop, I have incorporated famous figures including; Kim Kardashian-West, Kanye West and Theresa may (on the tv). I wanted to include figures that many people find controversial, as I feel that in todays society people look to celebrity and talk about politics more than they ever used to. I have also included a child sat on an iPad, as many children are being introduced to technology at much younger ages and spend less time playing outside, which has spurred many arguments as to wether technology is damaging for the youth. Within the background of the image, though the window, a pro- democracy riot can be seen, which is occurring in Hong Kong, due to their government being a communist party and the people wanting to have more say in who governs them. As a link to the original  piece, instead of including a moon, I have added mars coming through the ceiling, as there has been much talk about whether humans could survive on mars and if anyone will ever get there. Extra quirky pieces I have added to my collage is "the world record egg" which got more likes than Kylie Jenners 18 million likes and has around 24.5 million likes which had people stunned. Also personal touches I added included the Art Nouveau poster and the episode of 'Stranger Things' playing on the laptop in the background and for fun I added a pug playing with a robotic vacuum cleaner. 

"Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?", Richard Hamilton, 1956, collage. 

The first artwork I copied was Eric Robertson's piece 'Mary' created using pencil, implementing  the technique of cross hatching.​

Before starting this piece I practiced with different gradients of pencil to see the efficiency and the tone of their mark. I also practiced doing crosshatching as I often struggle to make my marks appear uncontrolled to get a more natural look. When starting on this piece I decided to begin with shading the face, making sure I captured the lights and shadows, I found it difficult to capture the tones of the skin at first, but as I got more confident with the technique it started to come together.  The part of the drawing that I found most difficult was the hair, as I discovered that the artist Eric Robertson began with very dark tones for the hair which he then lightened using a rubber. I tried to recreate this effect by using a putty rubber which I manipulated into a point which seemed to create a similar effect. I then finished this piece by cross hatching the background, using a 2b pencil which I felt had a good range of tone and created the depth that I was looking for. I found the background hard as I felt that I wasn't being free enough with my marks, as I was concentrating to closely on the direction of my marks, once I started being more free with my marks the whole piece started coming together. Next time to improve, I will create more practices in order to feel more comfortable with my materials and be braver with the application and intensity of my mark-making. 
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The second art work I copied was an illustration from Treasure Planet by Mervin Peake, this time cross hatching with ink using a dip pen. 

In preparation for starting this piece i practiced using indian ink with different ink pen nibs to see how the ink was transferred onto the paper. I experimented with different pressures and strokes with the nib that i chose to see how it effected the mark. Once I felt comfortable with using a dip pen I began my copy of Mervin Peake's work.  I found this piece challenging, as I struggled with the placement of my marks and I found it just as hard understanding where to leave negative space to make the black stand out.  The part of the drawing that I found the most difficult was the hair, as it felt quite complicated due to the curves and the density of line. I tackled most of the piece by starting with the large areas of dense cross stitching so that I could work up to the more delicate areas of the work. I feel that I have created a good interpretation of the artists work, however to improve I would like to feel more confident with using ink so that I can put more energy into the work so the piece feels less like a lifeless copy.
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The third art work I copied was Claire Leighton's, "Country matters" completed using scraper board. 

For me this was the most challenging piece out of the three, due to the fact that I had never used scraper board before. To complete this piece I used two different types of scrapers in order to get different thicknesses of mark. I began this piece by sketching out the piece with pencil on to the scraper board which left a faint mark allowing me to follow the pencil and get an outline of central figure. Before going in with the scraper I practiced using it first, playing with different ways of holding it to see how much of the ink could be removed at once and how to create small pinhole marks. When I eventually started scraping I found it difficult to control my scraper so it removed the right area of the board and ended p taking out bits that I had not wanted to, so I went back in with indian ink to cover it up.  The most difficult part of this piece was the tree as it was very delicate and i struggled with creating the branches and then taking out the area for the sky.  Overall,  although I found this piece difficult I liked learning and practicing a new skill, to improve i will leave myself more time to add more detail and I will use a variety of scrapers to get better definition. 

Work created by Johannes Itten