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Deadline: 10:00am, Thursday 22 April BriefThe brief is to identify a problem that, to my mind, needs to be fought against, that needs to be given attention and that would benefit from a wider awareness. The materials created should be available to be used by anyone, anywhere, to join the fight. This begs the question of how someone goes from accessing my work onscreen to being able to interact with it physically. Including instructions would be an informative way to tell people how to use your designs. Initial ResearchI began some initial research into already existing placards to inspire my own practice. Some things that I have noticed is that placards will often use a play on words or make reference to things from popular culture, especially when the protests are youth lead. A lot of the time placards are mostly made up using words, however imagery can be just as effective - for example Banksy's "Bomb Hugger" placard for the Iraq war protests, which is sprayed onto old cardboard, shows a young girl clutching a bomb with the words ‘NO’ in front of her. My interestsI think when doing these kinds of projects its important to think about the things that you yourself are passionate about. Some of my social, environmental and political interests include, Climate change, women's rights, deforestation, LGBTQ+ rights, mental health, Autism Awareness, body positivity and Inadequate sexual education in the school system. Protest pack subject: Body PositivityI want to focus on something that I feel connected to and body positivity is something that I feel really passionate about, I’m hoping that my creations will help empower other people as well as inform them on how to be kinder to themselves and others, in a society that constantly promotes diet culture and and often over sexualises the naked figure. My Protest Pack ideasA placard - design and how to make one Posters - stick up in your local area or in your window A zine or hand book/ guide - tips for reclaiming your confidence and your body, how to stop diet culture entering your life, why before and after pics are damaging. A stencil - spread the word on the go? History of the ZineZines exploded in popularity during the punk movement in the 1970s and again with the feminist Riotgrrrl movement in the 1990s. They were handmade small-run non-commercial paper publications, usually produced through do-it-yourself techniques. As zines are relatively easy to create and distribute, they were quickly taken up as projects for DIY political resistance among young women seeking authentic self-expression and connection with other radical thinkers. Their zines were often filled with free-flowing illustrations and collage, printed with the help of a trusty photocopier, and distributed through local markets and mail order. While the zines of the past have been shaped by the predominant themes of sci-fi, punk music, and the riot grrrl movement, there have always been zines on a variety of subjects. Useful Links: Zinester’s Toolkit: Tape Binding – Broken Pencil 11 🔥 Intersectional Feminist Zines and DIY Guide (with Template) — Disorient (Re)learning to Love Ourselves (chapman.edu) Whatcha Mean, What's a Zine?Luckily I took these photos on my phone last year in an earlier zine project so I could utilise them now! The makers of the text 'Whatcha mean, What's a Zine?: The Art of Making Zines and Mini Comics', Mark Todd and Esther Pearl Watson, once discovering zines, never stopped making them and created this resource for others to use to inform their craft. Taking inspiration from the resource, I would like to have a go at making 'The freebie' as that would also include a poster design or stickers which could be good additional resources in 'The Protest Pack'. Also making instructions for making zines is pretty straightforward, although i do need to keep in mind the way i use visual language to tie everything together. Visual resourcesIf, like me, you’re a visual learner these videos are helpful in setting out the simple ways of making a zine and the way that they have brought communities together. Artist ResearchI think it’s important to find other individuals who have already begun to pave the way, bringing body positivity to light through their illustrations, standing up against the patriarchy and the perceived image of a ‘healthy’ body. I have purposely picked artists who depict the naked form and express the importance of self love through their work. Rosi ToothRosi Tooth is an illustrator who's work explores being a woman in society, body shaming and mental health with playful light hearted illustrations and quirky ceramics. Sofie BirkinSofie Birkin is an illustrator who creates bold, colourful characters and bright, playful images which prioritize inclusive representation which aim to empower. Sarah BarnhartSarah Barnhart is a mixed media artist, her work often ventures in to the realm of self discovery as well as body confidence and positivity. Body Positive Zine InspoThere are so many different approaches to zines and their layout. Especially as zines are now often found in the world of graphic design and are a far leap from the stuck together masterpieces of the 70s. I think id like to keep an element of the hand made/ textured feel, but in a more digitally rendered way, such as using a textured pencil brush to create my images. ThumbnailsBody positivity is such a broad subject, and there are so many different people who are effected that I worry I might miss out an important group.I think to focus in on a specific area, in order to explore the subject in a more decisive way, might be a better way to tackle this topic.    Focusing on Diet cultureThe same way that anyone can be effected by body positivity, anyone can be caught up in the stream of advertising that’s main aim is to make people feel badly about themselves. One saddening statistic I came across is that 80% of teenage girls in the uk are afraid of becoming fat. I think it’s important to aim my zine at the most impressionable group, young people, in the hopes that my zine would empower them and be accessible to anyone else who read it. What is diet culture?-Diet culture has many definitions and facets but, in a nutshell, it’s a set of beliefs that worships thinness and equates it with health and moral virtue. It has become our dominant culture — often in ways we don't even notice since it's the water in which we swim. -Diet culture places thinness as the pinnacle of success and beauty, and “in diet culture, there is a conferred status to people who are thinner, and it assumes that eating in a certain way will result in the right body size — the ‘correct’ body size — and good health. - Diets don’t work: evidenced by the 98% failure rate of diets. This stat alone is proof of the no-win norm that we, as a society, have been groomed to abide by. In one fell swoop, diet culture sets us up to feel bad about ourselves — and judge other people, too — while also suggesting that losing weight will help us feel better. -While what is truly “average” varies greatly on genetics, family history, race, ethnicity, age, and much more, size and weight are actually notgood indicators of health in the first place — you can be smaller-bodied and unhealthy, or larger-bodied and fit. Target Audience (girls age 11 and up)I want my zine to be accessible to all and I hope it would be due to its friendly colour palette. However, I plan to aim my zine at girls aged 11 up, as from my own experience as a young woman I can remember that I first started thinking about what my body looked like when I started secondary school and I can’t remember there ever being any physical recourses that helped me worry less about what I looked like. The idea is that these zines would be handed out at school, along with a ‘how to make your own zine’ list in order to spread awareness about diet culture and encourage creativity in girls. Also there seems to be a major lack in creativity when it comes to school pamphlets and they’re not very interesting to look at so hopefully my zine would fill a gap in the market. Thumbnails for ZineWorked up visualsAfter feedback I have realised that I need to include room for bleed within my work to ensure that everything is in line and important aspects don’t get cut off when printing. I have also realised that a few of my colour pallet choices make the writing a little difficult to read so I need to reconsider the colour used for the type. Don’t forget the bleed!Final outcomesMy final outcome is an 18 page, A5, full colour zine. Target audience girls 11 and up, but with the hope of being accessible to all. The aim of my zine is to spread awareness about diet culture and it’s impact on body image. Ideally I picture this zine being distributed in secondary schools as a way to make young girls feel less alone in their worries about what they look like and give them the knowledge that will help to prevent them from being drawn in to diet culture. Zine instructions Mock upsZine Spreads as postersPaper bag and fruit stickersMy second idea for my protest pack is ‘fruit stickers’. Do you ever remember being a kid and peeling the sticker from a fruit and sticking it to your siblings forehead? Just me? Well anyway I think it would be a very cool way to spread the message of ‘positive eating’ through stickers, especially in a school environment. And these stickers don’t have to just be on fruit! They could be on sandwich bags or chocolate bars, but it would all be about spreading a message of positivity! Plus there’s nothing people love more than being able to collect stuff (there was always that one kid in school with a massive stamp collection), they could be added to planners and are a constant reminder to be kind about their body. Diet culture sticker inspoI really like the vibrant and colourful stickers as they’re the most engaging and the catchy phrases are quick to the point. I think In my stickers I’d like to incorporate some figures as it fits with the visual language of my zine and I think sometimes it’s easier to relate to images rather than just words. Sticker ThumbnailsI started out by mind mapping different kinds of phrases I could incorporate into my stickers and then drawing out different objects and figures that fit with the theme of diet culture, some of the objects/figures are the same as some of the drawings from the zine, as I wanted to create a consistent visual language which would help the two parts of the protest pack link together.    Final Sticker OutcomesI have created two sticker sheets, with 13 stickers across the two sheets. The idea is that you could use these stickers in school to seal sandwich bags or stick to different foods, within a school canteen that way the idea of positive eating and not giving into diet culture is a positive message within schools.   Mock ups     
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Deadline: 9.30AM, Thursday 18 March BriefUnlike previous briefs, here you have a choice of which problem you will respond to. Pick one of the following 4 pathways, each of which poses a slightly different problem as detailed below. 1 Editorial 2 Narrative Fiction 3 Picture book for early readers 4 Song Lyrics Once you've picked a pathway you have another choice. Conceptual or literal (in the interest of simplicity and clarity this choice is to be applied to each component illustration you produce. No pick n mix visual languages). Picture Book for early readersYou are asked to provide 3 illustrated pages by way of 'proof of concept' for your book. 1 double page spread 1 single page a front cover design You will need to consider and demonstrate the integration of image and type. InspirationWhen initially looking for inspiration I have focused on researching children's books that illustrates different aspects of childhood and also confront hard hitting subjects such as sadness and being afraid of the dark, to further understand the role of children's stories and the way narrative and illustrations work together to create a full piece. As well as looking at more enigmatic stories that are vibrant and colourful such as Tom Gaulds 'Pokko and the Drum' to really get a feel for how different styles of illustration can be used differently within children's books. Specific ResearchI have decided to illustrate this version of Rudyard Kipling's How the Elephant Got its Trunk (ignoring the narrative instructions). As I am only to produce the concept of my illustrated version of this classic tale I will focus on the parts of the text that are the most engaging! Although you’ll find that many online printing companies will print children’s books in a broad range of sizes, you should be aware that there are a few accepted ‘industry’ sizes. If you size your book to industry-friendly dimensions, you’ll be more likely to have your book bought by a distributor or bookshop. The three most popular industry-standard sizes for children’s books are:
Annotated textI have highlighted parts of the story which I think have the most visual language and would make good illustrations within the picture book! Animals from the storyResearching the key animals in the story gives me reference photos to work from and also provides me with a natural colour scheme. Idea generation: ThumbnailsI have kept these thumbnails very simple as I just wanted to get the initial story down into visuals as that helps me see what ideas I want to develop on. Focused inspirationI have decided to look at using collage as a way to illustrate, combined with more traditional mediums such as ink - to look at the combination of textures. As well as looking at the collage technique used digitally. DevelopmentI wanted to do a little bit of experimentation with creating a collage using procreate and experimenting with textures to see how successful the process would be. From creating these mock ups I have been able to see where I need to focus my energies, from composition to colour palette and of course considering the incorporation of text. Josef Albers - The Interaction of ColourAfter feedback on my initial development I was tasked with looking at Josef Albers colour theory and I happened upon this video, which goes into detail about a lot of Josef Albers theories and ideas, one that is very important is making 'one colour look like two'. From this video I have learnt that you can make one colour look like two, depending on the background colour that you use, it also showed me that different colours can make things appear up close or far away in a similar way. Basic colour theoryCreating these little colour charts was not only satisfying, but also refreshed my understanding of colour and the way that colours can work together. For example colours next to each other on the colour wheel are harmonious colours as they automatically look good together due to being made up of similar colours. As well as this, complimentary colours are opposite on the colour wheel and look good together as they are so different and can make a piece more vibrant! There are lots of resources and articles out there which are helpful when it comes to learning about colour theory. Making my own TypographyFor this project I have explored new ways to make my own typography, using free front making websites to convert my own hand writing into a font as well as digitally cutting out type from textures. I think it was really useful to learn this new skill and I’m hoping it will enhance my final outcome with that extra added thought. Refinement: Thumbnails double page spread'Hearing that, Little Elephant pulled back as hard as he could. He pulled so hard that his nose began to stretch. The harder he pulled, the longer his nose became.' Refinement Thumbnails: 2 x single page‘He asked Uncle Giraffe why he had spots?’ ‘What a silly question young man’ Refinement Thumbnails: Front coverWorked up visualsDurning a feedback session I asked my classmates which background they preferred and they all unanimously agreed that the beige background worked best.    Choosing a fontChoosing what font to use in a children’s book is just as integral as the illustrations themselves, as the wrong font will make or break a piece of work. I have tried to used a varied choice of fonts in my experimentation in order to compare which ones work best.      Final outcomeFinal outcome includes a wrap around cover, and two double page spreads. I did a little bit more work than was required but I really enjoyed this project and found that doing things as double pages help me visualise the final products more successfully!    Mock upsI find it helpful to see my illustrations in context and is it’s also really satisfying to see what they would look like in a book! Deadline: 9.30AM, Thursday 25 February BriefIn this brief you will focus on creating illustrations that are a visual representation of the author's words you have been given. This is what we would call 'literal' illustration. You will be provided with a short story and are asked to produce two illustrations to accompany it. One illustration is a full-page, full bleed image which should be presented as follows: CMYK - image size 160mm wide X 226mm high at a resolution of 300 dpi. Note: this dimension includes a 3mm bleed around all four sides. The second image is a black and white chapter heading that is aligned to the body of the justified text. As such it must occupy an area of 105mm wide X 50mm high. Note: there is no requirement that it has to have a crisp, rectangular edge so you may treat it as a vignette. The final artwork should be presented as a 300 dpi, grayscale image. ResearchMy short story is "The Lost Hearts" by M. R. James, a well known writer of short horror stories. Key Notes: -Set in the 1800s in Lincolnshire - Main characters include: Mr Abney, Stephen Elliot (orphan boy), Mrs Bunch, lost little girl and lost little boy. -Theme of the story, two children go missing and haunt Stephen, Stephen wonders what happens to them and is wary of Mr Abney. He finds out about the circumstances of their death when he finds mr Abney dead in his chair and reads from his book. It is revealed that Mr Abney killed both children and ate their hearts to gain immortality, he was planning to do the same to Stephen but the ghost children kill Mr Abney before he can go through with it. Annotation of Short storyAs wells as listening to the mp3 of the story to get the atmosphere of the piece, I also went through and annotated the story, picking out areas of detail that would help inform my practice and selecting areas of the story that I felt would produce an interesting visual. BBC adaptationI watched the bbc adaptation of ‘Lost Hearts’ just to get a feeling for the setting and the character choices. However, the story didn’t stay true to M.R. James writing and added in elements which I suppose were for character development but didn’t add much to the story. It was interesting to see how it has been adapted to screen, but I think I will rely on my own imagination and the written text for inspiring my development. Fashion in the 1800swhile researching into the fashion of the time I found an interesting blog on skeleton-suits, which boys between the ages of 4-11 would have worn in the 1800s. As the main character in my story is an 11 year old boy, I was interested in learning what they would have worn in the 1800s and they mostly dressed like little men with trousers, jackets and waistcoats. I also learnt that little girls would have worn their dresses to a certain length to indicate their age, however this wouldn't have been the same for the poorer population, as they often wore handed down clothing. InspirationI have looked at a few different illustrators for this project to get an idea of how different styles can be successful when illustrating a scary story. Artists I have researched include, Isabella Follath, Anja susanji, Rovina Cai and Shaun Tan. ThumbnailsAfter feedback on my thumbnails I need to consider my use of composition and angles in order to create more dynamic imagery and add to the theme of horror and foreboding. Using reference imagery may help me to get a better grasp on body language and composition. I have also decided to focus on a specific area of text which really stands out to me: “a windy, noisy day, which filled the house and the gardens with a restless impression. As Stephen stood by the fence of the grounds, and looked out into the park, he felt as if an endless procession of unseen people were sweeping past him on the wind, borne on restlessly and aimlessly, vainly striving to stop themselves, to catch at something that might arrest their flight and bring them once again into contact with the living world of which they had formed a part.” Focused thumbnails / Chapter Header thumbnailsFocusing on getting the idea of a ‘procession of unseen people’ and linking the chapter header illustration to the story but not necessarily the main image. Worked up visualsThese ideas are the three which I think are the most visually interesting and also tell a story. Final outcome - Chapter Header Final outcome - full page, full bleed, full colour Book mock ups Deadline 12th Feb. BriefCreate a conceptual illustration and gif for an allocated article. Illustration x1 - 120 x 120mm (CMYK) Gif x1 - animated version of print (RGB) Link to allocated article here ResearchSubject of article: how to move a plant from one area of your garden to another. Source of article: Alys Fowler, a gardener, who has a gardening column for the Guardian. Audience: Aspiring gardeners, garden enthusiasts, demographics suggest middle age women living on their own are most likely to read a gardening article. Initial sketchesSome quick rough sketches produced using gouache and watercolour pencils. InspirationWhen looking into conceptual illustration I found the artist Mark Conlan. I was very much in awe of his colour palettes and the interesting ways he approaches conceptual illustration. Many examples I found of his conceptual illustration was about moving house, which I found really helpful when coming up with ideas for my own project about moving plants. ThumbnailsA more conscientious attempt to produce thumbnails, using a limited colour palette and working within a square composition.    DevelopmentBy this stage of the development process I knew that I wanted to incorporate both a tree and a flower into my final outcome. I created a few different ideas when it came to the flower, as I was unsure about how I wanted it to look. I decided at this point that the flower with the nap sack, holding on to his pot was the character with the most visual language.    Worked up visualsI created three worked up visuals looking at the different ways I could communicate 'moving' through the body language and visual language of my characters. After a feedback session I decided that the tree with the wheel barrow was the most effective in terms of story telling and included the right amount of humour and was dynamic. The things I needed to consider to create a successful outcome was working on the composition to add depth, as well as making my background appear more garden-like. I also felt that the colour of the flower was getting a little bit lost within the piece and also didn't resemble any real flowers, so I needed to change that for my final outcome. Further considerationsWithin these pieces I have used a much more limited colour palette and a reduced background in order to align my work more intentionally with that of Mark Conlan’s. It was a very informative exercise and allowed me to consider my use of colours. However, I didn’t feel that these attempts were as successful as my final outcome and so I did not take them further. Practice GIF Final OutcomeI have created my final outcome to the dimensions 120x120mm. Within this piece I feel I have made the relevant changes that I specified in my development process. I changed my flower to a pansy as they are flowers which can survive in the winter months, which makes sense for my article. I have made my background feel more like a garden by incorporating a greenhouse as well as a sturdy garden fence.  Final Gif Mock ups  |
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