Discovery of Gouache

I decided to try using gouache after it was recommended to me by multiple people on my course and I am so glad that I took their advice. After mark making on a separate sheet of paper this was the first result of me playing around with gouache. I found the process so much fun! Textures can be created using dry brush but also I discovered that tone can also be blended with the addition of a little bit of water. I have been looking for a method to use without constantly reaching for the ink all the time. Using a brush instead of a pen to create different thickness's of line is something I have really been enjoying and want to incorporate into my work more.

Edward Gorey - Process

The World of Edward Gorey

Whilst browsing the library I came across this book which highlights the way in which Gorey works and how he gets from an initial idea to a final outcome. I found this very interesting as I often find myself trying to resolve ideas too quickly and become too bogged down in making a drawing look good than with the experimentation.

These pages in particular informed my own practice. Gorey's work is very crafted and detailed aesthetically, so I was a bit surprised to find that his sketchbooks actually contain a lot of naive drawings and very quick annotated ideas. 

I feel that I am getting better at loosening up and becoming a bit more free in the way I work. Seeing established practitioners' sketchbook pages has reassured me that I can be a bit more experimental. I am starting to realise that the way in which I tackle a project by trying out materials and roughing as much as possible is integral to the final outcome.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/marcianddeth/sets/72157623540530883/

http://www.webworksgallery.co.uk/iw-edward-gorey-prints.php

Matt Rockefeller - Purpose

http://www.theconceptartblog.com/2015/09/25/bonitos-trabalhos-no-portfolio-de-matt-rockefeller/

This illustration by Matt Rockefeller actually made me feel quite sad about future generations and the childhood they will have in comparison to the older generation. We now live in a world obsessed with technology and the simple things we enjoyed like jumping in puddles in wellies are pushed aside for fancy games consoles, apps, television and films. 

Although I think these have a place within entertainment, the way Rockefeller shows the discarded console highlights the simplicity of having fun with friends. It takes me back to a time when technology wasn't as present in any of our minds. A fun day with friends meant playing outside building 'birds nests', climbing trees, getting stuck, falling over, digging holes in the garden and just generally exploring nature and the incredible world around us. Childhood usually contains some of the fondest memories in someone's life and I worry that with the development of technology, future generations wont have anything to remember but a computer screen.

Our imagination was always active in the games we played together. Whilst playing a game on-screen there seems to be an absence of mental participation, everything is decided for you and the entertainment is provided with minimal effort from the viewer.

Kevin Keele - Drawing

http://beawesome.blogspot.co.uk

I really love looking into other practitioners' sketchbooks, it gives me so much insight into the process of how an illustrator works. Kevin Keele's work interested me due to the use of texture and tone on a neutral coloured paper. I feel that sometimes just using a white background can be restricting and would like to try more ways of producing tone in a more constructive way. The characterisation demonstrated on this page is something I was also intrigued by, the dramatisation of features such as teeth, chins and noses work well in describing an expression. I am making a conscious effort to look at a variety of ways in which illustrators produce characters in the hope that some of this will rub off on me.

Heywood Wakefield Ad - Context

http://rogerwilkerson.tumblr.com/post/95737045941/comfort-is-our-business-detail-from-1951-heywood

I found this Ad by Heywood Wakefield transport a really clever way of promotion. The people surrounding the train seems disorganised and chaotic in relation to the people inside the train. 

This would appeal to different types of people. At this time (1951) women would have had to most likely look after the children while the men went off to work. The idea of this dynamic is clearly represented in the imagery within the picture, there is a business man and a mother and son sat calmly on the train. The way the characters are portrayed on the outside of the train is clearly to represent the stress of early morning travel. Even the man in the car outside the carriage looks angry and confrontational, therefore contrasting and suggesting the ease of train transportation. Composition is key within this image, something I want to consider more when planning my own work, particularly editorial and advertising briefs. Here it is quite simple in the way the sections are separated, but effective nevertheless. The message of the illustration is subtle but conveying a message almost subconsciously to a passer-by.

The Monster Project - Content

http://www.brwnpaperbag.com
Marie Bergeron

http://www.brwnpaperbag.com/page/2/

Melanie Matthews

http://www.brwnpaperbag.com/page/2/

Zoe Persico

I really love the idea behind this project. Children have such a great crazy imagination, a carelessness and freedom when drawing. There are no inhibitions when it comes to proportions and mark making. Bringing the notion of this to life in a well crafted final image is quite humorous and nostalgic to a viewer. It combines a child's imagination with adult craftmanship.

Looking at the children's drawings made me remember the joy I had as a child and the excitement of finding out what my final picture would look like. I see this enthusiasm in my little sister now, something I like to encourage, creativity is a great outlet and gives people a unique way of looking at the world. To be honest I don't think that feeling has ever left me which is why I ended up on an Illustration course!

Daniel Danger, Guy Davis and Guillermo Del Toro - Product

http://screenrant.com/crimson-peak-mondo-posters/
Daniel Danger, Guy Davis and Guillermo Del Toro

http://geektyrant.com/news/2013/8/15/take-a-look-inside-guillermo-del-toros-sketchbook#0ktFk5pBpzji8eIr.32
Inside Guillermo Del Toro's Sketchbook

For a few years I have had a keen interest in film/theatre posters and concept art. This interest was encouraged through my job working at an arena and theatre back home in Nottingham where I get to see a lot of advertising and artwork for the promotion of the shows. I recently took out a book from the library of Guillermo Del Toro's work, as I am a fan of his work in films like 'Pan's Labyrinth', where the imagery produced is very imaginative and atmospheric. In contrast to Del Toro's films being enhanced by stunning lighting and naturalistic visual effects, I was quite surprised to find his sketch's quite lo-fi and expressive.

There seems to be a running theme that work produced to an exceptional standard that demonstrates a vast amount of craftmanship starts off as a simple sketch. I have learnt a lot through looking at work which shows this kind of process and have a new found confidence when working through reflective ideas in my sketchbook.

Yukai Du - Aesthetic

http://www.yukaidu.com/Illustration/Dinner-Time-Nobrow-9

I have recently familiarised myself with Nobrow Press as I keep finding myself being very intrigued by everything associated with them! Yukai Du's illustrations, 'Dinner Time', for Nobrow 9 really caught my attention visually. The considered symmetry and careful composition is satisfying and pleasing to the eye. Simple shapes and colours have been effective in creating a sense of light and characterisation of the people.

Looking further into Du's work on http://www.yukaidu.com/ I have found the ways in which shape is used to create animation and simple movements within an illustration fascinating. I would like to try straightforward animation at some point during the course.

Hisashi Okawa - Image Making

http://pon-chan.tumblr.com/post/111356436306

I was particularly drawn to Hisashi Okawa's work due to her use of repetition and pattern to create an image. Collage is something I want to try more of, whether that's digitally or by using cut out paper and creating my own textures. Trying these methods in my Visual Language projects has been very useful.

The bold lines and monochrome colour scheme make different elements within the image stand out and draw your eye in. A limited colour palette that contains light and shade really works for this piece in particular.

Jon Klassen - Illustration

http://www.sturdyforcommonthings.com/2013/03/review-the-dark/

http://joannalurie.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/jon-klassen-visual-development-and.html

Jon Klassen is one of my favourite Illustrators at the moment, ever since I discovered him when researching way to characterise a figure. I especially enjoy the way he uses light within his imagery to create an atmosphere and a sense of depth to a story whilst not over-complicating the detail.

The way in which the narrative is being told within the images is simple yet an effective in conveying a message to an audience. Subtlety is something I am very conscious of, I really want to work on the concepts and ideas behind a piece of work before jumping ahead to concluding a project in my mind.

Pinterest

https://uk.pinterest.com/sw255328/pins/

I have used Pinterest for a while just for personal use but I created a new one just for Uni work and inspiration. Categorising pins has helped me to think about what it is I like about a piece of work and why that is. This is a fairly natural way of finding things that excite and interest me and will be an on going thing within my practice. It is also a way of me looking at other creative industries such as film and theatre which are also passions of mine.

Thought Bubble 2015

This was my very first time at Thought Bubble! What a great day!

Howard Hardiman

http://www.howardhardiman.com/158619/gallery

I had a great conversation with Howard about his project on Mythology. I was very intrigued by the images he produced and the uncommon insights he had gathered together around the topic. I bought my favourite print based on the sanctuary of Artemis. Howard told me the story of Athenian girls and the fierce mother bear of which the image was based upon. I must have looked very interested because I managed to get the booklet thrown in for free! 

The stories behind many of the images are not particularly obvious but really make me emotionally connect to the true meaning of each piece, something I think can be very difficult to achieve.

This exchange made me feel motivated to create work on subjects that mean something to me personally, just as he had done, producing some beautiful results.

I did some damage! My bank account will not thank me but I had an inspiring day!

I was impressed to see some 2nd/3rd year LCA students selling some great work too. It made me very excited to be able to have similar opportunities in the progression of the course.

End of Module Evaluation

Visual Skills OUIL403 Module 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 practice?

• I have been getting used to working within a time frame of two weeks that were given for a project. At first I found it challenging to know how much work to do in a day and how developed our ideas should be after a week. Peer groups and feedback sessions helped with this. Setting myself mini tasks for each day has been very helpful in dividing my time.
• Before starting the course, the tools I used most were fine liners and dip pen with ink. I have found that using a brush has a certain gestural quality to it that a pen doesn't have; I can produce different widths of line and tone, which has been a lot of fun for me to experiment with. Using this method has been effective in producing more expressive work.

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?

• Researching and developing ideas through drawing through reflection has been something I wasn't sure about to start with. I have since been surprised by how much you can gain by drawing even the most ridiculous, seemingly irrelevant ideas.
• The introduction of roughing was also very helpful for me. It really helped with learning how to plan a composition within a frame and scale. I have started automatically drawing boxes all over my sketchbook when thinking about ideas.
• Restrictions on colour scheme within the brief were a bit of a challenge for me to start with. Until recently I had worked with a mainly monochrome colour scheme. Using two colours has actually been helpful in knowing how to set tone to a piece, following this I gave myself a limited palette to work with for the latest project.
• Knowing what type of media to use has been a bit of an obstacle for me to tackle, as I am fond of detailed naturalistic imagery. I realised during this module that certain styles of drawing/image making are more appropriate for certain contexts. For the book cover project in particular, I stepped out of my comfort zone to produce more naive characterised illustrations that worked well for the type of cover I wanted to produce.

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

• For me, Craftsmanship has always been a big factor when working on any kind of imagery. I like my work to demonstrate a quality that has been considered and well thought out. I believe my own craftsmanship has been capitalised through drawing constantly, observational and from reference as well as from imagination.
• I have learned pretty quickly when to scrap an idea if it doesn't seem to be working. I think I am getting better at not getting attached to initial ideas and maintaining an open mind of the project's potential. Feedback sessions and using my sketchbook as a visual playground have helped with this.

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

• I found getting into the swing of blogging difficult to start with as I wasn't completely sure what were supposed to be writing. I now understand that it is a reflection of my own practice and something I should be writing personally rather than in statements. To improve my blogging skills I will remember to include more contextual sources that inspire my creativity as an individual.
• Development of skills using different types of media is something I want to pursue in the progression of the course. I aim to try a variety of print techniques such as screen-printing and letterpress (something I am very interested in) and continue to explore the use of digital media.

5. In what way has this module introduced you to the BA Illustration programme?

• Visual Skills has definitely been my favourite module so far. The challenge of making work that fits into the context of a brief has been very insightful and progressive for me. Learning about the communication of an image is the main reason I wanted to come to University.
• Time management was something I was very aware of at the start of the course. The overall structure helped me with separating the different projects and tasks. The introduction of Visual Language also influenced my experimentation in this module.
• Future projects will benefit what I have learned from this module and I am excited to continue developing my skills within the programme.

The Day of Arty-ness

7/11/15

Print Fair - Corn Exchange

It was fascinating to see work from a variety of people practising in a real creative working environment. The range of print techniques people had used was very interesting to look at and made me excited about trying lino and screen printing in particular. There was a great atmosphere to the whole event and it was nice to just stroll around with my Illustration pals and enjoy the morning.

I was very tempted by all the prints I saw but settled on this print by Matthew Walkden. I am a big fan of elephants! I had a cheeky look at Walkden's work on his blog and I found that the colours, shapes and compositions of his work really grab your attention. This is something I am working on in my own practice.

Colours May Vary

This was the first time I had been introduced to Colours May Vary and I am afraid that this may have been dangerous for me as I wanted to buy everything in the shop!

After much deliberation I bought a concertina pull-out print called 'Worst things happen at Sea' by Kellie Strom, published by Nobrow Press. The detail is incredible and definitely 'my cup of tea' when it comes to the type of drawing and craft that inspires and excites me most. I was very intrigued to know how the print was made so did a quick search to see if there was anything on-line and came across this video.

https://vimeo.com/77047228

Travelling Man

Continuing our Illustration quest we ended up in the new Fred Aldous shop which was great and then to Travelling Man Comic book store. Here I was impressed to find my friends from third year had their work up for sale. I ended up buying a comic that, similarly to the pull-out print, contained an impressive amount of detail. The kind of work I am drawn to usually displays a high level of skill rather than a concept based understanding and communication of an idea. Ideally I would like to produce both in my own practice, ensuring the relevance of the media used to the brief set.

Strange weather all day but worth it for the rainbow!

Great end to a great day!

We had a cute night in eating pizza, reading each others' comics/arty books, watching films and drawing. It was nice to have spent the whole day just immersing ourselves in what we love and what brought us to Leeds in the first place. I feel very inspired and motivated by what I saw on Saturday and am now raring to play, explore and develop my work.

Photo courtesy of Kat!

Colour

I have always struggled with using colour, especially for the main focus of an image. Being comfortable with monochrome tones has limited me somewhat and made me nervous of using a multitude of colours. Familiarising myself with work that shows an abundance of colour will be very helpful in order to learn what works best to communicate certain ideas.

The colour of an image can set a tone and atmosphere to a piece. I want to learn how to control my use of colour and will experiment with media in order to do this. 

Contrasting and complimentary colours can be very effective, red and blue are a particular favourite pairing of mine when browsing work of other practitioners. Following the observation of illustrators like Isabelle Vandenabeele and Lauren Moreau whose work is so vibrant I was inspired to try out a variety of inks and tools.

https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/12/10/little-big-books-gestalten/

http://www.ultra-book.com/html_pages_statiques/404_book.php

Study Task 2

Why do I want to know? Why am I going to do?

http://lukepearson.com/Illustration/Space

Identify 10 questions that you want to find the answers to as part of your degree.

1. How do I develop a recognisable visual voice and authorship of my work?
2. Can I work digitally whilst still maintaining a sense of playfulness and authenticity?
3. How can I have my own style whilst still being adaptable to a variety of briefs?
4. How do I get my work out into the world?
5. What does it take to make it as an Illustrator in the Industry?
6. How can I improve my technical drawing ability?
7. How do I open doors into the art world/networking?
8. What is the difference between drawing as a hobby and for a career?
9. How can I become a better visual communicator?
10. How can I improve my essay writing skills?

For each question explain what you expect or want to learn by finding the answers to the questions.

1. I would like to develop my practice to a point where I have a unique visual style that sets my work apart from other illustrators/practitioners. 
2. Learning to take my work into a digital format is something that I am inexperienced at but very interested in pursuing.
3. As I enjoy working with a range of media and the challenges of different briefs, I would like to know how to effectively produce work in response to a client's vision for a project.
4. I would like to know the best ways to share my work on social media, etc.
5. I want to know how to maintain work and still be adaptable as an Illustrator.
6. I think by improving my drawing ability I can further my practice into different areas of creativity.
7. Knowing the right people to get in contact with is very important in creative industries and I hope that through University I will be able to do this.
8. Learning to be able to distinguish between what I want to draw and what I need to draw for the development of my work is something I look forward to.
9. I would like to know how to effectively put across what it is I want my work to say.
10. As I enjoy written work and reflection of topics studied on the course, I would like my essays to be of a high quality.

What will YOU do in order to find the answers to each question.

1. I think that with time and practice it will become clear what will become my visual signature.
2. Photoshop workshops and trying out drawing tablets at University will get me used to working digitally.
3. Having a range of briefs and trying out a range of techniques.
4. Setting up social media sites for my artwork and sharing with other creatives.
5. I hope this will become clear as time goes on, I intend to work as hard as possible whilst at University in order to gain the most from the experience.
6. Draw all day every day!
7. Again this is something I hope to understand as time goes on, I aim to take every opportunity and gain work experience in my chosen field.
8. Having separate sketchbooks for personal work as well as for my assessed work.
9. I believe that by doing all of the above I can develop my work to a point where producing an image to provoke a certain reaction will become second nature.
10. I aim to improve my essay writing skills throughout the course, therefore I want to pro-actively use books from the library and feedback from my tutors to do this.

Study Task 1

Who am I? Why am I here?

http://elephantik.com/a-tribute-to-maurice-sendak/

-Identify 5 reasons why you chose to study Illustration.

• I have always enjoyed communicating my ideas through image making.
• The narrative that illustration embodies is something that interests me greatly.
• I wanted the opportunity to become better at constructing and composing images.
• Having the freedom to be able to create my own practice whilst following the guidelines of a brief. 
• The playful nature of drawing and developing ideas visually gives illustrators a unique voice and a range of ways to record aspects of the world we live in.

-Identify 5 reasons why you chose this programme.

• The structure of the Illustration course at Leeds College of Art appealed to me. 
• I particularly liked the mixture of both practical and theoretical work we would be able to explore.
• The exposure to a studio environment with a smaller group of similarly minded people was something I was very excited about when applying for the programme.
• I very much welcomed the chance to be able to collaborate on work with other people studying creative courses.
• The facilities that the University offered made me very excited to try a variety of new ways to create images. 

-Identify 5 skills that you think are your strengths.

• I have a great love for observational and spontaneous drawing. 
• Using a range of tools and methods to create images is something I am quite confident doing. 
• With every drawing I produce I want to gain experience and learn something from.
• I naturally generate work fairly quickly in response to what it is that I want to portray.
• My relationship with drawing is something that is constant and a natural process for me, it is also my main strength and what I enjoy most.

-Identify 5 images that demonstrate your interest in Illustration.

http://www.illustrationcupboard.com/illustration.aspxiId=3936&type=artist&idValue=194&aiPage=1

Chris Riddell - 'You will always be safe with me'.

Riddell is one of my favourite illustrators. I love the fluidity of his work and the detail he manages to put into every piece. His characterisation and narrative skills are incredible!

http://thirdmonk.net/creative/art/fear-loathing-illustrator-ralph-steadman-psychedelic-art-gallery.html

Ralph Steadman - 'The ink that sheds blood'.

The fearlessness of Steadman's work is something I really admire. He uses bold gestural marks within his work whilst still describing certain characteristics of a piece.

http://inkygoodness.com/blog/artists/abi-overland-grad-spot/

Abi Overland

I have only recently become familiar with Overland's work but I really like the playfulness of her pieces. The geometric shapes and the hybrid animals make her work interesting to look at. This is something I would like to develop in my own practice.

http://www.booooooom.com/2015/07/21/illustrator-spotlight-aj-frena/#more-67230

AJ Frena

I was mesmerised when I discovered Frena's work. The use of light and dark, composition and colour is something I want to explore more of - especially when it comes to learning more about digital art.

http://inkygoodness.com/blog/artists/featured-artist-helen-musselwhite/

Helen Musselwhite

As well as working two dimensionally I also enjoy illustration in a 3D form. In particular I enjoy paper cut projects and pattern to demonstrate certain ideas. This piece embodies that interest.