Visual Narratives- Project Outline

OUIL405- Visual Narratives- Inspiration

After creating a vague idea of what I want to produce, I decided to collect images and ideas which I would like to take from for my final book, focussing on the creation of atmosphere in a landscape through the craft of the image.

Michael Cho- Toronto
Someone who I have previously blogged about, Michael Cho is one of my favourite illustrators/ cartoonists. I particularly love the set of images based around Toronto suburbs. I like how Michael uses simple colour pallets, sometimes just one colour and black, to create a feeling around the illustrations. Whether the area is cold, dry, warm, creepy or a happy place, this is always screamed through Michaels use of colour.





The above images were created using watercolour and refined on Photoshop, I love the feel of the images and will try to use some of the techniques in my own work for the current brief.

OUIL405- Visual Narrative- Crit Response

I found the crit really useful, not so much in the way of new ideas, but more confirmation and refinement of the ideas I already had for my project. The group seemed interested in my images and my idea in general, with the main point of feedback that I needed to go back to Scarborough and take more pictures, focussing on the images I would want to illustrate in the final book.

A mistake I made in the previous briefs was that I focussed too much on the idea behind the image, rather than the craft of the image, something I want to avoid doing for this brief. I think I'm pretty set on what I want to do for the brief. It just needs refining and the right images need collecting.

I want to focus my book on the journey through the coastline; and specifically things that people usually notice, but are mostly overlooked; arcade signs, old run down buildings, and small 'tacky shops' that people usually don't really consider part of the landscape. Possibly looking at the relationship between these exaggerated buildings next to the ordinary buildings next to them. This is something I need to experiment with in the coming weeks.

So my next step is to revisit Scarborough and collect the images that I would want to use for my final product.

OUIL405- Visual Narratives- Initial Research

For my research, I decided to go somewhere when I had been before. I wanted to visit somewhere when I could easily find people to talk to, and find different landscapes and environment in one place, rather then choosing a specific place or environment and not properly connecting with it.

The location I chose for the brief is Scarborough beach and the surrounding area. Reason being I know the area, and there will be people there, as well as different things to look at and investigate.

I travelled there alone, and upon arriving I had no preconceptions of what I wanted to achieve through the day. I left my car in the car park and started to wander, taking pictures of literally anything that caught my interest. I started to walk towards the less 'touristy' side of the coastline, where it is much more rural and there really isn't anything but pathways and the occasional bench to sit on. So the only thing I was taking pictures of was trees, paths and signs; which got very boring, very quickly.



I then began to walk towards the busier side of the coastline, where all the arcades and rock shops are. I enjoyed this part of the walk much more, and found myself drawn to the 'tackier' building and features, rather than the traditional 'pretty' things that people usually take more notice of.

Scarborough at the best of times is a bit of a shithole, but when the weather is horrible and the tide is in, it just seems even more run down. I loved how eerily quiet it was, there were more pigeons around than people. Pretty much the only people I saw all day were the arcade owners (the ones that were open) stood outside waiting for the punters to roll in...



After collecting pictures of all the things that interested me. I wanted to talk to a local about the area, and see if I could get anything out of them which I could use in the picture book. I went to a rock shop and spoke to a woman who worked there. After general chatter I asked her about what the area is like this time of year, to which she responded 'if you want to buy rock and look at seagulls then Scarborough is the place to be. There isn't really much else going on here".

After getting home, and feeling pretty disheartened about the trip, thinking I hadn't come up with a solid narrative that I wanted to work with. I looked through the images and really enjoyed looking at all the tacky shops and arcades and signs. They have a really eery feel to them, and although there isn't necessarily a specific narrative there in terms of a physical development or adventure.

I think a really interesting book can be created by illustrating the things that people never really look at. The mundane 'attractions' that people usually overlook as simply that, an attraction, are really what makes up a lot of what we see as a 'holiday town', and are purely the reason some people visit these places.

The adventure and narrative I had myself was walking down the coast, looking at the bright colours of the arcades and shops, and although it won't be the most thrilling story ever, I think if I can illustrate the images in a different way, it could create a really interesting set of images.






Here is a seagull



Edit: 1/4/16



I found this image which is useful for giving me a generaly idea of how the seafront looks. I love the 'layered effect to the buildings behind the 'focus buildings' I will try and incorporate them into my work somehow.

OUIL405- Visual Narratives

Initial Thoughts

I'm feeling quite positive about this module in general. It feels much freer and independent, and I think I'll be able to actually create work I enjoy making, rather than previous briefs where I've felt quite restricted. The brief is to create a picture book, with a narrative (it seems like the 'narrative' part is used quite loosely.

I'm looking forward to creating work which allows me to explore different methods, and I really want to use some colour in this brief and am also looking forward to being able to fully research a project.

I think some issues that could come out of the brief are mostly personal. I am an incredibly lazy person, and although I think I have a great work ethic when it comes to deadlines, given the chance to sit back a bit, I definitely will. Hopefully with this brief I will be able to motivate myself to work towards a final goal which I am happy with, which I have not yet done during my time on the course.

Visual Narratives- One Week Book

The brief set to us was to go out and find a story, document it, research it, and produce a small hot dog book of our time there. Our group ended up speaking to a homeless gent called spider, who told us about the dark arches and their creepy history of bodies being berried underneath. So we decided to take his advice and visit them.

We chose to focus on the arches for our book, and produced a story purely based on our experience there.

Although I didn't particularly enjoy the group work, I generally prefer working alone, I did enjoy producing the book. Screen printing was also something I had never tried before so this was also a fun experience. See below the final product. 

OUIL403- Visual Skills- Module Evaluation

Reflections on the Module
Overall, I have really enjoyed the module. I have enjoyed experimenting with different types of illustration which I have never tried before; and have loved having to actually think about what my images are saying and the message they are sending rather than just drawing pictures for no particular purpose (although I have still done a LOT of that). I am reasonably happy with the work I have produced throughout the module, and I have discovered new methods of craft and production which I am really enjoying.

I think my downfall for the module was not having the confidence to try anything too extravagant and fun, I feel I have stayed within my comfort zone throughout, rarely delving into anything too new. I think this is probably down to it being the first module and feeling safer doing something I know will go well rather than trying to push boundaries and experiment.

OUIL403- Do Judge a Book by it's Cover- Evaluation of the Brief

Overall I didn't enjoy this brief as much as I thought I would, but I think the main contributing factor to this was my choice of book in the first place. I think a book with more of an idea rather than an objective focus would have been much easier and more fun to illustrate, and I think I could definitely have done more with the design.

I did consider changing the book right at the start of the brief, however I though it best to try and challenge myself with something which required a lot more thinking; plus, as a practising illustrator, I wouldn't be able to pick and choose which brief or subject I work on, so I need to get used to challenging myself more with materials and ideas rather than staying in my comfort zone.

I am happy with the materials I used in this brief, I have never really painted or used brushes before, and it was a nice change to be able to use something more fluid than fineliner. I would have liked to work with a bit more colour, however, with the subject of my book, it would have been inappropriate to use colour on a cover of a book which only focusses on b&w. Hopefully the next brief will allow me the freedom to use more colour.

OUIL403- Do Judge a Book by it's Cover- Final Design and Evaluation

After spending time developing the look and style of the design. I decided on what I wanted the final cover to look like, I decided to go for 2 tones for the ribs, one faint and one bold, to give the cover more depth, which I think works well. As the design is really simple, it gives the illustration on the front a bit more depth.

I am quite happy with the final outcome. I think the simplicity really works and I like the design of the cover with the title spanning the front and spine, just something a bit different.

I did wonder through the process if the design would look too simpe, but I think it does work, the skeleton creates some interest and the title is really eye-catching.

Struggles of the Final Outcome
I think I maybe focussed on the design a bit too much in the cover. Considering more how I thought the design should look rather than what actual content should be on it.

I think the main reason for this is that I was doing all the planning and designing on a flat piece of paper, when in fact the book is a 3d object, so corners and depth should definitely have been taken into more consideration.

I think the cover could look a bit too simple, I tried to get the cover to reflect the content of the book as much as possible; and in doing that I created a fitting design, but one which may be seen as being too simple.

OUIL403- Do Judge a Book by it's Cover- Development

The first thing I decided to develop was the actual composition of the image, I layed out the template of the covers again and played with some different positions of the snake to see if I could find a more interesting one.

Out of all of the replanned images, I think the original one is the best, I feel it will be the best to show off the movement in the snake,  rather than straight patterned lines, or anything too simple. It also allows for space for the title which is helpful. I will use this positioning as a general guideline for the final image, and draw the final position directly onto the final cover to make sure I make best use of the space available.

Once I had sorted the composition, I went on to try to develop the way in which I would produce the image. Inkeeping with the B&W theme of the book, I decided to try out using ink to draw the spines. firstly trying out ink pen (which was too rigid and wasn't easy to get a decent flow out of), then trying printing methods (cut lino into a shape and pressed, this looked okay, but again looked too rigid and uniform for the image). I then went onto masking tape onto paper and painting over it, I liked this effect but once again it was way too rigid.

The last thing I tried was ink with a brush, which seemed to work perfectly, I could get the movement of my arm onto the page which was exactly what I was looking for.

Once I had decided on ink and brush, I started to make simple mockups of the snake, to see what the ink would look like in practise. I like how it looks; even when I make small mistakes I think it makes the image feel even more fluid. After playing around for a good few pages I though I would look a bit thin for a cover of a book.

I watered down some ink and used it to paint out the ribs in the background. I really love how it looks, it creates much more depth to the image and makes it look fuller, I will definitely look to use this in the final image.

After playing around with different weights of brush and different textures. I really liked the way a drier brush looked for the darker lines, and a wet brush for the paler lines. I think this made a really nice contrast and the dryer brush gave the lines a lot more texture and made them much more interesting. I will use this on the final image.

I then tried to work on the skull of the snake, which was a pain in the arse. I need to develop a way to make the skull fit in with the ribs, whilst still looking solid and like a skull. Stand by for update.



Update: I have decided no not use a skull on the cover, reasons being firstly, I can't get the skull to work with the look of the spine I am trying to achieve. With the spine looking really fluid, a clunky skull sat on top just isnt working. secondly, with the aim of the cover to be quite simple, I think another feature definitely detracts from the overall aesthetic of the cover. So instead I will look to use two tails on both the back and the front cover, to keep a simple and patterned look to it.

The title design for the cover was a relatively simple decision, I loved the design on the rough I produced, so I really wanted to use it on the final design, I will alter the dimensions slightly but overall it should look the same. I am planning on writing the author and photographers names on the cover and spine, above and below the title of the book.

Struggles of Development

Aside from the skull, I am struggling to create a simple image; I am a bit of a perfectionist, it has been discussed with Matt and I know it is something I need to move away from, and I am enjoying making rougher and simpler images, which is great because it is beginning to allow me to play around a bit more with my sketchbook with different way of making images. I still have a way to go but it's definitely improving.

OUIL403- Do Judge a Book by it's Cover- Roughs

Once I felt I had gathered enough visual information, both compositionally and through the actual content. I drew up 5 roughs, trying to make them as diverse as possible.

I kept the roughs quite vague, something I have found quite helpful when it comes to the crits, because I have an idea in my head of exactly what I want the image to look like, I think keeping the roughs really vague helps other people in the crit create their own picture of what they think the image SHOULD look like. So hopefully by sharing this information with me, I can take advantage of the different suggestions, rather than creating a detailed and finished image which could restrict other peoples thinking of the potential (this may well be cheating but I do find it helpful).
I tried to keep the actual design in mind when creating the roughs, rather than just the illustration, and thankfully got some pretty good feedback on them. The general consensus of the crit was the snake idea was the one to go for (this was also my favourite). I think the reason it works is because it will be the easiest to portray movement, and the simplicity is quite appealing and relates to the actual content of the book.

I also like the design of the title, using both the front and spine to contain just one title, so the title almost folds and flows with the book, again trying to create an image of movement.

I will use the feedback from the crit to develop this idea, probably look at the production of the image first and then look at the actual craft of the cover.

OUIL403- Do Judge a Book by it's Cover- Initial Ideas

Initial Ideas

After processing my initial thoughts of the brief, I started to draw up some quick pictures of what I thought my cover should include. Although I did make a few drawings, I quickly got fed up of drawing things that already exist, as in, drawing a skeleton for the sake of it. I was focussing on the form of the skeleton, rather than the actual craft, a mistake I feel I made during the previous brief.

Rather than drawing simple vignettes of skeletons that I could reference anyway, I went on to focus on the actual design. I found it really useful to actually plan out the rough scale of the book and draw within those boundaries, that way I could already get an idea of what type of image could work.

I continued to use the template of the book cover to work out where I would want the images and where I wanted text and information. 

Struggles
The main thing I am still struggling with with this brief is actually illustrating, I feel like I should be illustrating an idea, and almost feel like I'm cheating or going half-arsed by just illustrating something which is already there.

Answer: The idea of the book is to make the evolutionary traits of the skeletons more apparent and interesting by creating movement in them. This is something I think i should be illustrating, the idea of movement.

From this, I think I need to look more at HOW I'm drawing, rather than WHAT. The form could be incredibly simple, something like a snake, but the way in which I illustrate the snake need to portray movement and action. (Try loose brush strokes).

OUIL404- Visual Language- INKS

After the mental torment which has been visual language, and after battling with my usual tendancies to 'finish' every single picture, I am strating to really get used to (and enjoy) just messing around with inks. Rather than using fineliners, which look nice but do get quite boring, I decide dto try potted ink and an ink pen. The lines are much more interesting and fluid, even smudging them and making mistakes is much more fun than the ultimate control of a fineliner.

Although I'm not drawing anything in particular (apart from the ink pot and speaker below), I'm really enjoying pending time playing with the ink. Possibly my new favourite material to use. 

OUIL403- Do Judge a Book by it's Cover

Initial Thoughts

The book uses literally no colour at all inside it, so there would be no use in creating a cover filled with colour, so I think b&w is the way forward for this brief (with possibly some colour in the title).

The pictures inside are incredibly simple, a skeleton on a black background, I think the cover should be the same, as this is the best way to represent the content. Although the cover may look simple, hopefully not boring, there would be no point in creating a really extravagant and complex illustrated cover when the actual content of the book is the complete opposite.

Looking through the internet and the college Library, I have found some great examples of how this can be achieved.



The example covers use little to no cover, and are again focused on the actual design rather than the image.

Simplicity is definitely the way to go for this cover.

OUIL403- Do Judge a Book by it's Cover

My Chosen Book (and its difficulties)
For our next brief in the Visual Skills module, we were asked to take out a book from the library at random, any book as long as it didn't involve illustration. As I was unaware of what the brief would be about at the time, I based my choice on what interested me the most. The book I selected was a non-fiction book titled 'Evolution in Action'. The book explains different evolutionary branches of species, and specialised evolutionary traits with photographs on most pages of animal skeletons 'in action'.

I found the title of the book to be quite misleading, I thought the book would be descriptions of the different evolutions with the main focus being on them specifically. However, the main focus of the book seems to be the photographs, with them taking up a majority of the book. I think this will make it particularly difficult to illustrate a cover for as, in my opinion, the best way to advertise and describe what the book is about is by using one of the photographs inside (which it already does). So I need to find a way of illustrating what the book actually does and make it look appealing.

Because of the difficulty in thinking of a way to illustrate the books cover, I did contemplate changing my choice of book completely. However on reflection, whilst working as a professional illustrator, I would not be able to simply pick and choose which briefs I do, and some will be more difficult than others. So although the book will be difficult to illustrate, I decided to go through with it and see if I can work out a decent design. The best way is to learn from mistakes, and I am wanting to challenge myself.


Reflection of the Brief
To me, the brief is giving us a task which is as much about the actual design of the cover as it is about the actual illustrations on there. I need to focus my efforts into creating an attractive cover for a book, as well as attractive illustrations that are in it. We have been tasked with creating 5 full scale roughs for the book; this will give me a great opportunity to play with the actual design of the cover.
 

OUIL403 Visual Skills-A day in the life (Final Images)

After finally deciding on which colour schemes I preferred, I played around with the overall composition of the images, which you will see on one has changed quite a lot. I finished off the images by clearing up any final blemishes and printing the image to make sure it looked good to print.

I really struggled with leaving the images alone, I seem to have an issue with sometimes overdoing an image and not being able to leave it when it looks good enough. This is something I have discussed with Matt and will look to work on this in the future.

OUIL403 Visual Skills-A day in the life (Drafting Finals)

After scanning in my final roughs into the computer, I adjusted the levels of the images to get a more crisp outline without losing any touches to the image which retain a handmade feel. 

After playing with a few different colour schemes I decided to use a few textures. Using a dry Copic marker I scribbled smoky shapes onto paper and scanned it in. I then overlayed this effect onto parts of my images where appropriate.


Once I had adjusted the levels of the images, I began to clear up any blemishes which could be seen, and creating neater lines. I then began to play with the colour of the images. Adding background colour and filling in the main features of the images.
I decided to avoid tones and shades, as I wanted the images to have a simple colour scheme to not distract from the focus idea of the illustration. 

After playing around with the textures, I decided that it made the images look a bit cluttered and scruffy so decided to leave them out. I decided I wanted the overall images to look much simpler than I was making them, so decided to stick to a colour scheme of black, white and green. This not only fit in with the article, but it allowed me to demonstrate all I needed to (black for smoke, white for negative space, and green for accent) without overcomplicating the image.

OUIL403 Visual Skills-A day in the life (Idea Development)

After the crit session, I went away with a fresh view on how I was looking at my images. The crit was extremely useful, by having my piers look at the images without knowing what the article was about, I helped me to understand that as much as the image has to look good, it also has a purpose to serve, to illustrate the general message of the article.

Thankfully, Mario was able to easily identify what the images were trying to illustrate, so I thik the idea is there, I just need to focus on making the image look professional.

The first thing I looked at was the development of composition in the images. Because the idea of the images was pretty clear, I simply needed to develop the aesthetics whilst still remembering to not lose the message.

Once I was happy with the look of the final image, I drew up more drafts of the image to scan into the computer. I decided to hand craft the initial part of the image, and process the image further digitally; this gives me the opportunity to try different colour and composition without having to restart.

Although digital enhancement will give a neat and professional feel, which suits my style, it is at risk of losing a hand made feel- something I feel should be preserved.