End of Modular Self Evaluation - Visual Narrative

1.  Which practical skills and methodologies have you developed within this module and how effectively do you think you are employing them within your own practice?

I have developed skills in storyboarding a direct experience and learnt how to simplify a situation into a limited amount of frames that explain it. I have also learnt how to think about how content can be displayed within different dimensions and what will be most effective for our chosen theme. I’ve developed methods in how I can record experiences and places as a form of research. I’ve also developed methods using sequential images within the same frame that explain movement and action. The final construction of my printed book is a method I have learnt. I’m really pleased with how it came together considering I didn’t use InDesign and figured out the dimensions and folds myself.

2. Which approaches to research have you found most valuable during this module. How have you interrogated your research to identify appropriate ideas? The most valuable research during this brief was going to Camelot and experiencing it for myself. My whole project has been based around what I did in that single day out. I really focused my research into the place and its atmosphere and looked at how I could explain it with appropriate images. Drawing from photographs was really helpful as a starting point to get a feel for the aesthetic of the place. Photographing the area was very helpful. It seems obvious but if hadn’t taken as many photos, capturing the atmosphere of the place through drawings would have been impossible. Getting out and about and experience stuff directly has been the key thing by far. The story in my book isn’t exactly complex but its bold and straight to the point (easy to read). I think this is because it really happened to me and I didn’t feel the need to overcomplicate it. I feel that confidence in an idea comes when you experience it personally. This has been an eye opener to ways that we can interpret the world around us. Simple or complex and make it exciting.

3. What strengths can you identify within your submission and how have you capitalised on these? What aspects of your submission are you satisfied with? I think my strengths in this project have been tackling with the dimensions and structure of the book. I used a concertina structure to benefit my design. I’m pleased with how I made my book work as a continuous scene. And also how I interpreted the characters and story within it. I feel like my strengths also lie in the development of buildings in my book. They came a long way from the observations of Camelot. The process used to exaggerate and abstract the buildings where beneficial to my final outcome. Using media to creating appropriate atmospheres. For example line qualities and colour combinations that express a derelict surrounding, and playful vibrant colours that are suitable for an exaggerated medieval theme park.

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

I wish I had worked with my design on Photoshop sooner. It was a fairly late decision and but was appropriate for a book being digitally printed. I feel like there were more digital experiments needed in my project. I had to make quick decisions in my final book as time was an issue and I had a print slot booked. If I had given myself more time to experiment digitally I could have made my design better. I feel like my final design drifted off coarse slightly. I am pleased with the end result but looking back at some roughs I haven’t included and mark making or scratchy line quality’s that add to the derelict feel of the area. The final design looks very linear and simplified. What would my design have been like if it had these line qualities?

5. How effectively are you making decisions about the development of your work?  What strategies informs this decision making?  I made the decision to construct my book from drawings on Photoshop and apply digital colour. I’m pleased I came to this decision. This gave the colours and line in the book a bold and vibrant printed quality. I think I got slightly distracted by the dimensions and structure of the book. I think occasionally during my projects I should step back and ask myself if it’s going in the direction intended. But then again I think its fun to see how I let the process take over the content I had gained from my research.

6. How effectively have you managed this project and organised yourself during this module?  I think I managed my day trips effectively. I was organized and went to a range of places to ensure I had good content to work with. I feel have organized my development well and had good ideas where to take the next step. I feel like more thorough reflection in my project would be better, reflecting further back to past experiments and asking myself critical questions about my progress. My time management was organized until the end. I underestimated how much time and perseverance needed to construct and colour an image the size of mine.

Luke Dixon

Luke Dixon:

I really like the line work in his designs. I like how they are representational outlines and then filled in with wavy abstract lines. I like how the process he uses distorts the faces and glitches them.

I don't usually like normal representational drawings of things but the way that its filled in with bright  colours and crazy lines gives them loads of character.

Shape and Line Experiments

I found this image on Pinterest, I really like the look of the solid shapes beind the thick outlines. I wanted to try out it myself with pro marker shapes behind some black outlines of tribal faces.

Mike Mignola

Mike Mignola

I really like mike mignola's creations. I like looking at his sketchbook pages and rough ideas as much as his final coloured comic pages. I like the shapes he uses to structure the faces and bodies, it inspires my character design a lot. The characters he creates are otherworldly, combined with his drawing techniques he creates his own universe of abnormal creations.  

His work is often quite dark and sinister looking, he uses a lot of black in his designs which makes them very bold and contrasting with the flat colour. His line work is always straight and angular, it isn't overly worked it is just well shaped.. He doesn't use any feathery lines or cross hatching, the outlines are flat and linear and this works really well with murky pastel ink colours. His work is simple but still really unique and is easily readable so works well for comics.

Jean Michel Basquiat

Basquiat:

I know that he wouldn't really be classed as an illustrator but he still inspires my work a lot. I love how he represents facial features. His work is exciting and energetic and I think making imagery like this and applying it with basic illustration principles could be so effective.
The way he lets his natural way of drawing line conduct the outlines is what gives them so much character and liveliness.
The vibrant colours go really well with his hand style and create an overall bold and energetic aesthetic. It really inspires me to be experimental and loose with how I make my drawings, and also to have confidence with the way I natural put pen to paper.

Comic Art Festival

Comic Art Festival

I went to a comic art festival in the lake district. I really enjoyed it and bought lots of comic books and books of illustrators work. I also got to watch artist draw and listen to them speak about there work and there careers.

Ian McQue:

(pictures i took of the sketches I watched him draw)

Im a big fan of Ian McQues work, I got to see him do a live drawing session where there is a camera above him whilst he draws. It was really inspirational, seeing how he constructs his character and the gestures he uses to describe shapes. It really made me realise how developing a unique way of produce line is vital for an illustrator. I think an illustrator should have a unique hand style that they should develop until they feel fully comfortable drawing in that way.

Afterwards I got a chance to go and speak to him and ask him about his practice. He mentioned about the importance of keeping a sketch book and developing the way that we communicate with a pen. He did me a quick sketch that took him seconds - but I love it, he has mastered a way of making lines that as totally unique to him. This has made me think deeply about what I want to achieve in my practice, and developing a unique hand style that is recognisably mine is what I to aim to do.

Im a fan of the walking dead and was reading the comics at the time. I got a chance to meet Charlie Adlar, the artist from the walking dead comics. He also had mastered a consistent way of drawing. I don't like his work as much as Ian McQues I feel it is more generic but never the less he has been a really successful illustrator. I asked him to draw me a zombie face and watching him produce it was really inspirational. How he understood the structure of the face and marked the shadowed areas so quickly with a thick black pen. It made me realise that I need to keep sketching and be repetitive in order to understand what I'm creating.

Books:

I bought a book of sketches by Ian McQue that is filled with concept ideas and character designs. I really like the book and it will be good inspiration for me throughout the coarse.

I bought a book by Mattias Adolfsson that is some of his best sketch book pages. Its really interesting and he has a consistent process that he uses for all of his drawings. It looks like watercolour or ink that he uses to colour his work. His designs have really soft and friendly appearance to them. His work is really characterful and he has developed a unique way of illustrating things.

Study Task 3

Content:

I feel that this image is suited to content because of the amount of information given in the image. It really involves you in this persons life and is drawn in a way that makes you feel like you understand his character.

Process:

I feel like this image represents process really well. Im familiar with Ian McQue's work and think the way he develops his sketches digitally is amazing. He uses a Wacom tablet to work over the top of his drawings, this really brings them to life and gives them interesting tonal textures.

Context:

I think this image could be categorised as context? Because it is a known character. It is set in an imaginary world so only makes sense if it is viewed in that context. The action and gestures in the image are what tells the story. Like a clip from a movie.

Product:

This is a good example of where illustration is being used for product design. It is a well known illustrator called 'Parra' and he works with lots of clothing and trainer brands and uses his illustrations as part of the designs, his illustrations have become fashionable for clothing.

Purpose:

This illustration is purposeful because it communicating a message about the world. The illustrator is trying to give information and opinion in the drawing which therefore makes it purposeful. I think it is trying to communicate how young people are hiding behind there phones? or that they have an identity based on what they look like on social media.

Aesthetic:

This image has a really nice finished appearance. I like how it is composed and the busyness of all the characters in his afro. I think it works really nicely. The colour pallet is also effective and is well balanced. Im guessing it was drawn by hand and then been digitally enhanced and coloured. I really like the use of characters within it.