Visual Communication - song choice - first thoughts

I had the choice of the songs 'Please' by Blanck Mass, 'Whip it' by Devo, 'Made to Stray' by Mount Kimbie and 'Moth' by Burial and Four Tet to base my character design on. Although I thought 'Whip it' (my favourite of all the tracks) would be a fun choice and definitely full of character, I decided I was too familiar with Devo and their incredibly distinctive imagery which I would find incredibly difficult to 'forget'. I thought 'Made to stray' was just a bit boring, and couldn't really find anything to latch onto. Whilst I thought 'Please' and 'Moth' would both be good options, I went for the latter because of the simple reason that I preferred it so would probably not mind listening to it a lot as much.

It is very atmospheric and quite sinister in a way, certainly very hypnotic. Some other words which come to mind are:

Lonely

Dark

relentless

Trance

Perpetual

Weary

Pulse

What with it being an electronic, sort of dance track, the beat is the most significant aspect and it's unrelenting presence in the track's otherwise somnolent atmosphere brought to mind, for me anyway, the idea of travelling, or making some kind of grueling journey. It made me think of a sort of nomadic lifestyle, always on the move, but more sinister. In terms of potential character ideas, I could picture some kind of drifter driven by an unknown motive to travel unrelentingly in pursuit of it. It brought to mind the scene from 'The Good, the Bad and The Ugly' in which Blondie (Clint Eastwood) is made to walk through through the dessert by Tuco (Eli Wallach) without water or shelter from the sun.

The fact that the track sort of fades in at the beginning and sort of peters out gradually at the end makes it feel endless, like it was going on before you started listening and will carry on after you stop. 

The stammering synth motif also reminded me a little of the sort of jerky way camels lope across the dessert. I can picture someone riding a camel to this music, even though the tempo is probably a bit too fast.                         

Visual Narratives - Evaluation

Beginning with, the ‘One Week Map’ brief, I would say that whilst I enjoyed the day out wandering about Leeds looking for inspiration, I struggled to maintain enthusiasm for the brief after that, finding the collaborative element challenging. I appreciate the fact that collaboration is very much inescapable as a practicing illustrator and that that made the brief very relevant in its challenges, but the main problem seemed to be the fact that due to a lack of familiarity within the group, we were not confident in criticising, or even suggesting ideas, something I would assume is fairly at odds with a practitioner’s collaborative experience. In any case, I was not very keen on the prints we ended up with. The fact that, as a group, we were fairly unenthusiastic and reluctant to really share and evaluate ideas showed in, what I deem to be, a pretty lackluster set of outcomes.

I was not particularly bothered by this as it was not something I was very invested in and I had understood that one of the main aims of this brief was to serve as a screen print induction, something I had never done before and am now keen to try on my own terms. My only reservation is the length of the process and how involved it all seemed to be. I usually work in a spontaneous, instinctual way and will no doubt find it a challenge working using such a time consuming technique. Hopefully it might benefit my practice though, inspiring a little more discipline in the way I think about the work I’m creating.

I found the research brief to be a very useful segue into the process of creating my final picture book, the ‘Yorkshire Sculpture Park’ trip in particular. The observational drawings, looking through holes etc., were the most important step for me in arriving at the final themes I would consider in my picture book. It’s difficult, in fact, for me to separate the last two briefs as I felt my ideas flowed continually and consistently like a stream of consciousness. Unfortunately, the ephemera I managed to collect was fairly feeble and didn’t support my project, and likewise, the conversations I had were interesting and definitely could have lead somewhere, but didn’t end up being relevant to my final ideas. I think the processes of recording and documenting conversations and collecting interesting items from trips could prove useful to me in the development future creative endeavours but for this project, after the trip I had such a strong sense of where my project might go that they proved unnecessary. I think in the future I should perhaps keep an open mind for longer.

My picture book felt like it resulted very naturally from my research and I was very happy with how organic the flow of thought and work was that lead up to it. It was satisfying for me to have a project where the final outcome felt like the best piece of work I created for the project, as usually once I start working with the knowledge that specific pieces of work will form a final outcome, my image making becomes much more apprehensive and is often less authentic feeling than some of the preparatory work. This brief also introduced me to new ways of working (using cut paper and cut out shapes) which I enjoyed and will no doubt return to in future. It was also nice that these new ways of image making occurred to me in close relation with the developing themes of my book, so that these processes began to seem almost axiomatic. My thoughts and the conceptual development of this brief informed my exploration into these new practical avenues without conscious effort and I found the way in which conceptual developments informed practical developments and vice versa wholly satisfying. The only problems I’ve encountered really have been technical issues which I intend to remedy when I reprint the book in digital print on Monday.

Visual Narratives - Design As Art

I had been reading 'Art As Design' whilst undergoing this project, and although it did not directly influence me, there is a general attitude in that book that no doubt had an effect on the way I was working, and thinking about my work. Sort of, perhaps crudely, reducing the themes of the book down I ended up taking away a 'less is more' type attitude. In particular I enjoyed reading about the Japanese houses, and the subtle sophistication in which they deal with space and the ordering of their space to provide comfortable and humble homes. It was too late in the game to change the direction of my project so drastically by the time I was reading about them, but i did think that a nice avenue could have been to create a picture book dealing with Japanese houses. 

"There is a space, nearly always a small space, between the street and the door. It may be six foot square, this space, but it is enough to create a sense of detachment that is, I should say, more psychological than physical." 

"The module, prefabrication, mass-production and all other things we are now recommending as necessary innovations have been used for hundreds of years in the traditional Japanese house."

"All the inside walls of the Japanese house are movable except those devoted to built-in cupboards. Similarly, with the exception of the household services, all the rooms have outside walls that slide. One puts the wall and windows where one wants them. According to the position of the sun or the direction of the wind, one can arrange one's house in various ways."

"The building materials are used in their natural state and according to logical and and natural rules. For example, what should one use to roof a wooden house, as we would use tiles? A layer of cypress bark of course, for bark is the part of the tree accustomed to alternations of sun and frost, damp and drought, so it will not rot or perish."

"Even the services are arranged with simplicity and imagination. From the lavatory window one can see a branch of a tree, a patch of sky, a low wall and a hedge of bamboo.                   

Visual Narratives - Final Book

I did not initially think I would be able to finish my book in time to print it in the digital print facilities so did not book a slot in case I couldn't make it and then somebody else couldn't either because I had taken up a space. I wasn't planning anything particularly fancy anyway so though I could probably get away with just printing it on the 120 gsm printer paper in the computer room. 
However, unfortunately, despite making sure I was working with the images in the CMYK colour format, the colours green and red I had been using did not print particularly well. Also, because the pages are printed double sided, the images in my book are largely blocks of bold colour, and the paper was not thick, images showed through to the other side of whatever page they were on. I did not expect the coours to be an issue so that was a little bit of a surprise, but, the other problem I think I probably could have anticipated.
Anyway, I have booked a slot in digital print for Monday morning so I can print onto paper which is thick enough to stop the colours showing through. I also would like to print onto a matt paper with a slight grain, as I think this would accentuate to good effect the flatness and boldness of the shapes in my images.  
I can also use the more accurate binding tools available in digital print so the whole book will be put together a little better than if I had just done it myself with the long arm stapler.         

Visual Narratives - ephemera from YSP trip

Collecting 'ephemera' which might relate to the theme of 'space' was very difficult I found, and there wasn't really much around at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park which was particularly interesting to me or which caught my eye. I thought that the fact that the YSP is huge, largely outdoor, space might mean i would come across some interesting natural things to collect (e.g. rocks, leaves etc.) but there wasn't any really, only lot's of grass. In the end I came back with a few bits and pieces, all of which have proved fairly unusable in the context of my book.

A large fold out map, the other side displaying all the events/ exhibitions etc happening at YSP in the near future. Useful whilst I was walking around, but too specific really to pursue in terms of my project's themes.

A sort of activity sheet designed to accompany a viewing of
James Webb's 'We Listen For The Future'.

This artwork was slightly interesting to me, in that it consisted of filling a space with sound (the old chapel at YSP). He had set up a wall of speakers/ amps (AC/DC style) and they 

were all playing the sound of people banging on doors, loudly. For a brief moment I considered the possibility of steering my project in a direction of how sound reacts/ fills different spacesbut I had moved well away from that by the time I left YSP. I felt very sorry for the steward who had to stay in that room allday, perhaps he had ear plugs. The other side of the card made reference to another artwork Webb had outside in the park. Hehad set up a speaker playing the birdsong of a bird that you "wouldn't usually hear in Yorkshire." I didn't notice it.  

My train ticket and receipt to Wakefield.

A sort of business card, from the taxi driver who drove me from Wakefield station to YSP. with his mobile number written on the back so I could call him to get a lift back to station when I left YSP. I just thought it was
quite funny to have the mobile number of someone I don't know and probably won't see ever again. And also funny that he wrote it on the back, not where it says 'tel.' for telephone number.

A card for McDonald's. Every time you buy cup a of coffee,
you get a sticker. Once you have six, you can show it to claim
a free cup of coffee. I found this on the floor, as it is pictured.
I thought it was funny that somebody lost it with one sticker
to go, and that I would only have to buy one cup of coffee to
get the free one. I didn't get round to it in time in the end I
don't really ever go to McDonald's, I still think it's funny
though.    

Visual Narratives - 'Space' - conversation transcripts

I talked with three different people about the concept of 'space' and whilst some interesting points were raised, overall it is such a large and abstract concept that it is difficult to have a natural conversation about it. Unfortunately all three conversations were over the phone, recorded with a microphone on my computer, which meant that to type them out, I would have to fiddle about closing and re opening different on screen windows to pause the recording whilst I typed it out. So, I decided it would be easier to hand write them, hopefully they are legible.

Conversation 1 - 'Dan'

   

This conversation didn't really give a great deal to work with, although it is quite funny. Whilst carrying out this form of research I've noticed it can be quite funny to transcribe very literally, every "um", "like", "ah" and so on. I also think that this kind of very literal transcription of, simply, people talking how they talk, could potentially contribute to a nice picture book, it just isn't really the route I'm wanting to go down. 

Conversation 2 - Emily

I found this conversation particularly funny when I looked back at it written down and thought for a moment that it might be quite funny to have a book with this particular passage written out, a line of it on each page for instance.

 

I think it would just be funny to document in a picture book, somebody really, really struggling to explain something. It also reminded me of a Michael Rosen poem which I liked very much when I was little, and which I still find funny. It was illustrated by Quentin Blake but I couldn't find the drawings he did for it unfortunately. His illustrations just depicted a young boy's face (presumably the person from whose perspective the poem was told) getting more and more screwed up with frustration every line of the poem, which goes like this:

I'll have a please sandwich cheese

No I mean a knees sandwich please
Sorry I mean a fleas sandwich please
No a please sandwich please No No -
I'll have a doughnut.

Conversation 3 - Dad

 

My dad said quite a lot of things, and things I agreed with, I considered investigating the blue pipes in Berlin he mentioned but decided I'd keep my book a little more abstract. He is interested in, and quite good at photography, so I liked what he said in regards to that, and in regards to a 'nice view'. I definitely continued to consider those things as I worked on the project. I liked very much what he said about a nice view being difficult to capture in a 2D image due to the fact that when you stand in that environment, your eyes move around and gain a more subconscious, or conscious even,  sense of being in that place and experiencing that space first hand.   

Overall I decided I wouldn't use these conversations as a direct theme for my book as not enough grabbed me. I did, however, keep certain things in mind, particularly some of things my dad mentioned.  

Visual Narratives - cleaning up and Edward Cheverton

Because I have decided that the content of my book will come from collage work I have already created, when I was not in the mindset of creating 'final' imagery, I have a fair bit of cleaning up to do to my images in Photoshop (cropping, removing glue marks etc.). Whilst in the process of doing this, it has occurred to me that I would very much like the hand made aesthetic to be clear. I want the images to obviously have been made by someone, and so have been careful not to clean my images up too much. It's sometimes a little difficult to know when to stop, or deciding which imperfections to leave in, as they contribute something to the pictures, and which just make them look poorly made. 

An example of an illustrator whose work is very clearly constructed by hand, even in it's final forms, is Edward Cheverton. 

    

Once I'd studied Cheverton's work a bit, and considered many elements of the handmade world can be effectively brought into a final, digitally developed image, I feel more confident in what I think i can leave in my collages, most notably, the shadows where pieces of paper have lifted off the page slightly, the grain of the paper, and the crude edges of the cut shapes. Another realisation I've had is to be more careful in the crafting of the original work, particularly with respect to gluing (I did start to use more double sided tape instead of Pritt- stick as it was easier to control and less messy) as then I would have to rely on digital processes even less as I am already having to use them more than I would ideally like.  

Visual Narratives - One Week Map

Working collaboratively is very difficult, for me personally, but also I reckon for the majority of people, especially when the groups are decided for you. It is a necessary challenge however, and collaboration is something that I understand to be fairly essential in the world of a practicing illustrator. 

Whilst the day out, walking around Leeds looking for inspiration, was pretty enjoyable and I got some drawings and photographs etc. which I was happy with as starting points, the main issue was really to do with developing the ideas. It wasn't a case of creative differences or arguments, it was pretty much the opposite. When a group of people who don't know each other particularly well have create work together, everyone becomes terribly polite (in much the same way as when a large group of people must settle the bill for a meal out in a restaurant) and there is a total lack of criticism and everyone sort of fannies about without suggesting or creating anything concrete. The result is, in my opinion, that the work suffers from a lack of commitment. I'm not really too bothered in this instance as it was only a short project, designed predominantly to induct us into the screen printing (which I have never done before) facilities at college, so as a means to an end it wasn't too bad. I wasn't very happy with the outcome though, for the record.

As far as screen printing goes, I do really like the idea of trying it out, and i no doubt will, but do find it rather daunting as a process. I struggle with creating work through time consuming processes, and processes which require careful planning in the execution of work. I usually prefer to work in a much more instinctual, spontaneous way, so I have no doubt that screen printing will prove a bit of a challenge for me when I do try it in my own work.      

We decided, in the end, that one layer would be an angular line, roughly describing the route we took around Leeds, and that the other layer would have on it symbols to represent certain things we witnessed en route, my contributions being some fallen cups, the original drawings in my sketchbooks I quite like, a crude interpretation of the John Lewis logo (which I filmed overlapping itself briefly every time the automatic doors opened as that looked quite interesting) and an abstracted depiction of a crab, after I saw several live ones (one trying to escape) at a fish mongers -

Cups

Crab

Original layers for screen prints

        

To summarise, despite having some fairly interesting starting points, to many compromises and lack of investment from most of us (myself included) lead to a rather lackluster outcome.  

Visual Narratives - final book ideas

After experimenting with the techniques I mentioned in the last blog I have now got a pretty solid view of my book will shape up. Initially I was going to simply use several of the collages and cut out images I have made and put them together in the book, but have since decided that I would rather narrow it down even more so the book can be seen to confidently represent one thing. I have subsequently decided to focus my images upon one space (where the corner of a table meets the floor and is accompanied by chairs) in my kitchen, and will produce cut paper representations of this one space, from different perspectives, at A5. My intention is to create a more cohesive book, which feels a little more thought out than perhaps it might have done.

 

 

I have decided on a bold colour scheme, with each object in the frame represented in the same colour for across all the images in the book. This is partly for aesthetic reasons, partly to simply delineate between the shapes and increase the clarity of the compositions, and also because I thought that if the viewer might be able to recognise the various objects, and track their movements within the book, that would help me illustrate how the spatial relationship between objects can be altered by perspective. I decided on flat colour instead of texture as I thought it might muddy the waters of what I want to represent with the book and would not allow the shapes the space they needed in the lens.

 







I did refine my cut out idea, and feel it gave some nice results (the one on the left in particular) although works better over flat colour. I did intend to use technique for the front cover, initially similar images to these two examples, sort of outdoor environments and buildings. 

E.G:

  

   

However, now that I have narrowed the content of the book down so much, it wouldn't make sense to me not to reflect that in the front and back cover. So, I think I will cut out a smaller image of one of the chairs from the front cover and the same from the back cover but inverted. The first page after the cover page will be a block cover, as will the last page before the back cover. I think I will invert the colours (which I have decided will be blue and yellow as this is my favourite combination i can make from the complete colour scheme) of the front cover on the back cover. 

So, to summarise a blue front cover with the shape of a chair cut out, letting the yellow of the inside first page show through, and a yellow back cover with the same chair shape, the other way round, cut out, letting the blue of the last back page show through.   

There will be 12 pages of content in between, each page displaying one image demonstrating the space from a certain perspective. 

Each image will be accommodated by the same size and shape lens (rectangular) and surrounded by a white border, necessary, I feel to give space to each composition and ensure the pages don't seem muddling and too in your face.       

Visual Narratives - experimenting with the composition of elements in a space

Whilst the simple act of collaging, in flat colour, the constituent parts of a composition taken from real life has proved effective in abstracting that portrayal of a space, I decided to try moving the shapes around into new compositions before sticking them down to further abstract the original reference and attempt to allow the work to stand more independently as a more purely aesthetic organisation.   

Whilst I did find it a useful exercise, and was happy in the results, I still think I prefer the fact that, in the more direct representations, certain elements can still hint at the original objects in that space. For me, the interest in this project stems from the fact that compositional control is somewhat relinquished in creating these collages of found spaces, and the fact that there is a more authentic strangeness to the images when glimpses of familiar things are present and are contradicted by their       

Original 'space'

Collage of shapes in 'actual' position

  

This was my favourite and the 

one I ended up sticking 

down

         

















































     






Whilst I did find it a useful exercise, and was happy in the results, I still think I prefer the fact that, in the more direct representations, certain elements can still hint at the original objects in that space. For me, the interest in this project stems from the fact that compositional control is somewhat relinquished in creating these collages of found spaces, and the fact that there is a more authentic strangeness to the images when glimpses of familiar things are present and are contradicted by the viewers struggle to figure out the context, despite the fact it is taken entirely from real life. This uncanny effect can not be achieved through these completely re-organised compositions, or not as well anyway, and so I do not think i will pursue them in this project, although I do like them as works in their own right.  

Visual Narratives - development

I have continued to work with the theme of abstracting space and removing or obscuring contextual information to translate spaces to abstract compositions. Following on from my research into 'Atelier Bingo' and Mishka Henner, I have explored, firstly, how my line drawings translate to shape based, cut paper images and also how removing information from my own photographs and re drawing it in in a more abstract way might work to express the themes I am dealing with.

Original line drawing.

Collage using flat colour and magazine
cut outs.  

   

Original Line Drawing.

                

Collage using only flat colour.

Photograph of window with view drawn
in.

               

Cut out of one page with collage behind.

I have decided that the outcomes derived from inserting drawn replacements of the views from windows into photographs taken looking through those windows are not particularly effective. I like both the basic collage interpretations of my drawings and the cut out technique but feel that in both instances flat colour is the way to go. The textures are not relevant to what I am trying to communicate and often, I have found, just confuse or over complicate the images. The colour really only need serve as a way of distinguishing between the various shapes which make up the imagery and I think having maybe three bold, flat colours will produce the best effects.

Other ideas I intend to try:

Creating the imagery more freely, not drawing the shapes out with pencil before cutting         them.

 

Refining the cut out technique (which I think I might employ for the front and back cover of my book) and creating some with just flat colour behind.

Increasing the level of abstraction by rearranging the shapes in any given photograph I     might be working from so that I am no longer only representing how things are actually    

positioned in a space, but altering that so the images become more independent.