Collage illustrations

carrying on combining pen/pencil detail with collage material.

here i have focused on using layers of patterned paper to create the collage area. i think this technique builds up texture which adds to the realism of the dress material. i liked the softness of the pencil drawing in combination with the bolder dress, however i think the drawing could have been stronger. 

combining colour pencil. 

i think the muted colours in combination with warm skin colour go well together, i think if i were to add the skin detail with a greyscale pencil like the previous drawing, the illustration would be too dull and flat. 

i also feel the use of pattened collage material along side the detailed multiple toned drawing looks to much, the drawing becomes to busy and doesn't provide a focal point. 

losing collage material.

the detailed skin textures and colours work better with the simpler block shapes which make up the clothing outlines, the negative space is a positive way as it creates 2 different sections and 2 different focal points to the drawing. 

Collage illustrations

Our new task was to experiment using collage. 

I wanted to use a mixture of simple and busy in these pieces as I felt this would create focal points and will not over work or over complicate the illustration. 

i chose to work from this photograph as i like the composition and the contrast between detail floral areas and simple skin and clothes combination. i thought this image will allow me to create focus on the floral head set and use simple lines to interpret the simple body and clothes shape. 

i used real flower petles and greenery to make the head set look more realistic to the photograph. i really like the effect it gives as it makes the piece look more 3d. however I'm disappointed with the pen line style i have chosen to draw the rest of the image with, i feel the 2 medias work together, though the way i have used the pen is not right, i don't think the simple thick and thick lines should be combined with trying to add shaded tone and detail. 

Lucinda Rodgers. 

the line technique i am working on is inspired by this artists work. 

playing around with different thickness of lines- like the first experiment at the top where i added different width of lines, i wanted to develop this style, I've added thicker lines to areas i felt would have shadow areas, and used finer lines where the light was stronger so the lines (outlines) would not be as strong. i used a felt tip black pen and a…. fine liner. i think this adds depth to the illustration. 

trying out no tone-  i am still not 100% happy with the visual quality of this simple style, but i think this style with out added tone works better in combination with a intricate detailed collage area. 

Discussion with Matt

After talking to Matt about my work so far we discussed how I was struggling to find interesting and differnt reference material for the subject matter I was focusing on (food) and which resulted in a lack of interest and excitement for me in expetimental tasks. he suggested focusing on fashion/figures in further task as this would allow me to illustrate the human form which I enjoy, give me a range of differnt images/postures etc to draw and also will allow me to incorporate skills I have gained/worked on in precious tasks such as the task shape where I used cut paper to use as the shape of clothing- something that I and Matt both felt was a turning point in my work. 

struggling to think of different techniques for each task.

as i am quite a controlled person, and find it difficult to get out my comfort zone and try other medias in the fear of producing work i don't like and don't feel is good enough, I've found it hard to think of a range of different techniques to apply to the tasks, especially when i have found the weekly tasks similar, e.g. collage task and and shape task.
 - for the shape task i decided to use collage as a technique to create the shapes, therefore when i came to the collage task, i was struggling to think of something different, and when i did try to create something, i was not happy with it as i had not settled on a specific technique i felt really worked and suited my ability.
it was also frustrating and quite overwhelming when researching techniques for inspiration, it was hard to see such great ideas which i could not feel i could achieve conceptually or technically.
though this was frustrating and therefore lead me to putting off the tasks as long as i could, when it came to it, and i had to sit and research and develop on potential techniques, it made me work on ideas until i was happy and not just settle, therefore it has developed my style and made me think of other ways to work other then what i enjoy and feel i can do.

artist who deal with collage

sabrina Tibourtine
Sarah Fanelli
Ciara Phelan
Nick White
Jamie Reid
Luke Best
Miles Donovan
Barney Bubbles
Eda Akaltun
Kate Gibb - her work is good to show contrast e.g. good and bad food in red and green
Joe Cruz- draws over image.

potential tools to use:
photocopy
masking tape
tipex
acetate
tracing paper.

collage presentation

Shape and texture drawings

because this task was again focusing on shape i was struggling to think of more ways i could develop the shape techniques I've been working on, or think of any new techniques..or even new things to draw! 

i decided 

developing on collage shape and negative space. 

i like this idea because it makes the viewer fill in the gaps and image the shape themselves. 

this type of shape illustration reminds me of a stencil. 

Using the idea of a stencil i played around with what shapes and outlines i could create using a painterly (splash) texture. i used greens, browns, yellows, and blues to add to the narrative or the pieces- farm yard animals/ country.
i think these processes would need to be refined further to make it unique, i think this was more of a quick experiment for me to see how i can make recognisable shaped using stencils and paint textures rather then a illustrative style. however i could still use this technique to combined with others.

developing on shape collage idea-
as this weeks task was shape AND textured i thought about using textured paper as-well as blocked colour paper. i think this makes the illustration more visually interesting, and though this isn't a very realistic approach, by adding patterns and that are similar to those that are on the photo-reference, just shows my interpretation of the image.
i also used a bit of fine liner to add a small amount of detail that i feel it needed for it to be recognised as a ice cream truck. -wheels, steering wheel.
i really like this technique!

focusing on detailed drawings in combination with shape.

i wanted to focus back on drawing as its what i enjoy and i'm happy doing, i feel as i have been trying to develop other skills and having to so certain tasks which perhaps do not involve detail drawing, i have not been enjoying the processes as much, i feel if i no try to combine something i enjoy with techniques i have learnt and liked i might be able to come up with a style that is different - something that i am striving for as i feel before this course my work was just pencil/pen drawings which lack lacking individuality as they have been done by many people. 

after showing this method to Matt he said he was really excited about the combination and with development it could be really interesting. 

shape & texture presentation

Cutting off the frames

I took the advice given to me after the peer feedback and walk around on Friday. I did agree with the comments of about the black boarder and felt that the viewe did not interpret that the boarder was to try and convey the sense of a Polaroid picture. After discussion with Mat also, he said that maybe adding the Polaroid idea would make the piece too complex. 

photoshop edit of idea for the word china (initial brief)

photoshop edit of idea for the word artistic block (initial brief)

photoshop edit of idea for the word plague doctor (initial brief)

Using a different textured brush to try and give the effect of material in the clothes. 

To emphasis a material look more, I added a feather texture to the image and changed the layer to a overlay effect so the background layer still showed through.

Did the same for the hat, added a cling film image to add texture- making it look leathery. 

evaluation

Evaluation

Throughout this first module I feel I have developed skills such as thinking fast to produce a number of ideas, something I have struggled with, yet now feel able to do after practicing to do so in each brief set. I also feel fast thinking has made me think ‘outside of the box’, and push my ideas further, instead of settling for initial ideas I thought where good to begin with. By making myself look at them differently and changing certain aspects, I feel my ideas have become a lot better and my initial concepts have become stronger.

From this brief alone, I feel I have developed my experimental skills. One thing I was lacking in previous briefs was experimenting with medias; instead I settled for a media I knew would work as I had practiced them a lot in the past. This time around I gave myself enough time to test out other methods until I found the most effective, such as collage, fine line, Photoshop, watercolor wash and pen Etc. After finding methods I thought were effective I also mixed these together to experiment what affect I would get. This is something I have always been apprehensive to do from fear of mistake or/and affects not working and therefore wasting time I could of used to develop other aspects of my illustration.

I feel one strength in this particular project is how I developed and took on bored ideas from the mid way group crit. Up until now, I appreciated the comments received but did not tend to acted upon all the advice given to me. Before this crit I felt I had come to a artist block, and could not get a hold of an idea that really excited me, yet after the group looked at my current ideas/concept, they gave me the advice and confidence in my ideas to make me want to pursue them, such as how I could incorporate tattoos into a initial idea, this concept really excited me and made me want to develop it further.

Now being at the end of the module I feel I now have a process which works for producing the work needed, it had taken me these 3 briefs to uncover my downfall's, know where I have gone wrong and what I need to do next time. I feel this last brief has definitely been my strongest so far in terms of time management and covering certain aspects of the criteria, I feel I have learned from my mistakes in the other 2 briefs. For example, in previous projects I feel I spent too long on the concept development stage, taking it right up until the last few days, though this meant I had a lot of concepts to choose from, it did not leave me with a lot of time to develop the media of my ideas, which can be a vital part in the idea/concept development itself.

Weaknesses I have found over all 3 briefs was dealing with the mandatory requirements asked of me, especially with these last 2 brief’s, I found we were given quite a lot of freedom with things such as stock colours, paper size, colours used etc. Though I have enjoyed the freedom when completing my final resolutions, I found it very difficult to dive in and think off initial ideas as I had a variety of roots I could take, I felt overwhelmed and therefore didn’t know where to start. 

peer feedback and general comments on final illustrations

constructive criticism  to take on bored:-

• boarders are to dominant
• images look better on their own
• not that clear what the quote is.

honestly, after i had added the boarders to the illustrations, i was not 100% happy with the effect i got, felt the 'polaroid picture' idea to capture did not the memory was not very clear. i could potentially cut them down and just show the illustrations as suggested?

summed up information from peer crit :

• strenghts:
•  vast quantity of work-
• good step-by-step process progression on blog
•   final resolution are a strong and  communicative
•  suggestions: 
•  simplify blog
•  it would be interesting to see you push out more from your comfort zone and do something crazy.  

final resolutions