Digital Collage

 

I started trying out different ways I could describe imagery and character. Not being used to shape and collage I thought this would be a great opportunity to incorporate these ways of working into this project, due to the amount of time we have had - especially during the research period. I learnt some skills in the Visual Language sessions that I wanted to really develop and refine in a bigger chunk of my time - where I could really play around with ideas. I found that by using my existing drawings as a guide I was able to highlight certain areas with shape and texture, that I was not able to previously, just drawing.

Collage

I enjoyed this Visual Language session much more than usual. When we were first set the task I wasn't very enthusiastic, but once I got cutting and sticking I found myself getting in 'the zone'. Although I am not mad keen on the final outcome, collage in general is something I want to experiment more with in other areas of the Illustration programme. I actually preferred the little elephant guy I made as an added extra to the poster I made.

Isabelle Arsenault

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/books/this-is-our-house-and-once-upon-a-northern-night.html?_r=0

What drew me to Isabelle Arsenault's work was the use of different textures she uses. The success of her image making depends heavily on her use of composition to create an atmosphere. Looking at work like this has been the starting point of me broadening my own practice by experimenting with textured collage. I am currently enjoying the process of this and it is nice for me to try something out of my own comfort zone. Using a colour palette of limited colours seems to be a successful element within Arsenault's work, this also helps to set the tone of the work - something I am currently working on in my own project.

Idea Development

Problems I faced

Having to simplify my ideas was probably the thing I find hardest, to let go of certain stories even if the images lend themselves to working better in a less complicated way. However, I think by constantly tackling these problems I am slowly getting better at working with small ideas and illustrating them in a more obvious way - to an audience. I want it to be obvious what I am trying to say with my picture book and including multiple stories may complicate that. Therefore I am now working to reduce my storyboards down to one strong idea that highlights the bleakness of war.

 

Focus

I swiftly decided to focus on the idea of a little girl (based on my grandmother) and her teddy bear, given to her by her own father - bringing in a sentimental element.

I like the aesthetic of torn paper textures sitting behind more fluid brush and gouache drawings. The chaos of the ink splatters are something I want to include in parts of the final imagery. All these elements together create an interesting combination. I will continue to experiment with this kind of idea as well as working on storyboard ideas, making sure there is a solid plan for me to develop imagery from.

Task - First Day Back

 

What I gained from the Task set today

At first I thought the task today would be a bit of a nuisance and get in the way of furthering my ideas in my sketchbook, however it really made me think about what I may want to include in my final design. Getting rid of anything irrelevant and expanding on certain stories which carry the most potential to provoke a reaction from the reader. I have in mind that my aim for the picture book will be to depict an emotive subject matter effectively, and this will be the biggest challenge.

Further ideas

After my conversation with Jamie I felt a lot more confident with how to proceed with my ideas, especially when it comes to storyboarding. I think it may be helpful to start making mini books to see how a narrative might be understood in a concertina format. I also want to alter the media I am using, however still want to include texture and atmosphere.

Initial Narrative Ideas

How do I start to refine my final narrative?

Following previous ideas, I started thinking about certain narratives I may want to include for my final book design. This continued with merging imagery digitally to form mini narratives and planning out some very rough initial ideas through storyboarding. At first I found it quite difficult to put my ideas into the format of a sequence of images rather than a narrative in my own head. Once I repeatedly drew the same concept a few times in different ways it became a lot easier and I managed to come up with an idea I can easily refine.

I decided that I would like my imagery to be fluid across the whole length of a concertina book, including elements of things I found out to become the foundations of a bigger story. I think this layout will work well for my proposed theme.

  

Doubts!

I feel like the imagery I have produced at this stage reflects my confusion of what to include in my project. It is very busy and I think it lacks strong compositions and a simplicity which is key to the success of the readability of what I am trying to say. My next step is to take any unnecessary imagery/ideas that confuse the emotive aspect of my work and complicate things for myself.

Experimentation pt.4

Development of Media

I have continued to experiment with textures, mainly with gouache and water colour. Taking the stories I gathered from members of my own family, picking certain moments of the best ones I decided to try a few different ways of interpreting them. I tried adding tones and textures digitally but found that the image lost a bit of its authenticity - although it was a successful image in creating an atmosphere.

Replicating the tone of this image, I used a mixture of watercolour and gouache then dipped kitchen towel in it to create the texture I wanted. I think this has worked well and is something I want to continue to experiment with a few different images, to see if it will work across an entire picture book. 

Considering Colour

Trying not to just use a monochrome colour scheme! I am always tempted to use black and white as it's a lot easier to manipulate in an image. However, for this project I really want to create an atmosphere throughout the whole narrative of the story I will eventually produce. The colours I have chosen to use help to set the tone, and I especially like the inclusion of a red. In my mind, this signifies blood shed and the presence of danger in the theme I have chosen to focus one.