Roughs

The Brief

I read the brief for the Stratford Literary Festival book jacket this morning, and really like the theme. However, the deadline date is any time before 2nd March - which only gives me tonight and tomorrow to finish it! I am up for the challenge but I have never done a brief of this kind so quickly before, we shall see if I can get it finished before the competition closes.

New Photoshop brushes

Because of the limitations on time, I decided to also do something I have never tried before and rough straight on to the screen using some of the Kyle T Webster Photoshop brushes I recently bought. I actually really enjoyed the efficiency of doing this, the only problem however was that I didn't have time to try lots of variations of my idea - which I usually enjoy doing in my sketchbook before I start on finalising imagery.

Choosing Scenes

At this stage, I wanted to evenly pick out the six different parts of the book I could potentially illustrate. I know the story quite well so it is just a matter of choosing the aspects I think are the most effective in engaging both adult and younger readers in the aesthetic of the narrative. The ones I am thinking about so far are:

1. 'She could see the tops of the trees above the wall, and when she stood still she saw a bird with a bright red breast sitting on the topmost branch of one of them' - pg 29.

2. 'She found herself in one long gallery whose walls were covered with those portraits' - pg 46.

3. ''This is Miss Mary, Sir', she said' - pg 96.

4. 'Dickon, who was kneeling on the grass working hard' - pg 129.

5. 'Colin was standing upright - upright - as straight as an arrow and looking strangely tall' - pg 183.

6. 'Where you tend to a rose, my lad, a thistle cannot grow' - pg 230.

Meeting 5

I felt like today was the beginning of us starting to finalise our idea and pinpoint who could do what within the group in regards to final imagery and additional research we need to undertake. We managed to discuss what our campaign will consist of (deliverables) which includes bus shelter posters, leaflets, stickers, GIFs and location based instagram/snapchat filters and how we can ultimately achieve what we are aiming to do with this project.

Repeat Pattern Workshop

Notes

Open Photoshop

File - New - Type in required measurements of the tile (5cm x 5cm)

Cmd - R - Turns the rulers on/off

Click and drag each guideline to the each of the frame:

Check guides are in place by checking the snap option is ticked - View - Snap

Image - Canvas size - Add 200 percent to height and width - More room to work with

View - Lock guides

Open an image with a transparent background - Drag on to frame

Click image - Hold alt and drag - Makes a duplicate of that layer

Arrange a design you are happy with - Within the middle square guidelines

Select the tile

Edit - Define pattern

Edit - Fill - Pattern

Voila!

Change colours

Can change the pattern - Go back to the tile and amend

Overlapping Patterns

New document - click the little circle icon at the bottom of the layers - Pattern

Change the scale of the pattern

Go back to the original tile - Select all layers

Right click - Group all layers - Make a folder for them to go in

Making a pattern which over laps:

Overlap the motif - then select the top section of the overlap

Hold shift - Drag down the to the other side edge

Take in to a new document - Good for wrapping paper

Corners:

Good for creating evenly spaced pattern - Simple

Put the motif in the corner first, then separate each one by holding shift - Dragging to the opposite corner

Repeat until all four corners are filled

Take in to new document - Ta Da!

Study Task 2

I chose Carson Ellis, Owen Davey, Anna Bond, Victoria Semykina and Laura Carlin to look at for this task. Although very different there are aspects within all of their practices that resonate with me and my work. The first thing I noticed was the inclusion of narrative and storytelling which is so apparent within the compositions I looked at, especially in Ellis, Semykina and Carlin's work. There is a tone set by the use of colour scheme and technique used - all of them have a very distinctive aesthetic but they also share similarities in this area. The use of perspective is also something that interests me, it creates depth and intrigue around an image. I like to think about what else could be happening outside the frame, within the little world described on the page. Anna Bond's work is a great example of how illustration can be applied to products and also work within an area of publishing appropriate for both children and adults.

The Book Illustration Competition Awards Night

Last night I went to the Book Illustration Competition Awards ceremony with my sister, it was really nice to finally put faces to the work I have seen in the longlist. I spoke to people who had flown in from different countries and of all ages, it was lovely to see such a diverse group of people with a similar interest all in the same room. I was a bit nervous talking to certain people, such as Sheri Gee who is the Art Director of the Folio Society, but she was actually very nice to talk to, I feel like it gave me a bit of practice in how to present myself to industry professionals. I also had the opportunity to have some interesting conversations with other members of publishing houses and practitioners who just came along to view the exhibition, collecting a few business cards on the way!

Overall, this has been a great experience and given me more confidence when thinking about exposing my work and being in a professional environment.

Travel Maps - Research

Whilst thinking about geographical locations in relation to the Royal Opera House, tackling accessibility as a main issue, I started looking on my Pinterest account for some inspiration of how we could lay things out in the context of this idea. I found some really nice examples of maps, most of the ones I liked contained motifs which highlight the different elements. Taking this further, I think that continuing to look at motifs/buildings is the best way to highlight things we want to draw attention to in particular.