Secret 7; Further Development (CHVRCHES & Tame Impala)

CHVRCHES Process & Final

Once scanned I began the process of digitally colouring this piece using a set of downloadable custom brushes in photoshop. I didn't want the piece to loose it's hand-rendered quality despite being highly manipulated in photoshop, because of this I chose to use these customised 'paint brush stroke' brushes in the colouring process of this piece.

The bright colours and marks made with these brushes also helped to elevate the level of energy in the piece and make it feel a lot more 'dancey'. While colouring I did feel at one point however the piece was starting to become over crowded // loose it's focus on the central figure. With some more research looking back at previous CHVRCHES covers I had the idea of using an overlay of the silhouette of the figure to give the piece some depth and draw attention back to the figure through the slightly manic background. It was integral that I continued to listen to the song and look back at past research in order to keep the focus and intention of this piece from start to end; something to consider with each of these sleeves!

Tame Impala

Intention

Create a sleeve that is fun

Slightly nostalgic?

Focus from lyrics

Playful

Initial Sketches & Research

After listening to this song and reading through the lyrics, I decided I wanted the focus of this sleeve to be the woman sang about throughout the track. The idea of subtly referenceing the lyrics through a 'Trevor' tattoo or something appealed to me, I wanted the image to be a little tongue in cheek and not too serious.

Another big influence on the way I tackled this track was the music video which had recently been released for this song. The slight nod at nostalgic motifs and shape driven imagery would go on to impact the way I drew my images.

I began by looking at women's lingerie models for a sexy but not provocative reference point, then moving onto pin up girls to get that kind of tongue in cheek character // gesture. 

After drawing through a few variations I decided that one of my earlier pieces felt the strongest and fit best with the track. Stylistically I wasn't sure on the first attempt however, so went through a few more variations until I found one I felt happy with. The shape driven aspect of this piece felt right with the track but there were slight imperfections in terms of proportions//layout.

I wanted this piece to be almost completely analog and so used an approach similar to that of the Caitlin Moran brief in which I scanned in the sketch, edited it so it fit the format // proportions were correct, then printed it out to trace over with pencil crayons on a light box. 

Coloured pencils allowed me to get vibrant colours while giving me some texture to work with.

Final Image & Mock Up

Once the final image was drawn out and scanned in I made a few slight alterations in photoshop, mainly to get the colours as bold as I could with the CMYK format, and make sure the contrast and sharpness was optimised. It was important to not over edit this piece however as I didn't want to loose the hand-rendered textures of the coloured pencils, that I feel helped give this piece part of its charm.

Caitlin Moran; Finals & Mock Up Book

Process

With the format // proportions ready to trace I drew out my final visuals on good quality stock paper to allow for best results when scanning them in. Once the pieces were finished I scanned them in and began placing them onto the Penguin provided template

Composition & Text

With the front cover the placing of the image was fairly simple, with the back cover however I tried out a few variations before settling on my final one. It was integral that the imagery helped to illustrate the text without over shadowing it. Font wise I chose a simple sans serif so as to not distract or conflict too much with the illustration work.

Final & Mock Up

Once the piece was finished I tried mocking it up on a book cover to see how it would look. I really enjoyed the process of using pencil alongside biro pen and the creation of the final image was something I felt I could really loose myself in and craft well. The challenge of working for a book cover was also something new, and though it was hard at first to pin down how my work would meet my intentions, it was something I managed to figure out through exploration in my sketchbook.

On the less positive side, once seeing the book mocked up I worry there was too much white//negative space and that I should have done the image on a coloured background? Perhaps even doing the spine another colour (or black) would have helped to break the design up and look more finalised. 

Secret 7; Initial Thoughts & Sketches

Initial Thoughts on Tracks

This month the tracks for Secret 7 have been released, and while some of my peers have had reservations about certain tracks I'm very happy with this year's batch! Some songs I'm unfamiliar with and others I know quite well. One of the main reservations//things I'm nervous about at this point is re-imagining some of the more well known tracks in ways that aren't obvious or overdone. Especially with the track Imagine by John Lennon I'm aware a preexisting visual world already exists in the form of Beatles album artwork ect and I don't want to feel like I'm just repeating that, and At Last a certain era or mental image of a couple in love comes to mind; I have to push past these initial obvious concepts.

Work as a Set

Given the diversity in musical genres // tones with these tracks making them work as a set is something I may struggle with in terms of tone of voice. I want each piece to reflect the ethos of each track so one way of making these pieces work together collectively could be through colour palette. Through choosing a few select colours to make all sleeves from it may help them work together as a series despite changes in media // tone of voice.

In order to choose tracks that I felt I would be able to use for each track I conducted research into each of the pre-existing album covers for each track. Making a kind of chart documenting the colours in each album cover I then picked out the most often reoccurring colours to use as my staple palette. I would allow for slight alterations in terms of hue // brightness // opacity ect but keeping to this basic palette may help in the continuity of the pieces as a collective.

Media

Looking into album covers I feel a lot of the more successful ones feel as though they have a personal // hand rendered quality to them. I'd like to include analog elements in each of my submissions and then enhance // layer // edit ect these in photoshop to create a hybrid of digital and analog methods in each piece.

CHVRCHES

Intention 

To create a cover that capitalised on the energy and electric feel of the track

Something that looks dynamic

Dance element

'Indie' girl on the front? 

Initial Sketches

I started with the idea of hands // crowd shots at a electric // dance concert with a sharp contrast in the bright colours of show lighting and the dark silhouette of hands in the air however this felt a little static and unrelated to the song

I moved onto more figure driven work in having colours exploding out of a character // in a characters specific features, however this also felt a little static in what the image was conveying

I wanted the character to look dynamic and personify the dance beat of the song, it was at this point I started to look at expressive dancers. The way their body moved was exaggerated and shape driven. At this point I finally started to get an idea for a good cover. The woman would be in a dynamic pose with the earlier notion of bright lighting // coloured strobes bursting out behind her.

Once I had decided on a chosen pose for the female figure I drew it out in mechanical pencil ready to be scanned in. I really wanted the colours for this track to POP out so decided to colour it digitally in the CMYK format, so I knew the colours I would be getting would be at their max potential 

Illustration Fridays; Batch 2

Visual Language & Artist Inspiration

As I continued with my illustration Fridays' I made sure to keep considering line quality and block colour. During the course of these few weeks I found myself often looking at the work of Laura Callaghan and Kaethe Butcher. While the visual elements of Callaghan's work appealed to me it was Butcher's attitude and merging of image and personal text that spoke to me on a conceptual level. I kept my responses for each week quick and instinctual, writing what came to mind as the piece evolved in my fingertips.

Problems of Brief

As stated earlier, I wanted these pieces to be quick and raw, and while this worked best for the time frame and keeping the briefs rolling, I do feel looking back on them as a collective that certain images could have been stronger or feel as though they have a little bit of a 'rushed' element to them rather than a raw element; something that could have been avoided if more time had been spent working out various compositions // colour palettes // experimentation's in general. 

Making the Brief Work for Me

Though some of these pieces felt a little rushed, what this brief did very well was keep my visual langauge exploration going. I found the website itself didn't offer too much in terms of the benefits of submitting; all you submitted upon entry was name, medium and style. This meant if someone had liked my work or wanted to get in touch it would have been quite difficult, and I found the requirement to fill out a 'style' box seemed a little hobbyist.

Given that I didn't have to hide this work away however, due to any competition guidelines, I was able to post it on my own social media account Instagram. This then allowed for a semi - regular illustration based post to be put up helping me with my own online presence. It allowed my account to stay active with work that wasn't taking too long but still showed results, allowing for more people to get in touch and interact with me as opposed to just look at my work on the Illustration Friday website. 

Collab; Partner & Brief Selection

D&AD Fortune Favours the Brave

After the slideshow of everyone's work I began talking to Graphic Designer Izzie Glazzard. I've been familiar with her work for a while and have always admired the way she is able to complete work to a high quality and professional standard. Her work is clean cut and exacted with a keen and precise eye, I think this contrasts quite a lot with the way I work myself and it's exciting to think we can both bring our own skills to this brief!

As well as her visual skills, Izzie's knowledge and familiarity with programs I'm not so confident in (Adobe Illustrator // Adobe Premiere) will come in very useful for any template//pattern sides of this brief, not to mention the video we have to make documenting our process!

Izzie Glazzard (http://i-glazzard1417-sp.blogspot.co.uk)

Both of us liked the openness of this brief and the freedom it gave in choosing our own audience and aim. The idea of taking on an entire campaign is also something quite challenging, and I'm excited to see how we are able to tackle it!

Summative Evaluation

Summative Evaluation 

This project has definitely had it's ups and downs throughout the months I've worked on it, I feel as though I have been pushed, and pushed myself, further than I would have thought possible and for that reason I am proud to have finished it. 

Beginning this project I really enjoyed Murakami's work and the stories and tone of voice he used to tell them, however quickly found through summer work sketches and initial drawings once I had joined level 5, that the images I were creating felt overly repetitive and over done. They all felt very cliched, and I didn't want to create just another set of portraits about sad women, as I felt that was all anyone who tackled Murakami's work to come away with. Because of this ambition to push past the obvious, I feel as though I've grown a little conceptually. I've always had ambition in my ideas but feel as though my final pieces rarely manage to fully communicate them; they often become overly complicated or loose the spark and energy they started with. With these final pieces however, I feel proud to have successfully communicated a new side to Murakami, the best feeling is people getting excited about my work BECAUSE of it's concept and fresh viewpoint!

Practically I'm also quite pleased with my outcomes! Often my finals loose the energy they had in my sketchbook and this is something I've often wrestled with; trying to create pieces that look high finished and crafted without looking robotic or awkward in their execution. This project has shown me how PROCESS can effect and finalise a piece. Using images from my sketchbook that have that raw energy to them and taking those images through another process can allow for a replication of that same energetic, fluid image making with a higher level of detail and crafting. The combination of elements from different images to create a final piece is also something new I've discovered this project which came in helpful during the making of my final compositions and images.

The processes themselves have been a learning curve this module, trying to not merely understand but become GOOD at a process I've not done before in detail, or in the case of After Effects at all, is something that has continuously challenged me throughout this project. Though, at points, I felt as though the project was failing because I didn't feel comfortable and confident in the work I was making, I've learnt this can be a GOOD thing! Because I pushed my work but practically and conceptually in ways I didn't feel comfortable with I feel my work has grown immensely. Understanding how to adapt the process to meet my needs has been very important; while I didn't want my work to be dictated by the processes or programs I was using, I also had to find a balance between what I wanted my work to do and how I could use the processes//programs to help make it come to fruition. 

On a lesser positive note I feel something I have really struggled with throughout this project was time management. In the last couple of months 2015 especially I felt myself becoming very overwhelmed with workload both from this module and others. While I tried to pick myself up from this multiple times through vigorous time planning and organising myself, I still felt a little lacking in lustre. This leads to another struggle I've had within this project and that's keeping my momentum going. I feel I both started and ended this project on a high, but there were definitely dips throughout the middle part of this module. Largely I think this was down to my own personal mental attitude. I let the workload get on top of me a lot and rather than take the time out to really breathe and take a break from looking at this project so I was able to organise myself objectively, I pressured myself too much to get too much done. This has been one of the biggest things I've learnt throughout this entire project, it's just as important to know when to take a break from a project as it is to know when to pull up your boots and really tackle it!

Overall, though at times it may have got me down, this project has resulted in work I feel extremely proud of. I have pushed myself a lot in terms of demanding more from my work and I'd like to think that has paid off. I've learnt so much in so many different areas throughout this brief and feel I am leaving it a stronger illustrator and a happy person. 

Final Issuu Post

FINAL ISSUU DOCUMENT

(Rough breakdown of key moments)

Started initial drawings and sketches over summer in response to Murakami's work

Felt work becoming stagnant due to repetition of sad women and lonely men; felt cliche and over done, wanted to look at Murakami through another light

Focused more on the time era he set his books in (Norwegian Wood ect) the 1960s. Drew inspiration from Murakami rejecting traditionalist Japanese culture and embracing Western values and hippie free love counter culture

Began merging his work, love of music and the time era together

Began print making; found a like for lino

Produced mock ups and began finalising compositions and colour palettes

Had awful day of screen printing; chose lino as print process

Finalised artwork

Cut lino

Printed finals

Made initial storyboards in response to sound tasks, drawing from the themes used within my print work to create a sense of unity within SB2

Made further developed storyboards 

Began drawing sketches to use in initial attempts at animation

Tests with pace, movement, overlay ect

Creation of colour images to get a stronger feel for final sting; continue looking for potential sound

Alterations to size of images on photoshop 

Importation of print elements

Transfer of animated movements

Small experiment with different tracks

Final Sting

Final Crit

Elevator Pitch

My chosen author was Haruki Murakami, I really found myself very fond of his work however after a few weeks of repeatedly drawing sad women I felt my project getting a little stagnant. So rather than taking his work at face value, I decided to draw upon his references of hippie counter culture, rejection of traditionalist Japanese values and strong love and inspiration found through music to create a pysch-60s-Murakami mash up. The pieces are meant to echo a 60s vibe while hinting at the possible 12 inch record sleeve format.

Sting Final

Final Sting; Haruki Murakami from Jazz Harbord on Vimeo.

FINAL STING

Conceptually; A lot of the concept of this sting relied heavily on the print aspect of this brief and for that I’m a little saddened. While I always kept in mind that this had to eventually become a short animation advertising a documentary, I feel like I didn’t push it that conceptually to fit within the context it was meant to be in. A lot of research went into Murakami and his work from the start of this module, and I could have maybe used more of the research into his private life // personality in the sting than I did.

Visually & Sonically; Given that After Effects is a program I’ve never used before, I’m pretty happy with the outcome. I felt a little bummed out about the music choice, especially after TEST 3, but after a little break and a rewatching of TEST 2 I’m actually quite happy with my final sting. I wish I’d had longer to play around and try out a few different options; however due to, at times, poor time management and balancing I felt I couldn’t push this as far as I would have maybe liked.

Final Linos and Presentation

Organising work & final prints

Given the aforementioned criteria, I picked out my top three prints and cropped them down to each have a matching boarder width ready for presentation. Drawing all my development work together, I sorted through, organised piles and printed out matching labels ready for hand in.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON PRINTS

Conceptually; I’m proud of how my take on Murakami isn’t one that has been previously over done or feels cliché or obvious. I was a little wary at first as to whether people would understand it or get the concept behind the works, but throughout this entire process peers and tutors alike have only ever been encouraging of this new direction. Concept is something I feel I can often over complicate or fail to fully pull to fruition at the end, but with this module I’d like to think I’ve pulled it off! Big thumbs up!

Visually; Overall I’m pleased with my prints as a set, however I do have some reservations. I feel very proud of my first two lino cuts and prints, but feel as though the third one could have had a lot more detail put into it. I think this is largely due to the fact I know I spent a lot of time crafting and refining the first two prints, but had to rush the final one along slightly given the time scale I had available towards the end. This said I’m still happy with the works as a whole. I feel as though, for perhaps one of the first times, I’ve been able to carry through the energy and fluidity from my sketchbook to my final pieces while still developing them and crafting them to a high level of finish and detail.

Sting; Print Tests

Print Test from Jazz Harbord on Vimeo.

TEST 1

The making of my final sting was quite painless given that I had already sorted out all the movements and timing in my sting through the use of digitally created visuals. To make this final piece I merely switched in each element one at a time and copied the movements I'd already programmed in to the digital visuals. A few alterations had to be made in terms of anchor points // slight movements but for the most part it worked as I wanted it to!

Print Test 2 from Jazz Harbord on Vimeo.

TEST 2

At this point I'd been scouring the internet for a royalty free track that would fit with my sting! I finally came across this track that fit into the sort of genre of music I was looking for while fitting with the animation on a pacing level. I am worried however that the music isn't psych enough, so I've decided to have one last look and see if there's any other music I can find!

Print Test 3 from Jazz Harbord on Vimeo.

TEST 3

This version is exactly the same as version 2 in terms of animation but the music is slightly different. It definitely feels a lot more 60s psych HOWEVER I feel like it has made the piece feel a little weaker. The track is too fast and at times it feels like the animation is trying to catch up with it. The music makes the animation feel badly timed and less effective as a whole

FINAL THOUGHTS // CHOOSING FINAL STING

For my final sting I've chosen to use TEST 2 as I feel that track makes the piece a lot stronger as a 15 second long sting when compared with the clunkiness of TEST 3. While the third test did have a stronger 60s vibe, that didn't actually help with my piece. I feel the colours visual elements allow the piece to feel 60s, and the slight somber atmosphere of TEST 2's music works better with the atmosphere of my sting as a whole! I wish I had more time to search further for music but given the time available I'm relatively pleased with my final sting.

Tutorial

Lino Printing

Prints in process and complete

PROCESS; PROS

The print process was a relatively smooth operation. Using techniques I'd practiced and things I'd learnt from previous endevours most of the prints came out well! I left a large boarder on the paper to allow room for fingermarks or smudges at the sides without (hopefully) getting too many near the central image (I did change disposable printing gloves very often to try and ensure the edges stayed relatively clean but it was difficult)

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

Things that were harder about this process included lining up the stamps so they fit on top of the original print where I wanted them to (especially on the first print, there were a couple of times I put the text in the wrong order!) as well as making sure the colours matched each other evenly! Two of the blue prints were done at the same time whereas the other blue print was done at another time, meaning I had to remix the blue ink resulting in a darker tone and thus differing it to the previous prints slightly. I wasn't too concerned with this however, as they all used a similar dark blue // dark orangey brown colour palette, tying them together.

PICKING FINALS

The final prints were picked from the selection I printed this week. I looked out for even distribution of ink, lack of smudging // movement of lino, less marks around the edges, and clarity in each piece to hand pick my final three.

Caitlin Moran; Finalisation of Imagery Choices

Image Choice & Media

At this point I decided on the front facing image of the girl and the speech bubble for my front cover and to use motifs from the book on the back cover. While scamping out some variations of this, I also made the choice to change the mechanical pencil to a biro pen. When the mechanical pencil work was scanned in with the coloured pencil it felt a little lost and lacked the definition I wanted in my final sleeve. A black biro pen allowed me to have that definition while allowing for a similar level of detail and degrees of pressure. 

Layout // Composition 

With the subject of the front and back cover chosen I did a few variations on composition and how the text would integrate with the image. It was of course vital all the required information // text was on the design and worked with the image harmoniously. When it came to the back cover I didn't want there to be a battle with the imagery and the text, given the back was more text heavy than the front. Because of this I chose to only use two motifs from the book, a tampon and lipstick, on the back cover. Once I have the text set up on the final format file I feel it'l be easier to know where to put each object so it works with the blurb. 

Mock Up

With all the practical aspects of the images decided upon I printed out a 100% scale version of the formatted PDF file and drew out in pencil a rough for proportional purposes. This could then be traced over using a light box when completing my final image so it would fit easily into the template once scanned in without being un-centered or having parts cut off//blank areas

Collaborative Practice; Self Promo Boards

I wanted my boards to show the diversity in the way I was capable of working as well as showcasing some of the technical skills I have; digital, analog, print, book binding

I also thought it was important to show some sketchbook work to showcase the energy I feel I'm able to get across in my pieces, this will hopefully reflect the energy I have in terms of tackling workload and pushing myself too!

Both of the briefs I chose to put on my slides were D&AD as I felt as a service they had the most to offer in terms of rewards and exposure; if you win a D&AD it seems like a pretty big deal! Go hard or go home!

My slides for the presentation

Caitlin Moran; Further Studies & Influence of Illustration Fridays Ref Imagery

Illustration Friday Influence

As I felt I had reached a bit of a stagnant point in this project I turned to other briefs to keep me ticking over. It was while completing some more of my Illustration Friday briefs that a thought occurred to me. With the Caitlin brief I had been struggling most with tone of voice, but most of the imagery I'd been making was from imagination rather than reference as my Illustration Fridays' were. Perhaps this was were the problem lay, the lack of realistic input on the images I was creating was allowing them too stylised and far removed from the real issues the book tackled. It was time to look at some women and not just draw some women.

Reference Imagery 

It was important to me that the reference imagery I used was of 'real' women; not to say there are real and none real women in terms of body shape ect, just that heavily photoshopped and airbrushed thin models were not going to help illustration Caitlin Moran's book. This had to be relatable and part of that relatability came through human flaws. Cellulite, wrinkles, double chins, awkward stances and wonky features were all welcome here!

Change of Media & Concept

It was around this point I switched the berol marker to a mechanical pencil; the instant change in appropriateness was apparent. Where the berol had made very bold lines the mechanical pencil allowed for a greater degree of sensitivity and detail. This mixture of thin lifework, negative space and pencil crayon created a great juxtaposition in energy and tone. It mixed together immediacy and naivety, themes often touched upon in Moran's book, being a little rough around the edges and full of energy and uncertainty with the more considered and crafted lifework the mechanical pencil delivered. This visual language felt as though it reflected the growth theme of the book well, in keeping with its core themes while exploring them in a new way. 

Lino Cutting & Time Management

Linocuts 

CREATIVE STRUGGLES

Admittedly over the Christmas break I took some time off to get away from this project. Though I feel like I've been producing work throughout this module, I felt like I'd maybe lost a little bit of the fire within myself to really keep going. Time management is something I've really struggled with the past couple of months, and while I've made lists and planned my time meticulously, I feel this weakness is due largely to my own pressures and self doubt.

During the break I did start my first lino cutting, however found myself very quickly becoming drained and lacking in motivation to finish it. This project has been one of the longest I've undertaken in a while, and though I feel I've grown enormously because of it, it has pushed me further than I perhaps would have thought mentally and emotionally. 

In order to reset this, I took the Christmas break off to wipe the slate clean and reinvigorate myself ready to truly tackle the project when I came back in the New Year. 

And tackle the project I did!

NEW YEAR // 2016

The past week back at uni I've felt extremely productive, organised and proactive! Returning with a refreshed vigor I feel like I'm finally starting to ENJOY my illustrations again! These past couple of weeks have taught me the importance of balancing time! It's important to recognise when you need to step away from things just as much as it's important to recognise when to step up on things. I was so crippled with self doubt and worry that I wasn't doing enough I found myself not doing anything, I had to take time off to reassess this and find my illustration confidence again! 

However this time taken off did mean I had to really get on it in terms of tackling this workload head on since my return. I spent 13 hours one day JUST cutting lino to ensure I would get them all cut and printed on time. I also realised I'd missed out a section of text to be printed (ARGH) so had  to buy more lino to heat press it on and cut that out too!

After a very labour intensive week, I have finally cut out all of m lino! My arm may be some what crippled but I'm extremely proud of what I've accomplished! Caring about my work makes a huge difference I feel in terms of craft, and I feel because I have truly immersed myself in this lino cutting the end lino blocks have become something I'm proud of! Whoopie!!

Caitlin Moran; Initial Studies & Struggle

Brief

Who: Penguin Books

What: Digital PDF CMYK

When: 9//3//2016

Context: Book sleeve (front & back cover with spine)

Media: Any // open

Why Chosen: Familiar with Moran's work, haven't done book cover design before; something new and challenging. Enjoy drawing women as subject matter

Brief Analysis (What Wanted)

Relatable to girls and women (tackles real female issues)

Funny and Humorous with serious underlying issues

Classic and eye-catching cover

Motifs // Visual Ideas

Slightly alternative // punk sense of style; both in attitude and fashion choices (research on Caitlin Moran herself)

Strong Women; Moran or woman to represent her strong mentality // viewpoint

Thoughts After Initial Sketches

Woman on front cover with motifs from the book // womanhood on the back cover?

Cover must reflect Caitlin // the books attitude and humour in its tone of voice

Started with lifework sketches focusing on child//teenage girl. Looked at young photos of Moran as well as larger built young girls for reference. Younger figure on the front shows the book is about growth; not a woman yet.

Struggles at this point

Hard to make my own work feel appropriate for this brief; doesn't feel as though it is reflecting the aesthetic // attitude of the book well enough at this point

Work feels very stylised and not for an adult audience at this point. Media mixture of pen // crayon works nicely but feels too shape driven at this point. Needs more detail // fine tuning to feel crafted for a more mature audience while still being eye-catching.