Initial Thoughts

Initial Thoughts

The open nature of this brief allows for endless possibilities in outcomes; because of this I found it a little difficult where to start. In terms of forms of illustration I decided to focus on Product and Packaging, this is a category that I could take in anyway I want to while being something I haven't really focused on before. A lot of my work is character driven, and it hasn't been until OUIL503 that I've started to really consider that in real world context, I'm interested to see where I can push my characters so they become more than stand alone images and work as representing something stronger like a campaign. 

Media

Throughout this year I've come across a lot of 3D illustration that has really got my creative juices flowing. Other than some ceramics during my foundation year, 3D illustration is something I feel I haven't really had the time or chance to fully investigate; I want to utilise this module so that I can dabble in making my work 3D and see how that pushes my routine and way of image making!

Content

As of this point I'm a little unsure of the content my work should investigate. Initially I chose women and plants and they're things I enjoy drawing; I thought about creating a campaign for body positivity using 3D ceramics. This would give me a chance to transform my 2D illustrations into 3D products that could be packaged up to be sold, through either a retailer or gallery.

The further I got into my sketchbook with this subject matter however the more I felt as though the project was a little stagnant, I feel at this point while the images are strong, I'm not really pushing my abilities as much as I want to. This module gives the opportunity for immense growth in image making and technical skills and that is something I want to capitalise on. I must endeavour to push myself, the content, concept and practical aspects of my work as much as possible! 

OUIL 503 Responsive Final Evaluation

Responsive as a whole has been an extremely beneficial module. Not only has it shown that my illustrative work can exist out in the real world, but it has also opened my eyes to a range of new techniques, medias, contexts and functions of my work. It has come with it’s difficulties however, and though I’m proud of a lot of the work I have produced, I have had little success in terms of winning briefs.

Starting with the individual briefs I feel I covered a range of formats and contexts for my work to sit in, and while some of these briefs felts as though they benefited me more than others I’m glad to have completed all of them. In instances I feel I could have pushed my work further rather than doing something I felt comfortable with, this module was an opportunity to try out new things and push my work in new directions and I feel that primarily for studio brief one I didn’t take full advantage of that. I also feel there were times I replied heavily on digital manipulations of my work as I felt that was what judges were looking for, rather than just doing what I enjoy doing and creating looser analogue illustrations. 

The collaborative part of this brief however is something I really feel my practice has, and will, benefit from. Before starting the brief I was apprehensive on how it would progress and how my work would fit with someone else’s. Though I enjoy the work I create I was a little worried it wouldn’t fit with another creatives way of working and that I would perhaps feel a little useless in a group role. This couldn’t have been further from the truth!

Working with Izzie Glazzard was one of the saving graces of this module. After hearing the horror stories some of my peers have had with their groups I’ve realised the importance in working with someone who you not only benefit from in a technical sense, but someone you can have a good working relationship with too. Our practices are quite different in the way that we work, and though at the start I was worried our styles just wouldn’t work together, it has had such a positive impact on our project as a whole. Given our differing skill sets it was easier to assign roles within the grouping, and working with just the two of us allowed us to bounce ideas around quickly with the same focus. Time wasn’t wasted in our project ensuring everyone knew their roles or ironing out crease and crossed wires in intention and concept. 

When it came to both technical and conceptual aspects of this brief I feel we both had different things to offer which allowed our project to grow in ways it wouldn’t have been able to do if we had been working on the project independently. Time wise it also allowed us to work at maximum productivity, being safe in the knowledge that we would both complete the work required of us also saved us from a lot of chasing around.

Towards the end of this brief I feel we did lack a little on time management, meaning that some of the tasks we would have liked to have completed such as trying out different stocks or net designs couldn’t occur, and the final filming and editing of our video submission was completed to a tight deadline. This aside however I’m very proud of the work we created and would happily collaborate with Izzie again!

As with the last module hand in, on a personal level, time keeping is something I have to work on in regards to blogging. On the practical side of this module I completed each brief before the deadline and feel I could have pushed myself to take on more briefs BUT was unable to do this as I had a backlogging of blogging to catch up on. I must remember to blog as I go as it will really benefit me for future hand ins and achieving my top potential in each module. 

Project Report

Collaborative Fortune Favours the Brave; Presentation Boards

Substantial Secret 7; Presentation Boards

Penguin Books; Caitlin Moran Presentation Boards

Illustration Friday Presentation Boards

Gertie Harry Presentation Boards

Collab; Video Editing & Final

Requirements 

We knew for the brief submission we would need to include a video outlining our idea//concept and how it would be delivered. This would be submitted with a selection of images we felt best described our product and campaign to the judges

Filming

We knew we would need a lot of videos of the box itself, but this alone wouldn't be enough to fill a two minute long video. Luckily for us though we attend an Arts only university! This meant there were ample environments for us to film creative spaces and students to sit as a background for the context of our video. Filming within a creative university//studio space also helped us to reinforce the idea that this package would ultimately be for the benefit of the students.

Editing & Content

When it came to the technical side of making this video Izzie really took the reins, going through this project together really did create a great workplace relationship however, and I made sure I was there to offer everything I could in terms of direction in timings, transitions, colour balance, editing ect. Together we sat and worked at this video until it reached it's perfect, two minute on the dot, finale. I couldn't have done this without my partner and the things I learnt while we edited together is something I will definitely take away from this project! Working together is good!

Content wise we tried to incorporate everything we felt made our product stand out; our initial target audience was something we both felt we'd capitalised on really well and something we wanted our video to focus on. We wrote the text script as we went along, throwing ideas around before transferring them to screen.

Submission 

When it came to submission the only regret I have is that we didn't re-read the brief before going to submit. Me and Izzie worked really hard to push the video up to two minutes thinking that was the requirement, when really we could have got our message across in a lot less time if we'd only re-read the brief! Other than that the submission went smoothly, and this project is something I am incredibly proud to have been a part of!

Submission Screenshot

Final video

Collab; Box Production

Net

Though we'd been through a lot of different variations of net designs and alterations we decided in the end to go for a more standard box shape. This would be the easiest to pack with things like our A5 publication, as well as being easy to post and handle. It also allowed us to spend more time on the final production of the box and would allow for ease of mass production in theory.

Process

To begin the process I measured out and cut the box net out of some card stock we had chosen. I used a template previously made by Izzie as reference and used measurements slightly over A5 so our box would fit snuggly together. 

Once this stage was completed we took it to screen print, due to tight deadlines and a shortage of time when we arrived to screen print the only available screens were A3 format. Because of this our box wasn't entirely covered in the pattern we'd designed. Though this seemed like a step backwards it was an obstacle we would be able to overcome through consideration during the filming of our product.

Stock wise we chose something sturdy that could be posted and packaged with no damage, the downside of this however was the grain didm't work fantastically for scoring and folding. If more time had been available we would have conducted more stock sample experiments in printing quality, sturdiness and foldabilty. For a prototype and presentation this was successfull enough.

Completion 

We then made a few makeshift separators to sit in the box and organise the contents. This initial prototype mock up was based upon bookbinding so within the box we included helpful tools that the tutor could use to practice the skill themselves before teaching it. We made sure once again that the contents was mostly blue and red to keep the brand consistent. We included;

Thread

Scissors

Pens

Bone folder

Needles

Pin cushion

Introduction letter

Tutorial publication

Stickers

& posters

Publication Illustrations & Design

Writing the Instructions

As we were making our example box for the skill of book binding, it made sense to include a publication on how to go about book binding. I took control in terms of content of this publication as it made sense for me to write out the instructions and then illustrate them; sending them over to Izzie for her to put together in InDesign ready for printing.

I looked up a few tutorials on book binding before writing my own instructions that I felt described the process in a way that was easy to understand, and hopefully, friendly tone!

Instructions

Materials

Paper (in multiples of 4)

Glue // Glue Gun

Pencil

Ruler

Needle

Thread

Scissors // Craft Knife

Bulldog Clips // Large Paperclips

Cardboard // Hardboard 

Fabric // Decorative Paper for Cover

Bone folder

1. Collect your sheets of paper ensuring they're all the same size and stacked in multiples of four. Keep in mind that each piece of paper will be folded in half to create 4 pages; so 4 sheets of paper would make a 16 paged book ect.

2. Fold each piece of paper in half, using a bone folder if possible, to ensure crisp folds.

3. Unfold each piece of paper so the fold is faced upwards (pointing to the sky!) and using a ruler and pencil measure out four points just to the right of the spine of the book that are equally spaced apart. 

4. Stack your sheets of paper in multiples of four, and placing the measured piece on the top of the stack, stab through the pieces of paper with a needle. Make sure your papers stay aligned so the holes are in the same place on each sheet. Repeat with each stack of paper.

5. Okay so this is the little tricky part; the sewing! 

A. Start with your needle coming upwards on the hole second from the right, and loop it around the outside of your spine coming back upwards into the same hole again. Then take your needle across to the hole on the left and go downwards through it.

B. Just like before, loop your thread around the outside of the spine, coming back up again through the spine but this time you'll come out downwards, take the thread to the last hole on the left and come up. 

C. Loop this point around as done before but when coming back up take the thread back to the second hole, then through to the third and fourth hole coming out downwards at the end.

D. Make one final loop around the spine at this hole, then take the thread back to the hole you originally started with.

E. Bringing the thread upwards, create a loop that is then pulled tightly to create a knot; finishing your binding on the book! 

F. Finally cut off the excess string with a pair of scissors.

6. Repeat this process for as many stacks of paper you intend to use in your book, once done pack all the sewn stacks together tightly using bulldog clips or large paperclips. Measure the width of all the books together and cut a piece of fabric about three times the width but the same height. Then glue your books together using a hot glue gun.

7. Before the glue dries, stick your stack of paper to your piece of fabric, leaving spare fabric at either side; ensure it's strongly glued together.

Illustrating the Instructions 

Me and Izzie had decided at this point to print the publication on coloured paper that would match our brand identity. Not only would this make the bold black linework of the illustrations stand out in the book itself, as well as making the publication eye catching and attractive to the eye, it would also lower printing costs if the project were to go live. Printing black and white on coloured stock over coloured printing on white stock definitely made the most sense for our brand!

One the instructions and illustrations had been laid out in InDesign we printed them and I'm really pleased with the final outcome! We also printed some sticker designs that Izzie had mocked up from our patterned icon work, as well as a couple of posters and the welcome letter. When placed altogether the equipment and supporting material definitely worked as a cohesive body of work.