Compositional Sketches

I spent today going through some of the pages of my book, narrowing down the key themes per page and sketching out some compositional studies.

I've made use of the photos I collected during my trip to The Warren a few weeks ago. I really want each page to be a strong stand alone image, as well as working together as a collective. Some of the themes have been harder to communicate than others due to their discussion of ideas rather than narrative; I also don't want to be too literal/ obvious in the illustration of Stew's words. I've tried mixing elements of different images together in one composition to make each page more interesting, while taking into account the layout and which pages will be next to each other.

Even the final composition sketches are very rough at this point, I find it a lot easier to add detail to an image while crafting the final thing, which will probably happen here.

Moving forward I need to finish sketching out the final pages, tie down details with title page, dedications etc and I could do to type out the words I'll have on each page for reference and final image making. A consideration of colour as well as the details of how each final piece will be crafted must also be taken into consideration at this point.

Change of Printing Plans

As previously mentioned, I had up until this point planned on printing my book hardback via Blurb. However today whilst checking shipping times I was a little taken a back by how long the book would take to construct, print and ship to me (8 days). With this in mind I was faced with two options;

rush the book to get it finished in less than a week so I could send it off in time to be printed 

OR 

take my time illustrating the book and print it at uni. 

I've decided at this point that I'm going to print my final book as a paper-bound, using the uni print dungeon. This is because I really want to finish the year with something that I'm proud of. So I'm going to take the full (almost) two weeks until the deadline to make sure the images and tone of the book are correct. I'll then print the book at uni for hand in BUT still send the book to print hardback at blurb for after then. I still want to see the final book realised to its full potential. While I can't do this in time for marking, I'll still have the hardback version for the end of year show, and a copy to give to Stewart. I'll also be able to photograph the hardback version for my website and portfolio, whereas the paper-bound will be used for marking purposes.

Final Book Printing Plans

As I've decided to create a book for my final piece, I've been looking at places to get it professionally printed. I've found myself coming back to Blurb, it's a company I've used in the past to print final products and they provide a range of paper and cover options for 'photo' books (image based books).  I've put an order in for a sample pack so I'll be better able to chose the texture and finish that's right for the book (something matte and textured). I'm thinking of doing it hardback at this point, as I'd like it to be something I can have at the end of the year show. The square format appeals most as it's roughly the size of a 7inch vinyl EP sleeve, which I think works well with my music theme.

Visiting The Warren

Stew was an abso star as always and allowed me to come visit him at The Warren and grab some shots of the instruments and rooms to use as reference if needed. I also took a couple of photos of the telephone boxes in Hull (for the telephone part of the convo). It was nice seeing Stew again and discussing creative ideas with him. I'm hoping I can make something he'll be happy to have been a part of by the time this project ends!

Structuring the 'Stew' Book

Structuring the Book

I went through my previous transcript with Stew, and picked out some key points of conversation. I also played around with the structure to make the conversational piece flow a little bit better than it translated straight from the interview. After this was done I tried to roughly group together statements/parts of the conversation together that I felt could be used on the same page/ with similar imagery. This was to give me a rough estimate of page numbers. 

Also made a list of possible places to visit while I was back in Hull to take reference photos of. I'm thinking of getting back in touch with Stew and asking him if I can have a nosey around the music rooms of Warren so I can take photos for any references I may need.

FMP; Change of Direction (FOCUS TIME)

I've spent the last couple of days trying to simplify my project down to something that really reflects my initial ideas and intentions without over complicating them. I think Patrick was right when he said  that my project felt a little disconnected and muddled. After taking some time to think and reflect, I think I've managed to narrow down my project to something focused and far more illustration driven. 

What did I really want to do with this FMP?

- Explore and expose Hull's underground music scene

- Champion the people/ venues that have allowed the Hull music scene to get to where it is today

- Create something that feels authentic

What excited me about this FMP?

- Being able to do something about my home, I'm very Hull proud

- The conversation I had with Stew; his passion for the scene and all he's done for the scene to date while staying incredibly humble

After considering these points, it occurred to me that maybe the answer to this project had been there all along. If I truly wanted to champion the Hull music scene and it's passion, while giving back to that scene and area, maybe it made sense to illustrate one of those passionate stories.

Maybe I should just illustrate my conversation with Stewart Baxter.

Having being in the scene for over 20 years, Stew has been at both the receiving and the giving end of the music scene here. Taking part in both playing and attending gigs, to helping vulnerable young people in Hull find an outlet through music. His passion for the community here is evident in the way he speaks about the area and where he grew up. Perhaps illustrating the conversation I had with Stew would be a way of showing the passion and culture within the Hull music scene, and a proposed percentage of the profits of the book could go back into funding The Warren and similar projects. Perhaps Give 'Em Hull could be a publishing brand rather than a clothing brand, bringing out books that showcases individuals and places that have helped shaped the community and culture of this city.

I feel a lot better about this project, and I think this is a direction I'm going to commit to. It's a lot of work to do in just over a month but I'm determined to make something to do Stew's words some justice, and show the Hull music scene as something to be proud of!

FMP; Talk with Patrick (Revise Project???)

Today I had a tutorial with Patrick and it confirmed a lot of the worries I had about my project feeling a little over-complicated. He struggled to understand the link between what I was trying to communicate and the clothing line. He suggested I try simplifying my project down.

Points taken from tutorial

• struggling with intent and clothing line
• scrap idea of merchandise being main focus
• really like what's coming from 'fanzine' posters; got a lot more feeling and attitude
• want to do something related to Hull music scene and paying homage/giving back to it, think of a better way of doing this
• simplify ideas down; what are you real focuses; what gets you excited about the project
• have a long think over Easter and find one focus

I'm a little worried about the timescale of this project and feeling a little lost about an end product at this point. With just over a month left I really need to organise my head space and get this project focused within the coming Easter weeks!

TEDxHull; Live Day & After Thoughts

The Event;

• The day overall was abso fantastic! Great atmosphere all round, people were engaged and interested and just generally super atmosphere. I was placed in a 'hangout' sort of area just before people went into the theatre. Alongside myself live drawing there was also James Fenwick on the wall opposite me, as well as a stall from Form, a small book stall and a table from Hull Uni's science (?) society doing funky things with physics. While we were told to feel free jumping into any of the talks, I stayed outside to do my work as I didn't want people sat inside the theatre for two hours and coming out to see no difference in my piece haha!

Practicalities; 

• The practical execution of my piece actually went really well!! This was my first time doing live art without using paints, but I feel like I was able to really get into this piece with a high level of craft and detail. I genuinely just really loved doing this event as it gave me 6 & a half straight ours of just drawing. I've felt so all over the place recently with balancing workloads and emails etc it was SO good to just be able to really have the time put aside to get into an image. And I finished the full thing in time!! Extra points for me.

Networking & Public Reaction;

• I had a great reaction from the public with a couple of people stopping for a conversation while I worked. It was really great seeing that as the piece developed, people started to recognize places. I overheard a woman point at Ringside saying 'that's down Bev Road' while I was having my lunch break, and it was great to hear that people were able to recognise elements of the piece.
• James also gave me some great feedback which was really humbling to hear. Given that he's worked for bands like Scouting for Girls and Foals it was rather nice knowing that he appreciated my work and craft. He was pretty blown away with how much detail I'd managed to get in within the time we were there too. He also spoke to me about how he acquired the music briefs he's done and how/ where I can market myself if I'm looking to get something similar. He was really open and friendly about it which meant a lot as he didn't have to go out of his way to give me the information that he did. It was also interesting hearing the differences between the courses at Hull and LCA; let's just say I'm v. glad I came here for uni haha.
• I also met Joe which was lovely, and could later lead to some partnership or collaboration. I think it's good to know the creatives in Hull that are making something of themselves; if only one step at a time. Post-uni I'l be moving back home, so it's good to know I have a creative network of friends there already.