Making the banners

This week my work experience has been all about the banners. I have been Finding out about the need of banners to communicate to the illiterate work force and the importance of using colour, from and shape to represent the counties and establishments. The designs had to be produced using muted colour palettes not only because of the dying processes and the materials that were available but also so they would make a visual impact on camera but also not to distracting. Getting the balance was an enjoyable challenge. The graphics artist concentrated on getting the right typography for the text and I hand sewn and machined the structures of the banners. My knowledge of the vinyl cutter was very handy and i had the chance to put them skills to the test. Three down and five to go.

Work Experience

Since the  middle of January I have been involved in a period drama for Channel four. This was the first time I would have a paid position in the art department. The drama which is based on factual information is centred at the height of the industrial revolution and is filmed in and around Manchester. My role in this production has been to help reference, design and make props in accordance to the scripts visual descriptions. I cannot publish any information about the drama's storyline but I can tell you that my props have included making cotton bales from three different countries and at present banners that represent the different counties involved in this work force. This experience so far has cemented an area I wish my career to further and the opportunities presented to me has been a worth while sacrifice of trying to produce my degree work along side of working on the set. It has been a real eye opener of what is expected when I finish my degree and what industries want from their designers. My skills of thorough researching and working to deadlines has put me in a good practice for this job role. Having to think of materials, different mediums and budgeting to produce what is asked has all come from my education that I have received over the last couple of years. I am starting to feel more confident about my own design capabilities and trouble shooting. There has been days where I have thought I cannot do this and with determination I have pushed through. Sometimes I have had to go away and rethink of a way to produce a design that I thought was right only to find out it is contextual incorrect or not how the production designer envisaged. This is all part of my role, it is about getting inside the head of the designer/director and trying to paint a physical picture. It is a fantastic feeling when I have got it right and the feedback from them is good. Other times I have had to go away and think of another way. Period dramas expect accuracy and continuity and is the hardest of all productions to work on. Being thrown in at the deep end and having to keep up and learn indecently  has made me determined to prove that I can do this. The pictures posted along side this post is a taster of what I have been doing from design, to process to the finished dress set. I will continue to document more as my work continues.

Ian Douglas- Story Teller

Ian Douglas is a story Teller. He has been travelling the country up and down introducing his talents to schools, libraries and street theatres for over 15 years. What started as a passion has turned into a career and Ian is never more at home than spinning a story, sharing an anecdote from British folk tales and world myths. Ian originally was a performance artist who can also add fire breathing and stilt walking to his talents. Very recently Ian came to our college and i experienced his craft first hand. His passion was notable as he included his audience into warm up exercises and ice breakers so that we all felt at ease with each other. As his stories unfolded he would often include one of us into stories so attention was focused throughout. He stated that traditional folk stories tend to loop back to the beginning and links to the moral of the story.  Ian said he likes to collect these stories and that they vary from place to place. Watching Ian's methods in action was inspiring and connects well to my Major project of story telling and interacting with over people. I hope to use his skills to collate my own stories and tales to feed into my own work.

Could and should Illustrators do more to push the boundaries of the discipline?

“As our visual language evolves, the playing field is levelling. Graphic designers, sculptors, painters, creative developers, and even musicians amorphously meander across different parts of our creative industries. As a consequence, I often wonder what the term ‘illustration’ now means. Maybe as a medium it might need to do more than vocationalise aesthetics and cultivate a border palate of profundity for its own survival’. – Michael Salu Artistic Director of Granta Magazine 2012 Varoom. 

As a new practitioner of Illustration I have come to understand that there are benefits to crossing the boundaries of different disciplines. The briefs that I have encountered so far have asked the artist to produce something a little more unusual and innovative in terms of design. The client wants something  that visually reflects their brief, that will stand out and that portrays the content easily to their viewer. The medium is usually chosen to help impart this and application is used to reflect the content. I believe this is why illustrators are hired to produce this varied work across the spectrum of disciplines. The need and ability for Illustrators to cross boundaries is a necessity for all artists to evolve with the ever -changing technology and the vast amount of competition amongst artists. However many recognised illustrators have used this eclectic mix of practices to their  own advantage.

Artist/illustrators like Sara Fanelli and Oliver Jeffers both have a defined style that has made them stand out amongst other Illustrators. They have both produced a personal typography that helps the recognition of their work and both have authored and illustrated books both for themselves and other writers. Oliver has produced an animated version of his book Lost and Found and made moving images for T.V commercials just as Sara fanelli has produced posters, Ad campaigns and packaging in her  professional career.   

In recent years the harshness of Graphic Design has become soften by the handrawn line, the input of homemade imagery and a focus on mixed mediums.  These practices mixed together have established a broader area for all designers to experiment with. This new mix of discipline can now be introduced to different working opportunities. For myself personally, I incorporate Photography, craft and surface design in many areas of my design method. As an illustrator it is important that my job illuminates the information in a visual way that is relevant and compliments the narrative given. I find it is an exciting way of creating art and one I will never tire of. My education in Illustration has seen the encouragement of crossed pathways and  has become invaluable in terms of future work and opportunities. I feel confident using most mediums and the incorporation of digital software to help enhance and balance the production of my work is as important. My work experiences so far have requested that I have knowledge in many creative areas. I endeavour to full fill this.

Craft Club

I have been holding weekly sessions of a craft club at my children's primary school. I opted to teach the juniors this time as they are at an age where they can follow the briefs I have set and follow the instructions.

We have designed hand sewn stockings, christmas cards, giant swedish designs snowflakes using a paper cut technique and string and glue wrapped baubles. The sewing was by far the most satisfying as it is a lost skill in many children's craft and art experiences. I wanted over the five weeks of hourly sessions to help them produce something quickly, cheaply and accessible and for them to feel confident enough to go home and continue with the crafts themselves. Planning Spring sessions next!

Folio Designs

Just coming to the end of my first semester in Illustration and so far I have loved it. There has been many times over the weeks that I thought the briefs may be impossible for me to achieve any results but I seem to be catching up. I am not quite there yet in terms of how I would like my work to look but the progress  made technically, digitally and confidently has been fulfilling. Here are a couple of underdeveloped pieces i have been working on.

Portfolio Visit Three-Glorious Creative

For my third Portfolio visit I had a meeting with Tom Shaughnessy, Design Director for Glorious Creative LTD. The company is a Graphics company and has been established since 2002. This was an interesting meeting with Tom and I valued his opinion on my illustration- based portfolio.  He is a practicing Graphic designer an area I have only studied from afar and illustration is a new practice it was a good test of my work so far. When viewing my work he thought I had a lot of varied approaches and suggested that it may good practice to enlarge my images to an A3 format so they give more details. He also advised that laying out all my designs of the floor to see what is visually strong in order to detect my strengths. My recent designs for our Folio brief was an area of interest to him and I was surprised that the designs I hadn’t submitted were the ones he was most interested in. He made some suggestions to a couple of images he liked and said if they could be altered in a small way he would be interested in a large print of it himself.  This feedback was really pleasing to hear, as I believed my work to be directed towards surface and craft designers. We spoke about the industry as a whole and he explained that it was important that I have a narrative to my work. This I have come to realise this is a necessary equilibrium needed when planning my designs. We also discussed different approaches to design and he advised that all designers should balance a method of application, content and editing skills.  He commented that I had a good use of colour and that my images contained some good composition work. I have asked Tom to review my work again early next year as I feel his advice is something I will try to improve on.gloriouscreative.co.uk