Characters

I am much happier with my work for the app now, I have been working on simple characters for each of the festivals that will be part of the header design, at the moment I am thinking three characters placed under the name of the festival. I have tried to make characters that represent the identity of the festival they represent, they are based on performances from previous years and the themes that run through the entire festival. I have worked on a full set of characters for each festival before stating on the text, partly because I was really struggling with the project and losing motivation and partly so that I could create an aesthetic in a way that I am more comfortable with that will help me get some direction for the text and stop me feeling overwhelmed. I am happy with the characters and think they will work when scaled down to the size of the tiles on the app, I have kept sending photos of them to the other members of the group to make sure they know what I'm doing and can let me know any changes that need to be made, offer suggestions or give me feedback. We are meeting again tomorrow morning to discuss how to move things forward, from my point of view I want to have my illustrations finished by this Friday so that I can pass them on to Irfan so he can start work on the app itself. I spoke to Chris today about how our illustrations alongside each others. I think we could work with the layout of the tiles to make sure the app looks balanced in terms of style, I will be using different fonts and layouts for the text in my illustrations to try and give each festival its own individual identity so there should be variation throughout. We are going to need to sit down and look through each other work side by side to see if they will work or not. I need to be open to the idea that I will most likely need to make adjustments to my work so that the app works as a whole. Tomorrows meeting should provide more clarity.

Plan B?

I got my proposal back today and it says my book must be based on a pre existing text and that I should find one that tackles a similar subject. I thought we could write our own but it wasn't recommended as we can't be marked on the writing. I would rather just change my idea completely as I really like the idea for my book and think the concept would work as an educational and fun children's book. If I can't use my own story for this brief I would still like to complete the book as part of responsive or in summer when we have finished for the year. I have asked some other people in the group who say they have been told they can use their own text so I am going to try and clarify that before I change anything. I have been working on character design for this project for three weeks and starting from scratch will set me back a bit. if I do have to change I need to make sure I know which texts I can chose from before I make commit to a subject.

I had just made a breakthrough in my character design. I have been trying to figure out how to make a character all white and simple and shape based. In my previous attempts I had started to add shading to differentiate between each part of the character. This went against what I was trying to do in simplifying my work. I decided to think of it as a problem solving exercise and find ways around it. I realised that I could use silhouettes of other objects as silhouettes and be more creative with the positioning of the limbs to create the characters structure. I want to be able to suggest a shape with only a small amount of it showing, like a leg behind a tail or an overlap with another object that the viewer will instantly know signifies a paw.

Repeat Pattern Workshop

Set up photoshop document 

custom

5cm x 5cm

turn rulers on (cntrl + R)

pull guides from the rulers to each edge of the canvas

allow us to change the canvas size but still know the original size

change canvas size by percentage to 200%

lick guides in the view menu

make pattern

select central square

go to edit and define pattern

open pattern in new document

go to edit- fill then select the pattern

make the pattern on a transparent layer then you can add a colour layer underneath

add solid colour layer as a way to make adjusting colour easier.

use hue and saturation layer and make sure it only effects the layer below it by clipping it to it using the icon at the bottom of the window. 

Next Step Overlapping

move picture so it overlaps the boundaries we set at the beginning 

select the entire outer section all the way up to the boundary

chose selection tool and shift and drag the overlapping image to the bottom of the original square

then make pattern as we did with the previous image

 to do the same but working around the corner of the square more the sections in parts, each quadrant at a time using the guide lines
be careful when scaling that the image is of the correct size and does not become pixelated
you can add pattern layers using the adjustment layer tab and the bottom of the layer panel
this adds extra layers to the pattern that can be scaled

Struggling

I have been having trouble with this project. I was concentrating too much on the lettering for the headers and treating the illustrations an after thought. Today I decided to start from scratch and go back to my own specialism of character. I started drawing characters for the Imaginate Festival which is a children's performance art event. I decided to draw the iconic characters from shows they have put on in the past like clowns and mimes. I drew some simple characters that could accompany the lettering on the header. I think this could be something that I use across all the festivals. That way the characters will add a hand crafted, fun and interactive feel to the header leaving the text to be clear and bold. I need to talk to Chris about this idea to see what he thinks and how he is doing working on his designs, If our illustrations are completely different the app will look messy and uncoordinated. I am going to keep putting my work on the group messenger but from now on I am going to ask specific questions that will help me to move forward and check everyone id happy with the work and understands how it will work in the finished product.

Science festival tests

I have been trying out some ideas for headers, I started with the Edinburgh International Science Festival. I have found it very difficult working on this project up until now. It is difficult to progress with work and generate ideas as part of a group. I would normally use roughs to generate ideas over a space of time but in this case we have made decisions before we started the roughing process. I also have to work with another illustrator and our work has to tie in as one seamless project. I don't think communication has been as good as it could be within the group. I have tried to share the work I have been doing with the group as and when it is completed but I think I need to try and communicate the feedback I need more effectively, ask specific questions and keep checking that we are all on the same page.

These are the first two images I made for the project, the top one highlights the need for constant communication. In the group meeting we talked about combining hand drawn text with simple illustrations but as I stared roughing I came up with new ideas and needed to check what the other members of the group thought about them. I got some feedback from some members of the group but not all, we have been using Facebook messenger to communicate as a group so that we can all be involved in one conversation. The problem is if some people don't respond I don't know if they have got the message or if they are unhappy with the direction the project is going which could de detrimental to the project as a whole. I want to try and make sure everyone is as involved as possible and has a say on how we progress.

Project Proposal

Colours May Vary

Today we went for a trip to colours May Vary and saw a presentation by the owners. They brought up some very important and interesting points about how they run the business, what inspires them and what they look for in products to stock in the shop. One of the owners also works in the library in the college and talked about his jobs informing each other and benefitting both. This highlighted the importance to me of having a diverse practice, not only to open up a wider range of opportunities and make myself more appealing to potential suppliers but also to gain a greater understanding of my work from a variety of perspectives, understanding where my work fits within the creative industries.

They talked about having to adapt and evolve with changes in trends, economy and location, constantly trying to find ways to improve the business. They described their experience of opening and running the shop as a steep learning curve that never stops, this is something that applies to anyone who runs their own business and wants to be successful. They talked about their experiences when they first opened, realising that nobody knew where they were, having to try and understand marketing having never done it before which is a problem I am facing at the moment. They sell beautiful well crafted items that doesn't matter if nobody knows where to find you.

Talking about what they look for in the products they sell they mentioned that mocked up books are much more appealing than a in design document. being able to see and feel the quality adds to the impact of the book. They talked about books they had been shown in the past that had good content but had been made to a poor quality and just how off it is. They also mentioned the importance of making the product suite the subject matter, an idea that would work better in a zine that has been stretched out into a full book will raise costs and lose potential customers and have a negative effect on the work itself. It is important to take into account the costs of making a book and what you would be able to sell it for. It is nice to put a lot of time and effort into a one off project but if a book is designed to be printed and sold there is no point making it so expensive to make that you price out a large number of potential customers.

Character test

I have been sketching dog characters for my book for about a week and wanted to test out some new processes. For this project I want to start experimenting now so that I don't feel constrained by time. I want to make my illustrations from simple block shapes while still communicating

- An immersive landscape

- Movement

- Emotion

- Texture (like to dogs fur)

- Form

I want to use this list to come back to every time I start to fall into a routine of going through the motions of techniques I have used before. My main aims are

- To make my characters more emotive, to be able to communicate emotion clearly.

- To create immersive environments and thought provoking compositions.

- To create an emotional connection with the reader.

- To tackle the question of identity and belonging.

Responsive ideas

I met up with Chris today to discuss the illustrations we are making for the BBC Edinburgh festivals app. We have agreed on the dimensions that will be a third of a mobile device screen. This will mean the text will be large enough to be easily readable and allow us space to include illustrations. There are 11 headers that we need to make in total so we have divided them up, we will illustrate five each then both create designs for the last one and chose between them with the group. I have already research two of the festivals I will be illustrating but will need to conduct further research into the others. We looked at the illustrations on the Edinburgh Festivals website and I think we both have a good idea of how we are going to work, so the illustrations should work together, however we will be keeping in regular communication with each other and the group to make sure we are working along the same lines. we plan to have roughs done by this weekend and have some more resolved images to show the group by the time we meet next Wednesday.

These are some of the illustrations from the website, we are working to this level of detail keeping to illustrations and text simple and refined. we will need to distil out ideas down so that they function in the scale and format of the app.

Responsive group meeting

We finally managed to get sat down as a group today with all four members. we needed to meet up today to confirm our roles in the group and how we are going to proceed. The good thing is we all seem to be on the same page, everyone had done some good research and had reached similar conclusions. From my perspective today was very important as I will need to produce the content for the app in terms of illustrations and that means that the other members will be waiting for me to finish my work before they can start on theirs. Today I got a lot of clarity, I now know what I have to do and have got some good ideas from the group. There are 10 main festivals mentioned in the brief that we will have individual pages for on the app. Me and Chris will split the festivals in half and create illustrations for five each. We will need to be in constant communication to make sure that we are producing work that will work together cohesively. The website that was sent to us as part of the brief already has a colour scheme for each of the festivals that we could use to help users of the app easily identify what information relates to which festival. Given the scale the illustrations will be displayed at, any complex detail we be ineffective and most likely off putting. I think the challenge with this brief will be producing refined simplified illustrations and text that manage to embody the identity of the festival while still being clear and bold. I am thinking we could incorporate illustrations into the text, using objects or characters as letters, the problem with that is that the more we add the more chance we have of the text becoming confusing. The other option would be to use illustrations for the background of the lettering then create hand drawn type for the title of the festivals. Both of these techniques have been used for BBC logo's and apps in the past. I think colour will be key if this project is going to be a success we will need the colours to represent the festivals, be clear, lively and fun and also work overall throughout the app.

One thing we will have to decide before we start illustrating is the dimensions we want to set for the headers. we will need them to fit on the home screen as tiles.

BBC brand

Photo Lighting Workshop

I have lost my photos from the photo lighting induction but I learnt a lot. I have been photographing book covers for other briefs and had a lot of trouble with lighting and managing to create a perfect white background. we learnt how to get rid of shadows using multiple lights and how much we can control the level of shadow created using the light umbrellas and various other light attachments. These adjustments allowed us to create shadows ranging from sharp high contrast shadows to extremely soft subtle ones. The most important thing for me was learning how to create shadow-less photos so that I could isolate the product in Photoshop and use it for advertising or include them in my presentation boards fro briefs. We also talked about depth of field, which for these kind of advertising photos should be deep so that I can create a sharp image with the entire of the product in focus, however I would also like to try some shots with the books I have made placed on a coffee table or in a pile of other books. A shallow depth of field would allow me to focus on the books cover in the photograph and make it clear it is the focal point. Having lights set up allows us to fully control the conditions, if I wanted to create a deep depth of field I would need a lot of light which I wouldn't have indoors in a normal environment. The lighting means we can alter the camera settings to meet our requirements rather then being constrained by lighting conditions.

App Ideas

I have been trying to figure out how to incorporate illustrations in the phone app we are creating, I am meeting with the rest of the group tomorrow to discuss ideas. We will need to find a way to incorporate the illustrations into the app without making the app look cluttered or making the layout confusing. I have looked at apps that have managed to achieve this my having illustrations in the background behind the content but this can look a bit confusing if it is done badly. Another option is to use the illustrations as a border around the content, this way we can communicate the tone and identity of the festivals the app is based on. I have been looking at the other apps made by or associated with the BBC and they tend to have very rigid block layouts with very little illustration. I don't want the app to look like their other ones but we may need to make compromises to fit the brand identity. Some splashes of colour and some illustrations incorporated in the lettering could make the app stand out while maintaining the BBC's brand identity and making the app easy to navigate.

Bookbinding Workshop

I really enjoyed the book binding workshop, I have just been talking about needing to learn how to make my illustrations into finished products. The process involves being very precise with measurements and following each step precisely. I am not usually good with these kind of processes but this one went well. In the past I have taken my work to book binders to finish them for me but that means paying someone to do a job I can do myself and also means I am limited by the techniques and materials they use. We were shown a large array of books all bound in different ways with different materials and I would like to test out more of the techniques and see where I could find ways to make my work more appealing to potential buyers. Many of the elements of the process that I thought would be extremely difficult to finish to a high standard were relatively simple when we were shown techniques to help us. We managed to make high quality books using tools I already have at home and materials that are fairly cheap. I will experiment with different types of stitches and binding methods, I will use these techniques for my finished 505 book.

Characters

I made some character sheets to experiment. It has made it much easier to work out the problems with the characters by focusing in on one thing at a time. The first sheet I made was of facial expressions and helped me to come up with some visual signifiers relating to the dog character in the book. I use eyebrows a lot to show the emotion of my characters but I can't in this case but what i think does work is the ears of the dog, being up and pointed when happy and droopy when sad. When the dog is sad I have tried to make the dogs face droop to exaggerate his facial expressions. 

I am going to keep working in this way to try and find more visual signifiers and ways of manipulating the character facial expressions. I was thinking of illustrating the dogs feet separately from the dogs body the same way I usually illustrate people but I don't think it will work in this case it is not clear enough that the paws belong to the dog even when it is on a blank background with no other characters. I want to find a way to make the characters movements and postures as expressive as possible. 

So far I like the face of the dog and think I can find ways to show emotion but the body and legs are still a bit static and blocky. I need to research dogs anatomy so I can find out ways to create shape based characters that have a natural appearance. I have found that my shape based illustrations have been most effective when I have managed to find a simple shape that represents a suggests an object subtly and allows the viewers imagination to fill in the rest, even very subtle shapes like the different angles in a dogs leg. I cannot be lazy and work from assumptions of what I think a dog looks like. (if any of that makes sense)

 

Packaging Workshop

- Designs created as vectors so can be used with the laser cutter, test out whether they work by printing them out on paper first. 

- Consider materials and scale

- Make sure designs a

Step By Step

- Open Document

- Create Guide layer -Keep all guides on this layer 

- Create rectangle the same size as the document

- go to object, pat, split into grid.

- Select 2 in columns and rows, this will allow us to see the centre point and keep the net symmetrical so we can print double sided and the images will be lined up. 

- Double click on the empty space next to the name in the layer panel, tick template to lock layer, guides will not print.

- Create new layer, this layer will be our net layer

- Use shape tools to make the net

- Can make shapes by clicking and dragging or we can click and type in dimensions, the shapes top corner will be where we clicked.

- Hold Alt to make the click point the centre of the shape and also add extra guides to the cursor.

-Hold Alt and drag the shape to copy and snap to lines. 

- Command D is transform again, could be useful for patterns. 

- Always take into account paper sizes when making a net.

- When making the flaps make sure they aren't so big that they overlap.

- We need to Taper the flaps because if the box isn't folded perfectly the edges can get int he way of each other.

- use direct selection too and shift to select the top corners of the flap. 

- Can use the handles to make the curve into a straight line.

- Don't need flaps on all edges, only one needed to connect two edges. 

- Reflect the flaps using the reflect tool on the toolbar.

- Hold alt and click on any point on the centre path, click copy not ok

- We need to merge the net into one shape but keep out guides.

- Select all, then copy and paste onto separate layer.

-Copy to the new layer and paste in place. Shortcut is shift,command, V

- Select all on Net layer and open pathfinder. select unite.
- Lock net layer.
- Make folds layer visible again.
- Select all then change opacity to 15%
- Click on stroke on the title bar, in this menu we can make dashed lines, we can use this to distinguish between lines we need to cut and lines we need to fold.

We can add all of the folds together by selecting all and going to object, then group
- Think about how you flip images when printing double sided, one sides design may end up being upside down.
-Unlock all layers, select art board tool and alt drag current art board to create exact replica.
- File and place to add artwork to the net, change to no fill on the net layer be able to see where we are placing artwork.
- keep in mid artwork  on flaps will not be seen.
- To add fold marks to the outside or lighter designs we can use the pen too to add lines that stop outside of the net, then score the net before cutting it out.
- This means no marks on the box but also means you have to score before cutting out.
Often fold lines are only used on the inside because they are less visible.

When making a box with a lid remember to scale the lid up slightly so it will fit. The stock you are using will determine how much difference there needs to be.
- Save as illustrator file to retain layers and vectors.
- Use PDF's to retain layers and make more universal.
-add text to areas outside the box with notes or a description, box size etc. that area will be cut off anyway.

Calvin And Hobbs

My feedback mentioned that I should keep moving forward with my character design, trying out new shapes, processes and compositions. I think I tend to make characters too stationary, all with a similar stance and posture. I want to illustrate children's books so I need to learn to illustrate characters in a variety of situations otherwise all the pages will be too similar and I will not be able to communicate what is happening in the scene. I have been struggling with my work recently and found it hard to stay motivated so I started looking for inspiration. I found some old Calvin and Hobbs illustrations that demonstrate movement and expressions, they are a brilliant example of how to create character with fairly rough, simple illustration.

These illustrations all communicate character, movement and emotion. I think character design should be my focal point for this brief, I need to work on facial expressions and posture communicating emotion and creating interesting compositions and movement with a variety of character illustrations. The main character will be the dog in the story that thinks he is a polar bear, If he is all white and doesn't fit in with his surrounding I could create some compositions with the dog silhouetted. I want to make my illustrations for this brief looser, I feel like my shape based work has reached a point where the shapes determine the character rather than being a tool to help me create character. I am going to work on a lot of very loose roughs sketches for this brief as time may become an issue.

Roald Dahl Changes

I have made some changes to two of my Roald dahl illustrations. I didn't feel they had enough of an impact and seemed quite plain. I have also looked back over the brief to see if I have missed anything. The brief says that the illustrations should form a "coherent series". I took that to mean they should work as a set, like a set of prints and I have used the a similar aesthetic throughout all three. I am starting to worry that to worry that the scenes should tell a story but I don't know if that is possible given that they are from different books. I hope that I have done enough to link the images together. The brief also states that the illustrations should compliment the logo which is bold coloured lettering on a white background. All my illustrations are bold designs on a white background to 'compliment' the logo and to pay homage to Quentin Blake's illustrations.

My original illustration was pretty much entirely grey with only the young girl in colour, I did this to make her stand out and become a focal point even though she was a small part of the illustration but the BFG looked too plain and faded into the background. I did want the giant to look as if her was appearing from the background making him seem almost ethereal. the problem was finding a way to have him fading out of the scene but still showing his scale. I looked at illustrations of giants and noticed that clouds are often used as a way to emphasise the scale of the giant and add depth to the illustration. I decided to add grey clouds that fade out into the white background but then the giant became even more lost. I have been looking a lot at book covers for other briefs and noticed a trend of using two contrasting colours to draw attention to small details. I added the blue colour to the giant to make him contrast with the clouds and the girl while still seeming otherworldly.

I thought I had finished my illustration of The Witches but the more I looked at it the more I felt it looked flat and that the witch didn't have enough character. I wanted tot try and show parts of the witches appearance from before and after they show their true faces. I decided to add long black flowing hair that was a feature of both Quentin Blake's illustrations and the film adaptation. I had already tried adding the green smoke in previous version but it didn't work against the white background, once I added the black hair the green smoke acted as a way to highlight the mice characters.

Pages Roughs

I drew up a list of pages to give myself a better idea how the story would work as a picture book. it has helped me to figure out how to tell the story with as little amount of text as possible. I think some of the pages could be missed out or condensed together but the end of the story may need to be spread over more pages to fully communicate the emotions of the main character. It is not clear enough at the moment that the main character is happy and content at the end of the story. I don't want to end the story on a negative point, I want to show that the character is happy with who he is.

I kept having to add pages and started to question if it was too many. I want to finish the book but I need to keep in mind I don't have to finish the book for this brief. I need to make sure I am happy with each page and that I don't get caught up in a race to finish that has a negative impact on my work and cause me to miss out important stages in my creative process.

I could possible complete the entire book with no text if I used illustrations within the speech and thought bubbles but I will have to test the idea out to see if the meaning is clear. Also as the text would be very simple it could be useful to help teach children how to read. I want to stay away from compositions that I normally use, I want the characters to be more animated and clearly show emotion. I want to use this project as a way to move my practice forward. To do this I think I should research a wider range of practitioners than I usually do. I tend to research artists at the beginning of a project then jump into drawing and not go back to research and I think I need to change that to help me constantly evaluate my work and find inspiration.

Adrian Mole Template

I am just trying to get my head around the template I need to use for the Adrian Mole brief for penguin books, I thought I had already figured it out but on my printout tests The barcode box on the back cover was not in the centre of the page it had shifted towards the left. I have a template and a list of measurements. I need to cross reference between the two. I think the larger set of crop marks may be the bleed. I have made some minor changes to the design that I think make better use of the space. I was still not happy with how close the character on the back cover was to the barcode box so I have moved the level of the group up, making the character stand out. I did this because I was struggling to fit the text on the bottom of the front page without it looking cramped, forced into the space. Raising the level on the front and back of the book has helped to create more space. I have added more shape to the hair as it looked quite feminine and it was pointed out to me previously that it could cause confusion as to who the character is. I have finished the cover now and added it to the template, I am going to double check it is correct and talk to other people who are taking part in the same brief.

New Statesman brief 2

I have been looking at the brief for New Statesman, I was not sure whether I was going to take part in this brief at first just because of the amount of other work I have on but I think this is an amazing opportunity and I should not pass it up. The brief is based on Moby who would not be photographed for an interview with the magazine. I was jokingly talking about my friends saying I look like Moby when I wear my glasses and some suggested I just take a self portrait and use that for the brief. I actually quite like the idea but I am not sure what he would think about. I don't know his reasons fro not wanting to be photographed which makes it harder to decide whether this idea would be appropriate. The brief talks about Moby being unhappy with Donald trump and not liking Hollywood and the people that live there. I want to show Moby feeling as if he is opposed to all his surroundings. I had the idea of a portrait where Moby is facing away from the camera, face to face with a brick wall. The wall signifies Donald Tump and his plans to build a wall between the USA and Mexico but also signifies the way Moby feels about his environment.

I thought that facing sideways would make the glasses more prominent, his glasses are iconic and would make it more obvious that the image is supposed to represent Moby. The problem with this composition is that the message is no obvious, the character is not fully facing the wall. I want to make sure it is clear what the relationship between the two is. Because of the angle the scene is quite confusing. I find my self trying to make sense of it by trying to figure out what is going on outside of the frame.

I think this image is much better in terms of communicating the message. The question is whether or not it looks enough like Moby. I keep thinking about the legal aspects of placing this image with an interview. Would the magazine have to ok it with Moby? I would do with another few days hair growth to look like Moby does in most of the photos I have seen of him. I could do with talking to one of the tutors about this to see if they think it is something that a magazine would consider.

I have another idea for an illustration which would be Moby building a wall around himself to escape his surrounds in Hollywood and Donald trump. This could be seen as too negative.

These 2 images are cropped to the dimensions set by the brief. The top one was the first I made, I have a tendency to try and fill empty space even when it hinders the composition. I think the second composition is much better, it makes it easier to see an overview of the whole composition and character rather then small details that are not necessary for the communication of who the character is or what they are doing.

Responsive meeting

Key points

- Kinetic Type Presentation Video

- 4 slides of the apps layout and artwork.

- Interactive submission- The app

- Individual pages for each main festival, illustrated with their own identity(colour scheme/imagery etc.). The main festivals being the ones mentioned in the brief.

- Interactive, page for people to upload pictures of the smaller events that won't be covered by videos.

International Festival-

Yellow and black colour scheme

Fun

Energetic

Crowds

laughter

Military Tattoo-

Marching bands

Military Iconography

Tartan

Scottish Heritage

I need to do more research into other festivals!

How will the illustrations fit into app layout?

Festival Apps

I looked at some examples of apps made specifically for festivals. The majority of the apps had very little in the way of illustration. Most were simple grid layouts with the title being the main focal point in terms of design and illustration. I did find some that seemed to have put in more effort to their app and were visually appealing while still seemingly easy to navigate.

The sasquatch app is very nice, summery colours that create an app that looks a lot lighter than the other I have seen, This app looks more like mobile phone games or puzzles that rely more on their looks. looking at these images has given me some ideas of how we could include illustrations into the layout of the app and make using it an easy and enjoyable experience.  We will be limited in the colour schemes as the events we are showcasing already have their own pre-existing colour schemes/themes but we can still tweak colours and tones to create a unique and appealing app.

I like the sasquatch app because is happy bright and bold, we need to make sure our app sums up the festivals it represents and showcases. The events are happy, proud, energetic, funny etc.

App Interview

This is an interview with Gwenaël Le Bodic about creating a festival app and what makes it successful. I think we could get some very useful pointers from this interview.