Final Editorial Illustration - BAIL102

It's hand in day! Here is my finalised editorial illustration:

Evaluation:

List the positive aspects of your STAGE ONE experience – explain how have these progressed and influenced your STAGE TWO work and by continuation your FINAL OUTCOME.

I think that during stage 1, I was able to create a big variety of work, experimenting with different styles, techniques, and processes. This is what I had found particularly valuable for when moving forward in stage 2. However, perhaps what was most valuable for me was the mindset that the ‘reduced imagery work’ gave me. I found out that creating an image is one thing, but to be able to reduce down and to eliminate what isn’t important, is what was most valuable. 
The piece of advice that really got my ideas developing, was to jump straight in with rendering my designs. This way I was given a more instant indication to whether the idea would be successful or not, rather than just playing around with colourless sketches.

These skills came into action when making my final illustration for my article, as I kept reminding myself to get rid of the elements that weren’t adding anything to the final image. This also helped me to think about simplicity in terms of colours and detail, so that I would add just enough, without it becoming too overpowering as a finished editorial illustration, accompanied with text. 

What feedback did you receive from your PEER/SELF ASSESSMENT and GROUP TUTORIALS? How has this been applied to your project work?
Other thing which stood out to me in my feedback, was to make the most important elements of the image really bold and to stand out. For example the swimmer inside the timer wasn’t obvious enough, so that lead me into making it bolder and more of a focus than it was before. It was these little adjustments which helped my final image to become as successful as they can be.

How might the FINAL OUTCOME be developed further? What would you continue given another week? 

Although I am really happy with how my final illustrations came out, I would have liked to have more time with experimenting with the background. Despite the plain background working well with my illustrations (as it helps them to stand out), it would have been nice to experiment with different options & ways to make it perhaps a bit more interesting. Maybe even after trying different designs I would go back to a plain backdrop, but the process of experimentation would have been interesting, and could have sparked a different thought path. 

* Full and complete evaluation in sketchbook *

Feedback during BAIL102

STAGE 1 Feedback

After receiving feedback for STAGE 1 of my project, I was able to see the areas that I could improve on when moving forward into STAGE 2. I definitely plan to enrich my work with some artist research in the next stage, but I also need to document my thought process more clearly. Plus, to try new processes and to keep pushing & developing my ideas. 

Feedback during STAGE 2

The group tutorials have been very helpful when it comes to suggesting new ideas and processes that I would have never had thought of. I was suggested ways to save time when rendering my ideas, and encouraged to get stuck in straight away with bringing some of my sketches to life. All of these pieces of advice and suggestions all feed into making my final design as effective as possible. 

I also received really helpful advice from my peers and family, which too all helped me to view my designs from a different perspective. 

I think when it comes to making the most successful and impressive illustrations, it is essential to receive feedback frequently, to keep your development of ideas on the right track. 

Inspirational Artist Finds - BAIL102

After being set our 'stage 2' brief for our BAIL102 project, I decided to look for some artist inspiration. I turned to the AOI website to source some potential artists to look into:

Laura Girling (http://www.lauragirlingillustration.com/)

What attracted me to her work is her use of ink and watercolour textures that she combines with flat colours. I think it is a very effective way to add dimension to any piece of work & evokes imagination when thinking about textures. I think her characters are really cute too!

Philip Duddington (http://www.philipduddington.co.uk/)

I really like Duddington's work as I love how he creates little scenes using found pieces of paper and card. Although these are often simple shapes, I love the addition of organic texture which bring the whole piece to life.

Amy Dover (http://www.amydover.com/index.html)

Although perhaps not suitable for this project, I chose Amy Dover's work to include on here so I could always reference her in a future project. I love her imagination and attention to detail which make all of her images seem entirely believable. 

Gareth Courage (http://www.garethcourage.co.uk/)

I love his use of muted colours, vintage photos and random shapes which all work harmoniously when combined together. Also his use of negative space is very effective. 

Michelle Beech (http://cargocollective.com/michellebeech)

I love her cute little characters and use of colour, which make her illustrations very charming.

Salty Rose / Cynthia Tedy (https://cynthiatedy.tumblr.com/)

I absolutely love the limited colour palette paired with the simplistic, yet modern illustrations which give the images a unique look.

Anna Steinburg (http://annasteinberg.co.uk/)

Her incredibly minimalistic ink strokes provide playgrounds for her characters. I love how something so simplistic can be so effective. 

Martina Scott (http://www.martina-scott.com/projects)

The thing that I like the most about this illustration is how you and still see the pencil stokes in the penguins. This for me makes the image so much more light-hearted and interesting just because of this subtle texture.

Beatrice Cerocchi (http://beatricecerocchi.com/)

I am really drawn to her harmonious colour palette and stylised characters. I also like her use of texture which fills up the negative space in an interesting, yet effective way. 

Lizzy Stewart (http://www.abouttoday.co.uk/)

I really love Stewart's muted tones in her illustrations, and small additions of soft colours, which add a subtle focus to the image without over-powering the balance of the whole image. 

Other images that provided inspiration for my project can be found on my Pinterest board: https://uk.pinterest.com/Helena135/editorial-illustration-bail102/

Pace & Sequence Workshop Outcome - BAIL102

 After creating story boards from a clip from 'Dial M for Murder', we were set the task to use the compositions that we had created, but with the characters from Little Red Riding Hood.

I chose to use Red Riding Hood, and the wolf, but placed them in an environment that was more appropriate than the movie setting - the woods. I also had to change the phone to a mobile (as she's outside), and her weapon to something that she would grab quickly to defend herself when caught off guard (a rock):

I am really pleased with how the final rendering of the image came out. I think that I was able to incorporate many of the elements that were found in the film, but adapted them accordingly to fit my characters. It was very challenging to be able to show all of the events of the clip in one image, but overall I think I was able to show suspense, which allows the viewer to predict what would happen next in the story. 

Dioramas (Photos & GIF) - BAIL102

Today we used our images that we created during the 'Little Red Riding Hood Sketchbook Task' to create a diorama. Working in pairs, we used elements from both of our sketchbooks to create 3 scenes, each presenting a different stage of our story. This story could be true to the original, or a complete modern twist, and the final outcome from the task would be a series of photographs.

This is the full model/diorama that me and Sophie created:

First Red Riding Hood ventures into the woods

Then she discovers a house, with the wolf inside

But after overcoming her fears, she befriends the wolf (an alternative ending)

After producing these 3 final photographs I saw the opportunity to add lighting from inside the house, in order to highlight the wolf more effectively. I did this by poking a hole through the base & sticking a fake candle through. I absolutely love the outcome, especially the warm glow on the trees: 

After this I also wanted to extend the project even further, and thought that I could create a GIF of the flickering light to create a different type of outcome. I had to increase the lighting of this one, as the lighting conditions had changed from taking the original photograph, but I quite like the dramatic 'moon lit' shadows in it:

At the end of this workshop I came away with learning an entire new skill and technique for creating scenes. I love the way that shadows and the sense of depth can be effortlessly created using dioramas, which can be hard to achieve in typical drawings. Perhaps in future projects I will create dioramas in order to create amazing scenes that come to life so quickly. 

Showing Time Passing (Concertina) - BAIL102

In response to our location drawings that we had to collect in a 24h period, we created a concertina timeline. We used the photocopier to reduce, enlarge and to manipulate our original sketches, which were then arranged on a long piece of paper (a concertina). From this we were given the task to show the passing of time throughout the piece, which was reflective of when we recorded the drawing in our observational sketchbooks.

This is my outcome:

(Click to enlarge & zoom) 

*The image was too big to scan in one go, so its been joined together in photoshop, which is why some areas don't line up or are double*

I am really happy with the final result, as I feel like the whole thing flows smoothly from left to right. When using drawings from your sketchbook, it becomes very easy for the images to become disjointed and separated from the others when trying to combine them all into one. However, by extending the poles and windows throughout several of the images, I was able to link the whole thing together. I then added block shading into the windows, which graduates from light grey to black - showing the passing of time. I think that this was particularly effective as it further brings all of the images into one, and also adds the sense of movement.