1,2,3 and Collect & Create

My first set brief in Visual Communication was set to help develop my observational drawings skills. I was quite happy about this as I feel that this is an area which I need to improve in. 

Below are some examples of drawings done in my sketchbook: 

I have always struggled drawing figures so I made a point of practicing them. 

However I felt much more comfortable drawing type with different types of medium such as felt pen, fineliner, graphite and pencil. I also enjoyed using ink wash. I enjoyed drawing objects associated with numbers too. 

We didn't have a specific final outcome for this project, only to have created six developments of our drawings. I chose to photocopy, by pass print and work into drawings or draw more drawings from my previous ones. These are my six pieces from my sketchbook: 

I used selective colour during these creations so that hey didn't look too busy and my drawings could be focused on. I really enjoyed using fineliner and ink wash as they created really fine outlines. Graphite enabled me to work more softly and imprecisely as such, but each medium worked well to create different effects.  

 An artist who inspired me for this project was Olivier Kugler. He captured my attention how he doesn't always completely colour his images. Using selected colour can emphasise what is going on in the image. 

Collect & Create 

This week we were also set a one day project to enable us to work quickly so that we arranged our time appropriately. This task was about creating three developments of images which could represent different areas around college. The areas I looked at were the Costa cafe, the refectory and the library. Below is an example of a double page spread of drawings taken from my sketchbook.

I found it was quite hard to do quick drawings with fineliner and I could draw more loosely with pencil or graphite. However, fineliner looked really effective when taken care with. For each area of the college I used a selected colour which was apparent in the surroundings. I tried to use as much media as possible for my image developments as drawing mediums and also backgrounds. 

This image was creating using photocopies and by pass printing of previous work. I also used abstract line drawing to symbolise a chair in the background which was also a way of creating negative space on the image. I added an illustrated piece in the corner to show that I was tying all different skills together. I felt hat his was quite an effective piece and works well with the theme of sitting in the Costa cafe in college. 

I also enjoyed creating my second image. I liked creating a framed effect using electrical tape which closes the image in and draws emphasis to the negative space. I think the by pass printing also looks effective and the repetition of the figure works well. If I was to improve this I would have been more careful when drawing the type as this doesn't look as effective as it could do. 

I wasn't as impressed with my final image as I don't think my drawings were up to scam ranch. This may have been because it was Friday afternoon and I think more time and care would have helped. I think the colours work well however and the illustration adds character to the image. As this was a single day task I thought I worked quite well and I was happy that I managed to keep track of time and complete everything that needed to be done. 

An artist who influenced me during this project was David Fullerton. I liked how he uses collage for backgrounds for his images and then works on top of these with implements such as fineliner and felt pen to create more imagery as well as hand rendered type. 

Artist Research - Kate Moross

Kate Moross is a graphic designer, illustrator and art director based in London. Her work really appeals to me as it is so imaginative and quite crazy looking. I love how she isn't afraid to make a bold impression and her vibrant choice of colours really catch your eye. I think her work is fun, free and very unique. Morross has a diverse range of skills and can produce work to an exceptional standard. I think that she is really unique and she isn't afraid to express herself. 

Moross inspires me as she shows she isn't afraid of standing out. Her work expresses so much colour that individual pieces look like an explosion of paint pots. This makes her work carry a really energetic and positive vibe to imply that as a designer you should never hold back and you should push your work. 

Something I really like about Kate Moross is her beautifully crafted hand rendered type. A lot of her work exploits this and looks remarkable in all circumstances. I love the creativeness and the selected use of colour. All of these work really well together to create a warm, inviting piece of artwork. This really inspires me to create my own rendered type and see where I could go with it. I also really like the tiny illustrations added onto pieces of type and around it to give those final cutting edge details. This piece was actually used commercially as a background for music artists to have a photoshoot with. 

Even her more graphics focused designs are lovely. I love the intricate detailing on the 'Isometric Island' which makes it look so friendly and cute. The sharp edges are almost invisible as they are blocked out with such light pastel colours. I find it really fascinating how she has managed to make it look so delicate yet it is made up completely of isometric shapes. 

Another piece which I really like is this alphabet of video games. I like how each letter is unique and has its own character relating to the different games. The black background also works really well to bring out the colours used for the letters. This makes them stand out more and become much more appealing to the eye. 

This rainbow New York piece also caught my eye. I love the bright, flamboyant colours which really draw in your attention. The digital type also works really well and she uses the entire space to maximise the effect. 

I think that Kate Moross is a perfect example of how a visual communicator can interlink within different specialisms. When looking at her work it seems to carry an illustrative, typography style, however her ability to put all of these aspects together show she is a versatile designer, as well as doing animation too. I really like this about a designer as it shows you aren't restricted within your area and you can practically design anything you want and take it to many different levels. This is what excites me as a designer as the possibilities are endless. 

London 10th November

We went on a trip to London as a way of concluding the Exploratory Stage. I found this quite an adventure having to explore London by ourselves, keeping a close eye on the time to ensure we could fill our day visiting places. I travelled around London with three of my friends, Luke, Olivia and Danielle. 

Although our main reason for visiting London was to look at art galleries, we made it priority to go and see the remembrance poppies at the Tower of London. This was a beautiful and I feel very fortunate to have been able to see it in real life. The amount of poppies was rather overwhelming and I felt very proud that the person who made them is from Derby, my local area. The time and effort that must have gone into the design and production of these was incredible.

 Next was Tate Modern. Below are a range of pieces which appealed to me.

Picasso's work was a piece which stood out to me straight away and I could recognise. I love the randomness of the shapes and lines which all congregate to form a portraiture piece. The bright colour draws in your attention and looks really effective. 

This Hip Hip Hoorah piece by Karel Appel also struck my attention. I really like the child-like/animal features of all the creatures that have been painted onto this piece. I think they all have quirky connotations which gives the whole piece a fun character. 

These Russian Revolutionary posters are another part of the gallery which really appealed to me. I love the archaic style to them and the old fashioned sense as I automatically compared these to posters we see in every day life. I thought the colours were really interesting as they were quite neutral with a bulk of red or black. They all stuck to the same sort of theme with their house styles and in some cases their design. 

Louise Bourgeious is another artist who I was attracted to at Tate Modern. This is because I really like her simple, illustrative style of black line and limited colour. This work shows that less is more in some cases. Her drawings are very intricate and precise and I really like how they work together as set pieces too. It shows her style is consistent. This is an artist I would like to look into further. 

After doing this we took a walk through central London to see the London eye, Big Ben, Itv studios and more. Something that caught my eye walking down this promenade was the skate park which had been manipulated with graffiti. I think this looked awesome. 

In Leicester Square we had something to eat and it took us by surprise that the world premier for The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1 was in preperation for that night! We managed to see the set for the red carpet being displayed and crowds were gathering ready for later on. It was really good to be able to see this as it is one of my favourite series of films. 

After this we decided to take a look at Oxford street. After having the stress of losing each other in the underground and reuniting again, it was quite relaxing to walk down a high street with busy shoppers!

As we made our way back to the train station to return home, we noticed there were Beano comics exhibiting in St Pancras train station. This was really good to look at, especially comparing the designs from the 50's up until now. 

Me and Liv also got a bit over excited...

I found this trip really beneficial as it challenged us to organise ourselves for an entire day, ensuring we didn't have too much or too little to do. Although we only went to see one art gallery I still feel this day was successful as our main ambition was to see the remembrance poppies and we made sure we did that. The additional Beano exhibition in the train station was a bonus too! 

We also managed to take a selfie in an exhibiting mirror piece in Tate Modern.

This was a really good day!

Us and Them

This week long project was all about understanding portraits and what can be classed as one. For this we had to create an appendage which can describe another persons personality, so in order to understand it more clearly we had to produce a range of portraits in different formats. These included photographs, collage, photo montage, line drawing, wire drawing, painting and sculpture. The person I was focusing this project around was Leanne Haywood. To start the project off we had to interview each other to find out about our different interests and aspects of our personalities. 

Our first set task was to take photographs of each other to portray a likeness. These are examples taken from my sketchbook. Here I was portraying Leanne as being quiet and shy. The lighting was bright and really helped to bring out her features. 

During this project I really enjoyed creating a wire drawing. I have used wire before in sculptural terms, but have never considered it as a drawing method. I thought this looked really effective and layering the wire up created a really illustrative effect. My wire drawing seems to have its own character which I really like. 

I didn't particularly enjoy creating a cardboard mask, as we weren't given much time or materials so I had to think very quickly. I created this mask to present Leanne's eyes and glasses, as I believe this is a strong feature of hers. To improve I would plan before going straight into it so I thought more about what I was making. 

I also enjoyed painting with white emulsion and black ink on brown paper. These types of media really stood out on the brown paper. I also really liked how the two mediums worked together to create different colours in certain areas. I felt my half of the sheet worked really effectively and stood out, however when the ink ran it ruined it which is disappointing. 

Our final outcome was to create an appendage which could be applied to the body. In my case I made a medal/name tag to describe Leanne's personality. I used Paisley patterned paper as a way of showing her favourite pattern, black lace type material as a way of showing her favourite colour, music sheets to show her passion for music, a metal skull decoration to represent a symbol of a band she likes, red tartan to symbolise her hair colour and gothic hand drawn type to show her personality. I think this worked really well and all the materials worked well together. It was a good project to get to know someone better. I know of Leanne from my previous college but this task enabled me to understand her personality more which was interesting. To improve this piece I would have tried to create materials myself such as designing the Paisley pattern. 

What is a portrait?

A portrait is an interpretation of another person. This could be in the form of a photograph, painting, pencil drawing, sculpture, collage, etc. The purpose of a portrait is to reflect upon the likeness, personality and type of character of the selected person. An effective portrait doesn't want to be portraying just what the person looks like, it wants to be able to capture the mood of that person and to be able to say something about their personality. 

Isidro Ferrer

I have chosen to look at Isidro Ferrer's work for inspiration for my Us and Them piece. When looking at his work I find it interesting how he uses random objects to create life like pieces. For example the umbrella handle, lightbulb and hat work well to produce a smart, business looking figure of a man. This shows he has thought outside of the box and is using selected materials to create a certain type of portrait. 

Another piece I like is this mouse mask of his. I find the edit of the photograph quite eery and old fashioned which may suggest this was done to make the piece seem antique. The wrecked looking materials also add to this. It carries the theme of old age and wear. Maybe this is to do with a mouse being insignificant and unnoticed? 

Although Ferrer's portraits are sculptural, I really like the concepts behind them. I think his work carries a random edge and a technique which I haven't really taken notice of before. His unique style and way of work really interests me and will encourage me to be more open minded when making my appendage of Leanne's personality.