Introduction Briefings- Week 1
Object Drawing Session - Week 2
Our task was to bring in an object of our choosing and place it inside a opaque bag for a class made to draw. At first I didnt have a clue what to bring and me being me, I wanted to be prepared in advance and choose an interestingly shaped object!
When the day came to draw, we were asked to draw a fellow class mates object purely by touch, we were not able to look at this object.
First Object: Matchbox
First Exercise
As this object was inside an Opaque bag, this made it difficult for me to initially pinpoint precisely what this object was. This made the concept rather more spontaneous which helped my drawing technique and allowed me to draw strong outlines and shapes purely just by touch. I found the matches easy yet interesting to draw.
Tea Bag Drawing
The second object had a very distinct square shape, which instantly got me guessing the object. I had an idea in my head it was either a packet of garden seeds or tea bags. When it came to drawing I was able to use the charcoal to express the main elements of the composition I felt which were the strong outlines of the bag mainly.
'What is Illustration?' Studio Workshop
PAL Talk - 2nd October
In our groups we discussed with an IVM second year what our perception of Illustration was whilst also outlining to her what our briefs were so far beginning the course. I found this very helpful as I was able to ask questions about her process when completing a similar project and gather ideas and inspiration.
Our task was to use imagery from magazines and news articles to piece together a visual graphic collage based on illustration whilst considering the many aspects of sustainability as a reoccurring theme and consideration.
What does my Collage mean?
Firstly the unconscious man lying in the large puddle of water connotes from a global perspective how the worlds oceans are warming, enlarging and ultimately causing greater hydro meteorological hazards such as flooding worldwide and therefore devastating many populations.
When thinking specifically of sustainability, I thought more on the lines of global disparity and in relation to this how plastic in a first world continent like America is more likely to use plastic for humorous purposes and be less disposably considerate. This is expressed in my collage with what appears to be a woman with a plastic mesh container gratuitously placed over her head.
In total opposition are the third world continents like Africa which contain some of the worlds most landlocked and least developed countries like Burundi and Malawi. Home to the worlds most poorest people, there is a struggle to gather a regular water surplus. On top of this, these people must travel several miles a day in an attempt to gather what little water there is using plastic as an essential means for collection. Therefore how different economies use and consider plastics enhances this global division which is what I have ultimately tried to express in my piece.
Media,Media,Media! - Week 3
For this ideas workshop, our task was to think of words associated to anything social media. Initially I was over complicating this by trying to think of fancy words that actually held a meaning rather than just reeling off simple words such as ping, send, tweet etc in order to generate ideas. We were given some time to jot these ideas down visually.
The Next Step!
Using our words we were to come up with our own visual ideas for a final completed outcome/piece which represented how we see social media and how its influencing society and culture. I have to admit I found this rather difficult. Once the mindmap was completed I carried out some research to understand other artists personal perception and how they understood the world of social media. I thought by doing this I would gain a broader set of ideas to establish a meaningful outcome.
Artist Research Inspiration
In Campau's project 'Antisocial' large social media platforms like Instagram are represented in the form of night signs within abandoned store car-parks. The artist did this deliberately to replicate the isolation that social media causes whilst seemingly connecting us with many. He highlights on a broader level the positive and negative problems these platforms bring worldwide.
Bingo Phrase Drawing - week 4
There were 90 numbers placed around the studio, each number with its official bingo nickname. We were able to choose 10 that best activated our imagination and from these our task was to produce10 drawings in 45 minutes.
Editing the Illustrations
From here, we then had to select 3 of the images produced and improve them in some way for a further 45 minutes. Due to my rather perfectionist mindset, I much preferred having the ability to go back on a select few studies and develop them further. A final 30 minutes was then spent on 1 selected image from the previous 3 to improve further still to make a completed masterpiece.
This task ultimately made us think in a different way regarding how we make work. It allowed us to see that actually producing work is a subtractive process, a process of editing and elimination; believing in an idea and then breaking it down.
Collage Studio Session based on ‘How to see the world’ - Week 5
In our groups we were given the task of making a cover page for our current book of study by Nicholas Mirzoeff. We thought of words as a group that best depicted the content and our own idea of the book so far. We concluded that Awareness and perception were two integral insights from the book and as a result we believed it encouraged change.
Imposter Syndrome Workshop - week 6
We were introduced to the idea that people can doubt themselves and their accomplishments psychologically. This Imposter scenario is what we were to bare in mind across this task.
The first task was to focus on the future. To design a postcard which we open upon graduation in a few years. Mine included a message that literates how I feel now and how I hope to feel when I view the postcard in the near future. Visually this text was placed amongst a pathway that leads of into the future into the sunset with a person (myself) 'jumping for joy' immersed in bright blue sky.
Task Two: Present
My comic strip based on ' My inner monologue when things are going wrong' consisted of 4 images. I decided to base mine on the experience I had with getting the wrong train once on my travels to uni. My instinct is to panic and kick myself but then on reflection realize what happened was potentially meant to be as it shapes your day.
Task Three: Past
For the final task, we had to sketch a drawing that would be send back in time to your younger self to raise self hope, joy and courage. Thinking about what you would say to yourself back then. I would spend a lot of time worrying about being sure on a career path and worrying about sometimes being uncertain. Because of this the biggest message I wished to portray to myself is the idea that as long as you have a positive attitude and obtain strong effort in what you do, life works itself out and the right path for you will follow. I illustrated this with my journey from a-levels right through to graduation. I would wish to show this to my future self as evidence and confirmation that all is and will be well.
PAL Session
We were made to think more deeply surrounding the topic of Imposter Syndrome and think about scenarios that we as students faced or face. In little groups we then collaborated ideas together and made a leaflet that illustrated our own Imposter Syndromes such as Language, New environment, being good enough at art etc. These thoughts went down on a mind map initially.
Work-life Balance Workshop - Week 7
6th November
In our groups we had to think about both positive and negative traits in relation to ourselves and our own work/personal life balance. We then complied similarities within our groups and the task was to come up with both a positive and negative trait avatar/character in a concept art style.
Inspiration
For the Positive character we all had this idea of an 'Early Bird', the glowing sun in the background portraying the time of day and the characters eagerness to get to class. As we all get public transport to get to the university, we also set the character amongst a bus stop. The characters watch displays the exact time his bus also arrives, further implying his organisation and preparation.
For the Negative character we came up with this idea of a grumpy cat, with a stormy rain cloud hovering over its head indicating his poor state. the clock in the back highlights his lack of readiness and lack of desire to be productive. The sleep symbols further signifies how this cat needs more sleep.
PAL Session - Week 8
13th November - Stereotype Threat & Implicit Bias Workshop
We begun by considering the idea of Semiotics as a study of Signs & Symbols; these can hold unconscious meaning in a sense that assumptions are made by individuals. From this we had to research 6 key definitions, some included Colour-blind attitudes, Tokenism and Failure to Differentiate. Using Padlet we openly discussed our ideas.
One key topic we considered was 'Stereotype Threat', which means to hold a social-psychological predicament based on negative stereotypes on a group e.g. a culture perhaps. One campaign we looked at in relation to this was the governments take on Chicken shop knife crime and how this kind of activity has been labelled to a specific society.
Our final task was to make a visual design based campaign in response to this. We discussed incorporating Tokenism where a society is seen as Chickens and the government is handing them a token like a gesture. This makes the government appear as though they are taking action.
' How to be an Illustrator' - by Darrel Rees
This book talks of the Artists own experience in entering the field. He discusses really important and crucial elements to consider such as how to piece together an impressive portfolio and covers the specific skills sets he believes are required in order to become a successful illustrator. He stresses how good drawing alone is not enough, but that the information it provides is more powerful, therefore the decision processes are fundamental. Rees also highlights his time as a student in the studio, the processes he took including advice and contacts and how to go about getting this, I found this useful as he discussed the right ways to go about this. As well as his own experience the book also holds discussion with other industry professionals and how they worked there way up in the industry. One interesting read was the referencing advice also given.
I found this book useful as it portrays artists that use a vast source of mediums. It was also quite insightful in that it showed different styles of work from large installations and sculptures, to letterforms and drawings. Definitely inspirational when attempting a project to spark ideas.
I especially liked Matt Greene's drawings considered 'outlandish scenarios' as they allow the viewer to make there own perception of what it could be. I also found the mark- making specifically in 'Forest of Synesthesia' very illustrative and detailed which I liked as I was able to build an imaginative scene for myself.