Finishing the Prison Posters

I am finally happy with how my collage and ink print element look together. I was worried that even after changing how I made my prints they would still look like pen drawings which isn't what I was going for in this. With my research on Polish posters in mind I know that I want it to look rough and handmade, which I think it finally does. I have just finished make the final part of my posters which is the storm clouds, the metal plate and the dynamite. All of which will be added to my collage face and brain with the newly added ink details. I have made these last parts in the same black/grey old papers I had from one of my many old and aged books and papers. These last element (I hope!) will work well with my current poster designs and will finish them off in the style I am trying to create.

 

Collage storm clouds I will use in one poster design

Article Review: Graduates 2013

On the Varoom website they have been reviewing work of 2013 which they feel made them "think a bit differently about illustration" Looking through each artist I was drawn to the work of Serena Katt who has just created a book, Sunday's Child, which uses illustration to show the narrative journey of her Grandfather in the Hitler Youth. Not only was I interested by the story and message the artist had chosen to illustrate, I really enjoyed her pieces which were created in an unusual and beautiful way. She describes her working method as applying ink with rollers for blocks of colour and them working over this with pencil crayons and watercolour. I love the strangely drawn characters, the unusual story and the way she has kept to a basic colour scheme.

Article: http://www.varoom-mag.com/?p=5251

Book Review: Mark Hearld's Workbook

This book is all about the artist Mark Hearld. I haven't had it long as I have only recently become aware of this artist but I already love it. It talks of his inspirations from nature, shows a selection of his work,  discusses his techniques and working methods in his many mediums. As well as this the artist also gives the story behind some of the pieces shown and writes of his influences. it also has photos of Hearld in his studio and wile working on different pieces. I can't get enough of this book and love to look through it.

Article Review: Clients choices "damaging the industry"

The topic discussed in this short article interested me as I had recently participated in a group discussion with other students on issues similar to this and will affect us all when we start working.
The award winning, high profile illustrator Paul Davis talks about his growing annoyance at what he refers to as the increase of client control in illustration. He believes that by these clients "thinking too lazy" and "being too safe" that illustrators are creating poor quality work. For this he blames the clients, who will not allow the illustrators to get on with the job properly and to create great work. That these clients "increasing reliance on photo libraries and stock shots" is damaging the industry. Davis also gives good advise for illustrators in the future: “It’s never been more important to be strong and never give up. We need to push people, push clients to get good work through.”

Article : www.thedrum.com/news/2013/11/15/clients-being-lazy-and-too-safe-damaging-industry-says-illustrator-paul-davis

Desdemona McCannon

While making my prints for my poster work I was told about the illustrator Desdemona McCannon. She has publish multiple writing on different aspects of illustration and lectures at MMU. She was recommended to me at this point because of the way in which she works in printing and she even makes/designs her own stamps. As I already love the look of stamped/printed lines I really liked her work in this area and the idea of creating my our stamps from my own drawing is something I am definitely going to do!

 

image -illustrationresearch.co.uk/index.php/desdemona-mccannon/

Ink Printing

For the features on the face and brain on my three poster designs I have made prints in black ink on templates made from thin cardboard. These features are the eyes, nose and mouth for the face which I wanted to have some detail (as much as I could get with cardboard and ink) and for them to have the rough printed look I wanted.
At first I tried making the prints using thicker card which made it harder for me to cut the pieces out neatly. This meant that when I printed with it the marks made were bolder and heavier than I wanted. They looked as if I had just made them in black marker pen and didn't have the rough, printed look I was hoping for my poster. I was advised to work with thinner card which ended up working a lot better. It let me make much more detailed versions of my facial feature plates and resulted in great prints that I was happy to use for my posters.

 

I really love the way this first print has turned out and will continue to use the thinner card for the other features I need. This thin card also lets me make smaller detail which I will print and add on to make my face a little more realistic.

Ethics/Censorship

For this months discussion forum Sana (illustrationlevel5.wordpress.com) and I hosted the talk on the topic of Ethics in a Digital World/ Censorship. This was an interesting issue and generated a lot of discussion within the group. We focused on the areas of censorship and manipulation by the media, by governments and by artists. Along with the ethical decisions we may have to make as designers.
A number of the group felt that the idea of letting your personal ethics decide the jobs you work on would be an ideal situation to be in but not one that would be available as a graduate. Ethics leading the way would be an option for established artists, able to choose who they work for. This wouldn't be possible for us starting out as illustrators as money would be an issue which could override personal ethics.
People then started discussing censorship, of both art and media, and whether this was a positive aspect of our society or infringing on our rights to choose for ourselves. We showed the group a number of examples where the work has been censored. Manipulation, stereotyping/satire and taboo/sensitive issues were put forward in illustrations and we asked the group there opinion on each one and the topic as a whole. Some stated that there would prefer the idea of censoring images/information from young children, who wouldn't be old enough to decide for themselves what they want to see/believe. This should be up to their parents to decide and not the government/media.

Sue Coe, BP Burns Turtles

                                                                        Image - http://www.artnet.com/artists/sue-coe/artworks

 As for the idea of art offending people/groups through such things as stereotyping, satire or a sensitive/upsetting issue, many agreed that when working they would have to remember and respect other cultures/beliefs/values. That it's an ethical grey area, where they want to show a message in there work but don't want to offend if they can help it. Although it was mentioned that even if we were to research these issues before creating work it would guarantee not upsetting people. When working on sensitive issues you will always be offending someone. Now that our work will be out on the internet, there is a wider audience than there would have been in the past, with more people having acess to our work. If we did create work that offend people early in our careers the internet would make sure it stayed around to maybe affect our job chances later?

Film Review: All About Eve

 

This is one of my favourite films and as I have watched it again recently I thought I'd use it as one of my personal reviews. The film, made in 1950 stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a popular and respected actress on Broadway but is worried that at 40 her career success will soon change. We see in a flash back that she soon meets and befriends a young fan, Eve Harrington, and after much praise and flattery, makes Eve her new assistant. As the film goes on it becomes clear that behind Margo's back Eve is plotting to become her understudy and to remove Margo altogether from the play she is about to star in by creating problems between Margo and her friends. After trying to blackmail her way into the role Eve is given it when Margo decides she doesn't want to appear in the play and announces her upcoming marriage instead. Flashing back to the present, Eve is the newest star on Broadway and receiving an award in front of Margo and her friends. But as Eve returns home she finds her own flattering young fan waiting.
The film shows the jealousy, betrayal and ambition in the industry in a funny and entertaining plot with stylish and classy characters.

Tuesday Club Lecture: DWELLE

For this months Tuesday club we received a talk from the founder of architectural design company Dwelle, Ric Frankland. The design team created a concept called "sheds for living" which developed into "dwelle", designed and manufactured in Manchester.

"It was paramount that the design incorporated all the same criteria that had emerged out of our previous eco-projects. The key difference between the one-off bespoke projects and the 'dwelle.ings' is the continual development and improvements made to the design. It's a building that can be produced on a large scale and will be continually refined. Similar to car and product design."

Dwelle.co.uk

 

 

Ric spoke of working in a large architectural firm on a number of projects, which he didn't enjoy and was not what he wanted to do. After creating his own company he worked to develop these environmentally sustainable 'dwelle.ings'. As he didn't have a specific client to work with he felt that it was important to listen to what the public wanted. He did this by visiting trade and design shows around the country; gaining feedback from visitors and exhibitors which he used to change and improve on the dwelle.ing's design.

He stated that planning was a important part of his work, as well as getting involved in what he was designing. Explaining with a quote from Chinese philosopher, Confucius - "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."

Poster development

For my prison posters I have now finished the collage sections and most of the ink details. As the main feature of two of my three poster designs is the male prisoner's face I have made that out of old ephemera giving it the aged look I like and in the neutral colours I had chosen to feature based on my research. I really like the way this has turned out and think it fits in well with the polish poster style I was hoping for.

I have also used this material to make the brain featured in my third poster. Once I add the details to them both I think they will look great with the rough worked background I plan to have them on.

 

 

Poster Design

Now that I have generated what I feel will be strong images for my posters I now need to think about how I will be making them. Thinking about typical health posters from the NHS, the style is usually simple and accessible for all. The message is clear and obvious which is a feature I will need to keep in mind for my prisoner audience. The posters will be glanced at quickly and the message of a health opinion will have to be shown in both the text and the image.
As I like to work in collage I was advised by my tutor Jo to look at the style of the polish/Czech posters from the 1930s onwards. I already knew and liked the look of these poster designs and I think it would be fun to work in this way.

 

After researching this poster style I think I'm going to use both collage and ink in someway. In many of the posters I liked featured one or two simple block colours along with black images or text. In these examples, this minimum use of colour along with the black ink images on neutral backgrounds makes for a great look. This style is definitely how I like to work and hopefully my own versions featuring these similar elements will turn out well.