- Here I started recreating my drawings digitally, to create the geometric effect that was asked for in the brief. I really like the blockiness/geometry of the character and I think it adds an element of charm and personality. I also started to experiment with patterns, and how I could incorporate them into my drawings. To create the pattern I just repeated basic shapes. I intend to experiment with other shapes, as I feel that pattern will be a big aspect of my final design.
- Based on the inspiration images given in the brief, I added colour to my illustrations using their colour schemes. Although I do not intend to use the exact same colour scheme, I really love how the boldness brings the illustrations to life and gives them more personality.
Visual Identity for Painter & Decorator Alison - Brief
Briefbox is a forum that posts practice briefs online, for designers to gain experience in designing for clients. I think it's a really good opportunity to exercise my design skills, and practice responding to specifications and requests. What problem(s) are identified by the brief?
The brief is ultimately asking for a set of 5 business cards, each with variations of design. The designs must display bold, playful and contemporary elements in order to reflect the clients identity and promote her business.
What is the brief asking you to do about it/them? I will design a range of business cards, using bold colours and geometric patterns. I intend to include some sort of Illustration also.
Can you foresee any problems in responding to the brief?
If I were designing for a client in real life, I would feel it necessary to familiarise myself with work they've done, and ideally meet them in person to get a feel for who they are. It is an identity project after all, and I feel that meeting the client would help me to portray them more accurately. In terms of the variation of designs, I am concerned as to how varied they are expecting the designs to be - can they just be different colour?
Like many of Briefbox's briefs, as they are only hypothetical it is an open ended brief, meaning I can submit work whenever I want. To ensure my time is managed effectively though, I intend to submit it by the end of January, before other modules begin and secret 7 launches.
Initial Ideas
When first faced with the brief, I started sketching the basic painting and decorating elements, paintbrushes, buckets, ladders etc, but found that they were a bit boring. As the brief explained that the client is interested in geometric patterns, I really wanted to incorporate that aesthetic into my images. I'm really trying to take inspiration from the images given with the brief, but finding it difficult as patterns aren't really my strong point:
Some of my most successful images were characters based on the client, that I think would add a personal and friendly touch to the business card. I also started to play around with her name and initials to create some interesting visuals. I wanted to try and convey her slogan of "adding another dimension to create the perfect home".
After taking part in a number of After Effect workshops (mostly blogged about), I started thinking about my sting in relation to translating my storyboards into animation. The short test animation (above) was based around a scene of the storyboard from the study task. This exercise was really just to try and gain some confidence using After Effects which seemed very overwhelming. I think that the use of digital media in this case doesn't look very effective, however I intend to push it using textures from my prints etc. I intended to use my initial colour palette, however came across various other shades that I felt really complimented the palette, giving me some other options for my final prints.
Positives for my screen print, creating using photoshop brushes.
When creating these I took a bit of a risk when adding texture to the face and the arm, however I think it worked out quite effectively, giving my image an added depth. I think this is a really good example of how I could translate my digital imagery to screen print. Although I do not feel that the image itself is totally effective, I think that the techniques I have used to create some of the textures have given the image alot more authenticity.
My final screen print
In terms of printing processes, Silk screen printing is my favourite by far. I love the way it creates block colours, and the effect of the overlapping ink adds a really authentic texture. My final print, although needs refining slightly, I am really proud of and think that the colours used are really complimentary. Although I intended to experiment using a certain colour palette, I think these colours create the same effect. I was really pleased with the way the textures came through, which is an element I am going to take forward into my final outcomes for the brief.
Some colour experiments, with addition of patterns created in mono print.
These were just some very rough concept sketches that I created to show my ambitions for my printed outcomes, and a storyboard for my sting. The storyboard is a revisited one that I developed from the storyboarding task, which condenses it down to fit in 15 seconds.
Here I became inspired to change my printed outcome to a publication, instead of prints, as they weren't working very effectively.
These are the outcomes from the recent print workshops in Mono + Lino print. Mono Print
Regrettably I have never enjoyed mono printing and don't particularly like the effect it creates, and so have avoided it. I am not a fan of the fuzzy quality that is created when drawing directly onto the back of the print, and do not feel that it resonates with the type of work I want to make, or possibly make in the future, and do not feel that the images created were successful atall. However, from recently creating a range of prints I have come to recognise the beauty of the textures that can be created, which i would be really interested in incorporating into my images. I did use the session to really experiment with different tools and creating a variety of effects/textures which may be used to enhance my images.
Lino Print
This was my first time using Lino Print and found it quite exciting. I really love the rigid marks made and think that they add a real sense of authenticity to any piece of work. Although my lino outcome does not communicate very well, it allowed to me to get to grips with the technical side of lino printing. I feel that as I was only working on a small piece of lino, I was unable to add the amount of detail needed to make my image make sense, (which is a shame) however I think on a larger scale, using lino would be alot more effective for me and my work.
As an illustrator who is very shape and texture driven, I find it hard to create prints that I find aesthetically effective as in the previous 2 cases, they have quite a messy feel to them.
This is just a small piece that I created using the Cintiq, trying out the brushes with my subject matter. I think that the effects created look really authentic and although I understand the appeal of using analogue media I feel that I am able to get my ideas down alot quicker. I really like the dusty effect of the charcoal brushes and feel that it gives my images a sense of authenticity, which Is something I really try to incorporate in my work. Despite my recent attempts with digital art, I intend to incorporate analogue elements into my final outcomes, for example screen printing my digital drawings, which I think will give them an authentic value as well as aesthetic.
After meeting Kyle T Webster through the big heads session I was really inspired to continue creating digital work. To enhance the digital side of my illustrative practice, I recently bought his custom photoshop brushes to give my work different textures etc. I've never used custom brushes before so it was certainly a new experience for me. I found that the brushes work a lot like the actual media they are attempting to replicate which is really useful when creating certain effects.
After experimenting with a range of brushes I created a reference sheet for the ones I found to be most useful and textural.
A storyboard a production tool that consists of scenes/sketches and actions that map a series of events, and is a tool by which we communicate ideas to other people, thinking sequentially. The process allows people to work together and brainstorm ideas without having a fully working animation to critique.
Selection of storyboards from google images; Star Wars"A Galaxy far, far away" and Gladiator "Tiger Tale".
When researching existing storyboards, it was amazing to see how from a storyboard, media like films are translated. It is clear that in storyboards it is best to be as precise as possible in terms of camera angle and directional movements etc, to communicate your ideas in the best possible way. It is also interesting to see how media is used in the actual storyboards as it varies hugely from one to another in terms of detail and technical skill. However in the end it comes down to if or not your idea can be fully understood.
Image my storyboards are based on:
My own storyboards from the session
In the session I created a variety of storyboards based on one of my images from my visual journal. I found the task difficult in terms of generating 3 different ideas for animations and pushing a single image in 3 different directions. However, I think I got my head around sequential thinking/drawing quite quickly. I found the task really useful as it helped me to actually start thinking about my sting and how I can translate artwork from journal into something that is animated. I think that some of the ideas shown in my storyboards are slightly optimistic as I have never used after effects before, however I'm glad that i have been able to get them down on paper.
Notes made during workshop
Animation + Sound
Some examples of animated stings;
Daft Punk - Technologic music video for VH1
A really powerful, energetic animation that uses appropriate movements/transitions to make the text come to life. It is an excellent example of sound and animation being used to compliment each other. From watching this I have gained a sense of how sound enhances what is going on, and without it this animation would not have an impact at all.
This short sting was created as an opening to a festival. The animation uses a low-fi pixelated effect, creating a sense of video games, which in turn connotes fun. This effect is further emphasised by the use of bold colours against a dark background. The use of audio in the animation is really relevent to the subject matter of under the sea/in space and once again maintains an electronic, video game-like score. I love the way that the music pulses in time to the animations of explosions etc, and think that it really brings the animation to life. I think the animation is really effective in the way that the movements are quite rigid, yet diverse, maintaining a 3D aspect.
Further Storyboarding Task
From the storyboarding workshop, i learnt that it would be really helpful to choose a sting soundtrack first, and then plan and create my sting based around the sound and mood. I have been thinking about it alot and the mood/atmosphere created in my sting will be the main focus.
(First 15 seconds)
1) This track is very easy listening and a bit jazzy, which I think would give my animation a fun and upbeat atmosphere. I really want to achieve a feel of Italian influence and almost transport the viewer back to the time and place where Italo was growing up. I feel that the atmosphere created by this track is also quite quirky, and the use of rhythm in the song creates movement anyway, which would be ideal for my idea.
Here I created a storyboard based around this track, using quite fast paced movement and panning. I really like the idea for a final outcome, however I feel it would really test my skills and patience in after effects, which still seems quite daunting to me. Also being able to animate the walk cycle is something that would take a lot of time to get right. If the animation moved in time to the various instrumentals in the music, I think it would be a really effective sting.
2)
So that I could generate as many ideas as possible, I started thinking about tracks that are completely different to the previous, quirky and Italian sound. I found this song by the cinematic orchestra and think that it is just so atmospheric and beautiful, so I really wanted to incorporate it into my work somewhere. I think that the tempo of the track will also aid my animation and hopefully make it quite slow placed and simple.
This storyboard, like in the session, was based on another of my images from my visual journal which I felt had potential for an interesting animation. In terms of communicating, I feel that this idea has alot more of a general atmosphere which is what I was hoping to create. I think that the music will aid this animation perfectly as it has a lot of scenes that just transition with a straight cut, which would work well with the strikes of piano. I think this idea has alot of potential for a final outcome and would be perhaps simpler to create than the previous idea, and be more effective. The music I feel would create a sense of being deep in thought while he writes.
