Colour
Starting off our final project we went back to basics and did some strong colour theory based activities. Colour wheel and chart on the right, and an interesting colour mood board style activity on the left.
For both I'd say that my actual mixing is average. If I wanted a colour, I would know how to mix it, however with things such as purple, I started off with a poor blue for mixing, which resulted in some muddy looking tones. Not only that, but it was pointed out to me that there was too much water mixing going on, which resulted in washy colours on the paper (this is fair, I am a cheapskate when it comes to paints, so I do this a lot).
For both I'd say that my actual mixing is average. If I wanted a colour, I would know how to mix it, however with things such as purple, I started off with a poor blue for mixing, which resulted in some muddy looking tones. Not only that, but it was pointed out to me that there was too much water mixing going on, which resulted in washy colours on the paper (this is fair, I am a cheapskate when it comes to paints, so I do this a lot).
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For our second task we were asked to create mood compositions using nothing other than typography and colour. This was a welcome challenge for me, as type is one of my big weak points.
I gave the stimulus a good crack, and was pleased with some, less so with others. (going in rows from left to right), 2, 3, 4 and five are the better ones for me, with perhaps 2 and 3 being my favourites. This is due to the fluid translation of "POWER" (2) and "PLAYFUL" (3) being so present with these two. for the former, the simple, bold, contrasting nature is effective at conveying the message of power, whereas for the latter, the opposite is true. I am not a fan of 1 and 6. this mainly being because either the subject matter isn't coming across strongly, or like with 6 where there is a sore spot in the composition. (In 6's case its the random red that feels out of place). I think my lesson in type that I've learned from these, is understanding that like any good composition, a good page of type has to adhere to its own ebb and flow, have its own ruleset if you will. otherwise like any bad flowing composition, it'll just feel wrong. |
Composition
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The next task being a pure collage composition task I fell went less well than my Type- task. I enjoyed channeling the emotion of the stimulus through things like texture and abstract placement, it provided a slightly different dimension to what I was used to.
That said, I feel as though my focus on materials ended up being a weakness overall, as I couldn't convey stronger visuals with other techniques, with ended up making the pieces look quite half baked and unfinished. |
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Materials
Charles Keeping
Starting off on our first big creative task, I began doing artist research on Charles keeping. It was his style and materials that I was the least comfortable with, and I did have a good crack at getting more comfortable with his process, but I don't think I really fully grasped his technique.
What would probably of been best is to do more primary research and look directly into how he uses his materials himself.
What would probably of been best is to do more primary research and look directly into how he uses his materials himself.
Brad Holland
Brad Holland's research was my favourite of the three, mainly because I had finally gotten back into the swing of acrylic painting come this part of the project. As you can see, I try and convey some of Holland's techniques using rich undertones, then going over with murky contrast. I really enjoyed taking this approach, and its something Im actually going to incorporate into my main painting style.
Just hopefully my work isn't too scary for people to notice!
Just hopefully my work isn't too scary for people to notice!
Anne Yvonne Gilbert
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Anne Yvonne Gilbert was a bit of a curveball for me in this project. I'm not really used to colour pencil work, but I am used to draftsmanship, so she was both familiar territory, and also a bit of a new venture for me.
I underestimated just how much consideration is needed for the actual direction of strokes with pieces like this. at first I thought I was nailing the piece with tones, but then as I built up different colours I noticed the flow of the lines was quickly lost. overall I enjoy the piece, but Its a far cry from the accuracy seen in Gilbert's work. I'd say this isn't an issue with my understanding of what Im doing, its more of an experience issue. |
Chairs
Then we come to the sacred chairs!
I actually had a blast doing these, and wouldn't of minded doing a few more given more time. My favourite has to be the Holland inspired one, purely because I enjoyed painting that shiny ball so much. That said, all three do have the same weakness of a poor placement of typography. I think if I rework any pieces, the typography on these would be it.
Not that it is an excuse, but I was rushing when doing the type on these, and given a good situation, a strong process would be to do several iterations of the pieces and get a feel for a strong type that way.
Aside from the Holland one, I also enjoyed the Keeping inspired piece, though I'd of liked to of gone more multi media on it. As well you can also see that the Gilbert inspired piece, while is strong in terms of objective visuals, the actual technique is poorly executed on the lighter parts of the picture.
I actually had a blast doing these, and wouldn't of minded doing a few more given more time. My favourite has to be the Holland inspired one, purely because I enjoyed painting that shiny ball so much. That said, all three do have the same weakness of a poor placement of typography. I think if I rework any pieces, the typography on these would be it.
Not that it is an excuse, but I was rushing when doing the type on these, and given a good situation, a strong process would be to do several iterations of the pieces and get a feel for a strong type that way.
Aside from the Holland one, I also enjoyed the Keeping inspired piece, though I'd of liked to of gone more multi media on it. As well you can also see that the Gilbert inspired piece, while is strong in terms of objective visuals, the actual technique is poorly executed on the lighter parts of the picture.
Pictures can speak a thousand words
For the final project, I chose the song “Wichita Lineman” by Glenn Campbell to be turned into a short story. This is one of the few projects I would consider not 100% complete in my own eyes. As the brief is similar to what I want to do in my career, I decided to be ambitious and try for a strange concept. I like making bold mistakes as I find they often give valuable lessons, and I knew I could do so with this project.
that said, I did fail at delivering what I’d consider a finished body of work, but what I did achieve was a successful semi finished draft of my conceptual short comic that covered both songs “Wichita lineman” and “Sunshower”, as well as a mostly finished actual short, that I am much more satisfied with.
The idea for my two way book came from looking at the works of Bruno Munari, who is excellent at making a visual in a book have more meaning than just its own visual, he makes the very act of reading and looking part of the experience.
that said, I did fail at delivering what I’d consider a finished body of work, but what I did achieve was a successful semi finished draft of my conceptual short comic that covered both songs “Wichita lineman” and “Sunshower”, as well as a mostly finished actual short, that I am much more satisfied with.
The idea for my two way book came from looking at the works of Bruno Munari, who is excellent at making a visual in a book have more meaning than just its own visual, he makes the very act of reading and looking part of the experience.
Draft 1
As you can see, the concept was to have the two strips act almost like flipping a record over, where you would read one, and then flip over to the other side from the middle. I still think it’s a solid concept and I’m happy to of explored some out of the box ideas, but it also came with a reality check of being unachievable in the timeframe given.
Draft 2
Once declaring the initial idea a failure, I took a bout at developing Wichita lineman further to see how good my sketches would be once polished up. I quite enjoyed making some simple compositions, and took extra care in choosing a subtle and understated colour palette. For inspiration I looked at old artists from the grunge comic heavy metal, like Moebius and Syd Mead. Moebius in particular was excellent at establishing strong atmospheric Landscapes with simple uses of perspective and colour.
despite me still not having enough time to finish all the pages, I’m still satisfied with what I have done. Between this and the earlier conceptual stage this work took, I feel like I’ve learned a fair bit about telling stories in this medium.
next time I just need to make sure I actually finish telling it!
despite me still not having enough time to finish all the pages, I’m still satisfied with what I have done. Between this and the earlier conceptual stage this work took, I feel like I’ve learned a fair bit about telling stories in this medium.
next time I just need to make sure I actually finish telling it!