Illustration 1: Key Steps in Illustration- Assignment 1: Say Hello
This first assignment is to introduce yourself to your tutor and give them the opportunity to get to know you and your work. This assignment is not submitted for formal assessment.
You are going to send a ‘greetings card’, telling your tutor about yourself, your interests and inspirations, the materials you feel happy working with and maybe what you would like to get from the course.
First of all you need to work out what you want to say. Keep notes to accompany the making of this illustration in your learning log. These notes could cover why you decided to portray what you did – what you included and even what you omitted.
The artwork can be in any form and size. You can use any drawing or painting materials, collage or produce it on a computer.
When you have finished photocopy or print it out at greetings card size to check that it works as a card.
I began by noting some of my interests/inspirations. I wanted to choose a focal point that encapsulates myself, interests, materials and reasons for beginning the illustration course.
I noted Alexander Mcqueen who represents the synergy of interest/inspiration for me and I also currently run an online clothing store which buys/sells vintage/designer clothing so I decided to move forwards with him/his work as a reference. As a whole he was an interesting creative who was great at referencing art, culture and his feelings through his work.
I have been interested in fashion since I was young and like the all encompassing nature of it. I like the idea that you can create something physical that can reference and represent so much, becoming more than just clothing- which is also the reason graphic design appeals to me. I want to present narrative/feeling through visuals.
I went onto looking back at my favourite runway show by Alexander Mcqueen: SS 2001 Women’s collection. The runway show itself is like an art installation, with the models interacting with a mirrored box (which they can only see a reflection of themselves in, but the audience can see through). Towards the end of the show the box in the middles walls fall, revealing a person covered in live moths.
I looked at the individual images of the clothing/models and collated ones that interested me/could represent not just my interests in fashion but in art, reading, psychology etc.
I tested with different mark making/drawing using various materials, referencing my interest in art, particularly the more abstract. I wanted to create an abstract ‘world of ideas’ around the image.
I printed out my final design on 110GSM paper. Overall I enjoyed this task but don’t feel very pleased with my design. I like concept behind it but feel as if it looks incomplete.
I feel as if I should’ve came up with multiple layout ideas/alternatives, but wary of time taken for this section I did not go further with experimenting- in need of improving time management/brainstorming multiple ideas whilst still leaving room for intuition.
This image was particularly interesting to me. The model looking into/interacting with the mirrored wall, showing her reflection and ‘reflecting’ on herself. She is also reaching upwards/forwards- into something new/unknown.
I cut out the model from the image physically, moving onto testing with different edits of the image. I then printed/re-printed/scanned the images to create texture. I then scanned all versions and created a combination of them in Photoshop.
After Tutor Feedback:
Creating a design that used the shape of the card itself or encompassed all of the space was something I went onto focusing on. I began by referring back to my original notes and creating some further thumbnail sketches.
Considering an action point my tutor mentioned about being more experimental/creating a figure myself out of collage I found artists work that emulated this idea. I also looked at the works of Saul Steinberg, Sara Fanelli and Paul Wearing. I collated some of my favourite works by them in different folders to refer to now/in the future.
I collated images from 1970s magazines along with some portraits of artists that have inspired me. I printed them out and began to collage, editing the images in Photoshop and re-trying. This was an interesting way to start the task as it allowed me to explore and test out different compositions.
I continued to collage until I found a composition that I liked and moved onto layering it upon other elements-inspired by Chris Burnett. I experimented with various materials such as paint, spray paint, staining with different liquids and then edited the results digitally.
I didn’t feel that this design was very effective as a greetings card and seemed to appear as 2 separate sections (front and back) which was not my aim. I continued to test using elements from this attempt creating a more abstract collage incorporating other imagery/colours that relate to my inspirations/key words noted.
‘To begin this Assignment, add in research into greeting card design, make a list of typical elements used and consider the intention of card design. Consider the format and layout before approaching a design, how might you to use the front, middle and back in order to communicate further.’
I initially neglected to research greetings cards and was narrow minded in just considering the concept of the design itself. My tutor’s comments about potentially encompassing the whole of the card (front, back inside) really interested me. I looked into various types of cards, some which were a ‘pop-up’ style or changed the shape of the card itself.
I began to put together some mood boards to reference, whilst adding to thumbnails and considering my original notes of my interests and inspirations.
I took elements from my initial design and played with composition until I found something that I felt worked. I kept in mind that I wanted the card to feel complete across the front and back cover, creating one design instead of each side separately. Inspired by Chris Burnett’s work, I included some typography- letters and symbols from found receipts/ephemera which represent my interest in typography and a grunge/punk aesthetic in design.
I preferred the grayscale version of the design and continued to add texture by printing/scanning/re-printing the design. I then digitally added some other markings. I feel like this design more successfully represents my personal interests and interests in graphic design/illustration.
I enjoyed having another try at this task but again I feel as if I could’ve experimented further and continued with alternate versions of the card, perhaps a final in colour or tested with different colour palettes.
