Photos from Manchester Art Gallery!

I had so much fun here I decided to take my own photographs for reference and research!

Butterflies

Antalopes

An Albatross Bird

Wild Sheep

Swan

 These animals are alive!

Oriental fire bellied toads

Chameleon

Tiny Orange frogs

Two Lizards

Fire bellied toad floating

Very small lizard

Final Major Project!!

I'm In my last year and the time has gone so fast that it is now time to investigate and explore in creating a final major project. For this project I have to come up with my own brief, a brief in which interests me based around a key theme of my choice, Or I could pick a theme and explore different outcomes or do two separate different projects with an outcome at the end. This module is to provide me with the opportunity to demonstrate and synthesise the skills, knowledge and understanding that I have gained from all the previous projects, through the personal organisation of a body of creative visual work.

Major Project Requirements

Before:

Prepare an initial proposal brief for my project which will be used as a catalyst for discussion with my tutors, basically what is the brief going to be , what are my aims?

Re-write the proposal to turn it into a coherent brief. This brief is an important document, it needs to be written with care and considerations in part it will be used by my tutors to assess the effectiveness of the work you produce.

During:

Have a full body of practical project work.

PDP work which informs and supports both major project and my own practise/understanding of the industry. 

After:

Create an evaluation report (minimum 500 words) detailing the development of the project work. To be submitted on the deadline with my work. 

Major project Ideas

I have looked at various live and non-live projects from different websites and came across two that jumped at me most.I already decided my key theme so was looking for something that would surround this key factor which is Animals. I have a great love for animals I don't have any pets but I have lots of animal teddy's and I love going to the Zoo, picturing and wondering what it would be like if they acted and dressed like humans as if they consisted of human characteristics. This is something I really would like to explore and play around with and I found a live project that is looking for this key playful instinct. 

The artists magazines annual art competition - more than £15,205.89 in prizes this competition consist of a few different types of categories that you can choose from to illustrate, I chose the category on Animal/wildlife. 

This is what it asking for:

Any animal in any setting is fair game for this category. Entries will be judged on the innovative handling of the subject, the expression and rendering. 

This competition is open to artists anywhere in the world. 

I also have a big interest in Snowboarding as I just love the idea of flying, sliding, gliding, breathing in the fresh air of the cold, feeling free. This is something I really want to do in my life and succeed at it having lots of fun! Then I came across this project that I thought would be brilliant however it is not live any more but I still thought I could including it throughout my work!

Design the artwork for a signal Snowboard - Signal was founded in 2004, located in Huntingdon beach California, this boutique brand builds and shares a connection and love for its style through snowboarding, music, art,digital media and manufacturing. 

This is what it asking for: 

To mark the signal snowboard design challenge, signal are inviting designers to design the artwork for a snowboard. Thinking 'out the box' creating something new, different and Unique!

I also have a big interest in to creating a children's wallpaper of animal patterns for a children's bedroom exploring children's interior designs for furniture such as; lamp shades, duvet covers, a boarder to go around the room, etc.  Then maybe this could lead to producing a children's design for a snowboard something that will try to get children more interested in the activity. 

Project Proposal

Title of Project = 'A carnival of Animals'

Proposal = My aims are to produce a wallpaper design or pattern based around my love of animals. I will sketch and use watercolour/Gouache paints to get a feel for what animals I explore look like. 

Maybe exploring the theme of hybridity mixing and matching animal features together to create something new and unusual, creating my own character. 

You = This project links to my graduation ambitions as I would love to express my passion for animals in a unique way, throughout patterns of wallpaper or design for a snowboard or maybe patterns for a children's room. 

Research = I will be researching various sources, for instance I will be looking at different influences such as; Judith Kerr, Beatrix Potter, Marina Warner, `charley Harper etc. exploring animals with characteristics/personalities. Another influence I will be investigating is the musical the carnival of animals thinking about animals in a show, like a parade or circus. I will also be taking pictures of animals around the environment, from museums, hopefully the zoo. 

Context = My audience will be aimed at children having that fun, playful, innocent essence reflected throughout various objects maybe for a children's bedroom. 

Deliverables = I hope to create something different producing an animal pattern for the design of a snowboard and wallpapers as I feel this would be unusual and hopefully will give the 'wow' factor for my end of year show.

I have a passion for snowboarding as well as animals and this is one of my aims in life that I wish to fulfil. I might even consider creating a book for young children to help them learn how to count with animals. 

Website research

I have investigated a variety of websites in which I will list some attributes and functionality for what I would like my own website to have.

Advantages
I have looked at Sara Fanellie's website which I found is set up differently to any other website I have seen before. I like the layout in which, it shows key titles on the page convincing her audience to want to explore more by clicking onto one of them. Which takes you to a list or link to showing her work that she has produced for books or her portfolio. This also makes her website tidy and organised not leaving it in such a chaos that the audience cant concentrate on the key elements, making it easier to take in the information. I also find this layout simple yet vintage.

Here is a link to her website: Sara Fanelli

Another artist's website I wish to add the key features and explore the layout she has used throughout my own website is a freelance illustrator Anna Violet. I found the way she has layout her website is very effective throughout the vibrant colours represented throughout her name which stands out on the black background giving it a sense of sophistication.

Here is a link to her website: Anna Violet

Another website I thought was quite intriguing is by an artist called Gemma Correl I love the first page to her website its playful and unique in its own style.

Here is a link to her website: Gemma Correll

Disadvantages
Artist Megan Lara has created a very eye-catching website that does make you want to explore her work more, however I find it hard to find information of who she is and how to contact her which could be improved throughout her website very easily if she so wished, as this is her only downfall.

Here is a link to her website: Megan Lara

Another artist I have come across is of a designer called Joshua Ariza, I find his website very plain and could be represented better with the use of more imagery and trying to not put too much information that portrayed on all the same page. I find his slogan great as I am reeled in to know more. But am slightly confused as to where I should start to look to find out more of his work.

Here is a link to his website: Joshua Ariza

Overall I hope to produce a good website that gets audiences a spine-tingling feeling in wanting to explore my world of inventive play throughout my work. Hoping to represent myself in a sophisticated professional fashion.

Portfolio 2 with Anna Violet

Anna Violet is a freelance illustrator based in Chorlton, Manchester. She illustrates children's books, book covers, portraits, decorative maps and local scenes. Her clients are national trust, Carus publishing and Oxford university press.

Her work explores the method of ink, pencil and vibrant colours I feel are watercolour. Her images are unique representing the innocence throughout her characters capturing that playful instinct during her progression of work.

Here are some examples of her work;

Aesops Fables - The fox, the crow and the cheese

Jungle Book tiger prowl

This is my favourite image that she has produced of a fox that was published in AOI images 34 annual 2010

Blackbird -published in Spider magazine April 2013 as one of four illustrations for a short story the blackbird and the worm.(S.Krensky)

I find Anna Violets work very inspirational, I especially love the pose she creates throughout the animals portrayed.
I thought I would send her my portfolio , in hope she would advise me on how to improve it and make it better, in which she kindly did.

Anna Violet explains her main experience is on local scenes and children's book illustrations, so this will be the main angle in which she responds to my images. She expresses the point of being subjective and how her favourite mediums are ink and pencil, so has a downer on other mediums. This worried me slightly as I work with the method of collage and thought Anna Violet wouldn't be interested, however she proved me wrong and gave me some brilliant advice.

 She first starts off by telling me that she loves the handmade-look I have created throughout my backgrounds and paint marks and my lively childlike/naive compositions. The transparency, colours and boldness of Visual world invent works well. Especially as she expresses that she is a sucker for black backgrounds too. Although she wasn't sure what my image was trying to say.
 Her favourite image throughout my portfolio is the composition of Grandad Bink in the Boat, Violet found the energy of the water marks and the effect of torn paper is very effective, especially the way my character is tucked-up in the boat this makes everything seem part of the sea.
She then asks me a question if I've been influenced by an artist called Alfred Wallis, in which I wasn't as I've never heard of him before my influence for this image was found objects of boats I found around my home and artists working with monsters and exploring innocence and fear in an indicative playful state for example; Sara Fanelli, Judith Kerr, Picasso and Klee.

However when I researched Alfred Wallis I could clearly see the connections of my boat compared to his creations exploring different styles of boats gushing along the ocean. Here are some examples of his work;

 Furthermore, My wind in the willows characters looked intriguing she thought I had great lettering too. She liked the soft muted palette and ink work but isn't sure this would appeal to the children's book market. Wondering if the cloth textures need to be more integrated. She suggests I should desaturate the whole of my Badger character and add colours that go across different mediums. Or maybe using a different fabric that fits with badger, thinking about the black and white stripes that badgers have. Violet responds to my wind in the willows characters in needing to be more childlike (no moustache, bigger heads etc.) showing obvious emotions/body language so the reader and child can empathise with.

More over Anna Violet expresses she is confused with the chair represented throughout my image of Baby Bink however likes the use of thread with the painted background suggesting to make it clearer on a bigger image. Then swiftly moving on to my Nana Bink on the phone image which Anna Violet feels the textures and line works well giving off a scary effect. This is great I'm glad my Bink Character made an impression although Nana Bink is meant to look worried so will improve this emotion by adding her worried wrinkles to make a better expression that hopefully gets her emotion across to the reader and various audiences.

Violets comments are great which I will defiantly take on board throughout my own practise and portfolio.

Ending with the point that she is looking forward to seeing my work at the show next spring!

Zak Doodle

Zak doodle is a children's illustrator from Greece, I love her work the compositions she creates are very sophisticated, especially with the use of line that is represented exploring the weight and heaviness of the line produced by ink or pencil. Bringing that child innocence and naive essence together, as when we get older we tend to lose this. 

These are my favourite by her. 

The characters are so playful! 

What does Illustration mean?

To me Illustration is an image or picture that someone creates to represent something, expressing something visually for example illustrating either a book or a magazine. Illustration is so widespread now you can illustrate in various ways such as, hand craft, animation, creating something digitally, or a moving image etc.

Illustration

1. something that illustrates, as a picture in a book or magazine
2. a comparison or an example intended for explanation or corroboration
3. the act of clarifying or explaining; elucidation.
4. Archaic illustriousness; distinction

The origin of Illustration
1325-75; Middle English  < Latin illustrātiōn-  (stem of illustrātiō ) theact of making vivid, illustrating. See illustrate, -ion

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/illustration?s=t

There are many people in the art industry that want their art to be seen and noticed however we need to push ourselves as technology is upgrading and becoming more and more advanced that illustrators feel the need to push themselves further to make there art more known by advertising there work digitally in lots of different ways. For example; ebooks, iPads, apps, websites etc.
Illustration has broadened throughout the environment using as much space as provided to represent and illuminate the world.

"As our visual language evolves , the playing field is levelling. Graphic designers, sculptors, painters, creative developers and even musicians amorphously meander across different parts of our creative industries. As a consequence, I often wonder what the term 'illustration' now means. Maybe as a medium it might need to do more than vocationalise aesthetics and cultivate a border palate of profundity for its own survival." 

Michael Salu
Artistic Director of Granta Magazine
2012 Varoom

Responding to Salu's assertion illustration has become broadened that illustrators find themselves more involved with the different opportunities and activities that are out there trying to present there work any way they can that will connect with audiences. Technology in a way is taking over always being upgraded, it could be argued that books and handcraft might be dying out because of all this. However it is another way of connecting to other audiences.

Throughout my own work and expanding to the terms of content and media I will try my best to represent my work throughout different outcomes such as a website, which will hopefully support the basis of my work and help me look more professional throughout my practise to people who are in the art industry.

Is Salu's suggestion of a name change for illustration necessary or mere semantics?

No I don't think it is necessary to change the name of illustration because the word illustration already makes you think about art and the things created throughout art rather than speech. For instance; when I think of illustration I immediately associate the word with images, hand craft art models, animation, etc. Illustration is a name I would most defiantly wouldn't change, otherwise if it did I think a lot of people would be confused.

Illustration web is a website full of illustrators from all over the world that represent a wide range of different images and animations used in many ways for different reasons. 

http://www.illustrationweb.com/artists

Here are a few examples; 

Stefanie Clemen

Corinna Ice

Bill Greenhead

Click here for an animation by Bill Greenhead Animation

Judith Kerr

I watched a documentary on Judith Kerr called 'Imagine: Hitler, the tiger and me' which explored the life of Judith Kerr and how her past, during world war 2 has affected her adolescence and childhood. Which she has been representing throughout her illustrative images in children's books each entailing memories of her life.
Judith Kerr is a German writer and illustrator whom is currently ninety years of age and still manages to uphold that enthusiasm just like when she was a child, running up the stairs excited to carry on with her work illustrating and creating children's books in her own study at home in London. A few of the stories that she has written have been done in such a way to help children understand what she  has experienced during her time in Germany.

Judith Kerr was born on 14th June 1923 in Berlin and when she was nine she had to flee from the Nazis, living the remainder of her life in Britain. She has lived a remarkable life that hasn't been easy, yet she has been able to produce a vast range of books. She has a schedule that she keeps to everyday, having breaks between her work and keeping fit by taking long strolls, enjoying the life around her. Friends and other writers have said she is a real fun person to be around especially as she's not living in the past and she is very much in the present with today's society.

Alan Yentob talks to Judith about the way she works and the space she works in, Judith expresses that she wouldn't be able to work anywhere else as this is the room she loves and is comfortable in the study in her own home. She feels she wouldn't know what would happen if she had to work anywhere else.

Here is an image of her working area;

At the moment she is working on a book that takes place in the Jungle , she is having a few challenges in drawing flowers and trees so looks at an artist called Russo for inspiration, she feels that if she thinks of Russo she will be able to do it. Another influence Judith relates to is Fantasy represented throughout a Russian/French artist called Marc Chagall, she describes his images of couples and animals flying. This theme has inspired one of Judith's books called 'My Henry' as she felt this is what the story needed.

Here are some of Chagall's work compared to the work of Judith Kerr; 

Marc Chagall Blue Circus 1950-2 Courtesy Centre Pompidou Paris 

Over the Town 1918

Here are some images of Kerr's Book 'My Henry'; 

I feel Judith Kerr has written this book in memory of her husband Tom whom died seven years ago.It refers to the adventures they could have together in the afterlife, relating to the women in the story envisioning her life as being lived and all this that is happening is inside her. 

Furthermore Alan Yentob suggests that Judith Kerr may be a 90 year old woman on the outside, however on the inside she is still the child that she was when she was younger, as she feels that she hasn't really grown up. 

Before the war in Berlin her father was a leading Jewish intellectual and her mother a composer. Judith has written a string of books based on her own experiences throughout her life. 

Judith Kerr wrote and illustrated a book called 'The tiger who came to tea', she wrote this book in her own kitchen at home. She has two children called Tacy and Matthew, she would stay at home to look after them and at times things would get very boring, so she took her children for long walks and would return home for warm tea (cups of tea). She was always worried about who might be knocking at her door, so she came up with the idea, "why not have a tiger come for tea" and this is where she came up with the story.

She told this story to her children many times so she knew it off by heart and tried to make a picture book from it in which she has succeeded.

A short synopsis of the story is: 

The doorbell rings just as Sophie and her Mummy are sitting down to tea. Who could it possibly be? What they certainly don't expect to see at the door is a big furry, stripy tiger. The tiger consumes all of their food and drinks, leaving the child and her mother with nothing apart from a mess they have to clean up.

The tiger represents a stranger knocking at the door and entering a child's life in the presence of there on home. 

Kerr explains how she wasn't sure whether the tiger should be wearing clothes or not, but decided it looked best without. 

From Michael Rosen's (a children's writer ) point of view, he expresses that "for children aged 2-3 years why not have a tiger come for tea, as you don't know who's going to knock at the door. However if you were to look at this metaphorically, Who is this tiger? Someone that comes in and starts grabbing stuff taking all the water out of the tap, well he's a tiger what do they do? There dangerous, they eat people and Judith Kerr knew all about dangerous people grabbing things and taking people away from when she was younger from her own experiences. As she knew this could happen, as she was told when she was a young child that her father could be grabbed at any moment either by the Gestapo (official secret police of Nazi Germany) or the SS (the secret service), he was in great danger.

In Conclusion, Judith Kerr has impacted on my work in the way I have reflected in the methods she uses to create her simple , vibrant images. By using my own materials more freely, adding fragments of line and sketches throughout my images. Realizing that I don't have to outline the whole of my image, but just part of it to give my work more of an edge. I have also learnt quite a lot from Judith Kerr, exploring about her life and how she has progressed throughout her work, representing memories and events that she has experienced which she has produced throughout her images. This relates to my self - directed project on 'The Bink family' as some of the events that happen in the story link to some of my own experiences and memories from my own past.