Editorial - Aude van Ryn

For this topic, I looked closely at the work of Aude van Ryn who creates her images using a collage style of working. Her landscapes often display an abstract environment recognisable by her use of flowing contour lines  She uses subtle paper textures that come through her painting which gives her illustrations a handmade feel. Often she includes silhouette figures in her work which give a sense of anonymity to all the characters and keep the image very simple (not over complicating it with detailed features.

I chose to do an editorial piece in her style, quite simplified but suitable for a newspaper or magazine. Colour was very important to consider so I chose to follow van Ryn and use slightly desaturated ones which gives the image a softer quality, not too garish.

The content is quite generic, it could go with any article about archaeology involving dinosaurs. Stylistically, I wanted to use the contour lines that van Ryn uses as it gives a simple background, a plane for the characters to be on. The little scientists are just silhouettes so they are gender-neutral, making my image more widely usable in regards to an article.

I am pleased with my image as it is straightforward and clear but still has a good use of colour which is something I am trying hard to improve with my work.


Bibliography

Blogger, Jade They. 2010. Aude van Ryn. [ONLINE] Available at: http://jadeillustration.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/aude-van-ryn.html. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Heart Agency. 2016. Aude van Ryn. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.heartagency.com/artist/AudeVanRyn/gallery/1. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Illustration Age. 2016. Great Editorial work by Aude van Ryn. [ONLINE] Available at: https://illustrationage.com/2012/08/27/great-editorial-work-by-aude-van-ryn/. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Satirical - Caricature

Caricature was very challenging for me as I have difficulty in portraying specific people, they never seem to look like the person they are meant to be. Because of this, I looked at the work of Glen Hanson who creates more graphic, comic book-like caricatures where the facial features are only a little exaggerated. From looking at these images, it was easy to establish what were the defining facial features of each specific person, such as a sharp chin or prominent cheekbones.

From this research, I chose to make my caricature of Donald Trump as his scrunched-up features, saggy neck and orange face were features I could exaggerate.

 Looking back on my image now, I realise it is not as exaggerated as it felt when I was drawing it, however, it is recognisable as Trump which is good. I attempted to make his neck sag over his collar which worked, also his head is larger than it should be but, as this is only a bust portrait, it is not very clear. I made his skin quite orange and added the pale area around his eyes which makes him look like he just got off a tanning bed with the little goggles. Like Hanson, I tried using bright colours to better show the character and it works very well in this case.


Bibliography

Richmond Illustration Inc.. 2016. How to draw caricatures: The 5 Steps. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.tomrichmond.com/2008/02/14/how-to-draw-caricatures-1-the-5-shapes/. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Glen Hanson. 2016. Caricature. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.glenhanson.com/caricature.php. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Satirical - Pastiche

For Pastiche, I looked at existing examples of altering a famous painting or writing such as Gillray's version of the three witches [1] using Lord Dundas, Prime Minister Pitt and Lord Thurlow (all politicians under King George III). The image is intended to show the uneasiness of their relationship under the king.

The image that I decided to parody is 'Mother and Child Gazing at a Hand Mirror' [2] because it is a recognisable image that fits in with the idea I wanted to portray. It is a traditional Japanese painting and so features subtle colours and a very stylised face with small features on a large pale base and, on the mother, red painted lips.

The image I have created mimics the pose of the original and uses the same colour scheme (soft pinks and greens) but I have modernised the content to feature a modern Japanese teenager and her brother. They are watching something on her phone (instead of a mirror) as this would have the same effect on a curious (modern) child and is very interested in what his older sibling is doing.

It makes a statement about how different the children are from traditional ideals, spending time on phones and wearing 'unsuitable' clothes. I also included the plant as a cactus as these are very popular with teenagers at the moment and helps to give context to the teenager's fashion choices.


References
[1] Gillray 1791
[2] Utamaru c.1802

Bibliography

Tate. 2016. Gothic Nightmares. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/gothic-nightmares-fuseli-blake-and-romantic-imagination/gothic-3. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Wikiart. 2016. Mother and child gazing at a Hand Mirror. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.wikiart.org/en/kitagawa-utamaro/mother-and-child-gazing-at-a-hand-mirror-1805. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Wikipedia. 2016. Pastiche. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastiche. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Satirical - Visual Metaphor

For this task, I looked at visual metaphors in general as one cartoonist will not do exclusively metaphors for their work. Examples I found showed 'sales in the toilet' [1] and 'unplugged from reality'. Because of all the political disasters that have happened in 2016, I decided to make my image based on it being a 'trainwreck' of a year and included some of the news items that made this year awful.

I have written each event on a separate carriage for clarity. Labelling items in this way is very important in many political cartoons as it shows what each element represents if it is not clear from the image context. 

References
[1] Sizemore

Bibliography

Cartoon Stock. 2016. Visual Metaphor Cartoons and comics. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/v/visual_metaphor.asp. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Library of Congress. 2016. Cartoon Analysis Guide. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/activities/political-cartoon/cag.html. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

The Top Tens. 2016. Worst Things that happened in 2016. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.thetoptens.com/worst-things-happened-2016/. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Concept - Frottage

For this technique I looked at the art of Max Ernst who first used the technique of frottage [1]. To do this, you lay a piece of paper over a texture such as grained wood then take a rubbing using a soft pencil. Ernst used this to create strange creatures such as  'L'évadé' (The Fugitive) [2] 

To make my piece I used textures from around the studio, the floor, wood cabinets, speaker case and woodcut carvings.

 


From these I made an image of a turkey-like bird, using the gingko leaf as a head and the card-reader embellishment as an eye, the other textures for the body and feathers.

I am pleased with my image and discovered that frottage is an interesting way of using texture and collage in my work so it will be something I experiment with in the future.Using natural shapes works best and looks most appealing (the gingko leaf makes a very good head shape from the way the stem curves into a small beak shape)

Ernst uses pencil to work into his collaged image to create a more comprehensive image that looks like a finished drawing. Although my bird does not need this, it is a useful note to consider for future uses.

References
[1] Ernst 1925
[2] Ernst 1926


Bibliography

MOMA. 2016. Max Ernst, L'evade. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/max-ernst-levade. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Wikipedia. 2016. Frottage (art). [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frottage_(art). [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Concept - Bio-mechanical

Bio-mechanical art was popularized by H.R. Giger in the 1970s during his work on the acclaimed sci-fi film, 'Alien' [1].  It fuses organic and mechanical elements and in Giger's work, he often portrays a very smoothly shaped woman who is connected to machines via wires and other devices so that they become one working organism. Because of this it is very closely linked with cyborg art which tend to add mechanical properties onto humans to improve their qualities such as a camera lens to replace an eye.

I find Giger's work to be very unsettling, possibly because of his overt sexual references such as giving the Xenomorph a penis in some sketches or only seeming to show female bodies naked and connected to machines with tubing and wires. Several of his pieces he names 'Erotomechanics' very clearly. I greatly dislike this aspect of his work which is why I try to avoid him as an artist.

From researching Giger's art and watching the 'Alien' film, I have made a sketch of a possible human-machine hybrid inspired by his workings and sketches. I also tried to incorporate elements of cyborg art such as the cables and wires plugging directly into the organic forearms. I imagine he would act very human like, possibly operating a computer or machine that his fingers are plugged into.

References
[1] Scott 1979

Bibliography

io9. 2014. The Most Unforgettable Creations of H. R. Giger. [ONLINE] Available at: http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-most-unforgettable-creations-of-h-r-giger-1576157799. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Wikipedia. 2016. Biomechanical Art. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomechanical_art. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Wikipedia. 2016. Alien (film). [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(film). [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Sara Fanelli - Exquisite Corpse

From looking at Fanelli's use of weird creatures [1], we were given the task of using the game 'Exquisite Corpse' to make our own in pairs or groups. There were similarities between each of the designs created from this game, such as a bird head for three of them even though we did not discuss what we were drawing.

References
[1] Fanelli 2002


Bibliography

Amazon. 2002. Mythological Monsters of Ancient Greece. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mythological-Monsters-Ancient-Greece-Fanelli/dp/0763619078. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Bookish Kids. 2014. Sara Fanelli Archives. [ONLINE] Available at: http://bookishkids.co.uk/tag/sara-fanelli/. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Wikipedia. 2016. Exquisite corpse. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse. [Accessed 12 December 2016].

Sara Fanelli - Lettering

I looked at Fanelli's use of typography and noted that she likes to use different fonts for each word in a sentence and often with embellishments such as bubble-writing, all capital letters or underlining. She sometimes writes and illustrates profound sayings or phrases so I tried this myself.

Song lyrics were easy to use because they were phrases I know well:

'I am going to make it through this year if it kills me.' from 'This Year' [1]  is a very powerful phrase with good emphasis towards the end which I have shown through the enlargement of the type and making it more bold.

'She may contain the urge to run away but hold her down with soggy clothes and breeze-blocks' from 'Breeze-blocks' [2]. I used this lyric as it happened to be what I was listening to at the time and by using a longer phrase, I could try using different fonts for each word. I found this quite difficult and therefore think that using Fanelli's technique works better with shorter phrases (seen in the example).

References
[1] The Mountain Goats 2010
[2] alt-J 2012

Bibliography

Blogger, Gianne Amparo. 2014. A week of doodling. [ONLINE] Available at: http://gianneamparo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/a-week-of-doodling.html. [Accessed 10 December 2016].

Youtube. 2010. The Mountain Goats - This Year. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eetIgGXH6DA. [Accessed 10 December 2016].

Youtube, alt-J. 2012. alt-J (∆) Breezeblocks. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVeMiVU77wo. [Accessed 10 December 2016].

Satirical - Anthropomorphism

From looking at Steve Bell's political cartoons of Ed Miliband as a panda [1] and Jeremy Corbyn as a fox [2] for inspiration to make my own version of a current politician. In Bell's version, Miliband is transformed completely into a panda after beginning with only dark circles around his eyes, creating an extreme change but in context would still be recognisable as Miliband. Corbyn on the other hand, remains as a human but with fox characteristics of ears and a tail. The fox comparison is because he is trying to 'out-fox the Tories' [3].

For my piece I decided to use the American politician Ted Cruz who recently (unsuccessfully) ran for the presidency. I chose him because of his very recognisable face and grimace he makes when smiling to which Tumblr user Himatzu once said: 'ted cruz smiles like he has shampoo in his eyes' [4] which is very true. Also, as Cruz has attained meme status on the internet [5] I decided to stay with the theme and merge him with an animal also associated with memes, the crying cat. This is a good pairing as Cruz does look like he is about to cry most of the time.

My image is a quick digital sketch in which I attempted to add Cruz' facial features onto the crying cat's face. This task was challenging as I wanted to retain the iconic image of the crying cat but still make it look like Cruz so I used his nose and eyes however I have lost something in my final image. I think a crying cat / Ted Cruz accurately sums up his Presidency Campaign and his feelings about it.




References
[1] Bell
[2] Bell
[3] Bell 2015
[4] Himatzu 2016
[5] Know Your Meme 2016

Bibliography

Single Track World. 2013. The utter genius of Steve Bell. [ONLINE] Available at: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-utter-genius-of-steve-bell. [Accessed 10 December 2016].

Know Your Meme. 2016. Ted Cruz Zodiac Killer. [ONLINE] Available at: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ted-cruz-zodiac-killer. [Accessed 10 December 2016].

Know Your Meme. 2016. Cats. [ONLINE] Available at: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/cats. [Accessed 10 December 2016].

The Guardian. 2015. Steve Bell. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/stevebell. [Accessed 10 December 2016].

Tumblr, slimetony. 2016. -. [ONLINE] Available at: http://slimetony.com/post/140069831762/kagekubi-himatzu-himatzu-ted-cruz-smiles. [Accessed 10 December 2016].

Wordpress, Picture Politics. 2015. Jeremy Corbyn meets Beatrix Potter. [ONLINE] Available at: https://picturepolitics.wordpress.com/2015/10/04/jeremy-corbyn-meets-beatrix-potter/. [Accessed 10 December 2016].

Editorial - Using shapes

I looked at the art of Eric Fraser who makes very stark, graphic images in black and white [1]. His illustrations are unusual and distinctively styled, often looking like a wood-cut print more than a drawing. He makes use of bold shapes such as silhouettes of people [2] to create a strong composition. Because of this, we were all given a sheet of shapes and symbols often used in editorial illustration such as a silhouette head, a ladder, hourglass, arrow etc.

For my piece I decided to use the globe image and make it into a statement about Brexit which happened in the last few months. Having a political opinion in a cartoon is important as it gives a clearer message than an unbiased one.

I coloured the world in blue and green because, although unrealistic, they are the symbolic colours of the Earth and help us recognize it easily even if the geography is inaccurate. Then I cut around the UK which I had coloured red and drew in a 'cut here' line used in instructional diagrams which is also an easily recognized symbol. Red has the connotations of anger and danger, helping to communicate how I feel about the UK 'cutting' itself off from the EU. Using the scissor 'cut' line, it becomes a visual metaphor for 'cutting off' from the EU which I think works well for a very simple image.



References
[1] Fraser
[2] Fraser

Bibliography

Blogger, Phil Beard. 2007. Eric Fraser (1902-1983). [ONLINE] Available at: http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/eric-fraser-1902-1983.html. [Accessed 10 December 2016].

Wikipedia. 2016. Eric Fraser (illustrator). [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Fraser_(illustrator). [Accessed 10 December 2016].

Colour-Wheel-Pro. 2015. Colour Meaning. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html. [Accessed 10 December 2016].

Chris Ware - Slow Time

Ware often shows time passing slowly [1] by focusing on small background or scenery details such as the sky changing colour in the evening or the trees growing buds as it changes from winter to spring. In this example, the colours stay the same which helps to show the differences between the panels (movement of the bird and tree growth).

Having a pause from the narrative using this method gives the reader a moment to rest, especially after an exciting or eye-opening scene. It also helps to slow down the story and give a better pacing.

Showing the passage of time through plant growth gives an organic feel to the story even though it is set in an urban environment so I wanted to explore plant growth as well, in particular mushrooms because I find them weird and therefore interesting. For reference I watched some time lapse videos [2] of different fungi growing in a forest environment, the way the mushroom cap shoots up and then fans outwards was something I wanted show in my image and having a sequence was a suitable way to show this.

I kept the colour palette very simple, as Ware does, to better show the mushrooms and shoots as they are the focus of the scene. The browns give an earthy feel to the environment which works well without being unrealistic.




References
[1] Ware 2000
[2] Wonderful Life 2015

Bibliography

Read Comics. 2016. Jimmy Corrigan - The Smartest Kid on Earth. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.readcomics.tv/jimmy-corrigan-the-smartest-kid-on-earth-2000/chapter-1/95. [Accessed 10 December 2016].

Ware, C, 2000. Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth. 1st ed. 37, 92, : Pantheon Books

YouTube, Wonderful Life. 2015. Mushroom Growing Time Lapse. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TZNEjXruy0. [Accessed 10 December 2016].

Editorial - .gif

GIFs are now being used in modern publications online [1] as they take advantage of the digital nature of an article and creates more interest than a plain illustration. Inspired by the animated GIFs of Rebecca Mock [2] [3], I attempted to make my own using one of my existing images. Especially with Mock's animations, I like how she keeps the image very still an only has a few moving components as it gives a sense of calm. From looking at her animations involving technology such as a phone notification [4], I would like to make an animation involving technology that moves in a small way.

I used my existing tv-head character and coloured it using Photoshop, adding some simple cel-shading to show shape. Using the frame animation feature, I made it so that an 'x' would appear on his screen face. By doing this, it adds more interest and shows that the muting is an ongoing action because of the repeating nature of the GIF.  I am very pleased with my result, even though it is no where as complicated or realistically shown as Mock's works, it communicates the article I chose well.



References
[1] Schuessler 2016
[2] Mock 2016
[3] Mock 2014
[4] Mock 2012


Bibliography

New York Times. 2016. The Federal Government's Latest Project: Squirrel GIFs - New York Times. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/19/arts/design/watch-gifs-bring-history-to-life-patriotic-squirrel-included.html?_r=0. [Accessed 6 November 2016].

Nice Fucking Graphics!. 2014. Ilustraciones animadas de Rebecca Mock. [ONLINE] Available at: http://nfgraphics.com/ilustraciones-animadas-rebecca-mock/. [Accessed 9 December 2016].

Tumblr. 2016. Anhedonia, Here I Come. [ONLINE] Available at: http://rebeccamock.tumblr.com/image/142690983743. [Accessed 9 December 2016].


Tumblr. 2012. Party (gif version). [ONLINE] Available at: http://rebeccamock.tumblr.com/post/24100369111/party-gif-version-original-x. [Accessed 9 December 2016].

Wired. 2013. 10 Awesomely Tasteful Animated GIFs. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.wired.com/2013/09/the-rise-of-subtle-tasteful-and-commissioned-animated-gif-illustrations/. [Accessed 9 December 2016].

Chris Ware - Colour

I looked at Ware's use of limited colour palette and chose this example called 'A Feeling' from 'Building Stories' [1] because it shows two palettes that change with the lighting in the environment. The warm browns he uses are interesting because they have purple in them too, giving a dull appearance. Having muted colours here reflects the narrative of the story as the character has an overwhelming feeling but as the viewer, having an external viewpoint, we do not see her mental anguish - only what she tells us.

Having two palettes works well here as it gives a clear indication of the character's movement from a dark bathroom to a lit bedroom and also provides a change of mood from a cold (blues) atmosphere to a more comfortable one (warm / neutral tones).

I used my raccord piece as a starting point to use colour on. Like Ware, I wanted to show a change in mood and atmosphere so I divided the image into day time with warm colours and evening with cooler blues and greys. I used the same colours as the 'A Feeling' comic, using the eyedropper tool to get precise tones and by doing this, has helped my understanding of Ware's use of colour.

Subtle purples add more depth to the browns which is very different to how I use colour and will be something I can experiment with in the future. I think having this purple that complements the blue in the other palette helps to keep the image cohesive and relates the two areas to each other rather than separating them.



References
[1] Ware 2012


Bibliography

Strudel: Chris Ware. 2016. Strudel: Chris Ware. [ONLINE] Available at: http://milhojasservicioseditoriales.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/chris-ware.html. [Accessed 09 December 2016].

Wikipedia. 2016. Building Stories. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_Stories. [Accessed 9 December 2016].

Concept Art - Character Design

I began with my character description from the 'Dungeons and Dragons' game [1] with additional information that I had decided on previously (such as their backstory and individual appearance). My design needed to include: half-elf appearance, piratical themes, roguish clothing and some weapons (a rapier or daggers)

Inspiration came from recent playing of the video game 'Dishonored' [2] (a game in which you play as an assassin in a fictional city) which the character designer, Cedric Peyravernay, and art director, Victor Antenov, based on steampunk and neo-victorian ideas [3] [4]. In particular, I like the military style of the clothes [5] so I used these in some of my designs.

The initial sketches I made were to establish their facial appearance and some ideas on how the clothing might look. I also researched some images of rapiers [6] to better understand how to draw them.

I am pleased with my attempt especially my use of colour as I tried to give each different design a unique colour scheme, Design 1 has the initial piratical look from the loose shirt and wide belt which give a co-ordinated look. Options 2 and 3 are most inspired by the 'Dishonored' game art, using more Victorian clothing shapes and the darker colours worn by an assassin. Options 4 and 5 look more like the traditional style of the 'Dungeons and Dragons' characters [7], a more middle-aged look that fits in better with the game's themes.

By exploring several different style options, I now have a better idea of how my character should look and the practicality of different clothing ideas. However, I want to pursue both Options 1 and 3 so it will be a difficult decision!

References
[1] Gygax and Arneson 1974
[2] Bethesda 2012
[3] Peyravernay 2016
[4] Antenov 2012
[5] Peyravernay 2014
[6] Pinterest 2016
[7] Hasbro 2016


Bibliography
ArtStation. 2016. ArtStation - Cedric Peyravernay. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artist/cedricpeyravernay. [Accessed 03 December 2016].

ArtStation. 2016. ArtStation - Dishonored-Elite Research, Cedric Peyravernay. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/9NzlO. [Accessed 03 December 2016].

Classes | Dungeons & Dragons. 2016. Classes | Dungeons & Dragons. [ONLINE] Available at: http://dnd.wizards.com/dungeons-and-dragons/what-is-dd/classes. [Accessed 03 December 2016].

Dishonored Characters Art - Pictures - Game Pics - Images. 2016. Dishonored Characters Art - Pictures - Game Pics - Images. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.creativeuncut.com/art_dishonored_a.html. [Accessed 03 December 2016].

Pinterest. 2016. 1000+ images about d&d insp on Pinterest | LARP, Costume and Swords. [ONLINE] Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/tocsidiser/dd-insp/. [Accessed 03 December 2016].

Wikipedia. 2016. Half-elf (Dungeons & Dragons) - Wikipedia. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-elf_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons). [Accessed 03 December 2016].

YouTube. 2016. The Art of Dishonored - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtLfj6lQeJE. [Accessed 03 December 2016].