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].

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].

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].

Editorial - Illustrating for an article

Aude van Ryn [1] creates images which are a mix of collage and painting and often display an abstract environment which incorporates realistic elements too. She uses texture in an understated way which is effective. I particularly like her use of flowing lines and variety of characters. 

We learned about common symbols used in editorial illustration such as handshakes, ladders, puppetry and office buildings, which are all present in van Ryn's work and are often the prominent feature.

Task: Using the given article, create a simple illustration to accompany it.

This was the article I chose (of the three): 'I Lost my Voice for Three and a half Years' [2] and from looking at the common symbol of replacing the figure's head with an object. I chose a tv because we associate it with a constant noise, and then I added the 'mute' symbol to show that this ability has been removed. Also the pose (sat and hunched over) shows a sadness that he cannot communicate with others, which was talked about in the article.

References

[1] van Ryn 

[2] Neff 2015

Bibliography

Heart Artist’s Agents - Artists - Aude Van Ryn - Galleries - Aude Van Ryn 1 . 2016. Heart Artist’s Agents - Artists - Aude Van Ryn - Galleries - Aude Van Ryn 1 . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.heartagency.com/artist/AudeVanRyn/gallery/1/image/3538. [Accessed 6 November 2016].

The Guardian. 2016. Experience: I lost my voice for three and a half years | Life and style | The Guardian. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/nov/27/experience-i-lost-my-voice-for-three-and-a-half-years. [Accessed 6 November 2016].