Acts of Kindness - Nurture Nature 2, Illustrator Drawing

This one was a little more complex, and used the circle of the sticker as a frame rather than filling it as the previous ones do. I love the repetitions of circles, in the head and the inner border and the flower. I opted to leave the flower as just a circle, in keeping with the use of shape instead of line work.

I feel like once it is coloured it'll really come to life and look better, as at the moment the hands and the flower leaves overlapping so much could be  confusing and too busy, especially when compared to the simplicity and blankness of the rest of the design. Where the two hands overall, I have chosen to leave the lines crossing each other, creating a nice symmetry in the shapes the lines make.

The perspective of the character is probably my favourite part of the whole image and why it appeals to me so much. I think it's interesting depicting him from above, having him reaching up into the composition from the bottom.

Acts of Kindness - Nurture Nature, Illustrator Drawing

This one proved a lot more difficult than the previous two, having curved lines and a lot of different paths close together in small areas, i.e the fingers.

This is one of my favourite ones so far I think, I just think the way it fits into the composition of the circle is really appealing and effective. The fact only one hand can be seen breaks up the symmetry for the betterment of the overall design. The curves of the sticker outline are reflected nicely in the rest of the image.

Acts of Kindness - Write a Letter. Illustrator Drawing

Another easy one to execute on illustrator; straight lines, basic shapes and symmetry. I need to colour the background. 

I didn't know whether this needed a slogan or not....I did try to put one on the lines of the paper but it just seemed very predictable. I like the simplicity of it as it is, and that it is slightly abstract and ambiguous at first glance. 

Acts of Kindness - CYCLE, Illustrator Drawing

The final version of this will be coloured, but for now this is the basic outline.

The biggest challenge here was choosing the typeface, the process of creating the design from my sketch was relatively very easy. Illustrator is really good with straight lines and simple shapes worked into a layout, it's when the lines are curved and the elements more complex that things get harder.

Acts of Kindness - Write a Letter

Some more that I am pretty happy with! (The bottom two)

Simplicity, straight forward, aesthetically pleasing, yet also slightly abstract and ambiguous in the use of basic shape and line. I also an very attracted to the mix of pattern of the lines paper, the blank white of the envelope and the solid black of the background. Mixing pattern and detail can work so well with block colour and areas of nothing. 

Acts of Kindness - Meditation

I can appreciate these ideas for my attempts to visualise ideas and concepts, in a way that is immensely inspired by the Pelican Book covers, however these are perhaps some of the least successful designs.

Aesthetically the could probably work, but I just feel like these isn't enough there to make them a success in the way of communicating an idea efficiently. Its all good simplifying an image or visual idea, but it's useless if the concept isn't effectively communicated. There is perhaps not enough of a link between the visuals and the ideas. Or maybe I just don't even like the aesthetically, who knows.

Acts of Kindness - Look After Nature

These are just insanely FUN!

Trying to twist and contort a character into a body position that fits harmoniously within a circle is really interesting and endlessly engaging. The concept is simple, that is just to nurture nature and the visual idea is equally as simple, but I feel like these are success due to that and the somewhat humorous forms this character makes.

It creates an interesting comparison between aesthetics and ideas; on the one hand the idea is arguably successful despite how basic it is, yet the overall design is perhaps won on aesthetics, which is the most prevalent and engaging aspect of the images.

I think it is clear that these are my favourite purely due to the amount of repetition and volume of exploration in comparison to my other ideas, and I am still not finished with it yet either. 

Acts of Kindness - Cycle, Simplification and Visual Ideas

This was the first thing I have drawn at that point in this project that actually excited me and I guess it almost presented a new way of image making for me, in the portrayal of visual ideas and concepts and not just pictures.

Firstly, I just love the top one. Theres something immensely satisfying about the order of the vehicles which is then abruptly interrupted by the cyclist, telling the story and concept I am communicating. The cyclist is almost rebellious and bold among the anxiety-provoking traffic jam and I hope that would make people consider cycling just by the use of an image and one work, 'CYCLE'.

BUT what excited me were the other two designs. Simplifying the vehicles and bikes to just basic shapes, something this design really lends itself too, it can still portray the idea perfectly, yet now it has an ambiguous side to it, a more abstract and interesting and hopefully though provoking quality. Similarly to the anti-groping idea but more so, you first see an arrangement of simple shapes, but with the introduction of just a single word, a whole meaning and concept opens up. 

This is very fascinating.

Acts of Kindness - Anti-Groping, My Position as a Practitioner

Now, this is a topic I feel extremely strongly about and something that I would really like to change in our society, especially within the clubbing and drinking culture.

However, when initially drawing out these ideas, I started to question my place as a straight, male practitioner, and the argument of what is or isn't appropriate for me to depict in relation to this subject. There is nothing inherently wrong with drawing the female anatomy and it is something I greatly appreciate and enjoy, however something felt slightly wrong for me to be drawing female forms when tackling the topic of young men groping women. I can't really put a finger on what this little nag was a result of, or whether it was telling me anything of value, but then is that down to me to evaluate and decide? Or do I, as a male, not have a say in how this is read?

With that said, I like the ideas behind what I was trying to do, and I hope I presented them respectfully and appropriately. I love the idea that the image on first glance is abstract with it's simple forms, yet when coupled with a blunt phrase such as 'DON'T GROPE', I think the imagery clicks and the idea is therefore communicated. 

Acts of Kindness - Initial Responses

• Bartering
• Human condition
• Respect for women
• Guerilla gardening
• Anti-cars
• Anti-Capitalism
• Against excessive drinking
• Re-connect to nature
• Love
• Meditation
• Letter writing

This list is my starting point/brainstorm of acts of kindnesses and causes that I feel strongly about. Some of these I haven't pursued for one reason or another, but I have kept referring back to it for new topics to explore.

I seem to find writing really helpful as a default for idea generation. Lists, mind maps, quotes, phrases, words etc, they all help as starting points, as ways to initially get down my thoughts and snippets of what could be of value when I actually start drawing.

These first responses are somewhat typical of my practice, at least in the early stages of projects, but I feel like there is already evidence of where I am heading and wanting to take the work for this brief. The hand studies on this page immediately didn't align with my hopes, so were quickly dropped for being too realistic and accurate. The bottom left design sets the premise of what is to come, in terms of using simple shape and anatomy and a conceptual idea within the images; layering the two translucent hands was attempting the show the swapping of items of equal value. 

In wrestling with the visualisation of bartering without using complex and detailed drawings of that specific action taking place, the idea of a bank note was the most fruitful solution. Needless to say I'm not much of a fan of the final idea, but I can appreciate what I was attempting and can recognise it's value as an idea. 

Acts of Kindness - Studio Task

I actually really enjoyed the challenge of simplification, trying to present an action in the most simple yet visually appealing way. It wasn't the simplification that was difficult either, it was the process of trying to end up with something that is also a successful and aesthetic image as well as simple and to the point.

The go to depiction of bouncing a ball is what comes into your head immediately, that is the human anatomy going through the actions of bouncing a ball, in this case in basketball. However no matter how simple I reduced these, the inclusion of anatomy just wasn't working, it didn't feel interesting or accomplished enough.

It is then more interesting to explore a diagrammatic approach to what is a ball bouncing. How can, through the use of a shape and a few lines, I represent an action happening to a ball? The basic principle is that a 'bounce' is a change in direction when contact is made between the ball and a surface, and a ball can be shown as a basic circle. With these two facts the action can be implied with a line and a direction. 

I am actually really happy with this final outcome and am intrigued by it. I love the fact that the movement of the ball is implied in two different ways in the same image, through the repetition of the ball as well as the directional line showing the change in direction. The surface needs not be any more complex than a basic line, and there you have a bouncing ball. The overall image is also intriguing in its forms, the mix between the hard and pointy lines and the round nature of the ball. It feels like it could be a logo of some point. It is a whole little narrative told in a single image.

Visual Language - Colour and Value

Colour and value are two important considerations when making images and are another device that is more subconsciously read by the viewer and is seen as the overall mood and tone of the work. Obviously colour is one of the first things you notice when looking at an image, and can solely determined whether that image resonates with you or not, but I personally don't believe that I tend to read into colours as such beyond that impression.

Most of my work is black and white and always has been. I seem to get stuck with colour, overwhelmed by the unlimited selection and unaware of how to properly match colours for a chosen affect. As said above, I feel like I have to be very conscious if I am to evaluate and consider the use of colour in the work I am looking at. I think the thing I notice most is whether the image works as a whole, and the feeling of the image and how I respond to that feeling, rather than the individual colours that are being used to create such feeling. Perhaps if I was naturally more conscious of other's use of colour, I'd be better at employing it into my own work more seamlessly.

Even without the use of colour, value and tone are incredibly important. I am very aware of this within my own work, and enjoy trying to manipulate light and portray shade effectively. I want to get a lot more ambitious with this too, taking lots of inspiration from Hopper's use of light as well as the beautifully stunning etchings of Martin Lewis.

STUDY TASK

For my fan art poster I really wanted to test out the half-tone to create areas of shade to contrast light. Trying to avoid tricky and intricate registration I opted to just create a whole layer of half-tone with the intention of picking out the couple and drawing attention to them. I think the final image does achieve this, even if I may have played around with halftone on the bottom layer too next time to create more depth and contrast. The colours were not a direct choice, firstly because I was again stuck as to what colours would work for this particular piece and secondly because we were sharing a screen with someone else so we had to use the same colours. Even if Im not big on the colour choice I think they overall print does work....but then again I don't really know...who does, though?

Visual Language - Composition, Depth and Line of Sight

To me line of sight is a very interesting concept, the fact that it is mostly read totally subconsciously, yet it has a big influence on the successes of an image, it's overall atmosphere and the story it tells. Line of sight is essentially a journey the viewer is taken on, and is a way for an image maker to embed a narrative into one image. Images with clever line of sight have movement and flow and a harmony (or disharmony depending on the intended effect) all read naturally and subconsciously. 

Depth is something else which I have perhaps lacked in my work up until this point, and it is something which as a result I always admire and notice in other people's work. Depth can really help to place a viewer in an image, to immerse them in it. It can also be used in a jarring way to create other worldly, or comparatively realistic, scenes and scenarios. 

STUDY TASK

Overall I feel like had I been more intentional and conscious about what I was creating with my diorama I could have employed the devices of depth and line of sight more successfully. I more adopted the process of recreating my favourite bits from my sketches and then trying to fit them together in a half-interesting arrangement. One thing I did find interesting is the view point of the lamppost, especially in my original sketches. I love how it's so big and very foreground, and it kind of points to the background, leading a viewer down into the depth of the picture. It also splits up the composition in a strong way; I feel like including something so close and bold is a strong move and I should have made it more prevalent in my final diorama.

Visual Language - Composition, Frame

Frame is most probably the aspect of composition which I am the most conscious of previously and perhaps most experienced with. If composition is the arrangement of elements in an image in relation to other elements, then frame is how the composition relates to the overall image area or border. In the most basic example, it is the choice between portrait and landscape, and to which effect either is chosen.

Frame is important in the creation of different viewpoints, achieved through cropping and overlapping. This creates depth in images using foreground, mid ground and background, as well as a sense of scale and space in between the different elements. There's no good having a well thought out composition if it is framed or cropped poorly or inappropriately.

STUDY TASK

Butterfly, Elephant and me. 

I don't really know how well framed this composition is....I guess a square was consciously decided upon to create a balance but I think that could be a cop out maybe. I haven't really used the whole space very efficiently in my opinion, there is a lot of empty space around the butterfly, but I do like the shape that the elephants trunk makes, and the fact that it is only inferred by its trunk instead of shown as a whole. I think the image does have flow though and a circular line of sight, even if the trunk perhaps misleads the eye to the bottom right instead of allowing the viewer to naturally follow the direction of my arm and hand leading to the butterfly.

Acts of Kindness - Research, Pelican Books

When thinking about uses of shapes (and colour) in design and illustration, I feel like Pelican Book covers never disappoint. There are just SO many intensely beautiful pieces of design published by Pelican, to the point where every few covers I scroll past I audibly appreciate what my eyes are graced with.

If we are talking about shape and the use of very limited colours, 2 in this case excluding a black outline, this jumped out at me. The way that the designer has inferred the concept of 'judgment' in such a simple yet elegant way, the use of the vague eye shape and the harmony and relationship between the teal and blue colours, and how that relationship changes when influenced by the 'eye'. It is just incredibly clever and inspiring to see such simple yet basically genius design. There is zero unnecessary information present, all that is needed is there and nothing else. And also even what is included is paired down to its bare minimum; the viewer can see that the circle is an eye, yet anatomically is may not be perfectly correct or detailed in it's style. 

Again, 2 colours, 2 wonderfully simple shapes, 1 perfectly communicated concept. These are visual ideas, they are visual representations of intelligent concepts yet they also function as effective and aesthetically appealing pieces of creative work. 

JUST BEAUTIFUL. And so so clever and thought-provoking and tangible.

I See Faces - Final Digital Gif

Thoughts on digital gif

• It's simple in construction and execution but does that take away from end result?
• It has a pulsating movement to it, whereas I would have perhaps preferred a more random movement but I think there is credit in it's pulsating. It has a 'life'.
• I love the noise textures in the background, they really pull the whole thing together nicely. 
• I feel like more could happen with it, like if the shapes actually moved around and reorganised but I would need a lot more time (and frames) to achieve that. 

I See Faces - Final Hand-Drawn Gif

Thoughts on final hand-drawn gif:

• It's interesting and 'clever'; but does this make it exciting or successful?
• It was very time consuming, and there is over 100 frames worth, 70 individually hand drawn.
• I love the roughness to it, the hand made quality and the pulse that it appears to have adopted.
• There is something interesting about repetition, in the creation of the frames and also the way it comes to life when animated.

I See Faces - Final 3D Gif

Is this a cop out? Did I just pursue the easiest option? 3D never finds it way into my work and it is by no means a strong point of mine. For this reason maybe I should have pushed my approach to this gif more than the other two, instead of focussing on them and putting the 3D one off. 

However I do actually really like how this has turned out and it is almost exactly how I pictured it would be in my head, so for that reason it is a success, even if for no other.

Visual Language - Composition, Examples

Tatsuro Kimchi uses a very interesting arrangement of elements to form the composition of this illustration. Firstly, the viewer is given a very voyeuristic viewpoint in relation to the characters, from they were behind the bar of the cafe, looking through the shelves. The characters look quite far away from the viewer, made clear by the larger saucers and tea pot in the foreground, and then the tea cups in the mid ground, being the same size as the people. 

It is interesting how overlapping has been used. The shelves cut the man's head from his body and also overlap the women a lot too, perhaps solely to create the voyeuristic feeling and sense of distance. this top right corner remains very busy as a result also, especially when compared to the left side as a whole. In this vain it is bold for him to have left so much empty space in the top left corner. This could have a narrative purpose to it; the way I personally read it is that the women is perhaps fleeing loneliness, represented by this use of blank space, and is leaning towards friendship and company, shown by the man and the busy right hand side. 

Your eye follows a kind of zig zag up to the couple, lead by the corner of the counter top in the bottom left and then picked up by the diagonal of the perspective on the bar. The are a lot of very angular shapes in this composition also, but that are balanced by the people and the curved shapes of the saucers and tea cups. 

I feel like it is an interesting and effective composition in it's breaking of the rules of balance and harmony. There is obviously a disjoined undertone to this image and an intriguing narrative is suggested as a result.

Visual Language - Composition + study task

In it's most basic terms, composition refers to the purposeful arrangement and organisation of elements in a picture. When making images, decisions are to be made about where to draw each elements, their sizes, positioning, perspective etc in order to achieve the desired effect on a viewer. Compositions are read by viewers for the large part subconsciously, and if done correctly, giving 'the viewer a satisfied sense of order or beauty, although they may not realise by what methods this satisfaction was produced'.

However compositions are not decided upon always to create 'order or beauty' but instead can create a whole range of responses and feelings for effect.

Just as compositions are read, I do strongly believe that they are created intuitively, and when making an image you can just tell when there is something wrong with it's layout and arrangement. As Matt says, composition is how you go from someone who is good at drawing, to someone who is great at illustrating and making images.

Composition in a traditional is not something I have previously thought too much about. A lot of my work in the past consists of spot illustrations as opposed to constructed scenes and finished pieces. So considering my compositions more now is tricky but something I want to really try and push.

STUDY TASK

My three words were: Phone, Doctor and a Room.

I wanted to create a sense of ambiguity with my composition, reflecting back to a Robert Heindel image on one of the slides, where the identity of the patient is unknown and only part of their body is visible. I also wanted to place the viewer with the doctor, allowing them to follow his line of sight whilst drawing attention to the phone and the dramatic nature of this exaggerated point of view.

I See Faces - Floating Ghost.

Forgot to post this one from yesterday...I did picture my hand drawn gif as the ghost rather than the mask, but I feel like it needs something else. This one is maybe too jittery and not smooth enough, but then that in itself has a certain charm to it. 

I would love to try one of these but in different media, like the other mask experiment. It also maybe needs a background.

I See Faces - Construction WIP

Product of today.

I See Faces - Practice, Shape Construction

This practice GIF was a test as to how it would look to have the shapes being drawn during the GIF. I am actually so pleased with how it turned out, even if it was easily the most time consuming of all my practice ones so far.

Now to construct the whole mask in this way.....

I See Faces - Lille Carre

This GIF by Lille Carre is basically perfect to me. It is so elegant and fluid yet very rough and disjointed yet so beautiful still. The story it tells is simple and benign but highly relatable and so funny as a result; everyone knows the feeling of getting stuck in a jumper when putting it on or taking it off, and it brings a smile to your face seeing this simple narrative in a gif.

It is hand drawn but not lined up. Each separate drawing is fairly limited in elements. some make up merely of a few lines, but with the frames before and after the movement of the women is still told perfectly. It's this rough, loose and misaligned quality that I love about this. Also it's simplicity in execution is highly appealing, being made up of basic line drawings. 

I See Faces - Yeah...More Practice

Well, this is actually really fun to play about with! It may need some more organisation and order to it, as it is more or less very random but I'm still a fan.

I See Faces - More GIF practice

I find it really interesting using several different mediums and mark making techniques within the same gif, giving the image more movement and interest to it whilst embracing the roughness of my previous practice. It almost comes out of the screen and pulsates as the marks that make it up change and vary in weigh and gesture and texture.

I hope to explore this further with my cloak figures too.

I See Faces - Practice GIF pt.2

Another practice gif. I absolutely love the rough and misaligned quality of hand drawn gifs. I am going to explore this idea of repetition and embrace my final gif's energy without using a light box.

I See Faces - Practice GIF

Making the actual GIF was a lot more time & energy consuming than expected....
I feel like anything remotely more complex will prove a difficult challenge.

I See Faces - Ghosts, on to something?

Am I on to something? Something certainly clicked after drawing these....does that mean it is good? are they original? are they enough of a character? is it cheating not including actual figure and anatomy?

For whatever reason I am really attracted to these little ghost-like people. Their flowing drapes are really fun and exciting to draw, even if they take a matter of seconds to execute. They are somewhat difficult to imbue with different poses and postures, mostly because a lot of their figure is actually covered. But expression and character and movement have so much possibility within these bedsheets. They work so well with the masks incorporate on them too, even if they are maybe more sinister without any face at all.

I need to keep playing with these but I really hope I am onto something with these guys.

I See Faces - Figure, Setting

I find figure really quite difficult.  As much as I do enjoy drawing people from life and at times reference, and it is something that I used to practice a fair bit, I still find figurative drawing pretty tricky. This is especially the case when I have no reference to go off, or I am making a character up. 

The left sketch is drawn using a shaman image on Google as reference to get the basic body figure correct. I find the image quite boring though, even if it exists as a practice. I think putting the masks onto a human form can create some very eerie and unsettling drawings, a vibe which I am hoping to achieve in the end.

The free form, smoke-like body shape of the right image is a lot more interesting. I feel the flow and fluidity is a lot more appealing and somewhat more mysterious, although I have no idea what the arms are doing.

Some of the images that came to mind when listening to the song were those of floating people; there is a lot of photography on the internet which is along this theme, and is where the reference for these roughs was based from. They're so predictable and very overdone though, and would be a struggle to make original and different. They proved useful as anatomical practice though.

Council estate setting experiments. Does it work? Still trying to answer that one. I like it, but it needs to do a lot more to excite me enough. 

Maybe I am being too figurative though? Am I pushing my image making enough? Do I need to push it for the sake of it, even if the project and my ideas don't align with overly different image making?

I See Faces - Initial Image Making, Tribal Masks

Exploring the tribal, mysterious vibes.

These were actually VERY freeing to make, to just lay down shapes and lines in other shapes to build up abstract 'tribal' mask faces. Some I really love a few and some I am not too keen on, yet I cannot articulate what makes the successful ones better. I guess it just comes down to what shapes work nicely together in a certain arrangement. They also directly play on what was covered in the briefing and Loomis' ideas on faces; the human brain sees faces in everything, even an arrangement of shapes, when the idea of a face is only vaguely suggested.

Although slightly cartoony, I do really like the figure on the right page. Theres something about his basic costume of marks that works really nicely with that particular face. I want to explore floating people more too.

I See Faces - Song Selection, Initial Ideas

Given songs:

• Flamingo by Kero Kero Bonita (too annoying, silly, sickly)
• Sun Goddess by Yesterday's New Quintet (crazy respect for Madlib all day, but has made better. Still potential & love this track but not so inspired upon first few listens)

Chosen song: Homeless by Burial.

Burial send you to another place and I am keen to try and create some quite far out responses for this project. It evokes more than the other two songs, certain feelings and images and experiences...

• dark
• mysterious
• deep
• intense
• like a trip
• reminds me of urban landscapes, housing estates and messy house parties
• early morning/night time vibes, walking alone
• unnerving but also kind of comforting
• DEEP
• otherworldly 

I picture quite a dark, scary looking figure, possibly tribal and human-like yet definitely not human, from another world. Possibly faceless or without eyes, but all seeing. Inviting to another place, not sure whether to follow but still curious and end up going anyway. Like a dream.