Final Project

The above images are of my final project. The piece is still in development, however the piece will be an A1 illustrative design. A segment will also be animated. The design will be completed with fineliner pens ranging from 0.1mm - 0.8mm. The design will be completed within the silhouette of evolution pioneer Charles Darwin, which allows me to experiment designs with botanical and animal features. I use aspects on every design to keep a constant house style e.g. contour detailing on botanical areas and spinal triangular area on animals to show how each animal or plant is steamed from one another.
The piece will be exhibited in a black frame. I was originally going to use a wooden frame, but after discussions with my tutor we decided a black snap frame would be best so the texture/colour/grain of the frame wouldn't distract from the piece. This also allows for easy cleaning and lighting to be achieved. It was important to have enough light for my piece so that it is easy to see, therefore my booth will be in-front of a window, which is also where a plug socket is so that I can have power to a laptop. I have a plinth to stand the laptop on to at an easy height for viewing. As can be seen in the Google sketchup illustrations, the piece will be exhibited in a right angle, one size will feature the animation (laptop) and sketchbook, the other Final piece, and design and visual sheets, plus my final description. It is important I show all these to showcase the development and finalization of my piece.

Projection - Touring

Projection has become increasingly popular for music artists on tour. Artists now days use the projection for video interludes before a certain segment of the concert.  Lady Gaga has used the projection frequently throughout her tours. I like the way in which she has used Video art alongside projection. When performing the  track Dance in The Dark, Gaga uses a remixed song with a large-scale projection covering the whole stage. The video jumps and is distorted at different speeds replicating the song. After a short while the singer continues the song whilst standing behind the screen a variety of lights are behind her blowing her silhouette to a large size on the screen. This form of silhouette shadowing, is almost like the hand puppetry seen. I think this style which incorporates these aspects is very effective, instead of a pure video, reality and shape distortion is added, which also towers over the audience giving a sense of power and domination.
This is being taken a step further with holograms being introduced, now a musician can preform with another artist without them being there, a whole video can be projected in 3D onto a stage, and it looks real. Mainstream popularity was gained from the performance of Snoop Doggand the passed Tupac. With talks of Michael Jackson performances also this will only increase in popularity and it will be interesting to see how this develops and how others can showcase their own work in new and boundary pushing ways.

Lady Gaga Projection Example
Snoop Dogg and Tupac example

Tim Shaw

Tim Shaw's pieces alone are chilling and give a haunting atmosphere. But also the way he uses mundane backgrounds, often dark and almost thriller inspired backgrounds adds greater mood to the politically targeting pieces. I was have seen one of his pieces in last years Summer Arts Exhibition, this was presented again with the sculpture being in a dark colouring the piece kept to the same nature of the one above. All the pieces he exhibits are of the same nature which creates a constant house-style which can be seen on his website: http://www.timshawsculptor.com/ . The constant atmosphere and atmospheric display between the pieces also show how he has seen that one way it was displayed worked (the violent appearance standing out above the virgin white) and kept to the same technique replicating this years down the line. Not only this but he uses light to darken and cape he pieces in even more darkness creating shadowing extending the real life scale of the piece, so that the area in takes up is greater and more intimidating. A brilliant technique.

E3

E3 is a annual gaming expo. Each gaming company exhibits, there up coming consoles and games to industry as well as the public. The expo is successful as not only is it first to display new products, trailers/games as well as game art. The exhibition is streamed live world wide, with Nintendo so excited about this years slot for there new console reveal, for the first time it will be streamed not only by popular gaming website as IGN, Nintendo's website along with Facebook, Twitter, Youtube MTV2 and Spiketv. This global event then makes newspapers and magazine, all of this is a brilliant technique to reach the world in a quick way, straight away after viewing blogs and fans share thought on the Internet which is accessible worldwide. The expo shows real time console displays as well as video and as the picture shows projection on a large scale, I estimate the screen to be at  least triple the size of a cinema screen. This type of exhibiting is being copied by aritst and other industry today with the Internet being a huge platform. Today new interactive television adverts are being developed, by using smart phones with apps such as barcode scanners or recording devices to interactive to the television advertisement live with other viewes to gain extra information or buy/win products. This is only going to increase in popularity and will be hugely exciting to see it's development.

Film Museum

I visited the London Film Museum, the museum in my opinion was run down and dated. Although it exhibited piece from some of my favourite films Alien, Star Wars and Alice in Wonderland; the whole museum seemed as though it wasn't cared for and is stuck in a different decade. The decor was find but need some Major TLC, even a paint job would have made it better. The way in which items were actually exhibited was very old school with simple plastic, not glass fixtures which were full of scuffs and abrasions. Information like the Superman seen above was printed on a 'home printer' not a professional one,  with dull colours and finished on non gloss paper, this looked ridiculous as it seemed all the pieces were throwbacks that the movie companies didn't want. The colours were off and not contrasting to the images shown. The text was small and difficult to see especially with the dull lighting in the museum, if I didn't have a flash on my camera then I wouldn't have been able to take any photos.

The interactive exhibits were not turned on, for example the Alien fixtures where meant to move with a almost motion sensor technology being realistic to the film with movement and sound, however this was not the case as it wasn't on. The only way I could explain the disappointment was imaging being at a arcade and all the machines are not turned on. Being my favourite film I was expecting to be blown away, initially I was due to the scale of the replica, then the disappointment began. The only feature good was that an image from the film was standing next to the replica so I could see the likeness of the two. However this image again was dated and fading with a space interior frame which again needed attention.

I felt robbed due to the fact it was £12 pound to get into the mundane museum.

The museum has been suffering with lack of visitors lately and it is clear too see why. The fixtures need to be modernised and replaced, displays need to be cleaned and well lit, and no film memorabilia and props need to be present as most are from before 2005 greatly narrowing the target audience of the museum. I would not view the museum again due to the fact the employees clearly do not care for the museum, with non to be see within apart from when there asking for your money. Could it be argued it was a busy weekend? No as it was a Thursday afternoon about 3 P.M.

I saw this image and I found it shocking. The way in which the background is pure and block coloured black emphasies and borders the intended purpose, shock. With times the way they are and how society is with Global Warming, this image could be used as a shock tactic advertising. The image would be printed on alarge scale and hung in areas like tube stations, sides of buses etc. The crisp images with the ocean blues and text would highlight the meaning, with maybe one tag line or phrase also inteded to shock.

I usually will not post a lot of fashion pieces. However this dress and the moment it was captured has a tranquil feel. The layering of the dress along with the feathering floating is calming and pure. The appearance and density of the dress creates textural feel whilst the slimming fit on the torso creates a natural feel as though the model and dress grew together. I could imagine the dress being exhibited in a pressurised capsule with air vents causing the feathers to move, obviously the stronger the air the more issues with visibility of the dress, however I think this would be more interesting and powerful to showcase than on a typical mannequin. The dress could also work in this manner in a designer or high end fashion store maybe in popular shopping zones, e.g. Oxford Street.

Flipbook

Animation can be tricky to present, finding new and innovative ways to showcase a piece sometimes can prove to be difficult. However this image I found on Tumblr shows an ordinary flipbook, but as the design is of a colour pallet with Rainbow detailing; once in motion the piece creates a rainbow arch once captured. A camera with a slow shutter speed would have caught this image and I think it is gives a charm to the piece. The image would be perfect for marketing and could be used to advertise things such as books. I really like these images and think a piece that uses interactivity with he viewer is a more effective approach to art exhibiting.

Zelda

Being a bit gamer and lover of character design, I find it extremely interesting when Games are developed featuring the a recurring character, each game depicts the character differently, with colour and detailing varying. I love the way some can appear very artistic, in a watercolour appearance and other highly detailed and shaded as though a realistic approach is taken. I also then love the fan art and how they depict the characters themselves. The developers of these games love this too with big company Nintendo, often asking fans to draw the characters, Nintendo then exhibit these digitally on a Gallery for consoles such as the 3DS.

V Magazine

This is an image from an Issue of V magazine featuring Lady GaGa. I think this image is bold and the colouring on the butterfly is beautifully places over the wings, I love the way in which the colour is made of singular segments places together to create a layered effect which show texture and direction.
The photography techniques used as well are brilliant for the final presentation the way the image is cropped creates framing not only from the obvious V but also the dropping and fringed hair. Also by the colour pallete used the main focus centres around the eyes and lips and cheeks, this makes the picture have a range of focal points and allow viewer movement for the piece. The V has been place of centre towards the face which makes for a more unique piece. I could see the piece being presented on a large style, maybe canvas, with butterfly detailing around the image or over the frame, bringing the image into reality.

I found this image on Tumblr. I love ceilings designs like this and I think this one works particularly well with the colour vibrancy and choices plus the good detailing which protrudes giving bordering and depth

Johanna Basford

Artists are always looking for new and initiative ways to not only complete there work but too also exhibit it. A recent artist I have stumbled across is very modern in ways her work has been shown. Johanna Basford an illustrator, created a piece called Twitter Picture. She asked people to submit tweets to her telling her what to draw. Then over 24hour periods, streamed live worldwide,a s the tweets were sent in she drew the images and people were able to see the request come too life. This was a great way to not only get interactivity with the public, but also recognition from news reports and Internet blogging. Not only this it created a vast imaginative piece incorporating the minds of many people!

She went further than simple pen drawing and the piece was applied to a car and showcased that way. It is so amazing and It makes me think where else illustrations could be applied.

Meyoko - Illustrator

This piece was completed by Berlin based illustrator, Melissa Murillo , better known as “Meyoko”. This is one of my favourite illustrative pieces I have seen. The intricate lines and pen detailing is reminiscent to pieces of my own. The detailing almost looks like delicate lace work, like that seen of Alexander McQueen's.The detailing layers and highlights around prominent areas such as the eye sockets, cheek bones and naisl area. This prominence alows for the fluidity of the lines to be constant and adds direction and depth to the piece, maybe showcasing the bone structure and where it protrudes strongly on the skin. However, on closer inspection the small under layered detailing is clearly visible. The way in which Meyoko has been able to produce a piece showing a Gothic image, which has been detailed with botanical and natural influences, for example the butterfly wings above the eye sockets, is a artistic approach which I would like to use.
The detailing with the direction used such as the curvaceous nature, creates the contours and shape of the skull perfectly. This adds the depth and density of the skull, whilst still showing the natural beauty of the design and also the human bone structure also. Meyoko's work will and has proven to be an influence in my own work.

Egyptian

These images are taken of a store in London. I loved the products and the whole culture feel towards the store. I find the ancient Egyptian decor and riches to be beautiful. Coffins such as Tutankhamun have always appealed to be with the colouring (gold, royal blues) along with the material and actually design such as the nautical stripes creates an interesting style and give direction and shape to a piece. luxurious
I think the pieces could easily be used to create an interesting interior for a home, simple furnishings could work will in a complementary form alongside the extravagant pieces, luxurious fabrics and quilts could be hung in a room to harmoniously highlight the intense structure of the sphinxes, or sculptures.
I would like to look into how I could incorporate ancient Egyptian culture and designs into work, I think textiles and illustrations, such as wallpaper designs would be a great route to take.

Copy Cat

Surrealism is my favourite are movement, Salvador Dali is my favourite from the period, however I also like René Magritte. When I saw this image of Snow White I instantly recognised the style. I love the way in with the artist has joked around with the style of the apple and played with the original painting by Magritte. I like the humour and also the simplified style which also adds a background to the piece. The painting looks as though it could stand in a Disney museum. I sourced the image from thisislevitation's Tumblr. The piece is inspirational and makes me think what else could I apply a popular character twist too, for example the Mona Lisa, The Scream or a Picasso Portrait.

Concept Art

I adore concept art, I think that original concept art allows you to see the stand out features of a character. Once concept art has developed into final processing for films, games etc I think sometimes thecharm of the orginal dfesign can be lost. In my eye the orginal sketchy apperance, using just pencil or pen allows my mind to visualy animate a sequence in my mind. The series of concept are which could be used to create a mini storyboard creates a frame by frame maping which showcases the prominet features. Concept art shows the posture, expression, scale and overall form of the design which I think is a neccasity and I enjoy drawing in this from. When I have participated in Life Drawing, and on the rare occasions I have enjoyed it, I do so when I draw in this style. I eremember the first Life Drawing Class I completed, I drew a moving figure and my style was reminicent to the body mapping of concept drawings. This is a feature I think I will use frequently in futture work and development.
The concept art can vary from basic drawigns or detailed illustrations. The concept art which was seen for the Pixar film Toy Story is specifically beautiful and rich in colour in my opinion, the images can be seen in teh Hardback book, The Art of Toy Story 3. The book is veryd etailed and showcases storyboards, charaxcter designs, background designs etc. This is the kind of work I would love to be developing one day for my own animations. I like the painted concept art created digitaly, with water colour or acrylic.

Exhibiting Work

 In today’s industry it is getting increasingly easier to get designs and work out into the world in new and cutting edge ways. Artists are constantly pushing the boundaries of how they can get work viewed for example many musical artists are developing music videos as short films, incorporating video art and fashion to create a sometimes controversial video. By creating the piece in a contravertial form, the video would gain more press and coverage, and therefore the saying bad press is good press. With the internet being the powerful phenomenon it is now, more and more websites are being developed such as social networking sites like Twitter, Flick and Tumblr. These allow for great user interaction and a vast way to display images, video and audio with connections all over the world. This has also proven to be a great plus with the popularity of blogs, with individuals finding pieces they like, an illustration for example and posting on their own personal page this creates a chain reaction that can only grow. This then draws a wider audience to the creator/designers work, page website etc. By creating your own blog you can show your own inspirations alongside you work and comment on what you developed on for you own work, changed or what you wanted to completely avoid. This is a power which has allowed artists to become instantly recognized without a traditional exhibition of work. Perhaps one of the best ways to showcase on the internet is through YouTube. By posting a video of your work, music etc., anyone can instantly view it with the publisher being able to personalize the words used to search for the video. The best feature which can be used this way is the opportunity of user interaction through comments, instead of talking to every viewer in an exhibition, an individual can scroll through the comments at a quicker pace and gain criticism, constructive criticism or positive feedback. Although this could make issues, such as cyber bullying, I still think that the internet is a great way in which to showcase work, especially in today's technology driven world.

Expos are increasing in popularity with more and more specialist expos occurring annually. This allows for specialist areas to be housed together in a large mass, this creates a brilliant opportunity to showcase work from the same field, because all the viewers will be directly interested into the workings shown. This also allows for personal help, with a great deal of similar work present, the exhibitor can draw inspiration and techniques from surrounding work and critique theirs on others that can be seen. This is an opportunity which heightens the professional approach to the exhibitor due to the face to face interactions with possible buyers or clients. I think in face to face situation relationships and opinions are able to grow quicker and stronger than through a telephone for example. Also direct reactions are able to be seen through expressions, mood and body language. The event would also be a great opportunity to meet people in the same field, not just potential buyers, but also well-known clients or designers/artists specialized in the same area. Some say it's not who you are it's who you know, and I think that is true. It is much easier to be successful in any field if you have a contact book filled with high up professionals in the same area. The relations that could be built at an event like this could be very beneficial, not only to yourself but to the other people also. This also links into another possibility, charity events. For example if you were to donate a piece to a charity auction you could gain popularity and a following through this way. It could be a major possibility especially for a painter or sculptor.

Advertising may be an obvious way to gain recognition, but I think it's a way to exhibit also. If you could work for a company such as designing a logo, leaflet and keep the trademark under your name, I’m sure, depending on the company your work would become instantly favorable and therefore it is being partly exhibited. If development was made, a logo, leaflet, DVD case, fabric print or whatever it may be, this series could be used in a portfolio and could be name dropped into possible meetings with clients. It's a sneaky way to exhibit work, however if the company was particularly big more and more would see the designs you had created which may not have been achievable previously. Corresponding to this is a previously mentioned idea of the people you know. If you were to agree a deal where you would advertise or show work of another’s in conjunction with your own they could reciprocate allowing for a joint, wider reaching area of possible clients, buyers or colleagues. A great partnership could be made, even if both party’s specialized in different areas such as interior design and graphic design, the pieces could be incorporated and worked on together to create a collection for example.

Obviously the most common ways for exhibiting works is in museums or galleries. However new ways such as video art are being more commonly used. I think a more personally exhibition would be greater, maybe where only one person can view at a time, or a kinetic showcase where the viewer had to get involved, hold something or open something for example. I personally find these more interesting or installations, because they make the brain work instead of a simple mundane painting hung on the wall. New approaches could use different style of lighting, with scale and height, developing around the idea of how distance affects what the eye can see could create possibilities that make one piece stand out, over the other. Very popular at the moment is 3d visualizations, so 3D imagery could be used. This is more for video; however it could still be used for making processes to allow the viewer an insight into the process. This also could be extended with texture, allowing example of materials to be shown for contact with the viewer, they could witness the intensity of a texture, the softness or density. This could insure the viewer has a greater connection with the piece instead of simply looking at it.

Snow White

A favourite style of mine is pen work, I love the intricate work and the level of concentration I have to put into the piece. This is why when I saw this piece it instantly appealed to me. The Design is reminiscent to henna in my opinion. However with only the red being prominent, it drew me back to the original Snow White story with the apple. Maybe the design is meant to represent as Snow White bites the apple, all her feelings are small but detailed, uncontrollable and forming many different directions?
The illustrated background is very current and popular today, many magazine segments feature this style of work, the almost manga style eyes, and floral detailing especially is appealing. I can imagine this piece used as a cover for a book or design cover. It has been inspirational in the way It has simplified a popular character but emphasized a highly detailed and aesthetically pleasing background.

I found this image on Tumblr. I love this picture, I don't know the purpose, it could be costume design, fashion, editorial , etc. However, I find the picture to be very calming, the soft almost icy colours used within the feathers, are harmonious to the autumnal colours of the hair and other feathers. This with the pale almost frozen expression and pigments on the skin create a sleek and smooth mood to the image. I could see the image being used for a fashion shoot, with a natural beauty landscape, maybe an Alaskan or Icelandic landscape. The way in which the feathers protrude in different directions is no accident in my opinion, I think there is a strong reason for this, maybe to cover a greater area, or to show rapid and uncontrollable growth?

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland is my favourite book. In all honesty I haven't read many books, however due to my love for imagination, creativity I found this book to be a representation of my mind. The Disney movie was the inspiration that led me to read the book. I found the madness with in the book to be a constant flow with the characters like the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts. The arguments that Lewis Carroll was drunk when he wrote this book, can be true in my opinion. The huge creativity and random rambling with the book is what gives it the charm which has given it the title of my favourite book. The book is inspirational in my own creativity and also stylizing of pieces. A final reason for the love of the book is the illustrations within the different versions of the book. Each artist has their own interpretations of the story, my personal favorite illustrations were those by my favorite artist, Salvador Dali. Being a surrealist painter he was the best person to combat the book and in my opinion perfectly captured the scenic craziness within the book. His illustrations indulge colour into the book which merges with the imagery within my mind. The book usually comes in a collection of the whole works of Carroll, the two Wonderland books, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass along with a variety of other publications and poems. Each are as mad and imaginative and wonderfully brilliant as one another.
This book is a major representation of my personality and my favorite style of work, if you haven't read this book yet, definitely go to your local library or book store and buy it. Honestly, the films do not do Lewis Carroll's wonderfully mad literature justice.

Ludovico Einaudi

This song is a piece composed by an Italian contemporary music composer and pianist, Ludovico Einaudi. I stumbled across the piece while listening to the album Islands: Essential Einaudi. My brother told me the album was a great album to revise too. Although I wasn't doing revision, I often listen to slow music and orchestral music to complete most of my work for college, especially sketchbook work, drawing and evaluations. This song helps me to create vivid imagery in my mind, the tranquility of the soft music often creates a recurring image of a large lake, with icelandic mountains and scenery bordering the lake as far as the eye could see, as the music develops I can imagine nature within the lake such as the ripples created from diving fish or landing birds. I think I often draw this image is because I find water very calming and beautiful along with breath taking landscapes. Another song which I find highly influential on this album is Nefeli which also is a piece which continuously creates vivid scenes in my mind.
The music is helpful with my work as I previously stated, I find a slow song allows my brain to concentrate deeper and also allow my mind to reach a form of mind where I am able to deeply evaluate my work and annotate my thoughts. Not only this but I feel when listening to pieces like these I am able to sit for longer periods of time and work, for example intricate pen work.

Lucian Freud: Painted Life

The Lucian Freud Documentary that was shown on BBC, was a very in depth look into Freud's works that showed his personality and intense work style. I found the documentary interesting and compelling, I think this was because  I had never seen such an in depth critique into an artists life before or personality which was then reflected into their work. I enjoyed the way in which the documentary gave feelings from sitters of Freud's alongside friends and family as well as other artists. The main reason I felt so strongly to the documentary was the rare insight that was shown from the opinions and recollections from the sitters. It was intense to hear the sitters recall their time with Freud alongside there sexual relationships with him also. I found the way in which he had an intimate relationship with the sitters to be odd at first but on further viewing of the documentary I began to understand within the highly personal relationship of life drawing, especially when the pieces are on a large scale and completed over a long period of time, the artist and the sitter can create an over heightened personal relationship. A view within the documentary was that Freud was able to better his piece when he had this bond with a sitter, this could be shown with analysis of the length of the pieces reflected by the length of the sexual relations. This physiological side of his life has allowed me to enjoy the works of Freud on another level, instead of interpreting the work myself I can see and hear his story which allows me to look deeper into his work. 

The nudity of his pieces I don't find pornographic as others do, when I view the pieces I see an artist who loves the form of the body, every aspect and detail of the form along with the colour pigments in the skin. The detail is so defined it almost intimidates me how accurate he has created the expressions and mode of the sitter. The shaping and blends of the colour used have captured beautifully the bone definition and formation on areas such as the eye sockets, nose and upper lip, which are clear favourite aspects of Freud's, on the body. 

I recently participated in a series of life drawing classes, I wasn't able to gather motivation and excitement within these classes, I only wish I had seen this documentary before to see how a great detail of concentration and patients can create a beautiful outcome, in all honest I wish I had seen Freud's work before because I regret to say I had never heard of the wonderful artist until I viewed the documentary. 

I would use Freud's work in my future works and draw areas of his life such as the strong love for painting he has or the intense patience and concentration he gathers when working on a piece. I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary and I would recommend to any student, budding artist, painter or any artistic lover out there to get to BBC iPlayer and watch:

Lucian Freud: Painted Life 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01cdhs5/Lucian_Freud_Painted_Life/