secret 7 - rolling stones 2

I enjoyed making the design for the Rolling Stones song so thought I could try and make a completely different design for it. I wanted to go in a different direction to the abstract image I made before, and do something more literal to the song and do something really simple. 

So I just thought I'd take the song name 'Dead Flowers' and actually illustrate some dead flowers.

I love the simplicity of the clear line work, I feel something this simple can be quite effective if the surrounding negative space is used properly.

Compositionally I just wanted the flowers in a line, to represent the four members in the band, but I wasn't sure what background colour, so did a few tests.

None of them worked that well, I tried inverting the black lines but they are too thin to be that visible. I wanted something more muted, a bit more sombre as the song is about something quite sad - as it mentions a woman's grave, taking heroin and trying to take pain away. 

I think this works a lot better, the muted background colour allows for the the line work to be seen properly. Also having lots of space surrounding the flowers make them seem quite lonely, giving the image a forlorn feel to it. I think this is enough to be finished, I think for an album cover, simplicity can be really effective in standing out on shelves. 

penguin random house design awards - carrie's war

I've decided to give the Penguin book cover competition a go, the choice was between adult fiction, adult non fiction and children's. I went for the children's book cover which was 'Carrie's War' by Nina Bawden. 

I looked at the previous winner's designs for the children's brief, there was quite a wide range of designs, some being more illustrative than others. Some were more focused on the type design and some had illustrations running from the front to the back cover, so there isn't really a set criteria I need to stick to. I quite like the idea of making my back cover an extended design from the front. 

'Carrie's War' is about a girl and her brother who were evacuated to Wales during WW2, the girl Carrie is now, 30 years later, telling her children the stories her and her brother got up to when they were younger. 

Some initial thumbnails:

I think I want to focus on the journey to Wales  for the front cover as the theme of evacuation and the war is a looming theme within the book and the reason for the story in the first place. I wanted to try and make it so the theme of war is included but quite subtly. I thought about creating a landscape with a field of daffodils in the foreground, as that is the national flower of Wales and so hints at the destination of the train. 

I think I want to develop this image, a landscape which has subtle hints of war - as that is how the children would have been living; they are not necessarily surrounded by the war while evacuated in Wales, but are definitely aware of it happening around them. I want to create a contrast with the bright flowers at the foreground but then quite bleak colours further back with the train and war planes, hinting at the time period. 

project proposal

peer evaluation

We had a peer evaluation of the work we have done so far and of our first draft of our project proposal. Here is the feedback I got:

- very clear proposal which has an achievable aim

- I have identified he strong and iconic imagery within the book which will allow for a lot of scope

- the ink pad figures with collage and cut out shapes work really well

- development of imagery onto further products sounds good but should maybe do some more specific research into what other relevant product applications there are to my project

- my contextual references are positively influencing my sketchbook work

- for further inspiration for visual aspects I could research into how the theatre productions of lord of the flies have depicted the story as they might have an interesting take on the visual aesthetic which I haven't considered.

We also did a separate evaluation of our proposal against the module aims:

Knowledge and Understanding - Critical Awareness

- I have looked into the themes surrounding the book and have begun developing imagery accordingly

- I have considered the range in audiences

Knowledge and Understanding - Research

- I have researched into where I can take the imagery from my book illustrations into further products

- I have considered the possibility of 3D illustration in order to make the imagery for the book (making a set to then photograph) and have researched into practitioners who work in that way

Cognitive Skills - Problem Analysis, Problem Solving

- Have considered the context in which the book will be seen and how to make the imagery appropriate for the audience

Practical Skills - Practical and Conceptual Development

- Have started developing imagery relating to themes and motifs in the book

- Considering the possibility of experimenting with 3D work

Practical Skills - Visual Quality and Technical Competence

- I am proposing to make a professional looking book cover and inside illustrations, which will all be packaged, to be my main product

- I then have the possibility of transferring elements of imagery into further related products

Key Transferable Skills - Presentation and Evaluation

- Have already made a good start on visualising imagery, and am considering production methods now so that I can plan my time accordingly (print room drop ins etc. )

more visual development

Some more plant drawings, I want to build up a collection of imagery which I can then try to maybe pull together on photoshop or just have a s reference for future designs. 

I've been doing some more studies of motifs in the book, based on some quotes I have found; there are some mentioning the sea and coral which would be fun to depict:

'the white surf flinked on a coral reef, and beyond that the open sea was dark blue. Within the irregular arc of coral the lagoon was still as a mountain lake—blue of all shades and shadowy green and purple'

'The coral was scribbled in the sea as though a giant had bent down to reproduce the shape of the island in a flowing chalk line but tired before he had finished. Inside was peacock water, rocks and weeds showing as in an aquarium; outside was the dark blue of the sea'

There are such good describing words and colours used to communicate simple scenes which make it so much more exciting to read. I want to achieve this in my illustrations, making settings which may not be that exciting appear as an imaginative, colourful world. 

initial presentation boards (wwf)

We had a first crit for our idea for the collaborative brief, these were our boards

Feedback

- we should have a link to the website on the web banner or some way to gain more information if wanted
- we shouldn't have too much text, let the images be self explanatory
- we should draw more imagery relating to the environment

designs into context (propercorn)

One of the requirements for the brief is that the brand is reached to the audience at their daily touch points, and as they view their audience as an active, always busy group, I felt having the poster on public transport would be necessary as it is a very likely place for them to see it. 

I like how the designs look together; very bright and visually appealing. 

I also anted to try and get the design onto some snack display stands, but I had some trouble with this as I couldn't find a good template of a stand online so had to make do with these:

Although the stand isn't particularly nice, and I haven't applied them very professionally, I think the concept will work well. But I think I might have to make my own stand, possibly on illustrator to get clean lines. 

secret 7 - underworld

I made smaller shadows for the lamps which looks a lot better, especially when paired with the figures and their shadows

I really like the addition of the figures, the lack of detail gives them quite an aimless quality - as if they are just mindlessly wandering the outstretched landscape, it makes it a bit eerie. 

To finish it off I just added a bit of shading in the background to give it some depth. I feel this is ready for submission, I am pleased with how it has turned out, it has progressed into much more of an illustration, which could have a narrative attached, compared to my original idea. 

secret 7 - underworld

I liked the process of creating a landscape in my rolling stones cover, so thought I could do a similar thing for the underworld cover. 

One of my initial ideas was to have a group of figures walking aimlessly across a sparse landscape, possibly with some sort of cactus shapes dotted around

I quite like that sort of composition, but maybe with some street lamps instead of cactuses - as if the urban and desert landscape were intertwining.

I do like this a lot more than my previous design, although it still needs quite a bit of work. The lamps look like they're just hovering so need some shadows to ground them, also maybe some highlights for the lamps to give them a bit more detail. 

I did a few shadow tests but I think the top one works best

 Although they might be a bit thick compared to the thin line work of the lamps, but I quite like the slightly messy quality so I'll try and re-create that - possibly drawing on photoshop?

visual responses (wwf)

After reading WWF's Living Planet Report, we started drawing up some responses, I started looking at endangered animals to draw:

I think the use of loose watercolour and monotone gives quite a sombre feel which is relevant as it would the illustrations would be accompanied by upsetting facts about the animals. Although the colourful depictions conveys them as beautiful creatures, convincing people to help save them. 

finding quotes

I thought the easiest way to start developing imagery for this project would be to read through the book and find some quotes to loosely work from. This book is good for descriptive quotes about the island the boys land on.  One quote I found to initially work from links in well with the leaf studies I've been working on:

'the ground beneath them was a bank covered with coarse grass, torn everywhere by the upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings' 

Ive done a few sketched of grass and palm trees to start with, and tried mixing the ink drawings with cut outs which kind of works, but I think I prefer the whole thing in cut outs. 

I like how the leaves look almost 3D when layered on top of each other, I might try work using 3D cut outs and taking photos to create more of a sense of depth. 

visual journal

One of the reasons I picked Lord of the Flies was because I wanted to draw scenes of nature and play around with different patterns and textures. I didn't know where to start so I set up a Pinterest board to get some inspiration

https://uk.pinterest.com/astridweguelin/lord-of-the-flies-patterns/

I really liked this woodcut pattern

It is such a simple pattern for the plants but the way it is composed with the tall trees at the back, and a large space between them and the two figures in the corner gives the impression of a large forest.

So I started drawing simple plants and figures to get me started

I liked the cut out fire effect, so I made a few pages in my sketchbook of collection of leaves, beach pebbles and shells - which are all motifs in the book. 

I'm not sure yet what I'm doing with these shapes but I've really enjoyed just playing around with the colours and textures, and I feel it will be useful to have a database of shapes I can use later in the project when making final imagery. 

secret 7 - rolling stones

I chose a more muted colour for my desert rocks

I makes it blend in better wit the surroundings, I've also added the rest of the floor to fill up the space between the rocks and trees. And to add depth, I've layered the rocks with different shades behind each other to look like there are more continuing past the first rocks visible. 

I then had an issue of what sky to use as a found a couple which I liked, one being the one I used for my PPP image which worked well for that composition.

But for this I feel the first sky works the best, it doesn't take too much attention and is more harmonious with the rest of the image. 

I didn't know whether the car was really that necessary, so I tried without

I think it is needed, as it makes the image into more of a narrative which can be effective for an album cover - it gives it more of a purpose, as if the image is depicting some sort of journey through this landscape. 

I think the image is pretty much finished, it just needs some tweaking in some areas to make sure it looks more grounded. But I am pleased with how it has turned out and think it does kind of relate to the song through how I responded to listening to it, although it may be a bit abstract. 

more designs (propercorn)

I've started making some new designs based on different flavours of the popcorn. The one I have just done was:

fiery worcester and sun dried tomato

the one I will do now is sweet coconut and vanilla

I want to ficus on the flavours which have visually nice ingredients - like lots of fruit and vegetables which will encourage the idea of the popcorn being a bit healthier and a better option than other snacks. 

I'm a bit dubious about these cut outs, as the pepper and tomato were very colourful and easily recognisable, but coconut and vanilla are a bit less common and not as visually pleasant so I might have to change a few things on this poster.  

I used the same layout as the first poster, but something about the pile of brown shapes doesn't look very appealing, or very much like coconut and vanilla. So I thought about other features of the ingredients, like their flower. I made a vanilla flower out of cut outs.

This is a lot more attractive, and fits with the quite tropical aesthetic on the popcorn packets

I'm still unsure of whether to have flowers at the bottom, as it starts to take attention from the rest of the image. I also added some green leaves for the coconut plant. 

I felt the coconuts didn't look very realistic, so added some little hairs to make them a bit more detailed

I'm pleased with how this is looking, but now that I have added plants at the bottom I think I need to do the same on my other design to make it consistent

I think it adds depth to the design, and encourages the 'natural' flavour aspect of the brand.