Leeds College of Art BA (Hons) ILLUSTRATION OUIL603 Extended Practice
Level
06
Credits 60
STUDIO PRACTICE Statement of Intent Name
Astrid Weguelin
Date
Blog Address a-weguelin1316.blogspot.co.uk
Rationale I wanted to create a strong collection of portfolio work, which communicates the breadth in media and contexts I work in. I wanted the focus to be on book illustration, however by the end of the module my work switched equally between book, educational, and food based illustration. I wanted to create work to a variety of deadlines and prove to my self that I can work quickly, which I definitely did with projects such as secret 7 and the book covers. I wanted to think more about the products as a whole and not jut the illustration – how they are packaged, the context they sit in etc. I also wanted to improve my typography skills this year and how I design a page with text and image, which I worked on a lot on various projects. I wanted the chance to improve on skills I felt were important and essential for an illustration career. Themes / Subjects Book illustration – educational, narrative, children’s books, factual, composition, text layout, packaging, book binding, nature Process – mono printing, lino print, book binding, collage, textures, photomontage, digital collage Presentation – photography, book binding, packaging, good type, mock ups Products / Methods of Distribution
Narrative illustrations Series of book covers Series of album covers Educational illustrations Lino Prints
Practical Skills / Media / Formats
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Mono printing Collage Texture making Shape work Composition development Conceptual development Book binding Digital platforms Type development
Brief 1:
Deadline
Educational pack about Dinosaurs for children (the big brief)
13/5/16
Rationale:
I wanted to produce an illustrated, educational book about dinosaurs for children, teach about their habitats, how they survived, their diets etc. I ended up making an educational pack about dinosaurs which included an illustrated timeline depicting the beginning of life through to the extinction of the dinosaurs, an informational book, info cards, stickers and mocked up activity sheets and an interactive map. I chose the pack over the book because it is more educational than a book would have been as it teaches through activities rather than just reading. The brief enabled me to take complex information and distil it into something children will understand. The timeline was 2 meters long (but folded into a concertina), the book was A5. Brief 2:
Secret 7 (Responsive)
Deadline
2/3/16 (secret 7) 9/3/16 (penguin)
Rationale:
I was making a brief out of a mixture of competition briefs (secret 7 and penguin design award covers) I ended up making the brief only about secret 7 and producing 7 album cover designs because I felt the time I put into these designs was enough for a significant brief. One design was successful in the competition. I used the brief to create a collection of strong portfolio pieces. Brief 3:
Book cover and 3 illustrations for ‘A clockwork orange’ (Responsive)
Deadline
9/3/16 (cover) 13/5/16 (illustrations)
Rationale:
I wanted to enter the Folio Society competition for War Horse and produce a front cover and three inside illustrations. I ended up entering the Penguin design award for A Clockwork Orange because I didn’t start working on War Horse until it was too late, and I wasn’t very interested in the brief. To make the brief more significant I also produced three lino prints responding to quotes within the book. The brief enabled me to explore a new print method, build up my collection of book covers within my portfolio while also create work with more edge to it. Brief 4:
Book cover and animation (Responsive)
Deadline
24/3/16
Rationale:
I wanted to enter a YCN brief. I ended up taking the children’s book cover for the Penguin design award because I felt brief for YCN didn’t mix with my practice and wasn’t something I was interested in, I didn’t feel it would benefit me whereas a book brief is much more relevant to my work. The book was Emil and the Detectives. I produced a full cover and an animated book trailer, promoting a new edition of the book. The brief enabled me to build up my collection of book covers and improve my skills in animation. Brief 5:
Food editorial (Authorial)
Deadline
13/5/16
Rationale:
I wanted to have a brief of sketchbook work, developing my food illustration. I ended up developing the sketchbook work into food editorial to give the brief more context. The brief enabled me to build up a collection of food illustration in my portfolio while also have a range of editorial work. Brief 6: Patterns
I took imagery from other briefs I was working on and developed them into patterns, which I then applied to relevant project. I used the brief to learn how to make a repeat pattern, which will be something I continue to do.
Contextual References Practitioners: Laura Carlin Owen Davey Blexbolex Sarah Maycock Esther Cox Jing Wei Alice Palluto Websites: ‘Design for Today’ ‘Folio Society’ ‘Penguin Books’ ‘It’s Nice That’
RESEARCH ACTIVITY:
Deadline
Read A Clockwork Orange
5/1/16
Details
Read and make note of possible quotes/scenes to work from for inner illustrations – try to have quotes from different sections of the book.
RESEARCH ACTIVITY:
Deadline
Start thumbnailing for secret 7
22/1/16
Details
Listen to all the songs, pick out at least three and come up with multiple ideas for designs RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Deadline
Thumbnail for ‘Emil and the detectives’ and ‘clockwork orange’
5/2/16
Details
Read a plot summary of the book and research into themes and characters within the book
RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Have final designs for some of the secret 7 songs
Deadline
25/1/16
Details
Have at least three designs done for at least one of the songs which are finished and ready to be submitted RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Start researching into dinosaurs
Deadline
29/1/16
Details
Gather photo/book references about dinosaurs and gather clear facts about the different species and start sketching in response to research. Start researching into educational, illustrated children’s books
BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS / TEXTS - (Harvard Refernced)
DAVEY, O. (2015) Mad About Monkeys. London: Flying Eye Books BAILEY, E. (2015) One Day on out Blue Planet: in the Antarctic. London: Flying Eye Books NEWMAN, B. (2013) Professor Astrocat’s Frontiers of Space. London: Flying Eye Books GRILL, W. (2014) Shackleton’s Journey. London: Flying Eye Books BURGESS, A. (1962) A Clockwork Orange. London: Heinemann KASTNER, E. (1929) Emil and the Detectives. London: Red Fox Multiple authors (2012) Behind Illustration. Index Book DUSOULIER, C (2009) I know how to cook. London: Phaidon Press MALE, A (2014) Illustration: meeting the brief. London: Bloomsbury Publishing
MAGAZINES / JOURNALS / ARTICLES – (include publication date and details)
Varoom magazine Wrap magazine Elephant magazine
ON LINE REFERENCES / WEBSITES / ARTICLES (include specific urls)
OTHER REFERENCE MATERIAL (Films, events, exhibitions, conferences)
Natural history museum
ACTION PLAN – use this section to identify specific tasks that you need to complete in order to resolve the brief. Brief What do you need to do? Finish secret 7 designs for ‘worry’ and ‘dream 3’, at least 2 design for each 1
Deadline 10/2/16
Read plot summary and themes for ‘Emil and the detectives’ and start thumbnailing ideas
8/2/16
Have cover for Emil and the detectives finished and ready for submission
23/2/16
26/2/16
4
Read a clockwork orange, also read articles about the book to get clearer idea of themes
11/2/16
5
Start thumbnailing ideas for cover and inside illustrations (have key quotes/scenes I want to depict sorted) Have cover for clockwork orange finished
4/3/16
Start gathering research for big brief
11/2/16
19/2/16
8
Collect articles for food brief, get back into that project – make it more experimental
22/3/16
9
Go to natural history museum for more first hand, observational research over Easter
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3
6
7
10
BA (Hons) Illustration - Level 06 OUIL603 Extended Practice STUDIO PRACTICE
Project Proposals 10 steps to producing persuasive project proposals
1. Set clear aims and objectives 2. Be SMART (Specific , Measurable , Achievable , Realistic , Time Conscious) 3. Use words from your brief 4. Justify the need for your proposal 5. Describe your audience 6. Describe your motivations 7. Consider the reader 8. Eliminate vagueness 9. Visualise the ending 10. Assume nothing