INDEPENDENT PRACTISE AG386 CHLOE YAU L6 ILLUSTRATION
CONTENTS IDEA ARCHEOLOGY PROJECT
INDEPENDENT PROJECT 2
COMMEMORATION PROJECT
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IDEA ARCHEOLOGY PROJECT
PROJECT PROPOSAL: FOLLOWING FROM MY CONTINUED WORK IN PUPPETRY DURING SECOND YEAR, I FOUND A STRONG INTEREST IN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND THE ROLE IT PLAYS IN ITS MANY ITERATIONS THROUGH DESIGN/ILLUSTRATION AND CULTURE. I PLAN TO EXPERIMENT WITH THIS STARTING POINT AND DESIGN A CHARACTER WITH A UNIQUENESS AND NARRATIVE TO PROVIDE A SUITABLE GROUNDING FOR THIS CREATION. TO INSURE THIS, I WILL RESEARCH BOTH WESTERN AND EASTERN CHARACTER DESIGN FROM A MULTITUDE OF SOURCES, WHILE FACTORING IN BOTH AGE APPROPRIATE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT FOR THE INTENDED AUDIENCE (YET TO BE DEFINED). I BELIEVE CHARACTER DESIGN PLAYS A STRONG ROLE IN THE WORLD WE LIVE IN, THEREFORE THE RESEARCH I HAVE SHOULD ENABLE ME TO CREATE BOTH A CONVINCING CHARACTER AND PROVIDE SOME INTERESTING POSSIBILITIES WITH REGARDS TO THE STORY BEHIND IT. I PLAN TO REALISE THE CHARACTER(S) IN BOTH 2D AND 3D WHILST EXPERIMENTING WITH BOTH THE HANDMADE AND THE DIGITAL MEDIUMS. HOWEVER, I DO NOT WISH TO LIMIT MYSELF WITH JUST THESE OUTCOMES SHOULD TIME PERMIT. DIFFERENT PROCESSES OF THE CHOSEN MEDIUM/OUTCOME WILL BE TRIALED AND DOCUMENTED IN ORDER TO GIVE DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES TO HOW THE OUTCOME WILL BE FINALISED.
I REALLY LOVED THE IDEA OF WANTING TO CREATE AN ICONIC CHARACTER THAT IS BOTH LOVABLE AND ADAPTABLE. I WANTED TO CREATE SOMETHING UNIQUE THAT COULD ULTIMATELY BE THE START OF MY CAREER AS AN ILLUSTRATOR/DESIGNER. THEREFORE I THOUGHT THIS PROJECT WOULD BE THE BEST OPPORTUNITY IN ORDER TO FIND MY STYLE AND HOPEFULLY CREATE A CHARACTER THAT LEADS TO AN INTERESTING STORY/NARRATIVE. I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT I REALLY ENJOY CREATING SOMETHING PHYSICAL THEN CREATE A STORY FOR THEM AFTERWARDS. DURING MY SECOND YEAR, I DID A LOT OF SPONTANIOUS CHARACTER BUILDING WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE REALLY WELL PUT TOGETHER FOR THE FINAL OUTCOMES. THEREFORE I WANTED TO START THIS PROJECT BY DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR.
DIT ARMATURE STAND: I WANTED TO BUILD AN ARMATURE STAND FOR THE CHARACTERS I WANT TO CREATE. THIS WAS A VERY TECHNICAL START TO THE PROJECT, BUT I WAS REALLY KEEN IN WANTING TO MAKE THIS STAND WHICH I COULD USE OVER AND OVER. THE GOOD THING ABOUT THIS DIY WAS THAT IT WAS CHEAPER THAN BUYING AN ARMATURE STAND, ALSO THE MECHANICS SHOWED THAT IT COULD BE ADJUSTED ACCORDING TO THE SIZE OF THE SCULPTURE YOU WANTED TO CREATE.
HOWEVER, I SPENT A WEEK TRYING TO PUT THIS THING TOGETHER BUT UNFORTUNATELY I WAS NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT. FINDING THE PARTS TOOK MORE DAYS THAN IT NEEDED AND ASKING TO BORROW TOOLS FROM FRIENDS TOOK EVEN LONGER - ESPECIALLY WHEN CHARGERS FOR THE TOOLS WERE MISSING. THERE WAS A LOT OF SAWING OF METAL INVOLVED WHICH WAS A REAL HASSLE. THEREFORE I HAD TO LEAVE IT BEHIND FOR ANOTHER TIME. EVENTHOUGH THIS STAND WOULD’VE BEEN A LIFE SAVER FOR MANY SITUATIONS WHERE I WANTED TO MAKE A LARGER SCULPTURE, IT DID UNFORTUNATELY WASTED A LOT OF TIME. I KNEW THIS PROJECT WASN’T GOING TO BE MARKED BASED ON THE TECHNICALITY OF THE PROCESS, BUT MORE TO DO WITH THE CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHARACTERS. SO I LEFT IT IN A SAINSBURY’S BAG FOR NOW.
NEVERTHELESS, I STILL WANTED TO MAKE PHYSICAL CHARACTERS. SO I STARTED MAKING ONE OUT OF WIRE AND TINFOIL. WHAT I REALLY ENJOY ABOUT THIS TYPE OF PROCESS IS THAT YOU START OFF WITH A VERY BASIC WIRE SKELETON, ADD THE TINFOIL TO WHATEVER WEIGHT YOU WANT, AND THEN SEE WHERE IT TAKES YOU. SO FOR THIS PARTICULAR SCULPTURE, I CHOSE TO MAKE A CURVY WOMAN YET HER LIMBS ARE ABNORMALLY LONG, WHICH GAVE ME THE IDEA THAT SHE LOOKS LIKE A DOLL FIGURE.
CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE GIF
DESPITE COMPLETING THE BASIC STRUCTURE, I QUICKLY BECAME UNINTERESTED IN ADDING THE CLAY DETAILS AT THAT TIME. I THINK I WAS TOO FIXATED ON THE THOUGHT THAT I COULDN’T COMPLETE IT DUE TO THE STAND I WAS UNABLE TO FINISH, ALSO I THOUGHT THE POSITION OF THE MODEL WAS TOO STATIC WHICH PUSHED ME TO MAKE SOMETHING WITH A MORE INTERESTING POSTURE.
SO I CREATED ANOTHER CHARACTER BUT THIS TIME, HAVING THEIR LEGS CROSSED WITH THEIR HANDS UPRIGHT. AGAIN, I STARTED OFF WITH A BASIC WIRE STRUCTURE THEN ADDING THE TINFOIL BEFORE COVERING IT WITH FIMO AIR DRYING CLAY. I WAS MORE INTERESTED IN THIS SCULPTURE AS I FELT THAT IT GAVE ME A MORE CLEAR IDEA OF WHAT THIS CHARACTER COULD BE.
FINAL OUTCOME:
THE OVERALL LOOK OF THE SCULPTURE COULD BE A LITTLE BETTER. THE CLAY I USED FOR THE BODY WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAD USED THIS TYPE OF MEDIUM. I STRUGGLED WITH MAKING THE CLAY SMOOTH. IT GAVE A REALLY WEIRD TEXTURE TO THE FINISHED PIECE, AS IF THE CLAY WRINKLES WHEN YOU TOUCH IT. HOWEVER I LATER ON USED IT AGAIN AND IT WORKED OUT A LITTLE BETTER. BUT IT DID ULTIMATELY GIVE THIS CHARACTER AN ‘OLD PERSON’ AESETHETIC. I LEFT THE SCULPTURE VERY PLAIN, WITH NO FEATURES THAT COULD DEPICT WHAT GENDER IT IS. I WANTED IT TO BE A STARTING POINT OF WHAT CHARACTERS COULD BE MADE USING THIS TYPE OF POSITION AND STYLE. I CHOSE THE ‘MIDDLE FINGERS UP’ GESTURE AS I THOUGHT IT COULD ADD HUMOUR TO THE CHARACTER. IT BRINGS QUESTIONS UP LIKE, ‘WHY ARE THEY SWEARING? WHAT/WHO MADE THEM MAD? THIS IS THE INITIAL THOUGHT I HAD WITH THIS MODEL.
I SKETCHED OUT A FEW CHARACTERS IN THE SAME POSITION AND CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IT COULD BE A REPRESENTATION OF SAYING ‘F YOU’ TO THOSE WHO SPILL OUT NEGATIVITY IN REGARDS TO BODY IMAGE. BODY IMAGE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THE ONLY THEME THAT THIS POSITION WORKS WELL WITH. DESPITE THIS BEING AN INTERESTING CONCEPT, I FELT LIKE I COULDN’T EXPAND UPON THIS IDEA - OR I DIDN’T KNOW HOW. BUT AT THAT TIME I WASN’T VERY CONFIDENT IN THIS CONCEPT AS IT PUTS CHARACTERS INTO STEREOTYPES AND I WASN’T TOO INTERESTED IN THIS IDEA.
NEW IDEA:
A NEW IDEA I HAD WAS TO ALMOST CREATE A GAME FOR MYSELF - MAKING THE CHARACTERS MORE RANDOM AND THEN USING THAT AS A STARTING POINT FOR A POTENTIAL STORY. I TOOK INSPIRATION FROM SEEING LOTS OF CHARACTER TRAIT LISTS ON GOOGLE IMAGES. THEY SUB-CATEGORISED EACH TRAIT WITH MORE DETAIL OF WHAT THIS POTENTIAL CHARACTER COULD HAVE. THEREFORE I TOOK THE TRAITS I WAS INTERESTED IN AND WROTE EACH DETAIL ONTO A SMALL PIECE OF PAPER. I THEN FOLDED IT UP AND PUT IT IN AN ENVELOPE. THAT WAY I CAN PICK EACH TRAIT BY RANDOM AND PUT IT TOGETHER TO MAKE UP A CHARACTER.
THIS IS MY FIRST CHARACTER DESIGN USING THIS LITTLE GAME. IT WAS FUN AT FIRST, PICKING THE PIECES OF PAPER AND FINDING OUT WHAT CHARACTER YOU HAVE TO MAKE. I DID ENJOY THE NOTION OF THE GAME. IT WAS INTERESTING TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE TO MAKE UP A CHARACTER USING THESE TRAITS ONLY AND YOU CAN END UP WITH SOME INTERESTING OUTCOMES.
SO THIS CHARACTER HAD AN ‘EBONY’ SKINTONE YET SOMEHOW SHE HAD TANLINES. THIS LEAD TO THE QUESTION OF, ‘HOW DID SHE GET THEM?’ TANNING BOOTH INCIDENT? TOO MUCH SUN RAYS? ALTHOUGH IT WAS AN ODD COMBINATION OF TRAITS THAT COULD’VE EXPANDED ONTO SOMETHING ELSE, I FELT LIKE I DIDN’T WANT TO CONTINUE ON WITH THIS CHARACTER. IT DIDN’T INSPIRE ME TO CONTINUE ON WITH HER - THERE WAS ONLY SO MUCH THAT I COULD DO WITH THIS CHARACTER. IT MIGHT OF BEEN THE WAY I ILLUSTRATED HER OR THE WAY THE TRAITS ALIGNED TOGETHER TO CREATE A AESTHETICALLY PLEASING CHARACTER.
HERE IS ANOTHER CHARACTER I ILLUSTRATED BUT DESPISED:
THE TRAITS I PICKED OUT TO MAKE THIS CHARACTER SEEMED A LOT MORE INTERESTING.
THIS IS AN INTERESTING CHARACTER THAT CAME UP AND I ALREADY HAD AN IDEA THAT SHE OWNS A CAT. THE OPTIONS DIDN’T INCLUDE HAVING PETS, BUT WHEN I DREW HER, YOU COULD INSTANTLY TELL THAT SHE’S A CAT PERSON. I WANTED TO DEVELOP THIS CHARACTER’S RELATIONSHIP WITH HER PET AND THEREFORE I EXPANDED ON SKETCHING OUT THE EVIL LOOKING BEAST OF A CAT AND SEE WHERE THIS GOES.
ULTIMATELY, THE WAY I ILLUSTRATED THE CAT MADE HIM LOOK LIKE THE MOST SINISTER CAT THAT EVER LIVED. THEREFORE I SKETCHED OUT THE CAT AND THE OWNER IN VARIOUS SCENARIOS WHERE HE’S BEING A NUSISANCE. IT DEFINITELY GAVE A COMEDIC FEEL WHICH I LIKE IN MY WORK. HOWEVER, IT DIDN’T EXACTLY MEET THE BRIEF I CREATED FOR MYSELF, AND THAT WAS TO CREATE AN ICONIC CHARACTER THAT I COULD USE FOR A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT FORMATS AND PLATFORMS. I FELT THAT AN ANGRY CAT DIDN’T HAVE A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT IN TERMS OF HIS LOOKS AND PERSONA. THEREFORE I ABANDONED THIS IDEA VERY QUICKLY AND MOVED ON TO SKETCHING OUT OTHER IDEAS.
I CAME UP WITH ANOTHER IDEA OF TURNING AN INANIMATE OBJECT AND PERHAPS TURNING IT INTO A LIVING THING. BUT I REALISED VERY QUICKLY THAT THIS IDEA HAS BEEN REGURGITATED EVERYWHERE SO I DIDN’T WANT TO CREATE SOMETHING BASED ON THAT.
ANOTHER IDEA:
THESE SKETCHES WERE A BIT RANDOM TO SAY THE LEAST. I DID HOWEVER HAD A HUMOROUS TIME DRAWING THEM AND GOT A FEW GIGGLES OUT OF IT. I DIDN’T REALLY KNOW WHY I DREW THEM. I THINK IT WAS JUST A ‘OUT OF THE ORDINARY’ TOPIC I WANTED TO EXPLORE. BUT LOOKING BACK, I THINK IT CAME FROM A PREVIOUS PROJECT I DID DURING SECOND YEAR WHERE IT INVOLVED A WIFE SEEKING REVENGE ON HER HUSBAND FOR CHEATING ON HER AT A STRIP CLUB. AND THESE ARE THE POTENTIAL STRIP CLUB EMPLOYEES?
PHOTOS OF THE STRIPPER IN PREVIOUS PROJECT:
I THOUGHT BY GOING BACK ON THAT PROJECT (WHICH I ENJOYED A LOT CREATING), I COULD RECREATE ONE OF THE STRIPPER CHARACTERS AND THEY COULD BE THE START OF SOMETHING NEW. I DECIDED TO USE ‘BERNICE THE STRIPPER’ AS I REALLY LIKE THE AESTHETIC OF HER AND THE PERSONA SHE HAS. I FIRST SKETCHED OUT SOME RANDOM STRIPPER POLE POSITIONS WITH HER AND THOUGHT IT COULD ADD TO A COMEDIC NARRATIVE. I QUITE LIKED HOW THE ROUGH SKETCHES TURNED OUT AS WELL. IT WAS VERY QUICK TO DRAW HER AS THE FACIAL FEATURES WERE QUITE DISTINGUISHABLE AND I DIDN’T HAVE TO ADD TOO MUCH DETAIL.
I FURTHER WENT ON TO CREATE A BACKGROUND STORY FOR BERNICE. BY CREATING A NARRATIVE FOR THIS CHARACTER, I BELIEVED THAT THIS WAS THE WAY THAT A STILL IMAGE OF A SKETCH WILL COME TO LIFE AND THE AUDIENEC WOULD BE ENTERTAINED BY THIS CHARACTER. I SKETCHED OUT A LITTLE COMIC STRIP OF HER STORY. BUT I LATER REFLECTED BACK ON IT AND IT SEEMED A LITTLE CLICHE. THERE WASN’T ENOUGH DRAMA HAPPENING AND I WANTED TO CREATE SOMETHING EXCITING AND ABNORMAL. BUT I WAS UNFORTUNATELY NOT INSPIRED BY THIS CHARACTER.
I ENDED UP COMPLETELY DISREGARDING THIS CONCEPT AS I WASN’T COMFORTABLE WITH USING A CHARACTER I ALREADY MADE. I WASN’T EVEN THAT INTERESTED IN STRIPPERS. RESEARCHING ABOUT IT AND TRYING TO FIND WEIRD AND WONDERFUL CONCEPTS FOR IT FELT LIKE A CHORE AND WAS NOT SOMETHING I WANTED TO DO. SO YET AGAIN I ABANDONED THIS IDEA.
I FELL INTO THIS SELF PITY PIT. I FELT UNACCOMPLISHED WITH WHAT I CREATED SO FAR AND IT REALLY STRESSED ME OUT. I FELT I WAS BEING TOO STRICT WITH MYSELF IN REGARDS TO FINDING THIS AMAZING CHARACTER THAT COULD POTENTIALLY USE FOR THE REST OF MY CAREER - A CHARACTER THAT INSPIRES OTHERS AS WELL AS MYSELF. BUT HAVING THAT MINDSET REALLY PUT ME UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE. I STARTED DRAWING TRASH FOR THE SAKE OF IT. TRYING TO FIND THAT SPEC OF INSPIRATION FROM THE LINES I DREW ON PAPER. NO MATTER HOW MANY IDEAS/ TRIES I HAD, IT DID NOTHING TO BOOST MY ESTEEM OF WANTING TO CREATE.
REFLECTING BACK ON WHAT I’VE DONE SO FAR, I REALISED THAT I DIDN’T ENJOY CREATING WITH PEN AND PAPER. I FELT THAT SKETCHING IDEAS DIDN’T ENCOURAGE ME TO PROCEED IN DEVELOPING SOMETHING INTO A FINAL PIECE. INSTEAD, I WENT BACK TO SQUARE ONE - AND THAT WAS TO MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF CLAY. IT COULD BE ANYTHING. I HAD NO CONCEPT IN MY HEAD BEFORE I STARTED. I JUST TOOK THE MATERIALS I NEEDED AND STARTED BUILDING. FOR THIS EXERCISE, I FELT A LOT MORE COMFORTABLE, I WAS ENGAGING MORE IN THE IDEA THAT THIS LUMP OF CLAY COULD BE MY POTENTIAL CHARACTER. HOWEVER I DECIDED THAT I DIDN’T WANT TO CREATE ‘THE’ PERFECT CHARACTER. INSTEAD, I WANTED TO CREATE ANY CHARACTER. DEVELOP ITS STORY AND LEAVE IT AT THAT. I WAS PLANNING ON MAKING AS MANY AS POSSIBLE AND MAYBE MAKE IT INTO A WHOLE COLLECTION. AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT, I NEEDED TO START MAKING.
FOR THIS MINI SCULPTURE, I KNEW I WANTED TO DWELL INTO THE ‘CUTESY BUT GROTESQUE’ AESTHETIC. I DECIDED ON A LARGE HEAD AND A TINY, STUMPY BODY. I USED VERY SIMPLE SHAPES FOR ITS BODY AS I WAS MORE CONCERNED WITH IT STANDING UPRIGHT RATHER THAN ITS APPEARANCE. ALTHOUGH, ONCE IT WAS FINISHED, I DECIDED TO ADD A LITTLE TOP HAT AS ITS HEAD LOOKED A LITTLE BARE. I CHOSE NOT TO PAINT IT OR ADD A FACE AS I WANTED THIS SCULPTURE TO BE A STARTING POINT FOR A FUTURE CHARACTER. IF THERE WAS A FACE ON THE SCULPTURE, IT WOULD PROBABLY CHANGE THE WAY I VIEW THE CHARACTER.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE GIF OF THE SCULPTURE
HERE ARE THE SKETCHES I DID FOR THIS CHARACTER. I DECIDED ON WANTING IT TO HAVE A BLANK EXPRESSION UNLESS IT WAS PROVOKED IN SOME WAY. IT KIND OF GIVES ME ‘HELLO KITTY’ VIBES WITH ITS LACK OF MOUTH. I DIDN’T WANT TO INCLUDE A MOUTH AS IT ADDS TOO MUCH EXPRESSION IN ITS FACE. I WANTED IT TO HAVE A MYSTERIOUS LOOK - I DIDN’T WANT TO THE AUDIENCE TO KNOW WHAT THE CHARACTER IS THINKING. HOWEVER I DID DRAW THE SCULPTURE WITH A MORE EXTREME EXPRESSION AND JAGGED TEETH AND IT WORKED QUITE WELL. THEREFORE I WANTED THAT TO BE THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE TO WHAT IT NORMALLY LOOKS LIKE WHEN IT’S FEELING NEUTRAL. I THOUGHT THAT MAKING THIS CHARACTER TO BE INSANELY EMOTIONAL COULD BACK UP THE WEIRD AND TERRIFYING FACIAL EXPRESSIONS. THE LITTLE HEART ON THE CHEST COULD INSINUATE THE EMOTIONS THE CHARACTER IS FEELING. PERHAPS THE HAT COULD HIDE SOMETHING DARK THAT COULD BE THE REASON WHY THIS LITTLE CREATURE IS SO EXTREME.
WEIRDLY, I THINK THIS CHARACTER MAY BE A RESPONSE FROM HOW I FELT DURING THIS PROJECT. I KEPT A BLANK EXPRESSION THROUGHOUT THE DURATION FOR MOST OF THE BRIEF UNTIL I PUSHED MYSELF TOO MUCH AND IT SPIRALLED OUT OF CONTROL. I FELT LIKE THE TERRIFYING SKETCH I DREW ABOVE, UNABLE TO RATIONALLY THINK ABOUT THE PLANS AHEAD AND JUST LASHED OUT ON EVERYTHING (A LOT OF AGGRESSIVE SCRIBBLING WAS INVOLVED).
I THEN WENT ON TO CREATE ANOTHER CHARACTER. THIS TIME I ADDED TENTACLES TO THE BODY TO REPLACE LEGS. AGAIN, I DID FOCUS ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE SCULPTURE RATHER THAN THE APPEARANCE AND I THOUGHT THAT THE TENTACLES WOULD MAKE A GOOD BASE STRUCTURE FOR THE CHARACTER. BUT THE STYLE OF THIS SCULPTURE IS SIMILAR TO THE PREVIOUS ONE I’VE DONE.
UNFORTUNATELY I DIDN’T CONTINUE FURTHER WITH THIS PROJECT AS I GOT CAUGHT UP WITH THE NEXT BRIEE. HOWEVER, I WILL DEFINITELY CONTINUE WITH THIS PROJECT IN THE NEAR FUTURE IN ORDER TO ANSWER MY PROPOSAL BRIEF OF WANTING TO CREATE AN ICONIC CHARACTER.
FINAL IMAGES
SELF-REFLECTION: OVERALL, I’VE LEARNT THAT I MADE MY BRIEF WAY TOO VAGUE AND THAT RESULTED IN A LOT OF UNFINISHED IDEAS AND A HUGE AMOUNT OF STRESS. I FELT THAT I WAS SO CAUGHT UP IN WANTING TO PRODUCE SOMETHING AND FAST, THAT IT LEAD ME TO FEEL UNMOTIVATED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRETY OF THE PROJECT. I BEGAN MAKING CHARACTERS FOR THE SAKE OF FILLING UP THE SKETCHBOOK. I FOUND THAT THE CHARACTERS I MADE WERE PERHAPS TOO DETAILED AND ‘LIFE-LIKE’ FOR WHAT I WANTED. THE TROUBLE WITH CREATING A HUMAN IS THAT IT IS WAY TOO COMPLEX. FROM THE TRAITS TO THEIR ROLE IN LIFE, IT FELT LIKE THERE WAS TOO MUCH INFORMATION TO ROLL INTO ONE CHARACTER AND THAT CAUSED ME TO NOT BE INSPIRED ANYMORE. HOWEVER, WHEN I STARTED TO MAKE THE LITTLE SCUPLTURES TOWARDS THE END OF THE PROJECT, I FELT THAT THE INSPIRATION AND MOTIVATION WAS BACK. IT WAS A LOT MORE CAREFREE AND RANDOM AS I DIDN’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE ANATOMY OF THE CHARACTER. I DON’T KNOW IF I WANT TO CONTINUE WITH THE SCULPTURES, OR MAKE SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT I WANT TO COME BACK TO THIS PROJECT AND CONTINUE FINDING MY STYLE AND CHARACTER(S).
INDEPENDENT PROJECT TWO
PROCESS 1:
I WANTED TO CONTINUE ON FROM THE PREVIOUS PROJECT BY TAKING A DIFFERENT ROUTE IN CREATING CHARACTERS, I CHOSE TO USE PLASTICINE AS IT IS EASY TO MANIPULATE AND I DIDN’T NEED IT TO BE PERFECT. THE AIM FOR THIS STARTING PROCESS WAS TO QUICKLY MAKE LITTLE CHARACTERS THAT CAME UP IN MY HEAD. AND BECAUSE PLASTICINE WAS EASY TO USE, ADDING ADDITIONAL DETAILS WAS NOT DIFFICULT. MY INITIAL IDEA WAS TO MAKE QUICK FIGURES AND HOPEFULLY THAT COULD START A DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW WORLD AND NEW CHARACTERS.
SKETCHES TO FIND A WAY OF TURNING THESE FIGURINES INTO SOMETHING MORE
PROCESS 2: I THEN WENT ON TO MAKE THESE FIGURES. THEY ARE MORE SIMPLIFIED AND PORTRAY A BETTER SERIES DUE TO THEIR SIMILARITIES WITH EACH OTHER. AFTER SHOWING THESE IMAGES IN A TUTORIAL, IT WAS RECCOMENDED TO ME THAT I SHOULD PLAY AROUND WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHY AND PERHAPS USE A DIFFERENT
COLOURED BACKGROUND (SKY BLUE) IN ORDER FOR THE FIGURES TO CONTRAST.
PROCESS 2.1: THE PHOTO SERIES WORKED REALLY WELL, ESPECIALLY THE STARK CONTRAST BETWEEN THE ORANGE PLASTICINE AND THE BRIGHT BLUE BACKGROUND.
PROCESS 2.3:
I THOUGHT I COULD DEVELOP THE PHOTOS FURTHER BY ADDING TEXT TO THEM. I CREATED TEXT OUT OF RED PLASTICINE AND THEN ATTEMPTED TO ADD IT TO THE PHOTOGRAPH, THE NAME ‘PEBBLE PEOPLE’ CAME FROM THE THOUGHT THAT THEIR HEADS RESEMBLED PEBBLES. I DIDN’T EXPERIMENT WITH THIS IDEA TOO MUCH AS I REALLY STRUGGLED HAVING THE MOTIVATION TO EXPERIMENT AND EDIT ON PHOTOSHOP.
PROCESS 3:
WITH THE NAME ‘PEBBLE PEOPLE’ IN MIND, I THOUGHT IT COULD BE AN INTERESTING IDEA TO PHOTOGRAPH THE CHARACTERS AT BRIGHTON BEACH. THE PHOTOS CAME OUT REALLY WELL AND I LIKED THE IDEA THAT THEY WERE PUT IN THE REAL WORLD IN ORDER TO SIMULATE THEM AS BEING A PART OF REALITY.
PROCESS 4: ADMITTEDLY AT THIS POINT, I WAS STUCK WITH THIS PROJECT WITH CHARACTERS THAT SEEMD BLAND AND HAD NO INTENTIONS OF GOING FURTHER. HOWEVER, WHILST BEING BACK HOME IN OXFORDSHIRE, I STUMBLED ACROSS MARKETS AND WAS REALLY INSPIRED BY THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE AS WELL AS THE BRIGHT COLOURS OF MARKET STALLS AND THE PRODUCE. THIS THEN GAVE ME THE INSPIRATION TO GIVE THESE LITTLE CHARACTERS SOME PURPOSE. I HAD THE IDEA OF PERHAPS CREATING AN ORANGE WORLD WITH THE PEBBLE PEOPLE AND CREATE A STORY THAT COULD INSINUATE THAT COLOUR WILL BE BROUGHT TO THEIR WORLD. HOWEVER, I DID NOT GO WITH THIS IDEA AS I WANTED TO CREATE A SET WITH A VARIETY OF COLOUR INSTEAD.
RESEARCH: GLOUCESTER GREEN MARKET - OXFORD
COVERED MARKET - OXFORD
THE OPEN MARKET - BRIGHTON I ALSO TOOK SOME PHOTOS AT THE OPEN MARKET AS WELL AS RECORDING SOUNDS OF THE MILD HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF THE CITY’S MARKET PLACE.
PROCESS 4.1: DUMMY MARKET STALLS:
I DECIDED TO MAKE A MINIATURE MARKET WITH STALLS SELLING A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PRODUCE. DURING A CRIT WITH THIS PROJECT, AN IDEA WAS BROUGHT THAT THE PRODUCE COULD BE SUGGESTIVE RATHER THAN MAKING EACH THING OUT OF FIMO CLAY OR SOMETHING. THE IDEA WAS THAT THE TEXTURE WOULD CONVEY THAT THE MARKETS ARE STOCKED UP. HOWEVER, I HAD SO MUCH FUN MAKING LITTLE TISSUE PAPER OBJECTS THAT THEY TURNED OUT TO MIMIC REAL FOOD. IT MADE THE MARKET STALLS EVEN MORE ADORABLE.
THE MARKET STALLS:
DIFFERENT VARIATION OF MARKET STALL
THE CHARACTERS:
HERE ARE SOME SKETCHES OF THE CHARACTERS I WAS THINKING OF MAKING TO ACCOMMODATE THE MARKET STALLS.
CLAY CHARACTERS:
THESE 5 CHARACTERS WERE MADE OUT OF FIMO AIR-DRYING CLAY. IT WAS FAIRLY TIME-CONSUMING TO USE DUE TO ITS TENDENCY TO CRACK AND FALL APART. SO I SPENT A LOT OF TIME TRYING TO MEND THEM FOR THEM TO BE FREE-STANDING. THEREFORE THEY UNFORTUNATELY DON’T HAVE ANY COLOUR. IT IS A SHAME THAT I DID NOT MAKE THE TIME TO COMPLETE THIS TASK, ADMITTEDLY, AT THIS POINT, I WANTED TO INVEST MY ENERGY INTO THE OTHER PROJECTS THAT I FELT MORE POSITIVE TOWARDS,
FINAL PROCESS: MY INITIAL IDEA WAS TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE MARKET STALLS AND CHARACTERS TO CAPTURE THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THEM, MAKE A VIDEO WITH THE IMAGES AND ADD THE SOUNDS I CAPTURED WHILST BEING AT THE OPEN MARKET ON TOP. MY ORIGINAL IDEA WAS TO USE THE GARDEN PATIO AS A BACKGROUND TO CAPTURE THE REAL WORLD WITH THE MINIATURE ONE I CREATED, HOWEVER IT LOOKED A LOT BETTER WITH THE BLUE BACKGROUND I USED PREVIOUSLY IN THE PROJECT, THE FAKE GRASS IS ACTUALLY A TABLE RUNNER FROM ‘TIGER’. A VERY CONVENIENT FIND!
I LOVED HOW MY PLASTICINE PEOPLE LOOKED IN THE SHOEBOX.
A FEW OF THE FINAL SHOTS:
I REALLY DID NOT LIKE THESE FINAL SHOTS, ESPECIALLY AS I WAS TAKING THEM, I FELT THAT THEY WERE TOO CLAUSTROPHOBIC (IRONIC AS BUSY MARKETS ARE CROWDED) BECAUSE OF THE ANGLES. THE BLUE BACKGROUND WAS TOO SHORT TO HAVE ALL THE MARKET STALLS IN ONE SCENE AND THEREFORE I HAD TO CUT OUT A LOT OF THE BACKROUND SO THAT IT DIDN’T SHOW OUTSIDE THE SET. NOT ONLY THIS BUT I AM ALSO NOT A VERY CONFIDENT PHOTOGRAPHER SO THE FOCUS ON MOST OF THE SHOTS WERE OF POOR QUALITY AND I FELT IT DIDN’T ADD ANY DIMENSION TO IT.
AN OUTCOME: CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE THE VIDEO!
FOR THIS PARTICULAR OUTCOME, I PRODUCED A SHORT VIDEO OF A TIME-LAPSE OF ME SETTING UP THE SCENE AND TAKING IT DOWN. I THEN ADDED THE SOUNDS I CAPTURED AT THE MARKET AS WELL AS KEEPING THE SOUNDS OF THE SHORT VIDEOS I MADE. THIS HAPPY ACCIDENT WAS CAUSED BY ME ACCIDENTALLY RECORDING MYSELF PUTTING AWAY THE SET AFTER AN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT AT PHOTOGRAPHING. SO, AFTER I SAW THE FOOTAGE ON MY CAMERA, I IMMEDIATELY HAD A LIGHT-BULB MOMENT AND WENT BACK TO SET UP TO DO THE SAME THING AGAIN, I THOUGHT THAT BY COMBINING ALL THE LOOSE ELEMENTS OF THIS PROJECT TOGETHER INTO A SHORT VIDEO, I WOULD HAVE A FINISHED OUTCOME. HOWEVER, THIS WAS NOT THE CASE AS I FELT THAT THIS PROJECT LACKED ANY MEANING AND COMMUNICATION,
UPDATE: AFTER HAVING THE FORMATIVE REVIEW, A CRITIQUE WAS MADE ABOUT THIS PROJECT STATING THAT THE OUTCOME WASN’T VERY STRONG AND LACKED COMMUNICATION. THEY ADVISED THAT I FOCUS ON THE TYPE DESIGN I CREATED PREVIOUSLY AND MAYBE PLAY AROUND WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHY. THE PHOTOGRAPHY I DID OF THE BLUE BACKGROUND AND THE BEACH WERE MORE VISUALLY INTERESTING COMPARED TO THE MARKET IDEA I HAD. THEREFORE I WILL BE GOING BACK TO THIS PROJECT AND CREATE A NEW OUTCOME.
NEW IDEA:
I HAD THIS IDEA OF CREATING A SHORT INTRODUCTION TO A POTENTIAL CHLDREN’S ANIMATED TV SERIES. THE STORY CONSISTS OF A GROUP OF PEBBLE PEOPLE WHO STUMBLES UPON A PORTAL IN THEIR WORLD. OUT OF CURIOSITY, THEY DECIDED TO GO IN. THE PORTAL TAKES THEM TO A NEW LAND (AKA, BRIGHTON BEACH, ENGLAND, EART) AND THATS WHEN THEIR ADVENTURES OF EXPLORING START. I THOUGHT I WOULD COMBINE THE PHOTOGRAPHY I HAD TAKEN PREVIOUSLY IN THIS PROJECT AND USE THE IDEA TO MY ADVANTAGE.
INSPIRATION: I LOVE THE OPENING SEQUENCE TO THE CHILDREN’S ANIMATED TV SERIES, ‘THE TRAP DOOR’. IT WAS AIRED FROM 1984 AND IT REVOLVES AROUND THE DAILY LIVES OF MONSTERS LIVING IN A CASTLE WITH A MYSTERIOUS TRAP DOOR. ALTHOUGH I’VE ONLY SEEN THE INTRO AND A COUPLE OF EPISODES, I LOVED THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE MOTION ANIMATION AND THE HAND DRAWN BACKGROUND.
CLICK THE PICTURE TO SEE THE INTRO! I THOUGHT I COULD UTILISE THE IDEA OF COMBINING HAND DRAWN ELEMENTS TO A STOP MOTION ANIMATION. HOWEVER, AFTER MUCH CONSIDERATION, I HAD TO ABANDON THIS IDEA DUE TO THE LIMITED TIME I GAVE MYSELF FOR THIS PROJECT. I DO STILL LIKE THE IDEA OF CREATING A STOP MOTION ANIMATION BUT PERHAPS SIMPLIFYING IT,
TYPE DESIGN FOR TITLE: I REDID ‘THE PEBBLE PEOPLE’ TYPEFACE IN THE RED PLASTICINE AND ALSO REMADE THE CHARACTERS IN ORANGE TO GIVE IT A FRESH NEW START.
I DECIDED TO REMAKE THE TITLE IN DIFFERENT COLOURED FIMO CLAY AS WELL. I WANTED TO SEE IF A BRIGHTER TYPEFACE WOULD LOOK BETTER ALONGSIDE THE PEBBLE PEOPLE CHARACTERS. THE FIMO TITLES LOOKED REALLY GOOD IN FIMO AND IT WAS A LOT EASIER TO HANDLE AND MANIPUATE.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE COLOUR OF THE PLASTICINE DID NOT MATCH THE INTENSE COLOUR OF THE FIMO. I WOULD’VE RECREATE THE PEBBLE PEOPLE IN FIMO IF I HAD THE MATERIALS TO HAND. HOWEVER, THE ORGINAL PEBBLE PEOPLE WERE MADE OF PLASTICINE AND THE MATERIAL ITESELF WAS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT FOR THE STOP MOTION ANIMATION.
GIFS: DESPITE THE FIMO AND PLASTICINE NOT WORKING, I MADE SHORT GIFS OF THE FIMO TITLES ON TOP OF A COLOURED BACKGROUND. I REALLY LOVED THE STARK CONTRAST OF ALL THE COLOURS AND I FELT THAT IT WAS A SHAME I COULDN’T USE IT IN MY FINAL OUTCOME. HOWEVER, THE GIFS WORK REALLY WELL TO SHOWCASE THE TYPEFACE IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT COLOURS AND MATERIAL.
CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO SEE A VIDEO OF THE GIF
I MADE TWO SEPARATE TITLE SEQUENCES FEATURING THE PLASTICINE TYPE FOR THE ANIMATION. I WAS GOING TO COMBINE THEM TOGETHER BUT THE TECHNICALOGICAL PROCESS BECAME VERY TIME CONSUMING. THEREFORE I TURNED THE TWO SEQUENCES INTO GIFS. THEY WORK REALLY WELL AS A REPETITIVE IMAGE. CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO SEE A VIDEO OF THE GIF
SIMPLE TITLE SEQUENCE
SPINNING TITLE SEQUENCE
I ORIGINALLY WANTED TO MAKE A STOP MOTION ANIMATION OF THE TITLE APPEARING AND THEN THE PEBBLE PEOPLE INTERACTING WITH EACH OTHER. HOWEVER, WHEN I TOOK THE PHOTOS FOR THE TITLE INTRO, THE TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESS STRAINED MY MAC AND I WAS UNABLE TO EDIT AND PRODUCE THE OUTCOME I ORGINALLY WANTED. I ALSO WAS UNABLE TO PHOTOGRAPH AT THE BEACH DUE TO BAD WEATHER CONDITIONS AT THE TIME. THE TYPEFACE WOULD ALSO BE ONE OF THE MAIN FOCUSES OF THE PROJECT AS IT IS MY STRONGEST OUTCOME SO FAR.
SCREENSHOT OF THE FOLDER THAT CONTAINS A POTENTIAL STOP MOTION ANIMATION. THE IDEA WAS THAT THE LETTERS WOULD SLIDE FROM THE CORNERS AND MAKE UP THE TITLE.
NEW PLAN: SO AFTER A TUTORIAL WITH ONE OF THE TUTORS, WE HAD AN IDEA OF COMBINING THE TYPEFACE WITH STILL IMAGES OF THE CHARACTERS. THIS WAY, IT WOULDN’T BE AN ANIMATION BUT THE STORYLINE IS STILL IN MOTION,
NEW STORYBOARD AND SCRIPT: AFTER HAVING A TUTORIAL WITH ONE OF THE TUTORS, WE HAD AN IDEA OF COMBINING THE TYPEFACE WITH STILL IMAGES OF THE CHARACTERS. THIS WAY, IT WOULDN’T BE AN ANIMATION BUT THE STORYLINE IS STILL IN MOTION, THE PLAN IS TO HAVE A SEQUENCE OF IMAGES THAT WILL BE PUT TOGETHER IN A VIDEO. THE TYPE WILL DEPICT A CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE PEBBLE PEOPLE AND ALSO PASSAGES IN TIME. BELOW IS THE BASIC PLOT AND ROUGH SCRIPT OF WHAT I WANT SAID IN THE SHORT VIDEO. IT ALSO GIVES ME A CLEAR IDEA OF WHAT LETTERS TO MAKE OUT OF PLASTICINE.
TYPE DESIGN FOR NARRATIVE: TO CREATE THE NARRATIVE FOR THE STORY, I CREATED INDIVIDUAL LETTERS TO MAKE UP THE WORDS IN THE SCRIPT. OBVIOUSLY I WOULD REUSE THE LETTERS IF NEED BE. MY PLAN WAS TO PLACE THE WORDS TO MAKE UP THE SENTENCE ON TOP OF AN IMAGE. THEREFORE I HAD TO TAKE A PHOTO OF EACH INDIVIDUAL WORD SO THAT I WAS ABLE TO PLACE THEM WHEREVER I WANT. HERE ARE A FEW WORDS I’VE TAKEN A PHOTO OF:
I USED WHITE CARD AS THE BACKGROUND FOR THE PHOTOS AND TOOK THEM ONE WORD AT A TIME. AFTER THAT, I EDITED OUT THE BACKGROUND ON PHOTOSHOP AND SAVED THEM AS A PNG FILE SO THAT I WAS ABLE TO EDIT IN THE TYPE DIRECTLY ONTO THE IMAGE.
ALTHOUGH THE EDGES OF THE TYPE ISN’T PERFECT, I THOUGHT IT STILL LOOKED REALLY GOOD EDITED ONTO THE IMAGE. THE PLASTICINE ADDS MORE DIMENSION AND TEXTURE TO THE OVERALL OUTCOME, ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO IF IT WERE A PLAIN TYPEFACE.
PLAYING WITH FIMO LETTERS: EVENTHOUGH I WAS UNABLE TO USE THE FIMO LETTERS IN THE FINAL OUTCOME, I WANTED TO PLAY AROUND WITH THEM AS I AM OBSESSED WITH THE AESTHETIC. I PLAYED AROUND WITH LAYOUT OF THE LETTERS AS WELL AS VIDEO RECORDING EFFECTS SUCH AS THE BOOMERANG OPTION ON INSTAGRAM AND SLOW MOTION.
VIDEOS OF FIMO LETTERS: CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO SEE THE GIF IN ACTION
THROWING THEM LETTERS
SLOW MOTION
BOOMERANG
I LOVED HOW THESE SHORT VIDEOS TURNED OUT, DESPITE THE QUALITY. I WOULD LOVE TO PLAY AROUND WITH THESE MORE AND PERHAPS IT COULD BE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE TYPEFACE.
PROPS: I CHOSE TO HAVE PHYSICAL LITTLE PROPS IN THE FINAL OUTCOME SO THAT IT EMPHASISES THE STORY LINE A BIT MORE. THE PORTAL IS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THE VISUAL NARRATIVE HOWEVER, I WANTED THE PEBBLE PEOPLE TO BE DOING SOMETHING DURING THE BEGINNING OF THE VIDEO.
MY INITIAL THOUGHT WAS TO HAVE THEM DOING SOMETHING VERY TAME AND SUITABLE FOR A YOUNG AUDIENCE. HOWEVER, I DECIDED TO ADD A LITTLE TWIST TO THE STORY BY HAVING A BOOMBOX BLASTING OUT DEATH METAL. THE JUXTAPOSING BETWEEN THE MUSIC AND THEIR PICNIC EVENT ADDS THAT COMEDIC VALUE TO THE OUTCOME.
STORYBOARD PHOTOS CONTACT SHEET:
SET:
I ORIGINALLY USED A TRIPOD AND MY CAMERA TO TAKE PHOTOS OF THE PEBBLE PEOPLE. HOWEVER, I FOUND IT REALLY DIFFICULT TO USE AND THE QUALITY OF THE IMAGES WERE REALLY BAD. SO I USED MY IPHONE CAMERA INSTEAD AND THE QUALITY AND COLOUR WAS A LOT BETTER THAN THE ACTUAL CAMERA. I DIDN’T BOTHER USING A TRIPOD AS I WANTED TO TAKE CLOSE UP SHOTS. HOWEVER, THERE HAS BEEN A STRUGGLE WITH THE NATURAL LIGHTING AS IT CHANGED THE SHADE OF BLUE IN THE BACKGROUND VERY SUDDENLY. SO I HAD TO TRY MY BEST TO EDIT EACH PHOTO TO BE VERY SIMILAR TO ONE ANOTHER. OVERALL, THE QUALITY OF THE PHOTOS ARE STRONG. THE VISUALS ARE VERY APPEALING DUE TO THE BRIGHT CONTRASTING COLOURS.
RANDOM GIF: I TOOK TWO PHOTOS OF THESE CHARACTERS AND I COULDN’T HELP BUT TURN IT INTO A GIF.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE THE GIF IN ACTION
EDITING THE FINAL IMAGES:
I WANTED THE CONVERSATION TEXT TO BE SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE CHARACTER AS I WANTED A CLEAR INDICATION OF WHO IS TALKING. I LIKED THE CONCEPT OF A SPEECH BUBBLE, HOWEVER, I FELT THAT IT WASN’T VERY CLEAR AND READABLE IF IT WAS PLACED DIRECTLY ON THE IMAGE.
I PLACED A WHITE TRANSULSCENT BOX BEHIND THE TEXT TO MAKE IT STAND OUT MORE. IT WORKED REALLY WELL. BUT MY NEW ISSUE WAS WHERE TO PLACE THE TEXT BOX. I TRIED THREE DIFFERENT WAYS OF PLACING IT BUT NEITHER WORKED DUE TO THE NEGATIVE SPACE IT GAVE. I WAS SO SET ON THE IDEA THAT THE TEXT NEEDED TO BE BY THE CHARACTER, SO THE EDITING PROCESS TOOK A LOT LONGER THAN INTENDED. I FINALLY SETTLED ON HAVING THE TEXT PLACEMENT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE IMAGE AND EMPHASISED ON THE IMAGE SHOWING WHO WAS TALKING.
FINAL EDITED IMAGES:
FINAL OUTCOME
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE THE VIDEO
POSTER:
I THOUGHT A MATCHING POSTER WOULD TIE IN WELL WITH THE OPENING SEQUENCE.
SELF-REFLECTION I BELIEVE THAT I HAD VASTLY IMPROVED FROM THE LAST INDEPENDENT PROJECT. I HAD A CLEARER STARTING POINT AT THE BEGINNING WHICH I THOUGHT WOULD ULTIMATELY END IN A STRONG OUTCOME. HOWEVER, I AGAIN LACKED THE CONFIDENCE AND MOTIVATION TO CONTINUE WITH THIS PROJECT, I FELT THAT I WAS STUCK WITH THE CHARACTERS I CREATED AND THEREFORE WAS FORCED TO CREATE A FINAL OUTCOME THAT I DIDN’T LIKE. THE MARKET STALL IDEA WAS A HUGE LEAP INTO THE WRONG DIRECTION. ALL I THOUGHT ABOUT THEN WAS THAT I NEEDED A NARRATIVE - A STORYLINE, WHICH LED TO ME TAKING INSPIRATION FROM SOMETHING I AM NOT PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN. HOWEVER, THE FEEDBACK I GOT FROM THE FORMATIVE REVIEW REALLY GUIDED ME TOWARDS THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THEY SHOWED MY STRONG POINTS AND HOW I COULD IMPROVE ON THEM RATHER THAN STARTING FROM SCRATCH AGAIN. I THEN FOCUSED ON CREATING AN OUTCOME THAT I FELT CONFIDENT IN. I UTILISED MY SKILL IN TYPE DESIGN AND CONTINUED WITH CREATING A NEW TYPEFACE FOR THIS PROJECT. I ENDED REALLY LIKING IT AND WOULD LOVE TO RECREATE IT ONE DAY. PHOTOGRAPHY WAS ANOTHER STRONG ELEMENT, ALTHOUGH I AM NOT CONFIDENT IN USING A CAMERA, I DO HAVE THE EYE FOR VISUAL COMMUNICATION THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY. THEREFORE I WANTED TO CREATE AN OUTCOME THAT WOULD ENCOURAGE ME TO USE MY SKILLS MORE. I WENT FOR A INTRODUCTION FILM AS I DIDN’T REALLY GIVE MYSELF THE TIME TO FOCUS ON THIS PROJECT. THE OUTCOME TURNED OUT TO BE QUITE SUCCESSFUL. THE ONLY THING I WOULD CONSIDER IS TO TURN IT INTO A STOP MOTION ANIMATION AND PLAY AROUND WITH THE BACKGROUND.
I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO MAKE MY OWN SOUNDTRACK/OPENING THEME FOR THE PEBBLE PEOPLE. AND MAYBE A NARRATOR THAT COULD INTERACT WITH THE CHARACTERS. CREATING MY OWN SOUND EFFECTS WOULD ALSO BENEFIT THIS PROJECT. OVERALL, THE FINAL OUTCOME FOR THIS PROJECT IS MORE OF A VISUAL STORYBOARD RATHER THAN THE FINAL OPENING SEQUENCE TO AN ANIMATED TV SERIES. HOWEVER, I HAVE DEFINITELY IMPROVED MY WORK ETHIC SINCE MY LAST PROJECT AND WHAT I’VE LEARNT WILL HAVE AN EFFECT ON MY NEXT INDEPENDENT PROJECT.
COMMEMORATION PROJECT
THE MEIJI RESTORATION: I CHOSE THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MEIJI RESTORATION (JANUARY 3, 1868).
QUICK HISTORY: THE MEIJI RESTORATION WAS THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION THAT BROUGHT THE FINAL DEMISE OF THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT AND RETURNED CONTROL OF THE COUNTRY TO MUTSUHITO (ALSO KNOWN AS THE EMPEROR MEIJI). THE MEIJI RESTORATION CAME TO BE IDENTIFIED WITH THE ERA OD MAJOR POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL CHANGE. THE MEIJI PERIOD (1868-1912) ALSO BROUGHT ABOUT THE MODERNISATION AND WESTERNIZATION OF THE COUNTRY.
MAIN IDEA: I WAS REALLY DETERMINED TO HAVE THIS PROJECT BE THE ONE WHERE I FINALLY MAKE MY OWN DESIGNER TOY AND SHOWCASE IT AT OUR DEGREE SHOW. MAKING A TOY/FIGURINE WILL BE THE MAIN FOCUS OF THE PROJECT AND THEN THE PACKAGING AND STORY BEHIND THE TOY WILL BE THE SUPPORTING WORK.
WHAT IS A DESIGNER TOY? “DESIGNER TOYS, OR AS THEY ARE OFTEN REFERRED TO AS ‘VINYL TOYS’ OR ‘URBAN VINYL’, COULD BE CONSIDERED OSTENTATIOUS AS THEIR SOLE PURPOSE IS TO BE PLEASING TO THE VIEWER, ALL THE WHILE EXPRESSING THE CREATOR’S ARTISTIC VISION. HOWEVER, THE SOLE ACT OF DESIGNING AND CREATING THESE TOYS IS FUNDAMENTALLY JUST ANOTHER CREATIVE OUTLET THAT ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS USED IN ORDER TO EXPAND THEIR PLATFORM AND GAIN GRATIFICATION FROM NOT ONLY THEMSELVES BUT TO THEIR AUDIENCE AND PEERS.” - TAKEN FROM MY DISSERTATION ON DESIGNER TOYS
THEY’RE COMMONLY MADE OUT OF VINYL OR RESIN. HOWEVER THEY CAN TECHNICALLY BE MADE OUT ANY MATERIAL SUCH AS PLUSH AND FIMO CLAY.
WHY MAKE A DESIGNER TOY? A DESIGNER TOY HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MEDIUM I HAVE BEEN INTERESTED IN MAKING FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS. I HAVE A REALLY KEEN INTEREST IN SCULPTING AND CREATING 3D OUTCOMES, THEREFORE I FELT THAT MAKING A DESIGNER TOY WILL NOT ONLY BE CHALLENGING BUT ALSO ENCOURAGE ME TO PURSUE THIS MEDIUM IN MY FUTURE CAREER. CONVENIENTLY, THE CONCEPT OF A VINYL TOY ORGINATES BACK TO JAPAN, SPECIFICALLY DURING THE POST WAR ERA. THEY BEGAN MANUFACTURING TIN TOYS TO EXPORT SO THAT THEY CAN GAIN FOREIGN CURRENCY IN THE U.S. HOWEVER, DUE TO TIN NOT BEING MALLEABLE ENOUGH FOR ROUNDED FIGURES, THEY STARTED TO USE SOFT VINYL (PVC) TO MAKE FIGURES INSTEAD.
VINYL FIGURES ARE NOW VERY WELL KNOWN AROUND THE WORLD, IN PARTICULAR, JAPAN. BE@RBRICK BY MEDICOM IS A VERY WELL KNOWN VINYL TOY AND COMPANY. THEIR CONCEPT IS CREATING THIS BEAR THAT CAN BE MANIPULATED INTO ANY CHARACTER THROUGH COLLABORATION WITH DESIGNERS AND BRANDS.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE MEDICOM’S WEBSITE
THEREFORE THE MEIJI RESTORATION BRIEF AND THE DESIGNER TOY FORMAT TIES TOGETHER REALLY WELL AS THE MODERNISATION FROM THE PAST IS INTERTWINED WITH THE MODERNISATION OF NOW.
RESEARCH:
TOYCON UK 2018 TOYCON UK IS THE UK’S ONLY DEDICATED DESIGNER TOY CONVENTION HELD AT EAST LONDON. IT’S A PLACE WHERE ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD CAN RENT A TABLE FOR 1 OR 2 DAYS AND SELL THEIR CREATIONS TO CRAZY TOY FANATICS SUCH AS MYSELF. THIS IS THE FACE OF A PERSON WHO HAS SPENT TOO MUCH MONEY
VENUE (YORK HALL, LONDON):
WORKS OF BRIGHTON BASED ARTIST, ROHNOH. I LOVE HER CUTE CHARACTERS.
TOY DESIGNER, KAORI HINATA, FLEW FROM JAPAN TO SELL HER MORRIS CAT FIGURES.
KENNYWORKS’ MOLLY QUEENS. I BOUGHT THE PINK ONE. AM OBSESSED WITH THIS FIGURE.
COOL LIGHT UP FIGURES BY MAINAGAMOTO X INSTINCT TOY
THESE TWO COOL DUDES ARE ACTUALLY THIRD YEAR PRODUCT DESIGN STUDENTS FROM LONDON (I ASSUME). I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY AWESOME THAT THEY HAVE ALREADY DESIGNED SOMETHING AND ARE PLANNING ON SELLING THEM AS PART OF THEIR FINAL MAJOR PROJECT.
RELEVANT RESEARCH FROM TOYCON: I WAS MORE INTERESTED IN THE WAY SOME FIGURES WERE BEING PACKAGED THAN TAKING INFLUENCE FROM AN ARTIST’S STYLE. ON THIS TABLE, THEY HAD MEDIUM/ LARGE VINYL FIGURES IN A CLEAR PLASTIC PACKAGING WITH A HEAD TAG ON TOP. I THOUGHT THAT COULD BE AN INTERESTING PACKAGING DESIGN FOR MY TOY FIGURE. THAT WAY, I COULD FOCUS ON THE HEAD TAG AND MAKING IT UNIQUE AND CRAZY.
TRAPTOYS: I LOVED THE DESIGN OF THEIR BLISTER PACKS. JUDGING FROM THEIR CHOICE OF COLOUR AND TYPE DESIGN, THEY WERE CLEARLY INFLUENCED BY THE VINTAGE ACTION FIGUE PACKS. IT DOES GO WITH THE AESTHETIC OF THEIR VINYL FIGURE TOO. RYCA: I SAW THAT RYCA WAS ALSO SELLING LARGE BLISTER PACKS OF VINYL FIGURES. HIS CONCEPT IS VERY SIMILAR TO TRAPTOYS, HOWEVER, YOU CAN SEE THAT HE WAS MAKING LIGHT OF THE YOUTH CULTURE IN THE UK. THE TITLE OF THE SERIES IS CALLED ‘WASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE’. EACH FIGURE HAS A LITTLE NAMES SUCH AS, ‘HYPE(BEAST)MAN’ AND ‘MANS NOT HOT’, PHRASES THATS COMMONLY USED BY YOUNG ‘WANNABE’ STREET KIDS.
ARTIST INSPIRATIONS: THERE IS A HUGE VARIETY OF ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS THAT CREATE THESE TOYS AS A WAY OF EXPANDING THEIR PLATFORMS. THEY RANGE IN AESTHETIC, THEME AND SIZE AS THEY ARE VERY PERSONAL TO THE ARTIST. THERE ARE A FEW ARTISTS THAT I WANT TO TAKE INSPIRATION FROM WHEN DESIGNING MY OWN FIGURE.
MICHAEL LAU: MICHAEL LAU IS A HONG KONG BASED ARTIST WHO IS MOSTLY KNOWN FOR HIS ILLUSTRATIONS AND DESIGNER TOY FIGURES. HE’S BEEN CREDITED AS THE ONE WHO FOUNDED THE URBAN VINYL STYLE IN THE DESIGNER TOY MOVEMENT. ASIAN, AMERICAN HIP HOP AND THE SKATEBOARDING CULTURE ARE THE MAIN INFLUENCES IN HIS WORK. I LOVE LAU’S INTERPRETATION OF THE HUMAN FORM AND THEIR INDIVIDUAL STYLES. HIS USE OF MIXED MEDIA FOR THE CLOTHES AND SHOES/ACCESSORIES COULD BE AN IDEA FOR THE OUTCOME OF MY DESIGNER TOY.
COOLRAIN: COOLRAIN LEE IS A SOUTH KOREAN TOY DESIGNER WHO IS KNOWN FOR HIS UNIQUE CHARACTERS WITH A VERY DISTINCT URBAN STREET STYLE. HE’S COLLABORATED WITH BRANDS SUCH AS NIKE, PUMA AND CONVERSE WHICH HIGHLIGHTS THE FASHION STYLE OF HIS VINYL FIGURES EVEN MORE.
COOLRAIN’S AESTHETIC IS VERY WELL DESIGNED AND THOUGHT OUT. THE FIGURE’S CLOTHING IS EXTREMELY INTRICUTE AND EVENT THE TRAINERS ARE VERY DETAILED. THE EXPRESSIONS ON THE FACES IS VERY SIMPLE YET THERE IS A LOT OF STRUCTURE TO THE FACE. I WOULD LOVE TO ADD THIS LEVEL OF DETAIL TO THE GARMENTS AND FOOTWEAR. HOWEVER, I WON’T HAVE THE TIME TO MAKE INTRICUTELY DETAILED SHOES LIKE LAU’S.
SUCKLORD:
SUCKLORD IS NEW YORK BASED POP ARTIST WHO MANUFACTURES UNLICENSED ACTION FIGURES AND TOYS AND TURNS THEM INTO THESE COMEDIC/VULGAR BOOTLEG TOYS. I’M PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN HIS PACKAGING DESIGN MORE SO THAN HIS FIGURES. I LOVE THE VINTAGE AESTHETIC MIXED WITH A LEVEL OF CRUDE HUMOR AND THE GARISH COLOURS AND MIXED TYPE DESIGN. THE WAY IN WHICH HE USES DIFFERENT TYPEFACES TO SUIT THE AESTHETIC OF THE FIGURE IS SOMETHING I WILL TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN DESIGNING MY OWN PACKAGING. I ALSO LOVE THE IDEA OF A BLISTER PACK CONCEPT AS WELL. BARE IN MIND THAT THE TOY WILL HAVE TO BE A SMALLER SIZE IN ORDER TO FIT INTO ONE.
THE EMPEROR MEIJI: EMPEROR MEIJI WAS THE INFLUENCE I DECIDED TO BASE MY VINYL TOY ON. I WANTED TO RECREATE HIM TO A EXTRAVAGANT CHARACTER WITH A STYLE THAT WOULD FIT IN JAPAN’S CURRENT FASHION TRENDS.
I’LL BE KEEPING HIS STATURE AND FACESHAPE TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. ALSO I WANT HIM TO STILL LOOK LIKE AN EMPEROR SO I MIGHT KEEP SOME OF THE BADGES OR ACCENTUATE THE JACKET SOMEHOW.
JAPAN STREET FASHION INSPIRATION: I BELIEVE THAT JAPAN IS THE NUMBER ONE COUNTRY WITH THE MOST FASHION RELATED SUB-CULTURES. ALTHOUGH IT MAY BE A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION WHO WENT AGAINST REFORMITY, I FEEL THAT THEY ARE THE MOST FASHION FORWARD INDIVIDUALS IN TODAYS DAY AND AGE. UNFORTUNATELY I WAS UNABLE TO GO TO JAPAN AND EXPERIENCE THE FASHION CULTURE FIRST HAND. HOWEVER, SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BEEN A GREAT RESEARCH PLATFORM IN SEARCHING FOR SOME FASHION INSPIRATION, INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT, @TOKYOFASHION, VISUALLY DOCUMENTS THE STREETS OF HARAJUKU, SHIBUYA AND OTHER AREAS OF TOKYO. I ‘SCREENSHOTED’ SOME PHOTOS WHICH I THOUGHT ARE STRONG INFLUENCES OF STREET FASHION IN JAPAN.
I NOTICED A TREND OF BAGGY TROUSERS BEING TUCKED INTO HIGH SOCKS OR BOOTS, I THOUGHT THAT WAS AN UNUSUAL FASHION STATEMENT, ESPECIALLY IN MEN’S FASHION. THEREFORE I THOUGHT I COULD UTILISE THAT. I LOVE HOW THEY LAYER A LOT OF DIFFERENT GARMENTS TOGETHER TO CREATE THEIR OVERALL AESTHETIC. I FEEL LIKE I COULD PUT TOGETHER AN OUTFIT FOR MY FIGURINE WHERE I COULD MIMIC THE LAYERING. HOWEVER, I STILL WANT TO ADD TEH ELEMENT OF HIM BEING AN EMPEROR. SO I RESEARCHED SOME EXTRAVAGANT MILITARY JACKETS ON GOOGLE. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THEY WEREN’T AS CRAZY LOOKING AS I THOUGHT.
TYPE DESIGN I STARTED SKETCHING OUT SOME POSSIBLE TYPEFACES THAT COULD BE USED IN THE PACKAGING OF THE EMPEROR. I WENT FOR A MORE BOLD AESTHETIC TO SUIT HIS. IT COULD POTENTIALLY BE EMBOSSED WITH GOLD AND WOULD LOOK REALLY GOOD AGAINST A BLACK BACKGROUND OF THE PACKAGING.
FIRST PROCESS: FIMO HEAD: I STARTED SCULPTING THE HEAD OUT OF FIMO FIRST. HOWEVER I STRUGGLED A LOT DUE TO NOT BEING USED TO WORKING WITH THIS MEDIUM, I TRIED TO MAKE HIM LOOK AS ACCURATE AS I CAN TO THE PORTRAITS OF HIM. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE MALLEABILITY OF FIMO, I COULDN’T SCULPT IT PRECISELY, SO I ABANDONED THIS IDEA AFTER A COUPLE OF ATTEMPTS.
CLAY FIGURE 1: MY NEXT PLAN WAS TO MAKE THE FIGURE OUT OF CLAY AND THEN CAST IT WITH RESIN. THEREFORE USING RED CLAY WASN’T REALLY AN ISSUE.
I MADE THE BODY OUT OF TIN FOIL AND IN SEPARATE PARTS AS IT WAS EASIER TO CONSTRUCT. HOWEVER, I DIDN’T TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION OF HOW BIG THE OVERALL FIGURE WAS GOING TO BE. IT TURNED OUT THAT IT WAS TOO BIG FOR WHAT I WANTED TO DO. THEREFORE I DIDN’T CONTINUE WITH THIS FIGURE.
CLAY FIGURE 2: MY SECOND ATTEMPT AT THE CLAY FIGURE WAS A LITTLE BETTER. IT WAS ROUGHLY THE SIZE I WANTED AND THIS TIME I MADE HIS FACE MORE SIMPLISTIC AND EXPRESSIVE. I THOUGHT I WOULD SCULPT THE CLOTHING ONTO HIM AS I FELT IT WOULD BE LESS TIME CONSUMING COMPARED TO MAKING THEM OUT OF FABRIC.
SKETCHES OF THE EMPEROR:
OUTCOME:
I THOUGHT THE EXECUTION FOR THIS FIGURE WAS GOOD. I REALLY LIKE HOW THE FACE TURNED OUT AND THE WAY I SCULPTED THE TROUSERS. HOWEVER, AFTER SHOWING THIS IN A TUTORIAL, I SOON REALISED THAT MY FIGURE LOOKED VERY TAME. COMPARING HIS OUTFIT TO THE IMAGES FROM TOKYOFASHION, IT SEEMS VERY PLAIN AND THERE ISN’T TOO MUCH ‘CRAZINESS’ GOING ON. SO DURING THE TUTORIAL, WE HAD A BRAINSTORM OF WHAT OTHER POSSIBILITIES I COULD DO TO CHANGE THE OUTCOME FOR THIS PROJECT. IN THE END, I DID ABANDON THE EMPEROR MEIJI IDEA AND CHANGED COURSE. I WAS STILL GOING TO MAKE A DESIGNER TOY BUT THE NARRATIVE AND CHARACTER NEEDED TO CHANGE.
NEW IDEA! FASHION INSPIRATION: DURING MY TUTORIAL, I SHOWED THE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE TOKYOFASHIOIN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT. THERE WERE A LOT OF OUTFITS I HAD MISSED THAT WERE REALLY EXTRAVAGANT AND OUTRAGEOUS. THEY WERE ALMOST LIKE A SCULPTURAL PIECE OF ART BUT IT WAS LAYERS AND LAYERS OF DIFFERENT MATERIAL. THEY WERE REALLY EXCITING TO LOOK AT AND THIS INSPIRED A NEW IDEA TO CREATE A CHARACTER THAT WOULD EMBRACE THIS STYLE OF FASHION.
ARTIST INSPIRATION: ASHLEY WOOD: FOR MY NEW IDEA, I WANT TO COMPLETELY CHANGE THE HUMAN FORM AND WANT TO EXAGGERATE FEATURES AND ELONGATE NECKS AND LEGS. THEREFORE MY ARTIST INSPIRATION IS ASHLEY WOOD, AN AUSTRAILIAN ARTIST AND ILLUSTRATOR. ALTHOUGH HE HAS AN INCREDIBLE ILLUSTRATIVE STYLE, I AM MORE FOCUSED ON HIS DIRECTION TOWARDS DESIGNER TOYS. HE CO-FOUNDED A TOY COMPANY CALLED THREE A. FOR THE COMPANY HE CREATED THE ON-GOING SERIES OF TOMORROW QUEENS. THESE BEAUTIFUL, LONG LEGGED WOMEN IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT CLOTHING AND STYLE. I BELIEVE THAT MY INTEREST IN HIS WORK HAS DEFINITELY INSPIRED ME TO CREATE A DESIGNER TOY OF MY OWN. SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL TO LOOK AT.
PROCESS OF NEW FIGURE(S):
FOR THE NEW OUTCOME, I ORIGINALLY WANTED TO MAKE THREE FIGURES; 2 FEMALES AND 1 MALE. I THOUGHT THAT BY HAVING A VARIETY, I WOULD BE ABLE TO CATER TO A WIDER AUDIENCE. THE SECOND FEMALE I WAS PLANNING ON MAKING HER A DIY DOLL WHERE PEOPLE COULD PURCHASE HER AND MAKE HER OUTFITS. HOWEVER, AFTER MAKING THESE FIGURES, I NO LONGER WANTED TO MAKE THREE SEPARATE FIGURES AS I FELT IT WOULD TAKE TOO LONG AND I WON’T BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT. THEREFORE I FOCUSED ON JUST ONE OF THE FEMALE FIGURES.
SCULPTING; I CHOSE TO SCULPT IN FIMO AGAIN AS I BELIEVE IT IS THE BEST MATERIAL TO USE IN ORDER TO CREATE A SMOOTH AND STURDY SURFACE. I SCULPTED THE BODY FIRST BEFORE THE HEAD AS I WASN’T TOO SURE ON WHAT I WANTED HER TO LOOK LIKE. I THOUGHT IF I SCULPT THE BODY FIRST THEN MAYBE HER CHARACTER WILL REVEAL ITSELF AND I CAN FORM THE HEAD.
SANDING: I COMPLETELY UNDERESTIMATED HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE TO SAND AND SMOOTH DOWN FIMO CLAY. I HAD QUITE A ROUGH AND LUMPY SURFACE SO I NEEDED TO SAND DOWN A LOT. I EVEN HAD TO USE MY ELECTRIC NAIL FILE TO SPEED UP THE PROCESS AS IT WAS VERY TIME CONSUMING. AFTER THE LUMPS AND BUMPS WERE GONE, I NEEDED TO USE WET/DRY SAND PAPER IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT GRITS TO BUFF OUT THE SCRATCH MARKS FROM THE NAIL FILE AND TO ENSURE A SMOOTH SURFACE FOR PAINTING.
WHILST I WAS SANDING, I’VE ENCOUNTERED A REPEATED PROBLEM OF OVERSANDING THE STRESS POINTS ON THE FIGURE. THIS INCLUDES THE UNDERARMS, AROUND THE CALVES AND AROUND THE PELVIC REGION. THE CRACKS HAD TO BE GLUED WITH SUPERGLUE AND THEN COVERED WITH MORE FIMO CLAY. HOWEVER, IT KEPT CRACKING WHEN I CONTINUED TO FILE. SO I HAD TO LEAVE IT UNTIL I DIDN’T NEED TO FILE ANYMORE AND THEN REPEAT THE GLUE AND FIMO.
AFTER 4 DAYS OF SANDING, I FINALLY COMPLETED THE BODY. IT WAS SO WORTH THE EFFORT. THE FINISH LOOKED REALLY GOOD FOR A FIRST TRY. THERE WERE A FEW AREAS THAT WERE HARD TO REACH BUT THEY WOULD BE COVERED UP ANYWAY. IF I WERE TO MAKE THIS FIGURE AGAIN, I WOULD MAKE THE LIMBS SEPARATE ELEMENTS AS IT WOULD’VE BEEN EASIER TO SAND AND THERE WOULDN’T BE ANY STRESS CRACKS.
DESIGNING THE FACE OF MEIJI: THERE WASN’T EXACTLY AN INSPIRATIION BEHIND THE DESIGN OF THE MEIJI DOLL FACE. I WANTED TO KEEP THE FACE VERY SIMPLE AND THE HAIR TO BE A SIMPLE SHAPE. I CHOSE A FRINGED BOWL CUT AS I FELT IT IS A TRENDY HAIRSTYLE THAT COULD BE EASILY CASTED.
AS FOR THE COLOUR, I WANTED TO STRAY AWAY FROM REALISTIC SKIN TONES AND HAIR COLOURS. I WANTED SOMETHING BRIGHT AND CONTRASTING. I CHOSE THE SKIN TONE TO BE BLUE AS I FELT IT WAS A NEUTRAL COLOUR TO GO FOR. IT ALSO SUITS A LOT OF THE OTHER COLOURS THAT I COULD USE FOR THE HAIR. I CHOSE TO GO FOR A LIGHT PINK AS I THINK THAT PINK AND BLUE GO VERY WELL TOGETHER. I WAS GOING TO GO FOR THE YELLOW HAIR. HOWEVER IT MIMICKED THE BLONDE SMURF AND I DIDN’T WANT THAT RESEMBLENCE.
I REALLY LOVE THE COMPOSITION OF THIS SPREAD IN MY SKETCHBOOK. I THOUGHT THAT I COULD IMITATE THIS TYPE OF COMPOSITION FOR WHEN I DESIGN THE PACKAGING FOR MY DOLL. I DO WISH I DIDN’T SHADE IT THOUGH AS I FEEL LIKE I COULD’VE USED IT SOMEHOW (WITHOUT EDITING TOO MUCH).
SCULPTING THE HEAD: DUE TO THE SIMPLICITY OF THE DESIGN, THE HEAD WAS FAIRLY EASY TO SCULPT AND SAND. SO I DIDN’T HAVE ANY TROUBLE CONSTRUCTING THE HEAD. IT HAS A HOLE AT THE BOTTOM SO THAT IT CAN BE PLACED ONTO THE NECK. THE NECK WAS MADE TO BE A LOT LONGER SO THAT THE HEAD CAN FIT ON SECURELY.
HERE IS THE FINISHED FIGURE BEFORE THE PAINT JOB AND OUTFIT.
MAKING A STAND: BEFORE I HAD TO SPRAY PAINT MY FIGURE, I NEEDED MAKE A QUICK STAND FOR HER SO SHE IS ABLE TO STAND UPRIGHT AND IT MAKES SPRAY PAINTING A LOT EASIER. THE WIRE ITSELF WAS UNABLE TO HOLD HER. SO I AHD TO GLUE DOWN A BASE MADE OUT OF THICK PIECES OF CARD. I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT IT LOOKED QUITE MESSY, HOWEVER, FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAINTING, IT WAS BETTER THAN NOTHING.
SPRAY PAINTING: THE SPRAY PAINT I CHOSE TO USE WAS THE LIQUITEX PROFESSIONAL SPRAY PAINT IN THE COLOUR, COBALT BLUE HUE 5. I HEARD THAT THIS SPRAY IS LESS HARSH COMPARED TO OTHER BRANDS LIKE GOLD. THEREFORE WOULD BE PERFECT TO SPRAY ON FIMO. HOWEVER, JUST TO BE SURE, I SPRAYED A COAT OF PLASTIKOTE MATTE CLEAR SEALER TO ENSURE THAT NO PAINT COMES OFF AND IT IS NOT STICKY FROM THE SPRAY PAINT.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SHADE OF BLUE. ALTHOUGH IT APPEARS QUITE BRIGHT ON PHOTO, IN REAL LIFE, THE BLUE IS A LOT MORE MUTED AND POWDERY.
HAND PAINTING: I USED ACRYLIC TO PAINT HER HAIR, FACIAL FEATURES AND SHOES. I HAD TO PAINT THEM IN THIN COATS SO THAT THE PAINTBRUSH DIDN’T LEAVE BRUSH MARKS ON THE FIGURE. HOWEVER, THE PIGMENTATION OF THE PAINT IS OPAQUE AND BRIGHT WHICH WAS PERFECT FOR MY FIGURE. AFTER THE PAINT WAS COMPLETELY DRY, I WENT TO SPRAY THE HEAD WITH THE MATTE SEALER SPRAY.
OUTCOME:
I AM REALLY HAPPY WITH THE WAY MY MEIJI FIGURE TURNED OUT. I LOVE THE CONTRASTING COLOURS BETWEEN HER LIPS, HAIR, SKIN AND SHOES. I DO THINK I MIGHT’VE SPRAYED A LITTLE TOO CLOSE TO THE FIGURE WHICH LED TO SOME UNEVENESS. HOWEVER, FOR A FIRST TRY I THOUGHT IT WASN’T TOO BAD.
OUTFIT PROCESS: I USED A LOT OF SCRAP MATERIAL AND PLASTIC BAGS TO CONSTRUCT THE OUTFIT/SCULPTURAL PIECE. I BELIEVE THAT THIS PROCESS MAY BE SIMILAR TO A SOFT SCULPTURE AS I AM CONSTRUCTING A ABNORMAL SILHOUETTE TO COMPLIMENT THE FIGURE. ALSO I THINK ITS A GOOD TERM TO USE TO DESCRIBE THE GARMENTS THAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS WERE WEARING ON THE STREETS OF TOKYO.
I MADE THE GARMENT BY WRAPPING A PIECE OF FABRIC TO THE DOLLL AND THEN USING A HOT GLUE GUN TO ATTACH THE PIECES. I DIDN’T HAVE A PARTICULAR LOOK IN MIND. I DID WANT HER TO LOOK FUTURISTIC YET STILL IMPERIAL TO SUGGEST THAT SHE IS THE NEW EMPEROR (EMPRESS) MEIJI. I CHOSE HER TO HAVE A LOT OF BRIGHT COLOURS AND TEXTURES TO BREAK THE SILHOUETTE EVEN MORE.
COMPLETE OUTFIT:
CLICK HERE TO SEE HER SEQUINS DANCE IN THE LIGHT!
NEW STAND: THE FIRST STAND THAT I MADE WAS VERY RUSHED AND DIDN’T LOOK AS PROFESSIONAL ALONGSIDE MY FIGURE. SO I MADE A NEW ONE THAT LOOKS A LOT MORE POLISHED. I FOUND THE WOODEN BASE FROM THE WOODWORK SHOP IN THE LANES. IT WAS THE PERFECT SIZE AND I LOVE THE DETAIL AROUND THE SIDE. TO MAKE THE STAND ITSELF, I GOT A METAL TUBE SO THAT I CAN THREAD WIRE THROUGH TO MAKE THE GRIP FOR THE WAIST. I DECIDED NOT TO PAINT THE BOTTOM AS I FELT IT MIGHT DISTRACT THE EYE. I ALSO COULDN’T PAINT THE METAL EITHER SO IT WOULD’VE LOOKED A BIT MESSY.
PROCESS:
BEFORE AND AFTER!
GRAFFITI PHOTOSHOOT: THERE ARE SOME AMAZING MURIALS IN BRIGHTON THAT I WANTED TO USE AS A BACK DROP FOR MY EMPRESS MEIJI FIGURE. I THOUGHT THAT IT COULD ALSO BE USED FOR SOME PACKAGING DESIGNS AS WELL. HERE ARE MY FAVOURITE PHOTOGRAPHS:
ADVERT PROCESS: THE IDEA OF AN ADVERT WAS BROUGHT UP DURING A CRIT. I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BRILLIANT IDEA TO ADVERTISE THE DOLL. I CAN IMAGINE THE ADVERT BEING PLAYED ON THOSE BIG SCREENS ON THE BUILDINGS IN TOKYO. WE THOUGHT OF PLACING HER IN FRONT A LED SCREEN THAT WOULD SHOW JAPANESE ADVERTISEMENTS OR MUSIC VIDEOS. THIS CONCEPT WOULD LOOK VERY FUTURISTIC AND DEFINITELY ACCENTUATE MY MEIJI FIGURE. I LOOKED THROUGH QUITE A FEW VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE (PROCESS VIDEO HERE) THAT COULD BE A POSSIBLE BACKGROUND. MOST OF THEM DIDN’T HAVE THE CORRECT AUDIO OR THEIR VIDEO WASN’T COLOURFUL ENOUGH. I ENDED UP PICKING THIS CRAZY ANIMATED MUSIC VIDEO THAT HAD A LOT OF FLASHING IMAGES AND INTENSE MUSIC. I THOUGHT THE AUDIO AND THE IMAGE WAS A PERFECT FIT FOR MY MEIJI FIGURE AS IT WAS UPBEAT AND EXCITING. “ME!ME!ME!” IS A 2014 ELECTRONIC POP SONG CREATED BY JAPANESE DJ AND PRODUCER TEDDYLOID. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MUSIC VIDEO. IT IS NOT THE ORIGINAL AS I CANNOT FIND IT. HOWEVER THIS VERSION IS VERY ELECTRONIC.
I TRIED A LOT OF DIFFERENT LIGHTING EFFECTS ON TOP OF MY FIGURE. THERE WERE SOME STROBING LIGHTS VIDEOS THAT I TRIED OUT BY PLAYING THEM ON MY PHONE. HOWEVER THE LIGHTS WEREN’T BRIGHT ENOUGH SO IT DIDN’T WORK OUT. I ENDED UP USING THE TORCH ON MY PHONE TO SHINE ON THE FIGURE WHEN FILMING. I ALSO TOOK A SEPARATE VIDEO WITHOUT THE TORCH SO I COULD MIX UP THE LIGHTING WHEN EDITING THE FINAL VIDEO. AS FOR THE VIDEO, MY FIRST ATTEMPT WAS JUST HAVING THE CAMERA ON A TRIPOD AND FILM THE MEIJI AS A STILL. HOWEVER THAT DIDN’T MAKE THE ADVERT LOOK EXCITING SO I CHANGED IT BY HAVING A MIXTURE OF CLOSE UP AND WIDE SHOTS, MOVING THE CAMERA ROUND AND HAVING SOME IN AND OUT OF FOCUS.
FINAL ADVERT!
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE THE ADVERT!
TYPE DESIGN TYPE DESIGN IS A HUGE ASPECT IN MY PROJECT. I REALLY ENJOY PLAYING AROUND WITH TYPOGRAPHY AND I AM CONFIDENT IN FINDING THE RIGHT TYPEFACE TO USE FOR MY DESIGNER TOY.
I WANTED TO CREATE A BRUSH SCRIPT TYPEFACE AS IT MIMICS THE TRADITIONAL JAPANESE HAND WRITTEN CALLIGRAPHY THATS FOUND IN MANY PAINTINGS. I USED PENTEL BRUSH PEN AND THE OUTCOME CAME OUT REALLY GOOD. I ESPECIALLY LOVE THE LACK OF INK TOWARDS THE END OF THE LETTERS, I THOUGHT THAT ADDS SOME TEXTURE TO POTENTIAL PACKAGING DESIGNS. I DID A LOT OF TRIAL AND ERROR IN MY SKETCHBOOKS SO I WAS CERTAIN THAT I HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT VERSIONS TO CHOOSE FROM. TURNS OUT THAT ITS ALWAYS THE FIRST TIME THATS THE BEST ONE.
EDITING PROCESS: AFTER I WRITE DOWN ALL THE WORDS I NEED FOR THE PACKAGING, I SCAN THEM IN AND EDIT THEM ON PHOTOSHOP. I TRY TO MAKE THE TYPE AS CONCENTRATED IN COLOUR AS I CAN TO ENSURE THAT ITS CLEAR WHEN ITS BEING PRINTED.
AS SHOWN IN THE FIRST IMAGE, THERE HAS BEEN TMES WHEN THE BRUSH SCIPTY SWOOSHES DOES NOT SHOW UP ON THE SCAN, LEAVING A BIG GAP IN THE TYPE.
THE FIRST THING I DID WAS TO COLOUR IN THE PATCHINESS AND ADD A FEW NEGATIVE SPACES TO MIMIC THE BRUSH EFFECT. HOWEVER, IN THIS VERSION, THE S’S LOOKS TOO THICK AND DOESN’T HAVE THE SAME BRUSH STROKE EFFECT.
I RESTARTED AND PLAYED AROUND WITH THE LEVELS OPTION ON PHOTOSHOP UNTIL I WAS ABLE TO EVEN OUT THE BRUSH STROKE EFFECT. WHEN I WAS HAPPY WITH IT, I FILLED IN A FEW SPACES AND IT LOOKS A LOT BETTER.
FINAL TYPE DESIGN HERE ARE THE FINAL .PNG FILE SCREENSHOTS OF THE ‘EMPRESS MEIJI’ TYPEFACE. I WILL BE USING THEM IN EITHER BLACK OR WHITE, DEPENDS ON MY PACKAGING DESIGN.
I LOVE HOW THIS TYPEFACE TURNED OUT. IT’S CLEAR AND READABLE YET IT LOOKS CAREFREE AND FAST PACED. I USED THIS TYPE ON MY ADVERT VIDEO AS WELL BUT IN WHITE. IT LOOKED REALLY GOOD AGAINST THE DARK BACKGROUND OF THE VIDEO.
LOGO DESIGNS
I WANTED TO HAVE TWO TYPES OF LOGOS FOR THIS PROJECT. I WANTED A LOGO FOR THE EMPRESS MEIJI HERSELF AND ONE FOR THE ARTIST (ME). I’VE SKETCHED OUT A LOT OF IDEAS IN MY SKETCHBOOK. BUT THE TWO IMAGES ABOVE ARE THE PAGES WHERE I CHOSE MY FINAL TWO LOGO DESIGNS.
FINAL LOGO DESIGNS:
I LOVE HOW THESE TWO LOGOS TURNED OUT. I WOULD DEFINITELY LOVE TO USE THE EMPRESS MEIJI LOGO ON MORE OUTCOMES SUCH AS A STICKER, A LOGO FOR A BAG, A STENCIL TO SPRAY PAINT AROUND TOWN. I WOULD DEFINITELY NEED TO WORK ON BOTH OF THESE LOGOS ON ILLUSTRATOR TO SMOOTH OUT THE LINE WORK. BUT AS A SMALL PART OF THE PACKAGING, I BELIEVE THAT THEY WORK REALLY WELL.
AS PART OF MY DEGREE SHOW, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A BOX OF STICKERS ALONG SIDE MY BUSINESS CARDS TO GIVE TO EVERYONE. AFTER THE HAND IN, I’M GOING TO FIX UP MY LOGO’S AND THEN PURCHASE SOME. I’M NOT SURE ON THE COLOUR YET BUT I WOULD EITHER GO FOR BLACK AND WHITE OR ADD A POP OF COLOUR SOMEWHERE (LIPS?).
PACKAGING PACKAGING IS A HUGE ASPECT IN TOY DESIGN. IT IS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO ADVERTISE THE TOY AND IT COULD BE AS CREATIVE AS YOU WANT IT TO BE. MY ORIGINAL IDEA FOR PACKAGING WAS A SIMPLE HEAD TAG AND CLEAR PLASTIC BAG.
I HAVE A SHORT VIDEO CLIP OF DESIGNER TOY I HAD BOUGHT AND I LOVE THE HEAD TAG AND THE WAY IT WAS PACKAGED.
CLICK HERE!
HEAD TAG DESIGN 1:
MY INITIAL IDEA FOR THE HEAD TAG PACKAGING WAS TO HAVE A CROPPED PHOTOGRAPH (FROM THE MURIAL PHOTOSHOOT) AND ADD SOME ILLUSTRATIONS ON TOP AS A COLLAGE TYPE AESTHETIC.
AS I WAS EDITING THE IMAGE, I I ACCIDENTALLY CLICKED ON ‘INVERT’ AND IT REVERSED THE COLOURS AND MADE IT MORE POP-ARTY. I THOUGHT THIS WAS A REALLY COOL. I CHANGED THE BACKGROUND TO A DARK GREY TO CONTRAST THE COLOURS AND THE TYPE IS IN BLACK.
FINISHED HEAD TAG 1:
THIS IS THE FIRST HEAD TAG PACKAGING DESIGN I DID. I LIKE THE LAYOUT AND THE EDITED PHOTO MAKES THE OVERALL AESTHETIC MORE CONTEMPORARY. THE BRIGHT COLOURS POP OUT AND THE DARK GREY ENSURES THAT IT IS NOT TOO GARISH. I DIDN’T WANT TO ADD TOO MUCH INFORMATION AT THE BACK, ESPECIALLY THOSE WARNING SIGNS. I DIDN’T THINK IT WAS NECESSARY TO USE UP THE SPACE THAT WAY. SO I KEPT THE DESIGN VERY SIMPLE AND MINIMAL.
PACKAGING OUTCOME:
AS MUCH AS I LOVED THE HEAD TAG DESIGN, THIS TYPE OF PACKAGING WAS UNSUITABLE FOR MY MEIJI FIGURE. THE BAG WAS TOO SMALL IN HEIGHT WHICH MEANT THAT SHE HAD TO BE PLACED DIAGONALLY. BECAUSE OF THE MATERIAL SHE IS MADE OUT OF, THE FIGURE IS QUITE FRAGILE AND PRONE TO STRESS CRACKS. THEREFORE SHE REQUIRES SUPPORT AND SAFETY - ESPECIALLY FOR TRAVELLING. HOWEVER, IF I CASTED HER OUT OF RESIN AND MADE IT A FEW INCHES SMALLER, THEN THIS WOULD BE PERFECT. RESIN IS LESS LIKELY TO BREAK SO THE CLEAR PLASTIC WOULDN’T BE AN ISSUE. PLUS IT WOULD BE MORE COST EFFECTIVE TO PRINT A NUMBER OF HEAD TAGS AND BULK BUY CLEAR PLASTIC BAGS.
BOX DESIGN AFTER THE UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT AT THE HEAD TAG PLASTIC PACKAGING, I DECIDED TO GO FOR A BOX DESIGN INSTEAD. THAT WAY, IT WOULD ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE MEIJI FIGURE AND I COULD EXPERIMENT MORE WITH THE PACKAGING. I BASED THE MEASUREMENTS OF A SHOE BOX THAT I KEPT HER IN TEMPORARILY. THE SIZE WAS A LITTLE SHORT IN HEIGHT, HOWEVER THE DEPTH AND WIDTH OF THE BOX IS MORE OR LESS WHAT I WANTED.
PROCESS FOR FOAMBOARD BOX:
I CHOSE TO USE FOAMBOARD AS I HAD IT HAND. NOT ONLY THAT BUT I THOUGHT THAT DUE TO THE THICKNESS, YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO SEE GLUE MARKS. HOWEVER, IT TURNED OUT VERY MESSY AND I WASN’T TOO KEEN ON THE OUTCOME OF THIS BOX DESIGN.
I THOUGHT THAT IF I SPRAY PAINTED IT BLACK THEN YOU WOULDN’T NOTICE THE GLUE MARKS AND DENTS SO MUCH. BUT I HONESTLY REALLY DIDN’T LIKE THE MATERIAL I CHOSE FOR THIS BOX. I WAS HOPING THAT WHEN I PRINT OUT THE PACKAGING DESIGN, I COULD JUST COVER UP THE LITTLES MESSES. HOWEVER, I WAS CONSTANTLY WORRIED THAT I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO FINISH IN TIME, THEREFORE I DIDN’T WANT TO REMAKE MY BOX.
NEW BOX PLAN! I SPOKE TO ONE OF MY HOUSEMATES ABOUT MY ISSUE WITH THE BOX I MADE. BECAUSE HE IS AN ENGINEERING STUDENT AT COCKCROFT CAMPUS, HE HAD ACCESS TO PRODUCT DESIGN’S RAPID PROTOYPING SUITE WHERE THEY HAD A LAZER CUTTER THAT MAKES BOXES OUT OF MDF. I THOUGHT IT WAS AN AMAZING IDEA AND SO HE SORTED IT OUT FOR ME THE DAY AFTER. I WAS UNFORTUNATELY NOT ALLOWED TO BE THERE DUE TO ME NOT BEING AN ENGINEERING/PRODUCT DESIGN STUDENT. BUT THE BOX WAS FREE AND ALL I HAD TO DO WAS GLUE THE PIECES TOGETHER.
HERE ARE THE SCREENSHOTS OF THE WEBSITE YOU USE TO THE MAKE THE BOX. THE LEFT IS THE LID AND THE RIGHT IS THE BASE.
MY HOUSEMATE KINDLY TOOK SOME PROCESS SHOTS FOR ME. THE COMPUTER SHOWS THE LAYOUT OF THE BOX. AND THEN THERES THE MACHINE AT WORK. I FELT REALLY THANKFUL THAT THIS WAS AN OPTION I COULD USE. I FELT A LOT MORE CONFIDENT IN THE BOX AND IT DEFINITELY LOOKS A LOT MORE PROFESSIONAL COMPARED TO THE FOAMBOARD BOX.
THESE ARE THE FINAL PIECES BEFORE BEING GLUED TOGETHER. THE COOLEST THING ABOUT THIS BOX IS THAT THERE ARE TINY LITTLE TABS THAT GO ALL AROUND THE EDGE OF THE MDF. THIS IS SO THERE IS A SECURE AND PERFECT EDGE AROUND THE BOX. I DIDN’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HOT GLUE BLOBS WHICH WAS A RELIEF.
PROBLEM! ONCE I GLUED THE PIECES TOGETHER, I HAD THE PROBLEM OF THE BOX NOT FITTING TOGETHER. THIS WAS A ISSUE AS I DID NOT HAVE THE TIME TO MAKE ANOTHER BOX AND I HAD ALREADY STARTING DESIGNING MY BOX PACKAGING AT THAT POINT. AFTER A LITTLE BREAKDOWN, MY HOUSEMATE CAME TO THE RESCUE AND SANDED DOWN THE BASE OF THE BOX SO THAT IT COULD FIT. IT WAS ROUGHLY 1-2MM TOO BIG.
AFTER A LOT OF SANDING DOWN, THE BOX JUST ABOUT FIT. I PROCEEDED TO SPRAY PAINT THE BOX. THIS TIME I WENT FOR A DARK GREY RATHER THAN BLACK AS I FELT IT SUITED THE COLOUR SCHEME OF THE PACKAGING BETTER.
THIS IS THE SIZE OF THE BOX COMPARED THE THE FIGURE. I DONT KNOW IF THE STAND SHOULD STAY IN THE BOX WITH HER OR AS A SEPARATE ITEM. I AM PLANNING ON HAVING FOAM ON THE INSIDE OF THE BOX SO THAT THE EMPRESS IS SAFE. SO THE STAND MIGHT FIT.
FOAM INTERIOR FOR BOX PACKAGING:
THE FOAM WAS MORE OF A NECCESSITY TO PROVIDE SUPPORT AND CUSHIONING FOR MY MEIJI FIGURE. I WANTED TO ENSURE THAT SHE WAS SECURE FOR MY HAND IN AS I DIDN’T WANT TO RISK ANY DAMAGES. I MADE A MOLD FOR HER WITH THREE PIECES OF FOAM. ONE PIECE WOULD GO ON THE BASE OF THE BOX AND THE OTHER TWO WERE GLUED TOGETHER THEN THE OUTLINE OF THE FIGURE IS CUT OUT. IF I HAD MORE TIME, I WOULD’VE ORDERED BLACK FOAM AS IT WOULD’VE LOOKED MORE PROFESSIONAL AND FIT WITH THE THEME. HOWEVER, THEY ONLY HAD OFF-WHITE AVAILABLE IN THE FABRIC SHOP SO I HAD TO MAKE DO. I WILL REMAKE THE FOAM IN TIME FOR THE DEGREE SHOW THOUGH.
BOX PACKAGING DESIGN MY ORIGINAL PLAN FOR THE COVER DESIGN WAS TO GLUE IT ON TOP OF THE LID. HOWEVER, I GOT REALLY CONFUSED WITH THE NET AND THEREFORE I CHOSE TO MAKE A SLEEVE INSTEAD.
NET DESIGN OF THE SLEEVE DESIGN:
THE THE THE THE
RED LINE REPRESENTS THE BLEED GREEN AREAS REPRESENT THE 2MM FOLD GAP BLUE AREA IS THE TAB THAT WILL STICK TO THE BACK OF DESIGN.
SLEEVE DUMMY: I MADE A SIMPLE DUMMY OUT OF CARTRIDGE PAPER SO I CAN ACCURATELY MAKE THE NET ON INDESIGN.
MEIJI PAINTINGS: FOR THE COVER DESIGN, I WANTED TO INCORPORATE SOME TRADITIONAL MEIJI ERA PAINTINGS/ILLUSTRATIONS. I TOOK A COUPLE I LIKED FROM A GOOGLE SEARCH, SO I DON’T EXACTLY KNOW WHO PAINTED THEM AND WHEN. I THOUGHT IT WOULD TIE IN WITH MY ILLUSTRATIONS REALLY WELL. I TOOK SMALL SECTIONS FROM PARTS OF THE PAINTINGS I LIKED AND REMOVED THE BACKGROUND,
MY ILLUSTRATIONS: I WANTED MY SLEEVE DESIGN TO HAVE MY ILLUSTRATIONS ON AS I THINK IT WOULD CONTRAST WITH THE MEIJI PAINTINGS AND IT ADDS TO THE LAYOUT WITHOUT MAKING IT LOOK TOO CLUTTERED. I LOVE THE STYLE OF DRAWING I HAVE DONE FOR THE EMPRESS MEIJI FIGURE. IT SUITS THE TYPE FACE AS IT WAS ALSO DONE WITH A BRUSH PEN. I ALSO LIKE THE MIXTURE OF THICK AND THIN LINES. I SCANNED MY DRAWINGS IN AND THEN EDITED THEM ON PHOTOSHOP TO REMOVE THE BACKGROUND AND INTENSIFY THE LINE WORK.
FIRST SLEEVE DESIGN: FOR MY FIRST DESIGN, I WENT FOR A SIMILAR DARK BACKGROUND COLOUR AS THE HEAD TAG DESIGN. I WANTED TO USE THE MEIJI PAINTINGS AND PLACE THEM BEHIND THE TRANSPARENT BLACK BACKGROUND COLOUR. I PLACED BOTH THE COLOUR VERSION AND THE BLACK AND WHITE VERSION TO SEE HOW IT LOOKED UNDER THE BACKGROUND. I THOUGHT THAT THE BLACK AND WHITE WORKED WELL. I FLIPPED THE SOLDIERS TO THE OTHER SIDE AND ADDED MY MEIJI FIGURE ILLUSTRATION ON TOP. IT WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO BE ONE COLOUR BUT WHEN I ADDED ALL 3 IT LOOKED SIMILAR TO MY ADVERT. I CHANGED THE COLOURS OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS TO PINK, BLUE AND YELLOW AS THEY WERE THE COMMON COLOURS USED IN THE ADVERT. IT LOOKED A LOT BETTER THAN THE FIRST ONE.
SECOND SLEEVE DESIGN: FRONT DESIGN: I CHANGED THE BACKGROUND COLOUR TO PINK INSTEAD AS I THOUGHT THE GREY LOOKED TOO DARK. THE COLOUR LOOKS A LOT BETTER AND IT’S STILL MINIMAL ENOUGH TO NOT TAKE THE ATTRACTION AWAY FROM THE FIGURE ITSELF.
I THOUGHT THAT THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER LOOKED VERY BARE. SO I TRIED TO PLACE SOME MORE MEIJI PAINTINGS ON TOP. I HAD A LOT OF TROUBLE FINDING ONE THAT WOULD FLOW NICELY WITH THE LAYOUT.
IN THE END I PICKED THE LADIES. I REALLY LIKE THE COMPOSITION OF THE MEIJI PAINTINGS NOW BECAUSE THE FLOW OF THEM MAKES IT LOOK LIKE THEY’RE CASCADING FROM ONE CORNER TO THE OTHER. ALSO, IT DOES MAKE IT LOOK LIKE THE MEN ARE BOWING DOWN THE THE EMPRESS AND HER LADIES, WHICH I THINK IS A SMART (AND POLITICAL) COMPOSITION TACTIC.
BACK DESIGN: FOR THE BACK OF THE SLEEVE, I DIDN’T WANT TOO MUCH GOING ONE SO I USED THE MEIJI PAINTING OF THE EMPRESS(?) SAT ON A THRONE AND AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE EMPRESS MEIJI NAKED. I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE CLEVER TO HAVE HER CLOTHED AT THE FRONT AND NAKED AT THE BACK. THERE ISN’T REALLY A POLITICAL STATEMENT BEHIND THE REASON WHY SHE HAS NO CLOTHES. I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT SHE IS JUST CONFIDENT IN HER BODY.
LEFT PANEL RIGHT PANEL
(FROM LEFT TO RIGHT): I REALLY WANTED TO INCLUDE THE JAPANESE CALLIGRAPHY I HAD DONE. IT’S SUPPOSED TO SAY EMPRESS MEIJI. HOWEVER, I’M NOT 100 PERCENT SURE THAT IT’S CORRECT. ANYWAY, I CHOSE TO MAKE IT WHITE AND ADDED THE MEIJI SOLDIERS AT THE BOTTOM. I WANTED TO KEEP THE SIDE PANELS VERY SIMPLE SO IT DOESN’T LOOK TOO CROWDED.
FINAL SLEEVE DESIGN:
HERE IS THE FINAL NET DESIGN FOR MY SLEEVE - ALL READY TO BE PRINTED. I LEFT A WHITE TAB AT THE END SO I WAS ABLE TO STICK IT TOGETHER WITH EASE. WHEN I PRINTED IT OUT AT REPROGRAPHICS THEY DIDN’T HAVE A1 PAPER THAT WAS THICKER THAN 160GSM. IF I WERE TO PRINT IT AGAIN I WOULD HAVE DONE A HIGH GSM TO ENSURE THAT IT STAYS IN ITS SHAPE WHEN THE SLEEVE IS TAKEN OUT.
IN AN IDEAL WORLD... IF I WERE TO PRODUCE THE EMPRESS MEIJI FIGURE AND SELL THEM, I WOULD GET THE SLEEVE PRINTED WITH A SPOT UV FINISH, I WOULD LOVE IF MY COLOUR ILLUSTRATIONS HAD THAT EFFECT TO MAKE IT STAND OUT MORE.
SLEEVE PACKAGING PRINTED:
FINISHED SLEEVE AND BOX:
HEAD TAG DESIGN 2: I WANTED TO CHANGE THE FIRST HEAD TAG I MADE AS IT DOESN’T GO WITH THE PACKAGING I CHOSE. SO I DECIDED ON RECREATING THE HEAD TAG AND CREATE AN ADDITIONAL PIECE TO THE MEIJI FIGURE. I WAS THINKING THAT IF SOMEONE WERE TO BUY THE EMPRESS DOLL, THEY COULD BUY HER WITHOUT CLOTHES SO THEY CAN DO A DIY SOFT SCULPTURE ON HER. SO I WANTED TO MAKE A BAG OF SCRAP MATERIALS AND HAVE IT PACKAGED AS A DIY KIT.
I PLAYED WITH THE LAYOUT A LOT BEFORE FINALLY SETTLING FOR THE DESIGN BELOW. DUE TO THE SIZE OF THE HEAD TAG, IT WAS DIFFICULT TO POSITION IT SO THAT IT DIDN’T LOOK TOO CLUTTERED. HOWEVER, I THINK IT LOOKS REALLY GOOD AND IT DOESN’T TAKE AWAY TOO MUCH FOCUS FROM THE SLEEVE PACKAGING.
I MOUNTED THE PRINTED HEAD TAGS ONTO 300GSM CARD AS THE SATIN FINISH WASN’T AVAILABLE IN A THICKER GSM. BUT WORKS JUST AS WELL AND IS VERY STURDY.
FINAL DIY PACKAGING:
CARRIER BAG DESIGN: I HAD THIS IDEA OF DESIGNING MY OWN LITTLE CARRIER BAG FOR EMPRESS MEIJI. NOT ONLY WILL IT PROTECT MY BOX SLEEVE FROM ANY SCRATCHES, BUT IT WOULD ALSO ADD TO THE OVERALL OUTCOME FOR THIS PROJECT. I UNFORTUNATELY DID NOT HAVE ANY PLAN CARRIER BAGS THAT WERE BIG ENOUGH TO CARRY THE BOX IN. THEREFORE MY ONLY OPTION AT THE TIME WAS THIS CRINKLY APPLE BAG. I THOUGHT I WOULD BE ABLE TO COVER THEIR LOGO WITH MY OWN SO THERE IS A SOMEWHAT CORRELATION BETWEEN THE APPLE BAG AND MY PROJECT. I USED SOME BLACK VINYL AND CUT OUT THE LOGO USING THE SEPARATE ELEMENTS. DESPITE NOT BEING ABLE TO REMOVE THE APPLE LOGO, I FELT MINE STILL LOOKED GOOD. OBVIOUSLY THIS ISN’T WHAT I WANTED EXACTLY BUT IT DEFINITELY GETS THE MESSAGE ACROSS.
POSTER DESIGN: ONE LAST OUTCOME I MADE FOR THIS PROJECT WAS A MATCHING POSTER FOR EMPRESS MEIJI. I USED AN ILLUSTRATION SKETCH FROM MY SKETCHBOOK AND PUT TOGETHER A QUICK POSTER. I CAN IMAGINE IT BEING DISPLAYED ON A BILLBOARD OR A BUS-STOP.
FINAL OUTCOME
DEGREE SHOW PLAN
THE PLAN FOR MY DEGREE SHOW IS TO PRESENT MY EMPRESS MEIJI FIGURE ON A PLINTH WITH SURROUNDING PERSPEX TO NOT ONLY PRESENT HER IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT BUT ALSO TO PROTECT HER AS SHE IS NOT MEANT TO BE HANDLED. I PLAN ON HAVING SOME SPOTLIGHTS IN THE PERSPEX BOX, HOWEVER, I AM NOT ENTIRELY CERTAIN ON HOW IT WOULD WORK. I WILL DEFINITELY HAVE IT FIGURED OUT IN TIME OF THE DEGREE SHOW; IT’S IMPORTAANT THAT MY FIGURE WILL BE LIT UP BEAUTIFULLY TO SHOWCASE ALL THE COLOURS AND MATERIALS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME NOT OVERHEAT. FOR THE REST OF MY DISPLAY, I PLAN ON PRINTING AN A2/A3 POSTER TO ‘ADVERTISE’ MY MEIJI DOLL AND HAVE IT PLACED JUST BEHIND THE PLINTH. BESIDE THAT I WOULD WANT A SMALL SHELF TO HOLD MY BOX PACKAGING AND POTENTIALLY A BOX OF FREE STICKERS PEOPLE COULD HELP THEMSELVES TO.
SELF-REFLECTION THIS PROJECT, DESPITE A BUMPY START, HAS BEEN THE MOST EXCITING AND ENJOYABLE PROJECTS I HAVE EVER WORKED ON. I’VE BEEN WANTING TO CREATE A DESIGNER TOY FOR SO LONG AND TO ACTUALLY HAVE A PHYSICAL OUTCOME THAT I’M PROUD OF AND REPRESENTS MY DESIGN AESTHETIC IS REMARKABLE. THE PROCESS HAS HAD A LOT OF TRIAL AND ERRORS. I HAVE FACED NUMEROUS TECHNICAL CHALLENGES, EXPERIMENTED WITH NEW TOOLS AND MEDIUMS AS WELL AS DEVELOPING SKILLS IN MY 3D WORK. I’VE BEEN CONSTANTLY CONCEPTUALISING IDEAS AND TRYING TO CHANNEL MY THOUGHTS INTO A CLEAR IDEA IN ORDER TO PROVIDE SOME DIRECTION AND GROWTH TO THE INITIAL IDEA. THE OUTCOME I PICKED REALLY CHALLENGED ME. FROM THE FIRST IDEA I HAD, ALL THE WAY UP UNTIL WRITING THIS. I WANTED TO THREAD MY NUMEROUS SKILLS THAT I’VE REFINED THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF MY DEGREE AND BRING THEM ALL TOGETHER TO SHOW MY VERSATILITY IN THE EVER CHANGING CREATIVE FIELD. HAVING DONE SO, I MANAGED TO BRING TOY DESIGN, PACKAGING, TYPOGRAPHY, FILM, PHOTOGRAPHY, POSTER DESIGN AND BRANDING ALL TOGETHER IN A COHESIVE IDEA THAT TRANSLATES ACROSS ALL MEDIA. MY BIGGEST GROWTH OVER THE COURSE OF THIS PROJECT WAS MY TIME MANAGEMENT AND REALLY MAXIMISING MY TIME. I FELT THAT AT THE START OF THE PROJECT, MY TIME WASN’T USED EFFECTIVELY AND THEREFORE LED ME TO FOCUS IN THE WRONG AREAS OF THE PROCESS. HOWEVER, AFTER HAVING A WAKE UP CALL, I BEGAN BRAINSTORMING AND DEVELOPED NEW EXCITING IDEAS THAT CAME VERY NATURAL TO ME. I PLAN ON CONTINUING WITH THIS PROJECT IN THE HOPES THAT IT WILL BECOME THE STARTING POINT OF A FUTURE CAREER,
WITHIN THE NEXT MONTH OR SO, I’M PLANNING ON USING THE 3D SCANNER AT UNI AND SCAN THE FIGURE TO MAKE A MOLD. THEN I WILL BE ABLE TO CAST MORE EMPRESSES AND PERHAPS EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT COLOURWAYS AND CLOTHING. I’M HOPING THAT BY NEXT YEAR, I WILL HAVE A VERY REFINED EMPRESS MEIJI THAT COULD BE SHOWCASED AT TOYCON UK 2019! I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A TABLE WHERE I CAN DISPLAY AND SELL MY CREATIONS. I LOVE THE IDEA OF HAVING A PLAIN FIGURE SO THAT PEOPLE CAN CREATE THEIR OWN SCULPTURAL OUTFIT FOR THE EMPRES AND WE CAN SEE EVERYONE’S OWN INTERPRETATION OF MODERN FASHION. I THINK THIS PROJECT BECAME EXTREMELY VERSITILE - NOT ONLY IN SKILL BUT ALSO IN THE NARRATIVE. I WOULD LOVE TO GIVE EMPRESS MEIJI A MORE THOUGHT OUT STORYLINE WITH EXCITING DETAILS EXPLAINING HER APPEARANCE, OR THE IDEA OF HER BECOMING A ‘PRODUCT’ THAT ENCOURAGES FASHION FAUX PAS’ AND INDIVIDUALISM. OVERALL, I’M STILL FEELING EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROJECT AND THE MANY POSSIBILITIES IT HAS. IF I HAD MORE TIME, I WOULD DEFINITELY CREATE MORE PACKAGING DESIGNS, TRY OUT DIFFERENT OUTFITS OR EVEN CAST HER IN RESIN.I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT I AM STILL ABLE TO DO THOSE THINGS NOW.
OVERALL REFLECTION ON ‘INDEPENDENT PRACTISE’ AT THE BEGINNING OF MY INDEPENDENT PRACTISE, I STRUGGLED A LOT WITH TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE MY DIRECTION WAS HEADING. THE ISSUE I HAD WAS THAT I DIDN’T HAVE A CLEAR IDEA ON WHAT I WANTED TO FOCUS ON. I WORKED WELL WITH SET BRIEFS THAT HAD A PARTICULAR CRITERIA, THEREFORE BY NOT CREATING MY OWN BRIEF THAT’S SIMILAR TO THE STUDIO PRACTISE, I HAD THE ONGOING PROBLEM OF HAVING NO DIRECTION OR EVEN ANY FUN. MY FIRST SELF-INITIATED PROJECT WAS THE ONE I STRUGGLED WITH THE MOST. I WAS SO FOCUSED IN WANTING TO MAKE A DESIGNER TOY, THAT I DIDN’T GIVE MYSELF ANY INFLUENCE OR INSPIRATION AS TO WHAT MY CHARACTER DESIGN COULD BE BASED ON. THE ATTEMPTS I MADE IN TRYING TO PUSH A CHARACTER OUT OF MY HEAD WERE BORDERLINE SHOCKING. I REALLY DID NOT LIKE THE WAY I WENT ABOUT WITH THIS PROJECT. AND IT WAS THE FIRST LESSON I HAD LEARNT - NOT TO FORCE OUT IDEAS, BECAUSE IT DOESN’T WORK. MY SECOND INDEPENDENT PROJECT WAS A LITTLE BETTER. I HAD A CLEARER DIRECTION AND MORE MOTIVATION TO CREATE SOMETHING. THIS TIME, I WANTED TO CREATE CHARACTERS THAT LIVE IN THIS IMAGINARY WORLD. AGAIN, THERE WERE NO INSPIRATIONS THAT LED ME TO THIS CONCEPT. THEREFORE I WENT THROUGH A LOT OF TRIAL AND ERROR IN ORDER TO TRY GIVE THESE CHARACTERS AN INTERESTING NARRATIVE. THE ISSUE I HAD WITH THIS PROJECT WAS THAT THE EARLY OUTCOMES BECAME VERY TAME AND BORING. THE MARKET STALLS WAS A RANDOM
IDEA THAT CAME UP BECAUSE I FELT PRESSURED IN NEEDING THE PEBBLE PEOPLE TO BE IN A PARTICULAR SETTING. AFTER HAVING THE FORMATIVE REVIEW ABOUT THIS PROJECT, I FOUND THAT THE INTERESTS I HAD IN THIS PROJECT WAS THE PHOTOGRAPHY AND TYPOGRAPHY. THIS LED ME TO PRODUCE ANOTHER OUTCOME THAT WAS A LOT STRONGER AND HAD MORE EXPERIMENTATION DONE. NOT ONLY THAT BUT I ENJOYED PRODUCING LITTLE OUTCOMES THIS TIME. I MADE THE PEBBLE PEOPLE SEEM MORE CRUDE WITH THE HELP OF MY TYPE DESIGN. I LOVED THE IDEA OF JUXTAPOSING THE NARRATIVE WITH THE FRIENDLY AND SOFT TYPEFACE I MADE OUT OF PLASTICINE. IN REGARDS TO MY COMMEMORATION PROJECT, I DID HAVE A ROUGH START WHICH ALMOST LED ME TOWARDS THE SAME MINDSET AS I HAD DURING THE FIRST TWO PROJECTS. HOWEVER, TO HAVE PROGRESSED FROM HAVING ALMOST NO OUTCOME IN THE FIRST PROJECT, TO NOW HAVING A REALLY STRONG OUTCOME WITH A NUMEROUS AMOUNT OF SUPPORTING WORK AND RESEARCH HAS DEFINITELY BEEN A HUGE LEAP IN HEADING TOWARDS THE RIGHT DIRECTION. I COULDN’T BE MORE HAPPIER THAT I HAVE FINALLY PROVED TO MYSELF THAT I AM CAPABLE OF CREATING SOMETHING I AM PROUD OF. NOT ONLY THAT BUT I WAS ALSO AMAZED AT WHAT I CAN ACHIEVE WITHIN A FEW WEEKS. I HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT I WAS ABLE TO WORK WELL UNDER PRESSURE AND I WISHED I HAD KNOWN THAT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. I WOULD’VE GIVEN MYSELF STRICT DEADLINES IN GETTING THINGS DONE A LOT QUICKER AND PERHAPS STICK TO THE THEMES I AM INTERESTED IN. I WAS SO CAUGHT UP IN WANTING TO CHALLENGE MYSELF TO NEW CONCEPTS THAT IT COMPLETELY CHANGED MY WORK ETHIC AND BECAME SOMETHING I ‘HAD’ TO DO, NOT SOMETHING I ‘WANT’ TO KEEP DOING. WHICH IS WHY I AM SO RELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN GIVEN ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR THE INDEPENDENT PRACTISE TO SHOW WHAT I AM REALLY CAPABLE WHEN I AM INSPIRED AND DETERMINED TO DO WELL IN.