OUIL603 Extended Practice Project Report
Ellie Chappell OUIL603
Contents: Rationale………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3 Brief 1: Final Major Project-Amsterdam: An Illustrated Guide………………………………………..4 Brief 2: Building of the Week………………………………………………………………………………………8 Brief 3: Papyrus Colouring Book…………………………………………………………………………………10 Brief 4: To Kill A Mockingbird…………………………………………………………………………………….12 Brief 5: In Cold Blood………………………………………………………………………………………………..14 Brief 6: ibis Styles Mural……………………………………………………………………………………………16 Discontinued/Less Successful Briefs…………………………………………………………………………..18
Ellie Chappell OUIL603
Rationale The main thing that I wanted to explore this year within my practice is the essence of behaviour; what makes people want to do things and why. At the start of the year I was more inclined to exploring how illustration can be used as a socially responsible method of communication in the contexts of education, health and wellbeing and current affairs in society. The essence of behaviour as a theme has presented itself in some areas of my practice this year, yet towards the end of the year I’ve found that the projects that I have enjoyed the most are those that have a stronger relation ‘people and places’, particularly having taken a strong interest towards urban development and architectural history. Traditional methods of image making including watercolour paint and mixed dry media have continued to lie at the heart of my practice, allowing me to have developed a stronger and more sensitive tone of voice that will drive me forward to continue developing my practice in the future.
Ellie Chappell OUIL603
Brief 1: Amsterdam
Ellie Chappell OUIL603
Brief 1: Amsterdam
Ellie Chappell OUIL603
Brief 1: Amsterdam: An Illustrated Guide
I cannot express how difficult I found the whole of FMP, and I’m so proud of myself for actually producing a final piece, even though it is just a proposal at this stage. At the start of this project I had the most awful creative block which set me back massively time wise and made it nearly impossible to envision producing a final outcome.
However, ‘quality, not quantity’ is the main focus here, and I have learnt a great deal about the importance and experience of my image making process during this brief, as well as arriving at a position where I can confidently identify my strengths and weaknesses as an illustrator.
Ellie Chappell OUIL603
It’s difficult to say what I would do differently in hindsight, because I know that I was in a bad place at the start of the project, and there isn’t much I can do to change that. Although finding the strength to draw through my struggles is something that I definitely need to capitalise on. This is a realistic goal due to my expressive and gestural methods of image
Brief 1: Amsterdam
making having the ability to convey both energy and emotion. Travel illustration and documentation is something that I am very keen to pursue within my practice, both on a personal and commercial/ professional level, and if anything, this brief has provided me with the reassurance that it IS possible for me to be successful in doing so.
Ellie Chappell OUIL603
Brief 2: Building of the Week
Building of the Week began as a self set ‘one-a-week’ brief exploring my interest of urban architecture in Leeds. After a few trips around the city taking photos, I produced a weekly watercolour and fine liner portrait of a chosen building that I found interesting, either for its aesthetic, its history, or the retail commercialisation subtracting from its beauty.
Whilst building up my portfolio of building portraits, and posting them online via Instagram on weekly basis I was spotted by Independent Leeds magazine and was commissioned to produce a series of building portraits to support two articles illustrating the history and independence of Leeds in two separate issues. This was a good experience of gaining commercial success from a self driven project.
Ellie Chappell OUIL603 Papyrus is a British charity that aims to help prevent suicide in young people; they put a call out for artists to submit A3 designs for a colouring book they were producing called ‘The Art of a Peaceful Mind’. The aim of the colouring book is to help reduce stress and anxiety in young people, and preventing further mental health issues from developing into adulthood.
Brief 3: Papyrus Colouring Book
I was passionate about submitting my work to this competition as mental health is an extremely important topic both for me personally, and so many other people that are struggling with such issues. Also, having an interest in art therapy and illustration that promotes good mental wellbeing allowed this brief to play a key role in developing my practice and responding to my rationale. I proposed an underwater theme to my double spread page, as watching sea creatures, in particular jellyfish, move through the water is something that I find extremely calming and relaxing. I was thrilled to be informed that my design has been chosen to be published in the book, which will be on sale from May 2017!
Ellie Chappell OUIL603
Brief 4: To Kill A Mockingbird
Having enjoyed entering the Penguin Design Award so much last year, I decided to take up this brief again this year. With my practice being quite broad and adaptable, book cover design is an area that I could see my practice being applicable to as I develop as a creative.
It took me a while to arrive at a concept that I had confidence in, but I decided to base my visual response around one of my favourite quotes from the book: “You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” As it is a coming of age story, I wanted to focus on the development of Scout as a character, and how she comes to understand the unjust accusation against Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of raping a white woman. I used the shoes of these two characters with footprints of a mockingbird to represent the notion of empathy that Attius explains to Scout in the quote.
I read To Kill A Mockingbird last year, and knowing that it is an internationally treasured novel with a range of different jacket designs made it more challenging to come up with something original.
I am pleased with my final design, although it didn’t make the long/short list in the competition, but this has urged me to continue developing this skill for my future practice.
Ellie Chappell OUIL603
Brief 5: In Cold Blood
I decided to submit an entry to the Adult NonFiction category of the Penguin design Award for the book entitled ‘In Cold Blood’ by Truman Capote. Admittedly this was a last minute decision, therefore I don’t have as much confidence in this piece of work as I do for To Kill A Mockingbird. Having not read the book properly and given myself enough time to develop a unique interpretation of the accounted murder, it was inevitable that I wouldn't have full confidence in my submission. However, going on the information that I did acquire, I was able to compose a simple and accurate insight into the relevant themes of the book, creating an eerie and mysterious visual scene where the murder took place at a lonely Kansas farmhouse.
Although this hasn’t been my most successful piece of work, it has reinforced the value that reading and interpreting a text can have on the quality and aesthetic of the finished outcome, and has urged me to continue developing my visual narrative skills for my future practice.
Ellie Chappell OUIL603
Brief 6: ibis Styles Mural
Town Centre Securities in conjunction with the Merrion Centre launched a local competition for students to design a mural for the reception area of the new ibis Styles Hotel in the arena quarter in Leeds. The title of the brief was ‘What does Leeds mean to you as a student?’ which I thought would be the perfect opportunity for me to pour out everything I love about being a student in the city. I mostly wanted to celebrate the independent scene and the hidden gems that are popular with students, such as Mojo’s bar, the Hyde Park Picture House and the Belgrave Music Hall in a vibrant, gestural collage. I was absolutely over the moon to discover that my design had won the competition and would be on public display in the new hotel!
Preparing the final artwork for the client was great experience for working to commercial requirements and deadlines, as well as great exposure for my work and a huge confidence boost! This has urged me to seek similar opportunities in public art projects in alignment with my practice.
Ellie Chappell OUIL603
Discontinued/ Less Successful Briefs Wellington Place Brief From being on a high that I won the ibis competition, I thought I’d have the confidence to go forward and submit some work for the reception area of one of the new business buildings on Wellington Place. I really enjoyed this brief, as I decided to research the history of the site and its former use as a train station with the lifting tower being preserved as a grade 1 listed building. Similar to the ibis mural, I proposed some collage type line drawings of the development of the area. In the brief they only asked for rough sketches, but I think I should have invested more time into these, as they look a bit too rough without much structure or scope.
Ellie Chappell OUIL603
Discontinued/ Less Successful Briefs
Health Editorial of the Week Due to my interest in spreading awareness of health and wellbeing through illustration, I initially set myself the task of producing an editorial piece per week on a health related news article. After just one week, I found that my the process I went through to get to the final illustration was quite restrictive, resulting in the outcome failing to reflect and celebrate my loose and gestural tone of voice. Thus I decided not to continue with this brief, and head down a more reportage/exploratory route with the Building of the Week project.
Ellie Chappell OUIL603
Discontinued/ Less Successful Briefs Virgin Media Box Decoration In October last year, the Headingley residents association launched a call out for artists to decorate the electrical boxes in the local area. I thought this would be something that would really interest me, as I am keen to get involved with community and public art projects, but I decided not to submit my ‘Cardigan Road’ entry at the last minute. This was because I wasn’t feeling too great in myself that particular week, therefore was lacking a lot of confidence in my work as well as experiencing a lot of anxiety about starting Extended Practice. As a result I couldn't bring myself to submit my design, even though it had a lot of potential to be chosen, and I am disappointed I missed out on this opportunity. But on a positive note, I spoke to the organiser of the competition and she said that there is still a chance that more boxes could become available to paint in the future, so I will take up that opportunity if it does arise again.