Applied illustration project report
ouil505: project report This module has been enjoyable to complete due to the relevance it has had to my practical interests. Working with a text of my choosing that I really like without any restrictions has meant that I’ve been incredibly motivated to make work that both uses approaches I enjoy, but also does Kafka’s work justice. Reading back through my initial project proposal, I didn’t end up doing exactly what I set out to propose. I initially drew inspiration from the Folio Society’s line of books and wanted to produce a set of hardback, beautifully bound books. In the end, further research into my text made me feel as though a commemorative box set would be the most appropriate outcome for Metamorphosis’ 100th anniversary. I’m happy that I decided to deviate from this plan because it meant that I was able to make something that was more original and personal to me as a practitioner and less derivative.
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I’m a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to produce a set of full-colour inner illustrations for the stories as I feel that the direction I was going in with them was a good one. It was potentially the part of the brief I was most excited about tackling as it involved developing skills of mine which I feel are lacking: composition, colour and perspective. However, by including these images into my workload I was essentially working on two different briefs which I simply didn’t have time to complete, so it’s a good thing I stopped when I did. Thumbnailing for the inner illustrations was a lot of fun though and made up the bulk of the first half of the visual journal. Seeing how much I enjoyed this process, it is something I am definitely going to try and develop and get better for when I come back in Level 6.
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Unfinished inner illustration for Contemplation 7
In terms of the production of resolutions, I think that this module has definitely taken after Responsive – I feel that I have become much more inclined to making work at a more finished and professional level of quality. This is not only noticeable in the book covers, but the layout and design of the box set, which I am particularly proud of. When I applied the 100th anniversary sticker to the covers of the books on Photoshop, I thought they really completed the designs and helped solidify the illustrations that were on them.
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Initial test for box set net
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In the final crit, several people noted that my approach to illustrating the covers seemed like a visual progression from the etchings that I produced for OUIL504. I thought that this was an incredibly interesting piece of feedback to get as any similarity in visual ‘style’ and production was purely accidental. If people are beginning to see similarities from project to project then I find this encouraging as the on-going PPP module has made me concerned about my lack of a developing tone of voice. I also received good feedback regarding the professional-looking nature of my final presentation boards. This is another key transferrable skill which I feel has come out of what I learnt in Responsive. If I had access to more relevant materials then I feel that my outcomes would be a lot more striking – coated one side being the primary stock that I needed for this brief and my book covers. The stock I printed my covers out on down in reprographics made the images come out pixelated and blurry which was very disappointing. My inexperience in crafting also meant that I couldn’t quite do the box set justice when it actually came to producing it, but I feel that it would otherwise be a design ready to go on the shelves at Waterstones (this side of production wouldn’t be handled by me in a real situation anyway so I’m less disappointed about this in that regard).
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A final disappointment in the project is that I didn’t get a reply from Bill Bragg. I think that his answers to my questions could have potentially given me some interesting insight into the process of illustrating for books from a technical standpoint. Although I didn’t make inner illustrations (which the questions regarded), it would have been good knowledge to take away for the future. Overall, I feel like this module has been valuable in helping me re-affirm my interest in book design and illustration. Through this book-related brief, I have had an opportunity to push my skills in conceptual development, drawing, type and layout and craft. The fact that I have gotten so much out of the module has meant that it has played a key part in my development this year, alongside all the other modules so far. I hope to refine the skills I have developed (or begun to develop) before and throughout Level 6.
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