Graduate Diploma Creative Practice
PORTFOLIO
James Blackett K1545142 PM7000
CONTENTS
Core II
What the GDCP has done for me
Creative Futures
Penguin Design Award 2016
Capstone Progress
What the GDCP has done for me
CORE II
What the GDCP has done for me
My time on the GDCP has been invaluable towards my creative practice in challenging my understanding of “effective visual communication.” (Male - quote on adjoining page) Prior to the course my work had lacked direction and conviction, yet throughout the many modules of the course I have highlighted my areas of weakness and begun to developed upon them. I was immediately asked whether I considered my illustration as either art or design. Up until this course it had been predominantly art, providing no functionality and adhering to no real process. Yet the more I research this idea of art or design the more I see that they overlap. Creating a unique style and approach within my work that does not specifically follow a set of guidelines or briefs could be considered art, yet it could be argued that once this style and process is implemented it could become a design solution.This, whilst not attempting to provide a solution itself, motivates me to try and acheive both simultaneously and the freedom to interpret each brief on this course has been a positive environment to experiment with this.
“Effective visual communication is not the result of some clandestine undertaking aiming to confuse, but instead a free and purposefully administrated process of imagination, analysis and professional bearance.” (Male 2007, p. 182)
Working in a collaborative environment
The relationships that I have built throughout the course have helped shape my experience and had a positive effect on the degree of success of each project. This collaborative environment has also pushed me to consider my own contributions, to try and engage and inspire others through critical yet positive feedback. Different collaborative projects on the course have also highlighted my strengths when working in a team. I have found delivering this positive feedback to be highly beneficial in this environment, trying to equally disperse attention and contribution to try engage all members of a team. In this respect I found I have a tendency to adopt an authorative role which was suprising as I hadn’t considered myself in this light before. Within preparation for this essay one assignment was to consider my own manifesto (shown on each left hand page and final page), something I had not necessarily thought about before. It made me consider how and why I design and was developed through collaboration with my group. Each step of my manifesto is also reflective of my process, something that my research into the process models in Dubberly’s How do you design?, solidified the importance of. Prior to this course I had no real structure, leaving no time for iterations or critical thinking and little awareness of the current market. Yet the Process module pushed me to create my own informed and structured process through consideration of how other practitioners work. This provided interesting perspectives from the class as it included all students on the GDCP, many from a different practice to myself.
“Design is purpose-oriented action. It is also oriented at the creation of products, communications or services. To acheive stated goals, design involves planning methods ... before engaging in production. The design process must be well organised, so that the efforts are efficient and effective.” (Frascara 2008, p. 45)
In this nightmare vision of youth in revolt, fifteen-year-old Alex and his friends set out on a diabolical orgy of robbery, rape, torture and murder. Alex is jailed for his teenage delinquency and the State tries to reform him – but at what cost? Social prophecy? Black comedy? A study of free will? A Clockwork Orange is all of these. It is also a dazzling experiment in language, as Burgess creates ‘nadsat’, the teenage slang of a not-too-distant future.
‘Every generation should discover this book’ Time Out
£9.99 I S B N 978-0-141-18260-5
Fig. 1 - Capstone project, an experiment with print and animation to reflect the world I see around me. Themes of gentrification and the rise of technology set in a busy city scene.
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PENGUIN Ficton
‘A gruesomely witty cautionary tale’ -Time
24/09/2015 16:07
Fig.3 - My cover for A Clockwork Orange from the Creative Futures module. Potentially the most beneficial module for my progress and confidence. Fig.4 - Single cover for Waxwork Figurine’s single release of ‘Simulacra.’ Created pre-GDCP its visual impact was positive, but the composition was poor and the context unexplained
Fig. 2 - My poster for the Word project. Following a conversation I had with someone who exhibited their racist and irrational views, I created my response to not only the rise of islamaphobia in todays society, but other racist views. The tagline Fear the Unknown was adopted to try and accentuate my point and create a provocative project that questioned the power of typography.
Experimentation
One of the most exciting parts of the course has been experimentation and seeking the best approach to each brief. The attached quote from Rick Poynor influenced me to consider the potential that this experimentation presented. As I build my visual vocabulary the effectiveness and conviction of my illustration has developed, along with my aforementioned process.Yet with this opportunity to experiment with style and techniques has come the reinforcement of the importance of originality and consistency. Style is a critical concern for an illustrator at any stage in his or her career. What it says about an artists point of view and how it frames an illustrator’s ideas can mean triumph or failure - it can mean an illustrator has a voice or is mute. (Heller and Arisman 2004, p. 63) The skills I have learnt continue to be incorporated into my style and approach to design and even though I believe I have my own voice, I still feel it is essential to not only nurture this, but to develop it further.
“Illustration that challenges the limitations of the craft and through the intensity of its vision becomes as interesting as, or more interesting than, the purpose that inspired it.” (Noble 2003 cited Poynor 1988, p.10)
One aspect that I feel has had a profoundly positive effect on my voice is how my use of typography has developed over the course. According to Noble “Central to all illustration is the relationship of images to words,” (2003, p. 70) Considering its function within design I now integrate it into the initial conception of each project, rather than as an afterthought. This has added a level of depth to my work that has received positive response. (fig. 3 and fig. 4) Are two good representations of this development. One pre GDCP, the other for my Creative Futures project. The feedback I received from these pieces was varied; the visual impact of both was positive, yet the context of Waxwork Figurine cover required an explanation. Typography was infact an after thought for this piece and there were few iterations, leading to a confusing layout with the title of the song obscured by noise in the corner. Comparatively, several iterations and a consideration of the automatic associations we have to different typefaces led to the A Clockwork Orange covers typography and illustration not only complimenting each other, but the whole piece being conceptually stronger. This is something I look forward to developing in the MA.
What type of designer do I want to be?
I have also become aware of the importance of remaining socially and culturally aware and how this can affect my work. This has been apparent within some of my projects, most notably Word (fig. 2)and Capstone( fig. 1), which were personal commentary on the issues I see around me. In fact I have become more drawn to the concept that the more vulnerable my work becomes, the more meaningful and exciting it is. In the first term I hadn‘t really considered my audience or how to interact with them, whilst the second term was predominantly catered towards this. Prior to the course I had been illustrating for a magazine and an extreme sports company, but had only just begun considering the market place and how my work would fit into it. My work in the Capstone project evolved to become dedicated towards appealling to a market, trying to engage the audience through printing and moving image to deliver my message. This awareness, as highlighted in Alan Male’s quote on the adjoined page, is crucial to be a successful creative practitioner. Predominantly I am a conceptual illustrator, designing for myself, providing commentary on what I see around me through “humour, play and wit” as presented by Wigan (2008 p. 67). Yet I now see the potential of how I can develop my role as a narrator into a product to be used to illustrate a wide range of scenarios. Something that hopefully could lead onto work in editorial illustration and moving image.
“Illustrators need to have knowledge, understanding and insight regarding the context within which they are working, the subject matter they are engaged with, and be able professionals working within the parameters and needs of the market place and target audiences.” (Male 2007, p. 11)
James Blackett
The Manifesto
11
What next?
In conclusion and to answer What the GDCP has done for me it has provided me a positive and collaborative environment where I have been able to develop my practice. Initially I was not convinced by the self directed learning that this course required, yet as I have progressed I realise this has given me the confidence and skill set required to progress onto the Masters program and ultimately create my place in the industry. The next year proposes the opportunity to continue my development and experiments with specificed attention to print, typography and animation.
Penguin Design Award 2016
CREATIVE FUTURES
“Oh, it was gorgeosity and yumyumyum. When it came to the Scherzo I could viddy myself very clear running and running on like the very light and mysterious nogas, carving the whole litso of the creeching world with my cut-throat brittle.�
Research My intital research required me to observe other designers interpretations of A Clockwork Orange. Through this I could begin to understand the different approaches, through design, theme, colour and typography. It became immediately obvious that there were recurring themes, yet there were also some very unique approaches. Many showed the struggle that the protagonist goes through, others adopting the droogs fashion and some a literal translation of the title. The effectiveness of each of these designs is varied to me. I have chosen to display some of the more unique approaches, yet I still feel that some are not a solid visual representation of the book. The glass of milk is my least favourite, even though I understand the significance of milk throughout the novel, I just don’t feel that the cover has very much impact. Other covers have used the eye, Alexs hat and an orange for the cover, yet I want to move away from this, rather than create another cover that uses one of these themes.
Above one of my moodboards displaying various covers of A Clockwork Orange. And three of my favourites from various designers [1,2,3]
[4] The most iconic and recycled cover is David Pelham’s cover from 1972 to be released as Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation came out in cinemas.
Familiarity and understanding of the book’s contents - the narrative or the essence of what is being said - is essential in order to ensure that an appropriate visual identity is utilised. (Male 2007, p.178)
Market Research Other Sci fi novels These two different covers for The Man In The High Castle by Philip K Dick show two different styles of typography. With the handdrawn feel of the earlier version a contrast to the sharp and futuristic type on the latest, with the latter being released in conjunction with a new TV series based on the book. To me the illustrative cover is far more exciting and the use of bold black figure and text against a plain white background make it visually appealling. The typography also works in [5] (The Man in the [6] (The Man in the harmony with the illustration. High Castle, 2014) High Castle, 2015)
Considering the novels target audience, who they were and what others interests they may have.
[7 - 10] These titles were all released in 2015 and all show the title of the novel taking centre stage in bold typeface. Each one has its own futuristic feel to it, especially Planetfall with its unique typography and image complementing each other. Two also use 3D type which add a more comical and cartoon feel to them. With each of these covers the automatic assumption would be that they aresci-fi, as the typography clearly reflects this. Two more moodboards this time researching similar titles and other novels of the same genre. These show not only an interesting collection of typographic approaches, but the imagery on each is very unique and suggestive of the themes within.
Themes Free Will
Maturity
Free will is the most important theme running throughout A Clockwork Orange. From the beginning of the novel showing Alex and his fellow droogs commiting a series of crimes to having him incarcerated and being put onto the Ludovico program, programming him to be unable of any form of violence, Burgess questions the importance of free will. He used these extremes as a way of questioning the morality of the characters; having the ‘New Government’ bringing in this new technique and using Alex as their guinea pig, to the political revolutionaries in the last chapters trying to force Alex’s suicide.
The final chapter of the novel was only released in the 80s, long after the book had been first published. This chapter shows Alex back to his previous state, but this time with a new set of droogs. It is out on the hunt for some ultra violence where we see the real change in his personality and path. With the affects of the Ludovico Technique gone he makes his own decision to put an end to his aggressive and evil ways, through his own free will.
Top : [11] (Espinoza, 2011) Middle: My sketch trying to visualise free will and how Alex is deprived of his within the novel. Left: [12] (Bailey, 2008) Below left: Moodboard on Free Will and Duality
[13] (Jones, 2014) I was trying to reflect the idea of maturity and free will with the sketch above, showing Alex stuck in his head, not having the choice of really growing up. A similar design is the cover by Ben Jones, a good visual representation of free will aswel as a visualisation of the title. The idea of removing free will and programming someone to make a certain set of decisions, in this case visualised through a silhouette full of cogs.
Power
Dystopia
Government
The novel is set in a dystopian future, a totalitarian society in a bleak landscape where the governments control is matched by gangs that roam the streets at night causing mayhem with little fear of any reprocussions.
The role of the government throughout the novel is seeking to control the masses through making them more predictable. Each able bodied citizen is also forced to work, Alex’s parents are ‘rabbiting’ away at their meaningless jobs, equally fearful of the government as they are of their son.
Control The policies of the Government change throughout the book, yet they both use violence as a means of controlling the masses. With youth groups such as Alex and his droogs roaming the streets, people are afraid and stay indoors, as it is mentioned that very little policing happens after dark. Further on in the novel the Government has given policing jobs to Alex’s former droogs and other gang members, utilising the power and control these gangs had over people and the fear they induced. The evil actions that Alex and his droogs commit are also reflected in the actions of other state officials and doctors.
Moodboard for Control and Government
[14] (Blade runner, no date) A still from the film Blade Runner, an adaptation of P. K. Dick’s Do androids dream of electric sheep? A classic sci fi/ dystopian novel. [15] (1984 poster, no date) A poster from the film adaptation of G.Orwell’s classic 1984. A political poster could be an interesting concept..
Scene Setting Burgess had seen a rise in teenage gang culture in 1957 and 58 when returning from him and his wife leave in Malaya and later in Russia. Youth culture constantly dividing into different trends, at the time was Teddy boys in England. Dressed in neo-Edwardian suits and whilst looking elegant, were feared for their violence. These were comparable to the youth gangs in Russia, the stilyaqi or style boys, also known for their outward appearance and acts of violence, another influence on Burgess. Alex is a 15 year old at the beginning of the novel, with his fellow droogs being a little older. The dystopian environment was not only reflected in the totalitarian governments control and gangs ruling the night, but also through the architecture. The 60s brought Brutalist architecture, a futuristic design that suited the dystopian narrative well. These have complimented not only Kubricks adaptation but many other Sci Fi films and novels, making it hard, at least personally, to imagine a futuristic landscape not adorned with them.
Clockwise from top left: [16] (Pare, 1933) [17] (House of Soviets, no date) [18] (Steele-Perkins, 1976) [19] (Punks, no date) [20] (Late 60’s fashion and the “baby doll� dress, no date)
Ink sketches trying to visualise how Alex or his droogs may have looked to Burgess. Above a literal depiction of the fashion described in the book and to the right adopted a classic skinhead look.
Judges John Hamilton
David Shrigley
Another art director, Hamilton’s personal work and directed work ranges from illustration to photography with strong typography.
Shrigley’s artwork has a melancholic feel to it and is seemingly all done freehand. His use of typography reflects this and compliments his illustrations. [21-22] (Shrigley, 2007 & 2004)
Alexandra Shulman Shulman is editor in chief of British Vogue magazine. The magazine is famous for its bold title and more often than not alongside a model, type dominates the cover.
Jim Stoddart Jim Stoddart is art director at Penguin. This is a selection of his personal work and others he has directed. they are very varied in their approach, but there is a theme of some strong typography throughout. Also there is a wide variety of style of illustrations and colour. I will consider this as I create my cover.
[24] (Stoddart, no date)
[25] (Hamilton, no date)
[23] (Vogue, 2016)
[26] (Hamilton, 1998)
Joanna Prior
Managing Director, has helped with many successful campaigns and releases. The image attached is N.Hornsby’s book which she helped publish.
[27] (Hornby, 2011)
A book I found to be very helpful was Penguin 75. This displayed a range of different covers from artists and directors. Here is Isaac Tobin’s Everything Matters cover and some of the other designs by alternative artists.
Left - [28] (Tobin, p.77) Right - [29] (Sergio, p.78)
Typography New releases from Penguin These new releases show a variety of different type, half being in handwritten and the other being bold and solid. Each one works in harmony with the rest of the cover, some even overlapping. The use of solid type on Baby doll is a great use of colour against the background image and commands attention, whilst the handwritten type on Dear Amy is simple and effective working into the background.
My moodboard where I began to consider the typography and colour of alternative versions of the book cover.
[30] (Collection of books for 2016 release, 2016)
The different styles of typography massively effected how much the book stood out from its surroundings. The new cover with the glass of milk is unfortunately not as eye catching through its use of type or imagery, it simply stood out more because of its light colour pallette. Other titles though such as Kurt Vonnegut’s Mother Night and Truman Capote’s The early stories had very eye catching covers thanks to their typography and the use of colour.
Typography can also be used to reflect the themes of the novel, the characters within and the emotion of the text. Alex views himself as more intelligent and mature than his fellow droogs, listening to classical music and having a taste for the arts, yet he reveals how immature he is throughout the novel with his childish slang. This could be reflected in the typography, having a classical typeface being recreated by hand with less structure, or even different colours. A cover that uses tyopgraphy and illustration to reflect the novel is The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. Having a basic and formal looking cover torn in half to reveal a colourful typeface that has been shattered and broken apart.
Current Typography Trends
[31] (Matt Dorfman, 2011)
When looking to appeal to todays market it is important to consider the current typographic trends that might be appealling to the reader. A rise in handwritten type can be seen everywhere, not only in book cover design. Other trends show stamp like text being used. Both seem to work well laid over photographs; another trend seen in website design.
Photographs taken by me from WHSmiths and Waterstones
[32] (Typography trends for 2016, 2016)
Considering the typography for this cover I researched how different typefaces provoke unique immediate responses from the viewer. A book that has become my new typography bible is ‘the type taster’ by Sarah Hyndman, where she talks about the importance and effectiveness of typography, something that I have used in previous projects. Yet for this project I wanted to create an original type, something that didn’t mimic something else, but itself could be unique to this book cover. “Moving away from the cliches enables the type to create intrigue and become more complex by adding layers of meaning.” (Hyndman 2015, p. 45)
A selection of different hand drawn type experiments with ink. Taking into consideration spacing, capitals and light and boldness of fonts.
Experiments I became obsessed with trying to visualise the different sides of Alex and the world he inhabits. Each of these initial ideas played with the idea of portraying either his struggle and/or the nature of his environment through reflection.I still believe that these could have made some interesting pieces yet as book cover designs they relied too heavily on the front and back cover being immediately visable and this is obviously not a realistic option.
First sketch was an iteration of the sketch I did for maturity and free will with the 3 faces.
Feedback: The shadow of the building is unrealistic as the light wouldn’t shine through like it does, also relied too heavily on the back cover to provide the context.
Feedback: Too simplistic, althoughthe concept may be obvious it didn’t really receive much of a response.
A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess
ÂŁ9.99 I S B N 978-0-141-18260-5
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A further development of the reflection concept, this time showing Alex set against a city at night, with a drop of blood from his cut throat sending ripples through the puddle below, shattering his reflection. An attempt at visualising his struggle. I decided to scrap all of these images and continue in a completely different direction, yet I did keep the cut throat razor.
PENGUIN Ficton
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Feedback: The idea of a reflection is interesting, yet needs to be developed to show the themes of duality. The figure does not match the background, looks more like a poster
Showing his environment, the night time on front cover showing a footprint from his boot and the reflection of a brutalist building. Whilst the back cover showing people freely walking in the daytime. This was supposed to show how Alex and his droogs controlled the night. The initial sketch and some colouring attempts.
Feedback: The image should have more people in the daytime and alex in the night to really highlight the control gangs have at night. The grey and white didn’t work, stick to one.
Typography Continued The style of calligraphy I adopted for this is quite romantic, yet the execution is immature. This not only reflects the main protagonists personality, but also mimics the cut of the cut throat razor that will lie behind it. Whilst I wanted to use this to project a certain message I also needed to consider how it would work with this image that lay behind it. The darker areas of the hand and razor needed to be avoided, of which I found out in my feedback from my first draft. I also wanted to use the type to frame parts of the image behind, to attempt to make the fit together a bit better, something I feel that I achieved.
Above: The first attempt for the calligraphy. It seemed too tight and controlled, something I wanted to lose.
Above and left are two of the sets of typography that I used for my first draft. The splashes of ink also reflect struggle and when turned to red they represent the themes of horror and violence within the novel.
Experimenting This was the first version of the cut throat razor design. In comparison to the first set of drafts I presented to the class this received far more positive feedback. Yet the were still alot of things to change.The arm was slightly off centre, the blade would work better if it pointed at the penguin in the bottom corner, the back page is too plain and the authors name is illegible.
Above is a scan of the printed image and its feedback I presented to the group. Prior to this session I had not considered any of the areas criticized, for example the back cover being too placid in comparison to the front. But assoon as these were highlighted it the importance of them stood out to me. Below is my initial printed cover with the rest of the classes pieces.
The initial sketches, first draft, hand and razor images and reference photograph I took.
Final Components Considering all of my feedback I recreated each component for the final cover.
I recreated the hand and cut throat razor, having the blade pointing at an angle towards where the penguin logo will be. The type for the cover retained the majority of its form from the original, yet I relocated the authors name to fit in the negative space on the cover, just below the hand.
The ink splashes and other sets of type for the spine and back cover were also recreated. The spine type I made bolder, whilst also trying to make it compliment the front cover. Again the same is true for the quote on the back cover.
E- Books and on the Shelf
Considering how this cover would work in the current market place meant being aware of E-Books and online shops such as Amazon and how it would translate. In an article from The Guardian one of the judges Joanna Prior, Managing Director of Penguin General Books states how this market has grown since their first publishing; “Penguin published the first ebooks in the UK very early in the 21st century and well before most readers knew they wanted to consume books this way. Penguin's ebook sales now account for about 12% of total revenues.” (O’Conor, 2014)
Left: I created a mock up of how my cover would look in Amazon. I am pleased with how it has translated to this as the type is still legible in comparison to the other cover below, yet still mimics the razor blades cut that I had intended. [33] (Screenshot: Amazon books, 2016) Above: Final printed version on my bookshelf
Final Cover
Final Cover
In this nightmare vision of youth in revolt, fifteen-year-old Alex and his friends set out on a diabolical orgy of robbery, rape, torture and murder. Alex is jailed for his teenage delinquency and the State tries to reform him – but at what cost? Social prophecy? Black comedy? A study of free will? A Clockwork Orange is all of these. It is also a dazzling experiment in language, as Burgess creates ‘nadsat’, the teenage slang of a not-too-distant future.
‘Every generation should discover this book’ Time Out
£9.99 I S B N 978-0-141-18260-5
9
780141 182605
AClockworkOrange_DesignAwardsCOVTemplate2.indd 1
PENGUIN Ficton
‘A gruesomely witty cautionary tale’ -Time
24/09/2015 16:07
Critical Reflection I wanted to create a visual representation of the ultra violence that Alex and his droogs engage in, but also to reflect the immaturity and theatrical nature of the novel. The typography was the most challenging part of the process as it saw me experimenting with a style of typography I had little experience in. It holds the basic characteristics of a fancy, classic and loose type, yet delivered with childish execution, something that took multiple attempts to achieve, but serves well as a reflection of Alex's personality. The long trails of each letter also reflect the ‘carving’ that Alex refers too. The type on the spine was a challenging space to fill, as the front cover was very loose and free it feels and looks a little out of place. This could have potentially been resolved through creating a different, yet complimentary type to replace it, but could have brought its own complications of too many typefaces. Also the boldness of the cover works well in real size, yet when reduced it looses some impact. There were many attempts to try and adapt this with bolder type, yet it removed the association with the cut throat blades precision cutting. Overall the process that I went through with this project has not only helped to create a final image I am proud of, but also something I will implement in all future projects.
Front cover
Progress
CAPSTONE PROJECT
Research
GIFs and Cinegraphs
For inspiration I looked at a variety of different animators and illustrators. Each one is inspirational and unique in its execution and subject. The Tribe Society music video is an animation showing different problems in society. The Nice and Serious agency piece marks the 10 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, combining beautiful animation and audio. Decktwo’s Global City 2 is a large scale drawing of different landmarks from around the world.
Top left: [1] (Tribe Society, 2015) Bottom left: [2] (Nice and Serious, 2015) Above: [3] (Decktwo, 2015)
I also had a look at other students from Kingstons animation projects. ‘Somerton Beach’ by Jacob Read was one of my favourites, especially the use of music creating a strong atmosphere. Another interesting animation was Younsik Woo’s Scenery. This animation was based around its audio, visualising each sound. Even though I do not intend on replicating this concept, I am using audio files I have recorded in London, to create some atmosphere.
Above: [4] (Read, no date) Bottom: [5] (Woo, no date)
Cinegraphs are another current trend in moving image. A static image with one section animated. Similar to GIFs they can be used to create a narrative, but more often than not are created with photographs. These have become popular in website design, showcasing either fashion or other products.
“Animation possesses the capacity to create new modes of story-telling, often rejecting the notion of a plot with a beginning, a middle and an end, in favour of symbolic or metaphoric effects.” (Wells, 1998, p. 68)
[6] (J. Beck and K.Burg, no date)
GIFs are an area of animation that can be an effective tool if executed well. A good example is Rebecca Mock’s work, beautiful illustrations that are subtly animated. Even though predominantly known within the internet for capturing moments of humour from movies to celebrity cock ups, GIFs can be used to form a narrative. Rebecca’s pieces are an interesting alternative to an online publication or business due to the professional execution, yet I don’t feel that they would be as useful in my own project. [7] (Mock, no date) [8] (Mock, no date)
I began considering how my work could potentially be used in the market place through researching how others have used animation and other moving image methods. An interesting article, Using animation to create an emotional connection with your audience by Rob Bowen explored the different ways in which web design uses animation.
Above: [9] (Lana, 2013) Below: [10] (Wagerfield and Guglieri, no date)
[11] (Sachs, no date) [12] (Sachs, no date)
Each one of the sites found through Bowen’s article use animted areas in their sites to create more of a connection to the user. The top is an illustrator Michelle Lana’s website with animated characters and the Paralax.js site is directed at use in iPads or iPhones and uses a concept of paralax that I briefly mention later.
Jack Sachs’ work for Trunkfunk records shows an interesting combination of how animation and print can work together to promote a company. The top being the poster and the bottom a still from the animation.
Considering the different approaches I had found in my research I began to consider what I would like to create my own piece about.
Research These newspaper articles each helped to shape the messages incorporated in my piece.The rise of technology has seen a rise in surveillance. In an article highlighting this rise and its future James Temperton states, “By one estimate people in urban areas of the UK are likely to be captured by about 30 surveillance camera systems every day. That's systems, not individual cameras.” (Temperton, 2015). In conjunction to this the majority of us, and I am guilty of this, live through a screen, whether that be our mobile phones, or checking up on Facebook on our laptops at any given chance. This is something I want to satirise through my piece, along with the gentrification and affordable homes to create the narrative for my piece. The two articles below on the Hyde Park flats show how they are reported on, initially with outrage, then a couple of years later as “property porn.” Satirising this in my piece should hopefully build a connection withthe audience, provoking some form of reaction.
[13] (Boffey, 2011) [14] (Wadeson, 2016) [15] (Temperton, 2013)
Top: Moodboard for Gentrification Bottom: Moodboard for Technology and CCTV
City Image The final image went through a few changes throughout planning, as I changing the layout and incorporating more information into the piece. The idea was to have the potential for the image to stand alone, so it would have to have its own narrative, rather than rely entirely on the animation. This initial sketch had around fifty percent of the pencils down and some beginnings of inking, yet this was then scrapped due to its layout being potentially difficult to animate over. Another reason for stopping with this my decision to incorporate the Hyde Park flats. It did have the same message with a set of imaginary luxury flats, yet as with other buildings in the image I wanted to reflect some reality in the image.
Initial sketches of buildings I wanted to incorporate and planning the layout.
Even though it was ultimately doomed, this first draft did become a useful tester page through producing the main image!
Clockwise from top left: [16] (Big Ben, no date), [17] (The Gherkin, no date), [18] (One Hyde Park, no date), [19] (GB helicopters london skyline 2, no date)
Storyboarding Whilst creating the narrative to my piece I considered what exactly I wanted to say with my animation. I had my theme and story I wanted the piece to have, yet this consideration led me to decide how I would visualise this. The use of the drone panning over the image became my tool for this. This works within the forming of a narrative highlighted by Paul Wells, “These narrative events are informed by a chain of causes and effects, both subtle and explicit, the ultimate outcome of which is a specified moment of resolution.” (1998, p. 68) My storyboards follow a specific path to reveal the different sections and messages within my image, with my moment of resolution as the camera pans out the reveal the laptop.
Musical Temp At Pixar, even at the early storyboard stage, temp music is already considered essential. Dubowsky quotes Slusser (2008) as saying, “Static boards really needed music to give motion, timing, and pacing to the scene. When we started there were fewer “after effects”.” (Dubowsky, 2011, p. 6) Having the initial musical accompaniment to the animation was integral to provide life to my storyboards. For this I had the final piece of music I was going to use, but also some rough recordings of the street sounds that I intended on incorporating. As Duboswky suggests, these ‘temp scores’ are an important step in planning out the animation. This proved itself to be true when visualising the piece by also when displaying my intentions to classmates, tutors and friends, as it gave the static images more context. Rather than me just showing them a series of images.
Feedback: A suggestion to make the final image be revealed slowly through a slow zoom. The addition of the music and audio files playing to accompany the storyboards gave more of an impact as I could explain the timing and provide a ‘feeling’ to the piece. One consideration was to make sure the can in the final scene looked more like an energy drink rather than a beer.
Progress shots of city image A few photos of my sketching and inking process of the city image. The final image would be 60cm x44cm.
Second image This was the second hand drawn image that would act as the final image for the animation and to have the city scene incorporated for the printing. I wanted to highlight how accessible drones were so I have placed a variety of items outside of the laptop screen; a can of energy drink, Playstation controller and some comic books to suggest it could be a teenager or even student at the controls. This image took a few days to complete, the most awkward areas being the laptop keyboard as each key is as it would be on a macbook.
Left: Initial pencil sketch Above: Final laptop image - Ink on Heavy weight A3 paper
First test on walk cycle I began with considering how I would execute the animation by expermenting with different methods. This first 8 step walk cycle was hand drawn in the Moving Image lab using the light boxes. My intention was to animate this stage, yet it became immediately apparent that this would be very time consuming, taking time away from finishing the background images. Therefore I used this as preparation for the digital animating.
Character Design The characters in my animation required a minimalist skeleton that I could easily manipulate to make unique and individual personalities. I did this through different hair, clothing and slightly varying body shape. Another consideration was how it related to the background image, as Tony White states, “Nothing is worse than seeing a character that is entirely out of keeping with the styling of the settings, or backgrounds, it is placed in.” He continues to say, “It is essential to test the character design within the background or environmental setting before any commitment is made to the final production design.” (2006, p.39)
Left page: Some initial character designs Right page: Creating an easily modified head and the final character layout
These were then hand drawn and adapted into two different positions. The first showing them mid stride for the static image and the second then recreated in Illustrator to become animated in After Effects.
Left: The characters drawn for the static image Above left: A hand drawn character Above Right: A character recreated in Illustrator Below: Two hand drawn drones, these would then be added onto the static image and then onto the animated version
To prepare the characters for animating I created each limb on a separate layer in Illustrator, which I then used in conjunction with the Duik tool to create a bone structure in After Effects.
Left page: The recreation in Illustrator Right Page: Using the Duik add on in After Effects to create a bone structure which could then be used to control each limb.
The east and west facing characters ready for editing in After Effects.
Walk cycles The animator’s job is to synthesise movements and to apply just the right amount of creative exaggeration to make the movement look natural within the cartoon medium. (Whitaker and Halas 2009, p. 27) With the use of the Duik tool I created skeletons within each limb which would be connected together through parenting, from where I would assign a controller which would control the movement of the limb. This program uses inverse kinetics,which meant that the child in the chain would control the parent. For example on a leg I would parent the shin to the knee to the hip and I would set the controller on the shin. This would be the child and would then be used to control the whole limb and its movement. ‘The animator’s survival kit’ by Richard Williams provided me with invaluable walk cycle examples. Considering the spacing between each leg, arm and the movement of the torso gave a character personality.
I decided to create an individual walk cycle for each character I created as I wanted to not only challenge myself, but to add personality to each one. Whilst I used Richard Williams example as a template I played with the spacing of frame rates to create unique walk cycles for each character. Although not varying too much, as to retain authenticity. This along with the timing of animation will establish the timing between each phase of the walk cycle, i.e. from the up to the contact.
[20] (Williams 2001, p.108)
On the timeline I added the different stages of the walk cycle as illustrated by John Williams and used these as a guide. Notice in the three images as the bar on the timeline moves so do the characters limbs.
Animating
The second consideration came with layering the characters and mapping out their paths to not make them overlap or appear in the wrong order. This took many iterations of trying to organise who would appear, at what time and how they would cross each other.
The final challenge and by far the most frustrating was using the Camera tool to span the image to imitate the flight path of the drone. Again this took a few attempts as it proved to be difficult to get a smooth motion and still in my submitted piece it could have been smoother!
When combining the walk cycles and the static images I came across some problems I had not forseen. The timing of the walk cycles was one of these. There were many attempts to add realism to the walk cycles as the distance that they travelled in conjunction with the time they were visible needed to match each other, to make them look like they were on solid ground. Otherwise the character would look like it was either slipping( going too slow) or levitating( too fast).
Right a sketch of the proposed flight path of the camera, working out timings with the characters paths.
Creating the title page I decided on a simple title for the cover of the printed image as I felt the city scene and laptop scene already were complicated enough. The font I used is Kenyan Coffee. I wanted to used a bold and sharp typeface that could then be glitched to show the contrast and irony of the title ‘Progress.’ To create this glitch I printed the unedited version and rescanned it experimenting with movement to create the desired effect. This process reflecting the rest of the projects combination of analogue and digital.
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Feedback: The digital versions were too complicated and busy, especially the image above to the right. It would take too long for the viewer to establish what the title was. Also the the tops of half the letters were higher than the rest. The other version was too busy and distracting.
Left page: Two alternative versions for the cover, one reflecting the skyline of the city and the other playing with glitching type in Photoshop Above: The final title page next to the original which was printed. Left: Two experiments with creating glitch effect with scanning.
Final City and Laptop Image
Feedback: Interesting image, alot going on and tells its narrative well. An improvement could have been to create a layer for each row of buildings. This would have then given the option of creating 3D space, or a parallax where each layer could have its own controller to create this depth.
Feedback: Again positive response to the image but again creating layers could have added to it. Having the arm on a seperate layer meaning it could be animated to even move slightly or have the fingers move. The addition of the drone manual in the corner helps to understand the final scene.
City scene with people and drones
Final Image ready for printing
Printing
This first print was on a heavy duty watercolour paper. Overall the printing looked really good and had retained the majority of the detail from the original image.Unfortunately though there were a couple of areas where it did get lost in the texture of the paper. This would also not work on both sides of the paper, so my final version on the next page is printed on a special double sided paper.
Projection After completing the image and animation I began to consider how I could take this even further and felt there was potential in having the walk cycles animated over a large scale (A0) print of the city.
The only real solution I could come to was that I would have to have the background as white. This worked better but the characters had a transparency I could not escape from. As an experiment I am glad I went through the process and even though I may not have found it yet, I still believe there must be a more appropriate method to acheive my goal. Potentially a higher quality projector would help, or maybe even colour? Either way I intend on continuing this experiment.
Stills from After Effects and actual projection. I used the traffic lights not only to help with lining up the image to the projection but also as I did with the original animation to have them walk behind it instead of over.
As it turns out this was far more complicated than I had anticipated as I had to consider how the negative space around the characters would appear coming from the projector. The automatic response from Premiere Pro when rendering the file was the fill in this with a black background. This would then obviously project out and block out the printed image and seeing as my characters were just black and white many of them lost the black parts of their bodies to this.
Link to projection video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Oh7DIjvRBQ
Critical Reflection Overall this project has been a enjoyable experience with a few stages that proved very challenging. The main frustration being the use of After Effects, as prior to this project I had never used the program, let alone produced any real animation. The complexities that this presents became apparent quickly, yet I feel that I successfully overcame most of them. The camera tool used to span around the image could still benefit from some fine tuning and some of the walk cycles resemble John Cleese’s Ministry of Silly Walks, but at least they have character!
Link to final animation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIIscy6HSqU
The layout of the piece could have also been developed further. As I mentioned previously creating the buildings on different layers could have added some extra depth, but also the positioning of some buildings, namely Big Ben. This was never supposed to be an accurate illustration of London, more just sample some of its landmarks, yet this was one of the first responses I gained from the animation so should be considered. I intend on continuing to develop this animation by animating the clouds, smoke and birds to make this feel more complete. The experimentation I have gone through in this project has been very beneficial to my practice and in connecting with an audience and as a result, I am pleased with the outcome I have produced.
What has the GDCP done for me? Bibliography Books Dubberly, H. (2005) How do you design? A compendium of models. Available at: http://www.dubberly.com/articles/how-do-you-design.html. (Last accessed 1st April 2016) Heller. S and Arisman. M (2004) Inside The Business of Illustration. New York. Allworth Press. Male, A. (2007) Illustration: A Theoretical and Contextual Perspective.Switzerland: AVA Publishing. Noble, I. (2003) Commercial Illustration: Mixing Traditional Approaches and New Techniques. Switzerland. Rotovision SA. Wigan, M (2008) Text and Image.Switzerland: AVA Publishing. Frascara, J. (2008) Design education in the last fifty years: a personal perspective. In: Sassoon, R. ed. The Designer: Half a Century of Change in Image, Training, and Techniques.Bristol: Intellect Books, pp. 40-50.
Creative Futures Bibliography
Books/Newspaper articles Buckley, P. (2010) Penguin 75. London: Penguin Books. Male, A. (2007) Illustration: A Theoretical and Contextual Perspective.Switzerland: Ava Publishing. Hyndman, S. (2015) the type taster. UK: L&S Printing. O’Conor, L. (2014) ‘10 minutes with: Joanna Prior, managing director of Penguin General’, The Guardian, 12th Feb. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/women -in-leadership/2014/feb/12/ten-minutes-joanna-prior-penguin-books (Accessed 30th March 2016)
Images [1 - 4] A Clockwork Orange Covers (no date) Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost. com/2012/10/04/a-clockwork-orange-covers_n_1939815.html?slideshow=true#gallery /254298/0 (Accessed: 30th March 2016) [5 - 6] Man in the High Castle (2015) Available at: https://www.penguin.co.uk/ authors/philip-k-dick/31031/ (Accessed: 21th March 2016) [7- 10] Best of SFF books 2015 (2015) Available at: http://www.barnesandnobl e.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/25-of-the-best-sff-books-of-2015/ (Accessed: 21st March 2016) [11] Espinoza, H (2011) Free Will. Available at: http://www.freewillnow.net/ album/pages/03-free-will-art_jpg.htm (Accessed: 30th March 2016) [12] Bailey, M. (2008) a portrait of determinism. Available at: http://artofericwayne.com /2014/06/13/consciousness-free-will-and-art/ (Accessed: 30th March 2016) [13] Jones, B. (2014) A Clockwork Orange. London: The Folio Society [14] Blade runner (no date) Available at: image http://www.tasteofcinema.com/wp-content /uploads/2013/09/blade-runner-1982-1.jpg (Accessed 26th March 2016) [15] 1984 poster (no date) Available: at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013 /08/23/10-scariest-nsa-secrets-exposed-snowden-why-natives-need-know-151017 (Accessed 26th March 2016)
[16] Pare, R. (1933) Centrosoyuz Building. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/25825 397837987898/ (Accessed 21st February 2016) [17] House of Soviets (no date) Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/1822551161417 27959/ (Accessed 21st February 2016) [18] Steele-Perkins, C. (1976) Teds at The Castle. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/ 494270127828315877/ (Accessed 21st February 2016) [19] Punks (no date) Available at: http://lowrilove.blogspot.co.uk (Accessed 21st February 2016) [20] Late 60’s fashion and the “baby doll” dress (no date) Available at: http://vintagedancer. com/1960s/1960s-fashion-womens/ (Accessed 21st February 2016) [21] Shrigley, D (1997) Ants have sex in your beer. Available at: http://www.davidshrigley .com/book_htmpgs/ants.htm (Accessed 2nd April 2016) [22] Shrigley, D (2004) Lets Wrestle. Available at: http://www.davidshrigley.com/book_htmpgs /lets_wrestle.html (Accessed 2nd April 2016) [23] Vogue (2016) Available at: http://www.popsugar.com/fashion/Gigi-Hadid-Paris-Vogue-Cover -2016-40119422#photo-40119422 (Accessed 2nd April 2016) [24] Stoddart, J (no date) Available at: http://www.jimstoddart.co.uk/xyed7lfu4vjji8f180kcpsnmuu3aul (Accessed 2nd April 2016) [25] Hamilton, J (no date) The work. Available at: http://www.johnhamiltondesign.com/the-work.html (Accessed 2nd April 2016) [26] Hamilton, J (1998) Animal Farm. Available at: http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/ penguin-covers-612338 (Accessed 2nd April 2016) [27] Hornby, N (2011) Speaking with the angel. Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/SpeakingAngel-Nick-Hornby/dp/0241957249 (Accessed 2nd April 2016) [28 - 29] Buckley, P. (2010) Penguin 75. London: Penguin Books. pp77-78, illus. [30] Collection of books for 2016 (2016) Available at: https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/find-yournext-read/reading-lists/2016/jan/debut-books-of-2016/ (Accessed 1st March 2016) [31] Dorfman, M (2011) The psychopath test. Available at: http://metalmother.com/motherboard /index.php/2011/05/the-psychopath-test-by-jon-ronson-riverhead/ (Accessed 1st March 2016) [32] Typography trends 2016 (2016) Available at: http://designshack.net/articles/typography/ 3-typography-trends-for-2016-with-examples/ (Accessed 1st March 2016) [33] Amazon books (2016) Available: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_11? url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=a+clockwork+orange&sprefix=a+clockwork +orange%2Cstripbooks%2C254 (Accessed 2nd April 2016)
Capstone
Bibliography Images Books Campanario, G. (2012) The art of urban sketching. USA, Quarry Books. Williams, R. (2001) The animator’s survival kit. London: Faber and Faber Limited. Selby, A. (2013) Animation. London: Laurence King Publishing Limited. Douglas, S and Eamon, C. (2009) Art of Projection. Germany: Hatje Cantz Verlag. Wells, P. (1998) Understanding Animation. London ; New York : Routledge. Hyndman, S. (2015) the type taster. UK: L&S Printing. White, T. (2006) Animation from Pencils to Pixels: Classical Techniques for the Digital Animator. USA: Focal Press.
Journals Dubowsky, J. (2011) ‘The Evolving 'Temp Score' in Animation’ Music, Sound, and the Moving Image, Vol.5(1), pp.1-24.
Articles Bowen, R (2014) Using animation to create an emotional connection with your audience. Available at: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2014/02/using-animation-to-create-anemotional-connection-with-your-audience/ (Accessed 20th February 2016)
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