Cop3 proposal

COP 3 PROJECT PROPOSAL - KP253087 TO WHAT EXTENT DO TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION IMPACT ON ILLUSTRATION?

POTENTIAL QUESTIONS & LINES OF ENQUIRY I wish to investigate the relationship between technology and visual storytelling. Potential research questions include: • Do technological advancements have an impact on visual storytelling?

• How has technology impacted visual storytelling?

(Could include the industrial revolution, printing press, virtual reality, augmented reality, etc) • How has technology chaged visual storytelling within film-making? (Concept art, CG, video games, etc)

250 WORD INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT My illustrative practice is currently focused on visual storytelling, narrative and character, primarily within book illustration, but I am also interested in pre-production art for film and games. I wish to have all these areas come together in my COP3 research project and think that I will be able to do so succesfully if I look at the relationship between technology and visual storytelling.

This area of research will allow me to explore my interests freely, expand my knowledge of visual storytelling as a whole. Specific topics that this project might explore could include both historical and contemporary technologies, from the industrial revolution and printmaking, to the use of virtual reality and augmented reality to make storytelling more interactive.

This is an area that I’m already beginning to explore in other modules, I’m currently working on a childrens book for OUIL505 that has interactive augmented reality and virtual reality elements, so taking these ideas into COP would be the natural progression.

In terms of workload I believe that it is a viable project, and while I potentially will be looking into new software and technologies, I believe it will still be managable as these are things I will be learning in other modules too. From the research I’ve carried out so far, there are plenty of academically viable sources available.

CONTEXT & THEMES: IMAGES

University of St Andrews (n.d.). Trajan’s Column, construction genre Scenes (X-XI). [image] Available at: http://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/trajans-column/the-project/what-was-trajans-column-for/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2017].

Ziereis Faksimiles (n.d.). Ulrich Boner: Der Edelstein. [image] Available at: https://www.ziereis-faksimiles.de/blog/faksimile-des-tages/boner-der-edelstein [Accessed 20 Apr. 2017].

Pixar (n.d.). Toy Story. [image] Available at: https://www.pixar.com/feature-ďŹ lms/toy-story [Accessed 20 Apr. 2017].

Bufferapp (2017). Visual Storytelling on Instagram. [image] Available at: https://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-storytelling [Accessed 20 Apr. 2017].

Venture Beat (2017). Augmented Reality in Penguin Classic Books. [image] Available at: https://venturebeat.com/2012/05/19/2-d-books-are-over-augmented-reality-breathes-new-life-into-the-classics/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2017].

CONTEXT & THEMES: BOOKS

Salisbury, M. and Styles, M. (2012). Children's Picturebooks : The Art of Visual Storytelling. 1st ed. Laurence King Publishing.

Alexander, B. (2011). The new digital storytelling: Creating Narratives With New Media. 1st ed. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger.

Miller, C. (2014). Digital storytelling: A Creators Guide to Interactive Media. 1st ed. Burlington, MA: Focal Press.

Murray, J. (2017). Hamlet On The Holodeck. 1st ed. [Place of publication not identiďŹ ed]: MIT Press.

Wakeman, G. (1973). Victorian book illustration, The technical revolution. 1st ed. Detroit, Mich., Gale Research Co.

CONTEXT & THEMES: QUOTES “It is often said that we live in an increasingly visual, image-based culture. The digital age has brought with it a growing expectation of pictoral instruction, signs and symbols. Images, moving or static, now seem to accompany most forms of information and entertainment.” (Salisbury and Styles, 2012) “The invention of printing in the fifteenth century meant that education in the West began to become available to more than just the wealthy few who had access to hand-produced literature.” (Salisbury and Styles, 2012) “We’ve been telling stories with digital tools since the first computer networks linked nodes. This is a surprising assertion, in some contexts, especially if one does not associate narrative with computer hardware, much less digital information. It’s even more startling to recognize just how far back digital storytelling goes historically and to grasp that it has a lineage.” (Alexander, 2011) “Immersive stories invite our participation by offering us many things to keep track of and by rewarding our attention with a consistency of imagination” (Murray, 2017) “One of the things that distinguishes digital storytelling from classical storytelling is that members of the audience can become active players in the narrative and even have a direct impact on it.” (Miller, 2014) Salisbury, M. and Styles, M. (2012). Children's Picturebooks : The Art of Visual Storytelling. 1st ed. Laurence King Publishing.

Alexander, B. (2011). The new digital storytelling: Creating Narratives With New Media. 1st ed. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger.

Murray, J. (2017). Hamlet On The Holodeck. 1st ed. [Place of publication not identified]: MIT Press.

Miller, C. (2014). Digital storytelling: A Creators Guide to Interactive Media. 1st ed. Burlington, MA: Focal Press.

CONTEXT & THEMES: WEBSITES Beyond the Frame: Storytelling in Virtual Reality - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL5A1wYvhgw VR storytellers, Alchemy VR - www.alchemyvr.com Animated iPad book, Niko and the Sword of Light - www.nikoandtheswordoight.com Augmented reality books - booksandmagic.com Augmented reality software and app - www.zappar.com Early history of illustrated books - lovetypography.com/2015/11/10/the-ďŹ rst-illustrated-books Magazine on the technology and art of animation - www.animationmagazine.net

CASE STUDIES: RELEVANT PRACTITIONERS

Left: Dominic Qwek sculpting in VR using Oculus Medium Right: VR Ilustration and Concept art by Jama Jurabaev

CASE STUDIES: RELEVANT PRACTITIONERS

Left: Virtual reality children’s book Tara’s Locket created by design studio Big Motive Top Right: Animated iPad comic Niko and the Sword of Light created by Imaginism Studios Bottom Right: Christoph Niemann’s augmented reality cover for The New Yorker

POTENTIAL PRACTICAL WORK & DIRECTION

Pictured above are two examples of my current work that are relevant to this research project, on the left, a VR illustration test I created, and on the right, a page from my illustrated book which I have augmented using the AR software Zappar. I propose a further practical exploration of these, and other, emerging illustratative technologies.