Leeds College of Art BA (Hons) ILLUSTRATION OUIL505 ILLUSTRATION 2: Applied Illustration
Level
05
Credits 30
Module Brief Title: Product, Range & Distribution
STUDIO BRIEF 1: Project Proposal
Project Rationale What do you intend to do and why? I intend to produce a special edition of The Secret Garden (taken from the list of books in the public domain), containing at least six illustrations spaced evenly across the book and a binding design. This story in particular contains many themes that interest me; the psychological effect of nature, nostalgia, the depiction of children in 1900’s, redemption and growth. I will create something that aims at a large proportion of society, including adults and children. Therefore, focusing on a classic book seems to be the best way to do this effectively. My inspiration will come from primary source material I will acquire of the natural environment in Yorkshire (where the story is set) as well as examples of book illustration by practitioners such as Victoria Semykina and Carson Ellis. The visual problem I am solving is to create a brand new aesthetic for a classic story, most (if not all) the examples I have seen so far are very traditional, lacking colour and shape. My aim is to challenge this by experimenting with print, paint and paper, to make something that is visually exciting for all ages. Using the illustrations, I will create merchandise, prints, bookmarks and mock ups of how my book would be promoted through the means of designs for posters and shop window displays.
THEMES / SUBJECTS What Themes/Subjects will form the content of your work for this module? This should include theoretical and non-creative based content and concerns. This section should identify your consideration of the social, cultural, ethical and creative concerns of contemporary Illustration practice. GENERAL THEMES: • Cross-over between adult/children fiction books. • Depictions of children/girls in 1900’s. • Victorian era. • Psychological effects of nature. • Redemption. • Spirituality. • Tragedy. • Growth. • Personality. SPECIFIC SUBJECTS: • Mary Lennox - how was she different to other characters portrayed at this time? In comparison to other protagonists in children’s fiction Mary is not necessarily a likeable character, she is mean, angry and violent at times. However, this adds to the effectiveness of her development towards the end of the story which is something I definitely want to explore. • The healing power of the garden - Mary’s growth as a character is mirrored in the growth of the garden, she is connected to it in a way that no other character is. I thought about this a lot when revisiting the story and think this will be an interesting observation to include in my work. • The author’s personal tragedy that underpinned the book – Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote The Secret Garden in order to recover from two enormous losses. It serves as an idyllic version of the tragedy she faced. Colin Craven is restored to health while Burnett’s son died, and unlike her gardens at Maytham Hall which she so loved, the story ends with Misselthwaite Manor in continuous bloom. There is also tragedy depicted within the book, Mary’s parents die at the beginning of the book and her aunt is seen as a spirit that dwells in the garden.
PRACTICAL & CONCEPTUAL APPLICATION What areas of Illustration do you intend to investigate in relation to the practical and conceptual, production/ distribution of work in response to selected briefs? SPECIFIC DISCIPLINARY AREA: • •
Publishing for adults/children, classic collection books. Retail & Product, making prints and merchandise from the imagery within the book.
AUDIENCE/CONTEXTS: • •
I want my work to be aimed at a wide audience for this brief, which is one of the reasons why I want to solely focus on one story which could be enjoyed by adults, young adults and children. The Secret Garden is a timeless story and many adults are inclined to read it because it reminds them of their childhood, and so may be encouraged to read it to their children. Originally, the story was published for an adult publication, ‘The American Magazine’ and later became a children’s fiction novel.
PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION METHODS: • • • • •
Make posters for advertising in and around the city. Book-binding, using the things I learned in the induction to produce a professional looking final outcome. Prints and other forms of merchandise available to buy in book shops/retailers. Designs for shop window displays – the book launch. Promotion of the book would include small animated gifs that could be shared via social media
CONTEXTUAL REFERENCES Identify areas of professional/creative practices that will inform the contextualization of the work that you produce. This should include specific illustrators, studios, practitioners and products as well as broader creative disciplines and methods of Production /Distribution. ILLUSTRATORS / DESIGNERS / STUDIOS: • Folio Society – Publishing special edition hardbacks – distribution. • Penguin – Examples of classic stories with a variety of book cover designs – distribution. • Nobrow/Flying Eye – Publishing for adults and children – distribution. • Victoria Semykina – Characterisation and use of colour. • Karolin Schnoor – Use of shape and print. • Eiko Ojala – Moving image, his work bring editorial pieces to life very effectively. CREATIVE SKILLS What practical skills do you intend to further develop and apply during your project? What do you intend to use the skills for? Consider extending the use of skills that you already have in order to deliver work of a higher standard as well as identifying new skills that you will need to develop.
• • • •
Book-binding – Using the skills I gain from the induction I intend to produce a professional looking outcome, preferably screen printing the binding. I will need to research into how particular processes work in order to achieve what I want to create. Paper cutting/Digital skills – These are methods I have learned that I enjoy the most, so I aim to develop these further, combining them with materials such as paint and print methods. Screen print – I will continue to experiment with traditional print methods, especially screen print. I also want to learn how to use foiling techniques. After Effects – Depending on how much time I have with everything I want to make, I may go back into Adobe After Effects and create some gifs that would essentially be used for promotion of the book through social media.
KEY TEXTS List a selected number of books, articles and texts that are central to your proposed area of practice. These should include a combination of design and non-practice based books, theoretical texts as well as visual publications. You should include a list of relevant websites.
• • • • • • • • •
The Secret Garden http://bookcoverarchive.com/ http://www.foliosociety.com/ https://www.waterstones.com/ https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/aug/05/secret-garden-frances-hodgson-burnett - Article https://publicdomainreview.org/2011/03/08/100-years-of-the-secret-garden/ - Review http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/the-book-covers-archive/ http://nobrow.net/ http://flyingeyebooks.com/
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
OUIL 505 - Project Planner
1 30th
Module Briefing Studio Brief 1 Research & Proposal Proposal Planning & Research
Draft Proposal. Initial general research.
3 13th
Proposal Submission/Studio Development week
4 20th
Studio Brief 2 Development & Production
Research & Roughing. Composition & Initial ideas. Book-binding Workshop. Proposal due in – 17th Roughing. Refining ideas & Media choice.
2 6th
5 27th
Studio Development week
6 6th
Progress Tutorials
7 13th
Group Feedback
8 20th
Studio Brief - 3 Presentation & Evaluation Interim Crit
9 27th 10 3rd
EASTER BREAK
11 10th
EASTER BREAK
12 17th
EASTER BREAK
13 24th
Group Feedback
14 1st
Assessment Briefing & Final Crit
15 8th
Module Submission 09/05/2017
Refine proposal & continue planning research.
Continue roughing & developing ideas. Media tests.