Secret 12 Getting started again
• I wanted to get some fresh work out in a short space of time, and knowing how much I enjoyed secret 7 last year I decided to work on the Secret 12 brief, and just get a few of them done before the deadline. • I only had a few days to do as many as possible, which meant a quick turn around, which was exactly what I wanted. • I started as I always do, listen to the song and draw exactly what comes into my head. I then worked the designs, or changed them completely after listening again. • I gave myself a day to do each one, and managed to complete 3. I want to keep this up, and keep making work related to music because I enjoy it so much, and I’m really pleased with how these turned out.
Lemon Twigs- As Long as we’re Together
My aim was to keep things a little weird where possible. After hating the Whittard’s brief so much, I decided to think back to my about the author brief, working with surreal imagery. It worked well for me and I enjoyed it, so I brought it back. This one stayed pretty close to the initial idea.
Final
Lets Eat Grandma- Deep Six Textbook
This was a fun one to work on. The lyrics are so strange, and the music is wavy, I loved it. I knew I wanted to use a cube, and I wasn't happy with my initial drawings but I wanted something underwater themed. In the end I started working heavily digital on this one, and I can honestly say my Photoshop skills have improved far more this week just from forcing myself to learn more, and from seeking advice from my peers on a daily basis. Such a talented class of people, and I'm so appreciative of what they teach me.
Final
I really enjoyed working with the cubes of water, so made this one for fun. The textures work really well, and are of course from mono prints.
Fela Kuti- Zombie Initial drawings weren't the one here. Sometimes all of my characters look the same, and I wanted something different here. With the second one being quite graphic looking, I wanted this to be really illustrative, with plenty of texture. Eventually I went with a Moroccan themed scene.
Concept board
Sourcing inspiration and images that related to the aesthetic I was trying to achieve. This was useful, and something I might continue to do in the future.
Using reference imagery in order to get the shape right was useful. I also need to do this more in the future. Doing these briefs quickly has made me learn so much about my practice and how best to work efficiently, I'm so pleased.
This was the first one I saved thinking it was done, however I just wasn't 100% happy with it, so I went back to it later that night. There was definitely something missing, and it lacked depth. I think it looked a little flat, and the composition was lacking something. I changed the colours a little, added a bold red and then used a plant for a centre piece and it made the overall design so much better. I'm really glad I didn't’t just leave it, that I worked until I was happy with it.
Final
Conclusion These 3 designs have been so eye opening. I worked heavily in Photoshop and now feel so much more confident with the software. I'm also really happy with the finished, clean look that Photoshop provides. Asking my peers for help with certain tools or shortcuts has been really useful, and very valuable. I would put these 3 designs into my portfolio, which is a good start. Working to a short deadline had also been a good experience, and a good way to get work out quickly, as I was feeling a little behind after COP. I've really been considering composition and layout a lot more recently, and I think I need to work like this in the future. Another thing that's worked well is thinking of something that I actually want to draw, like the cubes for example. If I am able to incorporate things I enjoy at that time then I think I should. Enjoying the process has made me understand how I work best, and is something I need to keep up with from now on.