FINAL MAJOR PROJECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS/ COMICS:

Brooks, M., & Caceres, R. (2013). The Extinction Parade. Canada: Avatar Press Inc.

Brunswick, G., & Portacio, W. (2013). Non Humans. Berkerley: Image Comics Inc.

Creative Bloq. (2014, January 8). 40 Illustrators to Follow on Behance. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from Creative Bloq: http://www.creativebloq.com/illustration/illustrators-follow-behance-12121512

Filmgrabber. (2013, October 13). Sin City. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from FilmGrab: http://film-grab.com/2013/10/13/sin-city/

Hardison, J., Sears, B., & Elliott, R. (2008). The Helm #1. Oregon: Dark Horse Comics Inc.

Laroche, E. (2008). Almighty. Edward Laroche.

Laroche, E. (n.d.). Almighty. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from EdLaroche.com: http://edlaroche.com/#/almighty-2/

Miller, F., & Rodriguez, R. (Directors). (2005). Sin City [Motion Picture].

Moore, A., Gibbons, D., & Higgins, J. (2005). The Watchmen. DC Comics.

Niles, S., & Templesmith, B. (2012). 30 days of night #8. San Diego: IDWPublishing.

Patterson, S. (2014). Colourising Images With Gradients In Photoshop. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from Photoshopessentuals.com: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/gradient-map/

Snyder, Z. (Director). (2009). The Watchmen [Motion Picture].

The champion annual for boys 1953. (1953). London: The Amalgamated Press Ltd.

Valiant Entertainment. (2013). Unity #1. New York: Valiant Entertainment LLC.

Vaughn, M. (Director). (2010). Kick-Ass [Motion Picture].

White, S., & Williams, T. (2013). Chronos Commandos: Dawn Patrol #5. London: Titan Publishing Group Ltd.

FILM:

Miller, F., & Rodriguez, R. (Directors). (2005). Sin City [Motion Picture].

Snyder, Z. (Director). (2009). The Watchmen [Motion Picture].

Vaughn, M. (Director). (2010). Kick-Ass [Motion Picture].

GALLERY EXHIBITIONS:

British library. 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB. ‘Comics Unmasked: Art and Anarchy in the UK’

http://www.bl.uk/whatson/exhibitions/comics-unmasked/

Design Museum. 28 Shad Thames, London, SE1 2YD. ‘Hello My Name Is Paul Smith’

http://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/2013/paul-smith

Somerset House. Strand, London, WC2R 1LA. ‘Pick Me Up 2014’

http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts/pick-me-up-2014

Science Museum. Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 2DD. ‘Making the modern world’

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/Plan_your_visit/exhibitions/making_the_modern_world.aspx

V & A, Cromwell Road. London SW7 2RL. ‘V&A Illustration Awards 2013’

http://www.vam.ac.uk/b/villa-2013

INTERNET:

Creative Bloq. (2014, January 8). 40 Illustrators to Follow on Behance. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from Creative Bloq: http://www.creativebloq.com/illustration/illustrators-follow-behance-12121512

Filmgrabber. (2013, October 13). Sin City. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from FilmGrab: http://film-grab.com/2013/10/13/sin-city/

Laroche, E. (n.d.). Almighty. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from EdLaroche.com: http://edlaroche.com/#/almighty-2/

Patterson, S. (2014). Colourising Images With Gradients In Photoshop. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from Photoshopessentuals.com: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/gradient-map/

FINAL MAJOR PROJECT EVALUATION

My final outcomes include: promotional concepts for a film: ‘Squid Grip City’ in the form of posters, trailer/ storyboard illustrations and related merchandise (top trumps and postcards). The final outcome was different to what I originally planned, except for the poster. I quickly realised that my initial plan to create a whole comic was not going to be achievable within the timeframe set and I wanted to create different types of merchandise rather than just one. I am pleased with how it progressed; the idea of doing a wider range of experiments and creations made the project more exciting and gave me greater freedom to experiment.

I have used multiple methods to show how learning has affected my project; for my final major project blog, I have entered my actions and progress at least 3 times a week for every individual week of the 7 weeks the project spanned. This regular diary-like evaluation of what I had achieved at every small stage in the project really helped me to notice what was working and what was achievable. It was also helpful in how alongside the FMP plan it made me constantly realise that I was working to weekly deadlines; I often would record daily/ weekly targets that I would set myself on the blog. I found the FMP plan useful in that it gave me specific targets and dates to achieve them and if I missed a deadline I knew I was working too slowly. As I learnt and progressed, my initial plan developed. My sketchbooks portray a much more visual representation of how my project developed; my sketchbook shows the process of experimentation, research and reference points that helped me improve my ideas. This aspect of working allows you a freedom and a carelessness that births potential for the creation of the unknown and allows for the unexpected to arise and this can be great if searching for a breakthrough in your project.

I met the main target of creating a poster for the ‘Squid Grip City’ film and I also met the early 2 week targets of research through gallery and comic shop visits alongside the experimentation when doing character design. I met these targets exactly at the time I set myself to achieve them. However my FMP plan targets to complete a full illustrated comic and a stop motion basically transformed into new targets. I essentially replaced these targets with better ones that helped me to get a more rounded project which was definitively achievable within the 7 week time frame set. My final product targets show a wide range of graphical skills which are consistent to my project so I feel that they are successful replacements of my earlier targets.

For the first two weeks of the project I succeeded in researching heavily, visiting exhibitions and comic book shops and experimenting with character design. In week 3 I had just come back from Los Angeles and had been inspired heavily by all I had seen and I had been given a fresh perspective on life and my project in general. This set off a spark inside me which helped me define my project direction. I realised and accepted that a whole comic wasn’t going to be the most rounded project so moved on thinking of new ways to go about illustration and a storyboard seemed like a good idea. So from week 3 onwards I started to draw up a storyboard of key scenes. I was sure that I wanted to use black and white illustrations which I would use for one of my final outcomes. Nearer the end of the project, I started to introduce some colour helped by watching adobe Photoshop tutorials online. I learnt how to use the marquise and gradient tools to my advantage and added a completely new element to my work. In general my self-taught Photoshop and sketching skills have improved immensely during these 7 weeks and as they have developed so have my ideas because these new skills have opened up new doors and possibilities which help create greater final outcomes.

I received a lot of feedback about my project, some more helpful and some not so. In the earlier weeks the feedback was mainly helping me to explore ideas surrounding the topic of comics and to try and help me identify in which direction to take my project. Tutorials were always good because they allowed you to compare progress with peers and would often inspire me to look at areas in which I hadn’t previously thought about. Feedback on my sketchbook stated that I needed to document more experimentation and research; for example evidence of visiting exhibitions and comic book shops. Feedback suggested that I explore another area of graphics whether that be merchandise or motion graphics with sound. I appreciated and took on board all advice; this helped me to strengthen my process. I would’ve liked to incorporate some motion graphics for example a film trailer would’ve been a great addition but this would’ve been at the expense of other work. Based on blog feedback I edited my blog posts to introduce more imagery alongside the daily evaluations. Overall the feedback experience was positive and definitely helped me learn and guide me towards enhancing my project to the next level.

This final major project has prepared me for the realities of the demands of a degree course. Hopefully I will be more experienced and know how to approach a brief in a more focused and efficient manor allowing me to achieve better results in the timeframe set. Next time I will know to appreciate how precious the time frame is and how important meeting deadlines whilst still challenging myself to produce ground breaking work. In general, time management is probably a big factor that I need to improve on. I am good at working hard and efficiently as I have shown in this final project but if I had realised exactly what I wanted to do earlier much more could’ve been possible. In general all my graphic design and illustration skills have developed but more specifically I would have to say that my pen drawing and adobe Photoshop skills have excelled over the duration of this project. These skills are incredibly useful my future work. There is still a lot to learn but to continue to boost these skills is vital in the long term and the sky is the limit so I need to keep challenging myself. Next year I will be studying graphic design/ illustration at ‘Central Saint Martins’ so I aim to use all that I have learnt on this foundation course and apply it to all future projects at CSM. I would also love to come back to finishing or simply exploring ‘Squid Grip City’ further over the summer and into next year.

CHC

FMP WEEK 7 - 16may

Today I have messed around heavily with my poster idea; I created a Photoshop composition idea using previous sketches cutting out certain characters/ things and then combining them to form something that looks like a film poster. Then printing and hand drawing, scanning in and Photoshop editing constantly in an attempt to perfect the individuals in this poster; this was problematic and highly frustrating however I feel that what I achieved in the end was fairly successful. Once I created the poster I messed around with the colour versions because colour is generally something that has been lacking with a lot of my work. I experimented heavily using the gradient filter for the majority of the time. I was pleased with how much original work I produced in a short amount of time.

Black and white poster.

Andy Warhol inspired multiple colour poster.

Bus shelter poster.

I also had made some top trumps designs previously in my sketchbook so when it came to producing them on Photoshop, it was relatively quick and easy and I am proud with how they look and think that there is an aspect of originality about them which most other top trumps do not have.

Top trumps front of cards for 5 characters aswell as front of pack card (3 darker cards on right) which is also image on back of every trump card.

I completed the film trailer storyboard of key scenes earlier in the week but came back to edit and try to perfect these frames in an attempt to produce something to be proud of.

Colour versions.

Colour version second part of storyboard.

Final black and white page 1.

Final black and white page 2.

So far so good, I have completed all that I set out to achieve with some time left over for minor edits to perfect what I can which is an ideal situation to be in. I cannot afford to be satisfied though, I need to keep plugging away at this project to get everything I can out of it.

Images: Authors own.

CHC

FMP WEEK 7 - 14may

I edited the 2 A3 sized illustration 6 frame storyboard to a level of which I am happy with now, so it is nice to know that something is definitely going to be complete for the final show but also I near completed a colour version of these A3s which is much more experimental and playful aswell as being done fully on photoshop which adds another angle to the work that I have produced so far. I also started design layouts for the poster, illustration postcards and top trumps. I need a lot more work to be done quickly to bulk up my output to emphasise that I have done a lot of work over this project. So it is going to plan and all would be so much more simple if I had a complete and original title but I am not convinced with what I have so far so this is the only thing holding up the rest of my project. This can easily be resolved but effort is key so really need to work hard over the next few days before the deadline. Below are a few examples of film/ TV posters that I have been inspired by.

Breaking Bad fan art.

Breaking Bad fan art - strong text/ image contrast.

Breaking Bad fan art - great illustration - messing around with scale.

Breaking Bad fan art - classic poster style I would like to adopt when doing my own poster.

Images: Google.

CHC

FMP WEEK 7 - 12may

Since my last post I have achieved quite a lot; my 6 frame trailer storyboard is near finished, ideas started to flood my mind and now I have added some text it is starting to look strong visually aesthetically. I am polishing that off whilst attempting to introduce a more graphic element to my work in the form of a title/ logo which could be used for merchandise and generally expanding my story/ film idea into a brand. So far so good, I have something to show for the 7 weeks but I need to keep pushing to reach the fullest potential possible with such a rich project idea I believe postcards, a film poster atleast would be great to put up on my board for the gallery. I plan to edit adding in graphic elements to my illustrations and also finish these neon logo style titles; below are a few examples of my own work and inspiration.

Google inspiration

Google inspiration

My own basic adobe illustrator experiments

Google inspiaration

My photoshop edits

My photoshop edits

A simple but 'very effective' logo I designed

Images: Google and authors own.

CHC

FMP WEEK 6 - 9may

Today the creative block was almost fully subsided where I have now produced a rooftop idea for my final illustration in this comic like storyboard. So far far so good, I feel that I have been quite adventurous in this final frame messing around with perspective heavily. I am at the stage now where all I need to do is add some text (comic sans maybe, I think it would be much more interesting to do something more original. I am happy with how it is going and I should polish this part of the project off nice and quickly so that I can move onto the title and poster.

CHC

FMP WEEK 6 - 7may

At this point in the project I have just finished 5 of my 6 illustrations to a strong standard; however I have hit a serious creative block where I am struggling to compose an idea for my final illustration in the trailer storyboard. I have chosen not to include any of my illustrations yet in this blog because I don't want them to be used by anyone else and also they are part of an unfinished piece which I will show on this blog when complete. I have been researching many artists, flicking through mountains of comics and surfing the internet like a maverick in an attempt to stimulate my brain into composition a strong final composition. Jamie Hewlett illustration is very inspiring as shown below for its wacky but original style which carries a definitive vibe with ease which is something I aspire to do. 

Either way I am starting to think of ideas the more I research and inspire myself. My opinion of what is good and bad has developed and changed from the start of this project giving me higher standards when it comes to my own work so the pressure I put on myself also makes this final composition much harder. Got to go and experiment with these new ideas now..I am slightly disappointed with how long this last piece has taken me to produce but hopefully it will be worth the wait- I have to make that so. With one week left I am giving myself the target to complete this final frame and then move onto the poster and more graphical side of the project in the final week.

Images: Google.

CHC

FMP WEEK 5 - 2may

Today I visited both Somerset house and the British library; two exhibitions, somerset house 'pick me up' in the morning and the British Library's 'comics unmasked' in the afternoon. These visits really helped to inspire me and highlight what I want to convey through my final project. The British library exhibition held works that were obviously produced by skillful artists but they all looked as though they could have been done by the same artist. Where as the somerset house exhibition provided me visual insight to more current, unique and fresh illustrations. I was really impressed and would like to develop a unique and original illustrative style for myself on this final project. Its also good to get a little break from the constant production of final project work and to get out and about visiting fresh places.

Somerset House. Strand, London, WC2R 1LA. ‘Pick Me Up 2014’

http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts/pick-me-up-2014

CHC