tell an untold story end of module self evaluation

final book development

final stages of developing my saddle stitch book was to process the page digitally into indesign. this was a worry for me because I'm not computer friendly how ever the workshop classes really helped me..like a lot. it was slow and to detail defenetly what someone with 0 computer skills need. i now am very comfortable with my indesign skills i can make a 3 styles of books using it. really happy with the classes and grateful for the tutors help.

here is a screen shot of the page lay outs, this is the only tricky part of the program, getting the pages in the right place. leaving blank pages were they should be, so that when you open your book the pages are in the right places 

we took our indesign file to the print room to be printed into books. I was kinda disappointed with the work shop and the print room experience. as i have gained skills in indesign and photoshop i thought i would be learning a new skill in digital printing however the tutor comes over and does it all for you, not complaining or saying thats bad it would have been nice to be able to know how to do that on my own for future preference.

 final book..exciting

tell an untold story. book development

At a visual language class (ouil404) we spoke about and was shown the magic of composition,after  i was shown how composition worked i went back to my rough page layout and did 3 to 4 composition test on each rough page so i could get the best layout for each page.

experimenting with different angles and moving objects about gives me a wider choice of images to work from and also pushed me to better ideas.

page two was a difficult one i wanted to show the urban streets and city along with the fox in his woodland home, but i wanted it to show that he was looking out on the city past the woodlands so that on the next page it suggested that the woodlands was were he came from the city is were he was going.

making a mess in the streets with the bins was a fun rough to create. sloth it was challenging to capture the form of a fox i wanted it to be sneaky and elogent at the same time as messy

know that i had the right composition for each page it was time to put together all that i had raked together from artist research and all those fox study drawing and start to create style ideas for the pages

on this image i used dip pen and inks, ink wash and i used a tooth brush to flick watered down acrylic white paint. i used a lot of texture to create this, the flicking, cross hatching, tones of colour and using the brush strokes as a tool of texture. i was so fixed on making the pages more gritty and scruffy looking and trying my hardest to keep away from the pages looking like a child book. i felt i had done that well but after a discussion on a group crit my tutor told me i was aiming in the right direction and pointed out that theres too much craft on one page. i strongly agree with this, it does seem too busy and too thick on the page. he suggested that i go digital on my textures and shading.

anther test page

i started to create my pages as suggested. only using line on the pages to later have the shading and detail added on photo shop i used A4 and brush pens to create these pages but when i finished these three i wasn't happy with the out com, the line work seemed lazy and wasn't what i was trying to express in my book. because i haven't used digital at all in my education or practice i couldn't imagine the out come so i think this was mentally blocking me from creating these pages the way i would have liked. 

i couldn't get the form right of the fox and could se expression. to me these look cut out and stuck down

i was happy with the sad expression on the fox face. amazing how you can slightly change the angle of a feature on a face and it changes the expression dramatically. (ears)

because i knew i was in a mental block because i didn't have the experience on photoshop to know how it would look finished with greys and detail i felt i should take the time to play on photo shop and learn the basics giving me the chance to have that ability to see how the out come would be. 

iv never used photoshop because i always felt it was cheating, i would see digital picture and think well that can be done with a paint brush and gauche, i would see it as a tool for people who couldn't get those techniques with a brush or pencil (sounds harsh i know) and also i know that has been just an excuse because I'm not computer friendly.

with this been my first attempt i did something away from project something i could sit back and enjoy and do what i want i felt this would give me the chance and be stress free from trying to capture a certain look. this didn't come easy at first but  i had help from friends giving me the tutorials of the basics. soon as i got the hang of it i felt differently about about digital work. 

i knew if i could keep my drawing abilities and refine them  and tune them up with digital, that it would push my practise the direction its been needing.

 excited about the new approach iv learnt and knowing how things work i could imagine a out come for my page drawings like before. 

i began to draw the pages again, because i could see what i was working up to the results was far better than the ones i first started to draw.

 i used pencil for the design of the pages and a verity of sizes of pens and dip nibs

i used the pencil to give me directions to work on in photoshop, the lines are were i am to express light and shadow.

again the lines are to show me direction on photoshop to show me were to change shades of colour.

i scanned the pages into the computer ready for photo shop. know i knew the basics i felt more confident in been able to develop work i would be happy with.

process shots

i was happy with the out come on most of my pages, i was happy that i had captured the expression of a fox and that you can tell its set in the night. i know i hav a long way to go and much more to learn on photoshop but I'm pleased to have pushed my work in the digital direction and its going to be an option of my methods on briefs to come. (blog shout out to georgie and naomi for the photoshop tutorials)

a few of the final images of the pages 

i was happy with the out come and how the composition tells most of the story on this page

 different tones to create depths

shapes of negative space to express light

form and expression on the fox 

tell an untold story. artist research.

FRANK MILLER.

as my book is based on a fox at night i realise that one of my challengers would be to make the pallet of colour and to use certain techniques to show that its based in the night.

iv always had a love for frank miller i love how he uses the negative tones to express light and dark even with his known comics you can tell night from day just by the selected areas of tone and negative space, and thats with working with two colours  

here you can tell the room is dark but the open for as let in light by the solid shapes of colour and the angle of some shadow work. he even leaves suggests detail using solid shape such as the blood on the bed. this is one technique i feel i could use to show that my book is based in the night.

ill use limited shades of colour and use them in a solid shape to express detail, enough to voice the object or scene.

DAVID FOLDIVARI

again this artists uses shape to express detail or an object. the silhouette  of the jacket and tie gives enough information for me to see that its a jacket and tie, no use of out line or blatant detail.

the different tones of shade with in the face gives it depth and expression. this is something i like to show in my own practice and feel this technique would be good in my book not only for personality of the book but will be a challenge to develop that using shades in the dark.

also theres information in the hair and the facial hair using easy line work but its super effective. i feel the need to push line work in my practice to move forward.

tell an untold story. study of a fox

As i have never drawn a fox seriously before i know i couldn't draw a fox accurately from mind, i could draw a recogniseble fox but i need this to be as accurate as possible.  i felt i should study its from and movement and basic features to progress this.

i googled fox and watched many videos on line to get a sense of how they move, even though they are dog like they seem to move and stand more gracefully. i knew if i had to capture this i would have to imagine basic lines through out the design skeleton and have them running smooth from each other.

these are just a few of many studys i did of a fox 

the stance was a big focus in my study. if i didn't get the form right it could easily begin to look more like a dog than a fox

a fox has a longer lenth in leg and a shorter waist.

again i had to study the face and form of the head to make it more fox like and not more of a dog.
after many drawings i still wasn't happy with the face. it was my little sister who is a massive animal lover and studys it at school who told me that a fox has a short snout and a larger crown than a dog and reminded me to keep the ears more to the crown of the head. after i took her advice i felt the fox real was coming to life and was taking more form as a fox.

animal legs have always been a pain for me to draw i don't know why but they always look broken. so i did a study on the legs of animals and adapted them to the foxes farm and elements.

a more confidant sketch of a fox. i thought i would try it in water colour to see test the media for my book. look at this i can tell i still haven't captured a fox form its only the colours that tell you that its a fox. the snout and head are wrong and his waist is too fat.

focusing more on expression and features in this drawing. big wide eye bigger crown and short snout. still not there at this stage but slowly going the wright direction.

whislt I'm studying the fox i felt i would give it ago in another style and see if i could capture the fox this way. this image i was happy with.. it made me feel it shouldn't be a kids book and should express the hardship of a foxes life.

another fox study. not to sure were i could take this image to me its boring and has no life this style wouldn't make my book successful.