Visual Narratives Evaluation

1.  Which practical skills and methodologies have you developed within this module and how effectively do you think you are employing them within your own practice?
·         Developed my use of colour and shape, steering away from my usual choice of black line. ·         I've also developed my use of research within my work, finding the personal research trips helpful in developing my ideas through taking pictures and drawing - problem-solving to see which ideas work best.
2. Which approaches to research have you found most valuable during this module. How have you interrogated your research to identify appropriate ideas?
·         I found the personal research trip very useful for developing ideas - taking lots of pictures and identifying visual themes that I was interested in through drawing. ·         Artist research has also been an ongoing useful way of exploring new ideas and finding inspiration.
3. What strengths can you identify within your submission and how have you capitalised on these? What aspects of your submission are you satisfied with?
·         I've stepped out of my comfort zone by focusing shape and colour. I still need to play around with these elements more but I feel confident that through experimentation, my proficiency with colour and shape has improved. ·         I've looked at other artists' work and I inform my practice by being aware of what other practitioners are doing, and I'm regularly looking through platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest. ·         I'm pleased with my final outcome of the module, despite struggling over the past few months with motivation problems due to mild depression. I'm proud of what I've managed to produce even if it's not my best work.
4. What areas for further development can you identify within your submission and how will you address these in the future?
·         As with the last module, I've recognised that I need to address my time management and sleep schedule - these problems in the past month or so have been exacerbated by personal issues, and I'm concentrating on fixing them by talking to people and perhaps organising timetables for myself. ·         I could have conducted more research, both primary and secondary, and experimented in my sketchbook more, with a wider variety of media. ·         I felt that because I was stepping out of my comfort zone by using shape and colour, I didn't want to push myself too hard to use media I was uncomfortable with, but I did play around with a select few in order to finalise ideas for my book.
5. How effectively are you making decisions about the development of your work? What strategies informs this decision making? ·         My decision making process can be disorganised - for example, struggling to decide on my final idea. Talking to people about my ideas helps me to realise which ideas have potential. Although I don't always agree with their perspectives, it helps me to make realisations and decisions about my work. ·         I use my sketchbook to make decisions about colour and media, as well as continuing to use roughs and storyboards to decide what works best visually. ·         Reflecting on my work on my blog also helps shed new light on my ideas, as thinking critically allows me to realise what's working and even generate wholly new ideas.
6. How effectively have you managed this project and organised yourself during this module? ·         I've not managed this project very well. From the beginning I was struggling with sleep problems and mild depression, which has affected my motivation and time-management. Although I've been trying to work through it with the help and support of others, there have been times where I've not done this as well as I could have. As a result, there are areas throughout this module where I feel I could have done a lot better.
7.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance			x
Punctuality				x
Motivation			x
Commitment			x
Quantity of work produced			x
Quality of work produced				x
Contribution to the group				x

To experiment or not to experiment

Obviously I'm always experimenting in my work, and this brief is no different, but I've decided to stick to using media I'm already comfortable with for the final book. 

I've pushed myself out of my comfort zone a bit by experimenting with cut paper and collage, but since I'm also pushing myself out of my comfort zone by using lots of bolder colours than I usually would, and a focus on shape rather than line, I feel it's okay for me to experiment in these areas with media I'm comfortable with.

Book project - looking at Micah Lidberg and my own development

I recently treated myself to Micah Lidberg's concertina book, Rise and Fall, and gained some inspiration for my own book from his work. The colour scheme in particular really grabs my eye, and I started playing around with similar colours in another drawing of train mechanics.

I used Copic markers again, and was still focusing on shape, rather than line drawing. I think if I do this piece bigger than the size of my book (I'm thinking 150mmx150mm), then I can shrink it down using Photoshop so it will look more detailed than it actually is. This will help me to stop being such a perfectionist about my work.

I then decided to experiment with collage and cut paper, since we'd just been doing this in Visual Language:

This one didn't quite go as I wanted - I started drawing the bits I wanted dark blue in black on white paper because I couldn't find any dark blue paper in the studio, and the lighter blue paper was slightly transparent, so I thought it would show through quite well. Originally I was cutting out the shapes in dark paper but figured drawing would take less time, and you wouldn't be able to make out too many mistakes anyway. However, when I started on the coloured layers, it was harder to make out the under layer (I hadn't copied it or anything - I should have) so it was hard to get the shapes right.

So, new approach!

With this one I decided it would be best to build up the layers by cutting them out with a scalpel. However, after all these intricate cuts, I got blisters on my hands and it hurt to continue. I also used Pritt stick, and in hindsight should have invested in some spray mount. Even though it's technically unfinished, I figure I might be able to make it the inside cover and end page? It's simple enough in terms of colour to not be considered an actual page, especially in comparison to all the colour I'll have in the main body of the book.

Finally, I tried the image again but using inks. I don't really like the aesthetic of this piece for my book. I like the childlike hand-drawn quality of the Copic markers, and the markers are also brighter. Although I used ink in a previous drawing which I think will be included in the final book, it was a mix of ink and marker, not just ink. I prefer the more opaque, blocked colour of the markers.

Book Project - artist influences - Louise Lockhart (featuring Ben Eine and Kate Bingaman-Burt)

I've looked at Louise Lockhart's work as one influence for my own book project.

Why I like her work

Since within this brief we're focusing away from comics (what I normally quite like doing) and using words to tell a story, I've started going back to what we've been looking at in Visual Language - shape!

Lockhart's work exhibits a very playful visual signature - lots of shape-driven image-making, texture and COLOUR - I've never been very good at using colour, often just using black line and being too scared to fill it in in case I don't like it anymore, or not being very imaginative with my use of colour.

On the other hand, Lockhart's concertina book, Up My Street (which I've just bought because I'm in love with it), shows brilliant examples of what I'd like to be able to do with colour and shape particularly - things I've not experimented with much.

How the artist has influenced my practice

I've started to branch out in my use of shape and colour since seeing her work. This is an example of me playing around with it in my sketchbook:

One of the reasons I picked trains as my subject was because I'm also not great at drawing mechanical things, which is something that's pretty good to explore with shape and colour! I also went back to the idea within the Visual Skills module of only using a limited colour palette. I liked the challenge of choosing colours that worked well together, and it also helped me to loosen up my own visual signature and be more imaginative instead of drawing exactly what I see.

Here are some colour swatches I was playing around with in my sketchbooks (I also treated myself to some new Copic markers):

Lockhart also hand-draws her type, which is something I've always loved exploring, and another idea I had for my book is train sign typography - train name plates, vintage posters and adverts etc., so I've explored this idea too - again, using loads of colour!

Other artists (type-based) that have influenced this project:

Two other artists that sprung to my mind when I started thinking about typography were Ben Eine and Kate Bingaman-Burt. 

Eine focuses on mural typography - painting street walls around the world (mostly England - I first came across him in London on a trip on my foundation course). Although he's not a book-maker, I really admire his typography, especially his use of colour.

Kate Bingaman-Burt on the other hand is an illustrator, especially focusing on hand-drawn type. This piece of work is from her book, Obsessive Consumption, where she recorded everything she bought (every day) over a period of 3 years. The book is only a selection but she has a blog where she posted all of those drawings (up to 2014) - link here

Struggles

Before Christmas I was struggling a bit with mild depression, caused by a number of things, including a disrupted sleeping pattern. I hit a low point in my motivation levels, and was struggling to complete work. After my initial research trip, I didn't manage to motivate myself over the Christmas break to do any more research, visual or otherwise. I've talked to Matt about this and over Christmas I've tried to fix my sleeping pattern among other things to help me get back on track.

I do really want to stay on the course and do well with it - I know I can! I've had these problems before around GCSE and A-Level time and managed to pull myself out of it. I just need to make sure I keep talking to people about it and not try to deal with it completely by myself.

I also had a talk with Matt about my ideas for the book, which was really helpful, considering I don't necessarily have as much research as some people. I think I want to focus on typography or mechanics of trains, but I know I want to experiment more with colour and shape!

OUIL405 Brief 2 - Collected paraphernelia

I collected some leaflets/maps/timetables from the station and the museum, and I also bought some cute illustrated postcards based on vintage posters. I've also added my train tickets from the day to my ticket pile (now 152 strong) that I've been building up for 5 years. I might be able to use these for my project, a collage?

OUIL405 Brief 2 - More photos

Just some pictures of other things I found visually interesting from my day.

OUIL405 Brief 2 - FACTS at York Railway Museum

General facts:

• A locomotive and a train aren't the same thing - locomotive refers to the vehicle that provides the power to move carriages and train refers to the locomotive with carriages attached

Channel Tunnel

I live pretty close to the channel tunnel in Kent, so I might conduct a day trip there over Christmas to do some research with my little brother (who's obsessed with trains). I'm pretty sure my brother has a documentary about it somewhere too which I'll have to rewatch. Some super cool facts I found out about it:

• ·         Runs for 31.4 miles beneath the English channel
• ·         Includes the longest section of underwater tunnel in the world
• ·         Constructed by 13,000 workers over 6 years
• ·         Recognised as one of the seven wonders of the modern world by the American Society of Civil Engineers
• ·         Opened in 1994 (2 years before I was born)
• ·         Carries 48,000 people (!!!) between England and France every day
• ·         4.3 million cubic metres of earth and rock was displaced, which was then deposited at Shakespeare cliff near Dover, increasing the size of the UK by 90 acres

'The Tale of Two Coaches'

Coach No. 2
Narrow Gauge Lynton & Barnstaple railway in north Devon closed in 1935 and coaches were sold off at auction. Railway enthusiast Mr Copleston bought Coach No 2 to use as a summerhouse/smoking room in the garden of the Rectory in Clannaborough, Devon. It was built in 1897 as a 'saloon brake composite' carriage containing first and third class accommodation and a guard's department. The 20 mile journey to move the coach took 3 days and cost more than Mr Copleston paid at auction for the carriage. It was moved to York in 1982.

The Duchess of Hamilton

• ·         One of the most powerful steam locomotives to run on Britain's railways
• ·         One of 38 Princess Coronation class locomotives
• ·         The fireman had to feed at least 1 ton of coal into its firebox every hour! An average of 6 tons was shifted on an average journey (no wonder we're running out of coal - bloody hell)
• ·         Withdrawn from service in 1964
• ·         You could walk under this locomotive - I got some cool machinery pictures of the underside - so intricate!

The Flying Scotsman

• ·         Fastest express service between London and Edinburgh
• ·         From June 1862 the 10.00 express passenger services departed from London Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverly. This weekday service still runs today
• ·         Locomotive 4472 was named after the Flying Scotsman service but it is actually one of many locomotives that has pulled the famous express
• ·         Steam locomotives on the non-stop service consumed 13,000 gallons (59,100 litres) of water - equivalent to 312,000 mugs of tea (the most British comparison ever)
• ·         In 1948 there were 286 signal boxes controlling trains on this route - in 2002 nine boxes did the same job

·          

Japanese Maglev trains

• ·         They float! Or 'magnetically levitate'

Mallard

I went in the cab of the locomotive and talked to the woman in there about how it worked - she showed me what a fireman would have done and what all the valves and switches etc did. A fireman would have shovelled coal into the firebox about 8 times an hour. They also had water troughs alongside tracks that you could scoop up water from as the train went past to refill the tank. Water would squirt out of the pipe at each level to let you know how full the tank was.

The Turntable

• ·         722 men and boys worked on it
• ·         Up to 160 trains were moved on it per week
• ·         I took a video of the guy giving a talk about the turntable and the demonstration of it turning (but Blogger won't let me upload it because it's bigger than 100MB)