"Bear Have You Been?"

After much blogging around the subject of working on my 'Final Major Project', it occurs to me that I have yet to post any of the actual work itself. Well, now you can see for yourself what all the fuss has been about. It's taken me a while to get to this point. It has taken numerous character designs for the two main protagonists. Numerous background designs for the world in which they inhabit. It has taken a lot of experimenting with various styles to use for the book. I've tried using block print textures, charcoal, pencil, and crayon. I've tried creating it all digitally, then when that seemed too artificial tried the opposite only to find that a compromise between the two was the best way.

I think most people would agree that I spent too much time worrying over little insignificant details of the designs, like if both bears should be wearing glasses, or what colours their clothes should be, or if I should draw each individual hair. The list goes on, and I don't like to think about all the time I have spent worrying over how I should do the shading, or if there should even be shading, how dark should it be.

Its fair to say that some of this time could have been better served, perhaps on the animation, perhaps even on updating this blog more often. Either way the important thing for now is the work is done and I am pleased with it. For the most part that is. When I look at it I still see my mistakes and can't help but think of things I would like to have done differently. But then, I think most of my classmates feel the same way when looking at their 'Final Major Projects', we have to accept that we will never be totally satisfied, we just have to be content in the knowledge that we have done as well as we can.

So, here it is, see what you think:

Beginnings in Animation

Above you will find a short animation I made as part of my 'Final Major Project'. The animation is based upon the children's book that I have been working on, on a double page spread that features the book's two lead characters caught in the rain.

Although I am pleased with the piece (I think the way that the characters looks to each other communicates their relationship in much the same way as the book) I still wish that I could have done what I, perhaps naively, hoped to do earlier, which was to animate the whole of the book. 

Looking back now, it seems obvious that with the time given for this project, just getting the book done would take up the majority of the time, and that with animation being such a long process, getting the entire book animated would have taken longer to make than the book itself.

My finished animation may seem only incidental therefore as it only lasts twelve seconds and only incorporates one double page spread. But working on it has rekindled the passion I had for animation when I was ten and would use my Dad's camera to create stop motion films with my 'action men'. As I began creating the above piece, I felt that same excitement about bringing characters to life as I did back then.

This has convinced me that although my time as at university may be drawing to a close, I should still experiment with animating my characters. I'm excited at the prospect of pursuing this new direction in my work further and am determined to make more animations in the coming months.

So, although the above piece is only short, the experience of making it is one that has rekindled a passion in me that I hope to continue as a graduate.

The Benefits of Collaboration (Part Three)

I sent the illustrations of 'Jack' off to Sarah, thankfully she liked them, and so I set to work on the other elements.

The next thing I was to create was the door that Jack breaks through. I tried to keep my illustration close to the original door from the film in terms of colours and design. When it came to the illustration of the 'Feel Good' bottle I kept it as simple and bright as possible. I wanted the drink to stand out from its gloomy surroundings and I knew that it was important to clearly show the brand. I kept the design of the table this was to sit on even more simple. This was after all just a background piece and I didn't want it to distract attention away from what was happening.

Then came the design for 'Wendy'. I struggled slightly because she doesn't have the same stand out, instantly recognisable features that Jack has and so is not as easy to caricature. In the end when I came up with her final design I had 'Olive Oyl' from 'Popeye' in mind. I decided that I wouldn't concentrate so much on getting her to look close to the original character, as I had with Jack, but would instead concentrate on getting across her overall mood, which for the most part is scared.

It was an interesting change to create illustrations for animation. With each character that I created I was essentially creating a puppet. One that needed movable arms and legs, that needed to be able to blink and change expression, and most importantly one that needed to be easy to animate. I tried to fulfil this last point as best I could by keeping the characters various elements in clearly labelled and organised layers, which hopefully helped.

I really enjoyed illustrating for animation and would definitely like to do it again, there is something magical about watching your illustrations come to life. I would also love to collaborate with Sarah again, she has done a great job with the animation and the whole project has been fun from start to end.
I now realise why collaborations are such a good thing, its the bringing together of two peoples skills and ideas that creates something unique. I'm really pleased with how the animation turned out and really enjoyed helping to make it.

Feel Good Drinks Advert | Dec 2011 from Sarah Brewster on Vimeo.

The Benefits of Collaboration (Part Two)

So, now that I had been provided with a storyboard and a list of the characters and elements that I was to create for this new and exciting brief, I set to work.

The first challenge was to create the character of 'Jack Torence'. I needed to create a character that would be instantly recognisable as the part that Jack Nicholson plays in 'The Shining', while at the same time keeping in mind that I needed this to be in the same cartoony and naive style that I have been using recently and because of which Sarah had asked me to collaborate.

To do this I started out with the basic head shape, eyes and nose that I have been using for previous projects as a template. To this I added some 'over the top' caricature eyebrows (an important point as Jack Nicholson has become known for his iconic eyebrows), an overly large toothy smile and some stubble (because when one is going insane, one doesn't have time to shave). The hardest part to get right was the hair, in the film Jack has a unique slightly eighties style that by the time of the 'axe scene' has started to unravel. To be honest, I'm still not sure if I got the hairstyle completely spot on. I was watching 'The Shining' recently (which I naturally counted as being 'home work') and couldn't help but become fixated on Jack's hair. Even when he was chasing his child through a maze with an axe I still found myself wondering 'did I get the fringe right?'. In reality, I don't think this point really makes much difference, it is the face that matters more to people and with the eyebrows, the stare and the smile I think I got that part about right.

Sarah required a side view of Jack for when he is breaking down the door and a front view for when he is delivering his famous line. Here's what I came up with:

'Heroes' Update Four

A while ago the majority of my blogging consisted of updates for a project I was in the middle of for 'Music'. It only just occurred to me that the project has now ended and I haven't followed this up with a blog post.

Over the summer Ed and I would send Emails back and forth to each other, I would send designs and he would send feedback. Between us we eventually settled on a collection of 'Heroes' to use for the installation and came up with designs that we were both happy with. This was a really positive experience and it taught me a lot about the benefits of collaboration and gave me experience in working for clients and working with designers. The final designs were a big leap forward from those that I had initially submitted and I am very grateful to Ed for all his input, help and support.

The designs went up at the end of October and recently came down to make room for a Christmas piece. For the time that the 'Heroes' installation was up, I was really pleased with the results. After all the tests and all the changes, the final designs worked well to fulfill the original idea: the faces were recognizable, worked well together and people enjoyed using them to 'become their heroes'.

I would like to thank Ed and Craig for all their help and for choosing to use my idea even if the initial designs were somewhat rudimentary. I would also like to thank Dom for helping me to put up the installation, to return the favor I recently went in to help her put up her Christmas Installation which is looking great. The whole project was a really enjoyable learning experience. To see how the installation looked, check out this rather amazing website that Ed has been working on, the photos will be up soon.

'Heroes' Update Three

So, after some further developing, here is a rough plan for the 'Heroes' Installation:

'Heroes' Update Two

A few weeks ago I went for a meeting with the guys at 'Music' to discuss the 'Heroes' project. They asked me to simplify the designs and come up with eighteen faces. So, after the last few weeks I have been busy developing the original designs and coming up with new ones based on other musical icons with unique looks. Here's what I've come up with:

                                                                 Amy Whinehouse

                                                                      Stevie Wonder

                                                              Slash (Guns 'n' Roses)

                                                                    Marilyn Mansson

                                                                 Michael Jackson

                                                                 Ozzy Osbourne

                                                              Paul Stanley (Kiss)

                                                                     Lady Gaga

                                                               Keith Flint (Prodidgy)

                                                                    Kanye West

                                                                    John Lennon

                                                                     Elvis Costello

                                                                       Elvis Presley

                                                             Freddie Mercury (Queen)

                                                               Gene Simmons (Kiss)

                                                                       Elton John

                                                                 

                                                          David Bowie

                                                                       Bono (U2)

               

Website

Well, it took me a while to set it up; but now I finally have my website up and running! I set it up using 'Cargo' which I would I highly recommend to anyone looking to set up their own; its perfect for setting up an online portfolio. I'd also like to thank Kris and Jord for introducing me to 'Cargo' and helping me set up my account: cheers guys!

So,here it is:

'Heroes' Update

So, I've been busy with this 'Heroes' brief. To start with, there's been a change to the line up: Elvis Costello has gone; he was the only one of the faces that people didn't recognise. So I've decided to replace him with 'Lady Gaga', she arguably has more of an iconic look and is more 'of the moment'. See what you think:

I've also been testing out some 'prototype' vinyl faces on glass, and I'm really pleased with the results:

Finally, here's my proposal:

Editorial

A while ago now, we were asked to pick an editorial and come up with a new illustration to accompany it. I chose a piece called‘Relationships’ by Mariella Frostrup from 'The Observer Magazine'. The article is a 'Q and A' piece in the style of an 'Agony Aunt' column. 

In the article a young and confused student writes in asking for Mariella's advice. His problem is that he has recently become infatuated with his 23 year old 'German language assistant'. He is uncertain whether or not h should make his feeling known to her, he has to decide quickly though because time is against him and in four months time he is to leave to go to college. Mariella responds by telling that what he really ought to do is throw caution to the wind, follow his heart and go for it.

When I read the article it occurred to me that most of the text is taken up with Mariella's answer and that the recurring theme is the notion of being brave and 'taking the plunge'. So I decided that I would show a character cautiously preparing to take this leap into the unknown. After much discussion with my tutor and colleagues about possible ideas, I came upon the notion of the character preparing to jump from a diving board, perhaps grasping a bouquet of flowers to further illustrate the concept of uncertain romance.

So, now all that remained was for me to create the illustration and unfortunately this is where my problems began. I spent the best part of a week struggling with a complicated image that simply wasn't working. And so after speaking to my tutor about it I decided to start again. It was actually a big relief when I admitted defeat and went about creating the image in a different and simpler way. Although I can't deny that my failure to successfully create the illustration the first time around had a considerable knock on my confidence.

After all that I eventually came up with an illustration that I am happy with as I feel it successfully reflects both the mood of the article and my 'style'. I did consider only posting this successful outcome, but now think its important to show the images that didn't work, as they ultimately lead to the final piece.   

So, this is the original article:

Here is a sketch of an idea:

 

Here is my first unsuccessful attempt at the image:

 

Here is my latter more successful image:

 

Finally, here is that image in context: