Comics project

The comics project was tremendous fun and great opportunity to spend more time working within one of my favourite mediums.

Fact Project- native american ceramics

Next was a project with a different approach. The fact project was asking us to take a more objective and rational approach towards the content. This definitely effected my image making, causing me to take on a more observational approach, being true to the facts that I was interested in. I found it challenging to create a project based on research as a lot of my work is about the creation of a mood, with emotional themes. But as long as I stayed engaged within the subject I just wanted to know more. My drawing styles for the ceramics and the environment became quite different as I found where the techniques were relevant. It was really interesting to see how they combined and how my drawing style could stretch for the brief. Something else I took from this project was how to present my research within my sketchbooks, I tryed to make them into engaging information objects in themselves, for practise purposes mainly.

Publish Project

The main part of the publish project was to create a vocabulary book of drawings from a chosen list- some recognisable objects, some more abstract. We were asked to represent them through different attributes, in order to explore how to communicate this through an object. The colour choice was limited to two, at opposite ends of the spectrum, and black. It was a really good opportunity to expand my visual language, as I find with out this, it's easy for representations to become repetitious and unnatural. Especially with the challenge of only using two colours and black, I was considering how to use them much more carefully in order to communicate in the correct way. The workshops were very useful too, in terms of ways of approaching image making and broadening skills, aways useful!

First project of the year- Fiction- 'The Colour Out of Space'.

The Fiction project was a classic illustration project; to make illustrations of a Penguin Mini Modern Classic short story. The foundation of the project was a collection of observational drawings from over the summer, for us to be able to reference when making. I learnt a huge amount about handling the content of the narrative with in this project, which was something that I knew needed more practise.  Before, when making work the main focus was on the quality of the drawing, and the communication would be considered second. I was taking everything I'd learnt in the first year about drawing technique and how you can direct this towards effective communication, and applied it to the telling of my story. I was incredibly inspired by the writing and felt I had to try and stay as close to it as possible to create an honest depiction. Even though I didn't make very many finished pieces within this project, I felt like my approach to storytelling is more analytical when considering what is relevant for the brief.   

Comic evolution

             Most recent comic for the comics project. 6 pages. Untitled as yet. My first comic after a break of about 6 months! A huge step forward for my work in every aspect; quality of drawings, pacing, pagelayout and narrative. The work will be risograph printed in the anthology we are making for the work made on the project, I'm also going to print it on it's own to sell, I've just got to make a cover and think of a title.

Summer Comics- a collection of short stories, a mix of fictitious and autobiographical narratives, mix of mark making and textures. The subject matter is much more tuned towards reality, which I think has occurred as I've techniquely improved and found it to be a more suitable direction.  

In summer comics I noticed a definite step forward within my drawings. My line work is much more defined and appropriate for the size of the page. My figures and expressions are more natural and realistic. I'm excited by the idea of having multipule stories within one book and possibly including the work of others too.

 'The One-Stop Redwood Shop'- A new set of characters, but continuing the light, silly mood. A story inspired working at a convience shop and dealing with things like regulars, bosses and tedious jobs. These themes were touched on in the story, but within a surreal setting, fantasy setting. I enjoyed this balance as I'm excited by stories that combine themes of reality and fantasy. I found that within this issue my panelled improved in terms of the size in relation to the page. I still find the pacing to be slightly too fast though. 

'Wiley Comics- Issue Two'- Another Wiley adventure, this time with a friend! This issue was step forward in terms of the depth of the drawings and the storytelling. I found that using a grey wash added a softness and depth to the pages. The story for this issue is much more fun then the previous, I prefer them to be adventures! I think my drawings of expressions are generally better too.

'Wiley Comics-Issue One'- Second inked comic book. At the time I was obsessed with Richard Linklater's movie 'Dazed and Confused', it's relaxed character based storyline is something I feel very connected with. So I thought I'd make some comics that were based around the actor of one of the main characters, Wiley Wiggins. It's equally light and silly as my previous comics, but I find the pacing to be much too fast. My line work has definitely improved here, being a much better width for the page size.

'Eightball Comics'- Badly named, I'd realised soon after that Daniel Clowes had beaten me to it. This was my first inked comic book, also new characters. I don't feel like I moved on a huge amount as I was working in a new medium, but I'd definitely learnt as I made it. The subject matter is more realistic then 'Skipper and Morris' and set in present time.

'Skipper and Morris Adventures- Issue two'- Similarly light as issue one, Issue two was a continuation of they're adventures. The main change I'd noticed was the darkening of the lines and tone, probably due to the confidence I'd gained. The length seemed to be a lot more suitable too, as I found the first issue to be slightly rambling.

'Skipper and Morris- Issue One'- The first step into the vast world of comics. It was an unplanned narrative, and mostly just a chance for me to experiment with the medium. The mood is incredibly light and playful, which at the time was the most natural way for me to approach it. It was an amalgamation of everything I loved and was inspired by within story telling. I was aiming to make something that I would be excited to read. Throughout the comic I can see how I improved and adjusted within the new format, in terms of the drawings, page layout and pacing.