The Museum of Spectres and Spooks

This was a really fun concept and I really enjoyed the challenge of creating an illustration without being able to do much research. The subject matter was difficult to convey but i am really pleased with my spooky characters i have created. I tried a few different mediums for this task but the main result is a digitally coloured poster, however, i hand-drew the typography and i am really happy with the result. I think it looks very polished and is still legible despite its design.

My first 'final version'. I like the rounded border but there was something off about the white. I think theres too much white and this does not help to convey the ideas or feeling of the poster content. 

I really like the black border. I think it helps the text to stand out and adds just enough darkness to enhance the context of the poster.

Final poster design! I made the front ghost larger and added another in the background to better realise the sense of distance and scale. I am really happy with this outcome, i think it clearly conveys the meaning of the poster and is still reminiscent of my style and other work. 

Collective Nouns

This workshop was a challenge at first because i really really dislike insects! However, i found that because i haven't paid much attention to them before, i needed to really analyse them in order to draw them correctly which, i think, has helped my illustrations.
I used a mix of media for this task, creating a poster with pencil, coloured pencil, watercolour and photoshop. At the time i wondered if all of these separate elements would hinder my design, or make it look disparate in some way but i am pleased with the result. I think the colours really come together and i am really happy with the composition too.

I decided i really would like to carry on with this workshop to further my outcome. I am please with it but i think i could take it so much further! With so many words and letter floating around i thought that these collective nouns would make a great concept for an A-Z book. Instead of the letter of the alphabet referring to the insect however, it would identify the noun, introducing a slightly different level of learning. I also thought it would be good practice to work on a book concept considering my future aspirations of being a children's book illustrator. I have not had much experience with designing books, considering page layouts etc and this project has helped me to address some of these issues. 

I chose two other insects from the original text to illustrate which i thought would be enough to show the potential of my idea and to be realistic with regards to time management. 

I really wanted to use a double page spread for these images (i looked at other A-Z books and these were similar) so i had to tweak my original design a bit. 

 The cover proved to be the trickiest part of this particular design process but i am really pleased with the final outcome.

Retold Story

I researched alot of local stories and legends because these kinds of stories really interest me but when it came to realising illustrations to accompany them i just could envision it.
I then looked into other, more obscure myths and legends and found a website (The Unmuseum) where i found a very small story about a girl who had an encounter with a yeti in the Himalayan mountains.
As soon as i read it i could see the characters, the location and even to some extent a narrative.

Taken from http://www.unmuseum.org/yeti.htm

"One Sherpa girl, who was tending her yaks, described being surprised by a large ape-like creature with black and brown hair. It started to drag her off, but seemed to be startled by her screams and let her go."

After alot of research, drawing and experimentation i created some characters for the story and really tried to incorporate my style into them. When I was happy with the characters, i thumbnailed to get the right composition, created some colour swatches and drew out my design at A3 ready to colour digitally.

Really happy with the composition, the lines will not stay black though! 

Final book cover design

I am beyond pleased with how this turned out and i love how it looks on the book itself. I am happy with the colour palette, it is playful but keeps with the theme of the story, enhancing the folktale aspect of the yeti narrative. At first i didn't really like the idea of working in a square, i don't usually, but it made me think differently about my design and i don't think it would of worked so well if it was not a square format. During this assignment i also realised how i am becoming more comfortable colouring digitally and i think my skills have really improved on this front.
It was interesting to see, again, how my ideas have turned another workshop into a means of creating the concept for a children's book. It is encouraging for myself that i do not need to struggle making my designs suit a younger audience, they are headed that direction anyway. I really love the concept of this story and would love to take it further in the future, perhaps creating a story to coincide with the cover.

After i first read the original story on the internet and started to imagine my story i got really excited about the characters and i was so happy with my designs that i decided to turn one of them into a 3D model. It was a different way of working than on paper but i think i have managed to maintain my style whilst working with a different medium. I am not the best sculptor in the world but the more i practice the better i am becoming and i really enjoyed making these models! It showed me that once i have an idea or concept i am happy with i don't need to leave it and thats that... i can take that idea and apply it to other things.

AD31

The following are the later stages of progress and final outcomes for AD31, Goodbye Comfort. (The majority of my design process can be found in my sketchbooks).
This module, although challenging, has helped to show me how I am capable of creating a piece of work within a very, very short time scale. Having a fixed structure has both challenged and aided my creative process, it gave me a starting point but also made me think differently about how to approach a problem.
However, saying this, I have found that the majority of projects i undertook, and the outcomes i achieved have still led me to creating illustrations for a younger audience. This is shown in my book cover, wild swimming illustration, retold story and collective nouns illustrations. Due to the briefs, I began my illustrative process like usual (thematic & creative research then sketches, designs, thumbnails and experimentation) but I also don't think i would have reached the same outcomes if the challenges were more open.