The Place in QuestionIn this project we were each assigned an area around the college, which we

had to document through various means such as drawings and photographs.

The area I was assigned to was the teacher smoking area. The main aim of

the project was to turn something mundane and overlooked into a interesting

final piece.

Exploring the AreaTo begin the project we went to our designated

areas to observe all the features from it. To

capture the area I took photos and did

drawings of items at different

angles+perspectives. In my ‘Place in Question’:

a tree, totem pole, chairs, sign post and a

bench. I had originally just done sketches of

the features,which i then later added further

detail from photos I had taken. This was done

so that I could explore the textures and

shadows from the area. I decided that all the

medias added nice touches to capturing the

formal elements. I thought that the approach I

had used with the acrylic added an interesting

cartoon effect (popping and prominent), whilst

using watercolour was more subdued yet it

was very effective in capturing colour.

I also measured the size of the totem pole, so that i could

recreate the pole on SketchUp.

This allowed me to to create a 3D digital model of the

pole from ‘My Place in Question’. With this I then created

a short animation to capture my area. This was slightly

difficult to do, because I found the program tricky to use

when i had to create all the sharp turns of the totem pole.

I then went onto creating an aspect of my area in Google SketchUp. I

wanted to do either the totem pole or the tree, yet I found that doing the

tree would be extremely difficult. This was because I didn’t have all the

measurements, and getting all the different angles of the tree would

have been very hard. I hadn't used the program before, so doing a

natural organic shape would have been a bit overwhelming. In the end I

created the totem pole. I had the measurements and the shape was

quite ridged, so with my limited knowledge of the program I was able to

make it with the ‘line’ tool. The lack of background was due to the fact I

couldn’t created a tree, and all the templates of trees didn’t have the

same look as the one from my area. Using the model of the totem pole I

created a short animation, which explored all the different angles of the

pole.

I also made a model of the tree from my area, which I then was going to create a

short animation of as well. I knew that later I was going to combine both videos

(SketchUP and model videos) to create a big final

video. This is why I chose to do the tree. When I

combined both videos the lack of background in the

SketchUp animation would be compensated by the

3D model video. When I was making my final

animation I combined both videos and some

drawings from my sketchbook. I added mysterious

music and used smooth transitions to create a spooky

and eerie atmosphere. This was all done through

Adobe Premiere which I quickly understood and

adapted to.

Overall I think the video went well. I managed to

accomplish the spooky theme I was going for though

the smooth transitions, and aided by the intriguing

music. This was a great addition to the project and I

enjoyed making the video. The video shows my area

and conveys the mystery behind it.

To record and observe my area i did a Dry-Point

print, a 3D model of the tree, and a large mixed

media drawing.

The mixed media A2 drawing allowed me to

explore different types of medias and what their

limitations were. I found that the acrylic was most

effective in creating a worn look with it easy

choppy application method (layers of paint),

whilst the charcoal complimented it with its

flowing and earthy lines. If i were to do this again

i would consider adding more colour, and another

aspect of the area because it felt slightly empty

even with the giant head of the pole.

I made a 3D model of the tree using two cut out silhouettes made from

wood, and layers of string. To make the tree silhouettes I used

references of the tree angles I had made earlier, and then cut them out

using a jigsaw. I wasn’t particularly confident using the jigsaw, but the

final outcome of the tree was good. I had to keep returning to the jigsaw

to make modifications, so every time i used it I improved and became

more comfortable with the machine. I then used

string to replicate the streaky texture of the bark.

This was then loosely coloured using charcoal. I

had learnt from my earlier observational studies

and my composition piece that charcoal was good

at creating an earthy and chipped look. When it

was rubbed over the string only some of the

colour remained. This made it irregular and more

like the real bark of the tree.

MAKING AND DEVELOPMENTAL WORK

I looked at an artist called Edmund

Blampied, who created drypoint prints during

the 1950’s. I liked the way he manipulate the

process (Dry-point printing) to its fullest, with

his scratchy and distorted lines. I tried to use

my drawings from Orthographic perspective

to attempt Blampied’s style (overlapped and

scratchy line). From looking at his work I can

see how he created the illusion of depth and

speed quite easily through the use of

multiple/overlapped lines. He uses dashes

and the occasional cross-hatched lines to

create texture, tone, depth and even velocity.

This is a print of his called ‘The Joy Ride’

which i recreated by observing his work.

(This copy is unfinished yet it grasped the

methods behind Blampied’s work)

Using Historical

and contemporary

examples

I looked at various methods of perspective, and then took two of

the methods that I liked best, and that might be most effective in

capturing my area. I looked at atmospheric perspective (technique

of rendering depth through the hue and distinctiveness of objects)

and Orthographic project (a series of drawings which looked at an

object at different angles to create a mental 3D image).

I chose to look at Atmospheric perspective because I liked the

mystery created through the distortion of the objects. I had taken a

of photo of the branches of the tree from ‘My Place in Question’

and thought that the overwhelming number of leaves were hard to

distinguish. With that in mind I thought that it would then be

interesting to replicate that haziness through Atmospheric

perspective. Though when I did the painting I felt as though the

perspective wasn’t very strong, yet the haziness and layout of the

composition work well. If I were to do it again I would try to select an angle of the tree that had clear definition of depth, and

try to blend all aspects of the image together so that the transition of depth would be smoother (in the painting (top right) I

had blurred the background yet the branches that were also in the distance were not distorted, but prominent against the

background).

I had also looked at Orthographic projection. I later used these

drawings as an outline for my drypoint prints, which I used in

my final piece. These drawings were inspired by the sketches

of Leonardo Da Vinci, whose drawings explored the various

views of many objects (e.g. the human anatomy, horses) with

dashes and cross-hatched lines. I tried to use the same

approach as Da Vinci to draw the tree from my area. Overall I

did 3 different angles of the tree, which helped make it clearer

what the completed shape looked like. Using this perspective

influenced the outcome of my final piece: using the drawings I

had done I made prints out of them, which were cut up and

arranged for my final piece.

My BriefThe brief I created was ‘a museum has commissioned you to create an

illustration for their upcoming exhibition on ethic art/life’. I thought that this

brief would suit my area well due to the objects in it. I thought that the

totem pole statue looked like the figures off Easter Island, or if placed

within the right time (totem pole) it could be disguised to look as though it

belonged there. I looked at different cultures like the mayan’s, aztecs,

native americans, and various artworks like statues of tiki gods and the

Easter Island sculptures.

To make an illustration for a museum I knew it had to be appropriate to be viewed by all ages,

but i also knew it had to draw the viewer in and intrigue them. It had to be interesting, but also

have mystery to make people interested in discovering more. The poster was for an exhibition

so the focus was on a certain culture or object-in my case it was to be centred around the totem

pole, yet representing an Easter Island exhibition. I thought that the British museum would be

suitable to represent the museum who commissioned me. I looked at their website and explored

the exhibitions that they normally support/put on. This helped me understand how they organise

their exhibitions and i could look at posters they had for those exhibitions. I also explored

different cultures and their art. This helped me decide what era/civilisation the totem pole could

be placed amongst. The strongest competitors were the sculptures from Easter Island and the

Mayan wall art. I researched into the past behind the Easter Island sculpture, which gave me a

clearer understanding of their story.

I looked at an additional 3 illustrators that I liked that could influence the outcome of my final

piece. I looked at Austin Briggs, Herge and Edmund Dulac, and then did illustrations of my area in

their styles. After studying their styles and that of the artists I had looked at earlier in my

sketchbook I started to create initial ideas. I eliminated styles that I thought were not appropriate

for the brief and expanded upon the ones that were suitable. I experimented with the arrangement

of the designs and the colour schemes.

Developing

Personal Brief

These were the two other fully developed

initial ideas that I had made for the brief. The

one of the Left was a poster design, whilst the

one above was for a booklet.

After developing my brief I set about

creating ideas. I used artists and poster

designs I had looked at as inspiration to help

me decide upon the style I wanted, and the

layout of the illustration. I drew up many

compositions and developed them

depending upon whether they had the

potential to advertise an exhibition. I settled

upon doing either a booklet or a poster, so

with that in mind it helped me eliminate any

of the compositions which I didn’t think were

suitable for those tasks. I experimented with

different perspectives, colours,

arrangements, media, and styles. I

attempted one of my designs using Herge’s

style (strong,solid colours with black

outlines), yet It didn’t work well with the

mysterious theme I was going for. It was

overbearing with the background, and

made it confusing about what the image was

trying to convey. I did find though after

looking at poster designs could still use

Herge’s approach to shading (clear

separation through black outline). This is

what I did for my final outcome (top left).

Where I wanted to show shading wasn’t

blended smoothly together, but was isolated

from the other shape. The separate blocks

of tone made it punchy and 3-Dimensional.

It suggested mystery and enlightenment,

which was to encourage viewers to attend

the exhibition. I also took Ellis’ approach to

tonal colouring to keep it slightly sinister,

whilst the bright yellow made the text

alerting and the blue calmed it back down.

I did explore various fonts that were on my

laptop and selected ones that weren’t fussy or

extravagant. By choosing a simple font it made

it easy to read quickly If observed whilst on the

move, but it also made it friendly to all ages. I

made the pattern on the totem body out of my

dry-point print I had done of the tree from my

area. I had multiplied it, cut it up and arranged it

on a page. I then just simply cut the basic shape

of the totem out of it.

Developing my

Personal Brief

I looked at Austin Brigg’s work for examples on how to illustrate my own final piece. I chose to look

at his work because I liked the rough sketchy figures that were done simply by using black pencil. I

applied his approach to an aspect of my area, which turned out quite successfully because they

looked casual and effortless. I also looked at two other artist: Edmund Dulac and Carson Ellis.

Dulac’s work used a different approach to

illustration than Brigg’s. His work was more

details and delicately drawn. His pieces

were carefully arranged and situated not

the page with washy, light colours. I liked

his work due to the fantastical stories

behind them, and the detail wasn’t to

heavy/overwhelming due to the gentle

colouring.

Another artist that I looked at was Carson Ellis. Her illustrations were simplistic but

still showed depth through tonal shading. The lines of her illustrations were flowing

and pleasing. There weren’t any harsh jagged lines and the tonal colours were also

washy and gentle, like Dulac’s pieces. The colours were soft and her illustrations

held meaning. They could convey themes well through their layouts and

positioning.

The only real Health & Safety issues that I had to

be careful of was when I was creating my 3D

model. When I was using the jigsaw I made sure

that I was wearing protective goggles (to prevent

splinters of wood from going into my eyes), and

that my hands were far away from the moving

blade (for fear of cutting my hand). I also had to tie

my hair up to prevent it from getting trapped in any

machinery.Applying Professional

practise study in your

work

Presentation of WorkI presented my work through a sketchbook. This held the body of my

work, and within it I had taken photographs to document my work. I made

use of illustrations and photographs to show the progression and stages

of my process throughout the sketchbook. I also have a blog to post the

brief summaries of the work onto. On their I had put the brief and

photographs taken of my book, which revealed the progress I was

making. On the blog was professional practises’ from artists I had emailed

questions and details of university open days I had attended. I also made

use of boards to professionally present my work. The boards were of

photographs of my model, which showed the textures, shadows and

tones created by the model. I also had a board with my final piece on it to

show how the piece would be properly represented and displayed.

I attended the open days for the University of

York, Kent and Queen Mary’s. These visits

were to look at the History & Archeology

courses. Whilst not for art, these visits

strengthened my decision that that was what i

wanted study for 3 years. I can transfer skill I

have gained from art to apply to History, such

as the analysing of work and documents to

the effect that they have. Out of the 3 that I

have visited so far the University of York was

my favourite. The building that the Historical

archeology studied in was an old Tudor

manor, which still held most of its original

features. The atmosphere of the city was also

nice and relaxed, so I felt even more

welcomed.

The tumblr blog stores professional practise case studies and is a nice

way to simply layout the steps of my process.

Opinion: When i received my area for the topic I wasn’t too disparaged. I could see that there was many interesting features

in the area that I could explore and play with. The totem pole and the tree being the strongest features of the area. These

mundane/repetitive items could be transformed into something interesting simply through the experimentation of styles. After

spending more time in the ‘Place in Question’ I became more aware of details that might have been simple overlooked/taken

for granted, such as the texture of the bark and the arching curves of the branches. Then after exploring these areas I could

make them startlingly more engaging simply by how I drew/applied/arranged/coloured them.

Evaluation: Overall I struggled with keeping up with this project. I felt like I didn’t have much time in lessons to fully

comprehend my decisions and chose what I wanted to do. I like to be absolutely certain about what I going to do, and the

short demand of time we have in lessons made this difficult. I was often spending large amount of time outside the lesson

trying to keep up, and perfect my sketchbook. I did start at list of tasks to complete near the middle of the project, which

helped me clearly understand what I had left to do and what I had to finish.

For this project I had to research into different artists to explore many various styles and techniques that I could apply to my

own work. I looked at artists such as Austin Briggs, Herge, Corey Godbey and Rene Gruau. I selected certain artists

depending on different factors, such as the way the way the drew their lines, their application of colour, or the way they

Opinion & Evaluation

created depth. I also had to do many different mock-ups of compositions for final ideas and

models designs. Through these I gradually developed my final completed piece after

successes/errors which I learnt from and progressed on. I experimented with different media,

perspective, texture, approaches, and sizes. I had designed a poster for the final piece which

later I changed into a booklet cover design. After completing my mock-ups I was able to

progress clearly from there with what would be suitable for different jobs, like I had done with

the poster design to booklet cover. All this build up to the final piece was possible through all

the work I had completed in my sketchbook: observational studies, artist research, material

experiments for 3D models, photographs, and my short animation videos. In the end I was

very pleased with my final outcome. The poster was eye-catching and punchy with its

gripping captions, and I liked the fact that I could use work from earlier in my sketchbook for

something that it wasn’t originally made for (tree dry-point as texture of the totem). At the end

of the project I had completed a 3D model of my area and a poster commissioned by a

museum.

If I were to this project again I might try to create my own logo for the British Museum, and

experiment more with the font. By doing this I might be able to find one that was more suited

to the topic (i.e. rustic, eroded) , and more in tuned with it.