Visual Journals

TREE TIME TALES

2011-05-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

This is where I'm up to with it, would have liked to have got some colour in there but don't have time now. Does anybody know the details to which we have to send these in? Can we still email them, cause I can't find the address.

Fake Memoirs...

2011-02-19T06:43:00.000-08:00

Our latest project based on sequential narratives:

I was asked to make a post showing which tutorials I used in the process of making the panel below:

(The final panel will be square.)

I started by looking for illustrators who worked digitally so I could make something almost entirely using photoshop. Using Matt Laskowski's epic work as inspiration and his freely available tutorials/resources, I deleted ALL of my brush presets in photoshop, restoring the default ones and adding Laskowski's own set of custom made brushes:

(Link to M. Laskowski's Deviantart where you'll need to download the original file!)

"Now that I have the tools I should learn how to use them the best I possibly can..."

Reading these tutorials helped me a lot with critical thinking and how not only to improve technique but also make sure that my compositions read clearly for others to see. 'Perspective & Composition Pt. I' helped especially in creating the lines for this panel, analysing the principles behind 1,2 and 3-point perspective and the techniques for drawing them in photoshop and on paper:

'Line art'.

"So, with a new set of brushes and the relevant know-how, I now want to colour or paint my scene! Hmmmm..."

I did actually wonder how 'painting' was done in photoshop before I read this next tutorial. I've since learned that it's really nothing like the process of actual painting, say with oils for instance. (At this point that it would be useful to have access to some kind of graphics tablet and, if you're any doubt as to which one to buy if you're looking for one, Mr Laskowski has a guide on that too... (Wacom Start-up Guide 2011))

M. Laskowski's 'Painting Via Adjustment Layers'

That's about all I have to say, Matt Laskowski has plenty more to say - either go to his website www.plasticshards.com or his Deviantart page/gallery fox-orian.deviantart.com where he has more tutorials and stands as a well respected member of the digital art community. If you're on Deviantart, add him and show the guy some love as he (plus many others) shares all his knowledge with us for free!

You can add me too - the-seldom-seen-kid.deviantart.com

Thanks for looking! ^^

- Kieran

RX Bandits

2011-01-11T13:56:00.001-08:00

Last page in zine.

2010-12-30T09:09:00.000-08:00

Not much to say about this, apart from ive really gota start sticking it all together now...

Zine so far

2010-12-23T14:33:00.000-08:00

I have finished my digital designs but still tweaking bits here and there, I will be printing it on a4 card, the zine is an 8 paged book, I have reduced the pages, made the designs more simple and used less text to keep a consistency. I have tried to make the use of black and white with hints of purple.
I have also started making designs traditionally experimenting with fine liner, watercolour paints and ink on foam board to see what effect it gives out.

Birminghams got its Hollywood, California, Broadway and now Paris...

2010-12-23T11:10:00.000-08:00

My only worry about this piece is if i can get the trees to look more like the Eiffel tower, which of course is possible so i will keep working on this. However i find this to be one the randomest facts ive come up with, but maybe the best?

The next piece i will be working on is the back cover of my book which im not even sure what im going to do with it yet but it is the last thing i do before it all gets thrown together, so maybe i will have time to celebrate Christmas this year.

This will be the front cover of my zine before i was going to go with a very very rough look, but now ive decided to go with something that still looks rough but also looks a little more professional. The odd greay watercolour here and there makes the lettering stand out just that bit more, and i feel the type alone represents my style.

How to

2010-12-21T08:53:00.000-08:00

By any chance chiu could you post a demonstration on how to put our books together on illustrator or in design ect. I know you did a tutorial on it but as you can Imagen there might be people like me who arnt to good on computers doing this project, and without somebody being there to help me through it like the mindless vegetable i am i wont have a clue how to put it together.

Buildings

2010-12-19T05:37:00.000-08:00

After adapting and experimenting with different ways to get my message across and what i was actually going to make the book about, ive realised that i will have to adapt a few of my previous designs for my zine, otherwise the designs just wouldn't flow or make any sense.

This piece is going to be one of if not the second page in my book after the title page, which i now have the layout for but im still working on a few points on that. now if you will look at the comparison between this piece and the one before it, that i designed at the start of this project you will see what I mean.

As you can see im alot more confident with the lines now and ive got a sence of direction to my work instead of just drawing something badly because i can.

Work in progress

2010-12-17T16:36:00.000-08:00

Need to work into black lines. Lots of detail was removed when removing the white from the scanned picture but I think you can see where I'm going with it. Saying that, I'm not too sure that this is an improvement.

Let me know what you think!

Cheers, Brad

Dilemma

2010-12-16T04:06:00.000-08:00

Not sure where to go with this image; been working on it for so long I've forgotten where I was planning on going with it. It's meant to be a head swimming through water, leaving a trail of blood as it moves. Grim, I know.

Has vampires/night creatures been overdone on this project?

2010-12-14T02:38:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to ask before I babbled any proper ideas to improve/develop my original fly on the wall idea - all I was thinking about was student nightlife, being practically nocturnal, almost like vampires etc etc and I wanted to make sure it hadn't been run into the ground beforehand.

Feedback would be great, cheers

Space man.

2010-12-13T08:23:00.000-08:00

After gathering more weird facts about brimingham i set about creating my next pice and developing my work further, this also ment re-thinking what title to use and also opened up new problems like what sort of folding technique im going to use as i have found out that a normal 8 page fold will not be big enough to clearly show my designs and text. Anyway that will be my next problem to tackle and also i will be designing the front cover of my zine soon. Anyway this is what ive done so far today.

Pot-holes

2010-12-12T09:05:00.000-08:00

To replace one of my pieces that will not be going into my zine, i decided to look at the roads of birmingham and how dangerous they can really be, but of course im exgsaturating it, i decided to find out how manny potholes there are on Birmingham's roads, and also i found a few more weird facts about Birmingham's roads to throw in there as well.

This piece was really challenging for one reason and one reason only, ever since ive been drawing ive never been able to draw a car properly. ><

My honesty

2010-12-12T08:59:00.000-08:00

So after Fridays lesson, I was genuinely frightened to upload work. Art isn’t a “right” or “wrong” subject. Art is what is in your heart. This realisation worried me, yet consequently pushed me to remember what I am doing. I have struggled over the past few weeks of this course, no denying that. And it only came to my understanding last week that i’d been repressing these feelings. I realized my inspiration was triggered by people rather than images.

So, after that insight into my life (that I may regret sharing!) I decided to draw and paint what I love, and what I am thinking about, and what is relevant to me.

I worked on my ideas of trees, which I think are one of the most underrated and beautiful things in nature. They are everywhere, they are unique, and they contain emotion. Some are tall and proud, others are wilting and bashful. Kind of like human beings.

I then looked on a website that Chiu recommended - Illustrationmundo - and found a lovely artist called Yan Nascimbene http://www.yannascimbene.com.

Nascimbene also uses watercolour (like me) to produce simple, effective pieces. I copied two of his pieces, and added my own thoughts to the second piece, to involve text and image. This wasn’t intentional, but a lot of thought was spilling as I was drawing it, so I thought I’d write it down.

I am leaning towards the tree idea for my book, showing different seasons and different moods/emotions of trees.

I have a few more ideas I could potentially expand on, which I need to wrap up and actually get some pieces done!

More to come soon...

Update after tutorial

2010-12-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

After my tutorial i realised theres a few things that ive gota change such as, ive been making this book mainly about MY problems with birmingham and whos going to read that and here me yak on about my problems for 8 pages, so now ive started adding a few weird facts about birmingham followed with a design about that fact. Also a change in title name had to be in order if im changing what the books going to be about so no the book is going to be called "Birmingham through my eyes".

Anyway i thought i might as well upload my latest design too.

Update

2010-12-09T14:37:00.000-08:00

Well after chiu reminded me that david shrigley was out there ive managed to grab alot more ideas and ive also gone through manny titles for my book but i think im on the right lines now, anyway i thought id upload a few of my newest illustrations and get peoples take on them. Im still sticking with a lack of color but also im still using watercolor to highlight certain areas as well as colored fine liners.

What is Comparative Research?

2010-12-08T15:31:00.000-08:00

It's a simple but multi-faceted device.

In order to appreciate great concepts and inspiring designs you need to search and find examples that usually fit into specific problems/challenges that you have in a brief.

By looking at how other illustrators/artists work with zines/artists book formats you can begin to compare your strengths and weaknesses, and more importantly identify what it is you need to work on.

It could be things that deal with the idea itself, or the design aesthetic, or both:

a collection
a journey
a sense of contradictions in what's written to what's drawn
a play with scale and perception
a sequence of mishaps
a bible
a dictionary of what not to do
a shopping list
a set of trump cards
an instructional booklet
a treasure map

Page layouts
Consistency of visual language
Use of limited colour palettes
Combination of text and image
The use of foreground and background
The visual experience of unfolding the pages
The feel of the paper
The awesomeness of the drawn details
The mark making qualites
The sense of emotion of the colours/drawings
The list is Fudging endless

me again....

2010-12-08T14:25:00.000-08:00

One out of eight of my drawings done. Probably too early to do my final drawings already...but its gna take me a while to do them all. For the other compositions each is going to have a different colour background to liven the book up!

I know this will make me sound like a total idiot.

2010-12-08T05:48:00.000-08:00

But I still can't get my head round how to do my comparative zine research.

Is it as simple as it sounds and I just babble on about zines/zine artists that I like the look of or like the techniques they use?
Or is there something more to it that I'm missing?
Help would be greatly appreciated.

Another idea....Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?

2010-12-08T04:51:00.000-08:00

One of my colleagues at work just told me about this fab legend - Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?

www.mysteriouspeople.com/bella_in_the_wychekm.htm

As another idea i could potentially gather a few of these legends, and dedicate a double page spread to each one, illustrating the story.

Drawing...

2010-12-08T04:45:00.001-08:00

i have decided on the idea of a series of images looking at different legends and phantoms around birmingham, i have given the title 'dead end' as i feel it fits with the whole street sign idea and if you meet one of these mosters you will be sure to meet a dead end. I have an idea for the 8th page to be an image of a set of teeth, with a skull in the centre, so the viewer feels they are being devoured, although im not sure whether to put that image on the back as a fold out poster.

-image of the warstones giant, drawn in biro. ideas are still floating around about the background, perhaps thinking about colour, creating patterns like the scratchy mark making seen in Tommi Musturi's work. Also thinking about including the road sign, or perhaps just lettering 'garguntuan alley'. Suggestions pleaseeee....

Here I am again.

2010-12-07T16:41:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be a pretty good idea if I actually got round to mind-mapping some of the crap that's been floating around in my head, and it's proved quite productive - a couple of new possibilities have come up; I wouldn't say it's finished but I've currently run out of inspiration.

After Chiu's comment on my first post I started looking at how the pages might look (very basically) if I chose to run with the fly on the wall art student idea, quite a few things are wrong; perspective, proportion, the character's face etc etc but they were only meant to be quick, shitty test drawings.

These are just a couple of drawings that are linked with a new idea that I've been playing with - the idea of creating a survival guide zine that reads like a wildlife documentary; with the types of people we see everyday in Birmingham transferred into animal for - in this case it's a raccoon Big Issue seller and a penguin police officer (the penguin isn't meant to be so comical - but it kinda accidently turned out that way). The animals used would be some way connected to the impression we have of each type of person. This is another unfinished page as I'm currently a little stuck for inspiration, but I'm working on it.

Initial Ideas and Sketches

2010-12-07T12:44:00.000-08:00

Whilst exploring Digbeth for my typeface research in the last project I was struck with two thoughts. One, Digbeth is a shithole. And two, whilst it is a shithole, the dilapidated industrial buildings and decay are fascinating. Not only visually (for a guy like me who's into that kind of thing), but in the aura of foreboding and mystery they give off.

So for this project, I want to explore the possibilities of what's in the spaces that we normally never see. What could be inside that crumbling old warehouse? Behind that rusted metal door? Could something other than the expected dwell in these dark places that have long been abandoned?

Initial Ideas

Couple of quick monster related sketches.

I plan to experiment more with techniques, traditional and digital to find a style appropriate to reflect my theme. Will update again with some more ideas, and drawings.

Ideas AND Drawings

2010-12-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

So the first thought that came to mind when thinking about birmingham was litter, so around this idea I started to draw up rough sketches and concepts. After that initial thought I couldn't decide where to go with the concept, that is until I saw A pice of baroquely on the floor. Weird huh? From that I went on with litter and divulged into thinking about health and stuff. So I thought what if the veggie got into an argument with a chocolate wrapper, then maybe a cigaret can join in? I then thought that the brock was a douche the way he spoke to the double decker wrapper and cig so I decided to have him adducted by a pigeon, cus god knows we got a lot of em. The moral I was going for was not jugging others and bragging about being super healthy because, well it doesn't do you much good when a giant bird comes and carries you off.

Jack Turner

How to determine what kind of idea to develop?

2010-12-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

Some posters are showing that they can provide a variety of suitable ideas - well where to go from there?

Try to consider these ideas in book format - will they be a collection of drawings/statements? Will they be in sequential order? Will they be mysterious and attract the reader to turn the page? Will they reveal things? But all, some, or other book factors should now be considered, and in that way your ideas can evolve :)

ideas

2010-12-07T07:26:00.000-08:00

i started drawing. i did some research. i looked at Oliver Kugler, Kozyndan, this guy called Ricardo (Merkslow) James Jean and Elodie. i also looked through pages of stuff about zines.

my frist idea after writing down loads of random stuff was to look at under ground subcultures and make up some and try to come up with some fun ideas . i then continued to draw stuff

i also thought about a story about a gorilla repair man, fixing thing late at night (like the plumber in that film Brazil). kind of like an alternate superhero.

whilst puting his child to bed he tells the story about the gorilla repair man.

i also thought about monsters made out of phones and other random objects

im gonna keep working on it.

http://www.olivierkugler.com/
http://www.kozyndan.com/
http://www.merkintosh.com/
http://www.jamesjean.com/
http://www.elodie-illustrations.net/

Underbelly of Birmingham; sketches.

2010-12-07T06:41:00.000-08:00

I wanted to draw something which i have never done so before and therefore decided on the idea of myths and legends which are associated with birmingham. I found a site which showed paranormal activity and legends seen on certain streets of birmingham.

Above are some really quick gnarly sketches of what came to mind when i read the different stories. I am undecided whether to pick one character and make that into a set of images, or have a zine showing all the characters, such as the work of Brinkman and his 'monsters' zine.

Withing each composition i may include a road sign with the location of where these legends reside, and perhaps the name of each character, for example 'coxwell road, the baby butcher'.

Initial Ideas n that...

2010-12-07T05:46:00.000-08:00

Idea #1 Once we were briefed on Friday the first thing that came to mind, before all the research, was an idea ive had for a good few years now, it is The Day in the Life of Lighter, so immediately started to jot down my thoughts. (NB: Im sitting in the library as we speak and its packed out man, so im not getting on the scanner any time soon; my sketch book stuff will have to wait for now coz im internetless at home atm).

Yeah so i was thinking about the lighter idea because it would be a good way to introduce all the diverse people and places that are held in Brum. It wouldnt have to be a story either it could just be a series of images following the same lighter from place to place, from person to person.

I've had a look on the web to see if im subconsioucly copying someone who has already done this and there are a few videos on YouTube that people have done but i couldnt see anything going in the direction i had in mind.

Idea # 2 I started looking into stories about Birmingham online, in the news and on blogs and all sorts. There was quite a lot of ghost stories from Brum but most of them sounded like a load of crap, but i did get sucked into this one blog that was about the post code wars and gangs within Brum, mainly the Burgers and the Johnsons.

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=birmingham%20gangs This website opened my eyes to other peoples perceptions of my home town, i read this one guy's blog who basically says that if you're white and on your own in Brum, you will get shanked. So technically - i should be well dead by now. Stupidness. There's also a Birmingham/Bronx reference which really tickled me. So from this i was starting to think about justoposing these perceptions with my own; digging out really frightening quotes about town and then illustrating happy images. Or maybe on page with images of the ghetto on one side, and then bright images on t'other - I dunno it's just a thought.

Idea #3 Another idea that i had was about the Brummie/Black Country accent.

www.dialectdictionary.com/view/letter/black+country/page1/?view=enhanced

"If pigs cud fly the'd mek unlykly burds" poi = pie; point = pint; toy = tie etc etc

I could potentially illustrate the brummy accent - some people from out o' town really struggle to understand my accent sometimes which amuses me no end.

Idea # 4 Another idea i had was about the ledgend, the Birmingham Running Man. He seems to be loosing his mojo in recent years but has been a figure that anyone from Birmingham should know. There used to be a time come rain or shine where he would be running up and down every road in Birmingham. There's even a few facebook page's dedicated to the guy, and some locals have even gone as him for fancy dress parties. Ledgend. He's really mysterious and all through my youth there were so many stories about him, where he came from, where he lives etc - i remember hearing he was sponsored by Nike or Addidas to advertise their gear. He wears EXACTLY the same clothes, the same hat, joggers and trainers, and doesnt speak even when spoken too - i can confirm this because he came into Ladbrokes when i worked there a good 6 years ago and he put on a bet that was incorrect, but we couldnt help him because he just stared blankly at us when we asked him what bet he wanted to place. A friend of mine even followed him in his van down the road and did a David Attenbourgh stylee commentary on the bloke! And when i think about the running man, i think about the NEW running man, he wears tight spandex clothes that hug his oh so buff body and makes running look sooo effortless. I could try and dig out other Birmingham 'ledgends' too.

Idea # 5 On location drawings: i could put together a collection of drawings that were done on location from Birmingham. (Think of Dongyun Lee's on location drawings - www.dongyunlee.com/# )

This is a drawing i did of a factory in Aston - i rek it'd look quite nice using dragpoint.

Artist research:Kozyndan (http://www.kozyndan.com/) - amazing illustrations, i really like the use of cutsy characters and on location illustrations.

Yep, so thoughts pleasy - and i have loads of sketchbook ramblings and illustrations that will back the above up, so i'll add all that once i've got scanner access :)

Initial Ideas

2010-12-07T03:53:00.000-08:00

I began just brain storming different ideas, but my main ideas at the moment is to make a zine of overheard conversations and thoughts of people in Birmingham. So to reveal what these people spend their time thinking about sort of thing...hoping that I can come out with some amusing results. At the moment my thought is that some pages will be portraits of people and others groups sharing a conversation. Not sure about the front and back pages yet though! The characters will probably be based the people in Birmingham, but exaggerated/altered again to add humour.

I looked at a selection of artists - how they work and present their images on the page using collage, pattern and a range of media. Some were more relevant/useful than others.

I experimented with drawing people in a range of ways and media in an attempt to reflect the people of Birmingham. Finding artists to then give me more ideas and inspiration. I like the work of Egon Schiele as it was very gritty and this could reflect the darker side to Birmingham , using more strange characters. Also expeirmenting with more cartoon like characters- exaggerating characteristics to perhaps add to the more amusing aspect.

Moving on to a more realistic approach of drawing portraits I came across David Foldvari who uses very small lines to build up the face, creating tone and depth.

Experimenting with backgrounds and different ways of presenting my work I looked into collage, creating a scene of gossiping old women, using a previosuly overheard conversation (but altered slight).

Also tried creating characters with line drawings, as the size of the zine would perhaps restrict the ability to capture and see the detail on some of my other images. I also experimented with stitch as a form of drawing and then by photocopying the left on threads create patterns and drawing on their own.

I want to also play with print (dry point and monoprint probably), as the ink can create backgrounds and maybe experimenting with colour. My next step is gather the thoughts and conversations I want to use, which I am in the process of doing. I am just playing around with different ideas at the moment.

Ideas!

2010-12-07T03:02:00.000-08:00

After leaving on friday i got delayed on getting my hands on the brief to get some artist research done, but come saturday i managed to, the artists work that i liked the most was "Gabriel Campanario" as he uses watercoulor in a messy way straying in and out of the lines alot and the finished product looks very different from any others. He also labels his work but i thought i could use this as an opurtinity to create some toilet humor like i have in the "Lighter?" piece that ive done below.

The idea that ive settled on is "people of birmingham" which at the moment is my title but im not sure if il stick with that or not, and of course its about people
that i come across on my way to uni. such as very weird
people or people that just generally are always having a
bad day and tend to take it out on me. so this books
going to have a lot of toilet humor in it.

Just Some Initial Ideas

2010-12-06T16:44:00.000-08:00

I quite like creating monsters/ freaks and twisting shapes, so right away I was looking for a way tell a story that would compliment these themes well. Initially I thought about the creeps and weirdos that roam the streets of Birmingham at night, which quickly changed into thinking about how would would these people react when something even more disturbing and freakish invaded their territory and space, and this new freaks interpretation of these degenerates if it was completely innocent like a child and knew nothing of how they really were (think Lennie from 'Of Mice & Men') and its attempts to unknowingly befriend murderers, dealers, addicts and worse.

After initially thinking about this I did a couple of designs of what this freak among freaks could look like and came up with something quite suitable, and even a name (Mildred Von-Skuntz, the most unattractive name I could come up with) It dressed in very dodgy clothes, as if its only source of fashion advice was the curb crawlers it shuffled up to and harassed at night.

Although this is still my favourite idea, I also thought about what if the Zine followed a young woman throughout her night out and her gradual transformation into the ultimate slagbeast. I also thought about themes of self image, how people view you and how you view yourself (we have all seen them, the gals you see in town and you cant help but wonder how they thought using that much makeup would be a good idea) For a good example check out any episode of 'World's Strictest Parents' on BBC 3.

Initial scribbles.

2010-12-06T15:29:00.000-08:00

The first thing I started on was drawings that had been lurking in my head since the intro to this project, I had two ideas to follow these drawings, but one quickly fizzed out since it bored the sh*t out of me.
The idea I began to develop more drawings for was a fly on the wall kinda thing for a student in Birmingham - probably Vis. Comm - but I wanted it to be larger than life and quite obnoxious. Which is where this character appeared from, probably best described as an extention of myself.
I've so far done a couple of pages of drawings of this character, currently working on some more, a brief section of research on artists' books & zines (I plan to make a zine for this project) and just starting some research into a comic strip artist whose characters have inspired mine.

A close-up of one of the first drawings I did - all nighters and falling asleep on your work is not cool. I've being trying to briefly annotate my drawings as I've gone along; mainly alterations that are needed and notes from ideas.

This was the beginning of another set of drawings that didn't turn out very well (the idea that bored the sh*t out of me) was essentially creating a map or a journey of a bar crawl along Broad Street, each pages working as a separate bar/club - with each image possibly bleeding into the next until the last one is difficult to see (because in reality you'd be wasted).

These were more studies of the character I would want to use in the zine - starting to look at expressions, drawing from other angles and the figure in an environment. I plan to create a mind-map quite soon to develop the content of the zine; places, events, story (if any) and drawing techniques & media, as these are areas that are still a bit blank in my mind.

This is my page on artists' books and zine, reference images are missing at the minute but I'm working on it.

Urban Fox likes Hip-Hop

2010-12-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

My starting point basically involved a brainstorm based on my perceptions of Birmingham - The people I know, journies I take, places I know, events that have taken place. Most are bullet pointed but the bus idea became a little narrative. I think crackheads congregate on buses...where are they even going? Well, probably to purchase further crack.

Initial concepts based on the horse that once lived in a local field. One day we fed it a kiwi fruit. The next day the horse was nowhere to be found and we haven't seen it since. Very basic storyboard ideas/layouts...experimenting with the inclusion of text. Inclusive of photos from the location for possible use as backgrounds after editing.

Continuing the animal theme and furthering character design I doodled Urban Fox, who enjoys bitches, hip-hop music, and gnawing on dead frogs. Originating from the foxes on my street who constantly screech at night, the idea is to create a zine using snapshots from his half-gangsta, half-standard fox lifestyle, culminating in being shot in the face by a toff with a shotgun.

Experimenting with texture/background ideas.

On the next pages there is some initial artist and paper-folding research. Its all in the very early stages so any critisism/suggestions/artists to look at/feedback would be really helpful :)

Machine Concept

2010-12-06T11:54:00.000-08:00

Here's my main idea, I only have one drawing as of now.
I've been thinking about a zine that tells a story about a walking machine called Birmingham. I looked at various images of Birmingham for inspiration for things to fill the machine. The picture above is only the first design, the whole look of the ship is inspired by "Howl's Moving Castle".

I want my later drawings to be busy so the viewer has a lot to look out for. I will post quick storyboards and the photos I drew from if necessary. I'm thinking of having the machine crumble towards the end, but I'm welcome to any other suggestions...

ideas + research

2010-12-06T10:45:00.000-08:00

this is a art book i found with art by Rob Sacchetto it contains illustrations of zombie celebrity and is a take on them celebrity magazines which feeds off of the publics obsession with the life of the famous..... my zombie tourism idea is similar in concept and could be similar in how it is developed further if i use Birmingham tourism guides as a guide line

i came up with the idea of zombie tourism.... zombies can be a metaphor for consumerism so looking at areas of the city where alot of people are drawn too, comparing people too zombies in a city people call the shopping capital of Europe. i want each page of the zine to be a well known comercial site in birmingham.... these are rough sketches and will experiment with techniques during the week

i wanted to base the project on things i nomally draw so i came up with a few ideas involving creatures

2010-12-06T10:34:00.000-08:00

http://www.theunderbellyproject.com/

Quite fitting for the title alone. Keep watch for when the site opens. I've seen preview photos and it looks mega!

interesting links to looks at :)

2010-12-03T11:09:00.000-08:00

http://www.nieves.ch/catalogue/catalogue.html

http://www.caferoyalbooks.com/caferoyalbooks

http://www.lederniercri.org/shop/index.htm

http://goodgriefshop.blogspot.com/

a further incentive to get your work into the Tate Catalogue :)

http://library.tate.org.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/jFbkVh6JBL/LIBRARY/97600008/9
http://library.tate.org.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/RjWe2wSys1/LIBRARY/99790009/9
(one of our recently graduated students Jatinder Bains)

Alexander Ver Huell

2010-12-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bibliodyssey/2708270583/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Who Will Save Me...

2010-12-02T14:15:00.000-08:00

Leaving the studios last week I was fairly certain of where to direct my focus. Speaking with Chiu, it was obvious some of my images were stronger than the others, what with the use of reference images, better composition, the use of the golden ratio, etc etc etc. Building off this, I collected a lot of reference photos, done some drawings from life and also from the photos to get an idea of the forms. I then thumbnailed (an idea from one to one tutorial) many different compositions for each page. Many of my designs remained the same, or very similar, but the thumbnails did help me to focus on the aspects of each superhero, and better place them in an apt environment.

taking these ideas, i knocked them around for a bit in my RVJ, getting some good compositions and inks sorted. Once they were inked (first image). I tackled the issues of colours.

This is the cover, speaking with peers, the best aspects of it are the subtle colours on the black eye and the tie, combined with the dripping effect bordering the central character. It has also been pointed out that the cover is quite interesting, and makes people want to look through the 'zine simply to see what the cover is referring to, so in that respect it's quite effective.

Taking heart from how good the cover looked, i applied the same approach to the internal pages.

Most of today was spent running around trying different binding methods, trial and erroring with different printers, and so forth. Unfortunately, short of discreetly ramming the inkjets full of cartridge paper, i can't get my cover printed on thicker paper stock as i was hoping, so spent some time trying different approaches and methods, and analysing it in my RVJ. Thankfully this has payed off, and now I know the sizes to print to get a good looking cover which is slightly bigger than the internal pages, and found the best binding method (long armed stapler) to get the most accurate and precise spines.

Current Affairs

2010-12-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

I've seriously underestimated how long these things take to make! This is where I am now, any suggestions will be very extremely greatly appreciated.

I'm using segments of this for a couple of pages.

This is the drawing for the image of the second page. The caption will be, 'the noisy neighbour', or, 'strange noises next door'.

This is the font style I am going to be using. Decided to go for hand drawn type to compliment messy drawings. Needed some consistency as the drawing style changes on each page.

This won't necessarily be used in this zine. This is just playing around with Photoshop but I liked the results.

After a LOT of measuring and calibrating, finally managed to segment a canvas with guides so Photoshop will work in total harmony with my printer so the zine will fold nicely. THIS HAS TOOK UP MOST OF THE EVENING (unexpectedly). This is where I'm at now. Need a front and back cover and captions on each page. Also, the back page will fold out to a poster which will show the ultimate stage of tiredness in trippy format.

Could anyone suggest paper that will I can print on that the printer ink will not seep through to the other side of the paper so I can print on both sides? I'm just using normal paper and it'll look very messy with images on both sides... it's too thin.

Thanks, BRAD

http://www.blanquet.com

2010-12-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

http://www.blanquet.com/marchandises/

2010-12-01T03:41:00.000-08:00

So this is where I was last week, feeling pretty sure that this was the idea I was going to use... But then I started drawing some more stuff that I felt was more appropriate.

I did start developing some of the 'future' drawings, but as Chiu pointed out they were all very literal; and the text explaining each image just made it really obvious. I also decided to try and make the humour a little more subtle and bizarre than in this one.

So I started making some weirder, more abstract and surreal images that I thought might express what I was saying in a (slightly) more sophisticated way.

I also had to decide on the drawing style for the zine, I thought it should be fairly consistent throughout but wasn't sure whether to use the very rough, childlike way I seem to draw my idea sketches or a more graphic and clear technique. I decided on the latter because of the more abstract concepts I'm using - the childish, more cartoony look is more effective when the ideas are clear. Anyway, here is the latest draft, in line and colour. Any potential improvements would be welcome...

Maurice

2010-11-30T16:49:00.000-08:00

Not sure on the artist...

could you get away with a collection of weird drawings

2010-11-30T16:32:00.000-08:00

The answer is yes! If they are drawn exquisitely as are above by http://noelia.nituniyo.net/

or are as sincerely obsessive as: http://www.adolfwoelfli.ch/index.php?c=e&level=3&sublevel=2

Designs so far.

2010-11-30T16:11:00.000-08:00

Highly doubt ill finish the rest by thursday but here's the style of my book, iv got my story, just need to finish the rest and choose a typeface. Stuck on what to have as the front cover, please help, need to do 4 more designs and might just have my email adress on the back of my book, zine. I wan't my zine to be roughly 100mm width and 140mm lengh when folded, so i need an a3 size paper. Chicken go cluck, cluck, cow go moo.

underbelly progress

2010-11-30T15:10:00.001-08:00

A little more progression into my zine. I am happy and am confident with where i'm going with it. A working title for the book is along the lines of 'A Pigeon Forensics Scrapbook/Sketchbook'. I looked at drawing on top of photos a little more but wasn't ahppy with where it was going.

I would really like to print the final product straight onto A4 and fold to an 8 page booklet. It would cost less, easily pocketable and i could add a poster/design on the back.

But...

I think the best format to produce the zine in would be japanese book binding as i think it looks like it's been bound by a slightly mad man. (now you can think 'Se7en'). I can't really explain how i feel 'why' i think this would work better but at the moment but i'll do two versions, bound and folded and run with the best.

I real quick idea. I like it. Simple and straight to the poop...POINT i mean.

FUCK SAKE! sorry for the lack of zooming on pics. I'm on a mac again...

Lisa - post 3

2010-11-30T14:40:00.000-08:00

I'm developing the "burlesque" theme a little more but feel stuck between a few themes. I liked the idea of the girl getting dressed (instead of getting undressed which is what they usually do). Burlesque shows also have so many themes, I thought I might draw the clothes in a steampunk style in honor of Birmingham's fame as industrial city. And the other idea was to be really cheeky and dedicate each of the 6 images to one of the different major religions in Birmingham (as each has so many icons, it's just fun to throw them in). But I could probably be crucified for that idea haha. So at the moment I'm feeling a little stuck. I know I want to frame each illustration/page, a bit like Alphonse Mucha's. As for the zine, I definitely know it's going to be a single sheet 8 page zine. I've already picked out the font as well :)

'Things that keep me awake and I therefore do not like'

2010-11-30T10:56:00.000-08:00

I'm basically listing a few of the things that wake me up during the night in the busy city. Each item listed will be accompanied by the time it wakes me up and a drawing to sum up the deterioration on my state of mind. It's going to be a 4 paged booklet using the technique in the video posted below with a fold out mini poster on the opposite side to the pages and covers. It will contain text and image.

I've been playing around with many drawing styles to work out how I want my zine to look and I think I have it now.

Harry Potter: "COOL! A Nimbus 2000!"

This was the first drawing I started working on for this project. I drew it in pencil and coloured markers and enlarged it and photocopied it in black and white. The coloured markers gave nice mid-tones (didn't have grey-scale markers) and this proved a good method of bringing more to what would be a very basic line drawing. I liked this drawing but it has no relevance to Birmingham and had no idea where to go from here so left this as just a test for a method I may use.

Warping face

It was while drawing this that I came up for the idea for my zine. I was up very late and was just drawing how I felt. It's meant to be the very confused face of a person that doesn't know which way is up or down (if you look at it upside-down, it kind of makes another half-face). So I decided to look towards a build up to this face; going from a seemingly normal looking face and making it slowly morph into something like the sketch above.

Started trying a minimalistic approach, adding minimal amounts of colour and lines and get the message across.

I started looking at other facial expressions to show aggravation, shock, impatience, anger and other things I feel when I'm woken up in the early hours of the fucking morning.

I'm currently still playing with ideas and styles but I think I have my finger on it now.

Any advice, critiques or other ideas will be appreciated.

Thanks, Brad

ADVICE on Progress

2010-11-28T13:03:00.000-08:00

Can you make sure that you consider the use of type/letter/fonts carefully, as well as composition, mood, reproduction and all other design aspects which will make your zine/artist book successful

Here's how it works - make one finished one, and a price on it, bring it in on Thursday, and if it sells to anyone then eureka!

DIY - How to Make a Zine; Paper, Scissors, Pen - Rockin!

2010-11-28T08:01:00.000-08:00

Research (very valuable)

2010-11-28T07:41:00.000-08:00

Over the past week I've been doing a little more research on relevant artists and art styles to further develop my own little book.

I felt particularly inspired by Olivier Kugler and how he gives his characters stories and narrative annotations - I would also like to incorporate this into my work.

Also, another inspiration was the Hans Christian Andersen tale of The Little Match Girl. It's a very bittersweet little story (for those of you who don't know the plot, I've embedded a YouTube video of the animated Disney short - keep the Kleenex nearby) but I felt it related a lot to the themes I'm dealing with.

And, finally, I'm starting on the drawings for my book. I shall scan them in and do a little Photoshopping work before printing them out.

I'd love some feedback! Thanks :)

Ideation and Communication

2010-11-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

After some IDEATION (f*ck yeah), I had 3 A7 dummy books, firstly a mock up of my current theme ([Thanks Chiu]: The effects Birmingham may have on Superheroes). Then, from this, I explored the idea of a superhero's role in society; saving innocent people, and came up with the idea of the "Who will save me" placard. This then spawned ANOTHER idea, of how normal people probably have, or had, wishes and aspirations to have superpowers. From all of this I sketched a few thumbnails out, top right being close to what was in my dummy book. This, on reflection, turned into the top left image, which I think is successful in terms of composition, and it has potential to be my cover because of it.

The above image is possibly the best composed and most powerful of the selection of sketches I created based off my idea of 'Superzeroes'. Looking at Todd McFarlane, and other similar artists and their inking styles, I decided to hatch the image to add some contrast and let it pop. However, after looking at my quick sketches above, it is really lacking the punch a book page really needs.

These are simply quick digital dummies, as I don't want to commit my ideas to the original, in case something changes. I looked initially at a similar approach to my placard sketches, just colouring the background. This I then altered with overlay layers and got an interesting sepia/tea stained parchment look. Finally, I added hessian layers to really darken the image, to rid the page of the white.

My current plan is to render the final pages traditionally, with inks, pens and watercolours, I know the effect isn't perfectly simulated on PC, but I'd like feedback on which effect people feel is most effective, and more so why, if it works, I'll apply it to the rest of my pages, so it's fairly crucial haha...

Cheers!

Underbelly of Birmingham

2010-11-24T14:34:00.000-08:00

When starting this project, Chiu advised us to draw what we normally draw and fit the project around our own interests. I usually find myself drawing sad children and pretty girls (though usually clothed!), and seem to always come back to the themes of childhood and loss of innocence. One of the news articles in the brief lit a spark and I decided to look at the idea of underage prostitution, rentboys, human trafficking etc. A very seedy underbelly of Birmingham.

These are just some initial drawings though, I have been thinking about where to take this project in a way I could make it less obviously graphic/sexual or just look at in a different way.

Todays Harvest

2010-11-24T10:37:00.000-08:00

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/8940/preview3m.jpg
http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/6407/preview4aa.jpg
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/1951/preview5q.jpg

Right, well... I've looked at some artists who work in a similar style, or whose style is quite surreal and, in cases, vicarious. These practitioners show how works of a dark/noir nature are published, and to what limits they push it. I also conducted a quick test with PhotoShop, just to add some diversity into my experiments.

In terms of the actual 'zine, I've looked at how James Jean's books are bound, and looked at creating an inventive cover and opening mechanism. Content-wise, I like the idea of looking at motorbike gangs, but moving from a narrative more in the direction of illustrating various aspects of it, such as the bikes, the fashion and the iconography. I'd like it so that it would be equally attractive to those of a biking nature, and those who just want a 'zine that's illustrated in an original way. I'm thinking of calling it; "A guide to 1% of Birmingham" (1% being a patch worn by certain bike gangs to affiliate themselves with "[the] 1% of motorcyclists who fail to obey the law"). This will, i hope, immediately set the tone of the 'zine.

Ideas/concepts and a cup of tea.

2010-11-23T15:03:00.000-08:00

Ideas/concepts and a cup of tea.

For some reason I can't publish all my posts so I will get on that ASAP, the idea of the puppet and the tree keeps lingering in the back of my mind and would like to take that idea further, I could turn that into the 8 paged book, it tells a story, like the mice and lion but more morbid.

2010-11-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

I've had the idea of doing a run of golden boy type posters for a while.
I'd like to have them in the same style as the orginal but i'm liking the sketched versions and on this brown envelope paper too!

I'm not sure where the idea of the poetry bit came from but i like it. It'd be a great zine/book to read to your kids at night.

The reason for the 'internet boy' & 'wasp boy' is becuase i spend waaaay to much time on the internet and i'm shit scared of wasps ( which also had a record population in birmingham for 2007) and the tie in to brum - i live here.

For a brief last year i made this Serial Square zine. The ideas i've been having recently about the 'Boy Posters' tie in with this nicely.

As Chiu suggested i combined pigeons and obesity as they both eat like shit. And, essentially are both, crap....hypothetically?!

Lisa - some more stuff.

2010-11-23T13:26:00.000-08:00

I've definitely veered towards the burlesque/strip club idea for the "underbelly" of Birmingham. Ok, burlesque is considered a performance art and everything, and has become quite popular recently, but it's still a niche thing (maybe not so much strip clubs though, I don't really know that much about them haha) and most of all, I find the get-up and poses really interesting to draw. So it would definitely end up in a zine, probably to be sold at actual places where they have burlesque performances, or even the various vintage shops and fairs as burlesque and vintage seems to interest a similar genre of people. It might be the link with pinups and that 40s vibe to it all. I've tried drawing a couple of poses, just off photos I found on the internet, they're only in pencil and I'll experiment a little with ink later tonight and hopefully drypoint or silk screen printing in the next few days. I'm thinking about maybe making the figures a lot simpler, I'll definitely have to do that if I use drypoint, but I'm still not sure about that.

(the quality of the photos is actually terrible, and I couldn't seem to toggle the contrast any further. I'll get some better ones up once i've added a bit of ink)

YAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

2010-11-22T15:42:00.000-08:00

hi!

Not enough comments about other people's work - please make the effort to comment!

Also! Where is your comparative research!!! Artist books or Zine???? (not you Pete)

2010-11-22T09:36:00.001-08:00

Some more ideas I've had... trying to make things a bit more mental.

I only really like the guy turning into a monster.

Binding ideas and another plan for a Genetics company catalogue.

Some more weird shit

Some other comics/zine artists I've been looking at.

Underbelly Birmingham!

2010-11-21T16:07:00.000-08:00

Some ideas floating round about the undergunt, sorry under belly project. Obese people and dead pigeons, a nice few days drawing. There's something quite peaceful about deceased pigeons...

Sorry for the lateness!! apple macs are not my bag.

EDIT! Resized my images

Lisa Harper-Ideas for "Underbelly of Birmingham"

2010-11-21T16:04:00.000-08:00

I have a few ideas floating around, I still haven't been able to pinpoint one. First of all, what many could consider the "underbelly" of most of the Western world: Roma, gypsies, wanderers. Around the 1800-1900s many settled in what has now become Black Patch Park, in Smethwick (right at the edge of Birmingham). Another is burlesque shows and particularly Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School where you can do life drawing with burlesque dancers as models. And my third idea is just looking at people waiting outside of clubs, you get some pretty weird characters.

RVJ/ THE UNDERBELLY OF BIRMINGHAM

2010-11-21T15:51:00.000-08:00

I continued with the ideas Quotes about Birmingham and songlyrics by the band Best Coast. I thought about a Zine for both, but I don't want to rule out other possibilities of folding and format.
Also the printing methods Drypoint, Collograph and Monoprinting interest me for this project.

Artists such as Raymond Pettibon and Paul Davis inspire me through their style and how they combine text with illustration.

Sarah- Birmingham underbelly

2010-11-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

I have decided to look at the paranormal aspects of Birmingham and the local myths and legends that surround it. I have started to collect events and stories of peoples experiences. Here I have experimented with trying to capture the atmosphere of some of the tales through use of material and mark making.

Party life in Birmingham!

2010-11-21T15:44:00.000-08:00

Some anthropomorphic, ludicrous and downright insane sketches.

2010-11-21T14:25:00.000-08:00

Chiu said to draw whatever it is you tend to draw naturally, and not look at this brief as a project. So I veered back into the regular stuff I fill my sketchbooks with; Fantasy, Sci-Fi and some loose pen & ink. I haven't looked at any art books or 'zines in terms of this project yet, as that will simply add prejudices to my drawings. At the moment I'm tending towards looking at The Outlaws and The Hells Angels motorcycle clubs; what with the recent 'scuffle' at Birmingham airport and the shooting a year ago, and how, if at all possible, to combine those characters with fantasy creatures. How to fit any of this into an art book I've only briefly considered (bottom right preview).

Edit: Blogger downsized my previews... Full res:
#1: http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/5301/preview1b.jpg
#2: http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/5386/preview2e.jpg

RVJ - Underbellly Of Bham

2010-11-21T12:58:00.000-08:00

Three main ideas floating about but still undecided which one to take further.

Rvj

2010-11-21T12:48:00.000-08:00

Looking into shop window displays.

RVJ scribblings...

2010-11-21T07:02:00.001-08:00

Leaning towards the 'Anthony' idea at the minute, but that could all change...

The Underbelly of Birmingham

2010-11-20T12:46:00.000-08:00

The first few pages, trying to plan things out:

I've decided to try and put a different spin on the theme of the Big Issue (particularly as I'm inspired by Olivier Kugler's work), inspired by a "Q&A" session held in Illustration this past Thursday. I also look forward to spending some time in the printmaking room, and doing some further research on Sue Coe, a printmaker who also deals in political/social themes. I will go on to explore design ideas in the form of dummy books, folded from a single sheet of paper:

Books - Group A! Can you hand in your first editions of six please for Thursday the 18th !

2010-11-12T16:32:00.000-08:00

Hi! Could you hand in an edition of six artist's books for Thursday 18th November, to show the next group :) (and see if any of your peers will want to buy them?)

It would be good to see you take on board the suggestions made today, and that you hand in some really exceptional work - this is not compulsory, but I would like some genius examples to show the next group :)

You can come and see me about your books any time you wish :), but do let your visual sketches and finishing skills do the talking!

I don't want to name names, but some of you should really push yourselves starting this weekend to finish these books (as they are well worth the extra effort) - I am looking forward to seeing some good stuff!

Orignal Pages

2010-11-11T07:39:00.000-08:00

more of my project

2010-11-11T01:02:00.000-08:00

Since my last post, I have experimented with monoprint, as well as research more relevant artists to my project. And from this, I have started to develop my ideas with colour, stencil etc. I have also looked at different book formats, to find the best way to present my final outcome.

homeless

2010-11-10T18:24:00.000-08:00

looked at printing styles other then pen.

redirecting & developing ideas

started thinking about how the book will look and lay out, very rough sketches

Underbelly of birmingham 2

2010-11-10T16:13:00.000-08:00

after looking at pushkin, i've decided to look at other strange animal stories. a lot of these stories are about humans effects on animals, how we sometimes treat them like other animals. at the moment, these are rough sketches. i think I'm definitely going to go for the zine look. small and simple. please let me know what you guys think so far! pushkin will still be involved, don't you worry.

development

2010-11-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

have started developing my ideas into thumbnails. Am experimenting with different viewpoints and styles.

working on text placement page 1-2

2010-11-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

Planing pages

2010-11-10T03:41:00.000-08:00

Just some Rough planning, before I take things to illustrator. I am going for a childish yet dark feel with some humour. So I'm planning to keep things simple, with a style I like using.

Blog Feedback

2010-11-10T01:44:00.000-08:00

Hi! Some of you posters are under the impression that your work should get feedback from your tutor - this is not just so!! The point of this COMMUNITY BLOG is that you should ALL be giving feedback over each others work - please start doing SO!

Additional images/first colour sketches-route canal

2010-11-09T12:16:00.000-08:00

I've done some additional sketches.

I've also done my first colour sketches. One is done by hand (watercolour, ink and marker). The second one is also done by hand and coloured in Corel Painter (watercolour, ink, and pen.)

Friday work and sunday continued

2010-11-08T12:40:00.000-08:00

Birminghams Underbelly

2010-11-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

Work done on Sunday.

Rachelle Downs

2010-11-07T14:04:00.000-08:00

UNDERBELLY OF BIRMINGHAM

The Underbelly of Society.

2010-11-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

Looking at the overlooked.

Some observational work. Ideas to come.

Initial sketches of "Route canal"-Underbelly of Birmingham

2010-11-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my initial sketches following my research in Birmingham last weekend. I have decided to go into more depth about the lifestyle of the people living on the canals.

I intend to add to these images by visiting a friend who owns a canal boat, so I can do some internal sketches. I'm also doing some more sketches from further research I've done today where people are living on the boats, I shall post these shortly.

underbelly of birmingham

2010-11-07T05:50:00.000-08:00

underbelly of birmingham, homeless

2010-11-07T04:42:00.000-08:00

Hunter Layout Sheet

2010-11-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

Sketches from my layout pad scanned into Corel Painter, where I blended the tones together.
'The Hunter' from the game Left 4 Dead, a possible character for the final piece.

Birminghams Underbelly

2010-11-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

Underbelly of Birmingham

2010-11-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

Hannah Corbett, Under belly of birmingham

2010-11-04T02:32:00.001-07:00

charlotte franks

2010-11-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

Animal studies

Underbelly of Birmingham

2010-11-03T18:14:00.000-07:00

Vicky Gibson - Under Belly Of Birmingham

2010-11-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

Idea for the underbelly of Birmingham

2010-11-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

Saifs 7 page research (Hungry, No Money and way too many Junk food shops)

2010-11-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

Alice Broughton- Underbelly of Birmingham

2010-11-03T04:42:00.000-07:00

The underbelly of Birmingham

2010-11-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

Pushkin the blessed by Sophia Giles

Deepa Vekaria

2010-10-31T13:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.deepavekaria.com/monoprint1.html

Dorota Gaweda

2010-10-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

Interesting use of mono printing in both Dorota's sketches and her animation http://www.dorotagaweda.com/page11.htm

Urban Sketchers!

2010-10-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.urbansketchers.com/