OUIL406 Initial ideas

I started off on a bit of a rough patch and didn't know what to draw as I felt that above the facts I'd learnt through brief research I didn't have any true connection or knowledge of Catherine the great other than a few bits and bobs of information. So I watched 3 bio pic films on her life and cross checked them with further online knowledge to get a better sense of Catherine as a person.

I began brainstorming all the information I had into different subject/avenues I could take the work down. I could either go more serious or humorous with the information I had.

At first I drew images in reaction to the biographical films I was watching.

I then began on the idea of showing two sides to catherine the great's legacy the idea of contrasting all the incredible and amazing things she achieved in her reign like building many schools for nobel girls to become educated, expanding russian territory even further than before and building great opera house clashing with the scandals that where made to tarnish her rule as a woman by exploiting and degrading her sexuality. Thus the initial ideas of righting her accomplishments dow on sculpted peneses was first thought up. However with the amount of time and the availability of photography studio space making these sculptures was not really the smartest thing. Also they didn't really lend themselves as concepts to further development.

Another idea was to use costume and photography. The two issues I had with this was that creating a paper dress and trying to photography someone wearing it had very similar problems to the first idea. It was time consuming and didn't  give itself up to development.

This was looking at a role reversal historical type james bond like Catherine the great but it didn't really hold much interest as a concept for me unless I fully drew and re designed catherine. and since I wanted to limit my drawing in this brief it was a no go.

This like the one above was just a quick reaction to the brief and instantly felt very time consuming and lacking the ability for quick development and adaptability needed for a brief like this.

This was my favorite idea so far, using type and images of Catherine together to create these brief inner monologues of the character of Catherine I had created. It felt playful and allowed me to create multiple different types of these images fairly quickly.

I tried a different route in the image above and below of using images of modern women and trying to use dialogue and colour to distort them into something else. Honestly these were done half heartedly and don't really and much to me working out where to go. 

OUIL406 Simini Blocker & Lily Louise Scott

Lily Louise Scott and Simini Blocker are both contemporary illustrators experimenting with embroidery. A medium I have used in the past but have stopped using since I have been on the course. I'm looking into incorporating embroidery into my work but not just as singular images such as in these pieces but incorporating them into images of Catherine the Great.  

The tight stitching used within these images is a lot different from my looser style of stitching however if i am making smaller images for the stamps that are slightly more simplistic using tighter stitches with a stronger consistency may be better. 

Creating strips of russian pattern through embroidery onto images as well as embroidering characters are all possibilities.

OUIL406 Initial response to Persons of note & Reevaluating Practices and Methods

Person of Note....Catherine the Great

• Catherine the great is a prime example of an influential  matriarchal leader who reshaped the way the country of her rule (Russia) was seen at the time.

• She represents both the positives and negatives of being a woman ruler as well as being part of a bourgeois system which bases itself almost entirely of the monarchical system of power.

• She seemed, for the most part to have a sense of ownership over her own sexuality and was not ashamed of it.

•  However because of this it has caused her reputation historically to be tarnished because of  the misogynistic patriarchal society which both writes history, ergo dictating how history will view you. 

How I am going to approach this Brief 

• I've been struggling with looking at other ways of creating illustration recently that isn't just drawing and character design.

• I'm wanting to push the boundaries more within my work and after going to an evening with Scott McCloud where he says that sometimes he feels like a rumba stuck in one corner of what illustration can be, unable to get out. 

• I have had to reevaluate the way i approach the work I do and question if I am truly making work that amazes and excites me. And the answer at the moment is no. I don't feel like I'm pushing myself enough within my work.

• I am going to use this project to push my boundaries as well a revisit past methodologies such as embroiders as newer ways of testing my creative practice. 

OUIL406 Fernando Reza

Thought text is used in these images to describe the places in which the posters are set I believe that these poster are a strong example of how you can create images that inform people of the country they're looking at without having to put in any cliche buildings. Using the theme of mythology from each country and a selective colour scheme you can tell that these posters have been created by someone who has been well in depth with their research. 

Although I find all four posters well composed and crafted with a strong sense of line of sight I prefer the way the first image uses frame to its advantage and doesn't feel the need to fill up the whole page, which is something I believe the other images should have been composed in the same way as I don't think it would have taken away from the posters intensity at all. 

OUIL406 Final Postcards + Evalution

Evaluation

I'm very pleased with the results of these pieces overall. They are all clearly linked as well as expressing the uniqueness of each culture within them. They're all less descriptive of one particular city each and more wholistic on defining different cultures.

 To me personally this is probably one of the most cleanly manufactured and most graphic design esque piece I have ever done and although I feel like the work on a whole works a lot better as a series that other things I have done and could possibly be put in a travel magazine it is personally not to my taste. I felt like I lost my own tone of voice within these pieces. 

Although I enjoyed using pattern and forcing myself to think conceptually and compositionally the pieces feel slightly mechanic. From final critics some people mentioned that the use of pattern was overwhelming while some wondered why I had'nt used any more intricate design on the hands. From my own professional opinion adding detail to the hand would be unnecessary as the block colour of the hand breaks the picture down and draws in a clear line of sight to the food as well as stopping peoples eyes from being too overwhelmed. 

Some people found the pattern too much but personally I felt like it was the right amount for this piece as it allowed for the celebration and acknowledgement of each cultures intense pattern scheme. 

 Finally addressing one question that stood out to me asked by someone was asking why only the indian hand had henna and none of the others did. I prided myself in this project on the rigour of my research and made sure that each postcard only held relevant symbolism to their own specific culture. I feel it is important when we delve into other peoples culture for art or otherwise that we are respectful and do not appropriate and through around that culture for art or aesthetics sake. I'm hoping that within these images I have looked at 4 different cultures in a more celebratory rather than insulting way. 

OUIL404 End Module Evaluation

Leeds College of Art BA (Hons) ILLUSTRATION	Level	04
OUIL404 Visual Language	Credits	20
End of Module Self Evaluation

NAME	Naomi Crompton

1.  Which practical skills and methodologies have you developed within this module and how effectively do you think you are employing them within your own practice?
·       Developed an awareness of how to dissect an image by and look at the key elements within it (line, composition, tone, value, texture, frame) Towards the end of the module I have found myself looking at not only my work but the work of my peers and other practitioners and seeing what elements of their/my work is strongest. ·       Composition and frame have be come essentials for me in mapping out and creating images. I have occasionally fallen back into not using these methods but this always affects the quality of work I have produce making me realise how essential composition and frame is to my practice. ·       Redoing and image or scamp until it is right to me. Especially towards the end of the module I began to see how being tireless with my scamps was important but also being able to look at a scamp and make the decisions on that would need to change to improve the next scamp.
2. Which principles/ theories of image making have you found most valuable during this module and how effectively do you think you are employing these within your own practice?
·       Perseverance is important to image making as it forces you to not give up and look and reflect on the way you are doing things and then try something different. I persevered with some tasks (line and mark) more than others (shape) this is where I needed to find the motivation to move further with tireless experimentation. ·       Using your sketchbook, as a tool to experiment in is crucial to pushing how far you can take certain aspects of Line, tone etc. within your own practice. It is some thing that I personally needed to do more of.
3. What strengths can you identify within your Visual Language submission and how will you capitalise on these?
·       Composition has been something that I feel has really improved my work, it goes alongside frame and depth in having helped me create more interesting images as well as helped me work within a more dynamic way because I have to compose images that work within a frame and don’t feel too overwhelming. I will capitalise on this by most likely using frame and composition a lot more within my developmental sketches within my work to help me build and develop images so that when I finalize them they are not as haphazardly put together. ·       Colour, tone, value has become something that I know will be critical within my practice, this module along side colour theory lectures has helped me develop my understanding of colours as well as the way I use colours to express mood within an image.
4. What areas for development can you identify within your Visual Language submission and how will you address these in the future?
·       Playful – I haven’t been playful enough within my sketch book and at some points saw it more of a chore than away of being able to try and play with new things, this has effected the way I have developed in some weeks. However I see within my texture and collage piece and depth piece that that’s when I started to become playful and even now I believe those pieces are the ones I probably learnt and understood the most from because I was having fun. ·       Exhaustive experiments- I barely experimented within this module to my on downfall as I believe it stunted the amount of learning I took away from this module. Which is why within future modules and modules I am doing now I will experiment with lens abstract images and media that I haven’t touched in a while/ before. And even though I abhorrently despise lens I think that lens could be a important factor within the development of my practice.
5. In what way has this module informed how you deconstruct and analyse artwork (whether your own or that of contemporary practitioners)? ·       As I have stated previously I have developed an awareness thought the months of weekly lessons on different aspects of image making of how to dissect an image a key element within it (line, composition, tone, value, texture, frame) It has helped inform me how artist both old (Delaroche) and new (Ping Zhu) use certain tools or methodologies to make successful art work.
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance		x
Punctuality			x
Motivation		x
Commitment		x
Quantity of work produced		x
Quality of work produced			x
Contribution to the group					x
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self-evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.