SB2 Greetings From… | Initial Research

Okay, at this point I have a lot of ideas floating around although I'm not completely enthused about any of them. I'm thinking that because vectors are quite flat, synthetic, and can look quite similar to one another, my idea will have to do a great deal of the work!

So far…

ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

UNUSUAL LANDMARKS

RELICS & ANCIENT OBJECTS

SACRED & HOLY PLACES

SECRET / HIDDEN THINGS

Historical

Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, 1904 | The ship's bagpiper Gilbert Kerr plays a song for

an indifferent penguin (one of my fave photos)

PLACES OF CONFLICT

PLACES THAT ARE PART OF A JOURNEY (travel, pilgrimage, journey, voyage, expedition)

BURKE & WILLS - AUSTRALIAN EXPEDITION

ERNEST SHACKLETON / ROALD AMUNDSEN - ARCTIC/ANTARCTIC EXPEDITIONS

…bordering on the superstitious…

LOCATIONS OF WITCH TRIALS

PLACES THE DEVIL HAS BEEN SEEN

NORTH AMERICAN TOWNS ASSOCIATED WITH FOLKLORE / MYTHS

Gross places

The Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic

SWAMPS

SEWERS

CATACOMBS & TOMBS

Happenings / Festivals / Observed events

Keukenhof Gardens, the Netherlands | Aerial view of a tulip field..wowee zowee

KEUKENHOF TULIP FESTIVAL

SAN FERMIN, PAMPLONA, SPAIN (CHASED BY BULLS)

METEOR SHOWERS / COMETS / LIGHTS

ANIMAL MIGRATIONS - MONARCH BUTTERFLIES (Canada to Mexico)

Places with associated objects

Some daruma in the making..

DARUMA/DHARMA (Daruma-dera "Temple of Daruma", city of Takasaki, Japan)

↑ said to have influenced RUSSIAN MATRYOSHKA

SB2 Greetings From… | Looking at things

Japanese propaganda postcards | Bold and graphic in style, unusual compositions, use of negative space that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional, as it serves as a place to write a message. Predominantly shape-driven, use of pattern. More here

Lauren Rolwing | A new find, for some reason I prefer this to other shape/vector-based illustrators? Maybe it's the wavy, chunky lines, and generally how the lines are shapes themselves. Also the colour schemes make the images feel like they are from the past (to me, at least). Nice arrangements too.

Sally Scott | Postcard designs. Minimal appearance, with considered compositions. Subtle changes in colours used to indicate texture or depth without using line. Colour schemes are a combination of subdued and bold shades.

SB2 Greetings From... | Thoughts

When we first received the brief, I was quite looking forward to it! Most of all, the potential scope for research and the postcard format were what interested me.

I really like postcards both as an object, and for the purpose that is attached to them. I suppose they carry a lot of historical and geographical significance though they can also be whimsical and silly, yet remain as these unassuming bits of card that people post to their friends (how nice is that?).

I like picking up postcards, old and new, whenever I see a nice one. I'm going to share some with you.

A portrait postcard of some Canadian Douglas Firs. John and Freda had a good time. I love the photograph itself, as well as the stamps and the tree factoid on the back.

I got this one because the message on the back makes me laugh. Chris talking to his friend Gary about the match ('Looks like Liverpool has made another of its shrewd acquisitions in picking up Speedie...'). A whole space dedicated to sports coverage. Is Chris okay? Is he in good health? We'll never know.

A beautiful flower arrangement postcard. Written by someone's Grandma, with opinions on the weather and lovely handwriting. Very sweet.

Okay so this one has a load of MYSTERY and INTRIGUE to it. No message, no date, no information on the subject, or location, or publisher's name. A picture from the outside of a house at night. What's happening? Why this house? What does it mean..


I suppose I used these as a starting point to demonstrate my interest in these little things and get the brain going. I realised that the subject, the tone and character of each of these (and others) varies greatly! There's so many things that a postcard can have on it.

It can be historical, a big thing, a small thing, natural, a person, a scene, an object, or a hodgepodge of things. I'm looking forward to the research of this project, but there's also trepidation about vectors.

I've never made a full thing in Illustrator, and I worry about work that is 100% vector lacking any character or soul. How do I make a vector interesting and unique? We'll see....

Shape | Artist Study

Blexbolex | Although the example above has smaller embellishments, this practitioner works primarily with shape. I really like the colour schemes and use of halftones and subtle textures that can be found within print processes.

I usually think of shape as being only forms that are pure with smooth edges, however in this example the shapes have character to them - they show texture and layers and are quite imperfect which to me, balances out their synthetic appearance.

Kazumasa Nagai | I enjoy Nagai's work on both an aesthetic basis (the bold jarring colours, and intense patterns and shapes) and also because of the strange, otherworldly content. It's funny to me that these were posters used in an actual zoo. Similarly with the blexbolex illustration I've chosen, shape is used but in a way that isn't just perfect circles, squares, etc. (if that makes sense)

Denim Whiplash | Final Gifs

1) Hand drawn  2) Digital  3) 3D

Landscape GIF | Final

The digital GIF outcome. This one took me the longest to complete, so I'm really glad it's done. The most time consuming parts were drawing the small details, making sure they didn't become too pixellated, as well as ordering and placing each frame individually and colouring.

In one of my earlier tests for this GIF I had problems with making the arm movement look natural, so I filmed myself making the same gesture. I feel that looking at this helped somewhat as I was able to study the gradual stages of the motion.

Although some of the finer details and lines don't show up that well on such a small scale, the outcome isn't as bad as I had originally thought. I like the colour scheme, and I think that not giving up on animating the arm was a good move.

Nonetheless, I'm pleased that I managed to finish this one as it became quite frustrating.
Despite this, and the fact that I'm kind of dissatisfied with my finals, I'm glad I spent time making these GIFS.

I've definitely became a little more adept in this area, and I enjoyed the fact that they could be approached in a multitude of ways.

For now, I need to calmly close photoshop and lie down for a little while.

Breathing GIF | Final

Here is the final hand-drawn GIF. My main hopes for this GIF were to preserve the quality of the original linework, and to add colour that stood out but didn't detract from those lines.

I like the textural quality that the analog materials bring, the sharp lines of the coloured pencil with the faded wash of paint in the background. They add a grimey, unclean appearance.

In the end, I scribbled out the colours on to trusty old tracing paper, and then assembled them into a GIF in photoshop. So every frame was made by hand.

I think the final result is fine when I look at it myself, but the idea of it being presented as a FINAL PIECE in front of everyone diminishes the quality, in my mind. It's satisfactory but nothing to shout about.

Breathing GIF | Media tests

For this hand-drawn GIF, the media I choose is quite important as it will affect the finish of the animation. I've tried out a few, with varying results.

Original pencil frames. I really like the quality of the line here, there is a nice weight and crispness to it and small gestural marks have been picked up when scanned. The shapes are jaunty yet definite. 

Ideally I'd overlay digital colour here, but that goes against the brief. There must be a way of preserving this line when adding colour.

Coloured pencil added to print of scanned drawings. I like the way pencil has been applied to the figure, and how that depicts movement/rustling, however the background is awful. Also, I haven't picked a good mix of colours here. Too much blue. It's okay but not great.

Gouache added to printed scans. I like this method! Again, movement is show by the changing values of paint. It's quite soft in appearance too. The colours this time are better (as you can see the figure more), however yellow may be too happy?

I do like this material though. Although it wasn't intentional, I like that some objects have just been left white, it makes the scene less crowded.

Breathing GIF | Idea and tests

This GIF would be to fit the HAND-DRAWN format. It was based off an earlier idea, with a greater emphasis on composition.

It started off as a simple loop of the character drinking milk, wiping his mouth, repeating. I liked this idea, but if it was to just be a character in an empty space I was worried because there would be more focus on the motion. It would have to be very fluid and well-executed if it was a stand-alone element.

I looked at compositions; legs propped on table, figure hunched over...

This project has had a lot of potential for development, but I kept on getting carried away. So I eventually just settled on one of the arrangements above.

This is a line drawing of the scene without colour. It's supposed to look like he's breathing/sleeping, although it doesn't. I didn't have a lot of time to keep on changing things so I just went with it although I think it's kinda boring.

I didn't want to ruin the original pencil frames by colouring straight on to them, so I tried using my printer with catridge paper. The outcome is okay, however I need to choose which medium to add colour. Although I like the simple quality of the pencil drawings, it does look unfinished and plain.

Record GIF | Final

With this 3D GIF idea, I had to prompt myself to move on to making the album cover. In some ways I wish I had more time to develop the appearance of it, and more time to execute the actual things, however this is impractical as there are 2 other GIFs within this brief.

As mentioned above, I could have went further with this prop idea, and could have done a printed digital version for a better finish, but time was a factor. So I just used gouache and collaged together the elements.

I hope that, as an idea, it is clear to others what is going on and how this relates to the character, even at the most basic level. Overall it's a pretty simple setup, a little disappointing (?). As a result I'm more pleased with the idea, and how it all seemed in my head, rather than how it appears once it's been realised.

Final 3D GIF. For some reason, blogger speeds up the movement of the file (even when I changed it to 0.04 sec and re-uploaded..)

As mentioned, and as is often the case with a lot of my projects, I find the finished product underwhelming and feel that the amount of time I've spent planning and sketching and making isn't reflective of the final thing, but it's done. Next one please.

Landscape GIF | Adding the figure

As I had prepared the background, all I had to do next was add in the figure and animate. I've spent a lot of time making the actual figure of the character, and I've found that drawing on such a small scale is quite difficult. Things get pixelated easily, so I'm having to constantly check the zoom/scale.

Not entirely happy with how this looks currently, however I still need to add the details and facial features. I may change things around yet.

Before getting into animating the limb properly, I did some really quick line drawings to show how it would work. As frustrating as it is, I may have to go over each individual layer with a more refined line drawing, before laying down the flat colour.

This is just to ensure that there is consistency between the shapes, to avoid any sudden jumps or changes in movement. I might even go back and change some of these frames, as I feel that the movement of the arm is unnatural and weird.

I'm finding this process really time consuming and frustrating for such a plain looking outcome.

Landscape GIF | Making backgrounds

Having decided on the way I was going to draw digitally, I started creating a couple of backgrounds that I hoped to use for the final GIF.

step one - line

Each began as a basic line drawing, mapping out where all of the shapes would eventually go. Composition was a factor, as square formats are often quite difficult to work within. As well as that, I wanted the backgrounds to be neither sparse nor dense - just enough details.

step two - colour and shape

This part took a surprisingly long time, but once I had finished the first example I found it to be an easy process. I had to pick colours that worked well together, but weren't too similar. Once I had filled in the blocks of colour with the brush tool, I had to go over the edges with the eraser to smooth them.

Finals. I created two variations so that if one didn't work (because of the angle, for example) I had a spare. I think the shapes all contrast well against one another, however I'm worried in case they look too simple? However when I add the character this may change them.

I would love to do quite an intricate setting, but drawing details with a tablet pen isn't my strength (when angles and perspective are introduced, it all goes wrong). So maybe this is a good way to ensure that the outcome will be effective??

I'll have to see the finished thing to know for certain..

Landscape GIF | Digital experiments

As this GIF is going to be for the digital format, I did some tests on photoshop as digital processes may affect the aesthetic qualities of images. I looked at ways in which I could approach line, as I think that a prominent black outline on digital work can sometimes appear too heavy. 

1. Solid blocks of colour, with small instances of line used to give detail or suggest texture
2. A fragmented outline, not as weighty
3. An outline that doesn't match up exactly with the colour
4. Textures that have been cropped/erased to a certain area
5. Lines that are in a contrasting colour of the same palette

I'm leaning towards the first or fifth example, as it is a more subtle use of line. I think this will be useful considering the very small space in which we have to work in (500 x 500 pixels), as too many black lines may crowd the overall image and become difficult to distinguish.

A simple drawing of Denim to show how this line type may be used. Because I've avoided black outlines, the image feels much lighter and easier to read. I think that the trick with this way of drawing is to pick colours carefully.

Colours will have to contrast against each other to show different components, but to prevent a picture from looking too disparate and jumbled, I will try and select various shades of similar colours so my colour scheme isn't all over the place.

Picking colours for clothing, also showing how I can display small details like stitching or creases by using a slightly different shade of the original.

Landscape GIF | Basic idea and plans

Second GIF idea, which I think would best suit the digital format, however there is also the possibility that it could work for the hand-drawn.

It would consist of the character existing within an environment, where they would be the only thing moving (or one of few moving elements).

The settings I had in mind were the desolate landscapes I briefly looked at during my research. I feel this would justify the background being completely static even more, as the place itself isn't bustling with life.

I sketched out a number of places, as well as parts that could move. Toe tapping, a car driving past, a bird flying overhead, hand drumming.

Again, I think that involving the character in a subtle way, as part of a grander scene does more to evoke a feeling. What does their posture say? Why are they there? etc.

Some quick tests with colour. I'd like the backgrounds to look something like this, however the quality of drawing would be better. I would also introduce some texture to prevent the overall scene from looking too flat. I will have to make sure that the character is able to stand out against the setting, while also appearing to exist within it.

Here's a quick GIF test I did of the drawing on the left. I think that producing this digitally saved a lot of time, the layers function in photoshop was also a big help. By matching the layers and line quality, the overall animation is much smoother.

I think this may be a good way of creating this GIF in the end!