The A4 Portrait and the Six Word Narrative @narrativepotrait-blog - Tumblr Blog

Lectures

I have reflected on the lectures on this blog http://chloeevansviscom2.tumblr.com

Evaluation

I really enjoyed this module (action in practice) as we had the chance to create work for a live project with Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. I found this project very different from the previous project as we had very short time frames to make three pieces of work ( an A4 portrait, a box, and the zine and 6 postcards for a pop up shop). The short time frames made me more organised and I had to work hard all the way through the project to stay on top of everything. This blog and my three sketchbooks really helped me to record all my research, experimentation and process which i could then look back on and reflect.

The A4 Portrait

The idea for the characters in my portrait came from a mixture of cultural art in the gallery. I was interested by many things in the gallery such as the Egyptian canopic jars, Ancient Near East babylonian figures, carved totem poles and the unusual expressions of the historical traditional painted portraits. Every time i visited the gallery i absorbed so much information that it was hard for me to focus on one thing in the gallery. To resolve this i decided to illustrate this information overload by creating characters that have features of several different pieces in the gallery.

Inspired by Juliana Bollini’s quirky paper mache of people i decided to explore creating my characters out of paper mache. I really liked the outcome of these as the paper mache combined with paint emphasised the characters features creating bold, fun and colourful models, perfect for the audience of young children who will view the portraits at the gallery. Also the texture of the paper mache was quite rough and imperfect reflecting a lot of the sculptures seen in the gallery.

I also explored paper cuts/collages for my characters i had designed which were inspired by Juan Carlos. However i felt that the paper collages were not as strong pieces of work as the paper mache but i did go back to some of this paper collage work later on in my project when i created my zine.

The Box (The 6 Word Narrative)

For the 6 word narrative part of the project we had to communicate a story about our portraits (within 6 words) which would be illustrated on a box. The box was to be displayed with our portraits in the gallery so i knew the box had to carry the same theme of fun, bold and bright colours so that the audience could make the connection of the two pieces. I struggled to think of six words that explained my portrait so I created a short narrative about my paper mache model of the woman babylonian figure. The narrative really helped me to not only pick six words but how I could use text and image together to illustrate my story. To reflect my portrait I used paper mache to create interesting shapes on the box which I could paint over and make into images and words.

To inspire my typography and the use of text and image i looked at artists Sarah Fanelli and David Shillinghaw. They both combine their illustrations cleverly with text in a fun and exciting way to narrate a story and communicate positivity to the audience.

Overall i liked the outcome of my box. I think it reflected my paper mache portrait as it gave the same texture and the dusky brown with bright colours as the portrait. I like the paper mache on the box as it creates interesting shapes that i could combine with text. I illustrated elements of the babylonian woman in the portrait (such as the scarf, bowl, eyes etc) to show a clear link between the portrait and the box. I think the illustrations help to narrate the story and make it fun to look at.

Zine, Postcards and Cut Outs for the Pop Up Shop

For the final part of the project we had to create a zine/book and six postcards that we could sell on a pop up shop. I had to really think about my presentation and creating professional work for an audience for this part of the project so that my work engaged and visually communicated clearly with the public.

Inspired by the zine “Swim” by Jeannie Phan i decided i wanted to create a short step by step story of my characters coming to life in the gallery. This idea was also inspired by films i’ve seen growing up as a child of inanimate objects coming to life, especially “Night at the Museum”. I sketched out story boards in my sketchbook to generate ideas for my story until i came up with one that I liked. To illustrate the zine i used a variety of mediums such as oil pastels, paint, collage, chalk and digital. I looked at Jill Calder’s work for inspiration on creating texture and different marks within my work to reflect the rough surface of the paper mache used in the two previous parts of the project.

For my postcards i chose three designs from the portrait part of the project and three designs i’d used in the zine so that theres was a variety of my 3D and 2D work. I had some trouble when I printed out my postcards as the prints came out with white lines running across some of the images and the back of the postcards weren't exactly in line. To resolve this I re-printed them again, making sure all the backs were perfectly in line and that all the postcards were the same size. Next time to avoid disappointment at the printers i need to tell them if i am not happy with the print and i’ll go to a printers that specialises in duplicate printing. I will also make sure i print my work at least a week before the deadline so that I still have plenty of time if a printing error happens again.

I was happy with the display I created. I think the cut outs made my work stand out even more and created a fun colourful display to attract buyers. To take this project further I created little animations (on photoshop) of my zine and I uploaded it as a webcomic online so that an online audience can view my work.

#evaluation #final pieces #narrative portrait

I made two little gifs of the paper mache figures. I put frames around the edge to make it look like they are moving within a painting (coming to life). I think the little movements work well and sums up my project of inanimate objects coming to life in the gallery. I would liked to have made more animations of these figures but because the figures were made out of paper mache they were not moveable so it would of been very difficult to create movement from them.

#gifs #animation #illustration #paper mache #gallery #narrative portrait

I’ve created some short gifs on photoshop from the illustrated story in my zine. This could be published as a webcomic so that an online audience can access/view my story. I could also put up a link for them to buy a printed zine of this and my postcards that i made for this project.

For the last project i also created a webcomic that i displayed on another website. I decided to add this webcomic to the website too. Here’s the link http://webcomicsbychloe.tumblr.com

#webcomic #gifs #illustration

Improvements on the back page

To further improve my zine i changed the back cover. I changed the colour to a brown which reflected the floor of the gallery seen in the zine. I think this made the zine a little less pink, however in person the colour is slightly yellow/green which is probably due to the printer not able to replicate the same colour as on the digital file.

I also aded a little logo of the characters heads from the zine. i photoshopped them together and faded the characters around the edge to create a subtle circle shape. I then added text, about me, underneath that was had written and scanned onto the computer. I felt this made the zine more personal, hand made and it reflected the title which was also hand written.

I think the back page looks a lot more like a finished back page now and not just a page i made in a short period of time to finish the book.

I wasn't happy with my previous printed postcards so I re-printed them at home on thin card and stuck together the back and front. This worked out really well as the card became more sturdy and I was able to line the front and back perfectly. I was very neat cutting the card so that you can't tell that they are two cards stuck together. I was pleased with the print, as you can see there are no white lines across the work. Next time I print out postcards I will go to a professionals printers that specialises in duplicate printing. As I have already spent quite a bit on printing already for this project I decided I would try making them at home which worked out well. I now feel more proud of my work and I think they are more professional looking to sell at the pop up shop.

#postcards

Evaluating Work and Artist Research for Future Projects

A student today mentioned that my work looked similar to an artist called Malarky. I had a look at Malarky’s work and i can see the relation of bright colours and happy, fun and playful characters.

I like that he works in many mediums. The bigger scale character cut outs could of been something to of explored in this project if i was to carry on this project and take it further. Also the ceramics look very fun to make and a possibility to consider for the next project.

An extension from this project that i do have time for is making some animations from the character in this project. I want to make some gifs (just like Malarky’s shown above) to show my characters actually coming to life.

#malarky #artist research #evaluation

Inspired by a cut out on a display in a shop (from the brief module) and cuts outs i have at home i decided to create cut outs of my characters from the project. I wanted to make my display for the pop up shop to stand out and be fun. I think the cut out characters achieved this. I also think they bring more vibrant colours to the display.

I printed the characters from my project and stuck them onto card. I then made 2cm slits at the bottom of each and i slotted square bits of card into the cut out so that they stood up. These were quite fiddly and if i had more time i would of looked at making more sturdy stands. I made the cut outs at different sizes to make the display more exciting with different height levels.

#display #fun #pop up shop #commercial #illustration #cut out #zine #postcards

A little gif to show the content of my zine within a few seconds.

#gif #zine #pages #illustration

Zine

I was very happy with the outcome of my printed zine! I made sure all the pages were in the right order on indesign and printed out a paper version first. I then went to another printers and asked for the zine to be printed on silk paper as i thought this would make the colours more vibrant than the card. The colours came out exactly how i wanted them too and the duplicate printing was perfect. I was easily able to fold up the zine as a saddle stitch book. I decided to staple this together instead of sewing the pages as a thought the needle would tear the pages as it was fairly thin paper. The staples looked neat, simple and made the zine look professional.

The only fault i’ve noticed about my zine is that there is maybe too much pink. I could maybe fix this by changing the colour of the back page. I was also suggested to maybe add a logo/character on the back page so that it is less bare. I’ll see if i can improve the back page before assessment so that i can perfect my zine.

I had a lot of fun making this zine and i’d definitely like to make more in the future! It’s a great way of showing a short portfolio of your work and a nice record to keep to see how you improve from each zine you make.

#zines #illustration

Printed A6 postcards on 600 gsm white card.

I went to the print room to get my 6 postcards printed onto card with a reverse postcard template on the back. I wasn't pleased with the outcome of these! After a long wait the postcards came out with white lines running across them, which is normally a sign of low ink in the printer. Some of the lines weren’t as noticeable as others but this wasn’t good enough. Also the reverse side was slightly out of line and the one postcard had a reverse that was upside down!

Even though this wasn’t successful i can learn from these mistakes and know what to do next time. I will make sure i have the postcards prepared exactly how i want them on a pdf file. I would go to a more professional printers to get these printed as they can print on the reverse side a lot easier. I also think the card was too thick for a postcard. I would maybe try a gloss front as i think this would have made the colours bright and vibrant.

I will make sure i am more prepared when i next need something printing. I need to print about a week before the deadline and make sure i know exactly how i want them to look like.

#postcards #mistakes #evaluation

The 6 designs i have chosen to print as postcards for the pop up shop. I’ve chosen a mixture that shows my 3D work and my 2D work in this project.

I want to print them onto fairly thick card with a postcard template on the back. I will print these out A6 size.

#postcards #illustration

My zine in Indesign laid out so that it will be printed as a saddle stitch book. I want to print them so that each page is A6 size. After seeing the turn out of my postcards i’ve decided i’d like to try a more glossy type of paper to print the zine onto as I think it will brighten the colours and give the zine a nice professional finish.

For the front cover i just wanted to give it a simple background, that relates to the rest of the zine. I thought about various names for the title but the one i liked the best that i thought best described my story was “Love at the Gallery”. The title is inspired by “Night at the Museum”.

I experimented with the typography in various styles and colours. I thought hand draw wax crayon type looked the best as it reflected the medium used in my zine. I put the type in a bordered box as i wanted the title to look like a description label seen by each artwork in Birmingham museum and art gallery.

I created a paint and chalk background for my illustration which i think worked really well as it created texture and emphasised the characters excitement of being in love.

I’d planned to create a repeat pattern in my zine so i looked through my work and picked out illustrations that created an interesting composition but still within the theme of the story. I create a half drop repeat pattern from this. I liked the outcome of this pattern and i had a lot of fun making it. Repeat patterns are definitely something i’d like to explore more in the future.

I looked back through my sketchbook and came up with an idea of using my paper collage of the lady i’d previously created as the painted version in my story. I thought that the painting coming to life would probably make more of an impact if it looked slightly different. I preferred adding this collage to the painting a lot more than the drawing i’d done as it was bolder and clearer so you could clearly see what the character looks like.

From this i was then able to come up with a way of the lady coming out of the painting through lines. At this point i felt like i had enough drawings to be able to edit what i had in photoshop to illustrate the rest of the story.

Illustration of the end of my story where the two characters find each other and fall in love. I drew this first in pencil, paint and oil pastel then i edited the drawing in photoshop. I played around with a possible background but i think the background is too flat against this drawing. I want to create a background in my sketch book using paint and pastel to create texture.

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The A4 Portrait and the Six Word Narrative