Everything is on Fire

Typographic contribution to HitRECord 

London Sea Life Centre

This weekend I visited London Sea Life Centre, it was easier now I have a better idea of what I am looking for.  I tried to take as many photos as I could of strange and interesting fish, particularly brightly coloured ones.  I was especially interested by the huge turtles and sharks with terrifying teeth!

Portsmouth Aquarium

Portsmouth Aquarium was a really useful starting off place, to see fish swimming naturally and watch how they move.  It was great to get so close to the fish too, they all seem to have their own expressions which will translate really well as characters.

The photos I have taken of fish swimming is really helpful to create a scene.  At the moment I only have fish from the side, but not from other perspectives so this allows me to find more creative ways to position them.

The two horned cow fish.  I love this fish, he was so strange looking and definitely deserves a place in my book.

Leopard Moray Eel

I really like the way the light shines through the water, I'd like to experiment with backgrounds to achieve a similar effect.

The jelly fish look amazing, especially with this lighting.  I think they would work well to be created with ink.

Children's Book

The children's book market is constantly changing so it is difficult to keep up with what is popular.  In preparation for my children's book I have been to several book shops to see which books are currently popular. 

There are many fairy tale books, picture books for younger children, there are silly stories and more serious ones.  There is a broad variety of types of book, so I have decided to focus on a fantasy fiction book with bright hand drawn illustrations.

I have written a story that is fun and imaginative with adventure, mystery and a threat that is overcome.  The story is based around a girl that imagines she is swimming in the sea while she is playing in the bath.

Professional Project

The briefing for this project filled me with terror and excitement simultaneously! I had been thinking about the professional project fro a long time, trying to work about what the best way to showcase my work would be, but finally hearing the briefing made everything a lot more real.

I have, after a lot of thought, decided to create a children's book based on a story I have written.  Although I have not produced anything like this before I feel that it would be a really great project to develop and challenge my skills.  I have worked a lot in black and white recently so would like to add colour, but also stick with the ink and water technique I have been using.  I would also like to expand the project and think about creating three dimensional characters and posters from the artwork. I know my project will change a lot on the journey buut I will begin by experimenting with styles and considering the storyboard.

Week of Inspiration

The last week before Christmas was a week full of lectures from different illustrators, the talks were incredibly interesting and were also very inspiring. I was having difficulty deciding what my final project should be, and I was beginning to feel overwhelmed about it, however now I feel confident in my decision to create a children's book and am really looking forward to experimenting and developing it.

I found Salvitore Rubbino particularly interesting, the way his books develop and change through time and conversations with publishers.  I love his use of texture in his work and the variety of methods he brings together cohesively.  Seeing his storyboarding and process has helped me a lot in knowing the best way to work.

Hayley Potter's talk was very useful, she showed how she had developed since university highlighting that the experimenting never finishes, and that my work will change constantly.  I found the way she used one piece but in such a variety of ways, for example on cushions or 3D really interesting and something I would really like to try next year.  

After Hayley Potter, David Callow spoke, I have admired his work for a long time so I was really looking forward to this talk.  His work is so intricate and beautiful, it was amazing to see it projected on the large screen and hear about how much work went into each piece.  Similar to Hayley, David also re-uses images that have worked will but changes them to fit different briefs.

Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum was great to see some really weird and interesting fish that I would not have seen otherwise.  It was also interesting to see the model of the whale, to get some idea of how huge it is and how it would look in relation to other characters in the story.

Devon

Hidden Faces

Progress

Trees

Possibilities for an alternative book cover.

Hair

It was suggested in the critique that I look at hair in other forms, how when it is not attached to the head it seems to be much more disgusting.

Critique

Above are the images I presented in my critique.  I wanted to bring a variety from each of the different stories.  It was agreed that those that did not show faces were more effective. 

It was suggested I move away from the competition brief and begin experimenting with women's hair and backs.  I should also do some observational drawings to strengthen my connection to these elements.

Polar Patterns Website