New House.

I haven't posted for awhile, because i've been really busy with my new job at Pizza hut, which by the way I definately could not do as a career! So I definately need to get going with my Illustration. But having a job has freed up some money, so I bought some screenprinting equipment, which set me back quite alot of money but it has definately worth it! Below is a picture of our conservatory in our new house, which has been turned into a studio for me, Poppy and Erin. 

The screenprinting has been very trial and error, I had to coat three screens before I got the right consistancy, and exposed them properly, but finally Ive managed to create some successful images.

My first image I created with my new screen printing kit is based on my previous ideas I had in foundation about Bad Egg v.s Good Egg. I collaged some backgrounds to print on because I really liked the designs I did in my last project. I've got some more images on the same screen to print so watch this space...

Poppys Chickens.

Poppy now works at a garden centre where chickens run around the cafe. I think she could use this to her advantage!

New Idea for a Book..

Basically guys I need some help. Im creating a book for my mum to send to schools. She and her friend Mike teach climbing to children. They rent a climbing wall at my dads school and then other school can come and use it.The idea of this book is it teaches children that you can use climbing in life for not just recreational purposes and even in your career, and will be sent out with her price lists ect.. Im just alittle stuck on my ideas and need a crit! Any ideas would be appreciated!!

Lost in the Post

I forgot to post about these at the time but I made a few more pieces to accompany my postman investigation..

This is my postman sketchbook which is made out of C5 envelopes that I collected, everyday I drew the postman through the window, kinda stalkerish but it got me so many marks I don't care.

I made this parcel out of my accetate from my screen prints.

Drawing more people...

Here are a few more drawings I did of people to finish my uniforms project off nicely..

Apparently I was missing out peoples faces as I drew them last and as they past I didn't get to them in time, so I made this little concertina book out of tickets and drew peoples faces at Southampton train station.

I made this to accompany my shopping theme, I drew people coming out of primark on a primark bag.. it contrasts with my prints of "Gucci and Channel women".

This is a piece to accompany my journeys idea, on the way back to Southampton from Wolverhampton I drew people at every stop we stopped on a large sheet of paper.. man that was embarrassing. I seriously don't care now though.. i'd draw anywhere so I guess this project had done me good.

Climbing Club..

Earlier when I was going around drawing everyone I could I did some sketches of the climbers at my mums climbing club. It was so difficult as they move so fast but I managed to get a few good images. I decided to collage them into a rock face so I had a conclusion for them, and a justification in my asessment.

I used screwed up paper for the rock to make it seem more realistic, and threaded embroidary thread through loops at the top. I liked making a flat collaged sculpture, although I'm not convinced it particually works with these people I'd like to try this technique again maybe next term.

Wire Sculpture

One route I explored early on in my project was drawing with wire which I did on my foundation course. I quickly abandoned this. The drawings of people I did where so quirky that when I tried to replicate them in wire they were unrecognisable as people, maybe next time...

One day Project: Uniforms

At the beginning of the uniforms project we had a one day project where we had to all wear a uniform and then the rest of the group drew you. It was quite fun. There were some odd choices in costume and we werent supposed to be very realistic so I had a go at doing continous line, drawing with colour, using sticks and ink ect... Some of the drawings were quite quirky but I quite like that..

These are just a selection of the drawings I did on the day. I did about twenty sheets in the end which came in handy at padding my project out when it came to asessment.

Catching up..

I've been so so busy the last month I haven't updated my blog at all. I was going to but I kept thinking it would be better to do work instead so I appologise for the sheer amount of work I am about to upload...

So sweeeet.

I really love this person sleeping in bed.. I took the monoprint I did of the person sleeping, and created a collage, then I scanned this in and overlayered them on photoshop. I'm not sure whether its because of the colours, or the overlapping which makes it look like a print but I like this image alot. I might make a illustration of my dream using this technique... I think I need a new dream though, this one is getting stale. Also I think I should make some of my own papers to use, using influences from other cultures of course though...

My sleeping person with two different speech bubble... not sure how much furthur I can take this illustration.. might do something else now.

This is influenced by a mexican print of a girl laying in bed smoking a joint and hallucinating objects flying around the room above her. I just adapted it for a dream...

Dreamer.

I'm feeling abit better about this project now. Ive finally produced an image im sort of happy with. I monoprinted the image of a sleeping girl in bed, scanned it in and filled it with one of my earlier "doodle" illustrations. I think it needs some work but I could submit it and now be too embarrassed which is something. The problem is I now need to think about how I'm going to make a book out of my images...

I need some help with this project...

I don't know what to do with this project. My tutor told me that I should just try drawing loads of images on the page; I did it in the same way I did my pathway "Idiom" project. Then similarly I merged all the images together on Photoshop.

I quite like the effect. It emphasises the idea of dreams where you can't quite remember them properly and they get hazy and merged together.

I think the next step i'm going to take is to add an illustration of myself asleep in bed. I don't know whether to do the illustration in monoprint, collage, pencil crayon.. or whether to leave it on a white background or add a border? Help please guys?!

Foundation: Final Major Project

I thought it was a shame I didn't put any of my final major project work up from my Foundation year. At the time I was dead set on doing children's illustration. I almost went to Glyndwr University to study it exclusively, and now i'm so relieved I didn't. I love childrens illustration and definately want to produce childrens books when I graduate, but I also now love editorial, fashion, reportage you name it i'll give it a shot. These are some some pages from the book I wrote and illustrated: Neil's Unforgettable Day, about a zoo keeper and his cat Jim who manage to lose all the animals in London zoo and have to travel around the capital rescuing them. Watch this space because I have an idea for a sequel which involves my postman experiments...

Text as Image

At the time, I felt I had done heaps of work for this project. We had it over christmas and compared to everyone else I had alot of work to show for it. However after working on our current project i've changed my mind. We had to create a poster for a new shop that was opening to advertise its unique merchandice of talking books. We were given seven quotes and had to chose one and use the whole quote on the poster, along with the shop name and information about it. It also had to be a specific dimension or you failed outright.

This was the first image I created and annoyingly it was the one my tutors liked the best. Infact they raved about it and said I should have carried it forward, but if I had then I wouldn't have got marks for experimentation... you can't win!

Paintings of sparrows, including an ink drawing.. goes to show going to workshops definately reflects in your project work!

Some experiments with combining text and imagery.

Good old collage. It saved my life on foundation and as I was floundering by this point, I felt it was time to take out this secret weapon!

Combining stitch with collage.

Some sweetie illustrations I created to put into my collages. Line drawings and ink spolges overlayered in photoshop.

Some experiments with cartoon like sparrows. I didn't use them in the end but I like them. I may make some cards with them!

My first attempt at a full size poster!

I decided that my illustration would look better in a container so I chose a sweetie jar as the quote is set in a sweet shop. I used text to collage around the outside as the poster is advertising a spoken words shop.

This is my final piece for this project. I quite like it. It fufills the brief and had a fair bit of work put into it. I know I definately could have stretched myself further with this project but we were told to keep away from computers and thats exactly what I did.

By the way, I have these posters up in my room and some of the letters have fallen off... thats why they may look a little strange.

3D Workshop

This was a group project where we had to create a shoe which would be fit for our tutor to wear. We could use all the materials and machines in the 3D and it got  very messy. Particually as we tried to lace it up whilst they were still wet. Alot of blue paint ended up on my body.

I draw naked people for fun.

Indeed I do. I quite like life drawing, although thats breaking the trend at Southampton. We do a huge amount on foundation, so it's nice to do quite abit here. I even do extra classes in it. Think my drawings really coming along though, even though I do get abit abstract at times..

Ghost Stories

I'm not going to lie I didn't do alot of work for this project. We had to create four images to accompany text to victorian ghost stories. For starters the stories weren't particually scary or inspriring, and secondly it was my second week at University and I was busy. I chose to make paper sets and set the mood using lighting and shadow. I don't think my images are particually successful, but I actually don't care. I learnt alot about photography and making little paper sets from doing it and I can take this forward in my future illustrations.

The border I used was inspired by the ink project I did earlier. It doesn't go but it sure got me alot of marks to say how it had influenced me.