the very final pub sign

i've probably posted under this heading before on several occasions but this time it really is, there have been very slight changes progressing it above the former posted pub sign. I finished off the belt and added some dots of colour to the mantling, i have to say it is nice to put this one to rest

a double page spread

with the narrative project very nearly finished, just small tweaks and such to be made i thought it might be appropriate to post a double page spread and a brief outline of a progression to final.

this is one of the final double page spreads, complete with hand rendered borders type and digitally added collage, one other suggestion was to reduce the black to a true black and really brighten the white, i was quite hesitant to do this as the end result looks quite harsh and takes the warmth out of the initial mark making. However in hindsight it was probably the best thing i did as the whole story reads far clearer. 

this is some development from pencils through to inks and the final stage of adding extras, collage, text and borders. Showing the progression at each stage puts into perspective the actual changes that have been made, quite often the many steps taken are easily forgotten.

campari on newsprint

my tutor had recommended printing the Campari posters i had produced onto some newsprint, a cheap mid tone coloured piece of paper that adds a vintage aesthetic of its own, so i gave it a try.

i'm fairly happy with how the end result looks, the ink took well to the smooth grain of the paper and the mid tone adds a layer of warmth to the overall image that was much needed. 

creative CV

when we were told to produce a CV for this module i was dreading it, i think its the most tedious thing to write, selling yourself is difficult when its you writing it. Maybe modesty is to much of a factor, who knows. with the initial research in mind i let the ideas stew until i eventually came up with a format. I want to produce an 'adopt an illustration graduate pack' exactly like WWF and other animal organisations who send some pictures and a toy all in a self contained document with all the information you need to know, seemed like the perfect format in my head.

i decided to base my adoption pack on a simple net big enough to hold a portfolio of A6 prints inside, on each of the flaps i put some information about myself under a heading; education, profile, experience, skills, and contact. When opened the lucky recipient will not only receive all that they need to know about me but also a series of prints, if i have the time i would like to put my business card image on the front with some hand rendered text, and perhaps include a paper easel for propping up the prints. the rest of the piece needs to stay as clear as possible maximising legibility. 

final business card

i thought it might be good to see the finished product back and front in one post as well as the marks used to finish it.

the front of the business as featured in the past post, and below what is going to go on the back. I was quite unsure about background detail continuing the brush stroke from front to back and easing the text into the design seemed to work best after some experimentation. 

i think keeping consistency across the front and back of the design is one of the most important factors in designing a business card. 

 these are some of the loose marks i experimented with overlaying before settling on the final, much alike to he final these were brushed onto a scrap of paper and digitally overlaid until deemed useless.

 the marks that saved the day (below)!!! these two brush strokes were done with this massive hogs hair Chinese brush, i wanted there to be breaks in the stroke to give way for the image an text. it was surprising how quickly it came together once i had the right marks.

new business card

having failed at my first attempt i decided to try something clean and simple, being that it was going to promote myself i thought about a self portrait. i often draw from my face for expression or trying to get a part of an awkward pose so this was nothing new, i wanted it to be something a bit different.

one night when answering the call of nature i got a brain wave of why depict myself in night ware, not something seen often in self portraits but the what the hell, defy convention an all that. above was a very quick pencil sketch i did of myself, i am very happy with how it turned out, just a case of adding some ink.   

 once the sketch had been inked i felt that the card itself looked quite sparse, at the minute i have something of an obsession with mignola and tried using some bold shapes like the pro himself. however it really isn't as easy at is looks as is reflected by the image above which totally failed.

the above image was my second attempt at engaging the space more, just using some scanned brush strokes, it was ok more in the direction i had imagined but still not quite right, he whole image appear quite unbalanced and lacking in some background detail on the left hand side especially.  

 it wasn't until i had taken some time out to work on the narrative that i really considered my process, thinking about how i had overlaid brush strokes to complement part of an image gave me a sudden brain wave. Applying a similar brush stroke to my portrait could in effect make it appear as a very happy coincidence with a brush and ink, so with the original inks i scanned in a big brush stroke and erased and kept what information complemented the design and theme of the drawing, i am very happy with the end result and glad i persevered until i got the end result i did. Lets hope moo does a good job on printing them.

my own self promotion

when thinking about my own self promotion i was quite unsure of how to sell myself, i knew it was going to be by means of an image and not some clever gimmick. This drew my attention to a piece of work i produced a couple of years ago, i never properly finished it because time got away from me, the idea has been something that ive been keen to revisit however. It centres around a few characters one of whom is an angel or cherub with two or more others about to clip his wings, i don't know why this image has stuck in my head but it seemed like a good opportunity to develop the visual.

i started with a page of ideas exploring the kind of visual i had previously developed and imagined, i wanted it to be quite a wide image so it could also work as a landscape border for a blog or website. with this in mind i set about very loosely arranging the elements and deciding the intensity of the expressions and interactions. 

this pencil sketch above was my initial sketch after developing the ideas, i like the am dram nature of the hands on the central figure and the scissors pressed against the cheek. Although the image did appear quite static which is my only real criticism. 

 having penciled it out i attempted a couple of quick inks just with some layout paper to see the intensity of the image i would be producing, i have to say i was disappointed. The above image works a fair bit better than the one below- which is nothing short of a mess, however it still doesn't appear engaging enough. in the end i totally scrapped tis concept in favour of something more simple and reflective of me. literally.