layout analysis

• composition/layout

This is a single page out of a gardening/food magazine. The images are placed next to the text. There's a column in the centre of the page with little tips that are related to the article, but don't fit in any block of text. The layout isn't very conventional but still

• fonts/typography

The title is in a simple font, and naturally is bigger in size. All the other "sub" titles are in the same font but in smaller size. The main text is in a non-italic, ordinary font - making the illustrations stand out even more. The focus clearly isn't on the typography.

• scale

The images take up more space on the page than the text. The text is in a simple font and is quite small. The title and the "sub" titles are in italic and considerably bigger than the main text - thus they're easier to read and attract attention.

• illustrations

The illustrations are drawn tradigionally, with watercolor, then scanned and probably edited a bit in photoshop. The illustrations are meant to stand out. The article is framed, but the drawings "jump" off the page thanks to the bright colours and splashy effect. They're supposed to look fresh - as the title of the article - and healthy.

• use of color

The illustrations are pretty much the only "splashes" of colour on the page. The text and everything else is standard - the background is white and the text is black. The collumn in the middle is a light shade of gray. The illustrations are the accents of the article.

final piece

I sketched out 4 thumbnail sketches in total.

I made the first one intending to take photos and put them together in photoshop. It focuses on the brand name, which takes up the top space. There's wine, cheese and maybe other food on the bottom.

Second one is a mixture of both photos and drawings. The wine bottle and maybe the glass would be photos, and the background with the couple would be drawn. I'm starting to lean towards 50s-40s illustrations and advertising.

Third one would be entirely drawn, no photos. It focuses a bit more on the couple now, but the wine still remains in the centre.  

This is the last sketch I did and the one I ended up using. The smiling woman is holding a glass of  wine. You can't see it very well but she's also wearing some jewelry. The wine is still in the centre.

1. I used Grace Kelly for the face and hair model. She's a 50s actress so I thought she'd fit the style quite well.

2. I looked at a couple of artists for refence. I love the style of vintage american illustration, so I enjoyed learning more about it. This particular artist is Frank McCarthy, who's famous for his western art but has also done some magazine and book illustration.

3. As I said before, I looked at a lot of vintage american adverts. This flickr gallery is a good collection of ads, and this website is, essentially, a very big database of adverts from different decades - also very helpful.

4. I got this image off google. I was looking for 40s-50s style party dresses. Here are the search results.

Once I collected all my reference material, I start the drawing. I used a photo of Grace kelly for the face, and a stock picture as a guide for the hand. The background is a bright yellow, and I put a grainy texture over it, to get the vintage look. I put the sketch layer on top, on 15% opacity, and start blocking in the colors below. Then, once I'm happy with the face, I put the sketch layer below the color layer and draw the hair. After that I add the jewelry, to add more gold to the color scheme. I finish the hand and add the glass of wine. The final step is mainly correcting things and adding more values to the face.

This is the finished drawing, but i'm still going to add some extra textures and text.

Andrea Bricco

Meaning

Andrea Bricco's work has a variety of subject matter: food, people, travel and lifestyle. Her photographs are mainly used in books and magazines. In her commercial work she tries to make food look stylish, colorful and tasty. From looking at her photographs on her website, I found out she usually experiments with color and composition in her personal work. 

Aesthetics

In the images I've chosen to analyze the composition is definitely planned. The notable thing about them, and a couple of other illustrations she's done in the style, is that there's a drawing in the background. The drawings are always related to the particular food.  They're drawn with chalk, pastels or pencil. The drawings add to the photo because they're meant to compliment the object, and not take your attention away from it.

Context

Andrea works mainly for magazines and books. Her illustrations fit in very well, especially in the format shown above: the photo takes a bigger space on the page, and the text is in a smaller font on the side. The photo is the focus.

Personal Response

I like her work, especially the way she uses composition. Her photos are interesting to look at - aside from the main object, there's different things scattered around, like cutlery, spices and bits of food. It makes her work look very unique.  

Henrik Bonnevier

Meaning

Henrik Bonnevier is an interior and still life photographer. He works mainly for magazines, photographing cosmetics, modern interiors, clothing, jewellery and more. The most eye-catching qualities to his work are his compositions and use of color. The image I've chosen to analyse is part of a series which focuses on both those elements.

Aesthetics
Henrik intentionally uses a limited palette of colors. In the picture I've chosen the main colors are cold - blue and green, with accents of gold and silver from the jewlery. The image fits well together because objects stand out - there's no green on green and blue on blue. Each item has a different, distinct shape and texture. The composition can be described as a pyramid.

Context

Henrik's work gets published mainly in fashion and interior design magazines. The images above can be used to sell various items in a catalogue for a store like IKEA - which is actually one of his clients. His photographs look very stylish and colorful, which makes them perfect for fashion magazines.
The picture I've chosen is part of a photoshoot for BON magazine.

Personal Response

I think Henrik's use of color is nice and his photos will definitely look nice on a magazine page. I like his choice of objects. The focus of the photoshoot is jewlery and other girly things, which there is a lot of, but he also throws in some plastic figurines of horses and dogs. And they fit in quite well.

Steps:

1. edited curves to make it darker

2. edited brightness/contrast to make it darker

3. sharpen tool on the green beads 

4. green overlay layer on the green beads at 50% opacity

5. duplicate all three layers; merge. set filter of the duplicated layer to multiply at 50% opacity

Steps:

1. blue gradient from left to right on a color burn layer

2. yellow gradient from right to left on a multiply layer

3. duplicate all three layers; merge. apply motion blur filter to duplicated layer and erase a circle in the centre with an airbrush

4. blue overlay layer over the blue nail polish

Steps:

1. create an overlay layer with an orange gradient in the bottom and blue at the top

2. edited curves to make it a bit darker 

3. edited levels to make it darker (middle slider)

4. sharpen tool on the tip of the red tie

Traditional illustration, using watercolor and fineliner. Inspired by Georgina Luck and Matthew Midgley.

photoshoot

1. What did you do?

Last lesson we looked at the works of other artists for inspiration and reference. We took some notes on what's notable in their photos and applied them to our own work. We also discussed what each of us had to bring.

2. How did you do it? 

We brought things from home, mainly make-up related objects, and arranged them into a nice composition.

3. What went well? We arranged the objects nicely, so I think the composition looks good. The use of focus is good as well.

4. What could you improve? 

We could've brought more objects. 

I’m looking at three artists for this analysis, Georgina Luck, Natso Saki and Matt Midgley.

First off, the major thing all three have in common is that they’re working as freelance illustrators, marking artwork for magazines, book covers, posters and packaging. Freelancing, while not being as stable as a full-time job, gives artists more freedom and that’s why they prefer it. However, they still have exhibitions in various galleries, to showcase their work and attract potential clients.

They all like using watercolor, Georgina Luck and Matthew Midgley working almost solely in ink and watercolor. The two have a thin, loose but still accurate line drawing as a base, and washes of watercolor on top. Georgina, compared to Matthew, uses vibrant colors in her illustrations. The colors in most of her drawings bleed out of the lines, but that’s definitely not to be seen as a flaw, more like a part of her style. Matthew Midgley uses less saturated colors, making his drawings appear a little more realistic. Both like to have a little typography in their artwork, be it the brand name of the object they’re drawing, or just some annotations on the side.

 Natso Saki has less text in her illustrations, but has a much wider variety of subject matter, color and materials. She also uses watercolor less, relying instead on collage and ink. When she does use watercolor, it’s usually to cover big areas with a single color. She doesn’t focus on food and everyday objects unlike the previous two artists, and instead prefers big scale illustrations of urban places with lots of detail.

The three do have a lot in common, such as the materials they use and what their work is used for, but they also have their own unique styles.

I like all of the artists, especially Georgina Luck. I think the saturated colors she uses are nice and contribute to her style. They will definitely look good on a magazine page, and the splashes will draw attention. As bad as it sounds, it makes me wonder how much money she makes off those illustrations.

checklist

WEEK ONE
Setting up a Blog

WEEK TWO
Blogging: Uploading hand drawn type 

WEEK THREE
Watercolour Typography 
M&M Paris Typography 
Kinetic Typography 

WEEK FOUR
Experimental Type: Furry Font/Pin & Thread
Experimental Type: Object Typography/Vladimir Koncar 
Experimental Type: Food Fonts/Ed Rushca 

WEEK FIVE

Oscar Wilson/Sarah King Analysis

Hand Drawn Calligram  (to post)

Digital Calligram

WEEK SIX
Fontstruction
Si Scott 
Bleaching & Heat Transfer (haven't done bleaching; heat transfer to upload) 

WEEK SEVEN

Reviewing Experiments 

Mind Map & Initial Ideas 

WEEK EIGHT
Moodboard
Developing ideas 

WEEK NINE
Printing t-shirt 
Photoshoot 
Final evaluation 

review 2

1. Write an explanation of your brief: What did you have to do? How did you come up with the ideas for this project?

For the project we had to make a t-shirt design, using the techniques we've learned so far. To come up with ideas I looked through the typography we did in the last couple of months. I made a lot of different t-shirt examples as well so I can pick the best one in the end.

2. Write about the creative 'journey' of the project: How did you project and ideas evolve from start to finish through experimentation and research?

I made a lot of experiments. Firstly, I drew a sketch in the sketchbook to set the composition. After that I took a photo and tested various techniques in photoshop. I looked at some t-shirts online for inspiration and reference. 

Because of the experimentation the design changed, becoming more about the text than the image. 

3. Who inspired your final outcomes? You MUST talk about who has inspired your work, and include images and links of/to them! 

The character on the design is Bane from The Dark Knight Rises. I looked at some t-shirts of him and there's a couple that inspired me:

Of the artists I've researched, Oscar Wilson inspired me the most. He has a variety of calligrams and I've done several experiments inspired by his work: 

4. What saying or expression did you use? What technique did you use? Was there a link between your materials and the words used? What was it?

All of the text on the design is quotes from the movie ( The Dark Knight ). I used photoshop to make it, and 5-6 custom fonts (eg. Gotham Lullaby, Assassin's Dub, Redux, Distorted and Scratchy)  There was a link between the words and the fonts I used, for example, words like "gotham" "blood" "the devil" were in a gothic font (Gothic Lullaby), and coloured in red. Other key words like "reckoning" and "the league" are in a bigger, thicker font (Distorted and Scratchy), also coloured in red.  

5. What do you think you have done well? What has worked? Are you happy with your final outcome?

I'm quite happy with the final outcome, I think the different fonts work well. Even though the palette is limited it fits the character and it doesn't get too cluttered.

6. What do you think you could have improved in your final outcome? There will be something - nobody is perfect!

I could've added more colours, and added more smaller text. The silhouette could be clearer, but the character himself doesn't have that much of a defining silhouette. 

7. Conclusion: Overall how did you find the project? Would you like to complete more typographic work in the future?

I haven't experimented with typography before, so this was definitely new. I liked the amount of freedom we were given because I like to choose my own topics into the project. It makes things like research and analysis more enjoyable. I would be interested in doing more typography, but perhaps not calligrams. 

t-shirt

Final outcome of the t-shirt. Done with heat transfer. The picture to the left is the final design. First one to the right is how it came out on the t-shirt. Below it is a close-up.

T-shirt development

1. T-shirt ideas

6 different initial ideas for the t-shirt. Most of the prints are pictures I've done through the year (1, 2, 3, 5). I was still thinking of the different techniques I could use. For example, the 4th one is meant for spray paint, 3rd for bleaching and most of the others for heat transfer. I ended up using the heat transfer, and making something a bit different to what we've done up till now.

2. Mood Board

Mood board for the image. I used a couple of the fonts I initially picked (1). I initially intended to use a cooler palette with more blues (3) but ended up using reds. Link to the separate mood board post.

3. Example image

First example image I made in photoshop. I ended up changing it because in the end the picture would be more visible than the typography. I still like it though, might use the same technique later on for something else.

4. Final image

1. Original image from google. As the whole picture will be covered in text, I was looking for something with a clear silhouette and a recognizable pose. There are some snowflakes in the foreground but they're not that noticable.

2. Separating the character from the background, done with pen tool in photoshop. The resolution is pretty small but there are still some details. For example, I made sure the folds were cut out properly and smudged the fur parts of the jacket to make it look more realistic. I also did some color correction. Though the original image had already been retouched, I made the colors warmer and darkened some places (eg. his hands) to keep the viewers eye on the upper body.

3. To focus on the text/typography I made the image completely black for this part. These are Bane's quotes from the movie (The Dark Knight Rises). Different words are emphasized through different fonts, size and color. I used about 5 different fonts, main ones being Gotham Lullaby, Assassin's Dub, Redux and Distorted and Scratchy. There was a link between the words and the fonts I used, for example, words like "gotham" "blood" "the devil" were in a gothic font (Gothic Lullaby), and colored in red. Other key words like "reckoning" and "the league" are in a bigger, thicker font (Distorted and Scratchy), also colored in red.  

4. Final image, with the colored words and image in the background. I made the picture a bit darker so the text stands out more.

Kinetic typography, inspired by Heebok Lee and done by following a tutorial.

testing t shirt designs

ideas for shirts

Mood board for t-shirt

1. First cut out of Bane. Tested coloring, filters and a couple of fonts on this one. I ended up using  the fonts, but changed the image. I needed something with a clearer silhouette.
2.  4 T-shirt examples I found for inspiration, all of the same character.
3. Swatches. Ended up using reds instead of blues.

Hand-made font I made on the iPad
very fun and quick process, the "O"'s and the "Q"'s have little feathers

fuzzy letter W, done in photoshop with brushes
the different colours make it more realistic, also went over with dodge tool to add some shadows

Pin and Thread typography

Pins and string on a piece of card. While the first one is readable, which is surprising, but it looks inconsistent. I could try adding more details and uppercase/lowercase letters next time.

The second picture I tried to make a cat. Same as the first, I need to add some details like whiskers.

Foodography

People like to eat meat with ketchup so I thought it'd  be interesting to write BBQ.

I've never tried canned alphabet soup but it's probably delicious.











And the spaghetti "Mamma Mia" was an obvious choice.

In class we looked at the works of Ed Ruscha:

 Ed's pieces are made with oil on canvas, but you wouldn't know that at first glance. They're very detailed and almost photo realistic.

review

1. Which materials and techniques have you experimented with during the typography project? 

I experimented with a range of materials, traditional and digital. Traditionally, I used watercolor, markers, colored pencils, pastels and acrylic paints. digitally I used photoshop and illustrator. I've also used ipad apps like fontmaker and fontsruckt.

2. Have you explored and developed your ideas imaginatively? How have you demonstrated this? (give examples, link to posts or include images) 

I've developed my ideas through experimentation. For my final piece I did a lot of preparatory work, digitally and traditionally. I drew the character in different poses and made a list of words and quotes that he says in the film.

3. Have you research a diverse range of artwork and completed this on your blog? who have you analysed? is you analysis in-depth? (again give examples and link to posts) 

I've researched and analyzed my own work and the work of other artists. My Oscar Wilson analysis is in-depth, because he relates most to my final piece. Oscar Wilson: Calligram analysis

Digital VS. Hand Drawn

4. Have you explored a range of ideas around the theme of 'Sayings and Expressions' within your experiments? 

What are they? How have they informed your ideas?

I have several experiments around sayings and expressions. I've done typography with food and objects. I've never done object typography before so it was fun, but it didn't influence my calligram that much.

Object Typography

Food Typography
The sayings that are used for both projects are related to the object themselves. 

5. Have you refined / developed your outcomes through experimentation? How? 

We start a lot of classes with brainstorming and creating mind maps for what we want to create. After having a list of ideas to chose from, we move on to the sketching. Finally, we pick the most successful piece and develop it further. To develop an idea I do a couple of experiments related to it, digitally and traditionally. Then I pick the best experiment and develop it further and so on.

6. Have you annotated, in detail, your experiments and developments on your blog and used this information to help you improve? 

A couple examples of annotated work: 

Pins and String typography

Digital VS. Hand Drawn

By annotating I'm recording my thoughts and it's helping me if I want to replicate the picture later. It's also helped me stay more organized.

7. Which techniques / experiments have been most successful? Why?

I prefer digital to traditional because I have more experience with it and it's much more versatile. My photoshop experiments are most successful and I made my completely digitally. My favorite experiment so far is probably the calligram. You can be very creative with it, make it less or more readable or colorful, but it'll still convey a message and spark interest.  

8. Which techniques / experiments have been least successful? Why?

The lest successful examples are the cut outs I did, because I didn't have a sharp knife and the letters came out wrinkled and a bit crooked.

9. Which techniques / experiments will you be developing further for your final outcome? Why? 

For my final outcome I will be doing heat press. I really liked experimenting with it and the calligram that I've prepared will look best heat pressed. 

10. What else can you do to further develop the techniques / experiments you want to use for your final outcome? 

Make different mood boards and collect different t-shirts as reference.