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.