FINAL PIECE

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So I've began to develop my ideas for my final piece which I have decided to design a series of posters reflecting my personal relationships with the people of Manchester. Each portrait has an outline of either red or blue, as black would have been too overpowering and would have been an extreme contrast onto pastel paper. Furthermore, I have applied these colours to make the overall image brighter as posters are created to capture the attention of their audience and so that the viewer can identify the sex of each person. 

During my personal Photoshop sessions, I experimented with different compositions after scanning all my portraits onto computer and I then changed the opacity of the faces so that when I layered the images, outlines from other drawings could be seen from underneath.

I contemplated having my portraits in various sizes so that the viewer would have to look more carefully at each individual face. 

These poster ideas above are other experimental/developing pieces in which I have manipulated and exploited in several ways. I will now compare the layouts to see which will be most appropriate for my final outcome. As I have previously used one of the drawings for the UNIT X exhibition on my postcard, I am torn between the decision of using the postcard illustration in my final poster so that the two link together or if I should generate something entirely fresh and new.

The portraits I have sketched have been used to frame the poster so that I can incorporate Mancunian slang/slogans into the centre. These Mancunian quotations will be taken from my book of little quotes that I have created from when I have personally heard people in Manchester say silly/strange things in public. I'm hoping that by using these quotations this will combine my traditional drawing methods with contemporary and modern, graphic art and illustraton typography.

Above: Larger layout of poster - possibility. 

I have continued to develop my ideas and experiment on Photoshop by layering backgrounds and typography to create the poster I desire. As the city of Manchester is vastly growing economically, creatives are drawn to its core which is an exhilarating experience for the striving artists of Manchester. We are given great opportunities to collaborate with like-minded people; the people of Manchester and share intuitive ideas whilst producing masterpieces of all genres. Furthermore, as our cultural scene is blossoming, Manchester is transforming into an dangerously exciting urban territory which is why I am incorporating graffiti, woodblock print and bold features to make my poster look gritty yet vibrant. These elements will reflect how I personally see the city and its people.

   

Layers upon layers. My layering method represents the transience  of people and captured images/moments in time. Architecture in Manchester can be used as a symbol to represent the places of the city which is why I have used a building that is situated in Piccadilly Gardens as a background my poster.

Applying the woodblock print typography to one of the designs was an experimentation that would highlight the whereabouts of the building and the people, which links together the piece as a whole. In my opinion, I believe that by using all of the components together that the overall layout appears to be fussy and unorganised and therefore I will continue to improve and enhance my ideas.

Though the above design is quite different to my previous developing ideas, I think that the patterns and textures that the Parish map conveys from underneath the faces of the Manchester are effective and enticing yet understated and ultra-fine due to the chosen pastel colours.

FINAL DESIGN 

Sketches

Here are some of my sketches that I will develop into my final poster design on Photoshop. I shall use a combination of coloured pencils and digital techniques to create the poster. I really loved using white ink/gel pens and POSCA pens on top of pastel coloured paper as they highlight the highest points on my drawing which unintentionally creates shadows. I do think that I should have initially used black fine liners for the main outline as pencil is not as bold and therefore isn't the right medium to be creating a graphic-style image. 

I added these extra lines around my portraits to represents urban art in Manchester found around the Northern Quarter. These lines remind me of graffiti art I have seen within the NorthernQuarter.

I've scanned in my drawings and slightly edited them to make them brighter for when I use them in Photoshop. This time round I have made sure that each drawing has a bold outline so that I will find them easier to manipulate on Photoshop. The females have been drawn in red pencils and the males have been drawn in blue - this is because I think it will be a good contrast when lines overlap on my final poster. I have not gone into too much detail with these particular pieces because I wanted them to look hand drawn and slightly rough and textured to reflect the nature of people in the city of Manchester. The shading is a little harsh and not hyper-realistic but I like this because it looks like a drawing rather than a photograph.

 

By leaving my subject matter's hair blank and not emphasizing it by applying detail, I have thought ahead and have allowed myself to create blank spaces when overlapping my drawings for the final piece. If my drawings had no blank spaces, then they would look utterly chaotic and the viewer would not be able to differentiate them when they have been layered on top of each other in Photoshop. I have prepared them for layering.

Self Reflection & Conclusion

 So Today I have analysed all the sketches I have done within my sketch books and collected all the data from the different artists I have researched for this project to create my final outcome for UNIT X. I'd like to create a poster related to the people in Manchester; suggesting that even though we are from different backgrounds and originate from different parts of the world that we are one as a community - and without the people in Manchester, Manchester as city would not be how it is today.

Throughout this project I have explored my personal relationships with individuals in Manchester and how we connect to the city and to each other. Whilst progressing through my work, I have kept the titled theme in mind : 6 DEGREES OF SEPARATION. I found that the Easter 6x6 project was a way for me to start drawing and experimenting with portraits as I was finding it difficult drawing my subject matter - people in spaces - due to anxiety whilst drawing in public areas. A while after I began to draw people in Manchester (whilst sat among complete strangers) , I began to feel confident drawing figures which then made me move onto developing and focusing on the personal profiles of individuals in Manchester.

Experimenting using different techniques to portray my chosen people of Manchester.

 These line drawings were drawn whilst I was sat in The Arndale Shopping Centre in Manchester.

If I were to be honest, within the first few weeks of UNIT X I was not sure in which direction I wanted to go in. I had so many ideas for this project that they clouded my mind and were generally too large to focus on. However, eventually after exploring the ideas of migration, different forms of portraiture, transience and overlapping stills of moments in time, I focused on my personal relationship with the people of Manchester - why I found them interesting - what interesting/bizarre thoughts and ideas they had - and have tried to translate this language into illustrations.

Throughout UNIT X I have been inspired by various Artists, Photographers and Illustrators. 
Nathaniel Russell - because of his contemporary insight into the illustration world and his minimalist line drawings that convey an array of emotions and traits of his characters. 
Sophie Henson - for her contrasting use of font and language and simple line drawings.

UNIT X EXHIBITION

Last night (Thursday 14th) was the official opening night of our UNIT X Exhibition in Federation House, Manchester! It was an amazing experience to see different exhibitions from other creative students as they displayed diverse ways of thinking and interesting ideas. To my surprise, the 6 floored building was overflowing with visitors who had come from all areas to see the Exhibition (and to drink a free glass of wine!). Overall, it was incredibly insightful to see the other exhibitions from Filmmakers, 3D designers, Fine Artists, Graphic Designers, Textile and Fashion Makers etc because it was intriguing to see how others use the city as a tool to produce their individual pieces.

I particularly liked the idea behind 'The Giant Bear' Installation on the Fine Art floor which had a label stating 'DRAW YOUR WORST' and a variation of coloured pens for which the visitors were allowed to use. Not only was it great fun because it was an interactive piece of art (which meant everyone wanted to get involved) but it also revealed a darker side to the public. They were essentially challenged to draw the crudest of things that first came to mind and the poor bear eventually got covered in horrific ideals. The piece displayed the working minds of local people through their personal drawings and quotations which also suggested how people generally treat other things that are given to them. Can we be trusted with the nice things that are given to us? Is it a bit of harmless humour to draw a Nazi Swastika on the bear's forehead? Is Manchester filled with relentless people? These were the sort of underlying questions I was asking to myself when looking at the Giant Doodle-Bear. 

It would have been interesting if the artists had collected data and created a tally showing different variables such as; age groups, ethnicity, class etc. to show what types of people were getting involved in 'The Giant Bear' Exhibition piece. If I were to assume an age group of the participants after examining The Giant Bear I would definitely have to say that the majority of people involved would have been aged 17-24. This is because of the inappropriate language and images that were drawn on the bear which were childish and immature, some of who would have found very amusing. Everyone to their own haha! Nevertheless it was nice to see the public get involved in an Fine Art exhibition piece.

Here are some photographs of the Illustration and Graphic Postcards from the first night at the Exhibition. I loved the layout of our exhibition piece - simple yet effective! Thanks Everyone and Ian haha!

Our Illustration and Graphic Design exhibition piece was tucked away from the Film and Photography exhibits, nevertheless, the area was crowded for the majority of the first opening night.

I was really impressed at how the Graphic and Illustration postcards were individually unique and equally diverse yet together they're composition and colour scheme complemented each other dramatically. In the right lighting the postcards looked professional and pristine  which ultimately shocked me as I had my doubts! 

I took the time to speak to some of The Manchester Metropolitan film students to see if they could spark any new thoughts and ideas in my mind. 

Rowan Thornhill, a first year film student, said that he found the exhibition fun especially putting the whole exhibition together. His favourite parts about making his film was that he was incredibly inspired and influenced by Andy Warhol's screen printing techniques and furthermore, he also enjoyed engineering the sound as it was absrtact and chaotic to complement his graphic imagery on screen.

Above: Rebecca Chan, 3D Design

*Images and typography combined*

An eerie installation, animation and film piece.

Fine Art 'Rabbits Head'

This student had made the mask from various materials and then painted it in red gloss to suggest that the muscles of the Rabbit's head were revealed. Unfortunately, I did not take photographs of this artists photography work where their model was wearing the rabbits head in various positions.

Artist Research & Development

Ler Huang

Taiwan based artist Ler Huang creates experimental drawings with using different coloured ballpoint pens. Her chosen subject matter is usually fashion illustration and female portraiture. Her art focuses on transitions in subjects and geometry usage in her compositions. The illustrated figures are quite realistic and I like how she uses an array of colour from her colour pallette. This elements would be useful to incorporate into my own drawings as I think it displays a sense of overlapping in time and transience. 

Ler huang's work relates to my current project theme: Portraiture and Transience within Manchester. In the above illustration of hers, she has used the same image but duplicated it and transformed the size 3 times. The alignment of these drawings are positioned so that they are directly ontop of each other, just at different scales. I know this because I've noticed that the 'left' neck line emerges into one as if Huang used this place as her starting point to draw.

The colours she has used separates each portrait which adds to the idea over overlaying drawing and colour. 

Above is a 15 minute quick sketch of mine, using the same techniques as Ler Huang. By doing this process of  transitions of my subject matter, I've gained an awareness on how Ler Huang's overall pieces are executed. Although I have done this sketch quickly for practice, (unlike Huang's drawings that have been rendered with time and precision) I am quite pleased with using this technique and would like to develop my illustrations further. I feel that the roughness of my sketch portrays the individual's personal qualities which reflects on how I see the people in Manchester. 

However, i'd like to try and draw faces in different overlapping compositions as I deliberately drew the eyes on this piece separated apart from each other so that the viewer could make a connection to the image. The eyes are an important part of portraiture so I wonder if I were to overlap the eyes, would it change the dyanmics of the drawing? If I were to improve my technique, I would spend more time on each sketch to achieve softer lines and marks, blended tonality and exquisite detail. Though as I mentioned before, I do like the rough lines as it suggests what my character is like as an individual and how I see people in Manchester in relation to their city.

Above: Another green pencil and black pencil portrait, to add to my collect of Mancunian portraits.

I met this lady, Gabby Mottershead, and I found her particularly interesting because she does a lot of charity work for her community and the people in Manchester. She is also very passionate about politics and regularly supports children in need and people with breast cancer. Gabby supports Green Party so it made sense to draw her in a lovely shade of green haha! Her abode is situated in the heart of Urmston, Manchester. I am going to ask each person that I draw why they love Manchester and collect all the information in a little booklet.

Ian Whadcock suggested that my illustrations might look a little more 'crisp' if I were to draw separate portraits and them layer them in Photoshop. "Ah" I said. Subconsciously I was aware that this infact would make more sense than drawing several overlapping portraits on one piece of paper. However, my underlying fear of Photoshop had prevented me from attempting to create any digital work during previous weeks. But here I am and it is time to learn something new.

Below are my individual portraits of people from Manchester which I will then do on to develop in Photoshop.

Rowan Thornhill: Student and Filmmaker in Manchester. Originally from York.

"Manchester has great universities and Media City is my ideal place of work as I'd like to pursue a career in the Film Industry."

Amie Benson: Works in a Beauty Salon in South Manchester.

"Manchester is home to one of the best shopping centres in the UK: The Trafford Centre. Shopping, fashion and beauty is my life and without all these wonderful places and shops in Manchester, I think I'd have to move somewhere else!"

  

Michael Lea: IT Technician at Turton School in North Manchester.

"Pubs, Clubs and great people."

Liam Mottershead: Law Graduate and part-time gadget man in Manchester.

"Everyone here loves music, celebrating or football. Or all three like me!"

 

Thanks to James Condon, he has taught me the most simple yet useful thing I could have ever learnt for my current project, which is how to overlay several images on Photoshop.

When it comes to Photoshop, I am pretty damn terrible, there is no denying that. Though I have learnt more Photoshop techniques within these past few weeks than I have within the whole year! Horraayy!!

Below are some of my first attempts to use Photoshop. Impressive.

As you can see here i've layered two individual sketches on Photoshop. I chose contrasting colours so that viewers can differentiate the two portraits. However, I am not so keen on the composition of my first attempt at layering portraits as the female portrait does not completely fit into the frame.

For a first attempt I am aware it is not perfect, however, in terms of delicate, soft lines and light tonality I am heading in the right direction. I'd like to achieve a well-blended transience illustration between two or more people and then to incorporate other ideas such as; people's personal thoughts and opinions/ funny things I hear during work.

My final outcome shall portray my personal relationships with the working people of Manchester.

Instead of using two different portraits, I decided to play around on Photoshop with the same image.

I've considered researching into 3D illustrations (3 Dimensional drawings on paper), though as this Unit is progressing, I am unsure that I will be able to incorporate the idea into my final outcome. However, I shall look into it as it is a technique that intrigues me.

I would have preferred to use this piece as my postcard for the unit X exhibition at Federation House as I think it is more refined than the previous postcard I have displayed on my blog. Here you can see that unlike my overlapped drawing of transitions, the eyes and faces are closer together which creates a psychedelic, repeated pattern of my original portrait. 

CREATING 3D RED/CYAN ANAGLYPH DRAWINGS

Because I am looking at the transience between people and myself in Manchester, I thought it'd be an interesting idea to learn how to create a hand drawn anaglyphs as I like how viewers would have to interact with my work by wearing handmade 3D glasses. Furthermore, the idea of 3 dimensional images would relate/link in with my overlapped drawings.

 Above is a 3D style illustration by an underground artist (Name unknown)which is inspiring me to think of different options I could undertake. 

 Here is one of my first attempts on Photoshop. I used a lasso tool to cut off the excess image on my portraits, however this was not a good approach as you can see because the portrait was not cut out along the outline.

Elisa Mazzone

Elisa Mazzone is a contemporary Illustrator who dances around a whimsical line between adulthood and childhood playtime. She is the creator of beautiful characters which communicate through their colour, shape, flowing line and embellishment. Born and raised in Austalia, her avid interest in all things beautiful grew and eventually she became the successor she is today. Mazzone has spent years working with people to create unique portraits and illustrations, weaving mediums together with allegorical needle and thread. Since her studio is now based in London, her work has enchanted audiences throughout the world, featuring in various exhibitions and working with well known clients such as; Company, Loreal, Amazon and many more. 

White Paint works well on natural coloured paper.

Pastel colours and tones are used by Elisa Mazzone throughout some of her exhibition pieces. She uses these pastel colours as a backdrop for her portraits so that her concentrated portraits are highlighted by being a lighter colour or essentially they have been left blank. These portraits are then layered with watercolours to add detail and texture to the garments that her subjects are wearing.

  Montse Bernal

Montse Bernal's portraits have graced the pages of salient magazines such as; The New Yorker, The Telegraph, Psychologies (UK) and many other significant spreads across the globe. She is one of my all time favourite Illustrators; overlapping mediums to create beautiful textures and patterns, she captivates viewers with her stunning portraits.

She was born in 1976 in Barcelona and now lives and works in Turin.

I've chosen Bernal's portraits as apart of my research because not only are do her illustrations possess contemporary qualities but like Elisa Mazzone, she too overlays materials such as watercolour, wool, thread, pencil, pen and digital edits which is relevant to my work.

Above: Commission created with pencil and weaving cotton through paper.

Above: Bernal's expressive portrait of Frida Kahlo

I love the intensity of the feminine colours used for this portrait because it reflects on Frida Kahlo's personality and portrays a strong, bold image. I like how Bernal has used Frida Kahlo's face as a focal point and the incredible realistic detail to convey a beautiful portrait. Monste has used small textured marks to suggest the texture of the material being worn by Frida Kahlo - I also like the way she has used white/blank spaces as a colour to highlight sections of the portrait as this increases the depth of the drawing making it hyper-realistic yet abstract at the same time.

Once again, Bernal has stitched and embroidered her drawing which complements the colours of Frida Kahlo's gown and is not overpowering the rest of the image. She has created a subtle contrast between abstract mark making and highly detailed shading which complement each other and makes a fantastic, contemporary sketch.

This illustration by Monste Bernal above relates to my current theme of overlaying materials and portraits to express captured moments in time.

The image above could be a reference to layout in the future when creating my final piece. I like the natural hue and realistic chiaroscuro qualities of the portraits. 

John Stezaker

(1949-Present)

Stezaker is an English conceptual artist who attended the Slade School of Art in London, Graduating in Fine Art in 1973. His work is surreal and is often made by layering photographs and collaging pre-existing images such as postcards and film stills. Turning post-modern images into Pop Art/ popular culture. Stezaker is a major influence on the young British Art Movement.

Above: 'Old Mask IV' (2006)

(24.5 x 19.5cm)

I love how the arches of the building look like the open windows through the eyes into the soul. The collage suggests secrecy and possesses a hint of mystery as the person behind the photograph cannot be identified. The contrast of monochrome/greyscale tones and sepia tones creates a focal point and also highlights that the two photographs are separate pieces of art, vintage photographs. 

Claire Pestaille

Claire Pestaille's work explores historical and contemporary iconography, examining the construction of femininity through the disruption of photographic imagery. Other-worldly and intricately delicate, her work portrays both beauty and horror, glamour and subversion. The key material for her work includes portraiture from the Golden Age of Hollywood incorporating film stills along with contemporary and vintage photography. These snapshot images create a sense of nostalgia and identity which are transformed and re-imagined through the act of photographic collage and painting. Pestaille creates her masterpieces by deconstructing an existing image and pairing it with another. Pestaille adopts a variety of methods in order to produce her work, which frequently possesses in-depth psychological qualities. Her work questions ideas behind the image and the viewer's relationship to it, offering an alternative way of seeing and understanding the collective memory of images that are apart our popular culture.

Pestaille lives and works in London, UK. She graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2000 and has since exhibited internationally. Her work is in private collections such as; The Saatchi Collection, Project New Art Netherlands and Soho House.

Physical collages - not digitally corrected.

Below I have manipulated my own photography in Photoshop to recreate whole new images entirely which exudes separate moments in time.