FIRST PRINT

WHAT WENT WELL?

• I'm so so so happy with how my print has turned out! I'm really proud of myself for attempting something thats seemingly very digital for me such as the half tone but I feel like it's turned out so well! The mix of the sketchy and very handmade and rendered style lines mixed with the digital style halftone, in my opinion works so well!
• I'm so pleased with the colour choice. I feel like the darker green/blue works as a representation for nature and that darker enchanted elements of my prints that I wanted to portray and the lighter pink tone is a good indicator of the idea of new life and that maternal instinct that I wanted to allow the viewer to see within this particular design.
• The mark making and line qualities turned out really well, I was curious about how these would turn out in screen print but I really like the quality that the coloured ink gives them. I'm going to try and use these same techniques with in all my prints to not only make them all correlate but also to use this new found technique that I think looks EFFECTIVE!!

WHAT COULD OF GONE BETTER?

• Within the actual process of screen printing itself, I struggled with the alignment of the prints, there's a lot of different details within the design so I found it difficult to line up every leave, mark or flower whilst still considering where the other are.
• I feel like the drawing of the baby itself could of been a bit better, maybe I'm just being picky now but I feel like I could of considered this more and had more practice when it came to drawing the images for the final design.
• Maybe the design could of had more imagery of nature with in it, sometimes I find it looks a little bare in areas, or maybe this is just me wanting to overcomplicate all of my work, perhaps the subtle hint of overcrowding of floral elements works well, I do quite like the fact that it's somewhat hinted in areas, for example the leaves almost linking up over the babies head suggests that idea of being surrounded by natural elements.

NEXT STEPS

• My next steps is to begin to consider how this design could work alongside another 4 prints and how I could make them all link and work with eachother without being TOO visually similar. 
• I'd quite like to scan my print in and tidy up the extra marks and lines that were print mistakes and see how I can make this an even more refined and finished design. I'd really like to make a zine of some kind alongside all of the other prints when I'm finished so this is quite an exciting concept for me.
• My immediate next step is to start roughing for the next design!!

I completed a few experiments on different types of paper, I particularly liked the ones on yellow stock, I really like how the yellow seems to bring out the vibrancy of the other colours in the design.

Despite liking these experiments, I feel like the prints that I did on the cream coloured stock really bring out the colours in the way that I wanted them to be perceived and also isn't as harsh and unforgiving and the white stock.

FIRST PRINT - COLOUR EXPERIMENTS

 COLOUR EXPERIMENTS

After creating my design, I had to think about colour and what inks I could use to make my print the most effective. I considered how effective the colours might be in different tones aswell as colours.

I dont want to use the SAME colours for all prints, i feel like this would be too repetitive as they all follow a similar nature theme as it is.

I'm considering the mustard and turquoise shades, I feel like they sit together well and create the mood that im intending for my prints! Although, I think I should experiment with the pinks aswell whilst in the print room, as I've found that when putting my colour theories to the test they never come out as EXPECTED!!

As I've said before I want my work for the whole about the author brief to have a dark feeling associated with it but in a light an enchanting way.

EXPECTATIONS

• Successful colour explorations. I'm really excited to finally get round to printing a more refined screen print. I know that this design works as I've previously experimented with a smaller version in the screen printing workshop, however, I've added elements ands re considered what elements worked and which didn't so I'm excited to see how this will turn out.
• I'm looking forward to seeing this print on a larger scale, I feel like in the a3 format, I'll be able to see the details of the print in a more effective way.
• Due to my work being quite narrative based, I feel like it will be more effective and allow the narrative to come across more clearly on a bigger scale.

FINDING NEW BRIEFS!

QWERTEE

• I discovered this brief and I really feel like it's more fitting to my skill set over some others that I've previously been interested in doing, I think the idea of having my work printed on a tshirt to potentially be sold is such an exciting concept.
• I would have to consider my designs and think about how I could make them powerful and graphic, eye catching and quirky in order for people to want to WEAR them.
• I might consider looking over my summer work as I feel like over summer, I was able to make work for myself and in some ways, this is when my most creative side comes out!
  

FUMETTO COMIX

• I've found this brief which I think would definetly enhance my practice as an illustrator. I've been discussing in PPP how I often struggle with the idea of sequential images, so I feel like this brief is the PERFECT chance for me to improve in that area of my practice!
• It will be a struggle but I think it will be an exciting opportunity to discover a new community of illustrators and learn how comics and narrative works together.
• It doesnt seem like an extensive amount of work so compared to some of the YCN briefs, I feel like I would be able to handle the work load more easily!
  

UNTITLED 153 BY CINDY SHERMAN

This photograph by Cindy Sherman explores similar colours and themes to the ones that I feel Angela Carter also looks at within her writing. 

• The use of nature and femininity. The idea of giving up hope yet still living, that same visceral feeling of strength through femininity. 
• I really like the pink tones of the face with the darker greens and blues of the surroundings. This is the exact feelings that i would like to re create within my prints. It would be interesting to explore similar themes to this. 
• The details in the ground and the surrounding nature is something that I'd like to explore and the texture of the damp ground and clothing.

Beautiful!!

"You can be terrified and screaming and hiding your eyes, but you’re laughing, the worse it is, because it’s just so over the top and cathartic to confront these things that are really disturbing. It’s okay because they’re fakes. It’s all set up. It’s functioning like a fairytale."

-Cindy Sherman

SCREENPRINT WORKSHOP

Prior to the screen printing workshop I was worried about how I would use this method to its most potential. I've had a small amount of experience with screen printing and I've always struggled to understand the best way to use techniques such as overlay, gradients and effective colours and shapes. 

I remember at the end of first year I said that I'd like to improve and be confident by using screen printing so before the workshop I spent a long time designing for this workshop.

Thankfully, I had already had some previous experience with this same design due to the lino and mono print workshops being before this one, so I had a small understanding of what worked and what didn't in terms of layout and the actual images used in the design itself. Due to this, I was able to come up with a fairly simple (simple in terms of MY way of working) design that I was confident would print well.

I really tried to use the half tone and colours in the most effective way. A lot of my screen prints in the past have just ended up looking like line drawings, which, in my opinion, completely takes away from the point of using the method of screen printing. 

MY FINAL EXPERIMENTAL SCREENPRINT

WHAT WENT WELL?

• I'm actually really really pleased with how my screen print turned out!! I think it was really the composition and overall design of the print that made it so successful in my eyes. The use of overlay in the design including the line art itself and also the colours makes it a really interesting and intricate design.
• I used a small amount of half tone, just to experiment with the idea of it and see how it could work in different ways across the print. I think it's worked really well, it adds a different element of detail without overpowering and overcomplicating the design.
• I do quite like the colour choice, I chose the green to signify the natural aspect and the red represents the idea of fertility, however this is something I think I might need to work on if I'm do to this print again.

WHAT COULD OF GONE BETTER?

• As I've said, the colour choice could have gone slightly better, I feel like it might represent the idea of blood or danger which isn't what I want to portray in my design at all!! I also think that I went a bit far with the coloration of the baby in the green. I feel like it looks slightly odd and maybe even supernatural compared to the plants and flora surrounding it. I might have to work on this if I take it forward to a final design. Perhaps I could consider simplifying my use of colour without having to take away from the use of overlaying that I've used. 
• This was an A4 piece and I feel like on the paper it feels a bit cramped, I would like to experiment with this design on a larger scale so that the design can breath and the viewer had a chance to explore different elements of the design without being rushed around the detail. It's hard to explain, but I know what I mean, hopefully that makes sense. 

I had so much fun screen printing, I was so happy with how my designs were coming out, I really enjoyed experimenting with the line art to see what different effects i could get out of it. These doubled prints give an almost psychedelic look to them, which although, to me, looks visually interesting, it certainly doesn't give the right message or meaning to my prints that I have wanted to create.

Initially, my design had a green border around it, I did like this concept as it gave a handmade look to it, not taking away from the more refined detail in the print, but I feel like it cramped the design even more, restricting it to the barriers of the border, and especially as I'm exploring nature and an overgrown environment it almost seems contradictory to add this element of a border!!

FLOWER STUDIES

After deciding that I wanted each of my designs to include a natural element, including flora and other natural elements such as toadstools and leaves, I thought I should begin to experiment different ways that I could create the images including the use of different line qualities and mark making techniques. 

• I'm interested to see how the different marks and line qualities will come out in the printing methods, particularly within screen printing. Screenprinting is a often a very flat print method so I'm intrigued to find out how my marks and lines that I frequently tend to use in my work will transfer to that method.
• I would also like to go back to mono printing and monotype as a method of creating floral imagery, I think this would be really interesting in terms of transferring my skills onto different ways of image creating.

Before any print making I decided to illustrate floral images from different nature encyclopaedias that I took out from the library. I found this method of repeatedly drawing these images really helpful in developing my way of creating images in a way that isn't too exact and simple. Although a basic medium, I used a felt tip pen in order to get different line qualities in a quick, simple and effective way as opposed to overthinking the marks that I was making.

Following on from this I used tracing paper and went over the different line qualities in order to scan them in and begin to work with them for my positives in screen print.

I'm really excited to learn how different marks look when screen printing and also how the more detailed floral images work alongside the more simple larger images that I have been working with a lot such as the baby and female bods.

I really like how these scans of all of my floral drawings turned out. Despite slightly unrelated to my printing, I think the collage of drawings looks really effective all together. I did quick experiments with different backgrounds and words to see how they would look as design images.

Perhaps I could work with images and colours like this in the future, i really like the handmade grainy feel that scanning tracing paper produces and it's something that I'd like to explore within my image making. 

NEXT STEPS

• My next steps are to begin designing for my printing, first of all for the screen print workshop and hopefully, follow on from that for the final designs.
• I'm really happy with how these flower explorations have turned out and I feel like they're going to be really successful when coming round to creating my prints!

RESPONSIVE REVIEW

Briefs selected:

• YCN GREETING CARDS
• SECRET 7
• ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY
• ADULT FICTION COVER

Is the rationale sound?

• extensive rationale exploring different skills and research areas
• challenging myself
• good range of creative briefs
• secret 7 - good to be pushing myself to explore new methods of working

What technical considerations are there?

• Using different techniques such as screenprinting, digital aspects and other print methods.
• Fitting my greeting card breif within the specifications and guidelines and dimensions.
• Considering the tastes of the judges.

What time considerations are there?

• Planning around studio practice and cop
• Using timetables well to complete my work and briefs before the deadlines.
• Could do briefs like secret 7 fairly quickly
• Balancing all five briefs
• Having time to finish all briefs to a good standard, ready to enter at proffesional standards.
• DEADLINES!!!

 Is the balance of briefs appropriate?

• Maybe slightly too ambitious to have two large briefs alongside smaller ones
• Illustration friday might be difficult to keep up with alongside studio practice, espeically if im planning to be ambitious with it and doing it every week!!

OWN CONCLUSION 
Overall, I agree with alot of the considerations that my group suggested. Looking again at my rationale, I do think it's maybe TOO ambitious to have alot of breifs to complete alongside all my other work. I'd like to complete the work and briefs to a very very high standard and I just dont think I'd be able to do this alongside other work.
Also, thinking about all the briefs I've chosen I just dont think i'm as excited as i should be about alot of them! Maybe I should try and find some new smaller maybe more independent breifs to work on?

Study Task 3 - Three Illustrators using Print Processes

MARK HERALD - Lino Cuts

• Mark Herald uses a mixture of lino and silk screen prints in order to create his prints. In this particular 'Goose' print he has used a mixture of four colours to print, with elements of overlay in order to create a more tones and shades adding to the interesting, detailed nature of his work.
• This use of almost expressive colour within his prints creates and interesting and almost handmade collage effect within his prints, despite the physical process of lino seeming more controlled.  
• I really like the mark making process that Herald uses within his prints, the swift lines and marks is something that I also try to create in my own practice to add a sense of movement and detail and it's encouraging to see that this can be translated into other print processes such as lino.
• The prints are sold individually but he also has a number of books that present his print works within stories and children's books. The detail and collage nature of his work really plays well alongside the handmade and in some way 'folk art' style within his practice.
• I would really like to experiment with a similar method of working. I won't be able to be AS experimental with the colours due to restrictions, however, it would be interesting to take a similar approach in terms of the collage aspect. 

BEN RIDER - Screen Prints

• Ben Rider has a very experimental approach to screen printing. I'm fascinated by the busy, colourful overlays and interesting combination of refined type with the experimental hand made text mixed with the illustrations and half tone photographs. The collage aspect of his work really works and i can't stop exploring his work and discovering different aspects of the print.
• Although I LOVE the aesthetic of Ben Rider's prints, I find that my work is often quite simple in comparison, i strive to have my work like this, but it's really difficult for me to get my head around overlaying a lot of images in this particular way. 
• Due to this being a brief working with a lot of narrative and learning about the different print methods, it may be the wrong brief to go completely off track in terms of my way of working. I know for a fact that I really want to experiment a lot more with screen print in this particular nature, but with time restrictions i don't think i would be able achieve this for this brief! However, that doesn't mean I can't take inspiration from his work. The use of half tone is something that I want to learn the technique of and Ben Rider uses this is a really interesting way.
• His prints are sold individually or as illustrations for posters which is something that I have also been interested in using my work for!

SONNENZIMER - NICK BUTCHER/TODD IRWIN/JORDAN MARTINS - Screen Prints

• I discovered this collection of print artists on the website 'people of print',  I really enjoy the strong use of typography alongside the very hand rendered illustrations and mark making using the screen print medium. I'm intrigued by the way the artists have used screen print to print out a hand made quality such as the brushstrokes and pencil marks. This is such an interesting technique, it would be really intriguing to scan in these marks of my own to see if i can too, create this similar effect.
• I really like the simple colours used in these prints, again I didn't have colour restrictions within my work then I would be able to consider aspects such as this, but never the less, I still want to explore what different colours can change the viserol feelings and emotions that the prints can give.
• I also like the use of text, this could be something potentially really interesting to use in my work, seeing as I'm looking at angela carter, it would be really interesting to see how quotes from her poems and stories could intertwine my illustrations. 
• Again, these prints have been used for posters and sold as individual prints, the idea of creating work purely to sell as prints is something that really excites me, i definitely want to explore this method of creating to sell in more detail.

LINOCUTTING

Following on from the linocutting induction, I was so keen so get started with a more refined lino cut design! I loved the free aspect of the designing process and wanted to experiment further with how I could manipulate this aspect of the method of lino cutting. I really like the texture that it gives and I wanted to experiment to be able to see if the marks and texture that the method gives would work well alongside my work.

I decided to stay with the design of the baby, as before with mono printing, I've experimented with this design and I know that this is definitely something that i'd like to use for one of my final prints.

WHAT WENT WELL?

• I found  that with mono printing as a technique, its' a really effective way to explore the idea of composition and how this can be changed and experimented with in order to get a better understanding behind the meaning and message of the print.
• I liked being able to experiment so easily with colour but still being able to keep that hand rendered element of the printing technique. 
• I love the 'folksy' appearance of the lino printing method, I feel like it really represents the way of representing imgary that Im trying to create, this is a really positive thing to come out of experimenting with lino, i know that i really want to create this viserol feeling when people look at my work and I know that I now have the means of doing this. 

WHAT COULD OF GONE BETTER?

• I don't think I'm very happy with the 'messiness' of the lino prints. I know this is a main aspect of the printing technique, but i just don't know if I'm happy with how that effects the imagery that I'm trying to use. I find that my work is quite linear and specific and I don't think I'm happy enough to just let the bold shapes be as 'messy' as they are in this design.
• I would like to have a little more detail in my work and i don't think that lino printing allows me to do this in the style that I want it to be in. That's fine though, I'm really glad I've experimented and seen how my work could look in this way of working, but I'm glad i know that i don't want the main image of the prints to look like this in the final pieces. maybe i could experiment with combining a more refined printing method such as screen printing with this more hand rendered method. 

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE - VISCEROL FEELINGSS

I often listen to music whilst working, I feel like it brings out different feelings and emotions in my illustrations. Whilst making my zine and particularly now, with my designs for printed pictures, I've found that Florence and the Machine brings out similar emotions and inner feelings just as Carter's writing does. The same whimsical, enchanting and somewhat magical feeling! 
Florence and the Machine's album artwork is also similar to the natural imagery that I'd like to explore and include within my own practice.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN FLORENCE AND ANGELA CARTER

• The exploration of pain and suffering in positive lights
• Comparison between animals and humans
• Use of metaphors in lyrics and poems
• References to myths and legends

Although this doesn't directly link to my exploration of carters writing, I feel like its positive to have an image and basic idea of a theme and 'style' of work that I'd like to produce. 

And its definitely a positive thing to have the idea of a 'visceral' feeling connected to my work and be able to produce work myself that can also create this.

I'll make that my aim! To make my work own work create this whimsical enchanting emotion, I'll ask peers what feelings they receive when viewing my work.

I'll continue to explore similar work and music or arts in general that also provoke the same emotions as Carter does!

This song and music video in particular really reminds me of Carter's poetry book 'UNICORN' and the feelings envoked by them.

LINOCUTTING

Before the induction, I've never had the chance to use linocutting as a method. Its something that I've always been able to appreciate, I like the quality of the print method, the pure handmade texture of the marks when printing. The qualities that can be achieved if done in a certain way. I particularly like the rough texture of it, almost folk art style, similar to the general feeling that I'd like to create in my work and practice.
I found the process of cutting the lino quite enjoyable. It was interesting to be able to physically create the print on the block as opposed to before hand with positives for screen prints. I like to be able to physically hold my work, the idea that I've produced a physical object is very satisfying.

WHAT WENT WELL? 

• I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process of lino cutting. I liked being able to add small marks and lines to add detail and knowing that the ink won't overlay them, which is often a possibility in mono printing. It's a more specific way of working, which as I said after mono printing, is something that I prefer in my way of working. I suppose I say it's 'more specific' but then with practice anything could work the way that you intend, but for me, at this moment in time, I'm not practiced enough to use mono printing in this way!
• The prints are so CLEAN, this is something i sometimes struggle with, but also STRIVE for in my work. I liked the way that lino allows you to either work within the shape of the block or experiment with shapes but keep the same rough texture from the cut outs.

WHAT COULD OF GONE BETTER?

• I should of been more experimental in the induction. I used a simple design that didn't use the method to its full ability, I'm bored of me just using line work, i want to step out of my comfort zone! use tone, texture, shape! I WILL DO THIS. For this brief I'm going to FORCE myself to create in a way that I'm not used to!
• lino cutting is difficult if you want to include text with in the design due to the printing back to front. I was considering the possibility of using quotes within my work, so this would be difficult if I were to pursue this. I'll definitely experiment again to use more dramatic shapes and textures, but this is something i'll need to consider!

MONOPRINTING INDUCTION

Following my mono printing experiments, I went to the induction in the hope to discover new methods and ways of working that I had been missing out on! I had completely forgotten about monotype! I haven't really experimented much with monotype before because I feel like it was too 'messy' for my work last year, HOWEVER, now I've relaxed a bit with how my work should be produced, I was really excited to rediscover this method.

I began to consider what had gone wrong for me on the previous mono printing attempt and considered new way of working with colour and shape.

I started looking at a new design of hands holding an egg, representing the idea of life and maternity. I thought this more simple, block shape design would translate better in a mono print method..and i was right! I've found that mono printing often works better with simple shapes, sometimes the block cut outs arn't very effective and this has an impact on the finished print. so..

⟶SIMPLE SHAPES WORK BETTER FOR MONOPRINT⟵

 WHAT WENT WELL?

• My monotype experiments! I really enjoyed being able to add another element of ink over the top of the shape based mono prints. I know it's working with line again, but with monotype, I really enjoy the textures that I'm able to produce. I was thinking of so many possibilities with this printing method!
• The colours! My choice of colours worked a lot better this time round. I was conscious of the colours being overlaid so I feel like I was able to consider this well. Again, it's all just practice!

WHAT COULD OF GONE BETTER?

• I'm still struggling with the messy nature of this printing method. I do like the outcomes, but I'm just not really sure that it works well alongside my more detailed line drawings. This is something I'll have to consider. I need to think about if I actually still want to continue working in this way or to transform my way of making work.

NEXT STEPS

• My next steps will be to complete my workshops by attending the screen printing one and then begin to experiment and play with the methods, I need to start considering which method my designs and way of working will work with the best!

RESPONSIVE RATIONALE

I've tried to start to consider which briefs I would like to take part in, in order to enhance my practice as an illustrator.

YCN UK GREETINGS - The gretting card brief will allow me to explore a theme and develop images in order to communicate a message in an appealing and visually pleasing way. i'll need to consider how my work will look in a series of different gift dressings aswell 

ROALD DAHL LITERARY ESTATE - The Roald Dahl brief will challenege me to step away from my usual work and think about character, design and creating work that looks different to the iconic Quentine Blake illustrations. I havent worked in this area of illustration before so it will be an exciting challenge!

SECRET 7 - Secret 7 will be a fun and exciting challenge in order for me to create work and illustrations for a single purpose, it will need to be visually appealing and eye catching in order to stand out amongst the rest! This is definetly the breif I'm most eager and excited to start!

ADULT FICTION COVER - Penguin - To kill a mocking bird - The penguin brief will challenge me to consider layout, composition and graphic design, alongside my illustrations, it will be a challenge to make the cover stand out and communicate the story but through investigation, i feel like i could be successful.

Throughout all the briefs, I would like to test my anologue and digital skills. I need to use all of my knowledge and investigation skills in order to create effective designs that could potentially (and hopefully) WIN!!!

Changing from a BOOK to PRINTS

After alot of consideration, I've decided to change my way of working and am switching to making 5 prints!! 

I found that I was stressing about the layout of the book rather than the actual content itself. I really want my work to feel handmade and to be able to see all of the mistakes and effects that handmade printing process can give. I feel like I would have to make my book a digital one in order to overcome issues like the layout of it and I just feel like this compltely defeats the point of hand printing!

I'm considering making a zine or artbook of my prints at the end as something extra but until then, i'm making 5 prints!

I'm not too worried as I already have a few ideas to work with, it will just be about changing the size and compositioning of them to fit the new guidelines.