Synesthesia

In the Visual Skills module, some of my peers worked on the article regarding synesthesia and this made me realise that I have it. I thought it was just having an overactive imagination, but no - it seems to be a thing! Throughout my life, whenever someone says a letter, a word or a number I see a colour. From what I can gather, it seems to be a reaction to my visual impairment where my 'mind's eye' creates responses for me to see beyond the visual. For example:

0 - Grey

1 - Yellow

2 - Green

3 - Blue

4 - Red

5 - Yellow

6 - Purple

7 - Green

8 - Purple

9 - Red

10 - White

Is this something I want to investigate further in future projects? For COP2 perhaps? Could it inspire future projects?

Student of the Year 2016

So tonight I won Student of the Year 2016 in the Specialist Institution Awards at Canal Mills, celebrating the achievements of students from Leeds College of Art, Leeds College of Music and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Am I crying while I write this blog post? Yes, I am!

I was very kindly nominated by former Student President and now SU team member, Emma Cook, and was made aware of my nomination last week. I was very thrilled to have been selected but thought nothing of it. We have so many talented students who excel in their specialisms and I was mostly looking forward to meeting them and finding out more about them as creatives.

However, in a strange turn of events - I seem to have won! Wow! I am just so honoured to have been selected and still can't quite believe I won. Having said that, it is such a symbol of all of the hard work I have put into my personal life over the past 4 years; coming to terms with and accepting my severe visual impairment, teaching myself to read Braille for the first time so I can read my mail, learning to pour liquids, chop vegetables and cook my own food safely, learning how to use a long cane for a better sense of mobility - eventually signing up for, being match to and training with my Guide Dog Tami learning routes around our local area and beyond. Then making the brave decision to go back into education, in a different city, and learn new skills and make friends for life on the Access to HE course. This is all only just a snapshot of the things I have undertaken, alongside creating illustrations for the RNIB as their Young Illustrator for 2014, completing projects for the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, UK Scouts magazine, Henshaws Society for Blind People, Action for Blind People, Foster Care Associates and Core Assets, speaking at both UK and European Parliament to help push for equal rights for blind people and volunteer for countless charities.

I'm so proud of everything I have achieved and feel so humbled to have had a wonderful introduction by our very own Principal, Simone, who is just fabulous and so supportive of me and Tami. I'm going to enjoy this moment for a little bit longer before heading to bed and going back to reality tomorrow!

Contextual Research: Collage Illustrators

Sara Finelli

Sara Finelli's work is really whimsical, quirky and full of childlike charm with a scrapbook-ish, lo-fi / DIY approach and aesthetic. There is really a sense of craftsmanship and the hand of the maker in her work. She chooses bright colours, bold patterns and shapes to create quirky characters with odd proportions and references to the past (Pinocchio, Punch and Judy, etc.) The is a mixture of visual devices at play including colour, texture, shape, line quality, collage and mark making - so she is a perfect example of visual language done well with success. I would like to be able to emulate the same enchantment that I experience when looking at her work!

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Luke Best

I discovered Luke for the first time through the collage powerpoint presentation and have fallen in love with his use of pattern, texture, colour and shape. The contrast of light and dark really pull me into his pieces and there is a careful consideration of his paper cut layers. I especially love the big, bold shapes, blocks of colour married with dry brush marks and patches of colour for texture and depth.

Study Task 4: Books

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Fiction
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Illustrated by Minalima

The Jungle Book is one of the most popular children's classics ever and this updated version really amplifies illustration and design as a companion to the story. One of the many successes of this version is the colour palette that reflects the vibrant culture of India; its' heat, spices and people. I also really like the interactive features including postcards, concertinas, spinning dials, fold-out maps and trifold illustrations. It adds participation from the young audience to get involved with the story beyond just reading and to enjoy the illustrations on a deeper, more functional level than just looking at them on a page. The recognisable title and front cover initially drew me to the book but it was the content that made me fall in love with it. For the last brief of the Visual Skills module, I was looking into negative images, limited colours and simplified motifs for my book cover and seeing these elements on a physical published book delighted me!

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Non-Fiction
Drawing The Curtain: The Cold War in Cartoons
by Sergei Khruschev and Timothy S. Benson

This isn't usually the style of illustrated book I would select, as I am not the biggest fan of cartoon-style drawings - especially politically charged caricatures - but I was drawn to the binding of the book, the weight of it and the cotton material the cover is made from. It is really well crafted which makes it technically beautiful, even if the images inside aren't. Juxtaposition! As well as aesthetics, I was intrigued about the content itself and how it may help me in my Context of Practice essays - particular the image analysis piece - as my chosen quote has a political overarching theme. With a historical, societal and political narrative running through the book, it is aimed at a selected audience who are interested in propaganda art, the Cold War or political illustration in general. Soviet works are places alongside Western cartoons to give both sides of the story giving strong similarities and contrasts to perceptions and ideals. Some of the art inside has a shock-factor to it and other times there is a great sense of humour and parody. 

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Picture Book
The River by Alessandro Sanna

The River is a very charming book about the seasons, with a narrative context binding stories and experiences together. Each season has it's own dedicated chapter. I don't think the book is aimed at any particular audience, anyone can enjoy and relate to the simplicity of the theme and the magic of the illustrations. It illustrates the connections between people and places - and the stories we have tied to them. The River portrays the flow of time and the cycle of the year and the chosen media of watercolour gives it a very energetic ebb and flow, capturing the motion of time and how time waits for no one. Colours are vibrant with little detail to characters, but a lot of character given to the skies and natural world. Compositions are akin to graphic novels or comics but sit within loose frames. I was drawn to this book after I heard my peers suggesting it - and I was not disappointed when I had a look myself. Young and old can appreciate this beautiful little book!

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Self-Published

January by Eleni Kalorkoti

January is a pocket-sized zine; just one part of an ambitious project where Kalorkoti produced a small publication each month about her life. After moving to London, living in a new house, meeting new people and have a totally different life Kalorkoti wanted to use her A6 zines as an autobiographical channel for her experiences and thoughts, and functions as a monthly diary of sorts. She uses her preferred technique of hand drawing and then colouring in Photoshop - creating charming vector shapes which lay the foundation to her cutesy character designs - but each zine issue uses different media to experiment and push herself as an illustrator. The successes of January come from the limited colour palette of burnt orange, cream, yellow and black - providing a warmth and hope for the New Year ahead - and simple shapes to form characters, objects and places. Without researching though, I had no idea what this zine was about... is this a possible failure of the work or is the ambiguity intentional? There is no relationship between images and text, due to the lack of text, so I imagine images can be interpreted however they want to be. I was drawn to the repeated motifs on the cover as well as the functional size of the zine.

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Reflection

I found this session really useful and especially well-timed for the Visual Narratives module; where I will be creating a picture book in the near future. It was beneficial to look at different types of books I don't usually look at, from a personal preference stand-point, such as graphic novels as well as printed material I would like to look at, such as zines, but don't have access to as they are only small-scale publications. I was able to take in the breadth of composition, character design, colour palettes, visual language, tone of voice, images working in relation to the text, or not at all and cover designs which will be extremely useful when creating initial sketches for my work.

Contextual Research: Shape and Texture

Rob Hodgson

Rob's 'Funny Buggers' zine is full of basic shapes married with texture to create a set of quirky and endearing characters. Each one has their own personality through variables of facial and body features; altering where the elements are placed will give a different personality. A big nose, big ears or a big smiley mouth present a silly and likeable character. A character with a tiny face and a large body equally has a sense of charm about it! I really like how basic texture, mark making and shape has created a breadth of characters for a zine and I can really get a feel for Rob's tone of voice - experimental, nonsensical at times, delightful, eccentric.

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Eric Carle

Who doesn't love The Very Hungry Caterpillar? It has been one of my favourite children's books for a very long time and has a wonderful sense of nostalgia and sentimentality attached to each page. As I've grown older, I have begun to look at the work differently and appreciate Carle's practice and way of working. His bright saturated paints sing against the white backgrounds he uses, and the slight variations in paint thickness as it has dried gives a sense of light and shadow. This is particularly charming when considering subject matter of delicate petals or butterfly wings where sunlight may be poking through. There is such a crafting with care and labour of love quality to the pictures which really shows in the precision and execution of the pieces.

Study Task 3: Applied Illustation

• Applied illustration - illustration is an applied art.

• What does that mean? I have to look at the contexts of which the illustration exists and speculate new areas where pictures can exist.

• Illustration can be applied to something else; it can be commercial, implemented onto products or clothing items. It isn't art for art's sake - instead, serving a purpose. There is a brief behind the end result.

• It is a bridge between an idea and society / an audience / an individual.

• How does this apply to me? I will be working for / collaborating with people. However, Illustrators are not subservient

to an agent or graphic designer.

• The application defines the illustration. It solves a brief, provides context, sends a message, communicates and functions.

• Process of making pictures, applying them to something, giving that item a function. Illustration used as a tool. Making a point; storytelling, making and giving meaning. Use that tool to connect and communicate content.

• Applied illustration can exist on anything; a mug, storybook, magazines, newspapers, stickers, packaging, prints, posters, towels, stationary, coasters, zines, jewellery, pin badges, tote bags, socks, notebooks, wallpaper, cards, wrapping paper, pencil cases, t-shirts, water bottles, album covers, tattoos, lunch boxes, bedding, murals, social media, websites, advertising, computer games, and so on.

• If illustration can be defined by it's application that it can be applied anywhere.

• What is good application? What has just been slapped onto a product?

• Ethics taken into consideration. Do we create small-scale things or use plastic items that will become landfill?

• Who work I work for? Agents / agencies, communities, curators, promotors, publishers, websites, authors, musicians, graphic designers, film makers and producers, charities.

• Success of work validated by peers and feedback. Maintain network. Functioning not just in a bubble.

Thought Bubble 2016

• So Thought Bubble was amazing

• I had tickets to both days and spent much time and money!

• I finally met Phillippa Rice who was wonderful

• So many talented people who have their own individual tone of voice

• Quality of the work and the products were outstanding

• So many different pieces of ephemera such as zines, prints, tote bags, buttons, magnets, towels, jewellery, books, comics, cards and stickers

• Table set ups really reflected the individual and ranged from professional to more DIY results

• Inspired me to try new things at college and really play and experiment

• Is Thought Bubble something I want to consider being a part of next year?

• What kind of things would I want to sell?

• How would I set up my table?

• It was so fun to connect with people from all walks of life with different interests, influences and illustrative heroes and talk to them about their practice and how they support themselves outside the festival

• I can't wait to go again next year! 

Visting Lecturer: Mike Mignola

Official Website

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"The best horror comic in a generation. This Mignola guy is a wizard." Frank Miller

Mike Mignola visited LCA tonight and - all I can say is - what an awesome guy! I'm not a huge comic book fan, largely due to my visual impairment; meaning I can't read the speech and thought bubbles and follow the narrative, but I admire the skill of the artists and inkers. Mike is renowned though and as a comic book movie fan - thanks to the wonders of audio description - I am well aware of his status in the comics world. One of my friends, currently on Level 6 Illustration, draws and inks his comics and the amount of time, patience and skill required is nothing short of astonishing!

• Reading Dracula as a young kid changed Mike's life and welcomed him to the world of horror.
• Some of his first projects included Rocket Racoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk.
• He worked for Marvel and developed his style - going from a terrible inker to a much better one.
• Mike went on to draw the comic adaptation of the Dracula film in the early 90's.
• He always wanted to draw monsters for a living and finally got to create his own...
• Mike moved to Dark Horse Comics and created Hellboy. There are 13 graphic novel collections, 2 animated movies and 2 live-action movies to date.
• He became a writer to draw what he wanted. When he can't draw something, he omits it from the story!
• He lost his confidence in his work due to having too many ideas and not being able to refine them. Drawing what he wanted to draw enabled him to get back on track and enjoy his practice again.
• His process is organic and he tends to script as he creates thumbnails.
• Mike works 7 days a week in between projects and often stays focused as there is nothing else he would rather be doing.
• He is usually always in his studio with his television keeping him company.

Fantastically, I had the opportunity to ask Mike two questions about his influences and advice for illustrators starting out. I've always wanted to know who he was inspired by, aside from Horror fiction and movies and I'm always happy to hear words of encouragement from seasoned illustrators!

"The easy answer is to say I'm influenced by everything... Early on I wanted to be Frank Frazetta. Every few days I wanted to be a different guy. Mostly I'm influenced by painters. I don't wear my influences on my sleeve. You don't need to find your style... your style needs to find you! You can't manufacture a style because even if you are successful, can you continue that? It's just evolution; good, bad or otherwise."

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How is this relevant to my practice?
I want to be able to graft and generate a body of work in a similar fashion to Mike; his enthusiasm for his practice, his clear hard work and dedication over the decades, and his passion for keeping busy 7 days a week really showed through when he talked about his immense portfolio. I also found a connection when he mentioned that he has too many ideas sometimes and finds it difficult to hone in on what he wants to explore... Drawing for fun solved his writer's block and this is something I want to start experimenting with more as an illustrator. Drawing for my own enjoyment, seeing the results and (hopefully) the passion and crafting showing through, and going with that.

Contextual Research: Visual Skills

• Bill Bragg is an illustrator who has worked a lot with the Folio Society creating simple book covers that pack a big punch. His use of a limited colour palette, basic shape and form and negative space is something I really want to take into consideration when creating my roughs and final book cover. The Metamorphosis cover, especially, is my favourite from his works as the silhouette against a patterned vintage background juxtaposes the creepy and the beautiful. The red and black work really well together and is a colour scheme I am contemplating using.

• Ronald Cala is a graphic designer and illustrator who layers negative and positive imagery together to create multiple meanings that require closer inspection and second viewings. As with Bill Bragg, he uses a very limited palette partnered with simplistic forms and motifs. These are exceptionally clever pictures that I hope to be able to draw inspiration from in my developmental work.

• Louise Lockhart visited my peers and I recently to discuss her practice of making pictures (a more detailed blog post can be found here). I really admire her drive and dedication to trying out new ways and processes of creating illustrations and find her combination of simplistic shapes, forms, colours, compositions and techniques very inspiring. I would like to implement her craftsmanship into my final cook cover - using an amalgamation of paper cut, scanned textures for added visual interest, digital manipulation (Photoshop) and the negative space concepts of Bill Bragg and Ronald Cala.