END OF MODULE EVALUATION

Studio Brief 3 - Persons of Note FINAL OUTCOMES & REFLECTION

REFLECTIONS

STAMPS

Having now completed the photoshop layering process, I have created a wealth of potential outcomes for my stamp responses, alongside complete postcards and poster. Working from 3 postcards and an A2 poster, I have been able to select and manipulate lots of different details to serve as my stamp designs. My intentions for the stamps were to reveal textural details or even zoom in on visual clues. From the wealth of potential outcomes, I have selected the 4 below as I feel that the set are more coherent in a consistent orientation. With the narrative being defined by and revolving around Alan Bennett and Miss Shepherd, it seems appropriate to have two stamps as homage to these protagonists. 

My ideas for the other two stamps were to reveal something about the connection between the two characters; the van and the garden. As the van inhabits the garden for 15 years, I wanted to focus in on the van and it's relationship with the nature that carries on around it. I feel this is captured successfully within the stamp series. 

 

POSTCARDS

I feel quite pleased with the flow of my postcards, having the viewpoint of both characters within one context, and of course, the van, seems to appropriately communicate the key elements of the narrative. I had identified in my initial research that watching and prying was key to the relationship of the characters and I feel I have communicated this well across the outcomes. Cut-paper and digital overlays have worked well to encourage me to work with reduced forms, however, I do feel that the image of Alan at his desk is perhaps over complicated and as such, loses immediacy. 

POSTER

The poster has been the most successful in communicating the mutual wondering of the protagonists. I feel that this outcome has really benefitted from thorough roughs as there is a clear sense of depth between the figures, yet they both seem to assert a balanced hierarchy. Reduced shapes have benefitted this image by not over complicating the aesthetic. Gestural marks and visual clues have worked to add context and interest, without over-powering the focus on the two characters.

As a whole, I am really pleased with my responses to the brief as I feel I have answered my intentions and thoroughly exhausted other potentials to a point where I feel these are direct and immediate in communicating my intended message. The media works effectively to create a sensitive and nostalgic tone of voice, complimenting reduced forms in their ability to reveal narrative. 

Studio Brief 3 - Persons of Note PRODUCTION OF OUTCOMES

PROGRESSION WITH MEDIA

In line with the media tests I have been carrying out in my sketchbook, I have carried forward with the use of gouache and cut-paper, now using gouache to create textures from which I can cut basic shapes. Working from made-textures has encouraged me to really focus in on a reduced palette of complimentary tones, revolving around the iconic yellow of Miss Shepherd's van. I did have some difficulties working on a slightly smaller scale for the postcards than I had been working in my sketchbook but I solved this by creating templates from my roughs in order to maintain the intended aesthetic and shapes. 

CHINAGRAPH POSITIVES

Following on from the experimentation with overlays, I have created the textural details and smaller pieces of information on layers of true grain, almost as if creating positives for screen print. Having been looking at the work of Stephanie Wunderlich, I wanted to try and channel her use of overlays and so I have created these drawn layers to overlay the cut paper in photoshop. Working with chinagraph on true grain has achieved a really lovely line quality, capturing textures complimentary to the natural imagery and maintaining the grainy pencil aesthetic explored in my development work. 

 

Developing the images on photoshop, I have scanned in the cut paper layers and the chinagraph positives and overplayed these to achieve mock-screenprint outcomes. Using the selection tool, I was able to select the black lines and fill these with the relevant colours to add textural information to the cut paper shapes. Working with layers in this way meant that I was also able to change blending modes and achieve some overlay effects between tones, further exploring screen-print qualities. 

Studio Brief 3 - Persons of Note ROUGHS

PLANNING MY RESPONSES

Following on from media testing, I am in a position now where I am progressing towards final outcomes. To gain a better understanding of how I will apply the techniques and processes I have been experimenting with I have sketched out roughs for the various deliverables of the brief.  Having already explored imagery in my initial ideas and development work, the imagery is already in place but this process of making roughs has helped me to visualise how each image will work within the picture area and particular dimensions. 

I feel that roughing is a really useful part of illustration practice as it unlocks new potentials and helps to specify or even simplify the work towards a more resolved and succinct outcome. I have found this to be helpful with the A2 poster as I was really struggling to get my head around how the two characters could interplay with one another through line of sight, yet be at an appropriate depth from one another for the image to be balanced. Working through 5 potential compositions I feel the image has resolved to a coherent outcome. 

Through sketches I have been able to also explore how the expressions of the characters work in relation to one another and how these can change depending on the positioning of that character. I think from the roughing process I am now ready to start producing my final images in line with my refined intentions.

Studio Brief 3 - Persons of Note MEDIA TESTING

 

MEDIA PLAY

Developing on my sketches, I have started to play with media, developing my images towards more refined outcomes. I have carried out some testing with gouache, duplicating some imagery explored in my sketches. The gouache only tests work well to achieve strong colour values, but I would like to achieve more textural details in my images and so would want to develop this with another media if I was to apply gouache to my final outcomes. 

Responding to this, I have explored a reduction of my sketches to their most basic shapes, creating a base for textural overlays. Here the gouache has worked to achieve natural tonal variations from the brush strokes, but in much more refined and simplistic shapes. I have then been exploring how textural details and further visual clues can be over-layed on tracing paper.  I feel that this sense of layering is key to the narrative, with both characters wondering who the other really is. The tracing paper has provided the perfect outlet for textural details, allowing me to build the foliage surrounding the characters and information to the characters themselves. 

While the tracing paper works effectively within the sketchbook as a means of revealing layers, to achieve this overlay in my final outcomes, I would need to explore digital layering, perhaps using the textural details as a sort of screen-print effect over the basic shapes.

 

I also have carried out the same process but using cut paper. The block colours work really well to achieve strong and immediate shapes, but I do feel the gouache offered a subtle texture complimentary to the tone of voice. In light of this, I think I may not explore cut paper but from made textures, cutting out these refined shapes from gouache painted paper in order to attain the sleek values of cut-paper, alongside the subtle painterly textures. 

  

VISUAL DEVICES

I have also been considering the visual devices I can use to communicate their mutual wondering and spying. From my research I feel that Alan in confined by his desk and the bay window, and Miss Shepherd confined by her van. For this reason I would like the image to capture both character simultaneously prying, but within the space that defines them. I have been playing around with reduced information, seeing whether just basic window shapes can reveal enough about their environment without impeding on the weight of the characters. Particularly in the image of Miss Shepherd, she is looking out of the van, yet I have challenged this view of her by using overlapping lines to gesture the van, as opposed to full shapes. I feel that this works well as a visual clue, without detracting her place in the scene.

Studio Brief 3 - Persons of Note FURTHER IDEAS DEVELOPMENT

 

PROGRESSING WITH TUTORIAL FEEDBACK
Following on from ideas discussed in my tutorial, I have been working through my sketchbook, considering ways in which I could visually communicate the action of spying and watching. While this is not a sinister, voyeuristic spying, I think the idea of them both watching each other is really key to their relationship and the narrative of The Lady in the Van as a whole. Initially working with ink, I was considering rough actions and scenes that could be used to communicate narrative and elements of the characters' personalities. The textures and line qualities achieved from the ink achieve a really nice aesthetic, revealing marks that enhance the natural foliage elements while also carrying a tone of voice sensitive to the narrative. 

INTENTIONS

Working through pencil sketches I have visualised multiple ideas in response to the relationship and characters individually, considering activities and events that define their characters, along with events that drive the narrative between them. My intentions are to work with a soft and comical tone of voice, capturing the satirical element of Bennett's writing alongside the warm and feel-good aspect of their relationship. I am intending to develop these drawings through more reduced forms, possibly exploring cut-paper, overlaid with a textural details created with crayons or chinagraph. These may be flexible for development with screen-print of photoshop layering. 

FEEDBACK
Having had a further conversation with Matt and Jamie about my progress, we've discussed the effect of these sketches and the success of the translation of narrative. Both tutors suggested that these sketches effectively captured the message I had identified in my research and were readily translatable into final images due to their immediacy. I will now look at developing these with appropriate media. 

Studio Brief 3 - Persons of Note STEPHANIE WUNDERLICH

                                            

ARTIST RESEARCH

To inform the visual development of my project, I have been studying the work of Stephanie Wunderlich. Her cut paper collages and and use of overlays work to achieve simplified forms with textural interest. A balance of block colour against textures helps Wunderlich's work to achieve a harmony. I am particularly concerned with her simplified forms and how she reduces the amount of information in her images to just key components. This use of omission helps Wunderlich to infer meaning through visual clues. I think this is particularly notable in the cycling images as she has used a few clues that give a nod to background details, yet do not over power the main focal points. Single trees and leaves gesture a wider sense of nature and a few gestural marks create an immediate sense of movement.

I am also intrigued by Wunderlich's application of texture as some elements appear to be collaged, while others are drawn directly onto cut components. I would like to explore this sense of interplay between components by exploring over-lays on acetate or tracing paper, or perhaps created on photoshop in a way that mimics screen-print qualities. The use of blending modes within the baby image has also echoed screen-print qualities, allowing colours to interplay with one another. I feel this is an approach that would benefit the imagery of foliage in my illustrations, to enhance that sense of the over-grown and intrusion on the van.

Despite using rather reduced components, Wunderlich is still able to develop very rich narratives, perhaps through her playful and nostalgic tone of voice. I would like to explore this within my own practice in order to fully communicate the relationship of Alan Bennett and Miss Shepherd whilst capturing the environmental details that inform their situation. 

END OF MODULE EVALUATION

Studio Brief 2 - What is image making? SCREEN PRINT REFINEMENTS

 

ROUND 2 - NEW POSITIVES, NEW SCREENS, NEW SCREENS AGAIN
After making alterations to my bit-map positives and re-doing the entire process, I have finally achieved some half-tone overlays. Although I did encounter every problem possible in order to achieve this. Firstly, our screen was damaged meaning that the ink was not pulling through properly in certain areas. Fortunately this did impact on my print too much, it was more on my partners side of the screen, but I did have some difficulty getting the text to pull through on my prints. 

While the red layer achieved the correct tonal values, the yellow layer, despite having a much larger and more open bit-map, did still not pull through on the face. I have managed to achieve some overlays on the hat, achieving a third, orange tone, but I had hoped to achieve an orange overlay on the face. 

Additionally, the yellow layer proved difficult as the screen was also damaged in this area and was only seeming to print fragments of the image so we had to re-expose on a new screen. The second screen, undamaged, created very clear, full prints so we finally started to get some outcomes closer to what we had expected. 

REFLECTION
Despite the problems we encountered, I feel that our perseverance with the process, and willingness to repeat stages until we achieved a good outcome finally paid off. My prints are still without the intended yellow tones on the face but I think this is something I will just have to practice more with in the future. The tonal hierarchy has worked out as intended and I am glad I altered my positives to accommodate this as the chinagraph has really given strength to the most iconic elements of Morrissey's profile. 

I feel that I have demonstrated consideration of composition through line of sight, using the party hat to direct the eye towards the face, and using the text also to frame this as the key part of the image. Value and texture have worked well to place hierarchy on the key components of the image and a central composition has worked to frame the image. 

Studio Brief 2 - What is image making? BIT-MAP ALTERATIONS

FIRST ATTEMPT YELLOW LAYER 

-60% FREQUENCY

SECOND ATTEMPT YELLOW LAYER

-25% FREQUENCY

FIRST ATTEMPT RED LAYER

-60% FREQUENCY

SECOND ATTEMPT RED LAYER

-25% FREQUENCY

After the first screen print, I had found my bit-map positives to be ineffective due to the dots being too small and tight. I had initially worked with a resolution of 300 dpi and a frequency of 60% which was a guideline I had followed but unfortunately did not work for this particular print. To alter this I reduced the frequency to 25% to create larger, more spaced out dots which created a much more open and clear bit-map outcome. 

I also took the opportunity to refine my initial positives as I had decided that the colour values were not in the correct hierarchy. With the subject of Morrissey, I felt the hair and eyebrows were most iconic and therefore needed to be the strongest values in order to achieve a compositional hierarchy. I have therefore substituted the block red and half tone reds with one another, also using chinagraph to introduce another texture. 

The use of chinagraph texture works well to add interest to the hair and eyebrows. With these being the main components of the image, I felt this would achieve a more effective outcome than areas of plain block colour. 

Hopefully with these alterations I should be able to produce some more successful outcomes in the print-room, and hopefully achieve some half-tones and overlays this time. 

Studio Brief 3 - Persons of Note TUTORIAL FEEDBACK

CONVERSATION WITH JAMIE

I felt quite prepared for this tutorial, I had researched my 3 choices, made a justification of why I had chosen Alan Bennett, read one of his texts and started to work visually in my sketchbook. I explained to Jamie that I had chosen Alan Bennett based on the absence of existing visual ties. I felt that the other 2 creatives had too much imagery surrounding them which might sway my responses. Having finished reading 'The Lady in the Van', I explained some ideas to Jamie. We discussed how I could visually explore the relationship between Bennett and his resident, as opposed to taking the more generic approach of illustrating the tale itself. 

This is something I have already started to consider, making notes from the book on scenes that document the most interesting interactions between the two protagonists. Having identified that Bennett's work is mainly satirical and often a social commentary, I am proposing to explore how social cultures of the time can be explored within the narrative of my illustrations. 

-How is it that an elderly lady has come to live in a van?

-What are the discussions about social codes in relation to Bennett and his visitors?

-Is there a conversation about class and status between Bennett and his resident old woman?

PLAN

Moving forward with the project, the plan now is to consider how I can portray the issues of INTRIGUE, PRYING, CURIOSITY AND SUSPICION through imagery that explores the relationship between the protagonists and a mutual wondering. 

Jamie suggested treating the A2 poster as a sort of mother-ship from which the smaller outcomes satellite off. I think this is a really helpful way to phrase it as the poster will be able to act as the whole idea and I will then be able to create smaller images that capture more specific or perhaps more generic aspects of the relationship or wider legacy of Alan Bennett.

I will now start to explore roughs and sketches to create a wealth of imagery that may be able to develop into more refined images through media play. 

Studio Brief 3 - Persons of Note INITIAL DRAWINGS

INITIAL RESPONSES

Considering my initial research around Alan Bennett, I have begun by sketching some rough portraits, thinking about how I might translate Alan visually without creating a photo-realistic portrait. From reading 'The Lady in the Van' I've started to think about the nature of Alan's relationship with Miss Shepherd and how this might translate through visual clues. As a starting point I have explored some potential imagery surrounding Miss Shepherd and her van but as I progress I want to focus more on the mutual wondering that seems to occupy both Alan and the lady on his drive. 

While these are simply rough sketches, I think some of the more gestural lines work really effectively to translate information without over complicating the imagery. Particularly in the sketch of the van, the foliage and sense of nature carrying on around Miss Shepherd is quite key and I feel the simplified, gestural lines communicate this sense of overgrown nature immediately but under an appropriate tone of voice that is sensitive and stylistic. 

IDEAS TO DEVELOP

I would really like to develop this image as I feel that it captures two issues key to the narrative; being stationary in a moving world, and hiding or spying. A simple character peeping immediately communicates the idea of prying and wondering, something which I have found to be pivotal to Bennett's relationship with Miss Shepherd. I may look to develop further imagery surrounding the subject of voyeurism, perhaps capturing a simultaneous spying from both characters. 

Studio Brief 3 - Persons of Note LITERATURE ANALYSIS - THE LADY IN THE VAN

UNPICKING THE BOOK

Having carried out some initial research into the works of Alan Bennett, I've chosen to further study 'The Lady in the Van'. I've selected this book as it accounts a real-life tale about Bennett and a significant part of his life. Working from a factual account, I should be able to develop a greater insight into Bennett's character and his relationship with the lady on his drive, alongside providing a strong base for visual development. 

From reading the book I have selected some key quotes and ideas that will inform my visual and conceptual development:

IDEAS

-hidden in leaves

-hiding behind typewriter

-viewpoint of windscreen, voyeur

-Alan propping up the van/ giving it a push-off

-figure peeping through curtain

-skiing in a wheelchair

QUOTES

-MS "I've had some close shaves with snakes"

-AB "Miss Shepherd and her van had for some months been at a permanent halt opposite my house'

-MS 'greasy raincoat, orange skirt, Ben Hogan golfing cap and carpet slippers'

-AB " There was a gap between out social position and our social obligations"

- "Tell me, is she a genuine eccentric?"

-MS 'All her vehicles ended up looking as if they had been given a coat of badly made custard'

-AB "In there garden at least she was out of harm's way"

-AB "Now inevitably, the van and Miss S ended up in my garden"

-MS 'hats were always a feature'

-MS 'strands of lank grey hair escaping from under her headscarf'

-AB "Miss S wants to spread a blanket over the roof"

From my readings I have created a few different ideas in my head about the two characters and their relationship. Something which seems really key to their relationship is a sense of mutual wondering a prying, perhaps suggesting that my images could explore voyeurism and secrecy. Further to this there is the almost retired state of Miss Shepherd and her van, particularly with it being in the garden, which seem to suggest life going on around them. I may look to explore foliage and natural imagery as a means of showing the time that has passed while she has inhabited the garden.

Moving forward, I now need to explore visual responses through sketches and roughs in my sketchbook. I feel that working from literature has enabled me to identify a wealth of potential approaches to the subject matter, decoding information and identifying underlying aspects of character. 

Studio Brief 2 - What is image making? FIELD TRIP

RAILWAY MUSEUM

The field trip was a great opportunity to practice all the elements we have learnt about across the year in visual language. The morning session, at the Railway Museum, enabled me to focus on quick studies, documenting my observations of form, shape and visual details. These were a great exercise in documenting key shapes, and considering how visual clues can infer absent elements. I am particularly pleased with the first drawing as I feel that the use of graphite marks to infer shapes worked well underneath line work to gesture the overall form of the train. 

While I don't think representational or accurate drawings are a strength of mine, I feel that I have learnt to apply methods of image making to infer form and details through gestural marks and lines. Working with graphite, pencil and chinagraph, I have been able to consider a hierarchy in line qualities, using heavier chinagraph marks to portray the details that characterise the subject matter. 

YORK PARK

Developing on the drawing skills we practiced in the morning session, I applied these to more sustained observations, considering compositional elements, omissions and drawing approaches. I think simplification was a key consideration across my drawings, considering which elements were necessary to portray the whole. Reducing information to basic forms and marks meant that I was able to gesture more complex forms through simplified imagery. The first park drawing demonstrates use of marks and lines to infer natural rock and tree forms, whilst using more figurative line work to reveal a person in the foreground and building in the background, introducing a sense of narrative. 

I feel that my second drawing, of abbey ruins, captures a real sense of the texture and tone of voice of the architecture, while not documenting it as a whole, rather focussing on the elements that characterise this. I think I had started this drawing with a more representational approach but altered this to take in more visual clues and gestural marks. On reflection, I think working with both detailed drawing and more reduced marks within a single picture area works to create hierarchy and value between components. Here, the darker tones work to draw attention to the opening in the abbey wall, while softer graphite marks document a wider context. 

REFLECTION

The field trip really encouraged me to practice approaches to image making within an observational task, forcing me to use these elements in a more inherent and organic way, rather than planning invented images around compositional features. To further enhance my consideration of image making approaches within my practice, I may look to carry out more observational drawings as starting points for my stylised developments as these have proved to encourage me to consider necessity over reality. 

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Studio Brief 3 - Persons of Note INTERVIEW NOTES

THE ONE SHOW, 2016

KEY QUOTES FROM INTERVIEW:

"She was opposite the bay window where I worked so I saw everything that went on"

-what curious activities could Miss S be getting on with? How might Alan be inspired by Miss S? How does Miss S distract Alan?

"She was very strong willed, she knew she was going to stay and she did stay"

- sense of stubborn character, how might the audience know something about Miss S that Alan doesn't?

"I would write it down, anything funny that happened"

-How could I exaggerate the mischief of Miss S?

"She used to irritate me to a great degree, she was a real pain"

-Sense of resentment and satire around the relationship?

"Observations of the quirks and strangenesses of people"

-How eccentric was Miss S? What quirks can be illustrated to reveal the whole?

NATIONAL THEATRE, 2015

"I was keeping an eye on her. It was interfering with my work"

-Sense of voyeurism, prying, pre-occupation

"I found out I was watching out for the blackbirds in the same was I was watching out for Miss Shepherd"

-Is Miss S part of the furniture? Does Alan become a carer figure? Pleasantly intrigued by her?

The main observations I have drawn from these two interviews is the role of Miss Shepherd as a sort of nuisance and distraction in Alan's life, yet one that it full of interest and intrigue, forcing Alan and Miss S to enter in a relationship of mutual wondering and voyeurism. I may look to explore this sense of observation and wondering within my initial sketches, considering how the relationship is informed by observations about one another's ways of being. 

Studio Brief 3 - Persons of Note ANALYSIS

1. JIM HENSON   

Career
- puppeteer/ cartoonist/ inventor/ film director/ screen writer
- creator of the Muppets
- developed characters for Sesame Street
- created puppets for Labyrinth
- created and played Kermit the Frog

Legacy
- Jim Henson Foundation
                                             - Jim hendon's Creature Shop
                                             - Hollywood Walk of Fame - Kermit
                                             - Disney

                                             Responses
                                             - 3D illustrations
                                             - character work
                                             - re-appropriation of imagery

2. ALFRED JARRY

Career
- writer/ playwright
- french literature
- coined concept of 'pataphysics'
- gained attention for prose and poems
- made woodcuts of his own characters
- literary works revolving around depiction of school teacher 'Pere Ubu'

Legacy
- pioneer in symbolist literature movement
- 'L'Ymagier' magazine

Responses
- interpretation of character and narrative
- stamps relating to journey of 'Pere Ubu'

3. ALAN BENNETT

Career
- playwright/ screen writer/ actor/ author
- Oxford Revue
- adaptation for stage
- collaboration with Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller, Peter Cook for 'Beyond the Fringe'
- Lady lived in a van on his driveway for more that 15 years of his career

Legacy
-The Habit of Art
-The History Boys
-The Lady in the Van
-Beyond the Fringe

Responses
                                                       - interpretation of his relationship with van lady
                                                       -stamps relating to various characters of his work

REFLECTION AND CHOICE
From researching my given creatives, I've found out that all three are concerned with narrative and character. In light of their similarities, I've looked into their work more specifically and the visual work that already exists surrounding them. For Jim Henson's work, there is a plethora of visual material, with his work being mainly puppetry and character design. For Alfred Jarry, while his work is literature based, he has produced some wood-cuts of his characters. However, Alan Bennett's practice operates within a performance and audio context, with less visual ties. I have therefore chosen to work on the subject of Alan Bennett in order to push the development of my visual language. I intend to take inspiration from some of his texts and interviews and interpret these to form some initial sketches that consider his character and the characters he has created. 

PLAN
-Work through sketchbook to document initial ideas through roughs and sketches
-Read at least one text as a starting point
-Research Bennett as a person--- interviews?