Cafe Food

Some little miniature items of food to go inside the cafe. I don't know if these would even be seen in the 'illustrations', but I like the idea of there being lots of little tiny details in the scene that maybe don't get noticed straight away. Easter eggs if you like!

I made these using air-drying clay, ModPodge dimensional magic and acrylic paints.

If I ever did decide to promote/fund a book/animation project with a scheme such as Kickstarter, little props like these or the actual puppets would be perfect rewards for pledges.

WST: Library Books

These tiny books were really satisfying to make but it took a while to make enough to make the shelves look full. I've made around 40 books so far and have filled two bookcases. Some of the books are covered with fabric/patterned paper whilst others have printed jackets (found on Google). Is this stealing? Yes... but I'm not claiming that these books were illustrated by me, only showcasing their design in miniature form. In the final WST photos you won't be able to see the detail of what's on the books, just that there are many of them!

I would love to illustrate all of these tiny books and add writing to each of the pages but this was a simple solution to saving time and making a bulk load of books for the Library. 

Soft Stories

Soft Stories is a collaboration between the artist CatRabbit and Isobel Knowles. They make 3D models of towns and felt creatures to be used in animation, workshops, installations and children's books.

I first heard of Soft Stories through instagram where I saw that they were exhibiting their sweet little felt characters and a handmade town at an Australian gallery, which I thought would be relevant to investigate in relation to my Whistle-stop Thistle. I didn't know that they also made animations and books until I looked at their website. The above image is taken from their website www.softstories.au 

I love how their worlds are very obviously and unapologetically handmade; they let the material show (cardboard and felt) and don't try to hide its rough edges or make it look perfectly crisp. They seem to celebrate the fact that all of these items are made by hand and encourage children to get creative too.

Their photos are bright and their colour scheme includes muddy pastels against clean whites and sky blues, an atmosphere of spring mornings and a friendly town.

Perhaps the bright, sunny tone of Soft Stories is informed by their geography as both of the artists live in Australia. My tendency to construct slightly gloomy, moody sets might be the result of a truly grey climate in my British experience. 

It's very exciting to find other artists working in this medium and making innovative, engaging worlds but I do worry that this is a growing t

http://www.softstories.com.au/

Playing with the Bakery

Could I have some of the buildings in an exhibition? Is the real charm the fact you can reach right in and pick the tiny items up? 

WST: LIBRARY

The library isn't mentioned in the story but I want it to be real! I can't have a library shopfront without books inside can I? IF I WANT READERS TO BELIEVE IN THIS WORLD THEN I HAVE TO BELIEVE IN IT TOO!

So I've started making all these tiny little books with real pages, a staple bind and a hardback covered in fabric or card.

Is two bookcases enough? Maybe needs some chairs and little tables for Thistle-folk to sit and read inside.

CASE STUDY: THE WHATAMAGUMP

I came across this fantastic children's book on Instagram and was really excited by the use of puppet illustration that is so uncommon but absolutely my cup of tea. There aren't many people who make illustrations this way, so it's inspiring when an artist/team challenges the conventions and tackles making a book in this medium. I thought it would be useful to investigate this as a case study to inform my Whistle-stop Thistle project since I am conducting quite a similar brief.
They describe the method as: 'A children's picture book out of practical art.', 'handmade artwork', 'The old 60s and 70s books had this similar style where they built the whole sets and filmed them as pages and I always thought that was really a beautiful technique and nobody really does that anymore.'

The Whatamagump was written by singer Tyrone Wells and brought to life by Greg Boettcher and Bryan McIntyre (Broken Eagle Studio). 
They've been really active online on social media throughout the process, sharing behind the scenes images and footage of the team on-set which is lovely to see as it makes the entire product more personal and inviting. The creators are only human and they have made all this work! Using Instagram in this way demonstrates just how much work they have put into the book too. I think this would help to sell the book as it is intriguing and engaging for artists and art-lovers to see this kind of content that goes into the production, they know that the book is a product of value and that the team have put a great deal of work into making the story that they might buy in order to support these artists.

'It's going to look unlike anything you've ever seen. Even if there was no story attached, you could pick up this book and I think it would be astounding to see.'
There might not be many but there are other artists around making work SIMILAR to this... other artists working in puppet illustration/puppet story books (Chris Sickels, Maggie Rudy), but I do think that this process makes the images different and distinct from traditional illustration, so it is really refreshing and unusual to see.
'The Whatamagump is an incredibly unusual book in the way it was illustrated. While most picture books are drawn, painted or rendered on a computer, Broken Eagle Studio decided to take it a few steps further by creating every element in Tyrone's story by hand and photographing the images with a camera.'

The story is quite simple and has potential to be extended into a series, an animation and merchandise. The book comes with a soundtrack, since the author is also a musician, so reading the book becomes an interactive and immersive activity. The size of the books makes the product even more exciting as it is really huge, bigger than a child's face so they can really immerse themselves within the pages.

'The process was incredibly tedious and time consuming, more akin to a stop motion film than a book, but the result is a book that stands alone in it's unique approach and artistry.'

'I’d love to continue seeing this resurgence we’re experiencing in handmade art. I feel like miniatures and their many applications are the perfect medium for it too. It’s pretty magical looking at a miniature that is sculpted well in that it skews the reality we’re all familiar with. Digital technology just doesn’t do it, at least for me. Handmade leaves a fingerprint of humanity and that’s what makes it special. I think support and interest in mediums like stop motion, dioramas, books, and places like dailymini that highlight these crafts are essential. There used to be this whole attitude of keeping trade secrets a secret, but I’m more of the mind that we should share it all so that more people are inclined to try making something too! It will keep pushing the medium into new places and hopefully more career opportunities for many passionate artists.'

http://thedailymini.com/daily-mini-interview-whatamagump-broken-eagle-llc/

The book was funded as a Kickstarter project. Anyone could donate to this project and 'pledge' money towards is production. This is a great way of raising money towards a big project and they managed to fully fund it in time. They gave away some of the characters and props as rewards for pledges. Pledgers receive updates on the progress of the book, making them feel like part of the project and building anticipation towards the book's release.

I think the path looks just a little bit too flat! It should have more imperfections and random weeds sprouting. It seems a bit too clean and perfect, but then perhaps this suits the family and the house that the garden belongs to, but it does seem a little false. I would add some muddy footprints/slight ageing to the stone in places, some cracks and wear as though it has been used. The grass is also just a bit too neat, too short and too even. Unless the grass had JUST been trimmed and the path had JUST been cleaned, then this isn't the way it would look. However, this is an image from a WORLD that Broken Eagle have created and they make the rules as to what is real/what is realistic in their land. Perhaps that's the aesthetic of the book but I would prefer just a bit more imperfection and rough edges, after all it is the human element and evidence of the maker's hand that makes this book different.

​

This image is so well-lit. The natural lighting outside the house is really convincing and soft. It's a late-afternoon sun laying low in the sky and pushes through the fence. The light fills the outside but also pours into the room, creating a warm glow on the curtains and casts shadows (behind the lamp). The image gives a lot of information about the atmosphere: it's quiet, the room is empty but people (including a child) live here; it's either Spring/Summer and the weather is fine - it's warm but not warm enough for the window to be open and the air is still, there is no breeze today. The household items are arranged and carefully considered, they all match a specific colour scheme, but they have been scattered to look like a realistic house, recently played in and well lived-in. There are so many tiny props that aren't prominent in the picture but add information and interest to the scene: magazines, piles of videos, toys etc. I imagine that children would find this fascinating to look at and try to identify all of the different objects around the scene.

Further Developments

I think this is ready to submit. I like the story and think my Grandad will enjoy it as a present too, but I don't know whether it's up to the standards of Templar. It was nice to draw and make smiley pictures but I don't think it's anything more than that - a cute story and some colourful pictures. Nothing special! Nothing incredible, different or exciting.

Snapdragon Story Colour Test

Statement of Intent 3

Snapdragon Story Test

Okay, it makes sense as a story and works as a book. Now to add COLOUR! I'm going to do this digitally (even though I'm not GREAT with photoshop) because it's the quickest way. This is a VERY QUICK BRIEF that I'm not majorly EXCITED by so I'm just doing it mainly for a gift for my Grandad and to practise making work QUICKLY. Is it possible to make a full story in a week? It's looking like it might be!

Preparation for a Mega Crit

Check list for mega crit:

A3 Printed Boards

Action Plan

Proposal

What do I want to get out of the mega crit:
Do the drawn illustrations and the 3d work together?
What kind of place would you imagine Whistle-Stop Thistle was if you saw these photos? What atmosphere do you get from this? Does it seem friendly?
Is this project enough of a challenge? Should I be doing something different?

Would you prefer to see an animation or a book about this land?

WST: Toy Shop

Three buildings - it's STARTING to look like a town. Needs more detail though - items in the windows, people walking by/working, a path, bins etc.

I think it will look loads better once I've added a backdrop! At the moment the white background is just making the scene look quite sad.

Action Plan Week Commencing 12th March

SNAPDRAGON STORY PLAN

SNAPDRAGON STORY

My grandad has the most beautiful garden on his street
I go round to play and dance on the grass in my bare feet.

Grandad spends hours pruning the hedge
and I sit and watch from the window ledge

He has lupines and peonies, daffodils in spring
I have my own little red can for doing the watering

But he won't let me borrow any flowers for my crown
when I tried to pick his Aquilegia, he turned around with a frown

FLOWERS AREN'T FOR PICKING - YOU MUST LOOK BUT NOT TOUCH
but that didn't stop me, I loved the flowers way too much

I'd just wait until he left to take the washing back inside
to quickly grab my flowers and find somewhere to hide

Grandad always knew when even a petal was misplaced
and with a bright red, furious grandad I would be faced.

One day I found a really pretty flower
but as I reached to grab it my Grandad turned sour

Step back, don't touch it! Go away now, shoo!
I wouldn't do that if I were you...

That plant's called a Snapdragon and it's fierce as a beast
you watch your fingers or it'll be having a feast.

It might look nice but that's only a disguise
for a blood-thirsty dragon with a sweet tooth for flies

The Snapdragon lives inside of the plant
he waits patiently for an insect like an ant

to walk along and cross the snapdragon's path
then the dragon BITES and the insect feels its wrath

Keep your fingers away, don't fall into the trap
or the dragon will eat you up with a SNAP!

So now I know not to pick the flowers, just appreciate them with my eyes
because you never know where a snapdragon might lurk and be your demise.

Templar Competition

https://www.templarillustratorcomp.co.uk/

I've been considering entering this. I'm not desperate to enter or really excited by it. I'm just tempted to see whether I can manage the challenge of WRITING AND PLANNING A CHILDREN'S BOOK IN A WEEK. I could just focus on WST but I do want to see whether I can do this and whether I can DRAW A FULL BOOK without getting bored with my drawings...

I've been playing with ideas for the story. I think I want to do something less obvious with dragons. Perhaps about Dragonfruit or Snapdragon flowers?

WST: Bakery Props Continued

Tiny polymer clay foods! Making me think of MENDL'S in Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel.

It's difficult to photograph the food inside the bakery when I can't open the front of the shops (maybe I could hinge them?) so this photo above was taken through the windows. I quite like the blurry passers-by perspective of this.

Think these donuts need a bit of a glaze to make them look sticky and iced rather than the matte finish.

Making little boxes and trays to display the foods within. Need more hot cross buns here, 3 looks a bit pathetic! Come on Betty, bake some more.

Lighting Experiments

Following a discussion with Rachel, I'm trying to experiment with lighting and how I can create tone in scenes. Using tissue paper and coloured acetate to make 'gels' to filter the lights inside the bakery. The atmosphere changes dramatically just by changing the colour of the gel!

1:1 Tutorial with Rachel

Gregory Crewdson
Sets and building atmosphere with lighting and staging
Photography and coloured gels

Take lots of photos with different lighting/ atmospheres and let the photos tell the stories. Build stories from a collection of photographs.
My photos have been cropped to try and cut out unfinished parts/mess in my studio, but I could EMBRACE this - like Smallfilms- show the seams, celebrate the handmade. OR use cropping to manipulate the audience's experience - are they so small that they are inside the world? Same with camera angles.

More natural lighting outside and electric lighting inside the buildings, make it a believable world. Out/inside.

Bramble Bakery

Today has been a MAKING DAY! I made the 3D model of Betty and then she jumped onto my shoulder and told me to get busy making more pies, clay food and to refurb her bakery. She's quite demanding but she's right.

I made a big batch of clay food for the bakery, though I need to make more storage/display space for this inside the shop (boxes, trays, shelves). 

I added awnings to the front of the shop (I've always wondered what they were called!) but it looks very shabby as I painted over the second floor windows behind them that I didn't want anymore. I might need to remake the whole bakery as it is all a bit shabby but is that the handmade feel I want?
The paint is also uneven and just generally messy! Hike up the refinement, maybe time for Bramble Bakery take two?

The grass I was using underneath has got messy from the paint on the building so I'll need to touch that up before I get any better photos... also need to start drawing and planning how Whistle-Stop Thistle will look as a street/town. Will there be pavements? Cobbled streets? Grass everywhere?

Testing some lighting - look into buying some small lights/dollshouse lights for better photos. The mini studio lights I used here were too bright and big, I'd need some really small lights to work with the scale of the room. Also some street lights too?

Betty Doll

• Colours don't match the sketch - the top is way too blue and needs more of a grey tint
• colour of the trousers are too close to that of the bakery's outside paint so she blends in - needs to be a darker shade
• the body isn't quite round enough! Not the distinctive Thistlefolk shape.

It's great to see this character start to come to life! Whistle-stop Thistle is beginning to take shape.

WST: Character Design - Betty Bramble

Third of the Bramble folk! She's the adult of the family, but I'm not sure that she looks like an adult. They're all around the same size so would adults be much taller? I need to figure out how to distinguish between adult and child Thistle-folk.

I am pleased with this format for the Character Designs.... I usually hate the process of formatting Design boards and find that I squeeze too much information onto slides and overcomplicate things but because I've been making the pages suitable for the child audience, this has helped me to make the slides concise and simple but still exciting to look at (I'm not a minimalism person).

WST: Character Design - Benji Bramble

Second of the Bramble family characters done. I don't know if I've kept Benji's shape/facial structure the same in all the illustrations here, they probably look like they are three different characters. I think I need to draw him over and over until I know exactly how his face goes/his body looks and then do a refined character sheet again.