OUIL 404 VISUAL LANGUAGE END OF MODULE EVALUATION

1.  Which practical skills and methodologies have you developed within this module and how effectively do you think you are employing them within your own practice?
I’ve developed a productive and playful sketchbook practice that’s helped me to be more experimental, trying out techniques and ideas in this space as often as I can. I’ve used sketchbooks before but this module’s taught me to use it as a tool rather than a diary. I’d been precious about my sketchbooks before but have come to appreciate the unfinished and uninhibited nature of development. The mini-briefs tackled specific practical tasks each week. Drawing is the most obvious and trusted method of illustration and I’d taken it for granted prior to this module. I’ve unlearned comfortable drawing habits and embarked upon using the whole body not just the wrist to make an image. The Photoshop workshop refreshed my knowledge of digital software, which I employed within the VALUE brief and used again for my Visual Narratives book. I’ve found a great passion for 3D illustration and have independently explored practical processes related to this, such as model-making, photography and costume fabrication.
2. Which principles/ theories of image making have you found most valuable during this module and how effectively do you think you are employing these within your own practice?
Being exposed to different principles of image making has changed the way I’ve approached challenges across the modules. I embraced COMPOSITION within the week’s ELEPHANT challenge but also applied my understanding of composition to the postcards I made for Visual Communication SB2. Since learning what makes a successful/interesting composition, I’ve noticed that the way I plan images has become a lot more of a structured and a strategic process. The illustrations I’m making are a lot more successful in their immediacy as the result of these sessions in line of sight, depth and scale. As the creator, I have control over how the viewer ‘sees’ my artwork and I’m excited to see how I can use this to my advantage in future work. Understanding the rules of value and colour theory has changed the way I see the world and in turn has affected the way that I use value in my work, making the images I produce much more aesthetically pleasing.
3. What strengths can you identify within your Visual Language submission you capitalise on these?
I think I’ve produced quite an ambitious body of work– especially towards the end of the module, I have been taking challenges seriously and making some really inventive outcomes. I’ve invested a lot of time on these tasks outside of the taught sessions. I’ve used my blog consistently to reflect on my own progress from the start of this module. My curiosity has led me to investigate artists and fields of image-making alongside the practical tasks. I’m constantly expanding my knowledge of artists and this is educating the work I’m making and the artist I am becoming. I’ve become a lot more confident in presenting my work through the weekly routine of showing our outcomes; this is a personal achievement that I am really proud of.
4. What areas for development can you identify within your Visual Language submission and how will you address these in the future?
I’ve tried to be playful and open-minded but I still hold back. I am still a perfectionist at heart and hate the uncertainty of experimentation. I’m getting better at this the more I practice making and sharing my work. I need to continue keeping a personal sketchbook for myself. Visual Language requires attention, reflection and development, so it shouldn’t stop just because the module has ended. I want to continue developing my visual language throughout my personal and professional work. Though I tried to avoid sticking to a ‘visual signature’, I think it is still present in lots of my work. I should intervene and question my habitual image-making decisions.
5. In what way has this module informed how you deconstruct and analyse artwork (whether your own or that of contemporary practitioners)? In the sessions we were encouraged to draw out the basic arrangements of existing illustrations and this opened my eyes to see how all visual products are deliberately constructed and carefully considered.  Using this process, I can visually decode the elements of artwork and identify where image-making principles have been followed. ‘What makes a good drawing’ is a very subjective measure, but I do believe that this module has refined my taste in artwork and encouraged me to have opinions. Reflecting on my progress and reviewing the work I’ve made for Visual Language has helped me to identify the strengths in my skillset and which practical skills I need to continue developing. I am even more critical of my own work, because I know what I am capable of and I am very aware that I could always improve.
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance					x
Punctuality					x
Motivation				x
Commitment				x
Quantity of work produced			x
Quality of work produced			x
Contribution to the group				x
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self-evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.

Colour Palette

Making a colour palette using Photoshop is so easy to do and it's really insightful to see the colour scheme split down into exact hues. Not only does this make a gorgeous and professional design sheet,  but this process enables me to objectively measure which colours are the most prominent and how the values interact on the photograph. 

With the colours lined up in this way, I can re-order them and even go in and alter the palette to test whether an alternative value would work better in place of the existing one. If I take a photo, I can use Photoshop to break down the colour scheme and if the colours are too far removed or they clash I can look at the colour wheel and find a solution before changing a value and re-shooting.

Colour value is something I want to investigate further - it's such a vital part of visual language that I've found interesting to learn about. I can now see WHY the colours work well together, rather than simply guessing by the eye. Before this brief, I'd look at a colour palette and think 'yes, they work together. They look good.', but now I can evaluate what it is that works (the similarities or the high contrast) and how the artist has used the values to achieve their intentions.

My intention was to make a natural, sensual and fanciful tone to suit this fantasty pixie character. These colours are analogous as they sit closely together on the colour wheel and I think that they succeed in constructing a subtle, soft palette. The fairy stands out because she is sporting the darkest and strongest blue value dress, but because the greens in the mid-ground are next to blue on the colour wheel (though not as heavy in weight as that dark blue hue) she does not seem out of place or unnatural in the scene.

I didn't think that the red broom in the background would be noticable when I took the photograph, I imagined that it would just fade into the back with the rest of the scenery, but after breaking down the palette I can see why that isn't the case. Now that I am tuned into looking FOR colour. Because red is the complementary of green, which features heavily in the foreground, these two colours point each other out. The red has no place to hide when it is the warmest value in the image and when it is paired with its opposite.

When I next take a photo of my dolls, I will consider all elements of value within the frame: the foreground, the plants and the background. This should help me to acheive the most aesthetically pleasing and immediate palette and help me to introduce atmospheric intent into the image too, such as a mystical vibe by using enigmatic dark values against lots of foggy mid-tones.

Colour Variations

My garden is the best place for taking photos of my dolls. Natural lighting (on a not-so soggy Yorkshire day) provides the perfect exposure.

Looking for orangey hues to contrast the blue garment, but because it's still basically Winter, there's not much bloomage in bright colours. Mostly greens and a couple snowdrops pokin' through.

Light on dark - on mid-tone background. Striking and high contrast.

Annoyed by those little hairs all over her dress! The downfall of fibre hair rather than woven wool strands is that fibre hair has a tendency to fuzz (making it quite noisy where a sleek strand would not detract focus as much) and it also makes a mess.

Light on mid-tones.

Bamboo throne. Her hair and skin is washed out by the white values in the bamboo shoots. Her hair should be the lightest value in the frame but it recedes back and doesn't jump out as far because there is a lack of dark value to juxtapose it and make it POP. The background is mostly just mid-tones so there's nothing to 

Left: Light on dark on light. The reds are too dark and there is too much contrast, making a really sharp and painful palette. They don't harmonise. Red and blue don't sit in a relationship on the colour wheel, if only the red was a little more orange in hue then the colours would be opposites and make a more pleasing tone.

Right: Struggling to decode this one... the yellow is very strong and intense, but it's light. Does that make it a dark or light value? Either way, the yellow is too intense and draws attention away from the doll, who should be the focal point.

  

Light on light.

Washed out by the amount of light in this image! There are very few mid-tones to balance out.

THE FINAL MAKE

I want this final task to show what I've learned through this module and how far I've come.

This final task should be the climax to all these months of work. It should bring everything I've learned together in one final MAKE.

MAKE #2:

Paper mache doll. Although the felt doll was soft and posable, I much prefer the painted look of the paper mache versions. Felt is pre-coloured, so has just one flat colour to it. I much prefer the more natural application of painting the paper mache models.

Re-using the same dress I made for the felt mistress, but the paper mache model is a bit smaller so I've had to make some alterations (flower twines holding it up around her shoulders!)

Struggled to get the face right on the felt doll too. It's not ideal to paint or draw features onto the felt so I'd have to embroider the face on. The design needs some tweaking, whereas my paper mache dolls are already a tried and tested design!

Did something a bit different with this one though, she's got two-toned fibre hair. I mixed a blue and a natural white to get this streaky mop. Since this week's challenge is about COLOUR, I'd really like to photograph her next to some kind of orange scenery for a complementary balance.

MAKE #3

Who am I kidding? I love dressing up. 

Should I just scrap all this doll stuff I've wasted time doing and ACTUALLY DO WHAT I WAS TOLD TO DO? Take a photo of myself in a groovy outfit.

Made a quick felted headress with leafy scraps from my Visual Narratives book

This would look proper groovy with me in all black in a forest.

I love reds and I'm always in the middle of a field (#RiponLyf), so this headdress picks out those complementary colours and would harmonise with the background setting.

Cloth Doll Sleeping Beauty

These photos weren't planned, I just went looking for my sleepy kittens and took photos of the doll curled up with them. Cutey cute cute, doll sleeping on/with my cats, but nowhere near good enough for my FINAL VISUAL LANGUAGE TASK!

There's so much information in the frame that I didn't plan and that I don't like. As the photographer, I am in control of all of these variables - I can change the rug and the lighting and the doll itself. 

Don't just make do with these test shots, go back and try again and this time TAKE CONTROL OF EVERY ELEMENT. IT'S YOUR PHOTO, CAPTURE IT THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO LOOK.

Cloth Doll Clothes Model

Yep, definitely just making more work for myself but I'm enjoying this and I am so curious to see how my doll works in this cloth style.

Just because the task is simple doesn't mean it has to be that way. If I want to challenge myself, I should do just that!

I'm only worried about spending time on it because I don't want to neglect other modules.

 I normally use paper mache but I'm getting so bored of painting the skin and fixing it up when it cracks with movement- this material is not really designed to be posed as my dolls are. I'm using coloured felt

Cotton or some kind of canvas would work well too, I need to find a fabric that doesn't bleed when I draw on the surface.

I want to dress her in lots of funky outfits. I never really pay much attention to the clothes-making aspect of my doll making... I normally just use any scraps of ribbon I have and sew them onto the doll. This time, I'm going to draw them out as patterns first and actually fabricate them as garments that can be taken on/off. 

The focus of this week is COLOUR and I'm starting to forget that already BRING IT BACK NOW JAY. That will be worked on when I dress her and take the final photos of her. I'm thinking a blue colour scheme? Dreamy.

Quite happy with this new way of doll-making. I want to make it again though because it's not perfect, but I love how her limbs move with the cotton joints, so smooth and easy. She's soft and cuddly, more friendly than the paper mache versions.

Not happy with her face, it's too Bratz-like. Her eyes should be narrower and I made such a mess with white pen trying to correct mistakes. I think I'm just going to run with it and keep going.

Value in Illustration

Value
Value can be used to discuss the importance of elements - bringing a subject to the front of the image as the most immediate item through the proportions of value in the image.

Values can create contrast - light on dark or dark on light, or using complementary colours to bounce off one another - and therefore create interest.

Values can also create harmony and balance in an image - using colours that sit closely together on the colour wheel to make a monochrome or analogous relationship that is pleasing to the eye as the colours naturally sit well together.

 Similarly to size and position on the page, value helps to make the illustration read the way that the creator intended.  
Value is a technique used to control the eye of the viewer. It can be used in conjunction with these other compositional methods;  having an illustration with considered value may not be enough to control the viewer or to construct an effective translation of the message - considering value and cropping, overlapping, line of sight, balance, depth and size would reinforce this dictation of how the image is read.

Value can also be used to create tone and atmosphere, using a very dark palette can make a scene appear moody and mysterious, whereas an illustration flooded with light values would seem more ethereal.

Examples

Tin Tin
Herge's illustrations for TinTin are an excellent example of how colour can be used in different ways:
Creates atmosphere in his scenes - stormy, murky to suit the adventure/ pace of the narrative.
Herge used complementary colours to balance the values in his frames. So that the image wouldn't be over saturated by the blue value of a sea, he would introduce the complementary orange in the rest of the scene to play against this.
Herge often used the same scheme throughout his panels of comic for consistency.

Peter P. Plasencia

Not always about colour but also about values. 

Plasencia understands the rules of value and plays with these in his illustrations. Though only using black and white monochrome shades, Plasencia manages to enchant the viewer by highlighting areas of focus and interest in his drawings.

I find his illustrations really inviting because there is so much detail that is hidden within the mid-tones. Plasencia almost flirts with the viewer by showing a little, but not revealing everything. There's tiny things that you don't see at first glance, but have to take a closer look to realise.

In the above image, the characters are the focal point of interest. They have been drawn in the darkest value of black and are positioned on top of the lightest value of white in the image, creating a huge area of contrast. This draws the eye immediately.

The rest of the scene is mostly drawn in mid-tones (the ship, the people on the ship, the water), with dark values accentuating features (ropes, chains on the boat) and light values knocking block areas of into the background. The line of sight follows the ropes up to the boat slowly, investigating the rest of the scene and decoding the story behind it.

Plasencia uses value to describe shape and shade too, Value can be used to comment on weight and power, such as the heaviness of the dark/mid-tone water or the power of the protagonists dressed in black.

FAN POSTER - Printing Process

Scanned and cleaned up positives. Tested colour overlays to see how it might print in the real version, can't tell for definite how it's going to translate on the screen prints.

NERVES!
I'd had my positives ready since the start of the week but was feeling so so so so so nervous about printing.
I'VE SCREEN PRINTED BEFORE, WHY WAS TODAY ANY DIFFERENT?
I felt so sick and dizzy and considered not going to the screen print session at all because I felt so awful, but I know it's just that silly mind of mine playing tricks so I pushed on and did it.

The coping mechanism to rule the world: MANIC OVERCOMPENSATE. Yes, I'm singing and dancing but it's the only way I can stop myself from shutting down completely lolz.
Anyway, enough of that lovely stuff.
ALSO LYNDON IS A TOP LAD AND HE GUESSED THAT MY POSTER WAS LABYRINTH STRAIGHT AWAY.
I'm just so glad I had Swan with me. Feel so much more comfortable to have a super friend who knows me and gives me confidence in what we're doing while I'm freaking out. Go Swanny!

COLOUR
Swan wanted to use pinks and neon colours for her yoga poster and I was going to just compromise and go with that BUT... Turns out we could actually use our own colours!
I was planning on purple and a blue but on the table there was a pre-made mustard yellow (very Bronte) and I couldn't resist. Labyrinth is a tricky one, you can't really tie it down to any colours other than natural earthy tones (greens and browns). For my fan poster I wanted something mystical (purples) but not too feminine and not too dark and scary.
Still not sure whether the purple and yellow was the right choice but it looks groovy, it stands out and they work together. I don't think they really reflect Labyrinth but they look funky.

DEPTH
I think I successfully integrated depth into my composition. Seeing other people's fan posters, some people had forgotten about the task's focus.
Although I'm still not happy with the way that the bubble reads (it just doesn't look like a bubble), this poster has overlapping, scale and perspective; all of these factors help to create the illusion of depth in the image.

RESPONSES
People can tell what the subject is! It's obviously Bowie (no, his eyes aren't REALLY two different colours but people think that so the two-colour trick worked to capture his quirky quirks).
My peers liked the colours (I like them too but I'm not sure whether they were the RIGHT decision for my theme).

TECHNICAL
Tehcnically, I don't think these prints are great. They're wonky and messy and scruffy.
I'm not sure how many people can appreciate the value of time and effort imbued into these posters through the process of screen printing.
I know I can do it, but I'm just not sure I'd want to go back down on my own. I need reassurance and company to keep me going.

PEOPLE WANT TO BUY THEM
which is great, woo!
But I made these for myself and for my room. It's groovy that I can make a little dosh from them but I don't want to get too engrossed with what's trendy or pleasing for them - more that I am making work that excites and interests me. Sales is just a bonus.

Fan Poster Designing

HOW DO I DRAW A CRYSTAL BALL? I'm still quite a perspective noob. I don't understand it and just can't work out how to make Sarah look as though she is INSIDE the bubble and also IN FRONT of Jareth's face.

Roughing it out and just drawing variations until it's right. Hm.

Studio dudes are probably sick of me asking for their opinions. HOW DOES THAT LOOK? IS THAT BETTER? I need to have my own opinions and make decisions on my own, but it's also great to get an outsider's view when I've been sat staring at these roughs all day and can't tell what's good/bad.

https://ladygeekgirl.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/labyrinth-bubble.jpg

The above image is what I'm aiming for. Sarah in her bubble... but a little more difficult in TWO colours (and in SHAPES). In screen printing we're using just two coloured inks BUT I can also use the white of the paper stock as a third colour and even overlap the two colours to create a fourth colour! This would work well for the iridescent shiny spots of the bubble itself.

Fan Art Poster Positives

Chosen a composition! There's depth in the image in that Sarah is in front of Bowie's face, but she is also a lot smaller and I've tried to demonstrate that she is actually inside the crystal. Not sure if that's so clear because I'm rubbish at representational drawings but hopefully it kinda shows that.

Split the drawing into two layers - dark colours with the background and facial features - and light colours with his hair and the bubble.

Discussed colour with Swan - we're not too sure just yet… Swan is doing yoga and maybe wants something a bit brighter but I need moody colours hm.

Really excited to get these printed but I am SO NERVOUS about doing the actual screen print.

Got some pre-orders already m8.

Depth - Miroslav Sasek

SLASEK. I've heard the man's a legend.

WHY have I never looked at his work before today?

I always get his name mixed up with Sendak. Maurice Sasek. Miroslav Sendak. Wot.

Anyway. Not Sendak, he's a top dog too, but today I'm talking Miroslav.

In this week's session of Visual Language we explored the concept of DEPTH within illustration. Depth is the illusion of distance and space within an image. There are several techniques that illustrators can use to achieve a sense of depth, such as overlapping. Overlapping is the process of placing one object in front of another, thus making the object in front closer to the viewer and the object behind farther away. Another technique use to create depth is the size of elements in the image. As a simple rule of perspective, the closer something is to the viewer, the bigger it will be, and the farther away an object, the smaller it becomes. Illustrators may make elements in the foreground larger in proportion to the smaller details in the distance, nearer the vanishing point.

Back to Slasek.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/e0/cc/79/e0cc790715a8fecd0c8cf202e5974c59.jpg

The image above is one of the ones we analysed in session. Sasek has created a sense of depth by drawing a crowd of people whose figures overlap, demonstrating that these figures are stood behind one another, so the platform has depth in that it has space to accommodate for this crowd.

The figures get smaller as they reach further to the back of the platform and towards the tunnel (the furthest point from the viewer and the vanishing point of the image). The largest figure in the foreground (the man in the bottom left) is the closest subject to the viewer, so his face is larger in proportion to any of the other figures. Illustrators also use size to place importance on elements that they want to highlight, so this man could also be of significance to Sasek.

This image has several lines of sight, though I am not sure which one (if any) Sasek intended. The viewer is directed instinctively to the facial features of the largest figure, and then we follow the direction of his gaze across to the right, where there is a train track but no train. The line of sight could follow the dark train track up to the vanishing point in the tunnel, but the way I see it it moves straight to the wall and bounces across to the other coloured wall. The walls concave and confuse the eye with their bright colours. Perhaps the intention of this was to create a chaotic tone to suit the commotion of the busy scene.

I think that this image is really poking fun at the ridiculousness of our human behaviour. Of waiting and watching, and not interacting. We stand at stations and stare at walls of adverts.

Sasek's illustrations are sophisticated, commenting on real life situations and people. This makes his work relate-able for the audience. I think his illustrations are timeless. Even though the outfits suggest a little about the time of production, the intense colours he uses and the style of his characters are still appealing and trendy today.

FAN ART

What am I a fan of?

THIS HAS TO BE

THE MOST FUN TASK YET???

Everyone knew I was going to do Labyrinth JEEZE GUYS YOU KNOW ME TOO WELL

Yea I love Labyrinth.

Not sure which characters to focus on! Who is the most important?

Protagonists: Jareth, Sarah
Other Characters (in order of appearance): Toby, Goblins, Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus

Typeface: Do I need text to title it? LABYRINTH. Or should I include a quote?
"Should you need us"
"How you turn my world, you precious thing"
"I move the stars for no one"
"Give me the child"
"You have no power over me"

Composition:

Using real frames. What is the most crucial scene?

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/84/4d/c9/844dc9b1ffc49bf197355a5c4d3e8f43.jpg

A bold and ambitious scene showing the entirety of the labyrinth and the castle beyond the Goblin City. This very important in relation to the narrative, and it already has depth.
It is too obvious? The title of the film is LABYRINTH so maybe we don't need to see that.

The Elephant, The Butterfly and I

I really struggled with Visual Language this week.

Trying to squeeze an elephant, a butterfly AND myself into one illustration was a huge task, even though it was really just one ink drawing.

I got caught up with trying to create an interesting composition and concept that would be different to everyone else's. I didn't want to go for something obvious.

After several roughs, I went for one with me and a butterfly in the reflection of an elephant's eye. In theory I liked this idea, but trying to execute this in ink was trickier than expected.

I don't usually work with ink and brush so I found it difficult to control the media, especially with such a complex subject.

I didn't like how it turned out and didn't present it on the wall at the end of the day because to me it wasn't FINISHED or of a standard for anyone else to see. I was really disappointed in myself, especially when I saw that other people had just taken the challenge and had a little fun with stretching the boundaries of composition. STOP TAKING THINGS SO SERIOUSLY, STELLA.

Had some personal anxiety issues this week too, resulting in a lovely lil' fainting session at the end of Tuesday. Need to take time to sort myself out, but I know that I can't do that until I've successfully completed this task (according to Jayrules). So I'm compensating by treating myself to chocolate and taking things a little slower, but also letting myself get on with this task I'm so desperate to re-do.

Second Attempt

'Avin some fun. Taking a step back and distorting proportions slightly to allow for all three elements to be visible in one frame.

STEPPING AWAY FROM REALISM and going back to what I enjoy - storytelling. IS THIS A REAL MOMENT? No, so make it up and use some creative freedom. The frame of me reflected in the elephant's eye didn't tell a story (though it could have if I'd painted it better I guess) but this second attempt (me sleeping on an elephant's trunk) has a much clearer and more consistent tone of tranqulity. From the resting butterfly, to a sleeping Jay and an Indian decorated elephant, this illustration is cohesive and doesn't rely on me attempting representational drawing.

Much better. Though anatomically incorrect, (elephant's face/trunk/eye/tusk/ear proportions and my backwards hand, to note just a few of my silly mistakes) this image doesn't make me want to puke when I see it. So much happier and feels good to have the task off my shoulders now that I've finished it. It's up on the wall, a big move for the Jayster.

Proudayou, girl.

I loved Lizzie's SO MUCH (just above mine on the wall - with the girl holding up the elephant). She often makes really representational drawings, but this task has given Lizzie an opportunity to step outside of her usual haunts and try something different. I think it worked really well! Quite graphic without being cartoony and still using her skills in shading and tone. Lizzie's illustration was unexpected, bold and it carried a message about burdens. Nice one, Lizzie!

AGH. IN RETROSPECT, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO COOL TO DO AN ILLUSTRATION ABOUT 'AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM'. Idioms are kool.

Composition

What is composition?

Composition is the arrangement of elements within a picture area.

This is a basic element of all illustration and design, but I've never really given it much attention or consideration before.

This is what makes the difference between image making and sketching - planning! Creating an illustration with a strong composition requires planning and preparing by selecting the most important information and arranging it on the page in the most effective way.

Looking at examples of good composition in today's session, I wanted to have a go at analysing composition myself. I need to get to grips with composition and train my eye to notice the design decisions that impact on how the audience reads the illustration.

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/383791199475517067/

FLORIAN PIGE

This is an endearing image that I want to crawl inside and live within. There's no characters to meet or anything really going on, but it has a calming, quiet atmosphere that is enticing. It is only a small frame of a place, but it seems safe and comfortable.

DEPTH

This scene definitely has depth. Pige has achieved a sense of depth through the layering shapes and elements, suggesting that there is distance between objects in the foreground, mid ground and background. The landscape is made dimensional and inviting by having this illusion of depth.

I would like to see a little more information disappearing into the clouds and blurring out of focus from the viewer's perspective, as the information stops without describing anything far away.

TONE

Pige has used tone to interpret the way in which light falls on the scene.

The rocks are darker towards the front of the scene, whereas the largest cliff at the back is cast in a lighter tone. This image is back-lit by the sunrise. The viewer is submerged by the light and looks into the scene from a vantage point before the sea.

The juxtaposition of light and dark values in the foreground makes the seagull stand out against the dark rock behind it, drawing attention to the front of the image and making this the focal point of attention, despite the dominant information further behind.

This is also aided by the warm horizon behind the water which grounds the scene and softens the divide between water and skyline.

Even though the lighthouse has the second most vibrant and warmest tone of red on the page (only second to the slightly lower horizon), it has been made muted and murky to tone down this information as a slightly less immediate element.

BALANCE

The lighthouse is a strong feature and alongside the biggest cliff, these take up more than half of the frame. To balance the information in this illustration and make the frame sit comfortably, interest has been centred on the seagull on the front left of the image. Like a see-saw, the illustration then has equal values on either side and sits comfortably with the viewer rather than giving them a sea-sick wobble.

The darker rocks at the front feel heavier than the lighter rocks further behind in the frame due to the value of their smooth lines and heavy tones - physically weighing down the foreground to stand sturdier and read as the most important area of interest.

LINE OF SIGHT

Viewer is drawn to the seagull, the brightest area of white in the image and then follows the big cliff to the top in a diagonal line (directed by the sharp edges of the cliff). Pige draws the eye gradually to the 'final destination' of the lighthouse and takes the viewer on a journey through the landscape in this way.

Composition

Thinking about composition has changed the way that I approach drawing and roughing. I'd been precious about my roughs before, but now my book is getting much more free and playful as I sketch out basic shapes again and again in search of the perfect composition.

During the Visual Language session, we were encouraged to look at other illustrators' work and deconstruct their compositions by drawing out the shapes really roughly and investigating how they overlap/relate to each other. Learning how other artists piece images together has helped me to understand how to make the most of the space on my frame. My process has shifted as I have started working backwards, beginning with a plan of the space rather than beginning with a drawing and working outwards. 

This way of working allows me to work as fast as I can come up with ideas. I hope that this new method carries through into other modules in my roughing.

COMPOSITION IS SO IMPORTANT.

I don't think that I'm amazing at composing and this task definitely challenged me. BUT CHALLENGE IS GOOD! The final illustration I made isn't the best composition ever - it's not completely balanced and it doesn't have a clear line of sight - but it is much better than the first version I roughed in my book. Paying attention to the planning has made my illustration process more strategic and the overall image less random.

 I still don't have much confidence in my drawing capabilities when I look at the work produced by my peers, but I can definitely see progress in the things I'm making each week, especially for Visual Language. I've come a long way since those awful life drawings and the work I am putting into the tasks each week seems to be paying off.

Queen

This is the discipline that combines everything I know and love: theatre, costume, shape, colour, photography, design, model making, illustration, character.

It's thinking on paper and making with my hands.

It's creating something tactile and real for other people to see and believe it too.

It's creature design & fabrication.

This task gave me such a free reign of media and process, so I wanted to do what I've been so enamored with for years. I wanted to become part of the fantasy world I encapsulate myself within and I tried to use some of the techniques I've seen on Face Off and Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

This task was a lot of work and I didn't do half of the things I would have liked to... I want to learn more about animatronics and have a go at making the mechanical elements of motion, I'd also love to work with latex and foam to make molds and casts. Although I didn't do everything I would have liked to, I still achieved a lot in this week and did it all from home. I put in so many more hours than I have for any previous visual language task and that's because I had so much fun doing it.

I wasn't recreating things and doing second photoshoots because I felt I had to 'experiment', but because I wanted to see if I could do it better. I was interested as to how I could improve this costume even more.

The reaction from my peers really made the task worthwhile. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I was hoping that my peers would be able to read the theme of magic that I intended.

There was no time for comments, but I'm quite glad that people only got to see a fleeting image of this. It made it even more curious and fascinating because they didn't have the chance to ask questions or break the spell.

The reaction was an exhale of breath. No 'WICKEDD!' or 'COOL!', but a unified gasp. It didn't make them laugh and they weren't left with any questions, but it made most of the room 'oooh'.

Or so I like to think. Maybe it was just everyone yawning at the same time.

It made me feel really satisfied with the end product and I think my costume was successful in conforming to the fantasy genre.

I really liked Molly's worms! She used Plasticine and molded weird little wriggly worms. They were so realistic and I can't get the image of them out of my head.

Amazing how much difference the quality of a photo makes. Try and consider composition and lighting because it can change the entire read of the image.