Rough book

Continuing on with my research on my story and developing the language to make it more age appropriate to my audience, it was important to get all my ideas onto paper and start using all this new knowledge about children's books into action. This simple layout design allowed me to looks at the layout of my illustration, making sure that the illustrations move with the text, and also adding illustrations that move across 2 pages to add drama. This process was successful I understood more about cropping, to add more interest, looking at different angels, birds eye, worms eye, Ariel view points. All these elements are worked into parts of my story to add interest and scale I did it also because it a new challenge for me to work not with just a flat space and understand the background and us of space.

The key challenge I have set myself is working with 3 elements, 1 the their, 2 the behind, and 3 the background.
1: Is the illustrations that are most details and have the most importance
2. Is the background with limited details & texture
3. Is simple shapes no pattern or texture's
I decided on this process from my Scary Stories sets, I added to much detail into the background and lost the importance of the story and also characters that were important were not as details.
So working with 3 elements allowed me more time to work on the characters that are important and less on the background because in the end the characters are the story and need to be as good as the story itself.

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild things Are (1963) American Illustrator & Author Maurice Sendak/ Published by Harper & Row
Though out this project and my development of my Journal this book has always been a constant influence in my work, the layout, scale, colour pallets, connections to the audience and typography. All these elements I have aimed to achieve in my own workings of my children's book. Also the layout, what are the illustrations like? Does the type become part of the illustration or on a separate page?. What was interesting to be was how they incorporated the monsters humor's and personality Sendak created each monster with a different personality a lot like the classic Snow White & the Seven Dwarf's each persona had their own personality that create constant excitement and interest in the story. The quality of the illustrations themselves are interesting, looking at the way be creates the fur on the Monsters this how his understand of materials, the colour pallet is simple and more over powering, he keeps the monsters similar colours depending on the personality for example, one is a female with red hair, one has a birds face when the others are similar in shape. Elements like this are key in my research, I hope to look at other children books for inspiration but this book is a key part of my journey to children's book Design. 

Use Of Enchantment Marina Warner

Bettelheim, Bruno, The Use of Enchantment 1976

“You can't teach children to be good. The best you can do for your child is to live a good life yourself. What a parent knows and believes, the child will lean on.” 
― Bruno Bettelheim

This book has been a key influence not only in my Critical Journal but on my practice also, my subject matter has revolved around the historical important of Fairy tales. What they mean? Why they are important to children? How they have changed?

My journey as an illustrator will never end and developing my style of working with children's books is something I an keen to develop my knowledge of, this book has allowed this process to happen. It digusses the emotional, dark & sinister meaning, talking about hoe Authors have abandoned the tradition tales of horror, myth and death. I will continue to us Bettelheim as a key influence to my work, and I cannot wait to learn more about the tales I listen to as a child and what dark meaning they may have?

Fashion Illustration Work Shop

Experiencing Prague in all its wonder was amazing, the buildings, Charles bridge, the exhibitions we went to, but that main reason behind coming to Prague was to sign myself put to do a workshop with a very talented fashion illustrator called Irina Kaygorodova.

After all the walking and following Jo to were her studio was a an experience and such fun, Irina's studio was so beautiful and the perfect place for your create mind to run free. The highlight for the hole session was the example Irina gave us, I could what her paint all day. She was incredibly relaxed even though Irina has about 13 students watching her while she painted ( No pressure). I could really tell that she new how to us watercolour, how it moves, how she can work with it, how much or less water she needed to produce what she was aiming for. 

Watercolour isn't my strongest materials in my visual world and I felt like I wanted to find some scissor or some wallpaper and start cutting, but that just who I am. But I forgot how at peace painting and working with watercolour was, for the first time in a long time I was so relaxed and felt more pressure to get the face or hands I was painting right, it was just the journey that  I was enjoying the most. 

But when it got to the eyes, it was difficult but just watching Irina and how she works with not only the brush but the end of it to create eye lashes was very interesting.

The hole day was amazing and teached me more about how to maybe work with watercolor more in my illustrations especially with text. This is my example of an eye, needs a bit more work but it was a lovely experience and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Irina for the amazing workshop.

http://irinakaygorodova.com/

Laura Carlin

Laura Carlin is an illustrator that I have looked at a lot for inspiration for my children books especially the Iron Man Children's Book. I also looked her work for the quality for her illustrations, because the shapes and colours she use's are very exaggerated an that it what I need to consecrate on in my illustrations, less making them more real and more playful shapes and colours to interact with the children and adult who will be reading the book.

Prague 2013

 

Prague 2013
Prague is the most amazing place in the world, the landscape, the buildings, even the people and the environment was incredible.I would talk forever about my experiences and things I have seen but I don't think we have enough room, traveling to another country is exciting but its even more special when its your last trip as a third year and with your friends you have made in the course. My most favourite part of the trip was going to the MUCHA MUSEUM and the Workshop with Irina Kaygorodova, both experiences were eye opening. 1 learning about MUCHA and the work he produced and the story behind his life and how he created his works, and also learning about Irina work, her experiences in education and working in her studio learning more about the process of watercolour again. 
The group dinner that we had on the last night was interesting, having the chance to meet the new first year as well as getting to no the seconds year also and looking at their work. Well an the night was even more eventful, we danced the night away in Prague.... I will leave it at that....
The Terry Poster Lecture was very interesting, having a chance to look at original posters that are no longer in print, and understanding the process of making posters in that time was interesting, showing us how they were created with college an then printed. 

The hole experience was amazing and I cannot wait to one day go back and show others what I have seen an learn in my time their.

What Does Illustration Mean

Could and should Illustrators do more to push the boundaries of the Discipline.?
On the journey to be a Illustrator the one thing is has tort me to to push boundaries, to understand that anything is possible in illustration. That its not just pretty picture in books, that it means so much more if people took the time to understand how we work and how our minds work they will understand that we create our own images, we have our own imaginations and that we don't just produce work from other peoples ideas. The us of animation, sculpture, and the introduction of technology is something I have worked with in my study years, and have knowledge of how they work, what the end result might be if I choice this materials. The conflict between handcrafted with technology is something that is apparent in illustrators lives. In my work I bring both elements together but the handcrafted style is more apparent than the digital quality, and that how I work, the us of technology is ever changing i books, eBooks and apps have been introduced into our lives, and from personal experience are full of graphics and should have elements of illustration to enrich and bring alive for example a game, an app that changes pictures, these elements don't just have to be boring or be produced by graphic designer because its easier,we shouldn't be labeled as Illustrators that have no imagination.
Illustrators work in all fields not just children books and publishing editorials, a lot of illustrator are influenced by Political & Social matters, when clients are looking for posters or work to be published that they should look at illustrators and not just graphic designers this is what illustrators need to work on to make sure they we are noticed and not forgotten.

I see my work boarding into all areas of design, not only children books, book cover, editorials, 3D sculpture, animation, surface design and even produces design. This is best supported in college because of the equipment we have available, the quality has to be a excellent standard and the experience of the staff will help introduce all these elements and allow you to have that experience to take away with you in the future.

To me I am not too concerned about being called an Illustrator but I understand how people would take offence to being labeled as just an illustrator when they work in other areas other than illustration. Most people ask me what I do an I stay illustration and they don't no what that is so I say Art & Design which is very annoying sometimes, but Art & Design Illustration is what I say to people and by saying this they understand the connection. I think personally this question will never be answered because their will always someone who will agree and disagree.