Visual Journalist - Project Proposal

 PICTURE BOOK TITLE? 

TBC. Something sort & catchy that incorporates my two themes, or something really long winded and over elaborate.


 IDEA: WHAT IS YOUR BOOK ABOUT? 

It's a few things.
It's a collection of colour-coded birds of the world paired with classic and popular sport shoes.So, it's a brief history guide to classic sneakers, whilst also learning about some handsome looking birds that you might not have come across before,and (if you're lucky enough to own one of them)then co-ordinate with your shoes to go out shopping, or clubbing or to your Nan's house. A book for bird & sneaker geeks alike. LEARNING IS FUN. So are bright colours!

 INTENT: WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACHIEVE? 

An attractive,well crafted, well thought out/researched book that could appeal to large range of people, that could help educate or make people reminisce.I realise that if the reader has zero interest in trainers OR birds however - but even if they aren't, then it would at least be some impressive looking random artwork to behold.

 STRUCTURE: HOW MIGHT THIS BOOK FUNCTION? 

Initially thought a concertina/fold out page layout might work, but as there's no story telling or narrative involved with the planned pictures then i may just go for a saddle-stich or stapled format.

 THESE IDEAS ARE BASED ON MY RESEARCH INTO... 

Birds of prey, originally. After my research trip to a Bird of Prey centre, i found i wasn't finding the subject matter quite as interesting as i thought it would be - being a bird-nerd since my childhood days,inherited from my dad.So needed to find a way of making the subject matter more attention-grabbing for a viewer, and for myself. A further trip to the City Museum triggered off the simple idea of basing all of my pictures around colour co-ordination. A walk back home past various shoe shop windows got me thinking about i might combine some of the many trainer colour ways (other nerdy love of mine) with my original subject matter - Birds.

 IN ORDER TO DEVELOP THESE IDEAS, MY RESEARCH OVER XMAS WILL BE... 

Well i was thinking i should try a clearer more communicative concept, or one with more of a story, but i think i've gone too far to turn back, plus i have no other research to, plus i think this could work!

To look in depth at the trainer design classics and the various colours they are available in and to then source images of birds that resemble those trainers. This will be quite time consuming as i don't want to simply find a trainer model and make up the colours to match the birds feathers. I want the the trainers to be an accurate depiction of an existing product.Some may say this is bit anal and pedantic, (they may have a point) but after all it's non-fiction, history book.FACTS ARE FUN ALSO.


SELF EVALUATION

 WHAT HAVE YOU DISCOVERED ABOUT RESEARCH OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS? 

• If you're not researching a subject you're hugely interested in, it can be a struggle to get     motivated and come up with ideas.

• Talking to members of the public/staff can be a good point for getting inside info.(not that i got any)


 WHICH APPROACHES TO RESEARCH DID YOU STRUGGLE WITH? 

• Finding a theme that both myself would find interesting to pursue and that would appeal or communicate with 'joe public'.

• Approaching random citizens and talking to them about anything.


 WHICH APPROACHES TO RESEARCH DID YOU FIND BENEFICIAL? 

• First hand drawing 
• asking staff some questions 
• taking plenty of photos for later referencing (if it's too cold to draw outside!) 


 WHAT DO YOU REGRET ABOUT YOUR APPROACH TO RESEARCH DURING THIS BRIEF? 

• That i haven't chosen a subject that people can understand without a lot of explaining, and even after a lot of explaining still probably wont 'get it'. 

• I didn't produce a whole lot of sketches or drawn ideas. Haven't been able to exhaust my ideas because i haven't really had too many so far.


 WHAT KIND OF MEDIA, SKILLS, TOOLS & PROCESSES ARE YOU GOING TO EXPLORE..? 

BIG BOLD COLOURS to reflect the colour schemes of the birds plumage and designs of the trainers.Possibly looking to get into acrylics, having only a small amount of experience with. This in mind i may go for a mix of media, but then theres a danger of creatively playing to safe, again.Was thinking of simplifying the way i produce my work, but as both of my subject matters are quite detailed and intrigate i don't know how minimal i can really get away with. I'll have to do some test images to get a feel of where i'm going to go with it. May even do a mixture of styles (some simple, some detailed, some sketchy some polished) as not to make the images too repetitive. I'll use hand rendered techniques as much as i can, but achieving the flat block colour i'm looking for may require some digital assistance. 

'Tell an untold Story' - The Visual Journalist PT2

After the deflating end to my last research trip and had been spending the next few days trying to decide where/what to do next. Wether to explore something completely different or to stick with the similar theme. Come the day of the trip i still wasn't massively convinced of my direction, or where to go to find out more. As my funds were low i decided where ever it would i would get using my own two legs without the help of a machine or fuel. I went down the museum route and visited the Royal Armories. No animals but plenty of history,facts, metal clothes & weapons.

I entered the museum with no real idea of what i should be documenting or aiming for, which made the whole process pretty frustrating and at points i just wanted to chuck myself in the canal - but it was a bit nippy out, so i just wandered around sketching and note taking hoping something would spark an idea…

I thought i might've made some sort of mental breakthrough at this point. The sets of amour and uniforms mad me think of the 'outfit grids' that clothing companies put in their mags or on their intstagram feeds, laying out the latest trends. I thought of doing a medieval, or roman, or WW1 etc equivalent and produced a few crude looking mocks.Though possibly an amusing concept, i quickly realised that this would only only really be effective as a photoshop project with stock photo imagery, which isn't a direction i want to go in. That's about all i am sure of with this project at the moment.

I left some time later in the day to go back to the animal theme and visit the City Museum, see what they had going there, in the nature zone. Having never been, i thought it may have been a bit more extensive, but appeared to be mostly stuffed creatures behind glass boxes.Correctly identifying some dead stuffed birds actually the most interested i'd been all day,which was weird, but i bloody got them all right.

There was a 'colour coded' section in the City Museum corner - meaning that there were some display boxes, with a single colour backdrop, and within the box contain birds and butterfly of matching colours. I would've taken photos, but its really dark in there, an i wasn't allowed to use my flash, so thought it'd be easier to explain or draw. I've failed at both.Anyway, i thought it was a good visual way to display the artefact and got to thinking along the lines of a colour co-ordinated concept...

Again, end of the day, rather directionless and deflated. On my walk home through town i was more taken with the trainer shop windows and stopped by a few. Seeing all the different colour variants and patterns that are available, i wondered if there was any way i could combine the two - classic, or popular trainers with birds that are colour co-ordinated with a particular trainer. I realise that this is barely a concept, communicating with the reader may be doubtful,wouldnt really have a narrative as far a picture book goes, and would simply be a   handsome looking book of picture featuring colour-coded AirMax's and Albatrosses?! 

I took this 'brainchild' into the crit with Matt and my class group, and i could see the confused glaze in their eyes and minds as i attempted to explain my concept…

Cowboys & Indians - collage & ephemera poster

I produced an imaginary event poster based around my chosen working theme of Cowboys & Indians. See it below there, now.

Originally my plan was to try and do as much of it as possible in 'real-life' i.e.: without the aid of photoshop, but as with most (all) other weeks on these visual language tasks i left myself short of time so opted to scan all my desired imagery in super hi res and then construct it in Photoshop.

Strengths:

Good computer craftmanship is present once again.

High res scans made from found books allowed me to resize imagery to my liking without losing pixel quality. Also scanned in my own textures to replicate old brown papers etc.

Functions well as a poster, does it job, is eye caching.

Compostiion i felt worked well, leaving ample space for text. Typefaces and spacing have also been carefully considered.

Concept of mixing 1880's with 1980's worked well together.(If you're not familiar with any basic wild western history then you might not get the word-play though?)

Weaknesses:

In my efforts to complete the task in time, with techniques i'm more than familiar with, I've gone down the slightly safe route again.However I've met the deadline, producing high quality work - more so than if i'd attempted making the poster using cut-outs and glue sticks.

Too polished.

Still not moving out of my production comfort zone very much.

Using Photoshop to collage my images led to too many possibilities/ arrangements/ compositions and actually hindered my progress. Doing it 'live' would've meant a more spontanious result and less headaches and content decision making about every little element of the collage and where they could be positioned.In short, having unlimited options, with no risk of ruining what you've already done - combined with being super indecisive is can be an obstacle.Simplify.

Visual Narratives - Peer Feedback

 Details of your first research location 

ICBP Duncombe, Helmsley. International Bird of Prey Centre. 75min Drive from Leeds,situated within the grounds of Duncombe Park,a  great big posh manor house.

 What where your expectations before your visit? 

Peaceful • Green • Quiet • Excellent scenery •  Good Collection of Birds • Plenty of facts and info.

 What you did there/ what happened? 

Saw some flying displays • Spoke to bird handlers/trainers • Took plenty of photos of birds and buildings • Sketched birds but hands seized up due to freezing winds • Bought an awesome 3-d jotter from the gift shop.

 Details of each form of research requested:

Collections/patterns/typologies 
Gathered info about history of the centre, and the birds.Sketched the birds and the various patterns on their feathers.Snowy owls etc…


People/interview/quotes
Spoke to the trainers that were flying the birds • Brief chat with an old guy who was taking photos • There wasn't any other people there

Expericence/you/location/journey
Left Helmsley slightly less excited about birds of prey than i thought i was originally was.In captivity they're not as interesting,as they don't do much apart from sit down, and maybe flap around a bit. Of course, i was always aware of this.

Journey home was a bit tricky as all my devices ran out of battery (camera & two phones) and i had no map to get home. Was probably more noteworthy than the whole of my day out you could say?


Factual/Historical/Secondary Research
Gathered some facts from the workers and bird trainers - also got some historical stats from online sources, from when the centre first opened and expanded.


 How did you use photography to document your field trip? 

As i couldn't use my hands to draw, i relied on my camera for most of my reporting - which ran out before i'd left. Was mostly of the birds in their averies rather than flying about.In hindsight, i should of hired a DLSR for some more action shots. But not entirely sure how action shots would've benefitted my findings?


How have you used writing and note taking to speculate and develop potential routes for further development in your sketchbook?

i took notes of the info i found out and of my own thoughts but i didn't really come up with any real potential routes whilst on my research trip.

 From the research you've done so far, if you had to make a book tomorrow - what would it be called? Or be about? 

Well, based the small selection of ideas and things i found interesting on my day out (mainly finding out about hybrid falcons ) it would probably be called 'Spliced: A book of hybrid creatures created for no real purpose'. Catchy eye?

 What would be the purpose/tone or intent of this book? 

It would be a light hearted, comedic and obviously quite conceptual as it would be combining various animals in ridiculous ways, would leave a lot to experiment with.



FEEDBACK

How well has the illustrator speculated around their research?Are they interrogating their research effectively to generate potential solutions?

I have researched quite well • not much visuals (due to cold conditions) • i could read up about selective cross breeding


 Comment on the use of drawing as a research tool 

Under the conditions quite well - tried out some different possible techniques for final book

 Which proposed themes/concepts at this point do you feel have the most potential for further development?What/where should they go next with their research? 

Hybrid creatures • 'Franken-creatures' • Victorian animal experiments • Weird taxidermy

Possibly go to Tropical World,or museum to see more animals dead or alive.(the animals, not me)




At this point its safe to say I've become pretty unenthused with my subject matter.Been struggling to come up with a concept that i would be interested in and that other people would be interested in looking at for 12-16 pages, which I'm finding impossible as different people enjoy different things. Hearing some of the classes ideas i can't say i'm really interested in looking at some of them, but they might really be into the subject matter. Its all about personal preference surely.I don't understand how achieving a happy balance can even be possible? 
I also need to figure out if the birds of prey line of development has any legs, or if i can jazz it up for the non- bird of prey caring pubic..alsomwhere to continue my research.

In short. I'm rather lost at this juncture.

'Tell an untold Story' - PART: 1 The Visual Journalist

The 1st of 2 individual 'field trips' to research and collect info in relation to our new studio brief; to create a picture book 'telling an untold story', focusing on research driven outcomes rather than creative writing.

I drove up a massive a hill and visited ICBP Duncombe, a Bird of Prey Centre in Helmsley - which, not a single Northern person i'd asked about  it had ever heard of. But it does exist and its about a 70min drive from Leeds. Id looked into a few Bird of Prey centres in various locations, but this place had plenty of good reviews and the location looked pretty rolling so gave it look. Whilst i was there i would need to make sure i used 4 research strategies;

Collections: patterns,codes,variations on a theme... 
Facts: historical info, data, stats…
People: interviews, observations,quotes...
You (me) : experimental, real time, first hand observations…

I got there just as a flying demo was starting so i got busy with my digital camera & made some notes. Both these tasks would've been executed better if i'd A) hired a DSLR from the photography dept. B) taken some gloves to wear, as the centre was on top of a hill so the wind chill took the temp to barely over 0º and my hands seized up after about 10mins!

On arrival i became massively annoyed with this logo 

and it's topsy turvey typeface. It's just all wrong.I'm still not over it.

The ancient, mystical building that lead me

to/from a mystery kingdom (the gift shop).

                                                                                                                                         

               

Ural Owl

Crested Caracara

Visual Language - Cowboys & Indians (cont...)

SHAPE & TEXTURE:
We carried on the exploration of shape with another 12 images. This time we focused on texture in our pictures.

Photoshop brushes made with scans of brushstrokes i'd painted earlier

I've got to say,i enjoyed this task the most out of the whole lot so far.Was trying more varied media once again - had a little go with acrylic paint (dry & wet) as i'd previously never used them. Combined it with some masking tape to achieve the clean straight lines i so crave, but with the free and easy brush strokes and combining of colours. Was also collecting bits of paper and painting on them, even a old greasy take-away bag i found in the bin.(the bin in my room, not a public one. I'm not that dedicated to ephemera). Once again, wish i'd made lots more, buts it's helped me appreciate the immediacy and at times the randomness of analogue techniques and the results you can get.