Applied Illustration - Peer review

Coming into the peer review i hadn't made any progress as far as practical work goes- it has just been loads & loads & loads of research into existing products. I've been so preoccupied with trying to come up with something that doesn't resemble anything anyone else has done that I've become too scared to actually start drawing anything, because i can't think of anything new that no-one has already similarly done already. This is becoming a problem across all the modules - iv got new Pro-Markers, Microns, new brush pens, bristol board that have been sitting in my drawers & collecting dust since Christmas because i can't think of anything worthy to use them on. 

The peer session was a help though. Fellow group members also agreed that i shouldn't be getting bogged down in trying to make something totally, absolutely original without any inspiration from other artists' efforts, and that i just need to let go of all the research into others' work & start drawing my own! 

I explained how i thought my proposal wasn't 'adventurous' enough compared to some of the ideas i'd heard from other students (murals, paper cutting, full-on book cover & illustration design). Again i was assured that it's not always all about being adventurous and making some sort of crazy concept - if cult film poster artwork is the sort of work i want to be doing with my practice, then that's what i should be doing! My research had now gone from cult film posters (that had a link to my time growing up) to cult film short stories/cartoon strips, drawn in a 'children's book illustration' style but depicting adult themes as seen in the chosen films (see examples below, including  Mike Mitchell and Luke Mcgarry). 

Admittedly, my thinking had gone off on a bit of tangent, and the group feedback was that this new direction was unnecessary and that my initial concept was good enough to go with. As i was struggling to decide on 2 more films to accompany RoboCop, that i have fond memories of watching when i was little, it was suggested that as RoboCop was made in 1987,(which will make it 30years old next year) that i pick two other films from the same year and produce 30th Anniversary prints for them…a master stroke. Really don't know why i didn't think of that - too bogged down trying to think how the artwork shouldn't look?! 

So now with a focused idea of what to look into next i can hopefully start making rough sketchbook ideas and i really need to, as time has flown on this one already.

Applied Illustration - Gig posters

Was thinking away from cult films from my younger days, and considering doing something related to the 80's synth music i'm a big fan of. The likes of Gary Numan, Mirage, John Foxx, Duran Duran, Flock of Seagulls…i could go on. I was pointed in the direction of Gig Posters, which has a massive collection of poster art for all the bands under the sun. The quality varies, as always - but looking at some of them its made think i that maybe i should think about loosening up my process. Randomly same across (Tom O'Connor tipped me off) some gig posters for Craig Charles drawn by Russell Taysom (below) - which are big and bright and not fussed being anatomically correct. They're fun, which is something I'm not getting a much from with my work these days. Having only just thought of making the switch to music themed artwork ill continue to research whats out there to see if it sparks anymore inspiration.

Applied Illustration: What's been done already?

With Robocop being a firm film favourite, and one that holds fond memories of being a 10/11 year old, was first 18Certificate flick i ever saw,at a mates house.He'd recorded it off Sky Movies back in the early days when no normal people could afford Sky. I investigated into what sort of existing designs had already been produced in an attempt to avoid inadvertently creating something that looked the same as another artists efforts. After a while of trawling through examples i could tell that this wouldn't be an easy task, as it appears so many people have already made Robocop poster art (commissioned or fan art), in their own particular 'style'. 

Looking at them (some rather more accomplish than others) I'm struggling to think of a way that i could bring anything new or different to the existing back catalog of designs.

RoboCop poster art

The more i researched the more i thought, "is this even a proper idea. Is it even an idea?" I'm finding it hard to work out what this module is really about. If we don't physically have to make the end proposed product, then we could propose anything that would be totally unrealistic and unachievable. If it all comes down to concept, (and it usually does) then I'm going to be in trouble again, because i'm not sure making posters for Mondo is a concept - it's just a dream commission.  

Applied Illustration - Further poster research

Per chance, prior to my progress tutorial with Ben- myself & Ben had a chat about what i was thinking of doing, and I explained that i'm aiming to base it around Cult Films, namely of the 80's time period, when i was growing up - a subject that he also is pretty nerdy about, which is a rare yet welcoming reaction, considering the age group of my peers, most of them havent even seen Back to the Future! So we sat and compared our lists of top cult/dodgy 80's films, as well as discussing possible directions to take the idea into. Eseentially we had the Progress tutorial there & then, but in my actual tutorial he also suggested looking at the artwork for B-movie posters, also research some Russian & Polish Art  - which he said had a tendency to be pretty abstract & striking.Minimal graphic design (past & present) also found its way into there. Also on the research list was 'Fan art', which both we both agreed that i should be wary of, and theres a big difference in fans doing drawings of the films they like and the officially commissioned illustrations.The main difference usually being the the production quality and level of craft. Having looked briefly into Lithoprinting as a process for the final outcome, using restricted colour palettes and a colour pallete relevant to the time period should also be looked into. 

Artists featured include:  Krzysztof Iwanski, Rosocha Wieslaw, Wasilewski Mieczyslaw & the art of CYRK.

Trawling through Pinterest, Google and the Library i found i load of bold, visually striking poster art from the last century, some very minimal indeed, which i was particularly draw too - it got me thinking about how i could possibly apply some of the 80's film titles i'd grown up watching to these aesthetics and also what sort colour schemes i could play about with. In my mind it's exciting me, but i can't help thinking that i should be making something more adventurous or challenging..? 

I'm also thinking that it might just be another one of those ideas that i & i alone would find interesting, and it'l turn into another personal project, with no appeal to anyone else. 

i-D mag covers from the 80's

Examples of fan art

Olly Moss rip-off design

Questionable (imo) Pulp Ficiton poster.

505 Applied Illustration - PROPOSAL FORM

 

Product, Range & Distribution - Initial Artist Research.

More list writing in todays studio session. This time we went around linking Products, Ranges & Distribution to some of our given categories for the Applied illustration module.(Object & Environment, Product & Packaging etc) Although initially thinking i was going to work with Object & Environment as the basis of my project, after further consideration i think Product & Packaging will be better suited to what i'd like to achieve. The two subjects quite easily merge together anyways.

These are some of the lists people had drawn up. Was interesting to see just how much stuff you can associate with each category, and it definitely helped me to come up wit home initial ideas, as, at the start of the lesson i was still a bit baffled to what exactly we were being asked to undertake.

Having made the switch to Product & Packaging, i sat down for a bit and made a mindmap of the subject matter that excites and fills me with enthusiasm when its comes to being a brief. Something that I've been finding increasingly difficult in recent times. But theres always a stalwart selection of topics that i'll refer back to to generate some motivation to 'make'.

Mindmap of sole themes that power me & that 

would also fit into the Product & Production bracket 

After having a quick look at my mindmap, Teresa brought Mondo to my attention. I'd heard the name before, through being a follower of Olly Moss and Matt Taylor amongst others, so had a idea that they were connected to cult film merchandise, now, namely posters. Check out the website for further research, and theres a shit-tonne of awesome work on there, all based on the the sort retro/cult films i enjoy watching,and that I've grown up being aware of. Even though i hadn't seen many of these posters before they were somehow familiar, and i could see how certain artists' style or approach to designing was influencing other artists work that i had come across.  

There were so many that caught my eye and made me want to just give up and go back to being a gardener again! I've made somewhat of an effort since i started uni to lay off from doing any more fiddly,detailed line work, in favour of more stripped down shape-based work - but what the majority of these examples have is meticulous,mind-blowing craft going into the linework! Crazy amounts of it. It's making me want to go back and try to incorporate it with the simpler, cleaner shapes that I've grown fond of using, along with a limited colour palette and the graphic design/layout skills i came to uni with . Examples of those awesome bastards are featured below. 

(in order of appearance)

KEN TAYLOR • BONEFACE • JOHNNY DOMBROWSKI 

AARON HORKEY • RANDY ORTIZ  • SONNY DAY  

JEFF PROCTOR • OLLY MOSS •  MATT TAYLOR 

MARTIN ANSIN • JOCK •  MIKE MITCHELL • GIANMARCO MAGNANI • SAM WOLFE CONNELLY • JAY SHAW 

TOM WHALEN • HYDRO74 • GABZ • GODMACHINE