ITAP Lecture- Week 7

Development of Creative Thought and Structure in Illustration and Graphic Art.

Overcoming Mindset- Relaxing your Habitual Thinking Patterns

References; Illustration now!, artnet.com, altpick.com,

When you are given a brief, there is an instant setup in many practitioners’ minds that is a set routine- with a stringent way and method of approaching a brief. This could also be known as habitual thinking, which is what we are familiar with, what feels safe and “correct”, what we have been taught, which can lead to predictable results, so by experimenting with your work ,it can lead to more fresh and new ideas emerging.

To break this down, there are three steps;

 1. Think about rules to break, 2. Challenge and change the rules- is there a motive, reason behind it? 3. Be playful and free with your work, don’t be convectional.

These steps may alter the way in which we process and develop our work.

Below are some examples in which illustrators and designers have twisted and adapted tan image into their own style and humour to create individuality.  

Artist Gary Baseman is a good example of this, as  his style of drawing is quite soft and childlike, but the context of his work can be suggested to be ominous, but at the same portrays humour.

The key to this is, from referring to Baseman’s work, use your own imagination and thoughts, and this is where your individuality and originality will emerge, resulting in very unique and sometimes accidental style artwork that may work successfully.  

Managing a Creative Environment

References;city-arts.org.uk, alberta.inetgiant.ca, in-kamiya.jp, easeysartists.com

Being a practitioner is not just being a creative thinker, although this is a major part of the working process. It is also influences around you in terms of the world around us, personal interests, culture and many other things. And it also comes in the form of where the practitioner works, the atmosphere and environment, to create their pieces.

In addition to this, many artists collect materials, and other items that they are interested in or think it would benefit them in their work.

I have found some examples that indicate how different and varied each individual practitioner is in terms of their workspace and preference on how they work.

With this particular studio space I have found, it is a large empty conversion building, and with the work the practitioner is using, it is very fitting as it is large scale pieces of work.

Concerning the following image, it is quite a small special area, but the walls are adorned with patterns and art work as good inspiration in your direct view.

This artist is literally surrounded by their work, and they are immersed in the work they are doing, that suggests passion and the constant turnover of work that is being developed here.

With this studio, there are a lot of technical equipment and storage space. There is no real sense of character or personality compared to the previous studios shown, as no work is displayed. It shows how focussed the practitioner is to completing the tasks set.

Concerning studio space, it depends on budget and preference as well, what suits you and is fitting to you. Whether you want to be organised and store your work away, or display it all over your work space to inspire your following art pieces.

ITAP lecture- week 6

Itap Lecture- Week 6

Production and Outcomes- Influences and Reactions

Interpretation

References- 1st-art-gallery.com, letsreadgreek.com, chilloutpoint.com,

Interpretation is how designers apply meaning within a message and use influences around them and around the world, so everyone can relate to it in one aspect or another.  One example I have found is focussing on the well known Aesop’s Fables, which the stories have remained unchanged for years.

The first images I have chosen were produced in 1912, so this suggests to us that at this time, limited variety of materials was a common occurrence. Only black ink has been used here, as well as it being very detailed. This was the norm and was before abstract and other eras developed.

Moving on from this, I have also found a website that has displayed and that shows an alternative element to show the quite traditional Aesop’s Fables in a more modern and comical way. It uses photographs, and some form of manipulation software to compose the image together. This is in contrast to the previous images I looked that, in terms of progression of technology and style and taste.  It brings the sometimes mundane stories to life and back into the 21^st century.

There are also many books that illustrate these well known fables for children, in which a cartoon style approach has been applied.

With each different type of interptretation seen above, the audience, and the time or era in which it was produced all affect their appearance, and style.

Delivery

References- culture24.org.uk, news.bbc.co.uk, jennirope.com, yespleaseblog.blogspot.com

The delivery of a piece or series of work can be crucial to promoting a designers work to the public eye and prospective clients. Especially for young and new designers in the business, it is a stepping stone to putting their work out there. And also by choosing different media, it is bringing a fresh look out onto the work. This could be in the form of textiles, shop windows, as well as designing for well known brands, like supermarkets or banks.

I have found a couple of designers who have used shop windows as a canvas for their art. Matt Mellor, who entered a local competition, in which artists design and create artwork for empty shop windows in York.  He also has a blog showing all his latest works, which almost every designer has in this modern society to communicate their work to everyone around the world, and locally. A Blog is essential for future clients and so on, but another form of media should be used to ensure maximum publicity to deliver you work to the people.

Napa illustration is a company who help up and coming illustrators to showcase their work, as well as working together with fellow art minded people. This can be delivered in the form of galleries, posters, and shops windows, in which I have focussed on. They have simply used marker pens on the windows to create their artwork, which is very effective and has a charming hand rendered quality.

ITAP lecture-Week 5

Story Development- 3 Act Structure

References; blog.muradqureshi.com, aceshowbiz.com, indiewire.com, sheknows.com

With all films and moving image pieces, there is a basic guide to the order of a moving image piece, which is;

Beginning:Middle:End, or Establish:Crisis:Resolve.

However people adapt and change these structures to suit the context of the film, as well as their style of working.

The example I have chosen is the film “Slumdog Millionaire”, in which I have considered each of the following elements which contribute to the films triumph.

The protagonist in this film is Jamal Malik, who is the main character, who is being questioned by police into attempted cheating in a TV quiz show. He is the one person we follow throughout the story of the film taking us back in time to how certain points in his life affected his life now.

The equilibrium and pace of the film becomes quite steady, but then an event, pinnacle to the story occurs that affects the rest of the film, and this focuses on the part where his mother is killed unlawfully, leaving him to fend for himself and his siblings on the streets, where they encounter drugs, running from the law, amongst other things. This could be classed as a “domino effect”, so as a result of this one event, it disrupts the remaining film and its characters within it.

Additionally, there is an “outer story”, so there are smaller stories happening alongside the main story, so this can result in the protagonist noticing some changes, and these often include an emotional element, which is his romance with Lakita, whom they have known each other since children, and as  she becomes a "damsel in distress" with a violent husband, he rescues her, strengthening their love.

In addition to this, “flashbacks” are featured in this film, with the main character as a child living in the slums of Mumbai, which in turn relates and helps us understand the story, and how the character got to where he is at the point of the film. So this type of structure works very well.

Story Development: The Heroes Journey

References; markreadsharrypotter.buzznet.com, mtv.com, themovieplanet.wordpress.com, forums.superheroetype.com

 In many films, the main character usually undergoes an adventure or task, which is the bulk of the story’s plot.

In this case, I am looking at the Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire and the protagonist is Harry potter, a young wizard. Concerning the mono myth, the main story of the film, which is featured and continued throughout the Potter franchise, is the aim to destroy Voldermort and to find out the truth about the loss of his parents. The first stage, “departure” is continued throughout the film, as Harry is on a task to fight his demons. 

The second stage is “initiation”, which involves meeting with the enemy, so he can become a “champion” in a sense, so his competition he enters from the Goblet of Fire, that entails 3 difficult and risky tasks to win the "challenge cup",unwillingly, is quite a major part of the film, helping him to fight his ultimate enemy, (below).

The third stage is “return” that entails lots of action and adventure, a “race to the finish” with hopefully a happy and successful ending, which in this case is Harry winning the competition, and also his fight against Voldermort.

 This particular principle is key to many films, predominantly adventure and action films. It also entices the audience to follow and become involved with the characters, resulting in a thriving film.