More Interaction!

I had this idea where I wanted to create a book which was interactive so rather than a pop-up book I did pages which would slide in and out. At this stage it's just an idea so I intended to play around a bit more after. I wasn't too sure what sort of feed back I'd get but my tutors seemed really pleased with pushing this sort of idea. This was great! So hopefully something else will come from it! :)

I love the idea of having two types of images. Firstly showing the viewer a black and white image which is much more detailed and 'adult', which also includes the cut out writing (this can then show a hint of what lyes behind it - this makes it interesting and more exciting too, especially for children). The second page which slides out it a huge contrast with the idea being that it's just an explosion of colour and movement, with no text. 

I'd need to experiment more with the size of the book and also the shape. At the moment I am a little stuck because I like the idea of having a BIG book but I also like it long - it's an interesting shape (landscape) and makes me feel like I can follow the kittens through the garden. 

The Little Turtle

Here is a book which my mum actually took and copied. Unfortunately I can't remember the actual book which is a real shame because it was beautiful. When I find it again I shall let you all know! You can see where I get my desire to draw from (mum and my nan who wrote the kitten poem) as she just wanted to make something so this was what she decided to do. The difference with this story is that she made it into a concertina book so we could follow the little turtle on his journey. Although I don't want to make the same style of book, this is what inspired me. As mentioned on my previous post this is what I had in mind when I explained about the shape of the book being long across the landscape. We can watch the kittens on their journey as they dig up and destroy the flowers in the garden.

Close ups

Full length book

Text on Photoshop

So finally after many changes and lots of concentration I finally managed to upload these images. I had actually finished before we finished for Christmas but it's just taken me a while to figure out how to get them on my blog. I just wanted to get the text up on the pages but rather than write it, have it presented with a professional looking finish. So I fiddled around with InDesign, created some basic guides so generally the text would be written in the correct spacing and have the text in a specific style of typography. Typography isn't my strongest point so it's definitely something worth thinking about if I were to continue with this story for my final major project.

Northern Lights Exhibition

So even though this semester has been quite busy, I decided it would be a good idea to put my work in an exhibition. Fortunately I heard about the Northern Lights Exhibition at Harrow Arts Centre, London, and some of the work I had done previously seemed to fit the theme for it very well. I submitted the pieces I had in mind and they were approved so my work is now being displayed! The exhibition runs from the 5th december 2013 to 5th January 2014. 

These pieces are actually from my Firebird book from last year but I felt they were sinister enough to fit into this Northern Lights theme. It's really exciting to have my work displayed somewhere else, especially as you don't know who might be viewing it. It's only a small stepping stone but a stepping stone none the less - another step to get out there!

Here's the link to the website :) … 

Harrow Arts Centre - Northern Lights Exhibition

Acetate, Water colour and Cut-outs

Flowers and text

Unfortunately the last week was very slow going as I was lucky enough to come down with tonsillitis. However, it did give me plenty of time to think and a few ideas seemed to come to me naturally - or at least a bit more naturally. Amazing how the mind worlds when you're not trying!

So I started to play around with cutting out the text for the poem onto the pages instead of simply drawing it, but then it meant I could start putting things behind it too (This is what I hope to experiment with next!). I also rediscovered a load of acetate I had in my art cupboard and I starting drawing on that too, just to see what affects I could create by layering the acetate on top of the watercolour illustrations.

I like the idea of the characters (the kittens) interacting with the text which is something I'm going to keep in mind and I also want to continue with the idea of cutting out the writing. Hopefully I can get things moving again. 

Inspirational websites for imagery and typography

Just been keeping a look out for some inspiration in the typography world. Typography isn't my strongest point so I thought it best to have a good look around first. Here are just some websites, involved in the graphic/illustration world or not that I felt captured a mood, sparked my curiosity, or just jumped out at me. Some are full of character and others are quite exquisite I think. So here are the sort of things I've been researching. Hopefully you'll enjoy them as much as I have.

http://www.designeat.com

http://www.carlobarberis.com/en/

http://forefathersgroup.com

http://www.fontshop.com/fonts/category/

http://www.denisechandler.com

http://www.vgrafiks.com

Nate Williams

Always keeping an eye out for ways to get into the industry or start my own career as an illustrator and even just get some advice. Sometimes, without a lucky break it almost seems an impossible place to start.

 I came across Nate Williams, an illustrator and designer who has worked for many clients, has consistent and truly amazing work and gives plenty of advice and tips on his website. Yes please to all!

It certainly gives me the hope that I can eventually do it after university and will definitely keep me inspired. It's still a goal worth going for.

Website

Blog

My growing collection of Dummies!

My collection and the more the better! Just wanted to show you how I'd printed the images I'd created on watercolour paper and put them together as a proper dummy book so I could see how they'd work properly. I used exactly the same images just adjusted them to different sizes and widths. 

This here is the same book, the difference is I stuck it together in different places. It's a shame as I prefer the layout for the longer version but I can't have a book where the opposite page is completely blank so it'll be time to experiment again soon!

Text as an Image

For the next few days I will be focusing on how I can affectively use text within the book. It's for children so it's important that it's visual and exciting too. One of my tutors even said to treat the text as an image, which I think is probably one of the best ways to approach this part of the book. I intend to experiment with the lettering, where it can go on the page and how it can relate to the main images in the book.

I only touched on this last week so here is a preview! x