The new semester brings a shift in the focus of our project briefs. We're moving from illustration in response to words, to illustrations in response to ideas. For this first project we're required to create a protest pack for an issue we are passionate about and feel needs more awareness.
          The brief is a lot more open to interpretation than out past projects, so I have decided to break down the whole brief first so it's more digestible and easier to refer to.
 
The main points of the brief:

• media, slogans, banners etc as a voice for the cause
  • ​protest pack takes message with it wherever it's spread 
• ​find a cause that we feel needs more exposure
• create resources to protest for our cause and inform on topic
• resources should be easily available to all so anyone can join the fight
• connecting themes in aesthetic and tone of voice throughout protest pack?
• really think about the different applications of and for illustration e.g. posters, badges etc

​
Outcome Requirements:

• protest pack that can be accessed online​
• all preliminary work presented on blog

I wanted to start with some general research of the idea and imagery of protests so I had a better understanding of ways that people used protest resources effectively. This was important as for my own project, I needed to consider how all of the components of my protest pack would work in a real protest scenario.

I also wanted to do some research on ways art has been used as a form of protest throughout history. I found this article exploring some of the most impactful pieces of protest art in America, which was extremely interesting and helped me a lot in putting together ideas for my own protest pack.

After quite a long time considering the topic I wanted to protest for, I decided on the impact of social media on body image. Social media portrays us in an idealistic light, we can present ourselves to look any way we want to, whether it be using filters or photoshop. However, this can have an extremely damaging effect on others, as we are lead to believe that unattainable beauty standards are the norm. Young women especially face this on a day to day basis, and are essentially told by the world and the media that they are not worthy or beautiful.

This video explains the story of two twins who share their experiences with social media, and the way that it has impacted their mental health. It provided some very important and shocking figures that could be very good for my Campaign. They have also started a movement named 'Live Life Unfiltered', that focuses and encourages young women to present their authentic selves on social media, in order to inspire others, and help shift Instagram back to reality.

In this video, Mary discusses the damaging nature of perceiving your body solely as an image, that can be seen on social media and by others, instead of as an experience. She shares her own struggles with self-image, and eating disorders, and shares how she overcame them.

This video is particularly relevant at the moment as it focuses on body image and social media during the pandemic, explaining how the hyper focus on body image has only increased during the lockdowns. A very interesting point was the explanation of external validation, and the harmful nature of comparing yourself to others. The video was also very inclusive, and shared the experiences of people of different races, and how they can differ from one another.

She discusses how the industry favours the 'ideal' body type, positively reinforcing diet culture and unrealistic body types . Also, the struggles of meeting the expectations and standards of other people, and feeling the need to apologise for the appearance of her body if it is not 'perfect'. She states when comparing to other people, 'Everyone wants to see the flaws of another person because we wanted to see glimpses of our own insecurities in them'. Reinhart also reflects on body image in tabloids and magazines, how the appearance of cellulite and acne was shamed, and open to judgement from the world, which mirrors modern social media. She also explains that we are raised through the media to have insecurities, and taught that we are not good enough from a very young age. 'We are all imperfectly beautiful'

In the recent weeks, a photograph surfaced of Khloe Kardashian without photoshop, face tuning or filters, and it is virtually unrecognisable. Her team attempted to totally erase the photograph from the internet, threatening to sue anyone who shared the photo on social media. Despite this, the photograph got around, and made quite a lot of women feel better about themselves and their bodies. We are so used to seeing total falsities through the eye of social media, which are heavily emphasised and promoted by the Kardashians, so it was interesting to see the lengths that Khloe was willing to go to erase her true self.

Since my project is based upon social media, I decided to take a lot of my artist research from Instagram. I wanted to find some of my favourite artists that use their platform for good and to empower people, and also that had a style that I thought would work for this project. I know that I'm wanting to use more feminine aesthetics, as femininity is another thing that is demonised by the media, so I want my art to subvert the idea of the 'perfect' woman.

Florence Given is probably the most relevant artist I am taking inspiration from as she is primarily an activist, and uses her art to convey her messages. Her work and style can be seen throughout her feminist book, 'Women Don't Owe You Pretty', in which she discusses and exposes the underlying issues of the world we live in now, and specifically how all systems are built to benefit the straight white man. It's a very empowering book, and informs reasons to protest in a way, through our expression as women.

• uplifting sticker sheet
• mirror stickers
• prints - pantone sheet of bodies
• 'This is Photoshopped' sticker for public use
• likes do not equal worth tagline
• normalise normal bodies
• stencils for creating protest signs
• printable large scale mural/protest piece

Before I started creating my stickers, I wanted to do some quick research on the general format of both sticker sheets, and individual stickers in order to get a better understanding of their layout and what generally works aesthetically.

In the past I have bought quite a few 'protest products', such as a set of stickers and a print, so I began thinking about what I wanted in my protest pack by coming up with things that I would want, and would make me feel more confident. The first product that I have focused on is stickers, as they can be placed anywhere as a reminder for someone to be kinder to their body.

I got down my initial ideas, and then developed some of them a little more until I was generally happy with the look of each sticker. Then I narrowed down my sticker sheet to the sticker ideas that I wanted to use and got them into a place that looked good on the page.

At this point, I really didn't know what colour scheme that I wanted to go with for my sticker sheet, so I spent quite a while playing around with colour variations of the sheet until I got to the point where I was happy with the way everything worked both individually, and all together.

After this, I spent a little while figuring out the background, and how I wanted the title to look. I also played with the page both with and without a border.

When I created my sticker sheet, I get attached to the idea and symbolism of my 'I <3 me' sticker. I felt that it conveyed my overall message quickly, and directly, so I thought that I could make it my main tagline and logo for the protest campaign. Because of this, I decided to create an enamel pin version of the image.

As I had created enamel pins for a project before, I had a general idea of how they looked. However, I still thought doing a little bit of image research would be good, especially for looking at backing cards, as I was quite unsure f how to make my own.

This video below was particularly helpful as they displayed many different backing cards, varying in size, style and finish so I could see the different routes I could take in creating my own.

While creating the design, I decided that it would be best to create my own font to use across any programmes I will be using, as all of the text on the sticker sheet was hand rendered. To do this, I used Calligraphr, and replicated the handwriting style that I had been using in order to make all of the work for the protest pack look consistent.

Once I had my font sorted, I went straight into illustrator and created my design in the form of a enamel pin design. I used the same colours as the sticker design for the main part of the pin, however, I wanted to try out different colours of enamel to decide what looked the best.

In the end, I decided that I liked the look of the black enamel the best, so I took that forward and moved onto creating my backing card.

As my pin design is based upon a test message design, I knew that I wanted to make my backing card the imessage screen, so it looked like a message conversation. The main thing I needed to figure out was the text for the messages and the colours.

Once I was happy with the colour palette I was using, I decided that I could move straight onto creating my final backing card, as I had a clear design to follow with the imessage format.
       I started by creating the background on procreate, and then I added the text to the message boxes using my font on photoshop. While on photoshop, I also adjusted the levels of the backing card as I felt that it had lost some vibrancy when transferring from my iPad.

I wanted to create a poster as a more aggressive form of protest, that could be easily accessible and printed off for free at home. The concept behind the poster I wanted to create was that it would be something that could be stuck up onto advertisements that involves false, photoshopped images.

I started off by getting my initial ideas down, and developing them as I went so by the end of the process I was pretty much happy with the basic design.

I then worked on colour studies for the poster, and at the same time, used the process to figure out the background a bit more. The main thing I wanted to focus on during this stage was maintaining contrast between the background and the text, as I wanted it to be something that would be eye-catching to the public when used.

In the end, I decided to focus more on a greyscale design as I thought that it would be more accessible, and not use too much ink when people are printing it off.

The new brief that we have been given gave us the choice of the type of illustration and text that we would want to respond to. I have decided to tackle the children's book option as that is what I would like to specialise in in the future if possible. 
     To start, I have read over each of the texts to see which one attracts me more. 'How the Elephant Got Its Trunk' is what I have decided to go with, as I felt that visually it could be really fun.

To begin, I looked up the text and found this video of the book being read as a bedtime story. It helped me gain a sense of flow of the story hearing someone else reading it.

From there, I was lead to watching other stories being read that have a similar target audience.

I loved the art style of the book that was displayed and animated in this video, so I went onto to look at the other work of the author and illustrator of 'Arnie the Doughnut', Laurie Keller.

The style and texture used in their work compliment each other so well, creating such a fun and playful aesthetic. You become excited and enticed to read the text as the art stands out so much. I can imagine it appealing a lot to children.

​ Anoosha Syed is one of my favourite illustrators, who specialises in picture book illustrations. This video contains an in depth, step by step guide of her process for working on an illustrated children's book . It was extremely helpful to see an established illustrator's method of working, and the thought that goes behind each illustration within the book. Specifically the areas of the video about composition and colouring was very helpful. She also explained how to best approach illustrations specifically for children in order to visually cater to the audience and context of the book.

Examples of the book spreads from 'I am Perfectly Designed':

I also wanted to focus some of my research on the art and illustrations of Mary Blair - who is another one of my favourite illustrators. Her style is timeless, and captures a sense of child-like wonder.

Sha'an d'Anthes is another established illustrator who had uploaded a video displaying her process for creating her children's books. It wasn't as in depth as Syed's however, still was helpful as it allowed me to gain more insight into the picture book process.

When looking at her work, I specifically love how she draws nature. I really feel that I could draw inspiration from her stylisation, and show that in my own work.

Africa is the setting of the text so reference is needed.

In my head, the first logical step was to gain an understanding of what kind of style I wanted to do the project in. I started with just pages of brainstorming, and just getting ideas down based on my research, and seeing what came of it.

I wasn't very happy with where I was at, and was a bit stuck for ideas so I went back to do a little more research and found Mid Century Illustration, mainly through the work of Cliff Roberts.

I loved this style of illustration, and thought it would lend itself perfectly to children's picture books. Because of this I decided to focus in a bit more on trying to replicate the Mid Century feel in my experimentations.

Although they weren't perfect yet, I knew that this was the direction that I wanted to take my work, so I began thumbnailing page ideas.

I started off by thumbnailing for the scene involving the elephant tripping over the crocodile. I kept the quote directly next to my work so I had the reference right next to my work as I was going. However, I felt very stuck with this idea, so I decided to try a different scene.

I then moved onto thumbnailing for the scene involving the elephant experiencing things with their new trunk. I found that my ideas were much more successful and easier to develop with this scene, so I stuck to it.

I wanted to take on each section of the page individually and then put them all together in the end.

​Image 1:

Image 2:

Image 3:

I then mocked them all up together on the single page, and began to play with the type and layout.

When I first read the text, I immediately had this idea in my head for the double page, so I really wanted to play around with it. I mostly focused on the body language of the animals in order to portray the story accurately.

After the initial thumbnailing, I developed my ideas slightly further, focusing on the body language and interaction between the elephant and the snake. I also took the opportunity to figure out the background at the same time.

I then worked on top of the developed sketch and experimented with colour.

The next step was to mess around with fonts again, to see if they suited this illustration differently to the single page.

The last step was to move onto creating the final spread! During the process, I decided that I didn't like the complete linework around the characters, therefore, I just left the lines to create details. Once the illustration was finished, I was very glad that I had made that decision. Overall, I'm so proud of how this has turned out. I really worked hard and I think that it shows.

Just like the other sections of this project, I began by trying to get down all of my ideas for a front cover. I had to do quite a bit of research for this specifically as I wasn't sure what was typical or worked for a picture book cover.

I took the initial thumbnails to the group feedback session, and deduced my two best ideas that I then worked up further with colour.

I also tested out different ways of creating fonts on procreate, and another handwritten style aside from the one that I had practiced in the colour thumbnails.

For the final, font-wise I decided to go with my original idea as when put onto the illustration, it worked the best.

This new project involved us each receiving a short ghost story written by M R James - the tale I was given was 'The Tractate Middoth'.
      The story centres around an old man, named Dr Rant, who left individual wills for both his niece and nephew. Each were told differing information in order to lead them to their will before the other. The wills are inside a book - The Tractate Middoth - hidden in a library not too far from Dr Rant's property. However, while searching for the book, the nephew, Eldred, discovers that it is haunted by his Uncle. Dr Rant is now seen as a shell, with inset eyes, cloaked in cobwebs and surrounded by dust. His ghost scares the library worker, Garrett, that went looking for the book in the library for Eldred, causing him to faint, and ultimately take time off work. While away, Garrett stays with a woman, Mrs Simpson, who he finds to be Dr Rants niece, and her daughter. After speaking to them about the book, he aids them in  tracking down the will. On his mission he ends up following Eldred, who now is in possession of the book, before watching him die at the hands of Dr Rant's ghost. The story ends with Garrett returning the will to Mrs Simpson, marrying her daughter, and then ultimately, them all moving into the newly inherited property together.
      To begin, I collected together lots of images on Pinterest that I could use for reference and inspiration.

Finding images on Pinterest really helped me in understanding specifically how colour and lighting could be used to enhance atmosphere. I feel it was a vital step for the project.
​     Next, I researched what a clergyman looked like as I really had no idea what Dr Rant was meant to have been and looked like.

I then watched the BBC adaptation of the story, in order to gain a better understanding of the story, as I found it quite confusing upon my first read.

I then went and found an article displaying the inspiration behind the movie, 'Crimson Peak', due to Dwayne's suggestion. The movie features a gothic ghost story, which was very similar to my own tale, therefore I thought it could be extremely helpful to research.

The next step that I felt I needed to do was to go back and highlight the key parts of the story so I could go over exact details for the imagery I felt would lend itself for the full bleed illustration.

After finding the key parts of the story that I wanted to focus on, I began getting down my initial ideas, using the text as direct reference.

As I got further into creating my thumbnails, I focused in more on capturing the mood through lighting, and was heavily inspired by the lighting of this photograph that I found on Pinterest:

After the initial thumbnails, I focused in on the idea that I felt worked best, and began to add colour in Procreate.

Once I developed a little further, I knew I was in a place that I was extremely happy with, and understood what I wanted visually. Therefore I went onto my final.

Overall, I'm super happy with how this turned out. I wanted to focus on feeling and atmosphere more than anything, and I think I have done that effectively. It's also in a style, with brushes that I'm not extremely comfortable with, but I really think that they both worked in my favour.

We also had to design a greyscale chapter header illustration for our stories. I was really excited about this part as it was totally different from anything I'd done before. I started by doing some research of vignettes as I was unsure of what they generally looked like.

 To begin idea generating, I created boxes for the correct scale, so I would know my drawing worked for the specifications, and inserted the title. I did this as I thought it would be important to consider how the design worked with the text. Then, I began my thumbnails.

As usual, once I got to place that I was happy with, I pushed a little further just to see if there was any way of improving the concept.

The next, and final step after this was to complete the finished illustration at the correct specifications.

This illustration is one of my favourite things that I've ever done; I absolutely love the look of it. I'm so beyond proud and happy with the final product.

The first project of our new semester required us to create an editorial illustration for a news article, as an introduction to creating conceptual art work. I was given the article, ' Excremental Growth: UK sniffs a pandemic puppy poo problem', by The Guardian. This text centred around the idea that more people have been buying new puppies during the pandemic, and less people have been picking up after their dogs. This is therefore creating a large increase in the amount of dog poo left out in the environment.
      Before I began putting pencil to paper, I went over to Pinterest to collect together some examples of conceptual illustration. This step also really helped my understanding of what conceptual illustration was compared to literal illustration.

​ Then, to begin designing, I went through the article, and quickly got down my initial ideas as thumbnails.

In the beginning, I got quite stuck on specific lines and scenarios from the article, but as I continued I began to come up with more conceptual ideas involving recognisable iconography such as a graph. I felt that this specifically worked as graphs are associated a lot with the visuals of the virus at the moment.
     I then worked up some of the visuals with colour.

At this point, it became extremely clear that pretty much all of my earlier ideas didn't work for the illustration, so I began to really focus in on developing the graph-based thumbnails.

I was a lot happier with these visuals, however, they still weren't perfect. After speaking to Tony, I decided to make a final few thumbnails exaggerating the amount of dog poo in order to really clearly show visually that the amount of the poo has increased in the pandemic.

At this point, I knew that visually I was in the right place with my illustration, and decided to go forward with my final piece in the correct proportions for the article.

I'm so beyond happy with how this piece turned out, and I'm really glad that I kept pushing the ideas around to get to this point. The style is something very outside of my comfort zone, but I think the graphic style compliments the idea a lot. It is clear and concise in the message it is conveying. At this point, the animation was the only thing left to do. I'm also super happy with how this ended up looking.