A'moi's Sketchbook
Can’t find a place for something? Put it on the floor.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Plus pre-empting my own retardedness and taping down the cables.
I guess this is procrastination, but this is the animation set up. I just switched the easel and camera around to get more consistent light [the desk lamps can now point at it easily, or is it easely? Haha, it’s late…] My studio is an absolute mess [most of the mess is actually behind me in the picture, on Tom’s side]. Mess normally drives me insane, but I’m obviously past caring at this point. I can’t really justify spending hours sorting through stuff.
Labels: General, Procrastination, Prometheus Animation
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Printing and Studio Tweaks
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
So avoiding printmaking for the entirety of the course - partly because I didn’t want to become reliant on methods I couldn’t use at home, but mostly because I’m too shy to head up to the print rooms. Well I failed these past couple of weeks, I was put in touch with Charles Shearer and I’ve been working with him in his studio on one of my projects. The “Evolution: What if?” one [the one the giraffe drawing was for].
So I’ve been making etchings for it, one drypoint and an experiment with a technique that he uses which involves using mountboard as a relief plate. That last one is something I think I’m going to use to rapidly and cheaply produce a book as my last project.
Also, reorganised my studio and put together a shelf made out of old MDF and some drink cans. It has solved many problems. I’ll paint it one day when I have time for such frivolous details…
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Studio
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Back in London a year older [21 now, apparently]. I bought myself a delicious new digital camera, yum yum. Just finished tidying my studio for a week alone full of hard work [that is the plan anyway]. I love my studio, and I love seeing other peoples studios, so combine that with the new camera and you get…
Labels: General, Procrastination
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Progress?
Friday, March 27, 2009
Illustration one of three – I’m flooding Africa for Darwin, naturally. I’m trying to imitate the gorgeousness that is old natural history illustration etchings. I’m particularly in love with those based on drawings by Joseph Wolf [see below]. Not to mention the delicious Une Semaine de Bonté by Max Ernst, which is collaged from wood engravings. I could spend hours poring over that book, if only I had time!
I am delayed with the other two illustrations by my tutor suggesting I get them printed as photo-etchings, to give it a more authentic feel. Unfortunately I never made use of the facilities at uni, and I can’t afford a crash course at The London Print Studio yet. Although I will definitely explore that after I graduate because their session prices are very reasonable.
In the meantime I’m going to explore my own method of making prints. Ages ago I made prints of wasps by engraving acrylic with the help of a rotary tool, which would be inked like an etching [rather than a relief]. I’ve got myself some glass engraving needles this time, to avoid the bumpiness I found with the electric tool. I’m going to make a Bottle Jack Press [although my boyfriend wants me to make it prettier?] in a couple of weeks when I go home and have access to my mum’s array of power tools… I think it will probably be more suitable for relief printing techniques, which I’ve also been having fun with recently [nothing to show for it, as usual]. But I look forward to experimenting with it.
Also, finished the design for our degree show website: This Will Kill That Just need to get on with the content, but time is very short at the moment. Currently working on the script and page plans for The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat. It’s straightforward, but I’m wasting so much time not doing it.
The large project for Meanwhile Gardens is almost at a close. Two signs and the text to finish and then we go to print. I had an interesting tour around BAF Graphics in Earlsfield last week when I was finalising the printing specifications with them – there’s been a mad rush to get the Lottery budget spent before the end of the month. I came away with “printer-envy” and a big smile on my face. I’ve also been contracted to do three more commissions for the garden in the Summer - I imagine this is the only time I will ever get paid in advance…
Hmm. What else? Animation is still on hold, and I still haven’t redesigned MorbidLemon – although I did finish the smaller logo. A few bits I want to tweak, but it won’t change much from this I don’t think.
Labels: General, Meanwhile Gardens, The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat, What If?
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Paralysed By Too Much To Do
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Why is that always the way? Need to get moving... So, this is what I'm going to be juggling over the next few months:
- Wildlife Signs for Meanwhile Gardens
- Evolution: What If? Short Project. Between five and ten illustrations.
- Prometheus: Storyboard and animation.
- The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat. Adapting one or two chapters.
- Day In Day Out. Developing own narrative into a comic/graphic novel format.
- Macmillan. At least four final spreads plus pencils for all and book jacket.
- Degree show website.
- Morbidlemon re-design.
Definitely drawing the line now for work I'm taking on. I think I already took too much on, but I can't go back on it now. Wish me luck!
Labels: General
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Mallards are Well-hard
Friday, January 23, 2009
Actually they're not, but that's besides the point. Progress is finally being made on the illustrations for Meanwhile Gardens, at some point I'll transfer the entries for that into this blog. I re-thought my approach to painting these and I'm leaving them fairly rough - I had been getting too bogged down in detail because I've been painting them at such a high resolution, so I'm keeping the print size in mind [and so getting through it far more quickly]. It's also resulting in illustrations that I think are more aesthetically pleasing because they aren't getting too polished [like my bugs did] so they're retaining the character of the pencils.
After being ill the other week I've been set back quite a lot, and my schedule has been all over the place. But I think now I'm caught up with immediate things so I can settle back into the timetable I had set for myself. It sounds really anal but it really keeps me sane; Monday - Macmillan, Tuesday/Wedesday/Thursday - College work, Friday/Saturday - Meanwhile, Sunday - Day Off [theoretically, at least - it's more likely to be a catch up day, but it's the thought that counts, right?]
Labels: General, Meanwhile Gardens
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Newtlet
Thursday, January 22, 2009
It's a newtlet. It's a cherub. It's gloriously irrelevant.
Labels: General, Procrastination
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Preparation
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
I spent a substantial amount of time planning the next five months today, I'm going to be so incredibly busy I'll probably go insane when it's all over, if I don't go insane during... Feeling extremely positive and energised after a lengthy Christmas break. It's great to reach the point where I have recouped enough that I'm so enthusiastic about getting back to work that I don't have to try to be enthusiastic. I have gone into a ridiculous amount of detail, so even though it's a lot of work, if I meet the hundreds of tiny 'deadlines' it's manageable.
I've been thinking about the music for the animation and in my research I came across Alexander Scriabin, who composed a symphony called Prometheus: The Poem of Fire. It's only loosely based on the myth itself, but he designed an instrument called a "clavier à lumières", which was a kind of colour piano - each note assigned a colour [akin to sound > colour synaesthesia] which would be projected as part of the performance. I've only found one bit of film showing this, but I found it quite interesting as I'm interested in the visual being entwined with the aural and how they can respond to each other.
I've listened to it several times now and I think it's pretty close to what I was after with the dynamics of the music, although at twenty minutes long it needs some thoughtful editing. Others on my shortlist include: Explosions in the Sky - Look Into The Air or A Poor Man's Memory, Jethro Tull - Post Last, Ludovico Einaudi - Questa Notte, Enya - Cursum Perfico, 65 Days of Static - 65 Doesn't Understand You. I'm fairly sure there was also a Mogwai track that I had in mind too. I'll have to go through this list again when I have the storyboard done and I can put together an animatic or two to see how they could work together.
A few more drawings of my Prometheus from today:
Labels: General, Prometheus Animation, Prometheus: Character Design, Prometheus: Research
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