ereuthophobia

Another Illustration based on the idea of being afraid of blushing. The concept is exactly the same as the illustration before, however, within the veins this time are little claw shapes that try and build connotations of fear, and extend the idea of this image being about phobias. I also played around with the composition of this one a bit more, working across the page rather than just vertically as it provides a sense of movement in the image which i think works better.

ereuthophobia

An Illustration based on the idea of having a phobia of blushing for a uni project. I basically just used it as an excuse to draw beautiful women. The veins that link up her cheeks to her heart are supposed to present the idea that blushing is a very natural reflex, and the lock over the heart implies by being afraid of this, and trying to stop it, you are attempting to prevent a vey natural thing which occurs without our control.

Technology

This is my second animation named "Technology". The brief was to ceate a 40 second animation based on a number of given words or phrases of which you chose three to concentrate on. The three i chose were Technology, Jack in a Box, and Fish, and around these words i created a narrative based on the idea of a man who lives his lfe through the tv screen, instead of experiencing the world for himself. He is in a sense a Jack in a Box, and the animation culminates by making this man part of the tv, the technology that imprisons him.

I think this animation was quite successful. While it is a little messier than i would have hoped, it is good for the amount of time i had on the project. It consists of approximately 450 hand drawings/paintings. I really enjoyed the project although it did become incredibly time consuming but i think the result was worth it.

First animation

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The brief was to make an animation starting with a circle and ending with a circle. This is what i came up with based on the theme of smoking.

Flowers and Skulls

These two images are possibly my favourite work i have done since going to Uni. They are just simple line drawings based on positive and negative body image done in Pilot pen as ideas for etchings. While i did not carry them through to the final etching process, i do think the drawn versions themselves are very successful and strong in what they attempt to convey.

The first image is obviously positive body image, using flowers to try and illustrate this woman is comfortable and happy in herself and is flourishing. I particularly like the pose in this drawing, as you can quite easily see the curves of the womans body, and can see a distinct contrast against the long flowing hair etc.

The second image i also feel is successful however the pose is maybe not as clear as the first. Her arms are raised contorted over her head, and her hair flops in front of her hair, showing a more guarded, self concious pose compared to the previous image. Instead of flowers this time the woman is made up of skulls, chains, guns, grenades etc. Many different little details each with bad connotations can be seen upon her body to illustrate ideas of negativity, and self destruction.

Etchings

These are the two etchings i produced for my last Reprographics project. They are both based on the idea of aging, and the positives and negatives of the process.

The first image worked out much better than the second. The first one has less fine lines which were eaten away less in the acid bath so the final print turned out much better and tidier. I was quite suprised how well the dark areas did come out as i was told that i had such a large block of dark area, that it might just turn out grey, but it actually turned out very dark. I think this image is quite successful.

The second image on the other hand did not come out as well. It had much finer lines in the facial features due to it being smaller and more detailed, and when left in the acid bath, the lines all merged together and resulted in much less detail than was previously etched in. While it was not as successful as the first, i still feel it looks okay and was worthy of uploading.

Positive and Negative

Some more sketches for my etchings based on ideas of positives and negatives. These two both also concentrate on the idea of aging as i seemed to notice the age of the older generation of my family much more over christmas, as it was a stark contrast to all the young students i have been surrounded by since moving to Manchester.

The first image explores negative ideas of aging. I constantly hear people moaning about how they do not want to get older, and get more wrinkles etc. And this image was basically just a comment on that. The balding old wrinkled man tries to illustrate what most people are scared of becoming. All the aesthetic issues of aging that people seem to act negatively towards.

The second image on the other hand tries show a more positive attitude towards aging: The idea that ou're old appearance doesnt count for everything, and while you can look old, you can still embrace and act young and fit. The idea of an old man jumping up and down in puddles like a small child was really heart warming in my opinion. It shows how ever old you are, you can still be as innocent and fun loving if you just allow yourself to be, and dont get hung up on all the negative things in life. The addition of colour to the second image also helps develop this concept of young excitement and vibrancy, partiocularly if you contrast this to the first image.

Print ideas

I've been working on a printmaking project lately, which will hopefully result in two final etchings based on the theme of Positive and negative. These are just two sketched ideas based on the theme which i particularly like. One shows a more self confident positive attitude towards body image in the fashion industry, while the other shows the exact opposite. However, when really thinking about it, both could be deemed as a negative way of thinking. Over confident or lacking in confidence. While they are exact opposites, which one is positive and negative?

The first images uses more feminine colours to really develop the idea of confident femininity. The flowers, and colouring of the lips really help to pick this out.

Meanwhile, the second images juxtoposes the feminine pink
pallette, with a putrid bile green. This vivid colour is
very different to the softer pinks in the first image and matches the vivid subject matter well.

Both drawings are done in Pilot pen, and then edited using photoshop. They are just developments of ideas so far.

Just thought i'd upload a drawing i did yesterday, which is just a copy of 'Woman with Dead Child' by Kathe Kollwitz. I think it turned out pretty well for just a sketch book piece so i was quite happy with it. It used fineliner, charcoal and tea (kind of a running theme in my work). Anyway bedtime i think, night!

Funny Farm

Hey, this is my first proper post actually containing some interesting information. Me and some others on the first year of the Illustration with Animation course at Manchester School of Art have decided to start putting together a small magazine of some of our work every week. We have started work on the first copy, and this was my piece i have put in to the booklet. The theme for the whole magazine was animals, hence i made this Pig lady. I think it worked out pretty well. I did the whole thing in black and white, as we have no money, so the magazine is going to be printed in black and white. But i think it still worked out well. I havent worked in this style for a little while, but as soon as i got working i really settled into it again. Anyway, thats it for now i think, i want some FOOD.