+- 4 Hours
Putting together the CD Cover and Taking Photos of Bust
maandag 30 juli 2012
TIME COUNT Date?
+-20 Hours
Clay Bust, I forgot to write down the date but I know it was in the summer holidays after the official work experience date.
Doctor Who Bust
I have now completed the Doctor Who Bust and taken some good photos of it. I really enjoyed doing the bust. The face was quite challenging and not as good as I wanted it but I have to remember that I have never sculpted a clay bust before and that I didn't use high quality clay. Although I enjoyed the character design project I don't think it would be a field I would concentrate on for the future. It was good though to have a go as it was something I was very interested in and I feel that my 3D skills have developed and that I should remember to use them a bit more for other projects.
TIME COUNT: Trip to London
+- 35 Hours
Visiting locations, doing research getting inspiration for the majority of projects!!!
Visiting locations, doing research getting inspiration for the majority of projects!!!
woensdag 20 juni 2012
CD Cover completed!!!!
Although I haven't printed the CD Cover yet I have finished illustrating it and also got it ready for printing.
I was originally just going to make it as a standard CD Cover in a typical jewel case but I decided to go with the carboard covers often seen on folk cds special editions and any others that want to be a bit different. I definitetly prefer them to the jewel case covers anyway.
Because of this the booklet changed slightly so instead of seeing this....
So basically when the cd cover opens you have the booklet glued in on the left with this as a seethrough first page. On the right will be a card pocket for the CD to slide into.
The next challenge was the text to put on the front. At first I thought I could use arrow shapes to go with the archery theme but it ended up looking too Metallica. Then I tried doing kind of trre shaped letters which really didn't work. Instead I went with rounded letters which I felt went a lot better with the whole atmosphere. Here you can see I accidentally did a j instead of a g, oops.
I got it right on the cover though. I used the tracklisting page I previously made for the booklet on the back and stuck with the golden theme I had previoulsy ised on the text.
Next I added the title to the CD sticker:
I have printed out the tree pages on the transparant paper; they look really cool. Amazingly enough I only jammed the printer twice :P
I was originally just going to make it as a standard CD Cover in a typical jewel case but I decided to go with the carboard covers often seen on folk cds special editions and any others that want to be a bit different. I definitetly prefer them to the jewel case covers anyway.
Because of this the booklet changed slightly so instead of seeing this....
...you'll see this:
So basically when the cd cover opens you have the booklet glued in on the left with this as a seethrough first page. On the right will be a card pocket for the CD to slide into.
The next challenge was the text to put on the front. At first I thought I could use arrow shapes to go with the archery theme but it ended up looking too Metallica. Then I tried doing kind of trre shaped letters which really didn't work. Instead I went with rounded letters which I felt went a lot better with the whole atmosphere. Here you can see I accidentally did a j instead of a g, oops.
Next I added the title to the CD sticker:
And finally I designed theCD pocket. I just used the same painted texture as before to keep it all a good unity. I decided to put the lyrics to their song Ancient Forest here as they were an important part of the concept and I feel they will add meaning to the booklet and help the viewer get more out of the concept.
I have printed out the tree pages on the transparant paper; they look really cool. Amazingly enough I only jammed the printer twice :P
maandag 11 juni 2012
zaterdag 9 juni 2012
CD-Cover... Getting There :D
The next challenge after having painted all of the pages was of course to add the backgrounds. To get the backgrounds in I had to rub out all of the white on paintings in Photoshop. This took horrifically long and was very torturous :D but I can't stand it when people cheat on this and it ends up looking crap so I just took my time.
As I had done in my earlier Herne experiment I painted the background in two layers: acrylic and ecoline. I stuck mainly to green based backgrounds to keep the foresty feel but I did make them different greens because I felt that went better with the different tree concepts.
It took a while fiddling with the colours but I'm happy with them like this. After having done this I painted the trees for the transparant pages, I kept them reletively simple and managed to get them all done in a day which, considering my usual speed, was great.
I decided to go for leaning trees for the battles page because they always remind of the way two armies storm towards each other. And also obviously a stump as a symbol of destruction.
I quickly put the two pages over the top of each other in photoshop to get the general idea before printing. Obvioudly they will look a bit different.
I'm really happy so far with this project. Although it seems like it's taken a long time, if I did it all in one go I could have probably made it in 1,5 to 2 weeks so that's not so bad considering the amount of work that goes into the painting.
As I had done in my earlier Herne experiment I painted the background in two layers: acrylic and ecoline. I stuck mainly to green based backgrounds to keep the foresty feel but I did make them different greens because I felt that went better with the different tree concepts.
It took a while fiddling with the colours but I'm happy with them like this. After having done this I painted the trees for the transparant pages, I kept them reletively simple and managed to get them all done in a day which, considering my usual speed, was great.
Lots of green trees here for Robin to hide behind. The right-hand half will be on transparant paper overlaying the Robin page and the left-hand page will be on normal paper. I was going to add the credits thoughout the other pages but when I tried that the pages became so chaotic I felt it was better to do it like this.
Here's Herne's oak tree. I kept it over to the left so that you can easily see Herne but that Albion will only be revealed after having turned the page.
This is the front half of the circle of trees...
...and this is the back half of the circle of trees. As you can see (and as I've mentioned earlier) this section is on two pages. It is in the centre of the book so there had to be a double page due to binding order. Also by overlaying the two pages there will being more depths to the circle of trees and make it more comprehendable.
I decided to go for leaning trees for the battles page because they always remind of the way two armies storm towards each other. And also obviously a stump as a symbol of destruction.
I quickly put the two pages over the top of each other in photoshop to get the general idea before printing. Obvioudly they will look a bit different.
This is the start of the CD Design. It will have text on it as well like the text above. I tried at first by taking details out of the above pages by I decided I didn't want anything too complex as there's already a lot of imagery.
I'm really happy so far with this project. Although it seems like it's taken a long time, if I did it all in one go I could have probably made it in 1,5 to 2 weeks so that's not so bad considering the amount of work that goes into the painting.
woensdag 6 juni 2012
Meghan Cole and Ben Templesmith
Last week I received emails from both Meghan and Ben.
Like Godmachine, Ben Templesmith gave some very handy tips to improve my picture. He too pointed out the light direction problem and that I had to make it more clear from which angle this was coming. He also felt that the fly should appear dirtier to make it more scary and more within the theme. He personally also felt that the colours were too much and that I should limit them a bit to try and add extra definition on the reflection.
Meghan was really happy with the designs and she said it technically was definitely printable. As she has trained as a printmaker I was thrilled to hear this. One of two things pointed out was that the print on the front of the T-Shirt needed to be lifted a bit, I agreed so I have. The second was that the design may not print well on the cup due to it being coloured print on a black mug. She did suggest that of the whole thing was printed onto a layer of white this may work. She felt that the concept was an original and interesting take on the play and added a new angle to it. She thought that the design would sell well in their shop and that it would be good for both genders. She said a whole load more but I've printed that out tell you about later.
Like Godmachine, Ben Templesmith gave some very handy tips to improve my picture. He too pointed out the light direction problem and that I had to make it more clear from which angle this was coming. He also felt that the fly should appear dirtier to make it more scary and more within the theme. He personally also felt that the colours were too much and that I should limit them a bit to try and add extra definition on the reflection.
Meghan was really happy with the designs and she said it technically was definitely printable. As she has trained as a printmaker I was thrilled to hear this. One of two things pointed out was that the print on the front of the T-Shirt needed to be lifted a bit, I agreed so I have. The second was that the design may not print well on the cup due to it being coloured print on a black mug. She did suggest that of the whole thing was printed onto a layer of white this may work. She felt that the concept was an original and interesting take on the play and added a new angle to it. She thought that the design would sell well in their shop and that it would be good for both genders. She said a whole load more but I've printed that out tell you about later.
Shakespeare in London, a change of view
Thursday and Friday, 31st of May and 1st of June and an extra five hours in the Weekend
First of all I painted the Shakespeare Bust which is part of the memorial to the First Folio being printed. This completed it meant that the whole of the North section was completed.
After having done, I really felt that this particular project was taking too long for what it was. I decided as this point to stop painting the other elements and see if I could just fit them together as they were.
I kept all of the North location North and thes rest underneath. Instead of using the Thames I decided to put all of the locations on one street. I think the way the Westminster Shakespeare is standing on the ground really does look very cool :D
After have done this I thought the Southwark window really didn't look good in the picture anymore. It is of a higher detail than the rest and as you can see suddenly a huge bloody load of blue. I decided to take it out and enlarge the Globe Theatre as that really looked too small as well. I proably will add a bit more texture to the road to make it a bit more clear.
I then added the title to the picture.
I decided to put the window on the back of the information pamflet together all of the location information (still to be added) as there is no disturbance on that side with other colours etc.
First of all I painted the Shakespeare Bust which is part of the memorial to the First Folio being printed. This completed it meant that the whole of the North section was completed.
I kept all of the North location North and thes rest underneath. Instead of using the Thames I decided to put all of the locations on one street. I think the way the Westminster Shakespeare is standing on the ground really does look very cool :D
After have done this I thought the Southwark window really didn't look good in the picture anymore. It is of a higher detail than the rest and as you can see suddenly a huge bloody load of blue. I decided to take it out and enlarge the Globe Theatre as that really looked too small as well. I proably will add a bit more texture to the road to make it a bit more clear.
I then added the title to the picture.
I decided to put the window on the back of the information pamflet together all of the location information (still to be added) as there is no disturbance on that side with other colours etc.
Battles
Tuesday and Wednesday, the 29th and 30th of May and a bit of Thursday the 31st of May
These days were basically the big push to get the last major page done for the CD Cover.
I did enjoy doing these pages but I don't really feel it's a realistic of doing a CD Cover. I don't feel that I would ever get a decent amount of money for a CD Cover to warrant all of the time I've spent on these paintings. It's not so bad if it's just for a one image project but having to a whole series like this is not too good. Although I was happy with the outcome this stage and I am glad I took the time to do it like this.
These days were basically the big push to get the last major page done for the CD Cover.
dinsdag 29 mei 2012
Historischer Flachsmarkt Burg Linn
On sunday I went to an amazing Medieval festival/market in Germany. I knew there would be a lot of old crafts and so on there, but when we arrived I was amazed how incredibly massive the market was. We were there from 11:00 to 17:00 in the blazing sun and we still didn't see everything. The last hour we watched a reenacted tournament and although we didn't get to see any heads being chopped off it was still a lot of fun. I also got to buy lots of cool stuff: horns for mask/costume making etc, hand pressed soaps, a free bit of fur, a tiger-eye necklace, a metal die and a very pretty Celtic-Style brooch, me-sa happy :D.
A very basic start of the mask
Yesterday, in the afternoon I started on the mask. It was a public holiday and very hot so at first I wasn't going to do any work but in the afternoon I just felt like having a go :D I on did the base, it's basically the shape the will fit over the face. The next step will be to papier maché the bulk shapes onto this base. Then I will add the hair followed by putting a layer of clay over the top to create all of the details. Then the painting and fur attachment. I think that's the right order, I'll probably will be able to tell a bit better when I'm further down the lign.
It may see quite deep, but I really want it to slot right over the face so I can position the ears correctly and have room to add the mane.
It may see quite deep, but I really want it to slot right over the face so I can position the ears correctly and have room to add the mane.
Sending off Hellblazer + Godmachine's suggestions
At the end of last week I emailed my Hellblazer cover to Godmachine and Ben Templesmith. Today I saw that Godmachine had replied and he gave his suggestions in a very clever manner. He had basically taken my picture and photoshopped a few details over the top. Sometimes showing what you mean is easier than telling someone what you mean and I could definitely see where he was coming from. His suggestions were to add some extra highlights at the top of Mnemoth which gave the picture more volume. I think that is one of the problems by using the outlines it seems to immediately make things flat which is also a point to consider for style development. Maybe what I need to focus on more is a better use of light and shadow in the actual painting process. His second suggestions was to add a green-hued underlighting on the figure and to make the smoke green as well. This made the image a lot spookier. They were a couple of very simple tricks which I felt bettered the image dramatically.
I am still awaiting Ben Templesmith's email which may take a while a his original email was a bit of a slower responce as well. It will be interesting to see what suggestions he gives and whether they will be similiar to Godmachines. I will edit the cover in the holidays as I really want to focus on the CD Cover and the Shakespeare's London project at the moment.
I am still awaiting Ben Templesmith's email which may take a while a his original email was a bit of a slower responce as well. It will be interesting to see what suggestions he gives and whether they will be similiar to Godmachines. I will edit the cover in the holidays as I really want to focus on the CD Cover and the Shakespeare's London project at the moment.
Stained Glass Window
Thursday and Friday, 17th and 25th of May
The last couple of weeks I worked on the Southwark Cathedral section. I have doen a bit less work because the weatehr's just so bloody good but also the heat is a bit aggrevating at times especially when combined with hay fever. I've had to work downstairs because it's been too hot in my room and I find I get distracted quicker down there than I do up here. Luckily it's going to be a bit cooler this week.
Anyway here's the painting...
The actual cathedral still need some extra detail but I can do that in the computer :D Especially the three little bits at the bottom.
The last couple of weeks I worked on the Southwark Cathedral section. I have doen a bit less work because the weatehr's just so bloody good but also the heat is a bit aggrevating at times especially when combined with hay fever. I've had to work downstairs because it's been too hot in my room and I find I get distracted quicker down there than I do up here. Luckily it's going to be a bit cooler this week.
Anyway here's the painting...
The actual cathedral still need some extra detail but I can do that in the computer :D Especially the three little bits at the bottom.
vrijdag 25 mei 2012
Lions and Tigers and Bears... Oh My!!!
...or maybe just a Lion :D
Tuesday and Thursday, 15th and 24th of May
I continued with the character last week trying to get the general body proportions right. I had had the problem with the shoulder blade. It strangely looked too much like a wing. At first when I drew him again he was too enlongated, the whole body I mean.
Then Yesterday, Thursday I drew the side view on an extra large piece of
paper. I did this one really big so I could get all of the details on
one picture. Also I have been working on tiny little picture with a lot
of detail recently and it's driving me slightly insane, only
slightly... so I drew a nice big one :D
I still need to add an extra front leg at the moment because it looks like he's only got three. When I've done that I'll add a better picture. I think Gizmo on the left looks pretty terrified.
Tuesday and Thursday, 15th and 24th of May
I continued with the character last week trying to get the general body proportions right. I had had the problem with the shoulder blade. It strangely looked too much like a wing. At first when I drew him again he was too enlongated, the whole body I mean.
So I shortened the body. I had a quick look at some dinosaur pictures and decided to make the back bones more like the Stegosaurus plates that run along its back. The shoulder blade still didn't work when it was enlarged though.
Naturally the next step really was to get rid of the shoulder blade. Instead I enlarged the general shoulder area.
It still not being quite right, I rounded the shoulder off more, made the back legs less fat and made the chest bigger.
Being a lot happier with this design I coloured that one in.
I then did one of it running just to see if the legs and so on would work. Apart from having drawn the head too small I think it's fine.
I also did a front view. It looks like shyte so I'll have to redo this as some point. I don''t know it looks like it's really old and clapped out. I'll have a better look at anatomy of a lion front on, that should help.
I still need to add an extra front leg at the moment because it looks like he's only got three. When I've done that I'll add a better picture. I think Gizmo on the left looks pretty terrified.
You Spotted Snakes with Double Toungue
Wednesday, 23rd of May
This week I rounded of the Globe T-Shirt and complimentary product range designs. I started off by colouring in the design for on the back of the T-Shirt.
I used the same colours as on the front design which both come to a total of six colours. I then made out the template for the back T-Shirt.
Having done that and still having time spare that, which happily surprised me I continued to apply the two designs to some of the products in the Globe's range. The badges were quite tricky as a lot of the pictures weren't very well visible on such a small space. I figured if the badges were made with a 3 cm diametre instead of the smaller ones they would be okay. Some of the badges still aren't completely right, but Meghan said herself that the presentation sheet mainly to give a general idea and was all we decided on. After having made the bookmark I figured this would also be a cool bumper sticker so I added that comment on the presentation sheet.
I am very happy with the final designs for the product range. I think the range works really well together as a whole and I feel I've created an original new take on the 16th century play.
I emailed Meghan today with the designs so I hope I get a reply soon. I also asked her about the Pantone colours and so on because I'm not quite sure which ones they should be. If they are different I will just have to change and match them the best I can.
This week I rounded of the Globe T-Shirt and complimentary product range designs. I started off by colouring in the design for on the back of the T-Shirt.
I used the same colours as on the front design which both come to a total of six colours. I then made out the template for the back T-Shirt.
I emailed Meghan today with the designs so I hope I get a reply soon. I also asked her about the Pantone colours and so on because I'm not quite sure which ones they should be. If they are different I will just have to change and match them the best I can.
donderdag 24 mei 2012
Robin and his Merry Men
Wednesday, Monday and Tuesday, 16th, 21st and 22nd of May
Last week I made sure I had both of the sketches for the CD Cover ready to go. I decided to leave out the Will Scarlett page because I didn't really feel it was a vital part of the story. I felt that the main parts of the story/theme could be brought across with the other four songs I had picked.
The picture here shows my general proces for the Battles page. I thought I would go for a kind of ambushy scene (combining Battles with Darkmere) so I found a reference picture of Little John and Robin doing a bit of archery. I then just draw some people on horseback and after having looked up the soldiers in the TV series I added the correct outfits to the wee blokes on horses. The faces aren't quite right but that will be alright once it's painted.
On this day I also finalized the Together We page. The past week I spent Monday, Tuesday and an hour on Wednesday painting it. Yes it really did take that long but I'm really happy with the result so it doesn't matter.
This is a quick recap of the previous sketches and here is the painted page...
Remember this painting fits on an A4 page so I can scan it, so the fact that there's less detail on some faces is because they're one centimetre on the page. Next week I'll be painting the Battles page.
Last week I made sure I had both of the sketches for the CD Cover ready to go. I decided to leave out the Will Scarlett page because I didn't really feel it was a vital part of the story. I felt that the main parts of the story/theme could be brought across with the other four songs I had picked.
The picture here shows my general proces for the Battles page. I thought I would go for a kind of ambushy scene (combining Battles with Darkmere) so I found a reference picture of Little John and Robin doing a bit of archery. I then just draw some people on horseback and after having looked up the soldiers in the TV series I added the correct outfits to the wee blokes on horses. The faces aren't quite right but that will be alright once it's painted.
This is a quick recap of the previous sketches and here is the painted page...
Remember this painting fits on an A4 page so I can scan it, so the fact that there's less detail on some faces is because they're one centimetre on the page. Next week I'll be painting the Battles page.
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