So at the beginning of september I returned to Portsmouth to begin my second year at university. To say that the project I was set upon my arrival was stressful, would be a tremendous understatement. The difference in expectation between levels four and five were immediately noticeable, however as daunting as that transition may have been, I think it has only influenced my determination to succeed. Nonetheless, I did struggle in the beginnings of my project, which was titled sequential illustration.
As a final submission I was asked to develop a protagonist, and present them within a sequence of five illustrations. I feel that the reason behind my initial uncertainty towards the project was due to the broadness of possible themes that I could centre my project around. The research process, and process of whittling down my ideas was lengthy and probably not that interesting to read about, therefore I will just state that I began looking into the sequences of various different animal life cycles. This is a pretty standard sequence, but it wasn't just the exact ecological life cycle of the animals I was studying that interested me. What I was most taken with was the difference in lifespan of certain creatures. For example, a tortoise may live to be 200 years old, however a small insect like a Mayfly, has only up to 24 hours in which to live out its entire life. From this I began to look into human lifespans, and our own human instinct of wishing we had more time. Of course, this derives from our human capability, due to our superior brain capacity, to perceive the concept of time. Therefore we are the only creatures that worry, and dream of having more of it. When compared with the Mayfly, we begin to understand of its advantage of a lesser brain capacity as it is blissfully unaware of its inevitable death after only 24 hours, therefore, those 24 hours are happy and carefree, with regards to running out of time of course. I also looked into introducing death in children's literature, and methods with which to approach the prospect of loss, death and dying in terms of children's books. Since I aimed to target children with my illustrations I felt that this was an important factor to consider to ensure that I could address the matter affectively and appropriately.
I tried something new with this project, which for me is slightly risky as I rarely veer from my comfort zone within pen and ink, however my habitual use of photoshop was of course present within my artwork. I began to experiment with wire model making in order to get a better feel for my protagonist, and also because I tried it before in a previous project and loved it. Whilst taking photos of my models, I was intrigued by the shadows that they made, and decided that I preferred their appearance and effect to the actual models themselves. Thus my chosen medium for my final images. Lots of string and pieces of hanging text, and a clothing rail to hang it all on. With lots of patience. The typography within my artwork was all too predictable as I have recently become more and more interested in the medium and hope to delve further into it within my upcoming project, which centres around numbers and printing techniques. Within this project, the use of typography was present in the short poem I wrote to add flow to the images and better inform my narrative:
As a final submission I was asked to develop a protagonist, and present them within a sequence of five illustrations. I feel that the reason behind my initial uncertainty towards the project was due to the broadness of possible themes that I could centre my project around. The research process, and process of whittling down my ideas was lengthy and probably not that interesting to read about, therefore I will just state that I began looking into the sequences of various different animal life cycles. This is a pretty standard sequence, but it wasn't just the exact ecological life cycle of the animals I was studying that interested me. What I was most taken with was the difference in lifespan of certain creatures. For example, a tortoise may live to be 200 years old, however a small insect like a Mayfly, has only up to 24 hours in which to live out its entire life. From this I began to look into human lifespans, and our own human instinct of wishing we had more time. Of course, this derives from our human capability, due to our superior brain capacity, to perceive the concept of time. Therefore we are the only creatures that worry, and dream of having more of it. When compared with the Mayfly, we begin to understand of its advantage of a lesser brain capacity as it is blissfully unaware of its inevitable death after only 24 hours, therefore, those 24 hours are happy and carefree, with regards to running out of time of course. I also looked into introducing death in children's literature, and methods with which to approach the prospect of loss, death and dying in terms of children's books. Since I aimed to target children with my illustrations I felt that this was an important factor to consider to ensure that I could address the matter affectively and appropriately.
I tried something new with this project, which for me is slightly risky as I rarely veer from my comfort zone within pen and ink, however my habitual use of photoshop was of course present within my artwork. I began to experiment with wire model making in order to get a better feel for my protagonist, and also because I tried it before in a previous project and loved it. Whilst taking photos of my models, I was intrigued by the shadows that they made, and decided that I preferred their appearance and effect to the actual models themselves. Thus my chosen medium for my final images. Lots of string and pieces of hanging text, and a clothing rail to hang it all on. With lots of patience. The typography within my artwork was all too predictable as I have recently become more and more interested in the medium and hope to delve further into it within my upcoming project, which centres around numbers and printing techniques. Within this project, the use of typography was present in the short poem I wrote to add flow to the images and better inform my narrative:
'How long is forever, you ask?
Well, sometimes only one day.
So soar into your dreams,
and fill your heart with love.
Because all we have is now.'
I'm aware it doesn't rhyme, but I don't think that matters. Basically it means, no matter how much time you are given, you can still have an amazing life, and you are still able to live your dreams and ultimately be happy. So don't worry about death, because it is imminent, and you can't change that.
And here are my final 5 images, with a cover page also:
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| so live the way you want to |
Thanks for reading/looking at the pictures
X
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