Work-Based Learning, Personal and Professional Development and Commercial - Smart Targets

Work-Based Learning

• Attend and document workshops
• Research words relating to 'Tangled Tales'
• Draw a minimum of ten rabbits for Rabbits Reloaded

Personal, Professional Development

• Make headway on business cards and creative CV
• Ready powerpoint detailing skills analysis

Commercial

• Buy a portfolio for A3 pieces
• Arrange and send off photobook

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Artist Research - Natasha Allegri

Natasha Allegri is an American storyboard artist, storyboard revisionist and comic book artist, but is best known for her work as a storyboard revisionist for Cartoon Network's Adventure Time and as the creator of Frederator Studio's Bee and Puppycat.

Allegri met Pendleton Ward, creator of Adventure Time during her high school and college years when she used to make comics about her day-to-day life on LiveJournal. Ward, who also used LiveJournal had taken a like to her work and contacted her about working on his show Adventure Time where she has worked for five seasons. Whilst working on the show Allegri liked to play around with the idea of gender-swapping characters where these were eventually featured in full episodes.

In 2013, Allegri produced an animated short for Frederator Studio's youtube channel, Cartoon Hangover. The show follows the story of a young, unemployed woman who is met with a strange and magic creature resembling both a dog and a cat, Puppycat. When she decides to take him in she makes an unlikely discovery that he is able to conjure temp jobs from outer space and together they go on wild and otherworldly adventures. 

After the show gained popularity and following, Frederator launched a kickstarter to raise funds for a season. The fundraiser was successful and exceeded their original goal of $600, 000 and were able to raise a ground breaking $872, 133, making them the 4th most funded video and film project to date.

Many artists who have inspired Allegri's work include work by Sailor Moon, Superbook and Bob's burgers. Another important source of inspiration for Allegri has been her cat, Pancake.

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Compositing - Evaluation and SWOT

Compositing appeared as quite a tedious unit for me, not being too confident with 3D applications and software I feel as though I definitely had my struggles.

Starting with the points for improvement, I feel as though the 3D aspect of my work was showing a lot of under-developed processes and approaches. My main struggle being my confusion around compositing and applying visual elements from separate sources in to single images, creating the illusion that all of those elements are part of the same scene and therefore making a lot of the composits I made appear very unrealistic and unbelievable.

Whilst I am relieved that this brief was more of an experimental one I feel like I was unable to portray an in-depth understanding of the use and navigation of the software. Lighting and shadows was very difficult for me and I did have issues trying to touch up on them.

For my Character Staredown entry I feel like as a finished piece it was pretty up to standard and I was proud of the turn out however it was advised to use compositing within my piece that I unfortunately failed to produce, aside from the video overlays I applied at the very last minute (which I am definitely glad to have gone with).

I did have a lot of struggles with this unit that left me very panicked and stressed for time. I definitely could have gone back and made improvements as well as reach out for help a lot a lot earlier.

Stress aside I did make an animation for this piece that I am actually very proud which is a first for me. I consider myself leaning more towards the illustrative side of the course and to make an animation that has turned out up to standard and without choppiness is a great new feat for me and has inspired me to try my hand at more animations in the year.

SWOT

Strengths:

• Taking pride in certain aspects of work
• Better understanding of 3D software
• A selection of development and experimentation
• All tasks completed with in-depth documentation
• Submission to Character Staredown

Weaknesses:

• Lack of understanding software
• Under-developed processes and approaches
• Unrealistic and unbelievable visuals
• Not reaching out for help
• Poor time management

Opportunities:

• Make a timeplan
• Communication with my tutor to assess issues
• Looking for tutorials online from sources such as Grayscale Gorilla
• Doing a mini project using compositing techniques
• Referring to the documentation of CAAD sessions

Threats:

• Giving in to failure
• Setting unrealistic goals and targets
• Not reaching out for help
• Not taking the time to fully document tutorials for future use
• Letting distractions get in the way

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Artist Research - Matt Bailey

Matt Bailey is a UK based illustrator residing in London as a tattoo artist. His work often displays a simple ink drawing within a square box and caption underneath. His work exhibits medieval, tarot-card simplicity and darkness themes to them with a side of explicit and flavorsome material, not for the faint of heart.

Matt Bailey is an admitted and self-confessed voracious reader, thus has inspired his morbid fascination with mortality and occult. He is said to have taken a liking to Mike Mignola's Hellboy and Robert Ball's Winter Knight, other inspirations from Becky Cloonan's short comics. 

 

Something else that has attracted a wider audience is Bailey's more political pieces which convey personal opinions and views towards some of the most recent events regarding a change in power or a distaste towards certain groups. Because a couple of his pieces exhibit mutilation and harm there has been mixed opinions and general criticism that coming from audiences with conflicting views, which luckily have not stopped him from working his magic.

Bailey profits his work by selling merchandise on his store and by making turning his work in to eye-catching works of art on skin at Parliament Tattoo studio in London.

  

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Contextual Studies - Evaluation and SWOT

Contextual Studies has been another difficult one for me, having to detail research in to trends dating as far back as the 1800's. Unlike my normal write-ups where it is much more relaxed and I can write from a personal level, I had to had to make in-depth research of 2500 words, complete with a bibliography detailing all my sources from an array of different formats online and in books.

Whilst I got off to a good start expanding on the history of poster crazes from eras such as Art Nouveau, Early Modernism, Futurism, Heroic Realism, Kitsch, Late Modern, Psychedelic and more all the way up to Early Grunge. I started to lose my way when the deadline drew closer and began babbling after my introduction.

When hand-in was originally due I almost handed in an extremely half-assed looking essay which very obviously displayed my scatterbrained and sleepless night trying to reach the word count. I was very lucky to receive an extra week to re-write and re-evaluate.

After stepping away, receiving feedback and getting a grip I decided to make points and justification for them. I began to write with a bit more structure and depth and used research to inform a wider practice from a historical point of view. Whilst I have detailed key influences that have had an impact on commercial illustration I feel as though I left out certain points from contemporary viewpoints.

When I went on to talk about how the evolution of technology and political awareness had impacted modern practitioners work I found myself doing most of my research on established processes and practices opposed to what is happening in the current day. I struggled to expand on my research to a contemporary point of view which was really my downfall throughout this unit. My conclusion was spotty at best, showing very little focus again.

Lastly, whilst my bibliography was in good order, I did not take my investigation any further than the internet, showing only online sources where I could have expanded my research in to Juxtapoz and Digital Arts which have a selection of publications detailing emerging artists and techniques of this year from a more professional and well-credited source.

SWOT

Strengths:

• In-depth research in an area out of my understanding
• Correct and accurate bibliography
• Detail to grammar and punctuation
• Establishing key influences
• Justifying my argument

Weaknesses:

• Poor time management
• Being too scatterbrained to think of where to start
• Lots of waffle and babbling
• Sources from anywhere other than the internet
• Lack of contemporary viewpoints

Opportunities:

• Making a timeplan and spending an hour a day doing coursework
• Making a list bullet pointing key points
• Use sources such as Juxtapoz and Digital Arts
• Check in with tutor for help and advice
• Look at tutorials on laying out essays

Threats:

• Lack of sleep
• Lack of motivation
• Poor time management

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Compositing, Livetales and Contextual Studies - Smart Targets

Compositing:

• RESEARCH (Collect and annotate examples of mixed media images and animations)
• Note and consider the break down of processes used in mixed media examples
• Moodboard (Detail influences and interests based on the final concepts you have considered)
• THREE final concepts 

Livetales:

• Reflect on feedback given and use it to adapt your idea and realize and refine your idea

Contextual Studies:

• Look closer at structuring and drafting your essay (writing and structuring)
• Decide what you will be researching based on what you are interested in

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Digital Skills Application - Evaluation and SWOT

This unit was Digital Skill Application and I was left feeling rather disappointed with the pieces I had to present. 

This module took me up to about two weeks to really get a move on with and I felt very scatterbrained to settle on styles, approaches and workflows to how to get through my what I had. I feel as though my concentration and focus began to slip over the christmas period and and I began to fall off of my timeplan.

I feel like was very ambitious to challenge myself in an area I hadn't done before such as working traditionally, gathering and making a texture gallery however there are certain aspects of of my work that took longer than what it should have which made the digital side of my pieces appear rather rushed and lacklustre.

Whilst my sketchbook detailed problem solving and creative solutions to my how I was going to address issues in my assets I feel as though the final pieces varied in success via the individual panels. For example I feel like certain panels such as the last one appeared quite lazy and a bit of a rush job in comparison to the room which displayed a good sense of light and colour. If I had applied the same level of detail I did to the rest of the panels it would have been very easy sailing. Another point to make is the background which was just empty and boring, where it could have done with a bit of subtle pattern work to make it appear more interesting yet not eye-catching enough to distract from the main body of my work which was the separate panels of my work.

I did plan for my piece to be done in monotone I am very happy I chose to work using colours because there is more depth and an overall more established appeal about it. 

Although I really like the turn out of the scenery in the first page I feel there is a certain laziness about the decisions I made, especially regarding the grass which was made using the grass brush tool. It appears very obvious and very repetitively used making my pieces appear very unprofessional. Another point to make is my use of point-perspective when making the house is lacking the skill required, making it appear very wonky to say the least. I feel quite happy to say that whilst this was an issue I struggled with, I managed to overcome it the easy way, using assets to hide the areas for improvement.

To end on a happier note I feel fairly happy with the colour palettes which have informed research through artist influences and use of complimentary colours. Which backs up my point about being happy with my choice not to go with monotone colours.

I would like to use this unit as a learning point for briefs to come in the future and take some time to reflect upon my effort, motivation and the result of later work.

SWOT

Strengths:

• Good standard of development and experimentation
• Very good research in to artists
• Informed development via research
• Strong influences via research
• Good decision making

Weaknesses:

• Lazy documentation
• Lack of skill when it comes to point-perspective
• Limited texture gallery
• Certain lazy aspects (grass brush)
• Bad time management

Opportunities:

• Spending an hour a day to do coursework
• Learn more on point-perspective through tutorials
• Collect free textures and magazine clippings to build texture gallery
• Stop taking the easy way out
• Make a realistic and achievable timeplan

Threats:

• Leaving work until the last minute
• Refusal to learn
• Time management
• Letting distractions get in the way of your focus
• Not putting in the required effort of a HE student

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