Final Piece Images

                      

Final Piece

My sketch books helped me to develop techniques that were then used in my final design. Through researching into different artists and materials I chose to develop my most successful and the methods I most enjoyed to create my final design. For my final design I created a PVC skirt with illustrations, text and embellishment. The PVC skirt has black boning to keep the skirt well structured. I chose black boning rather than white because the illustrations were outlined in black so it kept continuity through my design. The illustrations were designs of Lisolette Watkins, they were created on calico and worked on top of, the skin is painted with acrylic and the detail was all stitched, I also interpreted coloured materials into the illustrations. On the bottom of the skirt I created a range of circles which were all inspired by the embellishment on my first mini outcome. I exaggerated these circle with the use of foil, netting, material, stitch and PVC. These added a vast amount of colour to my final piece. I then added text in the style of Garance Dore to make the final design unique and more in depth so it was interesting to make and look at. My final design was based on the theme of portrait illustration. During the majority of my sketch book I focused on fashion illustration and portrait illustration and this inspired me to elaborate on them and design an piece of work that includes a variety of illustration, text and embellishment. For my final piece to be successful I had to consider all aspects of the design process from the colour scheme to the size of the illustrations. Garance Dore and Lisolette Watkins were the two artists that influenced my designs. Garance Dore used bold, black text next to her illustrations I felt this was an inspiring contrast to the subtle illustrations and hence why I decided to use this in my final design. Different materials were used to show a diverse range of textures and colours. For the illustrations I used calico as the base, with subtle skin colours I painted with gouache the skin. The whites of the eyes were also painted to allow the illustration a precise finish. To enable the illustrations to be cut out without any stray edges I sewed the black outlines thicker on the edges. The circles on the bottom of the design were full of excitement, the vast amount that I produced was beneficial to my design, it showed the colours I loved to use and the excitement I like to create from the vast variety of materials and textures. My final design is how I imagined it to be, the illustrations were developed to a strong level and I feel that my stitch has improved and developed from the beginning of the project. If I had more time to create my final piece I would have simply added to the amount of illustrations on the skirt. Different sized portraits could have been added too; this would have just made it more exciting and more to look at. If I could go back and start the project again I don’t feel I would have approached the illustrations any different however the size I may have considered a little more, I feel that maybe lots of little illustrations may have been more unique to look at rather than 4 large illustrations. Overall I am proud with the final design and like any other piece of work, more time would have just made it a little more interesting.

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final word count of blog- 2,980 words

Focusing on Illustration

I feel that my drawing skills throughout my sketchbook were advanced through the practice of drawing in the style of Esra Roise. I was able to create these to best of my ability with the correct equipment. A thin drawing pen enabled me to successfully define the detail of the hair and hands. The contrast of this was the sketched technique on the clothing. Facial features, clothing parts and colour application are what helped to make each illustration unique. Putting a background behind a fashion or portrait illustration was something I was intrigued to try. Before starting to draw the outcomes I had to determine the scale of the illustrations, I decided to do them on a small scale so as much details as possible could be shown. By simply looking in fashion magazines and blogs I was able to come up with illustrations with different characteristics, whether it be accessories such as hats and glasses, or background and text. Some of my favorite illustrations are the ones with the detail in the hair. I was proud with the illustration with the blue necklace and glasses, the hair is dark yet detailed, each strand i considered when drawing it. A lot of the time consideration to the smallest part of a drawing can be what adds the realistic and professional look at the end, the little stands of hair and the shadows on the glasses of this illustrations take it to the next level, and with this considered I carried out the precision on each illustration. 

On a few of the illustrations there are backgrounds, these tend to be on the ones which don’t have a busy and complex illustration and the background helps them to keep the excitement. Ranging from the purple circle and the typography of the word ‘mwah’ adds a quirkiness, adding this quirkiness not only helps the illustration become unique but creates an individual reputation for my illustrations. Referring to fashion too helps to create your own illustrations, fashion is always changing and always different, it is simple to design your own illustrative clothing and apply colour that way, this was shown in the illustration with the hat and the blue typography. The vast range enabled me to show different components in each illustrations and I feel once they are mounted side by side they will each be individually effective but at the same time they’ll compliment each other. Below shows a few of my favourite illustrations.

     

 

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Relating to the Theme

Illustrations are all unique, whether it is a result of the materials used or the angle of the portrait. For development towards my final piece and outcomes I will be focusing on illustrations which are accompanied by stitched elements. I created this outcome as a piece of work that would match my previous outcome. Together they show how illustrations with the same materials, and method of creation can be so different to each other. Less detailed stitch was used on the facial features to allow the extravagant hair to be enhanced. The strands of the hair were thin which meant the eyelashes and lips could stand out with block stitch to contrast the dainty hair. The lip colour could have been a different tone which would have allowed more continuity with the earring. I enjoyed creating the earring because of the tactile aspects. Building on top of each layer with foil, PVC or beading meant you could feel the outcome which is something digital illustrations don’t have. 

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Extending the Outcome

After producing sketch books pages for Sara Ligari i decided to produce a digital illustration of hers into a stitched outcome. There are many sections within this illustration which can be filled with colour, this is why i chose to develop this particular illustration. Illustrations with the addition of a range of materials, colour and depths are the illustrations which are much more interesting to be felt, looked at and researched into. I chose to use a varied colour palette, this makes the illustration look alive and exciting. It is important when creating designs to not over power the colour applications it can take the importance of the actual illustration away, this is why i only applied colours to part of the illustration so it was not too overpowering. As a result all aspects of this outcome can be appreciated, this proportions, the colour and the stitched skill.

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Beginning of my Own Development

Digital and hand made illustrations are completely different, hand made illustrations can be extended and worked on top of until they are full of different materials and colours. Digital illustrations work differently. Although you can scan hand made elements and apply them they will always remain two dimensional. It is important for digital illustrations to be as interesting as handmade ones. This is why my first vogue cover consists of many different widths and tones in the hair. This illustration is very abstract with regards to the hair, the colours are all greyscale, this was to experiment to see which I prefer. They eyes are the main feature within this portrait, an enlarged JPEG exaggerates this with the accuracy and proportions considered to give the illustration a professional and realistic feel. The second illustration focuses with colour and more of a block and precise illustrative method. The vogue title is interpreted into the style to keep continuity, although there are aspects of the fashion illustration which are sketched, such as the dress, the hair and eyes are again what equals this out to create a successful illustration. The final illustration is a mixture of both of the previous illustrations, splashes of colour are shown yet the detail remains and the title is again relevant to the illustration. Together they are effective and are examples of what could be developed in to handmade illustrations.

                                        

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Developing into Outcomes

The work developed through out my sketch book had a wide focus to fashion illustration, jewelry and stitch. To continue this focus to my project I began to look at illustrations that could work together with a necklace. The illustration I chose to stitch was a simple portrait with detailed hair. With artist influence from Lisolette Watkins I added lines to the lips and segmented the hair into stitch strands. This matches the style of Lisolette Watkins. Many high street shops during Autumn 2013 were introducing the bold, elaborate and vast range of statement necklaces and earrings. With reference to this I researched into brands such as Zara and Topshop to get some inspiration. Although it was helpful to see the way they were extended along the neckline, it proved more effective to improvise the design and work on improvements that way. 

To create the outcome I started by pencil drawing the outline of the portrait and then painting with gouache the skin colour. I added a slight tinge of pink to the cheeks to add a realistic dimension. I then painted the lips a solid pink to stand out. By adding bondaweb to silver material I cut out small areas which would be paced within the hair to add texture and a shine. With black thread I covered each line and curve with a thin stitched line. I did not want to over whelm the illustration with heavy black lines. In the hair there are areas which are bolder than others to represent each section of the curls. The necklace required me to use PVC (plastic), different boldly coloured fabrics, foil and beads. Accordingly I arranged the circles to the calico and started building on top of it. I wanted to keep the bright colourful aspects of the necklace, this is why I chose to use only coloured thread rather than black. The beads were relevant colours too, with some clear and silver ones to match the foil. The same method was used for the hair piece. Overall I am satisfied with my first outcome. If I could change anything it would be to ensure each segment in the hair was exact and not as vague however I do feel this would not relate to Lisolette Watkins work as predominantly.

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