My Favourite Illustrated Books: Study Task 4

Fiction

• I was drawn to this book because of it’s hand made quality. I love of the scanned in textures that the artist has used as well how they have been assembled so that the pages are interesting and look tactile yet simple. I also love the pop up element of the book. It really lifts the illustrations by bringing them into the viewer’s space. Each time I turned the page, I was excited to see what was going to pop out. 
• The use use of pop out, colourful, simplistic illustrations also works really well to aid its function. This is because it is attractive to children. In addition to this the use of colour and friendly monsters to represent different emotions (referenced in the text) works well. This is because it gives children something literal to associate abstract feeling with, aiding their understanding of them. It is not only a beautiful fiction book but it also teaches children a valuable life lesson.

Zine

• I was drawn to this zine because of the messy hand made quality that the front cover and the pages had to them. I love the fact that some of the pages even had pencil smudges on them. It feels very hand made and personal, like pages of a sketchbook. It was strange singing something so unrefined, which is reproduced. 
• I also love the how weird and twisted the story was. It was really unexpected and it amused me. It is not something which you would find in your everyday picture book (but something which might appeal late teen/ young adult audience you might find at a gene fare).
• In this zine, each step of the simple story is illustrated fully. The text just exists simply to make the intensions of the characters clear. 

Picture Book

• I was surprised by how much I enjoyed flicking through this book as I am usually drawn weirder more quirky illustrations. The traditional landscape watercolours just have a strange eerie quality to them. They are so simple yet so well crafted and intimate. 
• The illustrations here don’t exist to communicate a message but their beauty is their function. This allows them to work presented alone, unsupported by text. This is something which is so difficult to achieve and that I have not seen a lot of it int the past.
• This is a picture book for adults , something which you son't often come across. The simplistic beauty of these images also means that they can be appreciated by a wide audience. 

Non-fiction

• My love of documentary illustration drew me to this book last year and it is where I discovered the work of Olivier Kugler, one of my favourite illustrators. It is put together so well and it was really interesting to read about the journey of each of the illustrators to creating a finished documentary drawing. It is a book which is not only interesting and informative but beautifully put together. I loved looking at the artist's sketchbooks as I personally have a tendency to be drawn to quite unfinished looking work.
• This books audience is people of all ages who have an interest in documentary illustration. It is a useful research source to them because it not only reflects different ways of image making but different ways of thinking. It takes the viewer inside the illustrator's head. 
• This book is about 50/50 text and image. The text explores the different illustrators' different practices and how they like to work practically in addition to providing stories of past experiences. Image then works to give a visual example of the illustrator's working methods and process. 

Rob Hodgson Bigheads

Rob Hodgson has a part time job while also being a free lance illustrator. He says that he likes the balance between the two because it allows him to surround himself in different projects. This is because he finds different themes and techniques which interconnect. He says that just because a project is finished doesn't mean that the theme is resolved. This is something which resonates with me because I have found that as I have started to progress through the course I have found a couple of themes that I would like to revisit in future projects.

When crating an image he uses a sketchbook as a very personal place. They are where his illustration and life meet. They contain drawings, ideas, annotations and even shopping lists. He also collects imagery that mainly consists of shapes, which he uses as a starting point. He tends to do compositionally accurate roughs, with low levels of detail and colour. He then scans in the roughs along with different interesting shapes and attempts to organise them digitally. I think that this is a really interesting way of working. It shows the coming together of something quite abstract with with a very structured idea.

Hodgson's practice also shows a swing between commercial work and work simply for himself. He appears very interested in how product design and Illustration sit together. His work seems very driven by materials and the process of making, the commercial side coming secondary. He makes lots of hand crafted objects himself, which he then designs the packaging for and personally sends off .

Another thing that Hodgson said at the end of the lecture, which I found really useful was that he didn't leave university with a portfolio of work or a style. What he left with was a set of ideas questions and things he wanted to do. I think that this is a really interesting point because creating a portfolio and developing a style are things that are already always at the back of my mind, even though they don't need to be.

My Favourite Applied Illustrations: Study Task 3

The Dad Dancing Birthday Card

• The way in which the Illustrator has shaped the text around imagery is really interesting. It gives both text and image an equal importance, which works well on a birthday card. It also means that the design fills the whole surface of product.
• The repetition of the same figure in different poses also works really well visually.
• I can never find birthday cards like this in a card shops. They always tend to be tacky. The simplicity and hand made quality of this design makes it not look tacky, in addition to the fact that the surface of the card is matted rather than shiny.
• The concept of the illustration is also interesting and amusing - the dad dance! This is something that everyone experiences on at at least one of their birthdays meaning that it is a good birthday card for anyone of pretty much any age giving it a large market.
• The design also works well because it reflects a broadly relatable idea while staying away from general symbols used to represent a birthday (i.e. balloons or a cake), giving it an originality.

The Sun Worshipper Phone Case

• I love how the illustrator has taken a phrase and illustrated it literally (the sun worshipper), in interesting yet simplistic concept.
• It has been applied to a phone case with the purpose of decorating quite a plain product, which people carry around with them and see all the time.
• It is a very simple and charming image, which makes you smile. It is light and happy, perfect for its application. 
• The simplistic colours of the illustration also help to communicate this sense of happiness and tranquility, while making it eye catching (complimentary colours amplify one another).
• I also like the way in which the arms of the sun wrap around the sides os the phone to incorporate the whole case in the design and not just the back.
• I am definitely giving it to Mum for christmas, a bit of a sun worshipper herself.

My India Cushion

• The use of really beautiful colours and interesting design make it decorative and it has decorated my bed for about 5 years (the perfect cushion for me as my name is India). 
• It is not only decorative but educational too (since having it I have learnt all the places in India without trying) as my eyes are drawn to it because it is so pretty.
• Creating an illustration that is both decorative and educational and decorative is difficult to achieve.
• The fact that the design is embroidered into the cushion rather than printed also really adds to it because it gives it a tactility, while enhancing the colours. This media also works well with the simplistic, slightly naive imagery.
• The application of the illustration therefore works to visually enhance the illustration as well as the illustration visually enhancing the product.

The Ortigia Candle Packaging Design

• I received one of these candles for Christmas a couple of years ago and I still have the packaging from it because i love it so much. It smells and burns the same as your generic candle, but what really sells it is the packaging.
• This is because it is elegant due to the simplistic design and colour scheme, which makes it look expensive (perfect for a present). The name of the brand had also been taken into account in the illustration (Ortigia, a small island in Sicily). This is expressed through the use of palm trees and the generally exotic nature of the design.
• I also think that the way in which the colour of the packaging has been coordinated with the colour of the wax and the smell of the candle works really well. Everything has been considered and it comes as a whole package.

Christmas Scene Wrapping Paper 

• The illustration for this wrapping paper has been really well thought through and it moves away from the generic Christmas wrapping paper by showing us a scene rather than a repeated symbol of Christmas i.e. a snowflake or a snowman.
• The design works really well as a repeat (compulsory for the product) .The repeated oversized green christmas tree helps it to hang together nicely. 
• The fact that the scene is quite complex and it is repeated works really well to express the hectic nature of christmas.
• However, even though the scene is complex, the use of simple shapes (with no outline) and a refined colour scheme with a plain background adds a simplicity to the image, which allows it to work as a repeat.

Illustration is an Applied Art: Class Discussion

Last week we spoke about how Illustration is an applied art. An Illustration serves a purpose and its purpose and relationship with an audience is defined by how it is applied. Where Illustration can appear is now shifting and growing within industry and they can be found anywhere from magazines, to wrapping paper, to clothing.

Illustrators therefore need to be sensitive to what image suits what product i.e. They wouldn't place a really complex design on a rug because this might clash with its function. We also spoke about how Illustration can alter the function of a product, giving it meaning or storytelling. If we take the example of a phone case its function is to protect. However, once you place an Illustration on it, it becomes something more. Something which decorates a phone or tells a story.

I found these ideas really interesting and I have never really thought about Illustration in this light before. I have always thought about Illustration for the sake of Illustration. However, now that I come to think about it all of the briefs that we have been given so far have been directed toward a certain product i.e. a poster, a magazine and a book.

Olivier Kugler's Practice: Study Task 2

'Kugler’s astonishing drawings represent life as it is – overloaded, incidental, full of half-finished thoughts and superfluous detail.'

Charlotte simmonds, 2012 article for itsnicethat.com

Olivier Kugler is one of my favourite Illustrators. Every time I look at his work my initial response is 'wow'. The level of detail in his images is incredible, yet they they don't seem static at all. There is such an energy to them and an atmosphere, they appear very caught in the moment. There is also an interesting relationship between line and colour and I love the way in which they don't conform with one another. Kugler is very selective about what he fills in, which works to draw your focus to certain elements of the image in addition to creating a sense of space. Areas of colour also overspill shapes, giving his work an 'incidental', 'half-finished' feel, something which appears difficult to pull off when working digitally. In addition to the aesthetics of his work I am also interested in its content. The way in which he often makes a point without giving his own opinion is really effective. I also adore how he embodies text from interviews within his images. His illustrations don't simply decorate an article, but they tell the whole story in a direct and interesting way. They are so rich that there is no need for an accompanying text at all. 

When creating a reportage Illustration, Kugler starts by interviewing people on location in addition to taking reference photos and maybe doing some rough sketches. When he returns to his studio, he then creates draft images from his photographs, which he sends to the art director of the project he’s working on. Once they have been approved, he then moves on to transforming them into large scale, detailed pencil drawings (generally A1), which he scans in. He then edits these images digitally, adding colour and playing around with composition, while he re-listens to the subject's interview. He then writes the text by hand, before scanning it in and adding it to the final image.

 




Kugler grew up in Simmozheim, a small village in Germany. Since he was a child, he has had an interest in drawing, something which was introduced to him buy his father who was also an artist. He remembers falling in love with art when he received a Tin Tin comic book for Christmas. He used to practice copying illustrations from this book. Since he was a child he has enjoyed drawing from reference, something which he continues to do today. Many of his infuences are European artists and they include Otto Dix (a German painter who was also interested in the theme of war) and Bande Dessinée (a French comic book artist who also enjoyed series drawing). Both these influence are evident in Kugler's practice.

Kugler's reportage illustrations have appeared in many publications, including The Guardian, The New Yorker and the New York Times. His work therefore reaches a wide range of readers internationally. Kugler completed a Graphic Design degree and worked for three years as a designer in industry before getting bored (perhaps accounting for his complex digital skills). He wanted to do illustration work but he couldn't get any commissions. He therefore applied for a scholarship and completed an Illustration MA in New York City. Here, he completed his first visual essay and discovered the power of text and image, which developed into a love for reportage Illustration. It is something which embodies lots of his interests. It allows him to draw, travel and talk to new interesting people, all things that he is passionate about. With the high cost of living in London, finance is something which still effects Kugler's practice today. Even though reportage illustration is what he is passionate about he still takes editorial jobs on the side, drawing things like maps and vegetables. He doesn't mind doing these jobs but they cut into the time that he could be using to complete more worthwhile projects.

In addition to his love for drawing from observation, Kugler's interest in raising awareness for Syrin refugees helps to fuel his interest in Reportage Illustration. In his 2015 interview with Grafik, Kugler spoke about how in his recent project he chose to visit the small Domiz Syrian refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan. He chose to go here was because it had little to no coverage in the media, compared with larger camps. He wanted to give the people a voice. Salome. M looks at Kugler’s work from an interesting perspective in his article ‘Portraits of Hope’, for Peardrop. He talks about how Kugler takes a situation, which is projected upon in a very negative, dehumanising way by the media and stands against it by putting his own interesting spin on the situation.

'The necessity to challenge this narrative has become more critical than ever and Olivier Kugler, through his documentary illustrations, does so in the most eloquent way’.

Kugler also speaks about how he thinks in a political way, yet he refrains from posing his own opinion in his work. Instead he remains neutral and focuses on storytelling and giving the people a voice. This is an interesting way to reflect upon the situation and perhaps makes his work more accessible.

'I think politically but the drawings aren’t consciously political, it’s more of a human, neutral observation.'

Drawing from direct observation is something, which I personally really enjoy and Kugler's work constantly inspires me to continue drawing to get better at it. His use of line and shape is also incredible and his digital process is something I really want to learn more about. Does he trace over his drawings or does he turn them straight into vectors? How does he tweak the composition digitally? How much information does he include in his original A1 drawings? How does he add in scanned in text towards the end of creating an image? 

I Want To Be An Illustrator

Today I decided that I want to be an illustrator! Since starting the course I have been a bit wobbly and and on many occasions have considered moving to fine art. I felt that by doing illustration, a huge part of me has been ripped away, as I’m un able to oil paint. This is my passion. I even received an email from my school art teacher saying I had made a massive mistake, one which I’m going to regret. This also means that I feel constantly set back as everything is very new to me.

However, today something switched. I know that I want to do illustration. Whats better than being able to draw all day long? I think that this switch was down to really being immersed in the visual culture. Before coming here, I had lots of favourite artists but I didn’t know many illustrators. With so much of the work I’ve seen my response has been I want to do that. I have a goal, something which I never really had with painting.

During Big Heads, Stanley Chao spoke about how he used to paint but he moved to working digitally when he saw the digital age taking over. Having done a painting, it was a massive process getting it photographed, then hiring a courier to deliver it to the buyer. Working digitally, all you have to do is send it. This was an interesting point, something which I had never considered. 

What is a Practice? Discussion

We spent this mornings session discussing the question ‘what is an illustrator’s practice?’. The word practice is one which I am familiar with but have never really picked apart before. It is clear that ‘practice’ is quite a broad term relating to something far bigger than simply an artist’s ‘style’. It includes things like where they live, their knowledge, interests, family, ethics and their hobbies, all of which feed into their style. It also includes the business side of their work, their client base and how they make a living from the work they produce. 

Someone in the session talked about ‘expanding knowledge’, which I thought was interesting as I wasn’t sure what they meant by this. Were they talking about the illustrator’s own knowledge forming a practice informed by research? Or were they talking about the knowledge of practice and our expanding knowledge of the subject area? Either way this is an interesting idea.

I also thought that the way we looked at and attempted to define ‘style’ was interesting. It is not simply a visual outcome but something which is fuelled by a range of sources within the artist’s practice. It is defined by the artists influence, subject matter, media, motives and the way in which their work reflects their personality, life experience, ideology and many other things. Matt also talked about the fact that we should also all stop thinking about ’style’ so much and should never try to force one upon ourselves. Instead we should try lots of different approaches to different briefs and a way of working will develop in time. This is something which really resonated with me as it is exactly how I was planning to work. I was finding everyone talking about their personal styles quite intimidating and it was making me feel at a disadvantage.  

Level 5 and 6 Summer Sketchbook Mega Crit

Today we had a Mega Crit with levels 5 and 6. I was really surprised by the high level of work, which personally inspired me rather than intimidating me. When I arrived on the course I was worried about the fact that my work seemed so different from the work of other course mates in addition to the fact that I struggle to draw from my imagination. However, seeing the vast diversity of the different work has really reassured me that this is a course, which allows you to work however you want and I'm not at a disadvantage because I do things differently.

Of all the summer sketchbooks I saw, this was definitely my favourite page. I love the fact that it is so detailed yet so simple refined and not at all over worked. The artist has also added such a strong sense of character to it. I wonder how the artist caught the people in so much detail. This seems too difficult to do from direct observation, unless they drew the scene roughly in pencil before refining it in pen. Or did they just draw directly from a photograph? I also love the use of materials and particularly how the simple strokes of gouache wash out the pen, giving it a softness. I also love the fact that they have only used black for the line drawing, then a softer colour for tone. I think that this is something which works really well and that I would like to bring into my own sketching. I have a really bad habit of getting carried away and starting to shade before I have even laid down the bare bones of my image. This is a really good way of overworking and wrecking a piece.

This is another bit of work which I liked and I think that the fact that it was very far from my own work perhaps made me appreciate it more. I spent at least 10 minutes slowly flicking through this sketchbook admiring every page. I just love the dreamy magical feel of this whole body of work, which I think is down to the creative use of media. I can't work out exactly how the student crated it. I am assuming that they used quink and some kind of resist, maybe masking fluid? But then I still can't work out how they managed to get the ink to separate so well, unless they used lots of separate inks. It is so simple yet effective and it makes me want to go away and play around with ink.

Image, Idea, Context: Study Task 1

This is a Surrealist collage by the American artist Euginea Loli. Her work has appeared in editorial, on album and book covers and she sells it in the form of prints on her website. Here Eugenia’s intension was to create an illusion. She has bought different elements of the real world together and assembled them to create a fantasy world simply through cutting and sticking. The concept is simple but a certain level of precision and control is needed to create this convincing illusion. Eugenia has achieved this by precisely cutting the flowers and picture frames, then layering them so that the flowers look as though they are bursting out. She has also used colour in an interesting and effective way, using a black and white gallery setting in contrast to the lurid colours of the plants. This works to not only unite the piece but the monochrome room enhances the saturated colours of flowers to give the piece more other worldly, uplifting feel. I chose this piece because surrealist collage is something that I love and have played around with myself a few times. Eugenia Loli was the artist who got me interested in it, after I came across her work when completing a brief on Foundation. I think this piece is quite summative of the feel of her whole body of work. I just love the certain level of wit required to create an interesting surreal collage. I also love trying to wrap my head around them and the fact that their ambiguity makes them open to interpretation. Playing around with space and perspective is also something that really interests me and collage as a medium allows this to be done quick and effectively. I also love Loli’s use of 50s magazines to give her work a vintage feel. However, some might argue that this only makes her work appear outdated.