iFontmaker Experiment

Above is my experiments with the iPad and the iFontmaker app. This app is useful to creating your own handmade type. How I achieved this font was by using my finger to create the letters of the alphabet (upper and lower case) on the iPad. I created my font by scratch so that meant not copying a typeface on the app. I really like this technique because you have created it yourself and you don't have to rely on a processed fonts. Also creating your own font can gain you more marks and it can be more personal. 

Initial Designers

Rowan Stocks-Moore 

Double Exposures

Rowan Stocks-Moore is an UK-based graphic designer that has really captured my eye with technique he has achieved by incorporating a double exposure as such into the poster/cover. He has create two scenes within one, as you look at this image you can see a silhouette of  a young boy, swinging on a tree branch. However as you look closer at the image you begin to see that the trees and the boy are apart of the tiger that is beginning to appear within the foreground. This creates the illusion of the double exposure effect. I really like this idea because of how effective it is to see two crucial characters of the story representing the whole story in just one image. Also the colours are quite simple and reflect the story of it being in the wild. I really like Stock-Moores work because of something so simple as creating a background that then becomes the foreground picture is really imaginative and different.     

Lynn Buckley 

Mixed Media

The next artist that I think would work well with my chosen books would be Lynn Buckley, who works with photographs and drawings in one image. American born Buckley works on creating book jackets for different covers working with different styles. I like how she has incorporated the mixture of art and photography into one. I also like the way that the title of the book is dividing the picture and the drawing apart so you can definitely define the two mediums apart. I like the typeface that has been used, because of the style that the font has been display. For example the edges of the letters are almost like they have been painted on, it gives the words a texture look. Another reason why I like this design is the contrast between the black and white photo and the boldness of the pop-up painting. You can see the definition in the painting, with the brush strokes giving the image more texture and more reason for you to be attracted towards it. The photograph is very much in focus with the models eyes and you are more drawn to them as you begin to take the whole image into account.        

Christian Jackson 

Illustrational Minimalist Objects

Christian Jackson is a designer who creates posters for different childhood stories with very minimalistic images. These images are very simple by grab your attention straight away, and you can tell what the story is about by the images. The one above is of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, even though it does not show a girl or three bears, the illustrations show one part of the story that everyone knows. The three bowls of porridge; too hot, too cold and just right, is one of the main parts of the book and by having this as the front cover, even with out the title of the novel on the cover, people would still be able to tell what the story is about. The text that has been used is very simple and bold, so it is readable for everyone to see. I like the use of colours that have been used, because they are suited to the story. Also there are only three colours so you are not really going to get distracted when you look at the cover. All in all I really like Jackson's work because it is very noticeable in the way that it catches your attention for being simple and not over the top, like other book jackets might be, for children's books.

Three Initial Ideas

Digital Collage

Above is my digital collage that I made on Photoshop, with images that I scanned in myself and ones that I found on the internet. This collage was inspired by Ciara Phelan. I have tried to keep my collage within in the theme of my collection of books. As you can see I used vintage drawings and digital photographs. I have also included a black oval shape, as the background. I used lots of layering techniques, such as screen and overlay. This collage can relate to all of my chosen books: the mirror - Show White, the owl - Little Red Riding Hood, the flowers - Rapunzel and the red lips - Sleeping Beauty. I do like the creative that collage can bring to a piece of design you are trying to show for a book cover or a poster. I feel that it is very creative and different.    

Ciara Phelan is a freelance artist that works different collage techniques. From using textured materials and photos all in one collage is very different. I think her work is very inspiring, in the way that you can you use materials as well as photos, to create a textured collage that is quite captivating. This example of here work, is very vibrant and full of colour that you a drawn into, first of all. Also the texture of clothes that the models are wearing make the collage seem more realistic and stunning. 

Photographers Gallery Review

The Photographers Gallery is in London on Oxford Street, where there is a lot of different exhibitions that all relate to a similar theme. The theme for this particular exhibition was different ranges of collages. 

There were different photographers in the exhibition and the ones that caught my eye were Laura Letinsky and Clunie Reid. Laura Letinsky creates pieces of work by playing with representations of space and time. She uses still life as well as pictures so it focuses on the relation between having 2D and 3D forms in either a little amount of space or a huge space. Clunie Reid showcases pixelated internet icons collaged alongside loose marker pen drawings, stickers and text. 

We were split up into different group to answer one question and then feed it back to the rest of the class. The questions were: What are the effects of the exhibition's design? What does it look like? What does the work show? How does it make you feel?

For all the three different exhibitions we went into, we answered this as much as possible. For some of the artists/photographers work there was quite a difference in layout/design and technique. So the photos we chose we had judged them individually and write about them honestly. 

Here is one my favourite pieces of work by Laura Letinsky. This is because of of the layout and the different elements using flat images and objects to create a set dinner table. There is a lot of contrast within the different cutlery styles which i really like. I also like the amount of space she was left so you automatically drawn into the collage.   

Another piece of work that I really liked was by Anna Parkina. I like the concept of this because of the main element of this sort of architecture taking up most of the image, you you notice a body showing through. I like this because it also most gives the collage a sense of deception because they is a woman with no head 'buired' amongst lost of frame work. It works really well together.    

One image that I didn't really like was by Geraldo de Barros. I feel that it didn't really contain alot of collage elements. To me this just looks like a lot of poles or lines overlapping each other. This didn't really appeal to me as much as his over work did. 

Even though I liked her work, this collage by Clunie Reid, didn't really appeal to me as much as the over works of art she created in the gallery. I feel this because it look a bit messy and the over lapping of the black marker pen is a little over the top for me personally. However I did enjoy looking at the rest of her work. 

In my personal opinion I feel that the trip did benefit me in someway to help me create more experiments for the books I've chosen. I did enjoy looking at the different photographers and the way something so simple of cutting up negatives or using marker pens in their work is really unique and inspiring. It has given me some inspiration for further progress in the future because I have now found out there is more than one type of collage type. However I think that I has help me more in my Photographer progress slight more but I still want to develop ideas and experiments for my project. Maybe incorporating natural things or text into the collage.

http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/

Own Digital Experiments

Below are some of my own digital experiments that I created using a tutorial for the background and I freelanced with the rest. I have also used my own photographs. 

I firstly followed a tutorial to create a smoky background. I wanted to have a bit of texture on the background as I feel it gives it more depth and gives you something more to look at rather than a plain scene behind. Next I added a cloudy background on top of the smoke, and took the opacity down. I did this was because I wanted it to be more textured. After this I added a colour layer that suited the particular story. Then I added a text into the layers, I chose a font that had a little be it of a fancy look to it. I wanted to make the text more flowing with the smoky background, so I smudged the letters with the smudge tool. After that I opened up a new page and uploaded photos that I took my self of the main things that relate to the plot of the story: Roses, Shoes, Hairbrush, Basket and an Apple. I added alittle bit of contrast and added a bit of colour so the image would stand out from the cloud background. Finally I added the edited pictures to the bottom right corner so that would the last thing you see. I really like this idea because it combines text and photographs. I feel that I am more confident with photographs than drawing experiments.         

Digital Experiments

Double Exposures

Below are three digital experiments that I did in Photoshop using a double exposure technique.

For the first experiment I used a photo of a hair brush and an apple. These two images represents Snow White and Rapunzel. I made the hair brush the background layer as I felt that it would be more effective at the back. Once I had the made a contrast changed to the hairbrush, I then started to edit the apple picture. I adjusted the filters of the apple and copied it three times to get different effects on each apple. I placed the fruit image onto the brush, but still being able to see what was behind it. 

The next double exposure I made was of shoes and flowers, these are connected with Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Again I adjusted the contrast on the flowers to make them look slightly more vibrant than the original. Then I placed the shoe photo on top of the flowers and changed the image into an overlay, allowing the flowers you show as well.

For the final experiment, I chose my our photography of a tree, this would resemble Little Red Riding Hood in the woods. I wanted  to use the same image for this experiment, but having different effects on each layer. I changed one of the layers so that it turned blue, another I turned upside down and lowered the opacity and the final one I just made the contrast more effective.

All In all I like this double exposure idea because you can combine lots of images or drawings that all work well together. This maybe a possible idea for my book jack designs.             

Clipping Masks 

The next experiment that we I did was to create a clipping mask image using a photo I had taken. The process was basically to use the shape tool three times getting smaller and changing colour also. 

I firstly started of with the high heel shoes, I used a oval shape and the colour blue. I used the oval shape to get three different sized images of the shoes and then made them all blue with slightly different shades. I did this method for the rest of the clipping mask photographs. A red circle for the apple, a purple cloud shaped mask for the flowers and a green oblong shape for the photo of my dog. 

These photographs all link in with my chosen books, I will now take more images that relate to the stories and create more clipping mask images, because I think the effect it gives the photos is unique and adds a bit of life with the colour that has been chosen. I feel that this experiment and technique is particularly different to ones that I have followed before because such a smile effect of changing the shape of a picture or the colour can give you a eye-catching effect and seem to be more drawn towards it.