Banger Magazine 2.0: HAIM

I decided that if I was only going to do one of the artists for Banger I wanted to do HAIM (i'm still going to try and aim to do a couple but not sure whether i'll have the time), anyway, I thought haim would be quite a fun one to do as I can include figures to represent the three of them. I also thought it would be a good opportunity to change up the colours i use, and use brighter pinks alongside reds & purples as these were the colours I saw a lot of when I was looking at pictures of them.

Below is my initial sketch, I wanted to keep it pretty simple as I think this works a bit better alongside a lot of text and makes it stand out a bit more.

I did have the idea of creating it in just a single coloured outline to begin with, but I was just testing out ideas to begin with really. I had free range with the colours, but Ellie had mentioned the background would probably be yellow so I chose red as I thought it contrasted nicely. 

FINAL ILLUSTRATION

• this is my final illustration I decided to go for. luckily it was quite easy to get it exactly how I wanted it as I was already pleased with the initial sketch, so it was just a case of getting the colours right
• I wanted to use these colours as, as I said previously, I saw these colours a lot when I was researching haim. they are also quite fun and I think they bring it alive a bit
• I did spend a while changing round the colours. I think I was forgetting that I was able to use white as a colour because it was going to be on a coloured background, so as soon as I added it I think it balanced out the image 
• I'm actually really happy with this and i'm excited to see it in the magazine! when I sent a preview to Ellie she said the colours would be great alongside the rest of the pages contents 

Banger Magazine 2.0: FRANKIE COSMOS

As well as haim I decided to give another artist a go for Banger, and I chose Frankie Cosmos. She seemed like a good choice and i've been listening to her music too which made me more inclined. 

I actually found this illustration a lot harder than the one for haim, which i felt came quite naturally. I kind of had an idea in my head of exactly how I wanted to look, so when it wasn't turning out like my vision it got really frustrating. 

The idea I had was to keep my illustration in the constraints of a square, to try and simplify the brief for myself (it can be difficult when you have completely free range to do what you like as it's difficult to know how to get started!). I also wanted to include her signature lilac guitar she seems to play all the time as this would be a motif people would recognise her by. 

I started out with this sketch above, and scanned it into Illustrator to start making the coloured shapes to make up the image. I don't know why but I just wasn't feeling happy with it at all, and the more I looked at it the more I started to dislike it! It was so frustrating as it was a brief I had been really excited for, but I just wasn't happy enough with it to see it in a magazine. 

I almost gave up with the idea of it completely, but I decided to give it another go. I thought that maybe I didn't like my first image as it was pretty boring. A lot of my illustration include long limbs and twisty arms and legs, but the one above is very plain. The only thing I think I liked was the colour scheme.

This was my final kind of rough sketch after drawing and rubbing things out about 10 times over, I finally got to something I was a bit happier with. I'm still not that excited about it but I think that might just be because i've looked at it for too long. I was hoping after I had scanned it in and added colour it would come to life a bit more. 

• here's my final illo I sent over to Ellie. I made it clear that they didn't have to use it if they didn't want to as I'm not 100% happy with it, but Ellie said she liked it and that it worked well within the page!
• I can't really put my finger on why I don't like it that much. It might be because I had to keep changing it but I don't know. I guess i'm not going to love every piece of work I make though
• I found it really difficult to make the guitar look good, I feel like theres a fine line between making something look too abstract or too life-like and I couldn't really find a balance
• like I said though, I do like the colours so I guess that's something!

TIME TO DANCE

This is another digital print I have been working on while I am trying to explore my illustration alongside some typography. This idea kind of came to me out of nowhere and I wanted to experiment with some different compositions, type & colours. I tried a couple of different colour schemes and composition before I came up with this image:

• I think this image is a success & i'm happy with the way it's turned out. I don't usually love anything I make digitally as I've always preferred analogue methods but I think this might of changed my mind!
• Although I did experiment with some different colour schemes I am always drawn to the same three colours: yellow blue and red. I don't think this is a bad thing necessarily as they are three very strong colours but maybe I should have changed it up a bit
• I like the repetition of the one figure and I think it actually works better than if there were three different figures
• I also like the overlap of them. This did take me quite a long time to do in Illustrator and I feel like there's probably a quicker way to do it then how I did it but I am yet to find it..
• I'm happy with the placement of the letters and put them in similar position to my 'groove' image. I also changed the colours of each letter so they matched the colours
• I probably think this about every piece of work I do which isn't screen printed, but I think this would make a nice screen print

RESEARCH: MURAL INSPO

I thought it would be useful to get some mural inspiration as I'm starting to think about what to paint on the back wall of Pump N Grind. I'm thinking something quite bright and energetic to contrast against the white wall!

EMILY ELDRIDGE

CECILE GARIEPHY

ELLIOT SNOWMAN

BILL REBHOLZ

LEVI JACOBS

EGLE ZVIRBLYTE

• Large scale illustrations is always something that catches my eye, especially super bright and colourful ones like these, so it wasn't difficult to find inspo- I just had a scroll through my instagram likes!
• I definitely want to create something colourful, but also something that represents my work well, as it will be my first piece of large scale work; I want to be proud of it
• I really like the first image by Emily Eldridge. I think i'd like to include figures in my illustration, though I do love the murals I have seen which are mainly made up of shapes, I want it to tie in with the rest of the re-design at Pump N Grind
• I think picking the colour will be a fun task! 

GROOVE

These are the developments of a digital print I have been working on; for this self directed brief I wanted to produce a couple of images which combine my illustrations with type. This came after I gained some inspiration from some graphic design pieces I had seen. As a lot of my imagery includes dancing figures I thought I'd add the word 'groove' into my image. 

This is the final image I came up with:

• I used the font 'ICT Avant Garde Gothic BT Bold' which is one of my favourite fonts
• I wanted to keep it quite simple as this was a characteristic I saw a lot within the graphic design pieces I looked at and admired. I didn't want to make anything too over-powering
• I wanted to place the letters so the lines of sight was going from one corner to the other. I thought this would make for a more interesting image instead of if I had the word in a straight line. I wanted to use the figures arms and legs as guidelines of where to place the letters
• I feel like this sort of image could be used for a poster for an event or something
• I'm starting to see how my work can be combined with graphic design and typography which is nice

RESEARCH: Pump N Grind window illustration inspo

As one of the deliverables for the Pump N Grind brief was to create some sort of illustration for the shop front window, I decided it would be a good idea to gather a bit of research on some drawings/vinyls on glass or in windows. It was actually a really difficult thing to search for as I didn't really know how to word it, every time I tried to search 'window illustration' or 'illustration in window' it just came up with clip-art type images of windows!

• I love the illustrations in the top image especially! I like how they're flowing kind of across the window, this is definitely something I could think about doing as I don't think I want to cover the entirety of the window
• the rough idea I have in mind for the window illustration is a long row of dancing figures, but have them related to coffee- for example, some of them holding mugs & jugs and wearing barista aprons
• as the figures will be fairly small (i'm thinking as tall as the shorter side of an A4 piece of paper) i thought line drawings would be the most appropriate, but after seeing the block colour vinyl (bottom left image) i'm now wondering what will look better! I feel like the block colour would be better for a larger scale image, maybe this is something I could think about for the mural on the back wall
• I could also potentially think about using a coloured line instead of white, similar to the bottom right image
• something else I need to think about is how to apply the illustration to the window, I think drawing it on with a posca pen would be fun but i'm not sure how practical it would be? I need to look a little more into vinyl decals to see if this would be more appropriate 

Pump N Grind: To do list/action plan

Illustration for the front window:

• There are two panes of glass that make up the front window. Beth went and measured them and they are both 115cm wide by 160cm high.
• I already knew I didn't really want to create something that filled the entire window, and at the moment I'm thinking  about creating an illustration that fits the windows lengthways but is only maybe the height of an A4 piece of paper
• The idea I currently have in mind is maybe a long row of dancing figures (to tie in with the name Pump N Grind) and maybe have them wearing aprons/holding cups

Re-painting the shutter:

• Me and Beth briefly discussed this part of the brief, but quickly released it would be far too big of a job for us both to get done before deadlines
• We have both said that it's something we'll think about completing after our deadlines though!

Vinyl menu on the back wall:

• Beth will be mainly designing this part of the brief, though she has asked me to do a small illustration to sit alongside the type
• I'm thinking something super simple! Possibly just a little figure sat down drinking a cup of coffee or something
• I'll also be creating a line drawing so it ties in well with the rest of the menu

Mural:

• For me this is probably the most exciting part of the brief!
• I'm really excited to make a huge piece of work, as the wall we are planning on doing it is 2m high and 120cm across, so it's a pretty big canvas
• I want to create something bold and colourful. Possibly taking a couple of the figures from the window illustration and blowing them up 

Stickers:

• We haven't thought much about the stickers yet as they are something we saw as more of an extra, but i'm hoping we have the time to get some done!
• They will probably be just of the new logo we created which means they can be stuck anywhere for advertisement 

Chalkboards:

• This will just be a case of Beth re-doing the type which are currently on each of the chalkboards. They are just things like the Wi-Fi password and their website so I think we will probably paint over each of them with chalk paint and then Beth can re-write them all with a paint pen

List of things we need:

• Wall paint for the mural (probably just several tester pots)
• Masking tape
• Craft knife
• Paint roller & tray
• Spirit level
• Chalk paint
• White paint pens
• Some clothes we don't mind getting mucky!

Pump N Grind: shop refresh

Following on from the small illustration I did alongside Beth for the Pump N Grind coffee bags, she recently got in touch with me again and asked whether i'd like to work with her to refresh and re-brand the shop itself, which I immediately thought was going to be a really fun brief to work on, and the thought of seeing my work out there and in the real world was pretty exciting.

We had a quick little meeting in uni so she could explain to me more about the brief itself and what it entailed. The branding would have to tie in with the packaging design we had already done, and we wanted it to be quite fun but also to tie in with the laid-back vibe the shop already had.

To do list/deliverables: 

• Illustration for the front window
• Possibly re-painting the shutter
• Vinyl menu on the back wall (with a small illustration to go with it)
• Artwork/mural for the back wall (where the colour wheel currently is)
• Stickers
• Logo/opening times on the door
• Chalkboards 
• Tastecards

CURRENT VISUAL IDENTITY:

Banger 2.0

This morning I got an email from a friend who works as a designer at c-ll-ct-v-ly in London about another small brief for the second issue of Banger Magazine which is a magazine about music listings in London. The brief was pretty much the same as before, and she's asked for an illustration to go alongside one of the bands or artists they will be featuring. She said we were more than welcome to do more than one if we wanted to and also sent of the music listings for us to choose from. 

Listings:

There were a couple names which caught my eye as I had already heard of them, and I was immediately quite keen on doing an illustration for haim as I really like their music! My friend also recommended I did haim as she thought it would suit my character design! I decided I might try and do a couple for the magazine but I wanted to maybe try doing an illustration for a band or artist I hadn't really heard of, and this way I might discover some new music too!! Some names that stuck out to me were Frankie Cosmos, The Lovely Eggs (great name), & Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. 

I thought the best thing to do would be to get on Spotify and have a listen to their music to see if I could find any inspiration for an illustration. I also wanted to have a little look at pictures of them and maybe some previous illustrations associated with them, for example their album covers.

HAIM

• i think i'm pretty set on creating an illustration for haim! I reckon I could come up with something pretty fun, three figures dancing is what i've got in mind at the moment
• as their current album covers are quite minimal I feel like I don't really have to fit my work in with any existing themes which is good 
• it'll be fun to experiment with some bright colours

Frankie Cosmos

• after listening to her music i'm quite keen to create something based around her, i especially like her song 'young'
• the lilac guitar you see her playing frequently would be a really good motif to use! and something that is strongly associated with her
• I really like the graphic design-y feel to the album cover above. again it's quite minimal so I don't feel as though I have to follow any rules. I did look at some of their other album covers though and they do have a very different illustration style to mine

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

• again I have been listening to their music and i'm really liking it!
• although, i'm not sure i'm getting as much inspiration from it really. I feel like they might be a bit too 'quirky'
• especially looking at the album cover above, as it's in a very particular style i'm not sure i could create anything as suited

Looking at graphic design

FÉLICITÉ LANDRIVON

WALDEMAR STEPIEN

& KOLLEGEN

FRANCES CORSINI

JOHN MASSEY

PAUL RAND

ELLIE ROSE

• Recently I've been noticing a lot of graphic design on my instagram and it keeps catching my eye so I thought have a bit more of a look into it to see if it could inspire my practise in any way
• I love the simplicity and bold nature of some of the pieces above you can see the composition is carefully considering in each piece. I feel like these are two things I want to reflect in my own illustrative practise which is probably why I'm drawn to them
• The colours are also something I find really striking a lot of them only seem to use a few colours but still manage to make a super interesting image
• I feel really inspired by these bits of graphic design i'd like to try and merge my imagery with some typography to see how they sit together. I could potentially collaborate with a graphic designer or even try and explore type myself

COUPLES SCREEN PRINTS

POSITIVES:

• In general I'm happy with these prints; I especially like the colours I decided to go for as they're quite different to the colours I usually use.
• I can package them up and hopefully try and sell some at Print Stuff which is coming up in April! I do need to look into how much to sell things for though as I am a bit clueless. 
• I think the imagery itself is lovely. It feels quite warm which is nice as I wanted to produce something that made people feel something. It reminds me personally of my family and friends so I hope it has the same effect on others
• I like the use of white space on the arms, I think it balances out the image & the other colours well
• I think this might make quite a nice greetings card. how else could I apply this illustration? something to think about

NEGATIVES:

• Not really a negative but I wish I had produced this on a larger scale. I made the prints A3 but I  almost wish I had made them huge, possibly A1 size
• The screen printed texture shows slightly but not enough in my opinion. The edges are very clean and almost look slightly digital from afar, I could have thought about maybe adding in some of my own texture to my positives
• the yellow and the peach colour in the top image are a bit too similar the arm and hands get lost a little bit

A Dictionary of Color Combinations

Recently I was flicking through instagram stories and an illustrator I follow that flicking through this book; it caught my eye immediately so I asked her what book it was and she told me it was 'A Book of Color Combinations' which is a little Japanese book full of wonderful color combinations. I ordered the book immediately and I love it! Here are some examples of the pages below:

It includes 348 colour combinations and they range from 2 to 4 colours! There's also each colour listed in the back of the book with each of their CMYK numbers in- this meant I could get the exact colour from the book by typing each number in. I decided to base some screen prints I have coming up on it, so after having a long look through I came up with some different colour variants I got from the book and made some illustrator mock ups of how my screen prints would look. Here are a few of the combinations I experimented with:

They are totally different from my go-to colour schemes which is why I'm so glad I bought this book, I feel like it's going to be something which is going to influence my practise prominently from now on!

Egle Zvirblyte

Egle Zvirblyte is an illustrator I discovered on Instagram, I'm really enjoying having an Instagram account solely for my illustrations, as it means all I follow are illustrators/graphic designers/creative accounts which means a constant source of inspiration while scrolling down my feed. Zvirblyte's work popped up on my 'explore' page and I was immediately drawn to the bold and colourful nature of it! 

I love how wacky her illustrations are, and how her figures seem to flow so nicely. I think this is something I could take away from her work, as the figures I create tend to be quite rigid lines; I think I need to get lost in my illustration a little more. I also realised I only really seem to draw human figures, which could be holding me back; I almost think the non-human figures have a lot more character. The colours are something else I adore, although she uses quite a vast colour scheme in many of her illustrations they all go so well together. 

Working predominantly with shape can be difficult at times, but looking at work like this shows me the possibilities of it. It's nice to see work in context, as something I struggle with is thinking about how my work would fit in places, but this has given me some ideas of where it could. I think my next step is to think about some editorial illustrations.