Study Task 3 - Artist using Print Process

Drew Millward:

 

I really like Drew Millward's screen prints. He is based in leeds and is a well known contemporary illustrator who works mainly with screen print. He has developed an effective way of drawing that works around the screen print process which involves multiple layers that overlap and fit together neatly. I love how complex the illustrations appear, although his line work is not crazily detailed it is well structured and includes a build up of different line work across the different layers of the screen print. Its interesting to see how he overlaps the different layers in a very controlled way, they are well crafted and fit together like a jig saw puzzle. The way he chops line work out of some of the shapes is really interesting and adds too the complexity and creates highlights in the images. The symmetry and organized line structure in the pieces is what makes them so intriguing, and can make them seem like digital images at first. This makes me think that the images are crafted digitally first, then transferred into separate layers for screen print.

We will be making 2 colour screen prints, so working with overlapping the shapes and line work in different ways is a good techniques to think about for my prints to make them more interesting. Also chopping line work out of the shapes and using the stock colour for parts of the images could be really effective.

BUNDOBUST

 

  

Bundobust is an indian restaurant/bar in leeds that sells tradition style street food, he has created the whole identity for it. He has made screen printed designs for the entire thing. He uses his character designs and eye catching use of colour and layers to make a modern but also tradition and timeless aesthetic, with inspiration from indian art and textiles. He makes the prints seem traditional with bold and symmetrical compositions. He also uses an intentional grainy/distorted print texture on them which works really well with the authentic theme.

Studio Brief 1 - Idea Pictures - Final Designs

I decided to draw my designs bigger than the final formats, to then be reduced digitally and then coloured. This would make the line work appear denser and finer. I drew the finals at the same proportion, half as big for the portrait/landscape and twice as big for the square. I prefer drawing bigger and could work the detail I needed by producing them this way.

Here are my final un-edited scanned drawings.

- I sketched the designs in pencil.

- I then worked into the lines with black paint pen in 2 sizes and a fine liner to get slightly different line qualities. 

- Working bigger helped me to get all the details and also made the thin lines appear even finer and like a tonal texture when reduced which I like.
- It also allowed me to get a denser and busier pattern in the background.

Final digital designs:

Im pleased with how my finals turned out. I like how I have tied them all together with the matching shapes coming from their heads and the backgrounds. I feel the fact they link together well is a strong point for my finals. I like how they can been seen individually and also read as a set. I think colouring digitally was a good idea, its creates the bold vibrancy of the colour that I wanted. The flat colour works nice with the black and white line work - but I feel like grey tone somewhere amongst the black and white could have been really effective now looking at the finished productions. I decided to do each design a different a colour because I didn't feel there was one colour that described the situation best. Orange was my favourite but I also felt green worked better for one of the designs. I tried out yellow but it gave impressions of toxic and hazardous - so it left me with purple or blue for the last design. Purple I felt being much more relevant to the theme for some reason. I wanted the colours to be pure and bright, not half hearted, opaque or a dodgy shade. I think each being a different colours helps to communicate the psychedelic madness when looked at as a whole. 

Surprisingly my favourite design is the green landscape design, I didn't expect this as I was much more confident with the drawing of the other two - I think this is because it is not supported with a mad face, I think un intentionally I feel more comfortable when working with a strong, blatant caricature to support my illustration. It was nice to see how my illustration skills work around other subtle types of imagery. The simple character uses a subtle gesture that helps to tell the story, and explain the situation Huxleys mind is in. This has shown me I need to be more aware of subtle ways of explaining what I want to within my illustration.

Looking back at the finals I cant help feel like some of the energy in my line work has been lost, compared to my quick rough designs. This is something I often think with my finals. I need to figure out ways that I can bring through that immediate energy created in my sketches - maybe draw straight in pen? or edit my pencil sketches on photoshop to make them suitable for the final outlines? I find it hard to keep energy in the pen work when i'm following an existing line. This is something I need experiment with and develop personally.

Studio Brief 1 - Idea Pictures - Final sketches

We where asked to produce 2 final sketches for each size, and I thought this was a good chance for me to experiment with some colour.

I made these mini roughs to figure out what I would make for each:

- I was fairly certain on the square design so that would be straight forward.

- I wanted to try the door way idea and the two face idea for both landscape and portrait, because I couldn't decide which I preferred so this would help me make my decision.

- I'm going to experiment with how some bright colour looks on my designs, they well need to be a solid vibrant colour, as the designs are only two colour and I want to use black - I need the colour to strong and vibrant on its own.

Portrait:

I really like how this looks, I used 2 thicknesses of black paint to outline the drawing, and used pro marker to colour the drawing, because I just wanted flat block colour, and is quick and easy to apply on top of a pencil sketch - but i'm considering colouring my finals digitally to get a perfect solid colour. I think in some places there needs to be a bigger difference in line weight to separate sections (like the background and lines in his hair). Overall I like how the design looks in full colour, I don't think the colour needs to be over worked. I like how its applied in the small sections of the peyotes it subtly combines the imagery.   

I really like how this came out, the green suites this concept. It gives the feeling of being fresh and new, and also kind of organic in the peyotes. It isn't as vibrant and striking as the orange, but I think the more mellow and calmer feeling could be more appropriate for this concept. I think think this one and the above would work well as a set because they are communicate a slightly different side to his mescaline experience. - The only problem being they are the same format...

Landscape:

I tried out a finalised doorway sketch in landscape, this worked as well as the portrait, if not better. This design felt more natural this way, being able to stretch the drawing sideways felt much more comfortable than extending upwards. I didn't feel the need to colour it because I already had a good idea what the colour would look like for this concept.

I like the look of this, but I don't think it communicates Huxley in the way I want it too in the portrait symmetrical version. I think the fact it is un balanced across the page makes it looks un controllable and un easy, creating a sinister appearance rather than a balanced and understood experience. I think the face in this looks scary and evil rather than filled with life and energy. The red colour contributes towards this - making it appear sharper, violent and horror like rather than (in a way) peaceful. This design would definitely give the wrong idea about Huxley and his use of psychedelics.

Square:

I was pleased with the caricature I had created for an 'intoxicated' Huxley (during a hallucination) so this format was a good chance for me to make the character the focus point, and let the character explain what I intended in the editorial. These where my 2 favourite versions, in the crit I got feedback that they preferred the one with the stripped background - I liked how the peyotes where entering his head in this. But I didn't feel the stripes really communicated the madness of the hallucination like I wanted, they seemed to organised and structured, and generally too normal and could look a bit circus related with the clown like face. 

I much preferred the peyote background, how is was random and involved loads of different shapes and line to create a un-easy pattern. The way this surrounds the character gives and idea of insanity and madness - which I want. Each design would also then have a full bleed peyote background - this could really enhance them as a set.   

Making these refined sketches in the measured formats really helped me get an idea how the finished designs would look, and also how they are going to work as a completed set. There are lots of solutions to how these concepts could have worked, the best way to figure it out is to test them out in the exact formats.

The final designs i'm going to produce are:

• SQUARE:

• PORTRAIT:

• LANDSCAPE:

Ive chosen these because they each show a slightly different variation to the concept. And still have matching imagery that links them all together appropriately. They are the best suited designs i had come up with each format.
The square designs focuses on the character - and communicates using the characters face and the door in his head - it is a basic concept and doesn't overcomplicate the idea which I like.
The portrait design looks at the idea of expanding his character and reflecting on himself, It also shows higher consciousness the way the face raises up above him (out of the black box). The fact there is 2 versions of him could be read in a number of ways that would communicate how he figures out new things about himself and the world around him. Like he is seeing a new light.
The landscape design communicates ideas about discovery. And stepping into a new world of consciousness. Like letting go of the old world and stepping through a new world accessed through the door.
All the designs work together to help visualise a weird metaphysical world that he accesses through mescaline. 

Studio Brief 1 - Idea Pictures - Refining Ideas

We had to refine 6 rough designs for each of the formats for the final editorials. I decided to chose one or two of my best ideas for each, and try them out with slightly different shapes and compositions and figure how to improve them and make them work as a set.

Square:

I was confident that the zoomed in portrait of his face was the best for the square format. It would focus of the caricature I had made of Huxley. I experimented with different shapes for the beam of light coming from his door. I like the straight angular shape, it gave a bolder sense of something being projected. I tried different camera angles of the face but I like if from a slight angle - i think i will be able to get a better structure of the face. 

This was my favourite rough so I worked into it with pen and a coloured pencil to get a sense of what the finished thing could look like. I liked the idea of having solid block colour in the beam of light and have his face white, giving the idea of vibrancy being extracted from his mind. I like the full peyote background - it could also help it match with the other designs. I coloured sections of the background, to help the face stand out, and also balance the colour out across the composition so colour is involved in the whole image and not just the beam.

Portrait:

1 - 2 - 3

4-5-6

Figuring out the portrait and landscape images is more difficult because I had designs that could work for both formats, and I wanted each one to match but not be the exact concept. I don't want to include a crazy clown Huxley face in all of them. When I had completed these I really liked 5 and 6 (bottom right). I liked 6 because if didn't have the crazy face, it was just him looking through the door, this could complete the set nicely and started off my ideas for the landscape. 

5 - I like how the composition uses up the space. Its has symmetry, but is not fully symetrical the lines are slightly random how they section up the space - with some filled in black. Need to make sure this comes out in final versions. The square shape surrounding the bottom character works better than a circular one, it needs to be angular to suite the rest of the lines - it also differentiates from the circular motions in the background. 

Landscape:

(* bellow)

These where less refined than intended I sort of just brainstormed with the doorway idea because it worked nicely with the format - and I had just realised this type of design. (*) I tried out the same concept as the portrait design which also worked well for this format!?! so I was stuck to what will work best.

I made this refined sketch of the door way concept. I put a slight bit of perspective on the door way, like its facing inwards slightly. I think this made the design a lot better, I want to consider this design for my final. It will work well with the others and explains the concept using slightly different imagery that still matches. I like how it gives the sense of him stepping into a new psychedelic world of peyotes, the perspective doesn't quite make sense against the random peyote background but this helps to give the idea of an new reality/conciseness that works different to normal.


Quick Idea:

After drawing the doorway sketch I wanted to have a go at combining it with a big face and having him stepping out of his head through the door. But there was to much going, I don't think it would be easily readable.

Studio Brief 1 - Idea Pictures - Thumbnails

We have been asked too produce three editorial illustrations in response to the author we have been researching expanding on some of the ideas from the zine and also looking at more visual metaphors and symbolic imagery that will help communicate them.

• The images are to be produced in two colours including black.
• The format will be: Square (110mm x 110mm) - Portrait (110mm x 220mm) - Landscape (220mm x 110mm).

We where asked to produce as many quick thumbnail designs for each format as we could, before i started brain storming I did a bit more research into Huxley and to find a few more facts and quotes that could be useful and interesting, here are some of my favourites:

• Before he died he was asked to be injected with a really high dose of LSD.
• Humphry Osmond was shocked when he agreed to be a 'guinea pig' for his mescaline experiments, because in those times it was less accepted and was an abnormal experience to be involved with and didn't necessarily suite his stereotype of a writer and philosopher. 
• After experiencing what he did, he encouraged others to try it.
• He says "My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of church going" and "There are things known and things unknown, and in-between are the doors of perception".

I looked back at all the research I had done and picked out the key things I wanted to work with that where idea provoking:

- Expanding conciseness

- Simulating god like visions

- Surreal world of spiritual imagery

- Enhanced colour and vision, and he was nearly blind

- Investigate and understand yourself

- The idea of a doorway to conciseness and perception.
- It gave him an inkling of what it would be like to be insane.

- The pineal gland, a gland in the brain that is accessed by certain psychedelic drugs, referred to as your third eye.

Huxley believed there was a mechanism in the brain that opens a door to a higher conciseness. I found this concept really interesting and is almost a metaphor in its self, he could be unintentionally referring to the pineal gland as what he is accesses or unlocking with the drugs? This started me off nicely with some sketch ideas.

Editorial thumbnails:

Sketching quickly without thinking too much about the drawings, is a good way for me too quickly produce ideas and figure out some ways of visualising my themes. I liked the idea of having abstract shapes leaving his head - representing ideas about 'elevated' or 'expanded' conciseness. 

In these rough compositions I started to look at the idea of 'self reflection' and 'self evaluation'. And tried to show it by having shapes pointing towards each other with the character portraits looking at each other. Im not sure how well this communicates Huxleys life or personality, its getting to involved with the effects of psychedelics in general.

In theses sketches I experimented with having an 'intoxicated' version of Huxley coming from his brain. Trying to show how the drugs almost give him a totally new character with different thoughts - using two types of characters for Huxley to show this. Making the second character a vibrant and exaggerated version of Huxley - to communicate how the drugs change his mind.

Using a peyote pattern as a background for my designs could potentially be effective. It could give an unusual psychedelic feel to the illustration, and would also makes them more personal to Huxley. I want to explore further how this could be used in my designs. 

I liked how the idea of 'higher conciseness' is being portrayed in this. How the face trails out of his brain and extends upwards overlooking him - could this link also to the idea of metaphorically evaluating his self? But showing him physically looking at himself and evaluating his own life. 

This set of ideas where expressing the more spiritual side of him. Having a blank human figure leaving his mind - acting as his spirit, or his thoughts in the form of a spirit figure. This could be interesting to work with and could be altered in lots of ways to portray a different emotion. The figure can be given different gestures that explains the thoughts of Huxley. This concept has potential but I feel it looks plain compared to the previous ideas - and is hard to see the connection with this and psychedelic drugs. 

I like the look of these, its showing a continuos uplifting motion of his consciousness. I like how it works as like a chain and a contained shape. Although I think this concept is to vague/abstract and focuses to much on communicating uplifting and higher consciousness. It is not specifically editorial towards Huxley, it just includes the character of him.  

These are developments from a previous idea. The black circle and square around the bottom characters are representing his normal state of mind or normal conciseness. The fact the other character is bursting out from the shape is suggesting the idea of leaving his normal state of conciseness. And expanding his thoughts beyond the normal. 

I was surprisingly pleased with this simple idea, the composition is not overcomplicated. It shows clearly the 'intoxicated' caricature of Huxley with a door way into his brain. Working as a sort of metaphor or motif that explains what he says about a mechanism that unlocks higher consciousness. 

I added some of the other types of imagery I had discovered to the design to see how it could improve the concept. The peyote background works nicely to communicate the sense of madness and loosing touch with the physical world. 

I played around with the shapes and compositions of this idea. The symmetrical design stood out to me, and also had better feed back than others in the crit. I feel that something about the symmetry gives a nice harmony that suites the idea of a psychedelic experience than the others. 

This intended to be a simpler more symbolic/iconic design. That represented Huxley seeing light with his third eye through a gateway or doorway to another mind state or realm. 

I looked at how I could visualise the beam of light flowing out of his head slightly differently. I feel the symmetrical/forward-facing composition is still more effective.

I'd experimented with using the peyote patterns so I wanted to quickly try out some different types of wavy line pattern on my designs. I don't think they work as well, they are not as directly relevant to the subject and I think would give a slightly cliche psychedelic appearance.  

I quite like sketch. His crazy face pocking through the doorway to perception with his third eye glaring open. But this has definitely drifted to far of theme and will look more like something designed for the circus than Aldous Huxley. 

I looked at using a planet and how it could suggest that it makes him more connected to the world and the universe? I also liked how the circle shaped looked in the centre of the composition, I think this would be nice work around. And i'm not sure if using the eye symbol is to blatant it would need a lot more thought and development to integrate it into the design.

This sketch was slightly inspired by an artist drawing I found (above), I liked how the wispy smoke clouds trail around. I thought it could work well to visualise his mad mind state using the character I had created, but I feel it would just look like a crazy mash up of randomness.