Art movement - London Underground Advertising

London Underground Advertising has been most influential to me; this image in particular is very much like my own. This is because it has similar shapes and a similar gridding system. It even has the same size ratio elements and the shapes properties/communications are very similar to mine have. It has a plain and simple property that spring forward, common to retro graphic design, which is why it is well suited to in the underground stations.

Art movement - Constructivism

I have recently been looking at constructivism and have been analysing the geometry and Cyrillic script.
Limitations in letter forming and representing shapes as objects to form simplistic design, are really clever and are something I endeavour to work towards for future illustration. The typeface had bold shapes, which all appeared to be the same and were incredibly basic that created a strong dynamic impact.

Limitation

Limitation is important tool artists can adopt, here for example is a poster made from small square bits of card that have been arranged in a mosaic type way. It’s a good thing to adopt uniformity thru limitation as it will give a dynamic appeal, although sometimes it’s hard to work with a sketch or idea because they are lose and free.

3D EFFECTIVENESS

This image "MANYSTUFF" for Manystuff Magazine is said to have been for issues that focus on graphic design by Jean Jullien.
I feel 3 dimensional layering can induce more than just depth, it creates environment a space that flat images can’t emulate. I have tried to make 3d illustration models and have found having rough or unstrained edges works best when, blending a light colour into a dark colour. I would have to change the way I work to adapt a 3d style as my works are so formulated and structured by deteriorating the sides of the shapes.
This image shows this point well as it uses slightly scuffed cut elements and contrasts bright light and black. I have noted this in "little big planet" sharp clean edges for 3d illustration create an ugly dynamics but with slight scuff make it easier to take or read.
This is something I have contemplated in 2d as well but I feel sharpness works better when creating flatness, an absence of 3d but not depth as colour or pattern can indicate a 3d effect without being 3 dimensional.

Comparing artworks - Geometric Forms

Intro

In this blog post, I intend to compare and contrast two artists' practices and working methods of art. These being Halley’s “Acrylic, metal and Day-Glo acrylic and Roll a Tex on canvas CUSeeMe 1995” and Kandinsky's “Swinging 1925 oil on board” with particular focus on the layout and colour use. I will compare each to my work “TOOLBOT” image.

Peter Halley

Peter Halley was born and works in New York City. He studied at Yale and New Orleans Universities respectively. Since 1980 he has worked in his home town.
Halley held his own exhibitions in most, displaying his work in galleries around the world.
For over twenty five years Peter Halley has been fascinated in the use of geometric shapes to explore social space, in what he descibes as “prisons” and “cells” showing relationships between them. He has been a prolific writer on this subject and art in general, winning an award for his critical writing, which he makes extra money doing for magazines. This is an area I would like to develop as an illustrator studying this topic.

Kandinsky

Kandinsky also explores geometric pattern and is well known as an painter. I am particularly fascinated by the way he responds to music with colour and shape [synesthesia].

Me

I work with geometric shapes and try to create cleverly built imagery in a similar way to Kandinsky - relating to patterns in music but also involves space between griding and layering.

Images



Artist: Peter Halley
Venue: Sammlung Goetz (Goetz Collection)
Medium: Acrylic, Day-Glo and Roll-a-Tex on canvas
Creation Date: 1995



Swinging, 1925
Schaukeln
Kandinsky
Oil on board, Painting
support: 705 x 502 mm frame: 954 x 750 x 80 mm
Purchased 1979



Illustion degree show - Stockport
Tool bot
Card on foamcore, cut and reworked at A1 scale.
James Peters

Compare and contrast

Each of us have used different media and all relate to different topics but what unites them all is shape forms. All however are construted in a simmilar way but have differing moods about them. Peter Halley for instance has emulated a dark structured atmosphere where as Kandinsky has made a dream like atmosphere. This is because mood can be changed by colour and pattern fairly easily.

Lone wolf or Gang warfare

I chose this field of research as I feel it will enable me to gain an understanding of the pros and cons in setting up a group studio, in contrast to going it alone, comparing both sides of the argument.

Firstly a change in the way companies work with illustrators, it has radically changed as employers need guaranteed reliability. Now to gain trust, collaborative groups or small illustration teams are emerging to take more control of the market. I have had talks with my colleagues about making a group website and feel it is an immediate way to attract more business.

When working as a team, one main advantage is versatility for example Maa Designs in Leicester, specializes in Digital illustration, Book Illustrations, Cartoon Drawings, Medical illustration, Portrait illustrations, Fashion illustrations and will do just about any other type of illustration you want. They boast that 100% of people who use their company use them again and are completely satisfied with their products. This shows how grouping a team and banding together make a strong work force that dominates the market.

A disadvantage in a team is selling individuality, Ste Mack is a classic example of a freelancer who works from home and promotes himself through a plain and simple website. Selling individuality is important to an illustrator and is a key aspect of self promotion. I recognize that I have a weakness in verbal communication and working as part of a team can enhance communication skills’.

Freelancers can find work through networking their skills according to an anonymous source Rylo, G (2010) states that a

“Versatile agency model can help a freelancer land jobs that require targeted, specific experience and skills outside the scope of one individual.”

By being versatile and networking they don’t have to be part of a big company yet strong relationships can exist Rylo, G (2010)

“Freelancers and clients may form a relationship based on mutual needs and the professionalism and competence of both parties.”

Not everyone is suited to being a freelancer according to Rylo

“Being a freelancer requires discipline and self-motivation”

There are certain jobs that would require other people on the team such as advertising, as people who specialise in graphic design and animation skills are there to help. Would one person be able to do such tasks? Most likely not! Would he/she need to join forces with other freelancers because there is no reason why they can’t and still be known as a freelancer? More than likely as it would lighten the load! If this were to happen would it be a self-managed team or a project team, would they work together on more than one occasion, effectively forming an interdependent team and thus collaborating to solve problems.

Regarding harmony within the team’s work studio, it generally works best when artists are familiar with one another and have faith and expectations in one another, however increasingly in 'Drop-in' shared type studios are forming where they take turns on equipment at alloted time periods, but the obvious disadvantage here being that if you need assistance with something, having others input would be more logical in this instance rather than struggling alone with time constraints.
A thing that can make a team stand out from a freelancer is variation, Vormittag from Contain Plus often is given unconventional projects, and notably tells of problems that emerge

"Every time we tackle unknown areas, we have to work on unknown surfaces, deal with lighting, fabrics, durable printing, three-dimensional thinking... almost every job brings a new challenge,"

I interpret this statement to mean that a cohesive team will be able to brain-storm notions, identify potential problems, debate over what does and doesn't work, and how any project could be improved.


As a conclusion I have decided that freelancing is about individuality and is a good way to promote you. A freelancer’s money earned goes to themselves alone unless you have set up an agent or other middle man. A team however is about sharing these things... profits, jobs, skills, equipment, websites and so on. I think both have benefits and think it would be best to work as both, one person could not build a city but one person could help.

References
http://www.articleco.com/Article/FreelanceWritingJobs-----Crafty-System-To-Make-Cash-Or-Yet-One-More-Discouraging-Piece-Of-Junk-/264130 accessed 15/07/10Article By: Georg Rylo The Article Company
http://www.containerplus.co.uk/publications/CA_septoct2006.htm
Computer Arts 127, Sept 2006: by Nick Spence
No Limits Design

Graphic design typefaces

In this image, depth is created by the light green, it is lifted forward and as an obsvation this is becauce the amount of area is larger than the red areas.
Red and green are complmentry colours but in this image the colours are fighting for dominance and the green usually wins. Its interesting that most of the colour green is mostly on the left as we read left to right and red is a dominant colour that we are stongly drawn towards.

I have been carfuly selecting colour pallete triplets, like in this image I too have used a comlmentry colour choice, purple and orange these colours worked and the thrid colour was peach to lift and seperate them in parts. I will strive to use complmentery colour in this way in the future and will take notes when image like this appear in day to day life.

Some of this text would be hard to read on it own, such as the letter M and W as the letter forms are much less defined. This would work as an embossment as the leterforms and shapes are simplized and suitable. Its almost like bauhaus meets bubble type. (lol) The form is fragmented and makes it difficult to read, leaving things ambiguous and limited information. This is an aesthetic quality I would like to achive in my work.

3D Vector robot image.

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-29320051/stock-vector--d-vector-robot-communication.html

This image is relevant to the project work I’m producing at college as it explores themes such as communication between two robots. The use of colour here is a tad week for what is being seen here, and also therefore less visually appealing. The robots look like space costumes which means the shapes are not symbolizing what they are.

Blanca Gómez

I don't know a lot about this artist, so I may contact her soon.
What grabbed my attention was this image of a cloud and trees. It holds within it the most basic of shapes it’s constructed of two circles, five triangles and five rectangles, well six if you include the white background space.
The point being that, say if it was created in illustrator it would be totally sapped of its joyfulness losing its naivety, because illustrator formulates and flattens the shapes.
As far as I can tell she is marketed as a Graphic Designer/illustrator so likewise this image is challenging her design beliefs. The image has an anti-graphic reality and explores isolation and differentials.(It is my believe anyway)

DEADLINE - Post- it stop motion

I saw this on T.V the other night and just thought wow! Such a lot of hard work and well worth the result. It's like old school computer graphics and the post-it notes become like pixels. See the full version here and also a behind the scenes - explaining how it was done.

Jesse Reno

First and foremost, I would like to reference Jayne Allen-Whittingham here as I read her post with interest. Jesse Reno was a dedicated autodidact as she had no formal education and simply drew her inspiration from a combination of contemporary pop and primitive ancient cultures of Africa and South America. She's inspirational to me as I would simply like to illustrate and do not feel that the critical studies side of my degree is especially relevant to the type of material I would like to produce. The pretentious art critics who adopt their own spin on their interpretation of other's work cannot possibly be inside the artist's head and therefore cannot appreciate raw expression. In the majority of cases, art critics overemphasize the art's semantics, resulting in incorrect information about the work as a whole and often mistakenly miss the simplicity and humour that the artist wanted to convey.



Jesse Reno has created a provocative and disturbing dark image here. The skeletal characater appears anguished and impoverished, the effect has been cleverly achieved by the use of vibrant colours interspersing a muddy background. My initial thoughts were that this image had a 'Brazilian' feel.



I think this image of 'Spoiled' looks like a 'Judgement Day for Animals'. An irregular sketch which incorporates both washed and blocks of colour. Linear streaks emphasize the shapes of the foreground characters.



This has a religious feel to it. The characters look like they're in coffins and that some crucifictions have occurred.

Wes Wilson

Wes Wilson is well known for his psychedelic, 60s Grapic posters. These in which promoted musicians of this age in time.



This above was one of the posters. The text on the right of the poster has been manipulated into a bone like shape that emphasizes the body next to it. a large mojority of this image is constructed by curly lines. This is creating a trippy/dreamy affect. Similarly the yellow eliminates from the black and draws your eye towards it, therefor creating this psychedelic effect. Both of these traits I would like to use in my art works. I think this works well as the symbol thats being held illustrates peace and freedom, leading you to beleive that this is a form of escape from day to day life.

Working on a new style

I feel i should go for, a blend of vector imagery that is not to complicated that shows shape as one element. Then a carful blend of background elements constructed by mark making, showing a texture in the background.

The hard part is the idea, What is the meaning behind it. I intend to do the folowing during the holidays...

Make a childrens book -adventure book.
> snows magical adventure (or something like that)

Design some rebus (not by words, but by thing) images that mean words.
> pirate
> music
> youth slang
> internet

Make a play city/town.
> music
> cyber
> playful

If any of these i want to take further i will do so.

New age of simple/minimal art.

THIS ART IS ALL ABOUT FINDING THINGS WHICH YOU LIKE and taking it to it's simplist form. The idea being you can take any subject and make it fun. I think as an illustrator this is possibly one of the most important things to think about, but that's not to say this is the only thing that makes art works appear 'top dogs'.

Meaning would help better this style of art, which is probably something I need to consider more. When this is achieved, art can be enjoyed on a mass scale so the question is: Can you make a design that has meaning with a balance of style and humour?

Candy Garden Party sign

This was constructed by carfuly analyzing the letters and remaking them with geometric shapes, also this keeps the same slection of shapes for each letter. but the letter sizing changes to help this design layout.

More to this image than it first appears. For example the letters A and R in the words garden and party have this strange parallel thing happening.

I find this most intresting that curved lines could react as a softening affect against harsh pointy lines.

Mega Cool.

symbles

This is a very unusual collaboration of images. The semantics within the circles are initially ambiguous. Whilst the outlines have clear representations – humans, speech marks, chairs, urinating and an anchor for example – they simply don’t make sense as single symbols or signs.

It could possibly be a short narrative of the day of an office worker – split-second images that contributed to an individual’s working day – this is a white-collar worker under pressure who’s woken up hungover, and is startled by his loud smoke alarm alerting his fight or flight senses. The next caption shows other tenants within his building grouping on the stairs and following the fire procedure. He uses the fire escape and rejoices that he is unaffected by the blaze. After a letter regarding the building’s safety he goes to the toilet. The next two symbols indicate that he has post-traumatic stress as he is slightly disorientated and the red symbol indicates a brief examination from an occupational health nurse where his ability to function properly and not take time off work is considered. He questions himself on his ability as he’s rather shaky with additional apprehension with his scheduled meeting with his boss.

The white speech mark represents the briefing from his boss and the clear speech marks that follow show the individual relaying the information to workers underneath him in the hierarchy of the company.

The minimum wage workers peruse the new direction of the company, whilst our middle-management individual privately stresses over the briefing, leaving him exhausted. He goes to the pub and gets intoxicated. He then vomits in the green oval loo seats and awakes hungover with the knowledge that there is no chance of promotion for him within this company and the anchor represents his lack of mobility.

Or something like that!

Darren Whittington

This is a postmodern selection of imagery from Darren Whittington who uses shapes to illustrate his vector drawings. He relies on semi-circles, circles and ovals and exaggerates them with heavy outlines. I think his artwork would benefit if he he used textures or patternation in his backgrounds.

Shoji Hamada – Bottle 1931

Hamada’s Anglo-Japanese style of pottery was innovative as he was influenced by Bernard Leach and set up his own pottery in St. Ives. I feel that colour is important here. Whilst my preference is usually for lighter colours I do like this vase’s earthy colours. The ‘slip’ is a lighter mix of clay, which is a fern colour which contrasts well against the darker brown glaze. I may use these colours in future as I find it paradoxical that ordinarily these colours are mixed together as camouflage in the army, yet in this instance they are used to bring forth the leafy Japanese motif.

Kandinsky

Kandinsky - Bow and Arrow 1927

Kandinsky was himself an accomplished musician and claimed that when he heard music he saw corresponding colours. The simplicity of this relationship for him, is evident here when he uses interlocking triangles and rectangles predominantly in warm red and yellow for the arc of the bow and creates a ‘heavenly’ blue circle as a cool subversive counterpoint to create tension. You can ‘hear’ the vibration of the bow through the wave shape.




Kandinsky – Klang (Sounds) 1907-12

I took information from ‘Kandinsky – The World’s Greatest Art’ (2006). Kandinsky considered this piece to be a gestamtkunstwerk as it is a universal and comprehensive synthesis of art, which combined picture, word and sound. This image is a clever construction which contrasts the yellow and black. Additionally, the shapes, trees, people and horse etc. are deliberately unambiguous and this is why the whole gestamtkunstwerk works as an ensemble.

(Artist unknown) Japanese Matchbox Design

This design is constructed out of six shapes that form hills and trees. The design uses texts which break up negative space. The design itself is unusual in that it only takes up quarter of the space. For me, this was particularly memorable as I researched it some time ago and have recently appropriated it subconsciously with obvious similarities.