I spent a lot of time trying to develop my skills this year and i'm glad that I did. I chose 3 ares to try and improve in; after effects, screen printing and ceramics. Because of this i think that i have created a solid foundation to develop a lot more skills. Having forced myself to create projects in after effects, i I now feel really confident using after effects and would feel comfortable undertaking a project in after effects. I also feel a lot more confident in the screen printing department, as i now have a knowledge of fabric screen printing and the process when it comes to curing the ink etc. Within ceramics, i have spent a lot of time problem solving for the trophy brief and i feel that i now have a varied knowledge of slip casting and press moulding and the way ceramics works in general. I've also really enjoyed engaging more with the art community and overall just expanding my practice. I've also been fortunate enough to start getting graphic design work which im excited to continue over summer. Taking on jobs that i wouldn't have been able to do at the start of the year. If i could so one thing differently it would be to blog more ongoing as there are so many things that ive done that i know ive forgotten about.
I was really dreading getting in touch with industry professionals because i feel quite socially anxious about approaching people and i dont want to pester them, however i think the way in which i went about the interview worked really well both for me and for the guy i was interviewing. Because it was conducted over Instagram, i feel like we were both relaxed as we knew it was an informal setting. There was no pressure on either side to be overtly professional and i think that allowed Robert to feel more at ease answering my questions.
Overall im really please with ppp this year and im excited to continue it.
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Exhibition launch - Punk in Print
The exhibition opening was incredibly modest because village bookshop is incredibly small but it gave me the chance to see how you can utilise a small space to its full potential. The utilise the stair well, a ledge near the stair well and all over the walls not just what was eye level. More than anything i think that's what i got out of visiting the exhibition.
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Developing Skills - Screen Printing
Screen printing was another area i wanted to improve in so i decided to come up with a poster design that would challenge me. I decided to try and screen print a marble background using a grey scale print rather than a half tone one just to see if it would work, the intention being to have a marble background that overlay each other..
However, the greyscale didn't work and the marble patter came out quite tick and blotchy and was concentrated in a lot of areas.
In order to get the sort of faded look in places that i wanted i went back and used a jet wash on the screen to break down the image in some of the places just to add a bit more patter and texture to the print.
After doing this i done lots of prints, not just to practice but because the screen slowly breaks down after each pull leaving each print slightly different and i really liked that.
I printed the background twice in two different colours, slightly off set in order to get a look at an overlay. Each one looked quite different and i definitely learnt a lesson in exposing the screen and what images would world best and which ones wouldn't.
Overall i think this was a success as I learnt something, became slightly better at the printing part and working in a clean and neat fashion.
To develop this further i want to look into doing a four colour screen print using colour angles and half tone, this is a process i've been wanting to try for a long time and think i will try and do this over the summer.
However, the greyscale didn't work and the marble patter came out quite tick and blotchy and was concentrated in a lot of areas.
In order to get the sort of faded look in places that i wanted i went back and used a jet wash on the screen to break down the image in some of the places just to add a bit more patter and texture to the print.
After doing this i done lots of prints, not just to practice but because the screen slowly breaks down after each pull leaving each print slightly different and i really liked that.
I printed the background twice in two different colours, slightly off set in order to get a look at an overlay. Each one looked quite different and i definitely learnt a lesson in exposing the screen and what images would world best and which ones wouldn't.
Overall i think this was a success as I learnt something, became slightly better at the printing part and working in a clean and neat fashion.
To develop this further i want to look into doing a four colour screen print using colour angles and half tone, this is a process i've been wanting to try for a long time and think i will try and do this over the summer.
Visit - Pressision
Early on into second year, me an Erin went to visit Pressision printers again in order to look more in depth at their printing capabilities.
We were taken around the warehouse and given a really in depth tour around all the machines and talked extensively about the capabilities and possibilities each one presented.
The great thing i noticed early on is that they are truly passionate about what they do and they are always looking to do cool, interesting and new things that no other printers does yet.
This is evident in the stock they print on, the way they print, and the printers they have. It was a really great opportunity to just ask loads of questions regarding colour, stock, ink, printing, folding, binding and everything else.
It gave me a good knowledge of where were are at the moment in print technology and the different ways in which we as creatives can push it forwards and utilise new and pre-existing methods to do interesting things. It also gave me a good knowledge of the the limits there are regarding printing although there are not many at pressision and this will allow me to produce or plan publications that are in the realm of realistic printing.
Monday, May 1, 2017
Sketch a day - developing skills
In order to try and push my creativity, throughout march i started doing a sketch a day. i really enjoyed doing this because it made sure that i was doing something creative everyday and working on my sketching and drawing skills. Sometimes i found it very difficult to draw something and sometimes i found it very easy. in the end i was unable to finish the sketch a day in march due to other work getting in the way but it is something i would love to do again and try stick with it.
Self Branding - developing skills
As my practice was developing so much i felt like it was only right that i updated my self branding.
I felt like i was being more confident and deliberate in my work and i should have something to reflect that. therefore i chose Helvetica black to use as my typeface. as its the simplest typeface i liked and could think to use it also also very bold and confident, things im hoping that are starting to reflect in my practice. I kept a simple nature within my colour scheme, using simple colours that i'm really enjoying using at this point in time. The point in using different colours means that it might be applicable to a lot more layouts where as the orange in my last design may not have lended itself well to certain applications.
As i've been trying to develop my skills in after effects i decided to create a gif as part of my self branding, just something that was a little different that i could add to social media.
In the end im actually really happy with the result although its just a very simple change, i feel like its up to date and reflects me more as a designer which is the entire point of an identity.
(gif in submission)
I felt like i was being more confident and deliberate in my work and i should have something to reflect that. therefore i chose Helvetica black to use as my typeface. as its the simplest typeface i liked and could think to use it also also very bold and confident, things im hoping that are starting to reflect in my practice. I kept a simple nature within my colour scheme, using simple colours that i'm really enjoying using at this point in time. The point in using different colours means that it might be applicable to a lot more layouts where as the orange in my last design may not have lended itself well to certain applications.
As i've been trying to develop my skills in after effects i decided to create a gif as part of my self branding, just something that was a little different that i could add to social media.
In the end im actually really happy with the result although its just a very simple change, i feel like its up to date and reflects me more as a designer which is the entire point of an identity.
(gif in submission)
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Visit - Sunny Bank Mills
I went to visit Sunny Bank Mills which is a commercial gallery, i got in touch with the gallery owner and the art director and was able to arrange a visit and meeting with them both.
At the time, the gallery was exhibiting "ones to watch" a competition based in and around Yorkshire of emerging talent.
When i got there, i met up with one of the art directors, Alice, and she took me around the exhibition. Knowing about the Life's a pitch brief i asked lots of questions regarding an exhibition and curating an exhibition, Did she fit and build the space around the pieces or did she move and fit eh pieces around the space, how do you go about choosing what to exhibit, what if something cannot be exhibited correctly. How do they work out prices and commission, how did they plan an exhibition, how to approach someone like sunny bank mills as an artist, how not to approach a commercial gallery and why. How they market their exhibitions etc etc
She was great at helping me understand what goes in to curating an exhibition and the planning that is needed. She had said that exhibitions were planned 2 years in advance so they have plenty of time to secure the work from the artist and plan the spac meticulously in order to promote and showcase the piece, This amount of time allows them to promote for a sufficient amount of time through Facebook, their website and through flyers.
At the time, the gallery was exhibiting "ones to watch" a competition based in and around Yorkshire of emerging talent.
When i got there, i met up with one of the art directors, Alice, and she took me around the exhibition. Knowing about the Life's a pitch brief i asked lots of questions regarding an exhibition and curating an exhibition, Did she fit and build the space around the pieces or did she move and fit eh pieces around the space, how do you go about choosing what to exhibit, what if something cannot be exhibited correctly. How do they work out prices and commission, how did they plan an exhibition, how to approach someone like sunny bank mills as an artist, how not to approach a commercial gallery and why. How they market their exhibitions etc etc
She was great at helping me understand what goes in to curating an exhibition and the planning that is needed. She had said that exhibitions were planned 2 years in advance so they have plenty of time to secure the work from the artist and plan the spac meticulously in order to promote and showcase the piece, This amount of time allows them to promote for a sufficient amount of time through Facebook, their website and through flyers.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Nest - Tote Bags/developing skills
Erin had a tote bag emergency meaning she needed 50 tote bags printed the day before the launch. This was quite daunting to me as i had never done that many prints from one screen before and also i had never printed onto fabric before.
It wasn't all that different to printing on paper but it was quite a lot slower. A lot of time was spent pining down the totebags down to the table and making sure there were no creases before pulling through the ink. There was a bit of trial and error at the beginning but in the end we got a lot better and a lot quicker and printing them. It definitely gave me a lot of experience with the ways in which fabric doesn't print the same as paper, and i feel like i learnt a different aspect of screen printing which is a plus!
It wasn't all that different to printing on paper but it was quite a lot slower. A lot of time was spent pining down the totebags down to the table and making sure there were no creases before pulling through the ink. There was a bit of trial and error at the beginning but in the end we got a lot better and a lot quicker and printing them. It definitely gave me a lot of experience with the ways in which fabric doesn't print the same as paper, and i feel like i learnt a different aspect of screen printing which is a plus!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)