Stage 2 - Further thematic research

I have been looking at the contrast between the background and character elements in films like the incredibles and how simple and geometric they are as opposed to the characters. I have been thinking about the time scale I have to produce my work and how I need to find a way to speed up the process by simplifying the backgrounds in my comic, and keep the focus on the characters.

This scene from monsters inc is a great take on how something seems scary and changes tone suddenly. This is a good study for how my comics antagonists will be portrayed durign the story. This is also a good look at dark lighting which i have to experiment with in my development.

The trap door is an old claymation series of shorts. For me it is a massive childhood influence and used to scare me and inspire me to make my own plasticine monsters and characters. A similar tone of humour and macarbe is something that i would like to capture in my work. A sense of innocent entertainment with light hearted moral lessons and a interesting style.

I was browsing david smits blog and found some interesting digital paintings with a nice form and lighting style with good characterisation which is quite inspiring for my project.

Over time i would like to develop a digital style where i am more comfortable with being more rough and expressive and feel like it still looks good.

While exploring the web for research I decided to look at a webcomic called megatokyo. It was good research for me as it got me thinking about the backgrounds in my own panels.

Personally, I really dont like anime/manga artwork. I feel that it lends well to comic book styles such as this for its simplicty  efficiency but i hate its lack of originality it also feels out of date. And everyone draws like it. I want my work to be more stylistic and contemporary. However this was good reference material for seeing how the artist, Fred galhager, deals with creating backgrounds. In the top panel he introduces the scene which clearly is given less importance than the characters, but sets the scene and is fairly simple. It then almost entirely dissappears. I feel this is because the background is used at first to tell the viewer where they are but it isn't important, the viewer knows where they are and will remember. Then if their is a change in location you add in a background to tell the viewer the locale has changed. I will consider this in how i can save myself work, but i also know that my short narrative needs a fully finished, laboured quality over it to have value and authenticity which improves its worth and makes people want to own it.

WHAT KIND OF ILLUSTRATIVE PRODUCTS DO I LIKE TO BUY?

It was important to look at the kind of products that interest me and why, to get a sense of what it is that gives products their attractive nature. I have this set of dishonored playing cards, which I own with no intention of using to play. They use differnet symbology for each card to have a unique collectable nature. Using cards like this to play poker, for example, would be confusing, but this is still something I want to own for its style, and unique nature as an ornament. 

As an artist who is inspired by videogames, films and novels, I love to collect artwork and prints related to that. In terms of this, making my own work i have to decide on what kind of niche i want to appeal to, or wether i want to appeal to a broad audience. Not everybody is going to have the same taste as me. With my stage 2 product i want to produce something that has a wide audience with a nuetral kind of theme.

Stage 2 Initial Research

For my proposed stage 2 project, I decided that playing to my strengths and creating something with a narrative would be the most enjoyable and yield the best results from my style. Here are a few influences that initially inspire my creative process for my zine.

Childrens Animated Films - Disney Pixar, Dreamworks

The stylisation of characters in the animated films by Pixar is something that i would like to capture in my own short narrative. This is a style that appeals to a broad audience by being accessible and understandable. I also find that artwork done in this style comes to life for the viewer, where we are so used to seeing this kind of imagery in motion that our brains can bring it to life by filling in the gaps, especially in a narrative structure.

In sequential image making I had a chance to begin to explore this area with my rocket ship spread.

I would like to try and push this further by using a more thoroughly rendered style, without outlines and also trying to capture a similarly strong narrative by minimal use of speech. The Pixar-esque cartoon style would allow me to capitalise on exaggerated proportions and facial expressions to tell the story more easily by use of images alone. 

 

This short film from Pixar is a very heart warming example of how a powerful story can be told through use of symbols and expressions. Where I am producing work for the kV series brief, it is also a good point of reference for working in black and white.

Rafael Nascimento

A highly rendered cartoon style can be found in the work of Rafael Nascimento. It can be seen in his work how, expression can be exaggerated to create a clear communication of emotion. In his work, a sense of humor is also achieved through the exaggerated feature in his characters. Humor is a very broadly appealing communicator, which many people enjoy and appreciate.

David Smit

This piece by David Smit gives me a lot of ideas of how I would like to explore the theme of everyday objects. In this image the character is given a stronger back story where he has old recyclables as 'armor'. This communicates alot to the viewer without words, it shows his childlike misunderstanding of an alien invasion, his imagination and his sense of misinformed chivalry.

Haunted house imagery

Images collected from google, general thematic haunted house imagery to inform my theme.

These images of haunted houses show just how cliche this theme can be. I want to avoid the horrible, Halloween feel that these create and do something that is more foreboding and mysterious.

No Guts No Glory

No Guts No Glory is an up and coming independant retail outlet and illustrators networking hub that thrives on the philosophy of supporting emerging talented illustrators in a non profiteering enviornment. We were lucky to be visited by the founders of the shop, Nathan and Haley. 

Their talk was very useful for gaining some insight into the trials and tribulations of starting a business of this kind in a rocky economic climate, and the state of mind and attitude that is required to do it. Nathan had to work very hard, using every available resource and focus hard on what it was he was trying to create, despite being told it would fail. 

What I learnt from this is that everything you want to achieve is possible and all it takes is true passion and dedication to achieve it. The importance of finding freinds and connections with people who are also passionate and willing to help was inspiring and really creates a business that I respect for their values. No Guts No Glory highlights the joys that come from doing what you love and making freinds without the need for money or greed.

Working as an Independant illustrator

Nathan and Haley gave us some information that highlighted some of the aspects that they looked for in artists that they would support in their shop:

-High quality artwork

-Accessible artwork

-Affordable artwork

-Proffessional self presentation

-A passion for what you do

-A freindly approachable and enthusiastic personality

The benefits of working with no guts no glory:

-Exposure, NGNG is becoming more and more well known.

-Make new freinds and meet new artists to inspire and collaborate

-Gain commissions

-Make some money! 

-Do what you love as part of your lifestyle.

Indy artists With No Guts No Glory

Sandra Dieckmann

Sandra dieckmanns work has a beautiful laboured quality to it which gives it value and a perpetuality that makes it worth buying to a wide audience of people who appreciate this kind of work. I need to think about my own work and what qualities make it interesting to buy and what my strengths are to create something of a high quality.

 Sandras work incorporates alot of animals. Working to a theme such as this is obviously a passion of sandras and adds a sense of her concerns and personality to the work. Working in the boundaries of themes that I am interested in also allows me to feel more passionate about my work and in turn would make my work better as a result.

Owen Gent

Owen Gent also produces work for No Guts No Glory whilst also working freelance elsewhere. His artwork has a traditional quality similar to the aesthetic of works by artists such as Van Gogh. This quality gives his prints something that people expect and like to see on the wall in their home, making them more attractive to purchase as decoration. I think that with this niche of appealing to a broad audience through traditional styles whilst also covering modern themes is something new and a good combination of tastes that makes the work accessible. 

Philip Harris

Philip Harris was my favourite artist included in NGNG's collection. His high detail precise style really caught my eye and is somethign that i personally am interested in. I really enjoy imagery that has lots to look at and always has something new to discover. This is what i think adds value to an illustration: A perpetual sense of intrigue. Obviously my tastes differ from the next person and being able to select a niche topic and style that gives artwork a unique style and language that people will want to buy is crucial. 

The indy nature of NGNG and the target audience that they attract, Hipsters and artists, people into the niche scenes and tattoos, can be seen throughout the range of their products which really support the style of artists like Philip Harris.