Editorial Illustration

The last module I'm going to write about on here from Semester 1. This was the hardest module I think, each project had a turnaround of 3 weeks from ideas to final: a lot of pressure. I enjoy editorial illustration though, something nice about reading an article and coming up with an image to accompany it. Good job as well, it's going to be the best way to start out after I graduate - there's always work somewhere!

We did 4 projects over the space of the 12 weeks but I've made a massive amateur mistake and somehow lost one of them. Like, completely. No idea where any of the files have gone. I have an inkling I left it all on one of the Macs at Uni and they all got wiped over xmas. Gah. It was an illustration for an article about the british summer, I quite liked it. Anyway, here are the other 3:

'How to Mooch'

An article about the art of time wasting, quite a light hearted thing. I have to say, I don't love this. This is the problem with all my editorial pieces; the ideas are weak and the outcome is always safe. Probably due to the lack of time. Which isn't an excuse. I just think that all my editorial stuff never seems to be 'me'.

'Elevator to the Stars'

This was an article in New Scientist last October, about the theoretical possibility of building a space elevator to take things/people into space. I think it's ok, this one. I like the way it looks, just again, bit of a weak idea. Well, just a bit obvious.

'Message in a Bottle'

I don't think this was technically an editorial illustration. It appeared in a magazine but it was actually for a short story. So more Narrative illustration I reckon. Anyway, it was quite a good project. Basically about this woman who tries to drive home in floods and ends up in a river and nearly drowns, with this whole backdrop of a possible divorce because her husband is having an affair and all that malarky. So I decided to do a kind of conceptual, dark, murky illustration to match it. I think this is my favourite piece from the module. So there.

So what I mainly learned was that in all my future work, I need to start thinking harder and being cleverer with all my ideas, because these weren't all that amazing. Just a bit too obvious. Blah.

And that's the last of my Semester 1 work. Well, I had essays and all that but that's not fun enough to talk about. It doesn't seem all that much now. Hmph. Well it was. And I'm going to do better this semester; i'm in a better mental state so should be able to focus more.

I get my results on the 25th. First set of marks that go towards my degree! Omgzz. Yeah.

Recent Editorial Illustrations in 2009.

Next Uni Work Update: Negotiated.

NEGOTIATED PROJECT.

This was my favourite module I think. We basically could do anything we wanted, like a CD cover, set of posters, advertising, book cover, anything really. That was good because we wrote our own brief and worked to our own time scale so really had to organise yourself.

I decided to do Point of sale illustration, which is stuff you get in shops, at the point of sale. Obviously. I decided to design new hang tags for Topshop, to be put onto the clothes. You know the tags with the price, size, barcode etc on them? At the minute they are black and very very boring. So I made some that are pretty :D

I decided to colour code the tags: one for each style of clothing. For example, skirts are green, jeans are blue, tops yellow... etc. This is because it puts each style into a visible group and is easier to find what you want in amongst the randomness which is Topshop's railing system. You know what I mean. Clothes are grouped together in sections of "This will look good with these jeans" and stuff, which is great, but I wanted to create a different visual system.

I'm pretty proud of them to be honest. I've stuck the copyright thing on because they're just THAT cool. Haha. So no stealin'. Unless you're from Topshop and want to give me lots of money for them. :)

That's all for today. The last one to go is my Editorial module. Then I can start rambling about lots of cool things!

New Year, New Start.

I am so glad 2007 is over. It wasn't the best year for me. That's a massive understatement. It was the worst year of my life. However... I'm starting again and that means a new outlook and GETTING MY BLOG BACK TOGETHER. It's been bugging me for ages, how unorganised I've been with it. I don't feel guilty though, I'm been so busy I'm surprised my brain hasn't melted out of my ears yet. Semester 1 of my second year was SO crazy busy. The step up from year 1 to year 2 was just mental.

I promised this year that I was going to keep updating my blog with random illustration stuff, my own work as it was progressing, etc etc. But... I had neither the will or really the inclination to do it, such was my mental state. SO now I'm going to put up all the work I did for Semester 1, then start semester 2 with the proper intention of keeping this place updated. I promise I will.

So without any further delay, procrastination or excuses, here goes.

NARRATIVE ILLUSTRATION

This module was one of the hardest. The brief was to choose one out of the 4 selected texts, and illustrate it using no less than 25 frames, graphic novel style. OMG. So much work in 12 weeks! I chose Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami; never actually read the entire book but I will one day as it seems good. Our extracts were only a couple of pages long you see. (I say only. Still enough.)

The section I illustrated was where the main character, also the narrator, is recalling a relationship he had in his late teens/early 20's, with a girl called Naoko. Basically the premise of the section is that he is on an aeroplane to Hamburg, and is writing in a journal about his life I guess, and he's thinking about her and he can't really remember what she looks like, he can remember scenery and meadows they walked in clear as day but it takes him a while to remember her face and it makes him sad, obviously. Anyway it's very haunting and well written because you don't really know at this point why they broke up, why he misses her so much, etc.

The story is across 12 pages, these are actually to form 6 double pages. Enjoy:








So there. It's quite conceptual and loose... I wanted it to have this dreamlike, out-of-reality feel to it. I wish I could have shown the development phases as I was going along but the final ones show you what is what.

So I handed this in on the 8th January, I'll find out my grade on the 25th. I'm so scared. I didn't apply for mitigating circumstances or an extension, even though I was well within my rights to after everything that has happened; I wanted to prove to myself that at least I had something, at least I could do one thing, my work. I'm pretty proud of myself for getting it all finished. I think it was the only thing keeping me going; if I didn't have uni work to do then it's scary to think what would have happened.

I'll post the other 3 modules in the next few days.