One of my favourite parts of Allison's lectures is the way she introduces each artist and explains their backgrounds and aims in the industry. It's a really nice way of adding a whole lot of value to an artist's work. It's such an important thing when you're studying individuals, as it allows the viewer a glimpse into the context and reasoning behind pieces that might otherwise be ignored.
It's really made me think about the 'why' in all of my pieces. Where all the ideas come from, why I did things the way I did, what's to blame. It's a whole lot of really useful stuff to think about because it adds a great deal more to the projects. It's that neat connection between research and the final piece that's often overlooked.
Recently this has proved to be a huge dividing point between me and the values of this course. Recently it has begun to feel like context has been dragged apart from the work it's connected to. Whilst the contextual portfolio is still thankfully a thing, even that has begun to be dismantled from its original purpose. The first time I really noticed this was the visual appendix. Each design I made for that project was heavily based around research into other superheroes and real world outfits and cultures. I wanted each costume to be well reasoned and to have a function in the list rather than just a collection of useless lines and meaningless icons. The word give context to the art and add so much more value to it. Needless to say I was dissapointed when I discovered the visual appendix was meant to be completely contextless. All of that reasoning, all of that background, all that inspiration. All washed away. Whilst I understand the vague reasoning here, and that the pictures are supposed to come first, the harsh word limit has only hurt peoples projects. Students now have to rely on tutors understanding their work right off the bat. As Allison has instilled on us from the start of the year, that's not how things work. That's not how art is effective.
As I understand things so far, the contextual portfolio still performs in its original function as a blog the tutors will look through, and I'm happy about that. But if that is no longer the case then something is deeply wrong at the core of this course. The presentation idea is a decent way of showcasing the core of what's going on but unless the blog is also looked at the entire notion of the contextual portfolio falls flat on its face. At this point the contextual portfolio has to do a lot of the heavy lifting for the studio work as well as its own regular function. If it's not read then it feels like a really important part of the creative process is being abandoned
To wrap this up, I feel like context is becoming increasingly
Saturday, 14 May 2016
Lecture Greatest Hits: Crash
Another lecture I gained a lot from was Spencer's lecture on Crash, and about all the different covers and methods of advertising it. It was one of those strange lectures that didn't really interest me at the time but I keep coming back to the ideas from it. Every now and then I pick up on something and think 'wow that's been advertised terribly'. It's a thought I've had before but that lecture made me pick up on it a lot more often.
It was a really useful lecture in terms of opening my eyes to things. I'm a lot more critical of things like film trailers and posters doing a bad job of expressing the content of films, and sometimes advertising to the wrong kind of audiences. But it's also made me more greatful of the better advertising campaigns out there. Films like Deadpool have done an incredible job of communicating with their target audience in some really unconventional ways. On the negative side, I already scrutinise things too much and this has just added adverts and trailers onto that list. Oh well.
It was a really useful lecture in terms of opening my eyes to things. I'm a lot more critical of things like film trailers and posters doing a bad job of expressing the content of films, and sometimes advertising to the wrong kind of audiences. But it's also made me more greatful of the better advertising campaigns out there. Films like Deadpool have done an incredible job of communicating with their target audience in some really unconventional ways. On the negative side, I already scrutinise things too much and this has just added adverts and trailers onto that list. Oh well.
Friday, 13 May 2016
CV
I could've sworn I've talked about this before. No? Never mind here we go. It's time to talk about the mini-project that turned into almost as big a deal as the YCN brief.
The CV was a tough task for me. I'm not the most graphically-minded guy so putting together a set of graphics that make me not look like a cigarette in someone's perfect birthday cake was going to take a lot of effort.
My first attempt was the very obvious 'go into InDesign and try and make something' approach. It didn't get too far before I realised I actually needed an idea to make it look effective rather than just blind optimism. What I had made until then was a fairly nice-looking setup in retrospect. The orange looks really nice and the type is a long way from awful. I can imagine the round formatting being awkward later on though. I might use it for if I make a fore regular CV at some point.
So I thought for all of five seconds and decided I wanted to have it look like a machine to try and capture that robot spirit I'm known for. So I jumped back into InDesign and tried to put it together. I did quite a bit of it before deciding that this wasn't working out, and that it was going to be far too much work.
I also entertained the thought of drawing one by hand but I didn't like the idea of having such a constrained CV that I wouldn't be able to tweak much.
So in a move crazier than Spencer's lecture schedule, I decided to jump headfirst in and build a CV in Cinema 4D. Yes I'm a madman. Of course. From my perspective at the start, I wanted a CV I could easily edit that would really capture the robot spirit of my hand artwork. And I wanted to have fun making it. C4D was also a good idea in that it taught me a bit more about the software.
Somewhere along that line I forgot that Cinema 4D takes a really long time. But ignoring that, building this thing was a blast. Plus I learned a massive amount. I wouldn't have been able to make the torso nearly as good if it weren't for this.
I put together the first take based on my plans for the InDesign version. It's mostly based around a set of monitors with a ring I initially envisioned as a car speedo tracking my skill levels in each piece of software. I also added some sidebars about my history and education and such. It's a pretty simplistic build bit I like the glow effects I've used and there are some really cool ideas in there. I stuck with this design for a while too. I mean I never sent it to anyone but I still totally kept it. It was only when I was about to message people that I took another look at it that I decided it needed one more take.
For the third case I came in with a far clearer plan in mind which would economise on space far better and put the important stuff at the forefront. I also took the chance to tone down on some of the less useful information. Sadly this meant losing the really madcap camera angles but I think it's a worthy sacrifice. I was able to keep a lot of the elements I liked from the previous design. The glowy screens are back and look even better now. I've kept the awesome spotlight backdrop. But the big change was essentially basing the entire design around the speedometer idea, and placing the rest of the text inside that console. I'm so glad I did this. Other changes include separating the skill graphs into clear segments so they're easier to differentiate as well as making the skill levels more defined. The metal texture was also updated to the one from the robot torso, and I added the lighting pods from that thing as well, because sharing is caring.
The final big change that was half the reason for the update, was the incorporation of some of my actual artwork into it, which was the single biggest weakness of the last one. It did a really bad job of showcasing what I can do as an artist and I wasn't really ok with that. So now it shows my artwork in the panel where it shows which medium I'm talking about.
So to conclude, the CV process was mind-bogglingly mad but it's wound me up with a really unique looking CV and kicked my C4D skills up a notch. I'm pretty happy with this.
The CV was a tough task for me. I'm not the most graphically-minded guy so putting together a set of graphics that make me not look like a cigarette in someone's perfect birthday cake was going to take a lot of effort.
My first attempt was the very obvious 'go into InDesign and try and make something' approach. It didn't get too far before I realised I actually needed an idea to make it look effective rather than just blind optimism. What I had made until then was a fairly nice-looking setup in retrospect. The orange looks really nice and the type is a long way from awful. I can imagine the round formatting being awkward later on though. I might use it for if I make a fore regular CV at some point.
So I thought for all of five seconds and decided I wanted to have it look like a machine to try and capture that robot spirit I'm known for. So I jumped back into InDesign and tried to put it together. I did quite a bit of it before deciding that this wasn't working out, and that it was going to be far too much work.
I also entertained the thought of drawing one by hand but I didn't like the idea of having such a constrained CV that I wouldn't be able to tweak much.
So in a move crazier than Spencer's lecture schedule, I decided to jump headfirst in and build a CV in Cinema 4D. Yes I'm a madman. Of course. From my perspective at the start, I wanted a CV I could easily edit that would really capture the robot spirit of my hand artwork. And I wanted to have fun making it. C4D was also a good idea in that it taught me a bit more about the software.
Somewhere along that line I forgot that Cinema 4D takes a really long time. But ignoring that, building this thing was a blast. Plus I learned a massive amount. I wouldn't have been able to make the torso nearly as good if it weren't for this.
I put together the first take based on my plans for the InDesign version. It's mostly based around a set of monitors with a ring I initially envisioned as a car speedo tracking my skill levels in each piece of software. I also added some sidebars about my history and education and such. It's a pretty simplistic build bit I like the glow effects I've used and there are some really cool ideas in there. I stuck with this design for a while too. I mean I never sent it to anyone but I still totally kept it. It was only when I was about to message people that I took another look at it that I decided it needed one more take.
For the third case I came in with a far clearer plan in mind which would economise on space far better and put the important stuff at the forefront. I also took the chance to tone down on some of the less useful information. Sadly this meant losing the really madcap camera angles but I think it's a worthy sacrifice. I was able to keep a lot of the elements I liked from the previous design. The glowy screens are back and look even better now. I've kept the awesome spotlight backdrop. But the big change was essentially basing the entire design around the speedometer idea, and placing the rest of the text inside that console. I'm so glad I did this. Other changes include separating the skill graphs into clear segments so they're easier to differentiate as well as making the skill levels more defined. The metal texture was also updated to the one from the robot torso, and I added the lighting pods from that thing as well, because sharing is caring.
The final big change that was half the reason for the update, was the incorporation of some of my actual artwork into it, which was the single biggest weakness of the last one. It did a really bad job of showcasing what I can do as an artist and I wasn't really ok with that. So now it shows my artwork in the panel where it shows which medium I'm talking about.
So to conclude, the CV process was mind-bogglingly mad but it's wound me up with a really unique looking CV and kicked my C4D skills up a notch. I'm pretty happy with this.
Lecture Greatest Hits: CV Talk
One of Pete's fairly early was about placements and CVs and how to be noticed. Without a doubt it's probably the most real-world-useful lecture we've had, even compared to Pete's other lectures. Blimey he's had some good ones.
So Pete was talking about CVs and how to be noticed when employers receive a huge pile of the things every year. A few interesting pieces of advice were given. The first was to keep it succinct and focus on what the employer wants to see. The second: make it stand out from the crowd. That part's pretty hard in the world of very design-heavy CVs. The sheer range of beautiful ones I've seen from this course alone is jaw-dropping. And the third main point was about how they're delivered. Ideally give them in person, then post, then email, was his advice.
As Huddersfield Uni is placement-crazy, I had put together a CV halfway through this year to go placement-hunting with. I'll make a full post about this in a minute. But yeah, genuine thanks to Pete for pointing a lot of this stuff out. Super useful stuff.
So Pete was talking about CVs and how to be noticed when employers receive a huge pile of the things every year. A few interesting pieces of advice were given. The first was to keep it succinct and focus on what the employer wants to see. The second: make it stand out from the crowd. That part's pretty hard in the world of very design-heavy CVs. The sheer range of beautiful ones I've seen from this course alone is jaw-dropping. And the third main point was about how they're delivered. Ideally give them in person, then post, then email, was his advice.
As Huddersfield Uni is placement-crazy, I had put together a CV halfway through this year to go placement-hunting with. I'll make a full post about this in a minute. But yeah, genuine thanks to Pete for pointing a lot of this stuff out. Super useful stuff.
Lecture Greatest Hits: Gender in Animation
So to kick-off this mini sseries about the lecture programme, I think it's best to start with the most important in terms of effect on this year's work. And that's Spencer's Term 2 talk about the gender divide an animation. For starters, it was probably my favourite lecture of the year. It was balanced, respectful, and really put the point across well. He should be proud of that one.
And secondly I like it because it gave me the inclination to do my essay on gender in comics. At the point the lecture arrived, I was really struggling in terms of essay ideas, as my first one crashed and burned and I needed a replacement. I'd been thinking for a while and nothing was coming. Like, I knew I wanted to something about comics but I just couldn't think of anything worth writing. Then this lecture came bouncing right out of the blue like most of Spencer's lectures do and suddenly I had a really good essay topic.
The lecture gave me a couple of topic ideas too if I recall correctly. I can't remember exactly though. It's been quite a while since that lecture.
And secondly I like it because it gave me the inclination to do my essay on gender in comics. At the point the lecture arrived, I was really struggling in terms of essay ideas, as my first one crashed and burned and I needed a replacement. I'd been thinking for a while and nothing was coming. Like, I knew I wanted to something about comics but I just couldn't think of anything worth writing. Then this lecture came bouncing right out of the blue like most of Spencer's lectures do and suddenly I had a really good essay topic.
The lecture gave me a couple of topic ideas too if I recall correctly. I can't remember exactly though. It's been quite a while since that lecture.
The Lecture Programme
Before I delve into this year's lectures in a bit more detail, I figured I'd have a little chat about them as a whole.
Compared to last year, the lectures were at another level. In itself that's really not much of a statement, as I was a long way from impressed with last year's batch. This year however was another story. All three lecture sections did their jobs well. They all had their genuinely interesting moments. Some more often admittedly, but all of them were good.
Allison's lectures dealt with the fairly general topic of art practice, and continued from last year's section. As the best of last year, these have continued to be interesting, detailing some really interesting elements of the art world. Despite not broadening my outlook on art as much as was possibly intended, the lectures have opened my eyes to several new artists. In particular her lectures on photography were surprisingly fascinating, even though I'm not the biggest fan of the medium. It's just so interesting to hear how these people work and their motives and context around it. And that really capitalises the parts of her lectures I appreciate the most: how she portrays the artists as real people. The way she introduces each artist before the work is fantastic and adds a lot of flavour to their work. It really helps to sell work that's sometimes not all that impressive at first look.
Next up is Pete. His lectures were a whole lot of something new. And really appreciated. Pete tackled the business side of things and these are probably the most useful lectures we've had here. They detail how to actually survive in the art world which is something SERIOUSLY useful, epecially with the way the industry is at the moment. I have learned so many really important things from these lectures. He's told us more about placements than anybody else, including the best ways to get them. he's responsible for my insane CV ideas too. Well, for giving me them at least. His lectures have been hugely effective at giving me a bit of a confidence boost about the industry. It's still a terrifying thought to go out into the art world but at least I know more about what to expect now.
And finally comes Spencer. The big curveball of the lecture programme, Spencer zigzags from topic to topic over the weeks and it might get annoying if most of them weren't fairly interesting. And quite a lot of fun too. Especially towards the end of the year, the lectures started going in some really odd directions. A lot of them ended up being really good though. Like, I think most of his best lectures came from around then. There was the awesome one on the gender imbalance in animation. And the one about all the covers of Crash. There have been some good 'uns.
Sooo...onto some of the best bits...beecause I really do need something to put into the PDF slides.
Compared to last year, the lectures were at another level. In itself that's really not much of a statement, as I was a long way from impressed with last year's batch. This year however was another story. All three lecture sections did their jobs well. They all had their genuinely interesting moments. Some more often admittedly, but all of them were good.
Allison's lectures dealt with the fairly general topic of art practice, and continued from last year's section. As the best of last year, these have continued to be interesting, detailing some really interesting elements of the art world. Despite not broadening my outlook on art as much as was possibly intended, the lectures have opened my eyes to several new artists. In particular her lectures on photography were surprisingly fascinating, even though I'm not the biggest fan of the medium. It's just so interesting to hear how these people work and their motives and context around it. And that really capitalises the parts of her lectures I appreciate the most: how she portrays the artists as real people. The way she introduces each artist before the work is fantastic and adds a lot of flavour to their work. It really helps to sell work that's sometimes not all that impressive at first look.
Next up is Pete. His lectures were a whole lot of something new. And really appreciated. Pete tackled the business side of things and these are probably the most useful lectures we've had here. They detail how to actually survive in the art world which is something SERIOUSLY useful, epecially with the way the industry is at the moment. I have learned so many really important things from these lectures. He's told us more about placements than anybody else, including the best ways to get them. he's responsible for my insane CV ideas too. Well, for giving me them at least. His lectures have been hugely effective at giving me a bit of a confidence boost about the industry. It's still a terrifying thought to go out into the art world but at least I know more about what to expect now.
And finally comes Spencer. The big curveball of the lecture programme, Spencer zigzags from topic to topic over the weeks and it might get annoying if most of them weren't fairly interesting. And quite a lot of fun too. Especially towards the end of the year, the lectures started going in some really odd directions. A lot of them ended up being really good though. Like, I think most of his best lectures came from around then. There was the awesome one on the gender imbalance in animation. And the one about all the covers of Crash. There have been some good 'uns.
Sooo...onto some of the best bits...beecause I really do need something to put into the PDF slides.
Captain Cool!
A good while before I decided to be more work on Captain Cool in the Visual Appendix project (or before I even knew that such a thing existed), I drew Captain Cool in his original outfit. I wanted to have another go at drawing people as I'd fallen a little out of practice and was still trying to find a drawing style that worked. It also marked the first time in a long while that I'd tried to do a decent job of drawing the old character design. Usually I would draw him as a silly cartoon version instead as that's all the character was to me until recently. And whilst it's not the best person I've drawn by a long shot, it's really interesting from a style perspective as it shows a bridge between my old drawing style and my new one that debuted is the Visual Appendix. Plus it's Captain cool and I love that guy.
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