Weekly Update and Setting Targets

I feel like I've got a lot of things on my mind at the minute so I thought it would be good to consolidate it all into a blog post, both to look back on and to show the progress I've made so far. Since finishing my Edgelands and Ruins project and handing in my project development, I've been working on my Iceland project, figuring out the direction I want to take and possible story concepts. I worked on my Edgelands and Ruins project for longer than outlined in my timeline, while taking on other mini projects in semester 1, so this has left me behind in my outlined schedule. I'm pleased I spent longer on it as I managed to make 10 Risograph printed books and learnt how to bind, two things I hadn't planned but have been beneficial to my practice. This now leaves me with less time to do another commercial and personal project, therefore, I've decided to combine Iceland with the Macmillan Prize for Illustration project. 

By combining these two projects, I can utilise primary images from Iceland to make a book about folklore and my experiences when I visited in October. I much prefer this way of working as there's more continuity and I can utilise my time to generate ideas and play around with different processes. I've learnt that I prefer this non-linear approach, as it allows me to experiment and put more time into contextual research, making sure my work has solid foundations. With this, I'm now trying to write up all the notes I made while in Iceland and do any research that will benefit my understanding of composition, colour and narrative. 

This week, I've been playing around with traditional materials (predominantly neopastels!), utilising photos I took while exploring Reykjavik and from the coach out to the Golden Circle. We had a great tour guide who talked about Icelandic culture, the history and myths about yule lads and the hidden people. It was so interesting to hear things from a locals perspective so I took a lot of notes and have been writing them up in my sketchbook, along with leaflets, newspaper typography and images in my sketchbook. It's almost like a visual diary which is great to have and make links with the type of story I want to illustrate.

Still very much in the initial stages of this project, I want to start generating story concepts and thinking of the types of characters I want to make. I need to look at references for outfits as I love the idea of doing patterned jumpers and traditional Icelandic clothing. This could involve looking at archive photos as well as 'The Art of Frozen' (Solomon, 2013)  which has links to Nordic design with traditional designs and architecture. Another film to reference could be 'How to Train Your Dragon', both the film (How to Train Your Dragon, 2010) and 'Art of' book (Miller-Zarneke, 2010). These are both great references for how to create realistic environments for the characters to interact within. I sometimes struggle to figure out how to place characters so this research should help me understand the most effective compositions and angles for my children's book.

Art of How to Train Your Dragon, 2010

Art of Frozen, 2013

This Weeks Targets:

• I need to email Cheltenham/Pittville Press about the Cheltenham Illustration Awards Exhibition to see if my entries for 2020 and 2021 are on display, find out more about it. Plan the trip. 
• Finish artist research for my Iceland project, I still need to annotate the mind map and Jane McDevitt pages.
• Look more at folklore, Frozen book, research Nordic context or possibly see what they have in the college library.
• In preparation for a possible MA interview, I need to print my final pieces at uni, larger pieces like digital paintings and book mock-ups. Sort out riso work and sketchbooks to take.
• Work on building landscapes, drawing a map of my book to help figure out the storyline and how scenes will link. Make a more believable landscape.
• Keep writing story concepts, working on characters and how elements of folklore/magic will be incorporated.
• Figure out seven stories mural commission, wait for a reply.
• Work on my submission for the AOI World Illustration Awards, entering the Commercial Publishing category with my 'Journey into an Industrial Landscape' book.

References:

Solomon, C., 2013. The Art of Frozen. Chronicle Books.

How to Train Your Dragon. 2010. [DVD] United States: DreamWorks Animation.

Miller-Zarneke, T., 2010. The Art of How to Train your Dragon. New York: Newmarket Press.

Berger, M., 2020. 10 Incredible Pieces Of How To Train Your Dragon Concept Art. [online] ScreenRant. Available at: <https://screenrant.com/how-to-train-your-dragon-best-concept-art/> [Accessed 31 January 2022].