Sarah Naylor

Sarah Nayler's simplistic illustrations compliment this book of poems so well. Like Martin Brown, she has needed to add funny characteristics and in this case she has also had to personify the animals drawn to give them personality. I want to focus on this simple way of working somehow. I will be creating watercolours for my book of poems however with the other piece I will be making to exhibit I want it to be something simple and funny like these illustrations.

Martin Brown

Terry Deary's write comical literature therefore the use of endless facial expressions and body stances to depict the vast number of characters is vital for the illustrator to capture and Martin Brown does it perfectly. When reading Horrible Histories I would never read the text, I would always just look at the pictures and read the jokes in speech bubbles.

Garth Williams

Garth Williams' illustrations are beautifully detailed and work perfectly alongside literature. The cross-hatch technique and use of space and composition has always made me love looking through my Charlotte's Web book written by E. B. White.

Nick Sharratt

Nick Sharratt's use of illustrations in Jacqueline Wilson's 'The Suitcase Kid' interested me when looking through my bookshelf. The use of text and image is something I can try myself. His way of drawing is very straight-edged rather than sketchy. It is clear the drawings are created using computer technology.

Monochrome drawings

Alongside the main illustrations, I have been requested to also create small drawings which would be placed above the poem. I began to look at the illustrator Chris Riddell and his series of 'Barnaby Grimes' novels. I have read a few of them and recall admiring the front covers. 
I love how the characters come out of the circular windows. It concludes the images easily which saves the singular drawings looking incomplete in the middle of a page. After drawing up my first interpretations, I realised the lion especially looks quite scary. This needs to be resolved. I also want to try them with colour.

Quentin Blake

Quentin Blake's illustrations are sketchy and childlike. People don't always need to have exactly 8 fingers and 2 thumbs and the colour doesn't have to be within the lines yet the drawings still work. I took this into consideration when trying to simplify my drawings.

Tim Burton

After drawing up my first ideas, I myself wasn't happy with some of the end results. I appear to be focussing too much on the animals looking realistic when they don't necessarily have to. I began to look at Tim Burton's illustrations from a book I have called 'The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories.' I can relate greatly to the small comical illustrations as I have always enjoyed drawing odd little things myself.

Email: Lion

Email: Elephant

Emails: Rhino

Email: Giraffe

Timetable

Project Action Plan and Timetable
Week	Date Week Beginning	Activity / What you are intending to do - including independent study	Resources / What you will need to do it - including access to workshops
1	27/03/2014	Create some simplistic watercolour ideas for the ideas expressed by the commissioner. This will allow me to stem off into my own independent development parallel to the commission work.	- Watercolour paper, watercolours, fine liners. - Imagination due to lack of my own original sources (eg. Photo’s from zoo) and inspiration from artists out of my collection of books.
2	31/03/2014	Continue with drawings for the commissioner, focussing with more specific ideas focussing on the use of just a fine liner. Collect all of my books which have illustrations from a variety of mediums.	- Books. - Pen and fine liner.
3	10/04/2014	After feedback from the commissioner, proceed to colour the monochrome set of illustrations. Also visiting Chester Zoo where I will be doing observational drawing and photographing animals for primary research.	- Watercolours, pencils, fine liners. - Book and camera.
4	14/04/2014	Modroc arrived. Experiment with 3D sculpting and proceed to take photographs of them in order to conclude some ideas via working with the photos.  Continue to paint via my zoo photography.	Research modroc artists via web. - Newspaper, cellotape, modroc and acrylic paint. - Patience.
5	23/04/2014	Experiment further with 3D with the intent of a 2D photographic outcome.  Polyester models on paper.	- Paper - Polyester - Camera
6	30/04/2014	Continue with 3D experimentation. Working with cardboard boxes and creating something from simple materials.	- Cardboard Boxes - Paper & Pen - String - Glue
7	07/05/14	Organise sketchbooks find out what else I need. Gain final ideas for the exhibition. I need to have evidence of interaction with children, some footage of a small child talking about my work.	- Sketchbooks - Organisation - Photographs
8	14/05/14	Act on final ideas for exhibition. Consider all artistic references and primary research that has been done. THINK EXHIBITION.	- MDF - Book - Ideas
9	21/05/14	Have everything complete and ready to organise.
10	18/06/2014	EXHIBITION

FMP Proposal

Proposal Doc

I have acquired a great deal of organisational skills when handling numerous ideas and gaining the ability to then successfully portray them in my progression of work. As well as maturing more mentally, I have also expanded my knowledge when concerning different mediums such as textiles, wire-cutting and print making. Based on experience, I am confident that my project will progress rapidly and efficiently with a large amount of experimental work behind it. It will conclude that I am capable of working independently and I have a worthy amount of curiosity to consistently produce interesting and favourable pieces of work.

 I aim to produce a collection of images, however, how I am going to display them is not yet clear. They will be a set of illustrations towards a collection of poetry that has yet to be published. The book will not be published in time for the exhibition so this gives me the idea to create my own personal assignment alongside the commission based work. I can explore the use of various materials and learn techniques such as learning how to make a book from scratch. This also gives me the chance to become more confident when print making.

Having already been influenced by Illustrators Chris Riddell, Quentin Blake and Tim Burton, I need to proceed to search more narrowly, finding illustrators and artists that dedicate themselves to children’s literature as well as delving deep into the history of illustration. The poetry revolves around zoo animals, this means I need to visit a zoo with my camera. Although a lot of my sketches are from my head, I need some original core material that I can base my work around in addition to the literature. I will also enjoy visiting galleries and libraries as doing so is much more influential as opposed to surfing the internet.

My plan is to travel down as many experimental routes as I can using various techniques and materials. All the resources I need are easily available at my local craft stores and online. I am ordering Modroc as I plan to try-out 3D art, this can allow me to create further ideas such as photographic illustration. I am aware that there is limited space when exhibiting the final outcome of this project. I am comfortable with this as my intentions are not on a large scale; I simply want to depict what I love to do most which is tell a tale with pictures. 

I will evaluate my ideas, research and processes by keeping up to date via sketchbook and blog, permitting me to continuously re-evaluate and develop my project. I have learnt that the endless process of evaluation and clear understanding of the progression of work will allow me to organise further ideas efficiently. 

Edinburgh Interview

Today I had my Edinburgh interview. I was extremely pleased to have received an invitation as I was worried due to a student in my class being rejected at the first hurdle. With this in mind I began to feel confident that my volume of work will make me successful. When arriving at the art college, I set my folder down onto a table and opened it ready for the tutors to investigate it. Whilst the tutors looked at our folders, a student ambassador showed us the studios and workplaces. Although I have looked around twice before, this time I could see the students in their work places. This was an exciting experience, the spaces they have are great and the lighting and the views are amazing. I felt happy and at home there. This just makes the prospect of being rejected even more terrifying. Once we had finished the tour we returned to the room where are folders were being looked at. Eventually we were invited in for a chat with the Tutors. At this point I was racking my brain thinking I needed to ask a question and make myself heard but all my questions had already been answered during the tour and the Tutor's introduction! Eventually a thought came to mind and I asked a question about the times the studios are open and how long I can spend in there. There answer was technically 24/7 which pleased me. After the talk I went over to my folder, this meant that the Tutors could put a face to the work. Whether this was a bad thing or not, I don't know, but he approached me and conversed with me briefly. I am glad he did as it gave me a chance to show my personality to him. He then left, with me eventually following behind in which he wished me a safe journey home and good luck. Now I wait for their reply on UCAS. I am hoping it is good news.