Observational drawing
Today I wanted to start to bring some practical work into my project therefore I decided to do an observational drawing of a fish. Originally, I was going to use a real frozen fish from the supermarket however I thought if I bought a plastic fish I would be able to work with it for a longer period. Having a real fish would start to cause complications especially in class due to the smell.
Try I’ll My first attempt at an observational drawing I decided to go to a large scale – A3. I mapped out the basic lines of my set up which I planned to add in further detail later. This proved to be difficult to me with me not being an experienced drawer and I was finding the plastic extremely complicated to draw due to all of the textured lines and creases within it.
Working on the larger scale was definitely a challenge therefore I decided I would come back to a larger scale drawing later on.
Still wanting to draw an observational drawing I decided to take away some plastic to make it less complicated, I also changed my paper to A4 and used a different set up.
The formal elements I were focusing on while drawing my fish were tonal value and composition. It was important to me to get an accurate shape of my fish whilst adding in a variety of tones to bring it more to life and add more depth.
You can see the dramatic change of the drawing of the fish when the tones start to come in. When adding tones it is essential to observe where the light is hitting the fish in order to contrast the light parts with the darker shades. For my drawing I used a series of pencils however once I am happy enough with my drawing I am going to photocopy it and began adding in fine liner and white board pen to really start to focus on the light and dark parts of my fish. In terms for the plastic, I decided to place the fish on a black plastic bag. The reason the bag is plastic is I thought it could resemble how dangerous and dull the sea is becoming for marine animals – the black plastic resembles how the fish is swimming in layers of plastic. This is something I will exaggerate more once the composition of my fish is to its best standard.
Looking at my fish at this stage, I am pleased with the composition and scale of it however I do feel I need to spend more time adding in the extra details to add further depth. This is something I will continue doing by using a wider variety of pencils and keep working back into it.
With a fresh pair of eyes I set up my fish against my drawing and instantly noticed many imperfections. I noticed I had drawn the tail far too long and not within its actual scale along with other qualities such as the fins on the fish. Realising this I took my rubber and began rubbing out some of the parts which needed changed. As I had held the pencil quite heavy whilst previously drawing I found this difficult to run out as it left the previous drawing exposed underneath. This made me realise I should be less harsh with my pencil and use lighter movements. The image below shows wher I began to change the shape of my fish and start mapping out a new scale.
The change from when I began to adjust the composition of my fish amazed me. The fish started to look more and more realistic as I began adding in further depth whilst focusing on my tones. I observed the fish object carefully to initiate where the lighter and darker tones were – this helps to make the fish not spear flat and more of a 3D form. Looking at my finished results I am more than pleased with my outcome, I feel I have accurately drawn my fish to scale whilst adding in smaller details. I realised the importance of leaving a drawing and coming back to it on a further date. However, I am yet again going to come back to my drawing on a further date to see if I need to make any more adjustments, during this I could even start to add a background such as the plastic bag which I originally displayed my fish on.
Art work in response to Andy Warhol
Today I hoped to create some art work in response to Andy Warhol’s work, however my results are not what I had hoped. I started by creating a broken line drawing in a quick expressive style, however as soon as I began to add colour the design began to look not the best. With this design I hoped for a complimentary colour scheme to create an uneasy to look at piece however I don’t feel this image expresses this. I used the mediums blue inc, orange coloured paper, acrylic paint and fine liner, I think maybe the acrylic made the colours look too harsh and hid the drawing underneath making the overall image appear fairly childish. I chose to go for a complimentary colour scheme , orange and blue, to create an uneasy effect however as these colours are too similar to the colours in the sea it just looks like I am using colours related to the sea and orange coloured fish. Another complimentary colour scheme I will be trying is a red and green one to see what effect it has.I will be experimenting with a wide range of mediums to try get a similar appearance to Andy Warhol’s designs. For now, I won’t be progressing this design further as I don’t like how it looks personally I think it looks like a child has coloured it in. I will be trying different techniques / colours to see if I can get a different appearance.
For the second time creating a response to Andy Warhol’s artwork, I chose to dedicate my mediums to water colour. However even still the results weren’t what I hoped. One problem which occurred whilst designing this was as soon as I began to add water colour onto the fish Erne blue fine liner which I used to draw with instantly started bleeding out. This was something I should have been aware with however this was easily resolved when the water colour dried I went back over with fine liner to begin adding in the smaller details.
Even though my designs weren’t as strong as I had hoped i was not disheartened and I will be trying even more mediums to see which I feel look strongest in response to Andy Warhol. I am thinking that going digital might be a better approach to these design such as Photoshop or even adjusting the colour / brightness on my phone. I have photographed each design which I am going to further experiment with.
Digital progression
Before completely abandoning my designs I decided to see if I could digitally transform them. I took photographs of my designs and began manipulating them using my iPhone camera settings. This allowed me to change the contrast, vibrancy, shadows, exposure etc. I found the colours to be too heavy on my original design therefore I used the edits to begin to take away some of the colour and exaggerate the drawing more. Even still with the edit I am not keen on the design, I think it is because of the blend of different colours it makes it look like I am attempting to colour the fish in. On top of this, the blue background gives off the impression that the fish is in the sea which again, wasn’t something I was intending to do.
Expressive drawing
With the broken line drawing with mediums inside the fish not going exactly to plan. I decided to focus the colour on just the background rather than blending them together. I still wanted to focus on a complimentary colour scheme as I do feel it fits perfect with my serious subject matter. I chose the simple lines weren’t as effective as I hoped therefore I decided to change my style to a more expressive free drawing which proved to work much better for new. The free quick free movements appear to add a sense of movement in my work which I could even furthermore go into and add more lines and detail. Originally I was drawing the fish against different coloured backgrounds which I then started to place them against each other. When doing this I realised I could use it as a repeat pattern. I am going to place my designs into Photoshop to see if I can make it appear as a repeat pattern and potentially print onto a large scale sheet such as A2/A3. I do feel these designs appear more interesting in contrast to my watercolor and acrylic designs. Even-though the green and reds work well, I do think the watercolor isn’t as strong in these designs. Thinking back to the artist Andy Goldsworthy ( where he photographed nature) I am thinking of photographing plastics which I can then furthermore use as the background of my drawings rather then just being plain water colour. I can still use the complimentary colour scheme however by using plastics. I will photograph the plastics and then print them out, for me to be able to draw on top of, as drawing onto the plastics would be difficult.
Digital edits
Development using iPhone camera effects to adjust colour, saturation, brightness etc…
Even though I preferred my designs to my original coloured in ones I still thought something was missing – I wanted it to appear even more distressing. This is where I decided to use my iPhone camera settings again to manipulate the photographs. After playing around with all the different effects I began to figure out how to make the drawings look even more stronger. I found effects which really brightened up the shadows within the original design and I am overly pleased with the results.
Photoshop progression
Although I liked the idea of my designs, I knew that I had potential to develop them further. Leaving my expressive drawings on there own wasn’t giving them the most potential. I have previously used photoshop to manipulate with my artwork, I like how photoshop gives you the freedom to play around with my artwork. A student in my class previously created a series of patterns which I admired. After having a discussion with my tutor she showed me how I could turn my artwork into a pattern also. Once uploading my designs onto photoshop there were endless opportunities on how to make my images appear as a pattern by simply duplicating them. The results to me were exciting and gave my original designs much more potential. Seeing the drawings on there own appeared quite childish however when duplicating them it created a more busy, exciting effect. I am thinking of drawing some plastic bottles and duplicating these into a pattern alongside my drawings and creating a pattern which has a mixture of both the two objects. This will start to combine my focus on Marine animals and plastics. To do this I am thinking of using a complimentary colour scheme – green and red – which is quite hard to look at on the eyes and creating quite a messy pattern. This will reflect on how the sea is becoming messy due to the consumption of plastic.
Photoshop mock up
Without leaving my designs there, I thought about using them as a poster to create awareness. I am thinking about adding text over the top of my patterns related to plastic pollution to try get an audience to start thinking more into the subject.
Below are two photoshop mock up designs which I created to test out how my posters would look. I feel with some text overlaid this could start to look quite interesting and bring attention to the subject matter.
I like how originally I wan’t entirely keen on my the drawings itself however Photoshop allowed me to turn them into something interesting.
Continuing with experimental drawing
Observational drawing of plastic bottle – Seen a though I have already drawn an accurate drawing of a fish I decided to start to interrogate my second object – a plastic bottle. It is a well known fact that plastic bottles are found constantly in oceans and lakes therefore I thought this could be the beginning of starting to link the two together to start to bring together my theme. The bottle was actually a lot harder to draw I feel this was because of the curves and texture of it making it hard to get the perfect shape. To start off I mapped out the basic outlines of the bottle and gradually begun to add in the smaller details. The hardest part for me was actually the lid. Due to its curves it was harder to draw them accurately, I had to re do this multiple times before I was satisfied with it. Even now, I feel it could do with further adjustments to perfect it. As mentioned in a previous accurate drawing It is important to walk away from the drawing and make adjustments on a different day as this is where you start to see the imperfections.
Expressive and Continuous line drawing
After drawing an accurate drawing I decided to bring back a more experimental approach and start to have fun with colours / mediums. I chose to draw two opposing drawings – expressive and continuous line – and see the different results can be interpreted.
Acrylic paint experiment
When looking at an artist – Scarlet Seal – her abstract work stood out to me. I liked the fact only a small section of her work was noticeable whereas the rest was quick lines and splashes of acrylic. As I have been drawing for the past week I decided to try an approach like scarlet seal and only have a small section of it in fine liner. I chose to use the gray and black colour scheme to represented the “polluted water.” I furthermore added touches of yellow which works well with the gray tones. To apply the acrylic paint I used an old card as I wanted the lines to have a quick movement effect. If I were to paint the lines on this would most likely look too smooth – I would rather the paint look busy and a more chaotic look. The chaotic look represents to mess in the ocean caused by plastic pollution.
I have mixed feeling about this piece, I love the colour scheme and how striking the yellow looks against the black and gray tones however I feel I need to do this like more of a mixed media piece and start to incorporate more texture such as finding materials which the spray can go through leaving a pattern. As well as this I feel I need to experiment on a much larger scale, potentially A2, to give me more space to experiment with. As this design was A4 I was limited of space to experiment with therefore it looks quite crammed. I do like the idea of having a half abstract piece however I feel I need to try more ways to make it look even better. Looking back at the design, I think the drawing is what maybe lets it down. Instead, I am thinking of photocopying my accurate drawing on my fish and using this as the drawing part instead.
Spray paint experiment
Whilst exploring the mediums which I have at home I came cross some acrylic spray paint. I have never worked with spray paint before therefore I decided to research some artists who had also used spray paint where I came across Banksy – an England – based street artist. I especially liked how he uses stencils and templates before spraying his artwork. This is something I wanted to test out in as many ways as possible therefore I started off by creating a simple spray paint over my bottle and fake fish. I did this by simply placing them onto A4 paper just to test out the results. Straight away I was pleased that the object I used as stencils were obvious as the what they were. Although the designs aren’t crisp I like the way they are slightly faded, it gives it quite a ‘ghostly’ appearance. I could print out photographs of my objects and use paper as a stencil to create a more crisp look which I will be looking at furthermore in my experimentation. However at this stage I enjoy them not looking 100% obvious what they are especially the bottle. My idea to place the bottle against the fish came from some factual statistics which I researched, this showed the awful amount of plastic, plastic bottles especially, in the ocean/lakes/rivers. The reason I chose gray spray paint is to represent how the waters which marine animals are swimming can be classed as unclean due to the pollution. I feel that bright luminous colours simply would make the image look to vibrant which would represent happiness rather than seriousness of the situation. When first starting at this project I looked at an artist called Chris Jordan. The first thing I took from his artwork was to be careful with my colour schemes ad avoid luminous colours which could be represented as happiness. This topic is on more of a serious level therefore I need to be careful with colours to ensure it doesn’t start to look childish.
Seen as though I had tried out using the objects as a template I decided to see what it would look like if I added more layers using acrylic paint. Originally I wanted to do this with inc however I couldn’t do this with me only being able to use the resources from home therefore I improvised and used watered down acrylic. Looking at the image which I cropped and edited slightly using my iPhone camera I love the texture of the spray paint and how the objects are recognizable but not totally crisp and perfect. I am unsure about the colour in the picture, I feel the yellow and gray paint contrast well together however I feel I need to go back into this and create further splashes or even using a different way to apply the paint – this could be done by spraying the inc onto the paper rather than using a brush to splash it on. The way the acrylic spray paint looks quite distorted and grainy it reminds me of Chris Jordan artwork. Even though he actually used plastic and arranged them into shapes, on the photograph it still has a grainy appearance similar to how the spray paint looks.
I felt I needed to add furthermore layers therefore I was looking for more objects/ materials to use as a background which is where I came across a metal mesh sheet. I instantly was excited by this as the holes could even be used to represent netting which related to the ocean. If I were to use a random pattern this may have not made sense as it doesn’t relate to my topic. I placed the metal sheet over my A4 paper and sprayed acrylic paint through it, I love how texture of it and how the holes give it more interest however I feel I may have over done it by using it over the full page. Next time I am thinking of using it in small sections on the paper rather than covering the page completely.
Samples of spray paint in my sketchbook
A 2 Scale experiment
Materials used: Gray acrylic spray paint, black acrylic spray paint, water bottle X2, fake fish, red inc spray, metal mesh.
Below are a range of mediums which I used to create my outcomes. After creating many small samples using spray paint I decided to go to an A2 scale and begin to combine the skills which I have learn’t.
First of all, I placed adhesive paper along the edges of my A2 sheet, this is to stretch my paper to avoid it rising due to the mediums used. I was excited about up scaling my paper as sometimes I find myself sticking to A4 and during this project I want to try new things constantly. First of all, I came across a problem as the edge of my fake fishes tail actually fell off, I think it became worn due to the buildup of mediums which allowed it to become wet and eventually fell off without me realizing. I decided to use my fish anyway to see how the results turned out and in this case I did feel it looks abit strange with a part missing however I knew that when I began to use more layers this wouldn’t be as noticeable. If I wanted a more perfect look I could print out my drawing or photograph of my fish and simple cut around it to create a template. As you can see in the picture I started to incorporate the mesh sheet and spray the acrylic through it. As found in my experimentation I wasn’t keen on having the sheet covering the whole paper therefore for this design I chose to spray through it in sections which I preferred more.
To add further layers I decided to spray red inc over to see the results. I chose red as this usually represents danger therefore I thought it could work well with the subject matter. The red danger contrasts well with the gray and overall exaggerated the ‘polluted’ water idea. Unfortunately, I only had a little bit of inc to work with which ran out. Looking back I do think this design needs more splashes of red on it, to do this I am going to try using watered down acrylic and spraying this onto the page to continue with the red sprays. At this stage it’s hard to tell weather I prefer the design with or without added splashes of colour. I like how ghostly the red and grays looks together or there own however the red spray gives it a little more to look at. I am going to further spray the paper to see how more red sprays impact the design.
At this stage I feel like I did too much on my sheet and ruined it. I decided to go furthermore with black spray paint to test the results however the page started to look too overcrowded. Also at this stage I recognize many fish however the bottles are less noticeable, this is something I need to be careful with as bottles are a key object on the design. I much preferred the design before I started to over do it however this was a learning curve for me. I have learnt from this to take a step back and potentially even walk away from the design for a moment as you can easily get caught up in something and with this design I feel it looked much stronger when there was lesson the paper – less is more. This was just an experiment for me and I enjoyed the whole process therefore I am not disappointing with the final results. Furthermore I am going to create a second design keeping in mind what I have learnt from this.
Photography
I have previously looked at the works of Andy Goldsworthy who focuses his work on sculpture and photographed based on land art and natural settings. His work emphasise the beauty of nature . The way he made colours stand out so strong and bold fascinated me, I have always appreciated artwork which has more vibrant colours as I find them more visually pleasing. With my project being based on plastic pollution I hoped to have a primary visit to a beach such as Scarborough where I could get primary evidence of the plastic waste on beach landscapes. However, with the current situation of corona virus this was not possible. I decided to photograph plastic bags with recognisable brands on them – my original idea was to take photographs of plastics on a landscape in a similar style to Andy Goldsworthy, this would have made an audience question the plastic. My point of this would be to demonstrate how plastics are gradually becoming a part of nature’s lands. In most landscapes plastics are found everywhere, they are becoming a normal things to see against all the beautiful nature.
With the virus restricting me I decided to photograph the plastic bags with recognisable brands. I chose bright beautiful colours which an audience would at a glance appreciate, however when they start to see the brand names / logos this would start to alert questions. I am hoping to create a series of screen prints over the plastic. To do this I am going to print out pictures of my plastic bags, and then screen print over the top. At first glance this will just appear as screen prints on colourful background however the brand names will start to juxtapose the image.
Plastic bags are a well known material which is often found in the sea. When plastic bags are in the ocean marine animals often end up tangled up in them. A well known animal which is well known for becoming tangled in plastic bags is turtles. During my project I am looking at a range of animals and analysing how plastic pollution effects them.
Before printing onto my plastic bag background designs I decided to do a sample of a screen print in my sketchbook. I am using a screen printing kit which I bought from hobby craft. This is a small screen printing kit which restricts me to only being able to create A5 designs. With me not having the bigger screen prints at college, this was slightly restricting regarding the size. However, this was just an experiment to start to generate some ideas.
I chose to use a template of my fish as I had multiple designs for them already to use as a template however on the designs on the plastic bag background I am thinking more into creating a template of a turtle, as this will start to link the two together and show how the plastic bags have an effect on marine animals such as turtles.
For the piece displayed above the mediums I used were silver spray paint and acrylic paint. In previous projects I have found print screening fun to experiment with. However with the college facilities being out of use, I decided to use one which I bought from hobby craft. The screen print allows me to print up to A5 scale which is quite limiting however as this is just an experiment it will work fine. I have always liked the idea of having three A5 designs against each other therefore I tried this method. My point of my screen printing exercise was to creat a print of a marine animal to lay on-top of the photocopied plastic bags. Seen as this was a small experiment I used my drawing of a fish as a stencil which I began to cut out parts from it, where the ink would run through. I had to use acrylic paint as I don’t have the correct printing inc for screen printing and this proved to not work as effectively. The acrylic paint was thick and quite hard to to glide through the template. For the template I used card, However I didn’t think at that time that it would become so flimsy however after a few attempts with the screen print my paper template began to tear and weaken. If I were to do this again I would use an alternative material for the template such as acetate. I also found that the acrylic paint was drying too quick and heavy on the paper resulting in it sticking in between the gaps which I had cut out. In the picture you can see where the paint failed to sink through the template. Not only did I have problems with the paint I wasn’t keen with the actual design on the screen print. I have recently been focusing on fish however this wasn’t intentionally, this was just a starting point. I knew that if I were to try this again, I would find a more suitable marine animal to relate to the plastic bags.
Despite the negatives, I did actually like this design in my sketchbook. To try add more detail into the basic prints I sprayed my spray paint through a material which I found to add more texture. Although the piece itself isn’t anything fascinating, I think i could use the material for alternative pieces. I will definitely be trying this again however keeping in mind the disadvantages which I came across today.
Spray paint experiment using a stencil of a turtle
-sketchbook experiment
Seen as though the screen printing method didn’t go completely to plan, I thought of an alternative solution which allowed me to still use a template. Seen as though I have been enjoying using spray paint I thought why not use spray paint to spray through the stencil itself. Rather than using paper, which became weak easily and began to tear, I decided to cut my template out of acetate – which is much stronger. To do this I followed the correct health and safety regulations whilst handling a craft knife. the acetate did prove to work much better and even when it became more wet, it wasn’t losing shape or tearing. Rather than a fish I chose to dedicate my studies to turtles as it is a known fact that turtle become caught up in plastic bags which are floating in the ocean. I simply found a template of a fish using google which I began to cut out sections of it for the spray paint to go through. Before testing this on my plastic bags I dedicated two pages of my sketchbook to try the design out using different shades of grey and black. Unfortunately the only colours of spray paint which I have are greys and black meaning this restricted the colours I could use however I knew this would still look effective due to the colourful plastic bags.
What I find more interesting about these designs are the juxtaposition which they cause. 30 years ago it would have been strange to see a turtle alongside a plastic bag. However with the pollution levels rising it is not almost normal to see them together. Most individuals will see the relation between a turtle and a plastic bag. To get an audience to start thinking about plastic pollution I decided to involve day to day supermarket bags / brand names. If an audience was to see the brand “Tesco” they may start thinking about the amount of plastic bags they use / buy from that shop. The text is just another method to make an audience start to think about how they are helping plastic pollution ruin marine animals and habitats.
Once I had experimented with the spray paint on my designs I decided to mount them onto pieces of paper. However, as I don’t have loads of paper I just placed them on a white sheet and photographed them. This was to get an idea of how they would look mounted and as a potential portfolio piece. With the design above, I liked how the Sainsbury’s design sat in the middle against the two other bags. The two other bags have red writing on which compliments the orange and links them all together as such.
I decided to ‘mount’ these three together as they all portrayed similar colours. The white backgrounds with the creases stand out well. This was a benefit of using a photocopier as it showed all the imperfections and creases in the bag which help to add texture and interest in the designs. For the middle design I decided to press the wet stencil (the side with the spray paint on) onto the paper to get a reverse effect. This time the writing was inside of the turtle which I found furthermore interesting and wanted to explore more.
When carrying out the process of spraying the spray paint through the stencils I actually began to like how the spray paint sat on the acetate. Especially where the spray paint began to run and started to show small sections of the red acetate. I took this as an opportunity to photograph the stencil over the photocopied plastic bags which I loved. This even further exaggerated the impact which plastic bags have on turtles by showing them actually inside them. It creates the illusion that plastic bags are taking over their bodies as such.
If I were to do this again I would find more plastic bag brands , perhaps more colourful ones as I feel this stands out well with the black spray paint. I like how when they’re colourful it looks like a nice print of a turtle on colourful background however when you start to see the recognisable brands names this gets the audience thinking.
Wax crayon experiment
Today I spent some time practising with a wax crayon. I have recently researched this method and was intrigued to attempt it myself. For this method I simply drew with the candle – in this case I drew through the template which I had previously used from my turtle designs. Once I was happy with the amount of wax on my drawing, I began to experiment with the watercolour. I used a brush and simply watered down the colour and brushed it gentle over my design. As you can see in the picture, the watercolour sits every where apart from the wax and gives a soft effect. I can see where I didn’t apply enough wax and the watercolour sat over it, this is one negative about the procedure. It is difficult to see where you have drawn with the wax, with it being clear. In this case, I personally feel it would be easier to draw with a template, just so you can monitor the accuracy of the drawing. For this design to work better, I am thinking of starting to involve other mediums just so it appears more exciting. Turtles are well known for becoming stuck inside the plastic which goes around cans such as beer. If I could find a way to have this included in some way, this could work better.
To expand on my idea about the turtles and plastic I decided to do a mini trial of how it could work. With the wax crayon I drew basic circles to represent the plastic with goes around the cans (this was done in a free style rather than accurate just so I could get a basic idea.) Which I then applied my water colour over the top. I do admire the outcome of how the watercolour leaves the sections with wax on and feel I could create some interesting pieces, it is just a case of figuring out a good design. To continue with my theme of spray paint I decided to then spray the turtle over the top of the wax and watercolour and see if this stood out. Unfortunately half way through spraying the can broke and started to spray from two different sections meaning that this covered a section of my design creating a messy appearance. This was just an experimentation to see how the process works therefore I was not disheartened by the results and I will be pushing myself to try this again to see if there are other ways to attempt this design.
Photography
Original photographs
Development using iPhone camera effects –
Experiment with Acrylic paint
When conducting research, studies showed that sea birds were in fact the most animal which suffers from plastic straws. This is from them mistaking them for food and swallowing/choking on them. Like I have been already doing – linking the plastic with a relevant animal – I wanted to do the same with the sea birds and straws. However unfortunately I had ran out of spray paint which is a huge shame seen as though this was the most fun and exciting part for me. I am thinking of purchasing more however for today I had to improvise. First I found an image to work from, in this case I chose to do a simple drawing of a sea bird rather than an accurate study. The images below show my results of playing around with the templates of the birds, I created one design and then reversed this. This meant I was focusing on the whole image such as the colours and detail of the straws alongside the shape and colour of the sea birds. I chose to use black acrylic as I wanted it to stand bold against the analogous colours. I have to say that I much prefer using spray paint as it gives a completely different look. When the spray paint is used it creates a grainy effect, with the background showing beneath. With the acrylic paint I found this difficult to create the shapes of the birds and Wasn’t as easy to control. The paintings of the birds in the second image aren’t as accurate as I had attempted, this is why using a template and spray paint was much more effective. Even though I weren’t really happy with the outcome, I used my iPhone camera editing software to enhance the images resulting in them looking much more appealing digitally rather than in person. One thing I did learn from this was to be careful with the paper I am using. For these designs I used regular A4 paper when I should have used thicker paper. The paper once wet began to look bubbly and ever tear in parts. This is a hard time not having all the best resources and paper is very limiting. Although I do have a printer, it doesn’t like cartridge paper going through it and it tends to become jammed at times.
Spray paint over photography
With my photography I wanted to create similar designs as to the ones which I created with the turtles/birds as I am really enjoying this style of working. The photography of the straws I loved on their own. I have always been a huge fan for colour therefore the way the luminous colours stood next to each other was really intriguing to me. However, for me to start to incorporate my subject of the effects on animals, I decided to use a template of a sea bird as these are the most suffered animal for plastic straw pollution. When I was experimenting with my turtle spray paints I enjoyed how the plastic bags were inside the shape of the animal in opposition to the plastic bags being around the animal. I this this links the two themes together more creatively. I did actually found a template on google of sea bird which I cut out. This was just to ensure it was more accurate and recognizable as a bird, on my designs.
The thing which I would change if I were to do this again was the paper which I used to print out my photography. Digitally, the photographs were bright, luminous and overall a bright fun image. This was still the case when they were printed out however the paper I used was too flimsy. Rather than using stronger paper such as card, I used regular A4 paper which easily became bubbly (which you can see in the image) due to the mediums applied. The paper didn’t hold the spray paint as well as I had hoped, resulting in the quality being lower.
The images below show some experiments which I created in my sketchbook. The reason I am using gray spray paint is simply because I don’t have access to any other colours. However, I don’t see this as a negative. The gray creates a dusty ‘mucky’ effect which actually resembles how I feel about pollution itself. I see it as damaging and dirty therefore the dull colour represents this. If I was using luminous colours, this might be mistaken as trying to create a positive image rather than the negative subject matter. I wanted to add depth into my designs, hence the patterns on the backgrounds of them. The patterns do actually have a relation to the ocean as they look like nets, which is a well known object which relates to the ocean e.g fishing nets. Therefore the pattern isn’t as random. On the other hand if I used a template of squares/flowers as the background, this would not make as much sense – I wouldn’t wan’t to add background detail if It wasn’t relevant.
Seen as though I am passionate about colour, I always like to try and find a way of incorporating it into my work therefore I found these translucent incs.
With the incs, I decided to pour them onto my paper and then blow them around the page with my straws to involve some colour. This style came from some inspiration from Jackson Pollock who I had recently been researching. He had used some gray and yellow colour schemes which I really admired therefore I wanted to incorporate this into my own work which I felt worked really well. The bright yellow stands bold against the faded gray and lights up this image overall. The yellow could be used to represent how beautiful and bright nature is supposed to be without the plastic pollution whereas the grays can stand to represent how dull it is becoming due to the pollution. I feel this juxtaposition really works with the bird and the straws being displayed in the same image aswell as the bright colours and the duller colours together. To me, this would start to make an audience question the image which is something I like. To certify that this is the kind of feeling an individual gets when they look at the image I will ask for some peer feedback to gain their honest views and opinion.
I again dedicated this piece to be in a similar style as Jackson Pollock this time focusing on reds. I used the same technique such as pouring inc onto the paper and blowing it with a straw. However I also added another technique which I learnt from an artist called Russel mills which was to create thin quick lines using a credit card. I scraped the inc along the paper to add more excitement and interest in my work, I enjoy how it starts to look busy and you have to look deeper into the image to see the subject matter. Looking over the two designs I do prefer the yellow and grey combination however I prefer the more abstract/messy appearance the red design has.
Once experimenting with plastic straws with the combination of incs I decided to create an outcome for with the spray paint mixed alongside the incs. I really enjoy mixing mediums together to see the outcome, in this case I love how you can still see the spray paint underneath the transparent incs, creating layers and overall more depth. On the bird design I love how the ‘blood red’ gives a really striking outlook, it looks very dramatic against the subtle blacks and grays. The photograph doesn’t really give the colours much justice however in real life they appear so bright and striking it’s almost hard to look anywhere but the colours. I enjoy working in a collage style like I have done with these two designs, I feel the use of layers creates a really busy vibe which related to my plastic pollution subject matter. The black spray paint reflects on how dull marine animals life is becoming due to the careless behavior of pollution. When you first glance at the two images against each other they look visually pleasing however when you look at all the individual layers this starts to tell the story of the meaning of the picture.
As a whole, my spray paint designs relate to Banksy due to the the fact I try to portray messages in my work in similarity to Banksy, we both study environmental issued and hope to bring realisation to an audience for a better world.
Lino Printing
After looking at Mark Hearld’s lino printing designs this inspired me to want to create some of my own. One design in particular which stood out to me was a design he based on a fish. With me looking into marine animals I wanted to do a similar design however by involving the environmental issues, plastic pollution, topic. When looking at visuals at the start of the project there were many plastic pollution visuals which were based on a fish inside of a bottle. At first, I did see this as abit of cliche at first due to the endless designs which are in the art industry however I thought If I used the same design in a more mature and interesting approach this would have worked.
Lino printing has not been one of my strongest qualities in previous projects and I do feel this is because I have rushed them. I wanted to take this project as an opportunity to really explore different techniques and build more strength in my skills. Luckily, I had a lino printing kit at home however the only colour printing ink which I have access to is black. Usually, I like to experiment with two or three colours on a lino print as I feel they look more appealing however I had to make do with the resources which I have. There were a health and safety considerations when carrying out this task which I have thoroughly described in my Health & Safety page, mainly relating to the blades I was using.
I was actually really pleased with the black and white colour scheme as I thought they did stand out and overall looked quite striking. I decide to carve the ‘plastic bottle’ out completely leaving the fish and the outside of the bottle black. I did this just as an experiment however looking back I do feel my design could have been neater. The bottle isn’t quite central on the lino which is slightly irritating. I do like how there is a border around the bottle where I didn’t cut into it although I am thinking of trying this design but reversed. Meaning I would cut the lino in the shape of a bottle and this time cut the fish out which would neglect the black boarder around it.
To test out my lino print I used standard white paper, the majority of the inc did stick to the paper however there were a few patches of white. One of my family members sent me some Japanese paper which had the same texture as tissue paper. The material was very thin and had a soft touch to it therefore I wanted to see how the inc would stick to it. Surprisingly this was the most neat print where the inc stuck perfectly onto the paper. This taught me that thinner papers make it easier for the inc to stick to. Although I did like the plain black & white colour scheme I am interested in colour therefore I found some coloured paper for me to print with. In Marks designs I really liked the monochromatic colour schemes which he often used, especially the blue one. Blue is associated with the sea therefore using realistic colours linked my designs more to an ocean – like environment which I thought worked really well. I then took this into a more vibrant route where I used multicolored paper which had more of a busy appearance and a bright pink pink design. I did find the blue colour schemes the most appealing especially because it had a meaning to it also.
Wallpaper inspired by Mark Hearlds designs
Although I liked mounting my prints as a single print I did wan’t to push myself and create a pattern with my lino printing. I decided to do a reverse print of the one I already created which involved shaping the lino in a plastic bottle shape and carving the fish out of the bottle. I do actually prefer the previous print I had designed however I thought this would work better in terms of a pattern. Usually I could use Photoshop to duplicate the design, as well as creating a mock up of a wall paper design. However I had to create it hand made due to the lack of technology at home. When previously lino printing I found that Japanese paper was the best paper to make a neat crisp print therefore I decided to use an A2 sheet of Japanese paper to ensure I got the best results. However this wasn’t the case this time. I found that the inc was drying very quickly, more quick than usual. I continued with the process however applying more inc each time but the results still weren’t as accurate at I had hoped. Once completing my design I realised that it could have been because I was working outside and maybe the air was drying the inc out too quickly. Besides the messy prints I did like the idea of the design. I would have liked to create a more vibrant design potentially using deep reds and greens to go for a complimentary colour scheme design as I love the freedom of using colours however I didn’t have any different coloured incs/ spray paints. I realised that I have been experimenting with spray paint and lino printing separately however not actually combining the two, which is what I intended to do with the wall paper. I used spray paints to add texture and layers to my work. I enjoy using patterned metals which represent fishing nets in the sea. If I were to do this again I would try a range of pattern designs such as vertical mirror design, half drop design, an irregularly spaced design which were all techniques which I found in my research.
Progression using Photoshop
Managing to have access to Photoshop I was able to create photo shop mock ups by placing my designs and using them as a wall paper effect. I decided to duplicate my design and have it as a repeat pattern to sample how it would appear. What I enjoy about these designs are at first glance it’s not entirely clear to see the fish inside the bottle as it first looks like an ordinary pattern however when looking deeper into the image you see the fish inside of bottle. Even though I had little access to other colours I do think the black and whites look quite aesthetically pleasing as a wall paper even though this wasn’t intentional. With the simple props of a clock, plant and watch it really starts to come together as a realistic image.
I also tried the same idea however just using the image on it’s own rather than duplicating it. Although you can see the image more clear I feel the duplication helps to eliminate any imperfections.
Mixed Media – Spray paint & Collage
Collage is something which I have used in pieces of work in previous projects. I love how collage can build layers and add more depth into your work. I especially enjoy how it gives the audience an opportunity to really look beneath each piece of collage. I have been working with spray paint for the duration of my project, during this I have especially enjoyed working with the grays and blacks and contrasting them against brighter colours, such as my photography of straws and plastic bags. Colour has always been a passion of mine therefore I like to find ways I can include it relavently.
The meaning of this piece is to really demonstrate how messy and busy the waters are becoming due to plastic pollution. The plastic bags floating in the ocean are interfering with the marine animals. The fact you can see plastic bags over lapping the animals show the struggle of how they are having to swim within plastic. The only colour showing in this image is the plastic bags where you can see every day supermarket brands. Co-lours are supposed to lift an image however in this image they show how plastics are more renegotiable than marine animals which is saddening. I used grays and whites to pursue a ‘ghostly’ effect and try and point out that the marine animals are slowly dying from the amount of plastic waste in the ocean and how it is becoming normality to see plastics within the ocean. I feel with this piece I could further more add layers and depth or maybe even text which is something I am going to look further into. I previously gathered quotes about the plastics in the ocean which I could spray paint onto the image to create a poster. Furthermore I could develop this by creating a poster mock up on Photoshop to see how it would look in reality.
Finally I have access to Photoshop therefore this has enabled to take my project down a whole new route. Previously in my research I found a tutorial on how to involve text inside text which I found impressive therefore I decided to follow the steps to try it myself.
Negative space typography –
Step by step –
To start my project I chose my main image – this was the image which I wanted to be shown within the text. Following from this I created multiple layers with the quote which I was basing my poster on. My quote was based on a design which I found in my research I found it quite short and snappy however it gives off a powerful message. Once I set up my text I realised It needed to be much bigger for the image to be shown through the text. Due to this, I began to enlarge the text to size ‘400’ which made it really fill the page – this allowed more of an opportunity to really involve the image inside of the text.
Once I enlarged the text I did have to play around with the positioning of the page for it to fit, which meant creating new layers and shortening some of the words together on the paper. Once I was pleased with the composition I followed the tutorial which showed me how to change the text and background colour as this will made it more clear to see. For the image to be inside the text I had to group the text layers. I had to create a copy of my background and to do this I had to drag it down to the new layer icon, this creates a copy of the background above the original. This allowed me to drag the copy above my layer (my grouped text.) For the image to be shown through the text I had to select the menu icon and click 'create clipping mask' which then successful put the image within the text.
Now the image was inside my text I realised that it wasn’t clear as to what the image behind it was. Luckily in the video it demonstrated how to furthermore edit it. I selected the effects icon at the bottom of the layers panel which allowed me to chose drop shadow where I adjusted the angle, distance and size to manipulate the image and create a more 3D approach by using a shadow on the edges. Even when doing this, It still wasn’t clear about what the image was showing through the text. The video continued to show me how to adjust the background to different colours, I chose black as I felt it made the text stand out more and appear more bold and continues with my ‘ghostly’ effect which I have mentioned in previous works.
Finally, once adjusting the opacity this allowed me to start to blend the black background with my original background which I loved. I now admire the fact that the writing still stands bold however you can faintly see the image behind and the detail and layers which was put into it. It would have been a shame to eliminate the all the time and effort put into the background itself therefore I am pleased I was able to find the perfect solution to combine the text with my background. I now feel this image looks busy which reflects on the messiness of plastic pollution. The combination of brighter colours alongside grays works perfectly to create a visually pleasing piece of artwork. The whole image portrays a shadowy atmosphere which resembles how the fish in the waters are becoming unrecognizable to do the pollution. Overall I am more than pleased with the results of my first poster and look forward to watching more tutorials on how to link my work with text and overall practice my subject specialism - graphic design.
I have previously had experience with using Photoshop mock ups which I decided to furthermore place my poster in a realistic environment to see how it would appear. Photoshop mock ups are a quick easy way to get an idea of how a product would look in real life. There are many free downloads which come with instructions on how to follow them making it very simple but effective. Seeing my poster in a realistic environment makes me further more excited. When you first see the image your eyes can’t focus on a certain part of it, allowing an individual to really study the image and look beneath the layers. For example, if the writing was black this might have been the main subject matter of the poster and an audience may not have looked beneath the writing and seen all the smaller details such as the spray painted marine animals and the branded plastic bags.
Photoshop Poster design – Negative space typography
Feeling proud of my first poster design I really want to explore different techniques from Photoshop. I started off by simply typing in “text with images on Photoshop” where endless images came up with examples of Photoshop designs. One which stood out to me was the image shown below.
I liked how half of the image shows text, leaving the opposing side as the image. I do feel the example above worked better than my attempt because of the image itself. With the portrait it is more clear and you know exactly what is being shown which you can then see clearly through the text. I do like how my design turned out however I feel it could do with having the text more stretched out and closer together, so the age underneath shows more clear through it. During this, I thought about the font itself more careful. After trying many designs I settled with a font called “stencil” I really enjoyed the dramatic look it gave off. I feel it’s sharp edges on the letters really help to bring attention to the poster and gives it a sense of danger in a way. With my subject matter being negative, I found it important to ensure the message actually stood out. I decided to add a shadow effect to really emphasis the message being shared.
Fish inside a bottle campaign
Inspiration – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnzGFtUevts&t=30s
Starting point –
After watching a YouTube video, I was really eager to try out a similar technique. The only prop I was changing was the light bulb to a plastic bottle, this was for it to fit my subject matter. I was so excited to start this as I have had the idea of having a fish inside a bottle in previous works however I wasn’t sure how I would go about this idea. When seeing the bulb inside of Photoshop I realised it would be an easy process to replace the bulb with the plastic bottle instead. Previously in my works I drew a fish from my primary source fake fish object however I never really did any further development with it. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to involve my drawing as I was pleased with how it turned out.
When following the video I learn so many new techniques which I weren’t aware of before starting the process. I now know how to do more simple techniques which made it easier to understand. For the smaller details such as the shadow underneath the bottle I used a back drop shadow combined with a Gaussian blur to create a shadow effect. You can emphasis this by moving the effect controls. This is one of the qualities which I love about Photoshop, when you wan’t to add an effect you can chose the intensity of it to suit your designs, there is no set effect allowing you to have so much freedom with your work. Even though I used an existing image, which the video linked in the description, I was able to adjust the colour and change it to any shade of blue. With me being passionate about colour I decided to go for a luminous turquoise colour to really light up the image. The process looks difficult however having the patience and time to really watch and understand the video helped majorly. There were some minor complications such as occasionally making mistakes however this was easily resolved by selecting ‘undo’ which reversed my actions, which I then continued by watching the video again to follow the same route as in the video.
Involving text –
During my research I found a series of campaign posters on pollution in the oceans, this is where I really began to see the important of typography. I have explained thoroughly in my research the importance of text which you can refer to on my research page. From the posters I found that the composition and sizing of text can change your poster as a whole. Not only this but every decision and movement on the page has to have a reason behind it. I decided to follow a similar route to the designs which I found in my research. This was a simple design followed by some factual context which included shocking context. The considerations which I really had to think about were what is the main thing I wan’t the audience to see when looking at the poster. The fish inside the bottle was the main subject matter as it was the part which really links plastic pollution with marine animals. However when thinking about my facts, I had to decide which I thought was the most dramatic part. For example, if I had the writing at the same small size, the facts may have been ignored. Alternatively, if all the writing was in a larger font, this may have been too much to look at and the audience wouldn’t have looked at the smaller details within the posters. To me, the statistics were the most shocking part of my context, due to this (similar to the designs in my research) I chose to enlarge the statistics alone. I chose a colour from the water to link the image and the text together. I furthermore wanted an even bigger exaggeration therefore I added a drop shadow effect under the statistics. I feel this really exaggerated the statistic more creating a more shocking effect. To finish the factual texts off I decided to go for black colour scheme for the writing, this still stands out against the white background therefore it is not hidden away. However I did chose to go for a smaller text size. The way I did this I feel like the dramatic number strikes the audience, which then follows on nicely to the rest of the content.
Looking over my work I feel very proud that I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone and used my research to create an idea which I never thought I could create. I am aware there are imperfections such as the end of the bottle began to lose it’s shape slightly when erasing the background, alongside the water inside the bottle not matching perfectly. If I was to do this for a final outcome I would spend more time making sure my design was accurate and in proportion.
Progressing further to a Photo Shop mock up –
As done in previous art works I then developed my design onto a Photoshop mock up to get an idea of how my campaign design would appear in a real life scenario. I do fill I chose the wrong type of billboard such as the blue sky clashes with the blue water, taking the attention away from it slightly. However as a whole I love how my idea turned out. I feel the fish inside the bottle stands out well with the extra details such as the water inside. The statistics give the the quotations a more dramatic effect making the audience pay attention to these.
My next stages are to gather some peer feedback on my designs to see how others react.
Development after peer feedback –
Once receiving some peer feedback one of the comments made were that my designs were starting to look slightly busy. As a result of this I looked back at my design and I agreed that there may have been too much text. When designing posters I need to decided which is the more important aspect of the poster. In this case, the fish inside of the bottle is the most important therefore for this to stand out the text would be more useful if it was smaller. I tried this theory out which proved to work better, the reduced text size gives the imagery a chance to really stand out. I did chose to give the statistic enlarged so the context weren’t hidden however reducing the facts to one rather than two made a big difference.
Plastic bag pollution poster –
Whilst looking through my research for inspiration, I came across my photography of plastic bags. I always loved how the photography turned out due to it’s vibrant look alongside the details of the creases. I did have an idea to use them as backgrounds and overlay my artwork to create a unique combination however I wanted to work on something more experimental. Therefore I thought about actually replacing some of the fish’s body parts with plastics to link the two together. I actually came across the idea of ‘slicing’ the fish up from a technique I found on research where the creator used the same technique on a portrait of someone. The stages were really simple to follow and less complicated than I thought it would be. I love the contrast of the grays and blacks against lighter vibrant colours. I feel like this poster is something you would definitely look twice at. The main subject matter of this poster is the fish which is why I enlarged it so the details would stand out. When engaging with some peer feedback some advice I was given was to try not to cram too many visuals and text together as this may appear too busy, sometimes simple posters are way more effective- if they become too busy an individual may not notice the smaller details and not engage with the poster. Therefore for my poster I decided to have a jet black background, my thought process behind this was that the fish itself, especially the sections of plastic bags, would appear more striking and more likely to catch an audiences attention. I made the text at a reduced side in a simple white format. The context does still stand out from the jet black background however looking back I am now wondering weather the text would have looked better in a different placement. This is something I can easily adapt and change. One slight problem when creating this design was that I was struggling to find a way to accurately place the plastic inside the fish, whilst still keeping the fish’s realistic shape. I found that when I zoomed in and used the ‘erasing’ tool I was able to see the image clear and use different brush sizes to erase the unnecessary plastic sections. Looking back, it is obviously that the design isn’t entirely accurate which is something I would spend more time doing if I were to create this design to showcase. I do feel it could be easier to adapt using my hands rather than a mouse on the computer as I feel my hands would be more sturdy. As a whole, even though my design isn’t perfect, I feel it has huge potential for improvement when I become more experienced with Photoshop.
Response to Barbara Kruger
After receiving peer feedback I was given the artist ‘Barbara Kruger’ as a suggestion to look into. When looking into Kruger I was intrigued by her use of colour schemes. The way carries a black and white theme across her work alongside a striking red with white text. Her designs are very simple however due to the colour scheme they really caught my attention. Barbara uses many famous statements in her work which are political based. The colours she uses links with the dramatic context. I decided to have a play around with her colour scheme and see how well it worked for my own posters. I do like the colour combination together however not for this poster. As my imagery focuses on the details of the Asda, Sainsburys and other branded bags I feel this is less noticeable when in black and white and looks fairly dull. I took into consideration that my main point of the poster was the fish with plastic inside and therefore used a small text size for my context, however using the reds and whites. Due to the image size, I played around with the positioning of the text however I am not particularly keen on how it looks. In Barbara’s work she tends to use larger text which appears more interesting. I would like to try this style of work again however with a more subtle image, allowing the text to do the talking.
Poster focusing on complimentary colour scheme
After gaining inspiration from Andy Warhol’s bold colour schemes I wanted to try this in my own work. I went for a complementary colour scheme as I wanted to get a bigger reaction from the audience. The reds contrasted with the green – being on opposing sides of the colour wheel creates a high contrast therefore a more exaggerated image. In my feedback it was suggested to try and focus on either the text or the visuals so the posters weren’t overwhelming. Therefore I decided to focus on the typography of my design by using the negative space typography technique. I used this technique previously however the results weren’t as impact as I had hoped. I found that the text was too small for the image to be shown within the text therefore I chose to simplify my text this time and use a larger font – this allowed more of the image to be shown through the text. Although it isn’t completely clear and obvious what the visuals behind the text is, I still like how this looks. When you read the text you start to see the subtle hints of the fish and bottles, which automatically links with the context ‘plastic pollution.’ The poster on it’s own isn’t very meaningful however I am thinking of creating two designs with just visuals on (in a red and green colour scheme) to put at either side of the poster. The large dramatic text will engage an audience which they can then look at the visuals see the deeper meanings. I have created a lot of work up until now therefore I have a lot of designs which I can experiment with and decide which suit the poster the best.
When thinking of ways to involve the text with the imagery on my poster I decided to go for a simple method rather than over thinking it. The imagery which I used on the original poster, behind the text, was detailed itself ad involved some really interesting textures within it. You cannot see a lot of the textures in the original poster with it being layered with text therefore I thought about using my spray paint designs against the poster in a more creative way. Following my complimentary colour scheme I adjusted the colour of my original spay paints to link match the text. By using the same colours this really brought the three posters together as a whole. I especially like how the spray paints have different shades of colours within it, which meant this was exaggerated when applying the new colours.
The aim of campaign work is to really catch an audiences attention, I feel I have strongly done this due to the striking colour scheme. I tried to keep my three posters quite simple, however when they are placed together they give a very striking appearance. The green could resemble to toxic effect which plastic pollution causes. The green also looks like algae which emphasizes the mucky waters and how plastics are making them appear unclear. Red on the other hand is a bold colour which represents attention (similar to a stop sign) the red helps to draw attention to the posters and it is used as a caution to make people aware of the situation – plastic pollution.
Experimenting with Photoshop colours –
This was a small experiment which I did using the software Photoshop. I wanted to combine my photography with my spray paints using bright colours. I uploaded the two images and played around with the transparency which allowed the two images to be shown, over lapping one another. Like Any Warhol’s works, I love exploring bold bright colours therefore I started to manipulate the brightness, contrast and colour to create some beautiful colour schemes. In particular the blue and green colour scheme looked visually pleasing, the turquoise blue against the green look beautiful against one another. With these images I enjoy how they turned out to be in an abstract style. I have never really been interested in abstract work, however I like how you have to look beneath the layers in these images to identify what they are about, at first glance with all the different textures it is not clear what the image is.
Creating Layers with Photoshop –
Replacing drawing with plastic bags
I decided to try a different approach with my fish such as replacing the fish with plastic bags. This was a simple process which I carried out by selecting the ‘object selection tool’ on Photoshop and creating an outline of the fish and then selecting ‘layer with cut’ to simply cut out the fish, leaving a blank template. There were some problems whilst carrying out this method such as when changing the background colour the plastic within the fish followed which didn’t always look better. However once playing around I figured out how to edit them separately. The results look like a different style of work as I feel like look quite playful. I think the colours I used appear to be quite fun and childish whereas to create a shocking image I would be better focusing on darker colours, this is something I can go back to and re edit.
To me, the colour used in these appear quite playful and child like. This makes me think about if the target audience could be based on children. Maybe introducing plastic pollution and environmental issues could be important to reduce the amount of plastic pollution there is. If children at a young age are taught about the issues this could then stay with them throughout their life times. I am going to try overlay these designs with text to start to involve typography into my works.
Canva designs
https://www.canva.com/design/DAD8Vbva7zM/lqdMbuJlkJdPbyY7iEZqiQ/edit?category=tACZCvjI6mE
With not having access to Photoshop anymore I have found a software called Canva which gives me access to endless templates for posters/ magazines/ leaflet covers. This is very useful to me as I can start to really involve my practical work and start to digital them with text using this software. The software doesn’t give me as much opportunity which Photoshop does however it still gives me a range of features to experiment with. Below is a basic design I created when I was getting used to the app. I was figuring out the placement of text, how you can involve colour and add effects onto existing images. The design is not a finished design as I don’t feel it is strong enough or catches the attention which I would like it to for a strong campaign. The image is blurred slightly due to not figuring out how to save my design properly therefore I had to use a snipping tool which reduced the quality of the image.
Once I had more of an idea with the app this is where I could start to put my skills to use and begin to create some high quality designs. The fish on this poster is one which I drew in early stages of my project, I added a grainy effect on the fish which could represent how life is slowly being taken away with them. When looking at the artist Barbara Kruger, I admired her black and white colour scheme with touches of red therefore I decided to follow this trend. I like how the black and white reflects on the dull situation of environmental issues and the red stands striking to catch the audiences attention, whilst telling them an important message. One thing I did really like about this design is the font of the text, it is quite subtle however appears really professional. The spacing and composition of the text works well. Overall, this simple design does appear to be effective and I could see this being quite a recognisable poster.
Further Experimentation with Canva –
Poster Design in response to unknown artist-
When looking at an artist work on adobe creator I took an interest in this basic design. The quality I enjoyed the most was the simple imagery alongside the deep black background which is something I wanted to try myself.
Katie's Blog 