Illustration

Four disciplines in 2D design include Textiles, Graphic design, Illustration and Animation.
Here are some illustrators that I found particularly interesting.

I have researched illustrators and have found an artist called Helen Lang who I believe has interesting work that can relate to my interests of illustration and surface pattern design. I think her work is very interesting and unique. It reminds me more of nature and the natural elements of the world due to the flowers and plants that are included in her designs. Her work also consists of a lot of typography and wording making up an outline shape of another object, this I think looks good.

The image of the fox I think is interesting as it could be used on a range of textile products as well as a motif to represent a product. I like the way that a picture of something is also made up of different pictures within it. I also think that the colours of brown and black work well together and are quite neutral colours, which can be used on a variety of different coloured backgrounds.

 

Here are some of her products being used on different surfaces.

Noma Bar

Noma Bar's work includes the themes we have been shown in class, which is shape colour and composition. He creates a picture within a picture by only using different coloured shapes, here are some examples. The below picture is of a bird made out of a hand and then when you look closely its a tropical island with a palm tree on. I like this piece as there is a good relationship between the colours in the picture and the negative space in the picture is just as much a part of it as the actual focal point.

 

The below picture is an eye catching piece as when you first look at it just looks like a tail fin whereas when you look closer there is a fishes mouth. This gives the impression that there are fish following each other. I like this as there are simple colours used and it is also simple but effective.

Noma Bar also creates posters to advertise different things.

The below image symbolises freezing energy costs with a penguin. This is also made out of simple shapes and the attention is focussed on the middle picture of the penguin.

I like this work as it gets the message across and by using a blue background makes it feel icy and cold, which I believe was the intention.

 

I also like this advertisement as it shows that food is going straight from the farm to your plate with all its goodness still in it. This is symbolised well as it makes a face with the negative space around the plate. I find this to be interesting.

 Sara Fanelli

Unlike Noma Bar, Sara Fanelli creates pictures which I think are fairy tale like and could tell a story, it also can include detail as the others don't. There is a lot of text used in Fanellis work, as well as this there are less vibrant colours, unlike Bar's work that just includes block colours. This below image I like as it adds a bit of a vintage feel to it and symbolises British fish and chips I also like the contrast between the black and white and the other colours. I also like the way the negative space looks like old paper, this could be what they wrap the chips in.

 

I also like the below image of a character that is holding a tree with birds in. I like these illustrations as the colours go well together and I think they could suit a children's story.

 

Now that I am introduced to 2D design I am more aware of what it includes and how I can relate this to objects in everyday life. We have learnt in class about the importance of shape and colour in objects in their simplest form. Now I have the ability to see this in every object I come across, making it easier not only to draw the objects, but to construct collages of them. I have been inspired by the above artists and how they apply composition, shape and colour to their work. I have taken a liking to using shape when producing pieces and I think this technique will help me with taking the route of illustration.

Here are some examples of work I have done inspired by shape and colour.

 

 In this piece I was looking at a figure on a horse, this included focusing on the negative shapes and different materials to make up the whole picture.

This picture I put a yellow line to outline the picture of a bird this makes it seem more like an illustration and looking at the shapes.

Although simple this design looks at the background space around the objects and the colours and shapes of them, singling out a colour scheme of yellow mostly.

 

Manish Arora (Fashion designer)

 

I have created a 3D piece in the style of Manish Arora's work. My favourite collection of his was the carnival collection, which included brightly coloured clothes in the shape of circus clothing and objects associated with circus. My favourite piece was the design which looked like a carousel so I took this idea forward to my own designs.

I particularly like the intricate designs inside the carousel itself that are small pictures of what looks like his other designs. It also reminds me of sweets and candy that can be related to the artists Carlos n Molina.

 

 

 I started by creating the lid to the piece, using techniques that I learnt in class such as folding the edges sharply to make it look more 3D. Another technique I used was the folding in half of the paper and making slits in it with the scissors. I then took a different approach to this and cut triangles in them, that when opened fully created a diamond shape. This technique I believed fitted the circus theme to Manish Arora's work.

I decided to make the piece look more like a carousel, so I added strips to the outside which I wanted to represent the beams holding the horses up. However, this didn't go according to plan as it looked too crowded as well as all the marks made. I then curled them to make it look more interesting and like more pieces of Manish Arora's work. His work is mainly aimed at eccentric females who like bright colours and would want to stand out, as they are not clothes that would be worn everyday.

I would think his pieces are not easily made due to the intricate designing's, making them seem more expensive. But overall I think his work is interesting and different by involving objects that wouldn't ordinarily be associated with garments in general.
The following are pictures of my final outcome inspired by Manish Arora.

 

I can compare his work to the work of Carlos n Molina. He created art out of paper and similar products. Similar to Manish Arora he created highly colourful 3D pieces that I find to be interesting and attractive to look at. Carlos can also create fashion items out of paper such as shoes and mannequins. I particularly like the below piece as it reminds me of the paper fashion cut outs I used to produce a while ago. I think they are quirky and different and I would be willing to buy them as I imagine many more would too.

 

 

This below piece also reminds me of the piece I produced as it also includes the same techniques that I have used. This is the cutting of the holes in the paper in strips, this shows that although it is a basic technique even the most experienced stylists use it.

 

 

Here are a couple of other pieces that caught my eye and seemed interesting to put on here.

 

 

 



Photographers

Fay Godwin

I particularly like the photographs taken by Fay Godwin, as they are in black and white. This gives them a vintage feel and also a sense of mystery. Some of the photographs taken she has been able to catch the light perfectly so that rays of sun are beaming down in a forest. This to be seems magical and could be a setting to a story, it would also seem that these photos were not taken by chance and that she has waited for just the right moment.

Henri cartier-bresson
Bresson creates interesting photographs of different places at different times however, they all have the same feel to them and each of them contain people. I particularly like these two images as there is the use of structure, each in a different way. They are both images of staircases but one is jagged whereas the other is seeming to be perfectly rounded, spiralling upwards.

Steven Klein
One of my favourite photographers is Steven Klein. His work to me seems to draw the eye better than an old fashioned photograph. He has taken pictures of famous celebrities that would in their normal lives would be idolised and seen as beautiful, but in his photographs seem to have an outrageous twist.

 

 

Ansel Adams

 

Similar to fay Godwin, Ansel Adams takes black and white photographs that have a magical element to them. He takes into account all the details around him and incorporates them into his work, making a beautiful delicate picture.

 

 

Sara Moon
Sara Moon often creates photographs that are slightly distorted, out of focus or have black smudges on them. I like these effects as I think they add something different to her work. There is something elegant yet scary about her pictures, like something you would have seen in the olden days hanging on the wall. She tends to use vintage colours with a more sepia effect on some of them to make them look old fashioned.

 

John Virtue

 

I have looked at a number of John Virtues pieces of work and I find them very interesting. He is well known for his pieces on the London Skyline, but he specialises in any landscapes. He only works in black and white, ink and paint, as he thinks that colour is an unnecessary distraction. Personally I like the fact that there is no colour to his pieces as this makes it look more edgy and gothic, this portraying what London might have looked like many years ago.

 

 

Mark making and linear drawings

I did these drawings to mirror what we did in class, this includes mark making where there are different feelings on my face. I also tried to do a linear drawing without taking my pen away from the page. Both these methods I did without looking at the paper and just looking in the mirror and closing my eyes.

Artists who use non traditional materials

Peter Callesen - Paper cutting

Peter Callesen creates beautiful but fragile creations made from paper that is a magical transformation of a flat sheet of paper into figures. Callesen only uses A4 paper as he believes that as the most commonly used type of paper we are able to see it in a new light and not just as a blank sheet.

This piece I find quite interesting as the leaves falling off the tree look as though they are flying in the breeze to fall randomly on the ground. I think this is accurately portrayed in this image and the cut outs go well with the background paper of brown, this is an autumn colour that relates to the leaves falling. Although the white space around the image is not used, it adds to the simplicity of the piece but in an effective way.

Here are some more examples of his work that I find fascinating. The images with the skeletons of people and angels I find to be very well constructed. They are part of a category called "Fall" which most of his pictures symbolise falling in a different way. However, the bottom piece of the flowers has a great thought process and idea behind it, but you can barely see the cut out shapes at the top. Therefore, I think that he should have created a coloured background to make them stand out more.


Yulia Brodskaya- Quilling artist

 

 

Yulia Brodskaya has a different way of working as she creates pieces in the form of quilling. Having made pieces out of quilling myself I know that it is a hard and time consuming task, but looks amazing in the end. She describes quilling as giving paper craft technique a new life and significance in the context of graphic communication.

I like the intricate details of the pieces above. The one of the woman smoking a pipe in particular as there are so many colours included in the face, that it looks like a whole new picture is contained within. I also like the fact that she has included smaller swirls within the bigger ones as this makes it look more interesting. It looks as though someone has edited it on a computer, which is probably where her skills as a graphic designer come in, as she wanted to experiment these with paper.

 

 

 

Design Transformation

I took a book out of the college library on print and material and found an interesting artist called Alexander Henry. He created folklore, fantasy and fable fabrics that could be transformed into a tattoo design which in its self is an art. Another way of working that can relate to tattooing is print making, which can be described as an extension of this natural instinct. Decoration on the body is also supposedly part of evolution.

 

In the same book I found a nice looking dress which I thought the pattern was interesting, with feathers on. This dress design was called the fluid "red carpet" dress in dragonfly print by Matthew Williamson. A flourish of feathers has always been used to symbolise sexual display, both in the natural world and in fashion. Williamson stated that he liked to experiment with colours particularly turquoise, this is why he uses peacock feathers in some of his work. These particular feathers have the eye motif on them which are known to the superstitious as harbingers of bad luck. 

Unique ways of working

Joe Hill

Optical illusions and 3d art images create amazing effects for unusual interior design. This way of working changes perspectives, bringing in breath-taking illusions into modern floor painting and decorating. Joe Hill is an artist that uses this technique and below is some of his work.

I find this way of working to be very intriguing as it creates an optical illusion tricking the eye. This can be effective in many different ways, as the artist is able to manipulate the audience making them feel how they want them to. An example of this is the image below that if they walked on the floor they would feel as though they are going to fall into the room below, creating panic.

I have seen a number of street artists that use spray paint to create their work but this is a new way of working that no matter who the audience is, any passer by would want to stop to take a look at the art.


Kumi Yamashita

Kumi Yamashita used number shapes, placing them in front of light casting a shadow onto the surrounding area, usually mounted on the wall. The usual shadows are in the shape of humans however there is one that is shown below that is of a cat. This way of working seems almost ghost like, as though its a trick of the light that catches your eye. It also seems as though the silhouette will suddenly vanish and the shapes will blow away in the breeze.

 

 

 

A further way of working by Yamashita was the use of paper origami to cast shadows. Again the shadows made are silhouettes of people. As I have a personal interest in origami I find this fascinating and putting two ways of creating art together to make one piece. All the different kinds of coloured paper may symbolise the different races and personalities of people in the world.