Tutorial 29/10/13

Today I had my tutorial, Teresa said I had made good progress with my prints and fashion garments. After discussing how to move my work forward, I have decided I am going to experiment in the print room , stepping out of my comfort zones. I am going to work with varied fabrics , this incorporating the idea of my print being put on a no of contrasting textured fabrics and garments. I am going to put motifs on screen , layering them on top of each other. I also went to a discharge print workshop so I am going to try that. I am going to play with scale and think of the colour palette balance. Substituting colour in different areas of the print bringing subtle colours out to stand out. I am going to try working with leather and pigment printing, I like the idea of reflection in my work so I am going to try and recreate this using foil printing.

Prints on Fashion Garments

I want to design for fashion rather than interiors so I have been looking at transferring my prints onto garments seeing how they translate and work on different shapes. Also playing with the scale of the print. I know the range of garments I want to put my prints on , I want to work with simple shapes but also contrasting textures. I worked on photoshop creating layers and masks. It was hard to find garments I wanted my work to go onto, as the garment had to be white so the choice was limited. This week I am going  to try and do my own fashion illustrations so I know exactly what my collection will look like.

Digital Prints.

After going to the photoshop workshop and going to my tutorial I decided to use my previous drawings and photographs in photoshop creating a number of digital prints. I did this by creating a series of brushes with my motifs and then layering these onto of original photos playing with opacity and  filling areas with my colour palette. I tried to recreate the mixed media affect by creating a lot of layers .

Creating Textured Surfaces

Using my colour palette, I have been using paints on top of textured paper. I wanted to try and create an almost leather feel which I could then print on top of. I want to bring the idea of texture into my prints. I want to create prints to put onto fashion garments so I went to the Photoshop 01 workshop with Alex today and learnt how to place my prints onto garments. I found this workshop very helpful and I'm going to use this technique heavily in my work seeing how my prints translate onto garment shapes also playing with scale.

Black and white motifs.

I started drawing motifs to take into photoshop and onto screen in the print room, I went to the science and industry Museum in Deans gate to get some detailed drawing of machinery and bolts. Here are a few examples. I also looked at some original architectural drawings , looking at line quality.

CP Modernism

Todays lecture was on the idea of Modernism. Modernists are attempting to create and design a new world. In 1914 Germany was the centre of modernist design. Industrialisation after the second  world war began to take over the Art and Design movement and reduce the quality of objects. The Bauhaus was also created around this time after the mass destruction of humanity. With  modernism became a new form of Architecture which was was known as the perfect form of architecture. Modernism also tried to create a new society and a new way of living. A brave new world was trying to be created with a feeling of utopia.

Colour palette Experimentation

I have been working on bigger scale this week working with backgrounds and using acetate on top. Combining linear and geometric shapes with textured backgrounds. I don't usually work on bigger scale so this was a test for me. I liked working on textured surfaces, I think it works well and I am going to further with this. Trying to combine the textured effect into my digital and hand prints. I don't think the black acetate on top of the coloured background, so when taking into digital I am going to work on top with a more subtle tone. 

Rearranging Images

This week I have been experimenting with my drawings cutting them up and rearranging them in a different composition. As geometric shapes have been key in my project so far I tried to rearrange my drawings using these elements. I like the first drawing I think it works well with the black background, I think the second drawing looks too separate and static behind the white background.

Dario Moschetto

After looking at my work I searched for some artist that used the same method of collaging and mixed media in their own work. I came across the artist Dario Moschetto who concentrates on buildings and city scapes, he uses photographs on different types of coloured  paper and then works and layers paint on top. Some parts of the images have been rubbed away to also create a rustic and textured feel. I began working on coloured paper working with colour on top then ripping and scrunching the paper to give it a texture. 

CP/Architecture. Idea of home.

 I chose the Architecture space and design unit due to being extremely interested in architecture , I feel my work always relates back or begins from the idea of Architecture and space. I feel I have chosen perfectly as the lectures completely tie in with my current brief. I like how the lectures are very conceptual and they really get me thinking about different ideas concerning architecture space and design. In the last two lectures we have been talking about the idea of home. The idea that an architect believes that after he has built his building it should be furnished and used as he thought it should be. This is usually ignored as its impractical. People living there have different ideas and taste. We also looked at the idea of space, home and objects and how we present these to others and the relationship this has with our identity and other people. This is can be shown by the idea of the mantlepiece and the objects we choose to show to others, and how these represent us.

The material culture (stuff) of our homes say something about ourselves. The objects in the home are curated to present out identity and are deemed appropriate for certain circumstances. 

Trends. Drawing for Design.

                  

So after going to the Kate Phelan talk , I have been trying to focus my work, gearing it in a fashion direction. A lot of the new season clothes in store have a similar colour palette to my own. I'm interested in keeping the concept of being bold with what you wear. So I'm thinking of designing a collection using fashion illustration and putting my prints onto clothes. Teaming a printed item with other items of clothes- mix matching.  Here are a few photos of the kind of things I want to include in my collection- combining the colour palette with contrasting textures. bright knitted items over dark stiff fabrics, chunky coat over patterned trousers.

Artist Research

Debbie Ayles

Peter Matyasi

Peter Pilotto SS 2014

Whilst doing artist research, I was trying to find work that had a similar feel to my own.
These three artist and designers use line and geometric shapes in their work, also combining architectural features with colour. Peter Pilotto also works heavily with digital print, he uses placement prints rather than repeats which is what I'm concentrating on for this project. His colour palette is also very subtle, and he only brings out one or two colours out in each print.

Kate Phelan Talk

Today I went to see Kate Phelan who is the creative director at Topshop and Contributing Editor at Vogue Magazine. She talked about the new up and coming trends and the seasons must-haves. She highlighted that pastels were in but also contrasting textures were key. Combining a baby pink fluffy jumper with a black PVC or leather pencil skirt.
She also told us to be BOLD with our outfit choices, step out of our comfort zone and not be obvious with how we wear our clothes.
The floor was also opened up to questions, she told us that her inspirations are mainly us, the public, music and film.
She also said the film she would recreate using Topshop clothes would be Devils Wears Prada. She gave advice on how to break into the magazine industry , she said be persistent and gain as much experience as possible!

Mood board and colour palette

Here is a mood board I created with my own pictures and artists work that relate to mine. I feel it's giving me a clear idea of what my project is based on. I have also created two colour palettes using my own photographs these can then be used in the print room as digital print to keep my prints together as a collection.

Drawing

Here are a few of my early drawings I have done ready for my tutorial. I feel like I need to do a lot more research and drawing. Looking at details but also thinking of drawing for design. I need a lot more drawings which I can then take forward into the print room and photoshop.

Concept

I have been struggling this past week with my ideas but today I finally came up with a concept I can focus on. I feel as though I have been just looking at urban influences as a whole and architecture in general with no direction thus leaving me feel uninsured and unable to create a good body of work. So after more research  I have decided to look at how buildings are made and the labour behind the outcome. I have started looking at building sites and scaffolding closely. These are seen as eye sores and a nuisance but they are necessary for the outcome of great architecture. I have gone around taking pictures of building sites looking at the details close up. Im concentrating in the lines and shapes i can see but also at the little details and objects i have found there. I feel a lot better about my work now I have a clear idea of how to take my project forward. Here are a few of my own photographs.

Brief-Urban Influences

I have chosen the urban influences brief mainly because I am constantly inspired by architecture , city scapes and people. I love drawing from observation and so I thought this would be a great brief for me to create a lot of inspiring work . I started off this brief by attending the urban sketching workshop in the media city. It was great to go and draw somewhere different and I enjoyed seeing other peoples work and see how they approach drawing different types of architecture. After this workshop I also went around Manchester drawing a mixture of historical and modern buildings using fine liners with coloured inks on top.

Summer project

This summer I visited Tangier in Morocco. It was an amazing place full of vibrant and colourful culture. It was such an exciting place to be with lots if things going on. Tangier was a visual feast for the eyes. I was surrounded by colour and patterns at every turn. I was drawn to all of the historical and quirky features . I drew Moroccan patterns that I found on walls and doors.  It wasn't hard to find things that inspired me.

Throughout summer I drew things from observation, I drew natural forms but also  still life. I also attended life drawing classes.