Intentions Evaluation.

At the beginning of this project, I found it very difficult to get into it and I felt very unfocused.  This was due to the fact I found what I was looking at very uninspiring. I feel like I didn't make use of the first few weeks and missed out on original drawing and experimentation due to not really knowing where my project was going. After extensive brainstorming and primary research, I came up with a final concept. I felt my new idea had a lot more depth and I worked a lot better as I could produce better quality work. My primary research mainly consisted of my own photography and drawings which I then took into photoshop. I concentrated heavily on working with layers and opacity trying to work with various line effects, creating an almost 3D effect. I worked on top of my photographs as I feel this was able to convey the textured details I wanted to retain in my digital prints. I looked at A/W 2013/14 key trends and was really excited with the idea of combining contrasting texture and fabrics. After listening to a talk by Kate Phelan I became really inspired and motivated to try and include some of the ideas she highlighted in my own work.  I concentrated heavily on the fashion side of textiles and created numerous placement prints with garments in mind. The main problem I had throughout this project was trying to combine texture into my 2D prints and illustrations. I worked hard at trying to resolve this by experimenting in the print room. I worked on challenging materials such as leather and wool. I also worked with foil printing, thus bringing the metallic trend to life in the collection, I then furthered this work by scanning the prints and using them in photoshop and in my final illustrations.  

On the whole I have really enjoyed this project, going to all the workshops have really helped me to have a wider knowledge of photoshop and how to use the print room wisely. Even though I haven't used all of the processes, I have made sure I have noted them so I know I can use them in future projects. 

During this project, I feel as if I have found what I get inspired by and what context I want my work to be based on . It has been a massive learning curve, where I have learnt a lot of new skills, techniques and processes which I can take with me and further in projects to come.

Mounted Screen Print Samples.

Here are my Screen and foil prints mounted. I am happy with the way I have laid them out as the colours work together better as a collection. These are my final samples from experimenting in the print room with foil printing and pigment printing on top of challenging fabrics.

Final Illustration Boards.

Here are my two final illustration boards, I have tried to include as many of my final digital prints as possible. I have kept the idea of combining textures by including textured prints in some of the garments. I am happy with the outcome , I feel they are working well as a collection and the colour palette is really evident in each design. I worked hard at trying to include all the key colours of my palette in each print. I printed these onto a matt heavy paper, I am going to display these alongside my colour palette, inspiration/mood board and fabric digital prints.

Digital Printer

Today I took my print to Collin to get them printed onto fabric. I chose a crepe fabric as it is quite light and I though it would be a nice contrast to the heavy materials I have been working with in the print room. Below are the 7 prints I chose  to use, I feel they are my favourite final and most resolved pieces.

Foil Printing

I have been experimenting with foil prints, using my motifs on screen and then ironing the foil on top. This creates a metallic effect which I really like. Some prints worked better than others, this was mainly due to the fabric resisting and certain motifs not being bold enough. But after a series of trial and errors I created some prints that I was happy with. I am going to use some of them as backgrounds for pigment printing on top, this meaning I can bring more colours from my colour palette in. I have also scanned these in and I am going to work on top in photoshop. I also kept the foil after I had ironed and peeled them, I like the sheer effect, I am going to try and incorporate these into my digital work. I am also going to layer them on top of coloured fabric to create samples. I have been finding it difficult to combine the idea of texture into my 2D digital prints and illustrations and so I think I have come up with the perfect solution to resolve this.

Digital Textured Surfaces

After buying a range of fabrics, such as wool, leather, mac wet look material and a range of crepe and silk fabric, I decided to scan them in. I created folds and then used these images as backgrounds for my digital print. I was finding it challenging to translate the textured feel of my collection into digital, I feel this is the perfect solution. Below are a few examples of how these textured backgrounds have worked.

Clover Canyon Spring 2014

Clover Canyon uses clean lines and subtle colours in their spring 2014 collection. Inspired by mid-century Californian architects and artists. This is a prime example of a designer who uses placement prints. They use a wide range of architectural structures combining them with a pastel subtle color palette.

Print Room

Today I was working in the print room I worked with my textured fabrics such as wool and leather. I used pigment Printing on top of them using my colour palette. Above are the motifs I had put on screen. I find the print room quite tiring and challenging. It is very time consuming and I didn't like a lot of the samples I created. This was due to the limited colour I was able to use. I find it very frustrating that I can't undo my mistakes like with photoshop and digital prints.  

Wet look leather Autumn/Winter 2014.

Burberry Prorsum

Jonathan Saunders 

Topshop Unique

Here are a few designers who used wet look material as a key feature in their A/W 2013/14 collection.

New Prints

I have bee working on some new prints today. I tried to concentrate on the colour palette bringing forward a range of the colours and shifting the colour balance. I also played around with layers trying to make them look detailed and almost 3D. 

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.

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.