Evaluation

One strength of my work during this module was the detailed and varied designs I produced for the Olio publication. I believe that my two ideas were different and evoked different emotions, while retaining a level of detail in each.
Another strength was my research, including development of design ideas, and visual research to improve the accuracy of the illustrations. Through experimenting with different compositions, I was able to reach a defined design for both of my ideas, while learning about the importance of the layout of an image's content.

On the other hand, something that I could have improved would be the incorporation of colour to either the cover or design roughs. I feel that while the removal of colour from the roughs can work to their favour, by leaving the cover in grayscale I have limited the image's potential impact on the viewer.
Added to this, while I made sure to size the roughs and cover to the specified dimensions, the resolution of the cover was not maximised and so became visibly pixelated. I could have improved this by exporting the cover again at the correct resolution.


Overall, I feel satisfied with the amount of research I put into this module, as well as the level of detail I rendered the illustrations in. However, by adding colour and ensuring each image was at the correct resolution, I could have improved the visual aesthetic of the illustrations, while keeping a high standard of professionalism.

Colour: Or How I Learned to CMYK my RGBs

When working with digital printing as an illustrator, it is important to know the difference between the two main colour modes - RGB and CMYK. Computer screens use RGB to present colour, while printed materials like newspapers work with CMYK - this can be a problem when working across both traditional and digital mediums. To avoid unwanted colour shifts when printing from a digital device, creatives will work to the colour of the print and not what is presented on the screen.

RGB

CMYK

RGB encompasses how other colours can be made by using red, green and blue LEDs on a screen. CMYK uses more specified printable colours by using cyan, magenta, yellow and black. As black is the colour 'key,' it is represented with a 'K.' A good illustrator can balance colours according to both these colour modes when it is appropriate for their work.


While artwork can be printed in either of the two main colour modes, there is a set of colours that cannot be reproduced when printed from a digital image to a traditional medium. These fluorescent colours are too bright for modern printers to replicate, and so it is encouraged not to use them in an illustrator's digital work. This is because these colours exist outside of the visible colour spectrum, and can only be presented on backlit screens of most digital devices.

Fluorescent colours

These colour modes are important for any creative working with colour to know about, and by learning the differences between them (and when and where to use each one) an artist should be able to reproduce their work without hassle. With modern technology, someone can easily proof any image even before sending it to print, meaning there will be no crying over spilt fluorescents.

Final Design Roughs and Self Portrait

When producing my final design roughs, I created a work space for each idea at the specified size, before illustrating. I made both designs in pencil and left them intentionally colourless. As well as my design roughs, I made a self-portrait to be placed alongside my finished design, and was illustrated traditionally with ink.

The first idea has been taken from the initial design before I experimented with developing its content and composition. I feel like this was the most effective composition in portraying the meaning of the illustration to the viewer. While this is a far more direct interpretation of the given proverb, I am pleased with how far I have managed to push the two interpretations apart from each other.

The second idea takes elements from previous visual research and compositional ideas, and merges them into one image, which I believe acts as a successful illustration. I feel like I was able to balance the level of detail with the large white spaces in the image - assisted in part by the 'front-on' perspective of the train station/track. This design is significantly different from the first in both interpretation and aesthetic, and gives a good contrast to it.

For my self-portrait illustration, I wanted it to represent the style of art I am currently working with. As I intend to use traditional inking methods for my Final Major Project, I created the self-portrait using the same technique. I like the white balance I have achieved in the image, as well as the semi-realistic visual design of myself.

While these illustrations remain monochromatic, I could have given each of the designs some indication of colour to better represent how they will look when finished. I believe that this process would have taken too much time to do, and could overall prove to be unneccesary when considering that the images are not supposed to be the finished version.

Idea Development

When developing my ideas for the content designs of my Olio roughs, I focused on presenting different compositions and ideas for the two designs I showed previously. My development was primarily aimed towards the second, more detailed design of the man at the train station, while the simplicity of the initial design didn't warrant much further artistic development.

The first page of development (seen above) experiments with one composition for each of the designs which show extended ideas of both, as well as one significantly different design for the first idea. This design is more abstract in its presentation of the meaning of the given proverb, and portrays a woman with a flowing dress that takes the form of a dragon. I feel that why it is a successful example of idea development, I will use my initial design for this idea.

The next aspect of development was creating a cleaner composition of one of my thumbnail designs for my second idea, as well as experimenting with perspective and depth. I feel that this composition is effective in presenting the intended emotion, but lacks the detail needed to show the location that the character is in.

With this in mind, I conducted visual research from first-hand observation of a train station - including the details of benches, pillars, and train tracks. This helped me to give a real-world aestethic quality to my more detailed design, which would help the viewer to relate to the character in the situation.

By undertaking this stage of idea development, I have managed to visualise the final roughs that I will be creating, as well as conducting well-known visual research. I believe that I have sufficiently experimented with the layout, content, and composition of both of my designs, and am now ready for the final illustrations.