tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9618263441982433582024-03-13T08:25:04.054-07:00Emily Denison IllustrationEmily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-87710392654323014152013-11-26T14:36:00.002-08:002013-11-26T14:36:40.019-08:00Some thoughts on post-uni life.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's a Tuesday night and I'm sitting for what feels like the first time in ages, at an almost clear desk in my room, with fairy lights on and incense burning, listening to Bon Iver...it feels wonderful.<br />
On an average day at the moment I will be about to climb into a taxi home from a bus journey from work. My current job is a care worker at a home for individuals with learning disabilities, personality disorders, autism and various other mental illnesses. I fell into this job unexpectedly quickly. After the summer break I began to feel that spending so much time at home made me lose my motivation. My enthusiasm for my art was waning; partly due to lack of appreciation, recognition and demand from others, but also due to a negative attitude I was finding it incredibly difficult to break out of. I also needed money badly. <br />
So, I took the job. The shock of full-time, 12 hour shifts has been easier to cope with than I anticipated. Admittedly, it can get mentally and physically tiring...but I have this new sense of well-being that drives me on. I've surprised myself in being able to cope, and I've proved to myself that I'm a stronger person than I've felt over the past few months post-uni. The work is a mixture of stress, adrenaline, careful communication, empathy and determination. My colleagues are amazing people, incredibly capable and tough in the face of a career that is extremely demanding, yet poorly paid when the nature of the work is taken into consideration...and although my shy nature is in contrast to most of their personalities, I feel well supported and (after a couple of months) confident in their company. There are wonderful moments to be experienced with the residents too; I find I've always got sweet little anecdotes to tell. There are times when it's incredibly difficult, but those times don't overshadow the whole experience (as yet!)<br />
I am now all the more appreciative of my days off; the little things like being able to sit alone and think; enjoy a film without the guilt of knowing I need sleep for another early start the next day; spend some time with my family; and of course, put my energy into being creative!<br />
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Making art is something I crave now. It doesn't ever feel like a chore because I so rarely get the time to do it. Beside me on my desk I've written a list reminding myself of all the little things that popped into mind that I must do tomorrow. I want to draw, and paint watercolours, SO BADLY. Tonight, I'm going to read. It's been far too long since I've felt awake enough to do that. <br />
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It's hard to imagine what the future's going to bring at the moment. Taking it all one day at a time seems to be the best way at the moment. Feeling good.</div>
Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-31446116483227503952013-11-06T04:22:00.001-08:002013-11-06T04:31:23.583-08:00Illuminating York<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
At the weekend mum, Anna and I went for a wander around the sites of <em><a href="http://www.illuminatingyork.org/">Illuminating York</a></em>; an annual festival of light shows celebrating the city's unique heritage. Limited time meant we didn't get to explore all of the artworks, but the main two we did visit (Clifford's Tower and The Museum Gardens) were captivating projections, bringing to life the familiar buildings. It reminded me not to take for granted the beauty of the architecture we can easily take for granted amongst the bustle of town's shoppers.<br />
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Our first stop was at the Clifford's Tower show. This story was of the three Viking Kings of Denmark, who had a strong influence over England, particularly York, at the time. The work was a combination of the efforts of <a href="http://rossashton.com/">Ross Ashton</a>, an internationally successful projection artist, and <a href="http://karenmonid.blogspot.co.uk/">Karen Monid</a>, a creative designer of sound art installations. I was very impressed with the way the projections have been created to complement the shape of the tower and its hill. The knowledge of the projections' backdrop added to the atmosphere of the stories- the images present on the tower itself were often suited to the idea of being in a castle interior. I tried to take some pictures and videos, but they don't do the live spectacle justice. However, it's quite impressive to look back on this landmark looking so surreal...<br />
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After visiting a couple of the smaller, free shows (including one in Coppergate with interpretive dancing!) we finished the evening in the Museum Gardens, where the projected story was a combination of film and animation about the Viking King Eric Bloodaxe. For me, this was the most entertaining part of the night-the humorous narration engaged the audience fully, and persuaded us to stay for the entire show, even though at this point my hands were too cold to operate a camera!<br />
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It was a shame our visit had to be so brief, as we missed out on other parts of the festival which I'm sure would have been equally, if not more impressive. The festival brought the cultural side of York alive in a way that appealed to adults and children. It's certainly made me feel as though I ought to take more of an active interest in York's history, and quite proud to be from a place to have such a rich one.</div>
Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-17125353205942448422013-09-30T08:39:00.004-07:002013-09-30T08:39:43.357-07:00Meg the dog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been quite some time since I've updated my blog (disgraceful!) as I have been sadly adjusting to life away from Manchester. Oh how I miss it...<br />
However, that doesn't mean to say that I've given up making art work. I've been a busy bee with various little bits and pieces, including this (sort of...cut price) commission for a friend of mine. It's one of my favourite things to do, making a 'mini-me' of a pet. I'm determined to make this one extra special as it's to commemorate his pet dog Meg who passed away recently. <br />
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I've approached this one slightly different than I usually do when I make my animals. I've begun by making the head separately first. I decided to do this because I wasn't pleased with the head I made for my last made animal (a fox, which I will do a separate post about) and I wish I'd spent more time getting it right before rushing on to the body to get it complete quickly (the body being relatively easier and less fiddly to make well).</div>
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When I started bending my wire to make the structure of her face shape, the most important thing seemed to be the muzzle. I used two parallel pieces of wire which form the centre of her face in general, and curve around at the bottom to form the muzzle. Building the rest around that was fairly easy. I quickly got onto the knitted covering and have now got a great idea of how her head will look when it's finished (complete with shaggy-haired ears). It didn't look right at all until I added what will be the eyes. The important decision was whether to use pins or make embroidered eyes. My first instinct was to embroider the eyes on and use a dot of white paint for the shine of them catching the light, as I did with Monty (below).</div>
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However, it became obvious after I stuck a couple of pins in that they were the perfect choice in this case. Meg's eyes are very big and shiny and one of the main reasons why she has such an endearing face! I couldn't achieve that using thread and paint. I will soon be taking some better quality photos of my work in progress, but for now here's a quick peek at how she's looking...<br />
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...to be continued!</div>
Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-32131670869237527602013-07-29T03:37:00.003-07:002013-07-29T04:07:51.225-07:00T-SHIRT!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In my post-box this morning I was very excited to find a package with my very own printed t-shirt in it! I designed and ordered this on <em>Vistaprint</em> as an initial experiment to see how it would look, and I'm so happy with it. I'm considering getting more with different illustrations from my Little Red Riding Hood set done, it's just a question of whether people would be interested in buying them....<br />
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-79134875939471850642013-07-21T10:45:00.002-07:002013-11-06T04:38:54.577-08:00Little White Lies Competition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was very excited to hear that the magazine <em>Little White Lies</em> (which I have previously done a competition brief for) is running a competition to design a poster for the up-coming film <em>Only God Forgives,</em> directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. <br />
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(<a href="http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/features/articles/only-god-forgives-creative-brief-24081">see the details here</a>)<br />
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It's keeping me busy at the moment! I only wish the film was out already. I've been watching the trailers repeatedly for reference:<br />
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...and the latest edition of <em>Empire Magazine</em> also has quite a revealing article on it. The brief says 'We're looking for the most interesting and unique designs, something that captures the tone of the film.', so I'm trying to think of unusual ways to get across the feel of it. So far I've decided on one important thing: the main character's hands are very important.<br />
In the <em>Empire</em> article it says:<br />
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'The star is a man of few words...in Drive, his soulful stunt-driver spoke with his boot heels and wheels. In <em>Only God Forgives, </em><strong>it's all about his hands</strong>.'</blockquote>
I also found a post on Tumblr with a quote from Nicolas Winding Refn (along with these gifs) about the importance of the hands:<br />
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'The first image in the movie that I ever came up with for the film was this—I thought well, I want to do a fight movie and I started looking at my hands. And if you look at your hands like a tight fist—it’s obviously like a very sexual aura. It’s like a very sexual image. Like all men’s extension of their sexuality: violence. But if you open your palm, it’s about submission. And I thought: “God, there’s a movie in this movement.” '</blockquote>
...so, I know that Ryan Goslings fists, and this gesture that Refn's fascinated by, will be something essential to focus on. Immediately the thought of building wire hands flashed into my mind. Will I use 3D elements here? I'm not sure how I could make it work. </div>
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Another important element I'm considering in relation to the design is the setting: Bangkok. The city is reminiscent of The LA location of Drive, but somehow much more surreal. Visually, the film seems unnatural; full of neon lighting contrasting to the dark of rooms or night-time streets. It reflects the trashy side of the city's criminal underworld which Ryan Gosling's character seems to exist in, but it also looks dream-like and hypnotising. Colour will be something else to think carefully about, and not something I can work particularly confidently with. But I like a challenge!<br />
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Today I've been working on a drawing of the character to get me started, using painted ink, pencil and pen. Here's a quick look at it in progress. I hope it resembles who it's supposed to...<br />
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...and some more progress...</div>
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...and the finished drawing. I was thinking it might look good with a simple red, bold font with the film title inbetween his arms over the image. But sadly I don't have photoshop to complete this simple task at the moment. And I was too late to enter the competition also, which is a shame. But I'm happy with the image.</div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-14405810245756767552013-07-20T07:18:00.002-07:002013-07-20T07:40:40.732-07:00The Shows- RIPE!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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FINALLY getting round to doing this post, now that I have a working laptop again!<br />
The end of my final year came to a close and all of mine and my classmates' energies that were left over went into creating firstly the college degree show, and secondly the travelling show, which we created in <a href="http://madlab.org.uk/">Madlab</a>.<br />
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The name of our show was Ripe, and <a href="http://ripeshow.co.uk/">here</a> is the lovely website the branding team created to advertise us.<br />
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<strong><u>College</u></strong><br />
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The college show was a wonderful confidence boost. Nervousness took over as we were on our way to the opening night, not helped by the usual debate of what to wear and how formal we were supposed to be. But on entering the building, I was surprised (in a good way) to find it absolutely packed with people. The hot weather and the crowd turned the floor of our exhibition into a virtual sauna, which is a shame because I'd been hoping to get some decent pictures of myself with my exhibition. Dad even went to the effort of bringing his fancy camera. I think he took a few snaps but I was too scared to see how they looked; I felt like I was melting.<br />
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Ta-dah!]</span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">[My tutor Gary and I with my work]</span></em></div>
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I think I was unnecessarily worried about how my show would turn out. Although it wasn't exactly as I'd hoped, I was proud of it. I received lots of compliments that evening, which I probably received very awkwardly (I hope not). Seeing as this was a project based on a childrens' fairytale, it was nice to hear that some of the children looking round appreciated it- a friend informed me that she heard a child say "Woaaaaw..." as they walked past. I couldn't get a better compliment than that. Over the week that passed my little pocket of business cards disappeared too. It's flattering to think that people have a little piece of me either in their wallets or pinned up somewhere in their home. </div>
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As finishing my work took so long (due partly to unhelpful staff) I didn't have the benefit of a carefully discussed pre-planned layout to work with when we were putting up my display. Jo saved me a place with two boards, so I wanted to try and make the most of this. I had the idea that my show should be partly like a memorial to my main character, Mr. Wolf. I hope that people understood this joke....otherwise the flowers in front of the framed picture must have seemed a random addition to the work displayed on the walls. The positioning of the boards meant that my table fitted quite nicely in the middle though, and I made it a little more at home with a rug on the floor too. </div>
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Jo helped me decide on the inclusion of the 3D objects on shelves. At first I was planning on not including any of the 3D elements-in my mind I thought it was more important that the 2D pieces spoke for themselves, seeing as the 3D elements had been created with this format in mind. I didn't want it to be a fine art show that ended up being half sculptural- my intention had been to create a book (which I WILL complete soon), and I was proud of the fact that the images had worked well in the form I'd intended, as illustrations that told a story, not just objects. However, in the end I agreed it would be a shame for people to not see the characters that had taken so much of my time to create. Having them placed neatly in line with the 2D pieces was a compromise I was happy with, and they did get a more appreciative reaction than I imagine the 2D work alone would have done.</div>
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The decision to mount the work on foam board was another helpful suggestion from Jo. I explained I didn't want each individual piece to be framed. I didn't want each piece to be 'glorified' alone because they were supposed to be together, seen as a whole. The foam board was a simple way to make them slightly more sophisticated than blue-tacking-a-poster-on-the-wall standards, without appearing too formal, and it did look neat once we'd carefully positioned them all up with a mixture of sticky tabs and velcro patches! The printed images on the good quality paper came out very nicely too; slightly glossy like a photo. I'm also glad for the lack of frames as I didn't want viewing them to be spoiled by reflections on the glass-something which always frustrates me at exhibitions. </div>
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I remain regretful that I didn't achieve entirely what I'd set out to. The book itself should have been the centre-piece of my exhibit, placed proudly on the table in the middle for people to read. I wouldn't change the pieces of work that are up there, but I feel like they needed the addition of the story words I'd written, a few examples of the vignette ink-drawn images I'd intended to include, and a more carefully planned out layout to really show off my full potential. I'm treating this experience as a valuable lesson rather than a set-back though. Everything I've done on this course that's left me feeling disappointment in myself has only made me more determined to keep improving in the future. And get this book finished! I owe myself that.</div>
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Paul, me and Gleavsie outside the show]</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>[Got my hands on one of <a href="http://thisisnotasexshop.bigcartel.com/">Hannah's</a> t-shirts from the show shop]</em></span></div>
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<strong><u>Madlab</u></strong></div>
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Bringing down the work at college did not mark the end, it simply set the start date for the work towards the next show. I'm very grateful to the team of graphics students who worked extremely hard to find us a venue, and manage the creation of our show in Manchester. I went with a few other students to help spruce up the paintwork in the building before we were all set to go in on the morning of the exhibition day to re-create our show spaces. Another very important part of the preparation were the invitations to local design agencies. The team came up with the idea that we took little 'ripe' fruit salad trays around to hand out to these people with their invitations. Bryony, Kat, Paul and I spent a day buying and chopping up the fruit for this purpose! I wasn't able to assist on the day when the invitations and fruit trays had to be delivered, but I heard that they got a fantastic reaction, and the agencies were impressed with the thought behind it.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>[Bought myself a <a href="http://hannahsumblanddesign.co.uk/">Hannah Sumbland</a> t-shirt this time!]</em></span></div>
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The opening of the show was a little disappointing. It was slow to attract people for a while, but gradually more people came in to have a look. My space didn't seem to attract as much positive attention as at the college show, and very few of my business cards got taken this time. I wasn't too disheartened at the time, but now I worry that it does reflect the unlikelihood of my work's popularity in the illustration industry. People in general seem to be more attracted to illustration work that is drawing based, or graphic looking. In my experience, there is most respect for detailed work, done by hand, but not made and photographed like mine. It's encouraged me to concentrate on building up a better collection of drawing-based work to include in my portfolio and on my website, to hopefully make me appeal to a wider audience (or an audience at all!). I would love to be able to create unique work and for that to be in high demand, but I feel like I'm making life too hard for myself. My tutors encouraged me to stay individual in my approach and try and carve my own niche way into the industry. Although I would love to be able to achieve this, I don't want to attempt what feels impossible right now, especially when I do miss the drawing.</div>
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The last night of the travelling show was a sad occasion- it was the last time Bryony and I might be seeing some of our classmates as we were set to move home the next morning! Because of this, the free drinks were flowing, and the atmosphere was bittersweet. I looked around at all our year together and there was this warm feeling, like we were a team and we were really proud of each other, but it was all ending! </div>
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<u><strong>Packing up and going home...</strong></u></div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-12321359742139613582013-06-20T05:19:00.000-07:002013-06-20T05:19:20.567-07:00Major Project Evaluation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Looking back on the last several weeks of work, I'm fairly proud with what I've achieved; although when comparing my initial proposal to the actual final outcomes, it is clear to see that my work does have some significant weaknesses.<br />
To begin with, I'm happy with the creative aims of the project. I chose a story that has a personal appeal to me, and that kept me engaged and determined in the work from start to finish. Choosing to create a book was an ambitious goal, considering I have had difficulties in the past with similar work related to narrative illustration. But I think it was important for me to strive to create something that had a purpose beyond superficial aesthetics, since I have always found storytelling appealing, and (trying to say this without sounding obnoxiously pretentious) am interested in making art that has a deeper meaning to it-something to express my beliefs/interests. I feel that my research into the story itself helped a great deal in informing the character of (I felt) the main protagonist, Big Bad Mr. Wolf. His appearance gives him a personality that I don't think is often portrayed in other versions of the tale: he is an endearing, misunderstood character, despite his devious actions against Little Red Riding Hood; in a way, I wanted to get across in my images that he is a product of his loneliness, and the confusion between his animal instincts (to hunt and eat prey) and his desire to dress up like a gentleman and be human.<br />
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Since the importance of the story research was particularly in looking at the metaphorical analysis of its message, planning the narrative was otherwise simple, and not a problematic part of the project. I wrote a version of the story myself which deviates very little from other generic versions; hoping that the images themselves would be the more significant factor in making it stand out as something of my own. My visual research was mostly focused on the setting of the forest, which I think made sense as most of the images would use this scenery as a background, and I feel very lucky that I managed to wander round such a beautiful German forest as inspiration, and use the actual tree branches I gathered there as the trees in my woods!<br />
Technically, I'm pleased with the development of my working method. Although the thought of creating a wolf that could be mobile enough for a successful animation was scary at first, I'm happy to say that I pulled it off! My animation demonstrates the movement I wanted to be able to achieve, and I think as a stand-alone object, he is probably the best creature I've made as yet. In fact, it was hard not to get carried away taking a million pictures of him and making images based solely on his character! I think I did a little bit, actually, but it proved to work in my favour as I'm now the proud in-house illustrator of this year's college newsletter!<br />
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Little Red Riding Hood was also a success, and has a surprising amount of movement herself. Sadly, she wasn't ready in time to be involved in the animation side of things, but as I viewed her as a less significant character, this didn't bother me too much. My problem-solving in her production involved risk-taking, using a material I've not had practice with (modelling clay), which probably should have been tackled at an earlier stage to allow for experimentation, but the gamble paid off. Creating the forest also required some quick thinking when I realised the tree branches were too heavy to stand well on their own, but picking the mod roc to stabilise the structure was a wiser decision in this case as I've had plenty of experience using it before (just not for this course!) I think the research is evident in the production of the woods, and the atmosphere of the final images. I'm happy that the illustrations convey the story effectively, with the tone and atmosphere I wanted.<br />
However, despite the fact that my production methods have evolved positively, I am still lacking confidence in the relevant computer software needed to really bring my work together and make it cohesive for its set purpose (in my case, the obvious part that's missing is the arrangement of the pages and the text together, ready to be printed as a book). I'm also disappointed that I didn't complete the drawings I had planned to place in between the full illustrations. The drawing side of the work became forgotten about, when originally I wanted to integrate them effectively with the photographs. I still aim to complete this eventually, and although it's sad that I don't have the final product ready to be marked as part of my degree, I'm happy to now spend a little bit more time perfecting everything before I will send it to be bound professionally. (The pressure is on because I know certain family members have been requesting copies!)<br />
Professionally, I think I have obvious strengths and weaknesses. My organisation skills still need a boost. I feel that if the work had accelerated quicker in the initial few weeks I would have found the production towards the end much less stressful. But personal circumstances also intervened and had a terrible effect on my motivation. Although I've had an extension, I still feel the negative impact of this is evident in the standard of my work. I was aiming high, but I've accepted I couldn't quite get there; at least I tried my best. I would just love to know what my best could have been! (Life, eh). Aside from the work itself, I've still been keeping my blog updated regularly with critical posts about myself and also looking at contacting the industry and learning more and more about influences and inspiration. I have identified artists who are achieving success in the kinds of 'niches' I'd love to get into (who unfortunately haven't responded to my attempts at contacting them), but attending the craft convention earlier this term opened my eyes to the fact that there are helpful people out there who will show interest in my work. I just need to maintain my enthusiasm for what I do, keep making, keep getting myself out there and ultimately not give up on what I'm passionate about.<br />
In conclusion, the end of this project has been a bittersweet victory for me. I'm relieved that it's over, and positive about the future, just frustrated at my short-comings this time round. It still feels like a valuable learning experience. Although I think I've developed a strong 'illustrative voice' which feels like me, I am still refining and improving myself, which will probably be an ongoing process for some time to come. This isn't necessarily a negative thing, just something that will require perseverance and a strong belief in myself. As long as I can get that confidence back, I think I will be ok...</div>
Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-80392129456300956812013-06-13T15:49:00.000-07:002013-06-13T15:49:02.954-07:00New Business Cards!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I ordered some new business cards in time to put on display at our show. I got a mixture of Leon the Lion designs and ones of Mr.Wolf, and I'm really happy with how they all look! The information on the back is up-to-date with my professional email (emily@emilydenison.co.uk) and new website address (emilydenison.co.uk). I had no idea how many I'd need to order, but they've been disappearing fast this week, which has been a confidence boost! More will be needed for our travelling show...</div>
Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-51694846822862188302013-05-31T06:21:00.002-07:002013-05-31T06:21:44.221-07:00Putting the characters together<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here are some test photos I took of Little Red Riding Hood and Mr. Wolf together so far, using his alcove as a back-drop. I'm pleased to say I think they work quite well together!<br />
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And I tried them with a sepia effect...like an old fashioned family photo, which I'm also happy with...</div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-74434760732310227202013-05-30T04:12:00.001-07:002014-09-09T11:36:43.903-07:00Making Little Red Riding Hood<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I finally got round to the big task of creating my human character, Miss Hood!<br />
I put this off for a long time as it's something I've been terrified of doing, and the process has involved a lot of risks, with little time to experiment and improve. As it stands, she is almost finished. Once I have her looking in a state I'm happy with I will take a few practice photos alongside my wolf, and the scenery, to see if anything needs changing to make her look better in context.<br />
So, I began by creating the basic shape for her body. Instead of using wire alone, like the 'skeleton' of my wolf, I used part of an egg box to speed up the process, and avoid how fiddly using wire at such a tiny scale would be.<br />
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The focus at this point was mostly on the strength of the legs, and the shape and support of the feet so that the figure can stand easily...</div>
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Then I started making her clothes, and made sure her size was appropriate next to the wolf. I'm happy that she looks tiny and vulnerable next to him.</div>
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Next it was time to strengthen the body...</div>
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I made the decision to use mod roc because I wanted to add weight to the figure, and I also knew it would be possible to improve the shape quite easily with this material (i.e. building up curves slightly on the bottom and chest, and pulling in the waist while the egg box cardboard was dampened). I avoided placing mod roc over areas I want to be mobile, so the legs are still able to bend at the knee, and the arms will be constructed with a more flexible covering over the wire.</div>
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I was still very worried about how I was going to do the face! At such a small scale, it would be a challenge no matter what method I used. I considered building up the basic shape of the nose and cheeks with wire, then working over it in mod roc or paper mache, but it seemed too fiddly and with unpredictable results. It was time to try something new: plasticine! I made a trip to Fred Aldous to browse their selection of modelling clays. There were so many different kinds, I didn't know which one to pick; after a long time I settled on a small pack of skin coloured <i>Staedtler</i> 'Fimo soft' modelling clay.</div>
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This was my first time using this material in my illustration work, and I had very little confidence when approaching the face construction. It felt impossible at first; I was just squashing the clay into the hollow gap I'd left and hoping it would somehow shape into an adorable character. I was unsure if I'd be able to achieve a realistic style, or whether I should deliberately simplify her features. I attempted the former with a picture of a girl's profile silhoette as reference.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VmuqdjgLmXk/UacvD4iHoeI/AAAAAAAABvw/J0ANLcZspic/s1600/9360848-silhouette-of-a-girls-head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VmuqdjgLmXk/UacvD4iHoeI/AAAAAAAABvw/J0ANLcZspic/s320/9360848-silhouette-of-a-girls-head.jpg" height="320" width="279" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Girl's profile silhoette by <a href="https://plus.google.com/115737967510152320631/posts">Darren Whittingham</a>]</span></i></div>
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This basic picture really helped with shaping. I added clay to the top of the head and managed to mould the nose and chin (quite well for a first try I think!) I tried to do this quickly-I thought if I spent too much time messing around with the face shape I might spoil it and frustrate myself trying to make it perfect.</div>
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She was ready for the oven! I baked the figure at roughly 100 degrees c for 30 minutes. It was hard to find information on whether it was safe to bake mod roc, so I kept rushing to the oven nervously to check it hadn't cracked, but thankfully it came out fine! And the plasticine was solid and ready to paint.</div>
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The colour of the plasticine seemed a bit too dark for how I wanted the complexion, so I mixed a paler colour from acrylic paint for her head and shoulders.</div>
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The hardest part was tentatively painting the features of the face. I kept having to wipe off the paint and going over it again, but I'm pleased with how she looked at the end of the day.</div>
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Once she has arms and hands to hold her basket full of grandma goodies, I'll be almost ready! </div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-10918783410020892702013-05-23T08:04:00.002-07:002013-05-23T08:04:33.156-07:00Progress<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've been spending a lot of time recently making the forest scenery that will be the background for a lot of my illustrations in Little Red Riding Hood. This hasn't been an easy process!<br />
The first step was gathering the twigs that would represent the trees. The next was to figure out a way of making them stand up. I came up with the idea of building them a wire base that they could rest in. Making the mesh was tricky and I had a lot of scratches on my hands after this...<br />
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The next problem was the weight of the trees in the wire. they had a tendency to warp the shape of it and it wasn't a very sturdy set-up, so I decided to strengthen the base using mod roc.</div>
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I added paint to the mod roc so that the white wouldn't show through after I put the knitted wool over the surface (as the grass/vegetation).</div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-32504620032014406182013-04-30T14:39:00.002-07:002013-04-30T14:39:50.531-07:00Keeping in touch with what inspires me...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
At this late stage I'm hurriedly planning the size and layout of my book. In my initial storyboards of my images I automatically drew out rough boxes in quite a 'wide-screen' film friendly format. I'm not entirely sure why I did this, but I seem to be naturally comfortable thinking of images in terms of being a scene, like a landscape camera shot. I've needed to reconsider this as it isn't properly taking advantage of the book format. In my talks with tutors it has also been brought up that I should aim to create something that appeals to the child in me; something I can really connect to. So, I've been looking at the books I enjoy the layout of for inspiration. My favourites are old storybooks that appear quite decorative in their design, such as this collection, the <i>Nutshell Library</i> by Maurice Sendak:<br />
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Here the illustrations are linked comfortably with the text in the book with decorative flourishes, either around the images themselves or alonside them around the titles. Everything looks neat and cohesive, which is what I want to be able to achieve! I think the size of these books is also a big factor in their appeal. They feel like precious objects as they are so small, and reading them is a personal, private experience (not particularly suited to sharing). Until I have taken the photographs of my scenes I can't finalise what size I would like the illustrations to be exactly, but I'm hoping they will be suitable to be viewed as quite small, similar to this.</div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-45067645187727945032013-04-30T07:27:00.001-07:002013-04-30T07:27:35.686-07:00Portfolio Review with Craig Oldham<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I got in touch with Craig from the Manchester based design company <i>Music. </i>My class were briefed by him last term for the ongoing Fishtank competition to decorate their studio. Here's what he said:</div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">'Emily, hello.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for sending through your book.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The studio is somewhat crazy at present so please forgive my somewhat brief feedback.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">If I'm honest I prefer the more three-dimensional pieces in your book.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It would be better I think to show more of these (as in more views on them).</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also, treat them as objects and try shooting them better—think more about the context of them, should they be in the kitchen, in the set, or should it just be about the object? Do you need hands in there? Is there a completely different context? What was their intention? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thinking about this will help your 'storytell' better in your book.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hope that helps.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">All the best.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Craig.'</span></i></blockquote>
His feedback seems to reflect most people's reaction to my work, in that he is drawn to the most 3D pieces. His advice about shooting them better is also a valuable point and it's something I will definitely look to improve. However, I feel that not being able to meet him for a review of my physical work may have hampered his understanding of it. Maybe this suggests that I need to arrange certain pieces better to let the work explain itself. The suggestion that I need to treat my creatures as objects makes me feel that I need to think carefully about how to convey a narrative in an image using 3D characters in future- obviously this will be particularly important for the images I'm creating at the moment for my book. I don't want the animals I make to be seen as stand-alone objects all the time.</div>
Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-76268302256253390432013-04-29T15:35:00.002-07:002013-04-30T12:36:47.451-07:00Portfolio review with Matt Bray<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today I sent <a href="http://www.mattbrayillustration.com/">Matt</a> a message asking if he could take a peek at how my portfolio was looking, and he very quickly got back to me saying to send it over, and I'm pleased to get a super positive response!<br />
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As I've never shown him my work before, I was unsure what he'd make of my style, seeing as his own is much more digitally based, and in my opinion, far more polished and professional looking. </div>
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Here's what he said:</div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">'Hey Em,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m loving your portfolio! You’ve developed a lovely style that comes across as fresh and unique as well as personal and sensitive. My favourite two pieces are: <a href="http://emilydenisonillustration.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Life%20Stories">‘Life Stories’ </a>and ‘Leon’. I think both pieces are great examples of the warmth and fragility that your work has. I also think they’re both good examples of the two different approaches that your work seems to have:</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The fist approach being the use of 2D pencil drawn figures in 3D environments; the second being the knitted characters.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I love both approaches! I think they compliment each other beautifully.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’d also love to see both approaches put together: the pencil drawn characters and the knitted characters- I think they would work together really well </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m really impressed by your portfolio and the high standard of your illustrations! Hope you enjoy these last few days of uni and keep up the awesome work </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">All the best,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Matt'</span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Leon</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm glad Matt specifically identified two pieces that I am particularly proud of, it's encouraged me to trust my own judgment regarding the quality of my work. I'm pleasantly surprised that he was not only drawn to the <a href="http://emilydenisonillustration.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Hand-made%20Animals">hand-made characters</a>, but also the drawn elements which I so enjoy (and miss!) doing. The fact that he talks about combining the approaches is great too, seeing as it has been an aim of mine for the development of my work, and it's definitely something I will be striving to do as time goes on.</span></div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-28630203814528626782013-04-29T11:40:00.000-07:002013-04-29T14:58:41.659-07:00Hopes, Fears and Opportunities (Part 2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The final term of my degree was ideally going to be the time where I perfected my practice and created something that was a truly successful culmination of my skills and experience throughout the past three years.<br />
Unfortunately, as has a habit of happening, things didn't turn out as wonderfully as planned. However, this time has been valuable nevertheless, and I still feel I have learnt a lot. Experience itself has in a way hampered the smoothness of my progress, as it has opened up new options that have left me feeling uncertain about the paths I want to take, and I feel I'm questioning my work a lot more now. In a way, this is good, as it hopefully means I will continue refining myself for the better. But at this point, fast approaching the line between student life and the professional world, it is worrying me that my confidence is so wavering.<br />
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In Part 1 I discussed confidence issues and how I didn't feel as accomplished as my work was in 2nd year. I still feel the same way. I'm proud of what I've produced, but it isn't at the professional level it needs to be. It's the final week and I'm terrified at the amount of work I've to produce in order for my book to be a success for our degree show. The reason everything has become so last minute, however, isn't due to laziness. Because of personal reasons I've been unable to work at my full potential for a number of weeks during this project. It's frustrating that at such an important time in my life I've not been physically or emotionally at my best. I've refused to accept defeat because of this, but I regret not being able to achieve my full potential as I had hoped after the disappointing results of last semester.<br />
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In a way, deciding to create a picture book has made life harder for me in terms of the completion of professionally finished pieces, as I don't have a finished product at all until all the work I've done is refined into a book. The most labour-intensive part of the work so far has been the creation of my wolf character, and because of this, I think it's worth taking advantage of him as much as possible, for other uses apart from the book itself. <a href="http://emilydenisonillustration.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/animation.html">My animation</a> is a good example of this, and I have also created pieces made from photos of him for a college newsletter image. For the final show I might try and adapt the book illustrations slightly as well, to make them 'poster friendly' and have more of an impact on their own, so they can be printed larger and put on the wall.<br />
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As I have mentioned in previous blog-posts, I would have liked to incorporate print-making into the production of my illustrations. However, due to the unplanned time constraints, this hasn't been an option. Using drawn/print-made imagery alongside my made objects was an important goal of mine. I've been trying to merge the two ways I enjoy working which don't always blend completely successfully visually, and during this project I've not ended up having the time to achieve this. Instead, I've resorted to using found objects to speed up the work (e.g. real twigs to represent the forest). If I had longer to complete the illustrations I would like to draw extensive amounts of scenery to make paper cut-out transfers to place in amongst my made objects. The only project I can refer to where I feel this combination was successful is the <i><a href="http://emilydenisonillustration.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/finished-product-of-life-stories-brief.html">Life Stories</a></i> brief from last year. And the obvious difference this has to what I'm trying to achieve now is that the characters are the drawn element and the scenery is made. I don't know how effective swapping this combination will be, as my experimentation and development hasn't been thorough enough.<br />
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My proposal plans haven't changed throughout the project as I have never doubted wanting to achieve making a book. I wanted something precious and for my work to be bound lovingly as an object, like the objects that will make up its contents. From the beginning, I knew that planning and meeting deadlines was going to be my biggest challenge. Time keeping and planning each week carefully to avoid being over-indulgent in the made element production was always going to be important, to keep focused on the bigger picture. However, even with perfectly made plans and a disciplined pace of production, the work will have suffered because of the reasons beyond my control. I've had to adapt to make up for the lost time, but I will not be satisfied with work that is rushed or not a decent standard. So, I've had to accept that the work I will be handing in at the deadline will very likely be incomplete. I will continue working after the deadline and focus on making the work as good as it can be for the show.<br />
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Looking to the future, I'm very uncertain how my career will develop. I'm happy that during this semester we've been encouraged to develop professionally by building websites. I hope that in future I can rely on this site to draw attention from people that might be interested in commissioning me, or at least get in touch with me and open doors to potential opportunities. I will also look into how to professionally sell my work online. As well as hand-made animals (I plan on beginning to make a series of endangered African ones soon in my free time) I would like to sell things that can be produced more quickly and therefore sold more cheaply (like the notebooks I made to sell at the print fair). Furthermore, I don't think I've learned everything I need to create my work at its best. I want to continue developing my skills in animation and print-making after I've graduated. Also, although self-publishing and self-employment seems like the most logical route for my work to take, I will not rule out the chance of editorial commissions entirely. Just because there seems to be quite a narrow style margin that suits the industry, it doesn't guarantee nobody would be interested in something a little bit different (I hope!)<br />
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I had hoped that attending the taster day in Preston for designer/makers would help give me a more solid idea of what might happen after I graduate. But in truth, the strongest message that was reiterated throughout the day was that new graduates looking to start a career in such a business just need to grab every opportunity possible. Luck and determination have large parts to play, but you can make your own luck by working hard to achieve what you want. I hope that in the realistic scenario I'm facing (i.e. moving home for a while to get some money saved, and a part time job to keep me alive when I move out) I will have time to remain really involved in the illustration world. I want to stay passionate about what I love, meet people, see things and stay inspired!</div>
Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-59934709916904072992013-04-29T09:09:00.000-07:002013-04-30T12:35:30.825-07:00Drawing from (still) Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Since I've been making my animals it's been interesting to see how their character can develop into a 2D format by drawing the models themselves. I first discovered a successful way of doing this when I did a watercolour painting and ink drawings of one of my 'inventive characters' last year, <a href="http://emilydenisonillustration.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Inventive%20Characters">the friendly stoat.</a> This is a way of developing my characters I haven't explored enough at my time on this course.</div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-89840076271684096692013-04-29T08:38:00.000-07:002013-04-29T08:38:06.663-07:00Animation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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On Thursday I was allowed to spend the afternoon creating my stop-motion piece in the moving image room. I could have spent hours in there! (Except for a bit of a headache from the bright lights). I had been nervous about approaching this task as I wasn't sure my wolf's movement was going to be successful, and because of this I didn't feel able to create a storyboard that I would have been able to follow closely. So in the end, the plot of this short film is improvised based on the movement I could achieve in the set-up.<br />
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The basic idea is to introduce the main character, Mr. Wolf. He is welcoming the audience to his woods and demonstrating how he can manipulate the nature around him. I included the flowers as they are his main tool for distracting Little Red Riding Hood with; since they are so beautiful, she cannot resist going to pick some for her grandma as he suggests. However, during the process of making the animation I realised that his movement was not easily manipulated in a rigid sort of way (like a proper stop motion figure with a strong armature structure). As I adjusted him for each frame, it was clear that I had to let the figure sway and settle as it most easily fell. The result is that the wolf's movement is quite undisciplined and uncoordinated. So, I decided to base the rest of his movement in the clip on the idea of him being drunk; a suave, but oafish villain (like Roald Dahl's version in <i>Revolting Rhymes</i>).<br />
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As I didn't have completely easy control of the wolf's movement, the pacing of it sometimes hides the gestures I wanted to convey. For example, at one point near the end he looks down and notices that his coat isn't covering his crotch, so he covers it up before making a hasty exit. Another potential improvement would be what is supposed to be his bow at the beginning; I'm not sure it comes across as that rather than him simply bending down to look at something on the floor! </div>
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However, overall I'm pleased with the results. I think the simple movement of the flowers is effective, and their interaction with the wolf figure went as planned. The wire structure of the hands is particularly good for the movement of the fingers and general hand gestures, so the act of grasping the flowers is believable. The combination of the reasonably mobile head and neck with the pin-heads as eyes also meant I could suggest good contact with an audience; the wolf is clearly performing, engaging with the camera throughout. And an unexpected bonus to the improvised movement was the dishevelment of wolf's clothes after he's been rolling around on the floor; I didn't expect his bow to fall off, but the act of him picking it up and throwing it away served as a good action to suggest his embarrassment and pride, despite his obvious inability to remain composed. </div>
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Some still frames:</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Welcoming the audience to the forest...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The bow...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The flowers gather...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Mr. Wolf loses his dignity...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>...and tries to recover...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Throws away his bow...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Waves...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Loses his dignity again.</i></span></div>
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Now all that remains left to do is to crop the unnecessary edges, possibly adjust the colour/lighting, and add some sound. I am hoping for the help of a friend for the voice of Mr. Wolf, as I don't think I can do a convincing enough one myself! </div>
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This has been such a good experience, I wish I had the time to experiment more with stop motion. It is such a simple yet effective process, and would bring my animal characters alive so well. For my first attempt at creating a mobile creature, I'm surprised with what my wolf can achieve. If I were to continue creating things for animations I would benefit from the experience this time round and hopefully be able to improve a lot. Perhaps investing in some stop-motion equipment is something I could also look into in the future...</div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-33331755141850545212013-04-26T07:01:00.000-07:002013-04-29T08:38:29.452-07:00Hothouse Taster Day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today I made a lone trip to Preston to attend a workshop for emerging designer makers:<br />
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<i>an intensive programme of tips and advice especially tailored for craft makers wanting to set up in business and develop their creativity.</i></blockquote>
I was a little nervous at the thought of going alone (and this was not unfounded; I did manage to get lost on the way from the station to the church the workshop was held in!) but the advice and atmosphere was definitely inspiring and worth the journey.<br />
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The morning began with an introduction from Charles Hadcock (the chairman of <i>Creative Lancashire</i>). He spoke about the value of creativity in modern society; its influence on culture. It <i>is </i>a viable commodity, despite it being an industry that is not widely as appreciated as it should be. He explained that because of the 'death of manufacturing',<br />
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<i>the hand of the maker has never been more interesting to the public than <b>now.</b></i></blockquote>
Art and creativity is a growth sector, and people trying to make their living in this industry must be armed with the knowledge to develop their practice from a commercial and business perspective. As the business develops, so does the practice itself.<br />
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Next we were introduced to Madeleine Furness (the maker development officer of the <i>Crafts Council). </i>She spoke briefly, following on from Mr. Hadcock, about the tenacity required to carry a business. She explained about the Craft Council's purpose: to nurture practitioners and encourage people to study crafts; supporting a large range of disciplines, the collaboration of practices and the opportunities that can generate therein.<br />
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The following (and arguably, most important) speaker of the day was Alison Branagan, an extremely experienced and motivational individual. She began by asking about her audience, calling out for people of certain disciplines to raise their hands and make themselves known around the room. At this point I felt extremely intimidated by being somewhat out of place amongst the mixture of ceramicists, jewellery makers and textile makers. However, the presentation was engaging and I'm sure will prove to be useful, even to someone in a narrower field than traditional craft areas, such as myself.<br />
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<i style="font-size: small;">"Don't forget to have a look around at the tapestry, stone and stained glass- we're sitting in a museum of craft in this Minster."</i></div>
She moved on to the importance of <b>experience: </b>creative work placements, part time jobs related to our practice in some way, internships (as long as we don't get stuck being someone's assistant for more than a couple of weeks). It is essential to get references from these. Learning to be flexible about future opportunities is also important at the moment; it is not always going to be realistic to expect to be able to follow the narrow path many university courses will steer students towards. Touching on the option of post-graduate education, she advised that we didn't rush into doing an MA course. It's best to get as much knowledge about what you want to do as possible first, and if it's an appealing option after careful consideration, you should take time to browse places to make sure the course is right for you, especially with the current high price tags.<br />
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Other pointers:<br />
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<i>Being naive does you no favours in the world of commerce.</i></blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Learn about copyright and trademarks! Do not put images on facebook as they then have the right to do whatever they want with the files in the future.</li>
<li>Invest in a calendar- a year planner, specifically, so you can easily plan ahead for promotion and commissions.</li>
<li>Don't rely on luck- use your degree show as the launch of your career and think carefully about relevant people to invite.</li>
<li>Identify what you want to achieve-make a plan involving the people you need to help you get there.</li>
<li>Avoid distractions and <b>time drainers. <i>Think seriously about the value of time.</i></b></li>
<li>Be organised and well-prepared- focused and ready to react to opportunities.</li>
<li>Plan with mind maps.</li>
<li>It is not good for the mind to try to do a million things at once! Remembering to have some quiet time to yourself each day is important.</li>
</ul>
The 7 steps to starting up a business:<br />
<div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Research.</li>
<li>Advice and support.</li>
<li>Business plan.</li>
<li>Funding.</li>
<li>Open business account.</li>
<li>Accountant/Book keeping.</li>
<li><b>Register as self-employed.</b></li>
</ol>
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Networking:</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Be ready for every situation where there is the opportunity to participate socially to create new opportunities and carry existing ones forward.</li>
<li>Keep a mind map of connections- this can keep growing.</li>
<li>Talk to people on the phone when possible. Designers are bombarded with emails from recent graduates trying to make their own opportunities, so they can't begin to respond to everybody this way.</li>
<li>Don't get drunk at networking opportunities (ha ha).</li>
<li>Be aware that some people are not willing to share their contacts. Professional jealousy can mean people want to keep their own lists a secret.</li>
<li>Get onto professional networking sites, but try and limit these to around 3-5.</li>
<li>Keep websites/blogs/etsys professional looking- i.e. professional photos when possible.</li>
<li>Register with <i><a href="http://www.creativelancashire.org/">Creative Lancashire</a>. </i>(and look far and wide for other regional support networks).</li>
</ul>
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<i>It's not what you know. It's who you know.</i></blockquote>
Education and business success are not necessarily related (e.g. Damien Hirst has very limited artistic talent but he knows lots of people and has become very rid from this philosophy).<br />
<br />
Business planning and professional practice:<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Seek advice from lots of people- mentors, workshops like this one, professional business advice, accountants.</li>
<li>Try and become a member of a professional body after graduation- it correlates positively with success.</li>
<li>Find out about insurance (public liability/product liability). There are people out there who will take whatever chance they can to sue!</li>
<li>Be careful what you post on blogs/facebook if things need to be commercially secret.</li>
<li><b>TIME</b>- understand it and its uses.</li>
</ul>
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The next speaker was Bev Lamey, the principle lecturer for MA Surface Pattern Design at UClan. She spoke mostly about the facilities at the university, which was all very impressive but not something particularly useful to me. </div>
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Angela Mann, of the <a href="http://www.greatnorthernevents.co.uk/"><i>Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair</i></a> was next. She explained all about the event, something which I have heard of before, but hadn't considered wanting to possibly take part in until now. The fair focuses on supporting new Northern makers in particular, as well as graduates and other specific groups.</div>
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The benefits are:</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Being selected proves the quality of your work alongside many other makers (confidence boosting!)</li>
<li>Sales from work.</li>
<li>Networking.</li>
<li>Access to trade, buyers, press and over 6000 visitors.</li>
<li>Collaborative opportunities.</li>
<li>Guidance to the future direction of your work (i.e. what sells and what doesn't).</li>
<li>National marketing campaign gains attention for work at the fair- adverts in trade journals, glossies and regional press, city centre and lots more.</li>
</ul>
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Tips for applying:</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Read the guidelines thoroughly.</li>
<li>Don't forget 50% of applicants are rejected.</li>
<li>Selection is based on <b>images</b> as judging is done very quickly.</li>
<li>The panel look for quality, consistency, cohesive collections, innovation and how sellable the work is.</li>
<li>Mixture of statement pieces and more affordable work.</li>
<li>Images need to be 300dpi in print, 72dpi for web use...</li>
<li>Make work appear professional. Many photos used for entries are not suitable for advertising campaign images, so if it looks impressive yours could be chosen!</li>
<li>Think carefully about pricing, equipment needed for displaying the work, promotional materials you will bring.</li>
</ul>
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At the fair:</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Be friendly and approachable- you are most likely to engage an audience of potential buyers if you're at their eye level and talk to them while they browse.</li>
<li>It costs £375 for 'new makers' to get a standard sized stall (+ £20 to be featured in the catalogue).</li>
<li>Graduates get free stands, but places are very limited.</li>
<li>Around 30% of people at the fair get commissioned by galleries.</li>
</ul>
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Jane Dzisiewski was the next speaker, and a participant in the Hothouse programme in 2011/12. She has had 3 years in business since then. She introduced her talk with a summary of the Hothouse programme itself:</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Support for emerging makers.</li>
<li>Focuses on business and creative aspects equally.</li>
<li>Focuses on traditional crafts mostly.</li>
<li>Cohorts run January-June 2014 with applications received by the end of July 2013.</li>
<li>Find the application details at the <i><a href="http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/">Crafts Council website</a>.</i></li>
</ul>
</div>
She went on to tell us about her business development and how becoming savvy with the internet side of things really helped her progress. Such as:<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Using a free app called 'buffer', which links social and professional networking sites together, allowing you to manage them all together (which saves time and having to re-write statuses etc separately).</li>
<li>Having an online portfolio has allowed her to tell her work's story without having to be there herself to explain it. (so, she recommends using images that are revealing of the creative process, from start to finish).</li>
</ul>
<div>
She also felt that professional development has to be an ongoing process to make the best of yourself. </div>
<div>
General tips:</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Putting yourself and your work at the centre of your practice is essential (i.e. don't become overly involved in helping others/collaborating if it is really holding you back).</li>
<li>Plan seriously for the future you want.</li>
<li>Make your own opportunities.</li>
<li>Regularly assess yourself and 'fine tune' occasionally.</li>
<li>When blogging, think carefully about the use of titles and image captions- what are people likely to search for on google? You can gain a lot of attention from people following pictures back to you.</li>
<li>Watch <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/05/21/neil-gaiman-commencement-addre.html">this video</a> of Neil Gaiman.</li>
</ul>
<div>
The final speaker, Rachel Kelly, had these additional tips:</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Challenge yourself to learn new things all the time!</li>
<li>Always seek an audience for your work- you can't confine yourself to a studio working for yourself.</li>
<li>Have a sentence, 50 words, and a page about your work all prepared to save time when contacting potential clients etc.</li>
<li>Keep computer files super organised- use this as a procrastination if you must procrastinate.</li>
<li>Have email templates for replying to people if messages begin to become overwhelming. </li>
<li>Be focused on your work. Don't be distracted by your phone or computer.</li>
<li>Concentrate on your own business development before collaborations.</li>
<li>Be inspired by your surroundings and use the facilities available to you (galleries, museums, libraries etc).</li>
<li>Keep a growing address book of professional contacts and organisations for the future.</li>
<li>Attend more events like this one!</li>
<li>Understand your work and where you want it to go.</li>
</ul>
<div>
At the end of the day everyone seemed a bit exhausted by all the information we'd absorbed. My overall impression of the day is that it was aimed predominantly at traditional crafts people, therefore wasn't entirely relevant to the direction I might take after graduation. Nevertheless, I did get very useful tips for how to approach becoming freelance and make a living from my work independently; either through self-publised work being sold on my own site or at events such as print fairs and craft fairs.</div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-1614812572281752172013-04-23T13:58:00.002-07:002013-04-29T08:41:02.896-07:00The Fair<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Previously I hadn't realised that this was such a high profile event! Inside the venue it was overwhelmingly warm and busy, and the stalls were packed tight. I felt intimidated by the professionalism of the work on sale compared to the items I had donated, but the prints and zines that my fellow students had contributed looked right at home. After arriving and seeing how our stall was looking, it was clear that we wouldn't be able to squeeze in alongside Paul and Kat behind the table to assist, so we wished them luck and mingled around the northern quarter for a while. </div>
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After lunch at the Nexus Art Cafe we returned again to see how our stall was doing. It was a little disheartening to see that none of my work had gone, and I was a bit worried that it was priced too highly for people to be interested. Paul mentioned that lots of people had been intrigued by my hand-crafted animals, picking them up to inspect but seemingly not enough to hand over money for them. There was a bit of debate over the issue of pricing, which was settled with the idea that people would pay a high price for things that were made well and seemed 'limited edition'. Although I think that we should have brought the price of my animals down, it was encouraging that my fellow students appreciated the effort that went in to creating them to value them quite expensively.</div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-84465954581017791332013-04-12T08:05:00.001-07:002013-04-15T09:07:17.305-07:00Manchester Print Fair 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For the past couple of weeks I've been preparing work to sell, along with fellow illustration/graphics students, at this event. The money raised from this will go towards the funds for our degree show outside of college.<br />
I have contributed a few hand-made animals and hand-bound notebooks. I'm a little nervous about whether or not my things will sell amongst the very professional looking graphic prints people have been producing! But hopefully a little diversity isn't such a bad thing.<br />
Only tomorrow can tell what will happen...</div>
Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-40576985751442115312013-04-08T03:38:00.000-07:002013-04-08T03:38:03.285-07:00Wonderful Inspiration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Just as the thought of creating my own animation was becoming too daunting to bear, I found this wonderful animated adaptation of The Grimm Brothers' <i>The Golden Bird </i>by <a href="http://www.catbruce.co.uk/">Cat Bruce</a>:<br />
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/30585464?utm_source=Just+So+Festival&utm_campaign=d360b6fc38-Tales_from_the_Wild_05_03_123_5_2013&utm_medium=email">[Click here to watch it on Vimeo!]</a><br />
The scenery has been created quite crudely, but it nevertheless looks atmospheric and appropriate for the characters, mostly due to the lighting effect. She has used real bits of plantation: twigs and dead leaves; large pieces of fabric and buttons.<br />
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The sun has been represented by a circle of golden foil. The sunset is a simple sequence where fabric is pulled down behind the foreground to show the transfer from sunset to night sky.<br />
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The house in the opening scene is constructed with corrugated card, and cardboard is also used as silhoette detail in the foreground of the shot. Cardboard trees appear to be coloured with oil pastel. Although quite a simplistic representation of objects, the material is appropriate and comfortable alongside the made figure of the man.<br />
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Another aspect of this that I found particularly encouraging in relation to making my own animation is the way she has used a 2D representation of the man in a sequence where he is chasing after the golden bird. In this 'long shot' the puppet is used to achieve more realistic running motions. The background moves to the left to give the illusion of his speed.<br />
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I like the way she also uses frames focusing closer on the character intermittently during the chase, focusing on his struggle to keep up as we hear his voice. The sequence, and the way the rest of the animation's narrative appears, gives the impression of effective, 'filmic' editing.</div>
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Other impressive features include:<br />
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this fantastic fox...</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8qB68bbT5Z4/UWKcJU2PI1I/AAAAAAAABmU/2aBsVsaIWQA/s1600/15.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8qB68bbT5Z4/UWKcJU2PI1I/AAAAAAAABmU/2aBsVsaIWQA/s400/15.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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the man's face!...</div>
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and this fire, complete with flickering flames and sparks (so clever I don't even want to think too hard about how it's been done)...</div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-59515618815358448862013-04-08T02:49:00.001-07:002013-04-08T02:49:39.209-07:00Further pampering and preening for Mr. Wolf...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Although my wolf character has looked to be in an acceptable state for a while (enough to build my book narrative plans around him), there always seems to be room for picky little adjustments.<br />
Certain improvements have been entirely necessary though; in particular, the addition of his hands and feet (or paws-something of a werewolfy mix). I found I'd been putting off adding them because I wasn't quite sure how to go about making them. It was quite a fiddly process, and I was unhappy at the though of probably needing to use glue at this point, to fix wool to wire (I'm not sure why, I have a stubborn reluctance to go beyond tying and sewing to fix things together). But I'm glad to say I managed without, and it was just a case of wrapping wool around wire and tying it securely. In the end, building the shape of the hand around the 'skeleton' was easier than I thought with the wrapping method.<br />
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In-keeping with the idea of the wolf character being a dangerously charming predator, I made him a tiny fitted jacket to add to his 'suave' appearance. I have yet to add a few buttons here and there, but I'm satisfied I've got an almost complete figure to work with. Now he just needs a grandma night-gown, and to meet little Red Riding Hood!<br />
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-8388368448468921242013-04-08T02:16:00.001-07:002013-04-08T02:20:52.190-07:00Visiting Germany<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last week I went with my family to a peaceful little village in Germany called <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dießen, just by the lake Ammersee. We were visiting my cousin's new baby for the first time! He was lovely.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">Rather than otherwise seeing the trip as a holiday, I tried my best to make most of the time there useful for my work. It was a perfect location for 'sense of place' research (for the setting of Little Red Riding Hood), as my aunt's house is a short walk away from some woods. The bizarre weather we've been experiencing this month in England has been equally as strange abroad. The cold weather had lead to snowfall: and although the sunshine gradually melted what blanketed the garden when we first arrived, the woods remained a strange, unseasonal winter wonderland.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">[<i>The view from my auntie's window</i>]</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">It was such a quiet day when I went wandering on my own. I didn't see any people, bar a few cars driving past as I crossed the main roads. I was even lucky enough to encounter three fawns as I made my way up towards the hill entering the woods. I only just managed to get my camera out in time to snap them as they dashed out in front of me.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o6LHhxoxWsw/UWKDvd_9xqI/AAAAAAAABho/-Fhjoz61lDw/s1600/IMG_9442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o6LHhxoxWsw/UWKDvd_9xqI/AAAAAAAABho/-Fhjoz61lDw/s400/IMG_9442.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">[<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>deer!</i>]</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">Walking up the slope, I was stepping over sledge tracks, and I suddenly realised this was where we had been sledging as children years before, and the nostalgia spurred me on (as I struggled not to slip during the climb!) Once I got into the trees I sat down a while to enjoy the scenery (leading to grass-stained jeans), and got out the camera again. I'm the first to admit that my photography skills unfortunately don't do justice to what I could see that day, but the pictures will no doubt be helpful. I also gathered together some of the odd loose branches and twigs I could find on the ground, as I've decided I would like to use some natural found materials to help build up the scenes for some of my illustrations. In my mind it felt more special using twigs from these woods than any old trees back in Manchester (yet my bundle of German sticks remains at home in York with my parents, when I realised I couldn't manage them on top of the rest of my luggage on the train. Hopefully I will be reunited with them in time to put them to use still...)</span></div>
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I even spied 'grandma's cottage' across the way...</div>
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Returning home with completely numb fingers, I felt rejuvenated by this little excursion, and set back to work in the warmth of the indoors. </div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-25783749130129254092013-03-06T07:33:00.001-08:002013-03-06T07:33:29.164-08:00On with my FMP!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Now that the Lord Whitney brief is out of the way, I can re-aquaint myself with my wolf! He has been abandoned untouched for too long, and it's time to bring him to life.<br />
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This week has been very positive; I feel freshly motivated again. On Monday I focused on the story and how the pictures in my book will look. I created a rough set of images-a very basic storyboard of how I think the narrative might progress, based on a loose idea of my version of the story.<br />
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Next, I will transfer these scribbly ideas into a 'mock-up' book, a hand-bound document very quickly put together to act as a guide for how my final product will turn out. As this will be very much a guide, I can afford to re-draw elements and cut and stick the text of the story into it temporarily, to allow editing as my ideas change; so although this may not initially be a reliable draft, it will be a very useful tool to keep me focused as I am in the process of producing the final illustrations.<br />
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Although there is a lot of work to do on the characters' environment (I will need to construct backgrounds as shown in my storyboard images: Little Red Riding Hood's house, the woods, grandma's cottage etc) my wolf is almost ready to go...<br />
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-961826344198243358.post-66468596321723154482013-02-24T11:21:00.000-08:002013-02-24T11:22:07.664-08:00I miss drawing people!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Lately I haven't been spending much time drawing people and figures, which is one of my favourite things to do! During <a href="http://emilydenisonillustration.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/lorraine-owen.html">our talk from Lorraine</a> she emphasized the importance of showing the figure, and characters in our portfolios. At the moment I feel that when people look at my work they are immediately drawn to the animal figures I've made. I would like to be more recognised for my drawings as well.<br />
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This has reminded me how happy I was with my work for the <a href="http://emilydenisonillustration.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/final-photos-of-my-swan.html"><i>Little White Lies</i></a> brief, when I spent hours drawing pictures of Natalie Portman in <i>Black Swan. </i>When I got complimented on the likeness of my drawings to her it really gave me a greater sense of achievement than I feel when people respond well to my made creatures.</div>
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Bearing this in mind, I would like to start focusing more on what may be the drawn elements of my major project. Background details and little red riding hood herself will be good starting points. It is the integration of the made and drawn elements that will be tricky. Although I have merged a 3D way of working with 2D cut-outs for projects before (e.g. <a href="http://emilydenisonillustration.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/finished-product-of-life-stories-brief.html" style="font-style: italic;">Life Stories</a>), it will be more of a challenge making the image look cohesive with a completely 3D made figure (my wolf). Because of the inevitable difficulties I will face when it comes to arranging all the elements together in an image, I am remaining open minded at this early stage about having to experiment with the representation of the characters and scenery.</div>
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With a greater amount of time to spare for evaluation and experimentation, I'm not so daunted by this task.</div>
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Emily Denisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00135414456205777021noreply@blogger.com0