..

Today I’m going to look into illustration, where it can be found and how it is done. Just a little bit so we can start submerging ourselves into this question and start to gain a better and more complex understanding of what it is to be an illustrator.

 

 

Where is illustration is a question that as illustrators we should be pondering in our heads and questioning constantly. We should be trying to discover this in order to understand where we fit as illustrators in our society and within the professional world of illustration. If you don’t know where you are, how do you know where you are going?

 

A starting point of where we encounter illustration is in our childhood, at a very young age through children’s books. There is the idea that we are born as blank slates (tabula rasa), therefore easily impressionable and we can start to be educated in that way through the help of illustration which reenforces whichever moral or lesson is being portrayed in the book. We begin to understand the world that we live in and that surrounds us, and this can shape and influence our behaviour. Not only that but the countless hours we spent just playing with our imagination, playing fantasy make belief also helps us understand different situations and types of people. This already says a lot about illustration and how much it is accountable for how we interpret things we encounter throughout our life.

Illustration is also a tool through which we experience space, its culture and its people. Many illustrators use illustration as a means of documenting their encounter with a space or location. So how does one think when documenting a place? What do we want to portray through this? What do we chose to show? If it is personal, we can choose to focus on our own sensations, by portraying that particular street/object/person that means so much to us and to what we feel in that particular place. Focusing on those smaller details rather than trying to cram everything that is happening on one page (unless that is what you are trying to convey i.e chaos, movement..) can really help the viewer understand and feel what you have experienced in that place. But if it is not personal but professional, where do we draw the line between ourselves and our work? What I would call your personal illustrator and your professional illustrator. How do you portray a place or location without your own feelings or personal opinions getting in the way?

”When you become an illustrator, you’re an artist, but an artist who has to answer a brief.”

-Laura Carlin, 2013

Laura Carlin explains how to her a good picture ‘…is littered with gaps. The gaps that are in between the words and pictures, it’s these gaps that the active reader has to fill and connect..’ this is ‘…the freedom found in picture books.’ So as an illustrator you should consider the importance of space, the use of gaps as part of your illustration, to give freedom to what is happening on the page and to give the reader freedom to fill the gaps and use their imagination. Because ‘all the pictures in a picture book add up to one picture that isn’t even there’ (Mario Goffstein). In a picture book the process of a narrative becomes one image in our mind, and the cohesion is something we develop and create.

Freedom of space, freedom of thought.

We also find illustration in a completely different form, one that doesn’t use paper or traditional bases as support; tattoos. Tattoos are a form of identity, so this  is where we recognise illustration as a form of representation of identity. And to me it is one of the freest form of expression of identity but also freest form of illustration, because it is believing so much and being so confident in your illustration that you would have it engraved 0n your own skin, forever. This brings up an interesting thought of what your choice of support means in terms of what your illustration conveys, how you use that means of support but also how confident you are in your illustration and how bold you want to be. Going back to tattoos, it is the act that is freeing, the gesture, because it is an act of rebellion through how it is done; on skin, with a needle and ink; permanence. It is a statement

Therefore to conclude I think it is really important to consider what your illustration means as a gesture, by really considering each element that constructs your illustration as a whole; the media, the support, the form, etc.. Because it is all one. And the more united these elements are, the stronger your message, the more powerful your gesture.

..

WRITING A HOOK SENTENCE

 

In my previous post I was talking about what makes a good piece of writing or what helps in getting there. So today I am going to go into this a little bit more by focusing on writing a ‘hook’.

 

A hook sentence is what inspires your reader to continue, they are the words that grab your reader’s attention and don’t let go of it. Hook sentences are crucial in all types of writing disciplines. A good hook sentence for me, is when I’m busy with something else and I read the start of that something and that’s it, I stop doing whatever I’m doing because I just have to keep on reading. Of course not all hook sentences can have such a big impact but some kind of effect at least, they catch your attention for sure.

A hook can consist of the first 6-7 sentences but it can also be shorter,  even of one sentence, for example ;

” This is what happened.”

–  Douglas Fairbairn, Shoot

These first sentences have to be effective and engaging. Effective means transmitting key pieces of information such as who, what, where and when. Engaging is about transmitting an emotion, an opinion, a position and an argument. So, there are different ways to approach writing a hook, for example:

• Making a bold and challenging statement
• Including a quotation from a key participant or expert
• Expressing a personal opinion

What you need to consider when writing a hook sentence is what are you bringing to the discussion? Why should the reader listen to you? Why should they keep on listening to you past 6-7 sentences?

After all, you want your reader to be interested, intrigued and excited!

..

EDITING YOUR WORK

Why is it important to edit your work?

 

We can often spend a lot of time on a piece of writing simply because we read it and reread it over and over again to make sure our words make sense, our sentences are grammatically correct or to check spelling mistakes. But through this we lose a fresh perspective on the quality of our writing. That is why it is important to go back to it later on, and not make the mistake of thinking that once we’ve finished writing our piece, it is completely done and that it is the final version.

A good piece of writing, in my opinion, takes thought and intelligence and cannot be blurted out as if we were in an informal conversation or else that will be reflected in the piece of writing. I believe it takes a minimum of planning or control over what is happening on the paper. Even in terms of your style of writing, if your style is informal that still takes precision to accomplish an informal style of writing that is comprehensible and catchy and that doesn’t just sound like you talking to your friend for example.

Therefore to start off it takes some previous planning, starting by finding the theme you are talking about, what is your opinion on it or making sure you have the facts right and this means doing research. But most importantly planning your introduction, body and conclusion of your piece of writing which you can use as a guide when writing. Because good writing has logic and structure. Having some sort of structure before starting to write can help you greatly in getting an idea of how you’re going to express yourself and striking through those elements and opinions you want to include in your writing. Afterwards you simply need to make sure that you’ve put these elements properly into your writing, that they do make sense and they do belong there.

So good writing does come from editing, and sometimes from a rewrite but not necessarily of the whole thing. Editing gives you control over your work, it helps you shape a jumble of thoughts into something clear and accessible, and that is when the reader is convinced that the writer knows what he wants to say. Because knowing what you want to say doesn’t mean that it will be understood. Therefore editing is crucial to convey confidence. And remember, it is after all, all about the reader.

Words matter, specially when used well, in my opinion people really undervalue their words when they are a great asset. So if you have something to say and you want others to hear you, then say it right!

..

..

/’fanzi:n/

noun

 

1. A magazine, usually produced by amateurs, for fans of a particular performer, group, or form of entertainment.

Today I will be giving a quick look at fanzines and their origin and history, simply because I have always been intrigued and interested in them but have never taken the time to look into them or make one. And as an illustrator, I really should have. So here’s a start.

 

Fanzines started in the 1940s and the term was created by Louis Russell Chauvenet in his own fanzine ‘Detours’. Chauvenet was a science fiction fan and one of the founders of science fiction ‘fandom, to describe small self-published publications by science fiction fans who wanted to differentiate themselves from professional science fiction magazines. But fan magazines existed  more than 50 years before that, known at the time under terms such as ”amzine”, ”fmzine” and ”fanmag”.

Fanzines are usually given out for free or for a very low cost, simply to cover the cost of production or postage. They exist for all forms of entertainment; science fiction fanzines, Comics fanzines, Horror films fanzines, Rock & Roll music fanzines, Punk fanzines, Mod fanzines, Video gaming fanzines, Sport fanzines, etc…

In the UK, fanzines have been associated with the 1970s punk scene where they surged as a  countercultural alternative to established print media. The first and most popular fanzine from the punk scene is ‘Sniffing Glue’, as seen in the images above. ‘Sniffing Glue’ was produced by Mark Perry, Deptford fan, it ran for 12 photocopied issues.

Then in the 1980s football fanzines were the most popular, 10.000 were published. Similar to the punk fanzines, the football fans used them to discuss the politics and issues of their community and their generation and express a point of view not necessarily expressed by the club itself.

In the 1990s fanzines gained popularity and became overground. There was a change in how we communicated as individuals within communities, they became about education and individual expression empowerment.

Nowadays fanzines are about self expression and how strongly ones voice can come across, which is crucial when being an illustrator and that is why I am, starting from today, taking great interest in fanzines. They are distributed online and through zine fairs, so lets all attend zine fairs and learn a lot more about them, because I need to!

 ..

Today I will be discussing ethics in illustration in the environment of war journalism which is a discussion that started in a CTS lesson by looking at the works of Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden, E.H. Shepard and C.R.W. Nevinson which you will find bellow.

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at these artists opened a discussion about how illustration is used to express complex narratives. What I’m interested in, in this case, is how illustration, when expressing complex narratives, can stay journalistically rigorous and specially, maintain visual integrity. I will be looking at a couple of quotes that reflect on this.

Lucienne Roberts, in her article ”Being good: Most avenues take me back to ethics”, speaks about how a piece of work is generally judged to be ‘good’ by it’s aesthetics, but considering aesthetics to the point where it provokes an emotion, such as happiness. Therefore if it makes someone’s quality of life better for example, then ethics are involved. On another hand, AIGA The American Institute for Graphic Arts, (in their guidelines for ethical standards) explain that the client comes first, the designer’s opinion cannot come in the way of the work in any way and specially not in the way of what the client has asked for. It seems that the designer is simply here to fulfil a job, a task, and that his ‘personality’ as a creative being is not demanded to be present.

But what really got me thinking and questioning myself and my role as an illustrator was Clive Dilnot’s (2009, p180) question ‘Why might we need an ethics in design?’. So, why might we need ethics in design? In my opinion ethics come in with the choice of issues, themes or matters you choose to work on as an illustrator and/or how you choose to approach these. In a previous post I discussed stereotypes and I think these two intertwine, specially on how you handle or take them on. In my opinion it is a question of having some knowledge. In this case; what are ‘ethics’ or what they mean to you and having some knowledge on the subject you have chosen to work on or have to work on, and taking both of these on with an intelligent approach. And not an uneducated one.

In my opinion it is as simple, in thought, as finding the right balance between ethics (your personal ones or more professional ones) and your opinion on the matter. But this is in thought. Putting it in practice is obviously a little bit more complex. The question of ethics brings up an interesting discussion and chain of thoughts on how an illustrator or designer has to find the right balance between personal and professional. That is why ethics are there, because this is one of the constant battles that a designer/illustrator will have to deal with throughout his or her career; how much of my personal opinion can I allow myself to express in this particular project? Or how much does it matter? Is it ethical for me to express my personal opinion in this project when it hasn’t been asked for? Etc.. Personal, professional. This is what ethics stands for me in the environment of design and illustration. Or at least one of the first thoughts that comes to me when reflecting on ethics.

To finish off I believe you need ethics in design because your work will always be aimed at or seen by someone from the outside, and it is but pure logic that you need to take them (sometimes their opinions) and their reaction into consideration.

More GIFs related to the poem, and more to come!

We’re dropping (like flies)

The face of the planet has melted – Have I ever had a face? – I don’t recall

 

More to come!

 

 

 

Here are some of the GIFs and final version of GIFs shown in the previous post, which are used in the final  video for Dystopia/Utopia group project. As I have mentioned in a previous post these GIFs have the purpose of serving as glitches or cutaways within the video, to create an unsettling atmosphere.

Hope you enjoy. (Warning to epileptics)

We’re on so many drugs_

A graveyard with no name – Is that what we’ve become? – Wait… – What we’ve always been?

Bleeding machine – Dying

 

More to come!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those who follow my blog, the very few of you or none, you would know I have previously posted some illustrations in response to my poem and the original poem to the music of Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor. These illustrations have been used to create GIFs used as cutaways in the final video.

I will start by showing a few, there are many more but I will not manage to put all of them up.  I will show final versions in a next post.

 

..

Insulting caricatures or useful generalisations?

 

This shouldn’t be the only question we ask ourselves when it comes to stereotypes. Stereotypes can only be thought of as an insulting caricature or useful generalisation if you are aware that you are using stereotypes in your work. Therefore there is a third question, which in my opinion should be the first; Do we have the knowledge and education required to recognise a stereotype?

 

ster.e.o.type

n.

1. A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image.

2. One that is regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or type.

In illustration stereotypes can work to your advantage, if for example, your purpose is to exaggerate the message you are trying to convey in your illustration. But as I have mentioned before in the question I raised, is that you must be aware that you are using these stereotypes and why you are using them. If you are using them unconsciously – you are at risk that your work will look typical, not modern, uneducated, cheesy, possibly tasteless and politically incorrect.

I am generally against the use of stereotypes because I think it is, in many cases that I have seen, a waste of time and unproductive. But mostly dangerous because I believe it isn’t serving us well in educating the general public on the multitude of people that we have amongst our population and the rich and different cultures which due to stereotypes, are reduced to being represented by only one thing.

But I can definitely recognise the humour in using stereotypes. And that’s where it is dangerous, because many times humour tends to take out the seriousness of the matter or issues being treated and talked about in the illustration and other contexts. That’s where  poor education starts happening. The general public will look at this and take that for the truth, or something of small importance, because it is funny and we take it lightly.

For example, Owen Jones speaks about this very well when it comes to Vicky Pollard notorious character from english TV show Little Britain, as he says that ‘it gives the middle-class viewer who has no real contact with people from different backgrounds little opportunity to understand the broader context behind the issues raised.’

This perfectly explains how much TV, or media in general accounts for a great part of the general public’s education, therefore it is quite self explanatory why, in my opinion, stereotypes are a dangerous path to take when talking about certain issues or matters.

I am of those who will try to break stereotypes but I fully understand why and how it is so difficult and probably impossible to break them. Here is a quote from Pitcher that explains this very clearly and reflects my opinion on the matter and finishes off well this discussion:

”Jameson suggests that because our idea of another group is necessarily based on a generalisation from particular contacts and experiences, this will always result in the production of stereotypes… It is not possible to get rid of or ‘correct’ stereotypes, for when we ‘challenge’ stereotypes, we are simply replacing them with bother stereotypes… If we don’t engage with difference, the integrity of that difference remains intact and the stereotype is not challenged.”

(Pitcher, 2014)

 

..

I started to create my illustrations and turn them into animations or GIFs, trying to figure out what aesthetic I was trying to accomplish, would suit best the video and/or would transmit best the atmosphere and emotions I wanted. As I was doing that I suddenly remembered something that could greatly inspire us; True Blood. A series based on vampires, werewolves  and all sorts of other creatures. This series happens to have a brilliant intro. Here it is;

 

It has great cutaways creating this unsettling effect and really helps in creating this unknown and unpleasant environment that is present throughout the whole introduction. Brilliant video, brilliant glitches. In my opinion they work extremely well and so this is the effect we wanted to create in our video.

I also found a great post from a blog called HungerTv about gif artist. I love creating gifs but I’m just newbie, so finding out about these artists was very exciting.

Take a look:

http://www.hungertv.com/feature/nine-gif-artists-you-should-know-by-now/