For my personal project I have decided to make a 20-25 page comic book

Illustration DV3025 Project Proforma Guidelines Semester A & B 2012/13

Illustration

Project Proforma Guidelines

Semester A & B 2012/13

Student Name…Michael Bassick

Tutors Name…Martin Barrett, Lesley Logue

Date 03/12/12

1. Describe briefly what you consider are your strengths and weaknesses from your experience of level 2.

What worked well in level 2 was the work which allowed me to use mixed media such as traditional drawings mixed with digital methods such as using Photoshop alongside hand drawn images. What didn’t work well were time consuming methods such as painting and focusing on different ways to implement ideas rather than being more decisive and choose one to go forward with.

I liked being able to utilise more digital drawing methods with the pamphlet project from level 2. And with the final project in level 2 I enjoyed constructing the layout of the image I made which was a memory landscape.

I researched different artist such as Goya, H. R Giger, Bernd and Hilla Becher and Ruby Bradford. I also went to exhibitions such as art by Offenders and the museum of everything. I detailed this research in my sketch booking with written thoughts on artists work, images of their work and gallery booklets.

2. Describe the ideas you have for your personal project.

I plan on making a 20 – 25 page paperback comic book. This book would be an issue to the story. I plan on looking at the work of comic book and graphic novel artists such as Andy tong and Lee Bermejo to see how they have implemented their art into the comic book format involving panels and speech captions. I want to get it printed and made professionally through a book making company/website called Blurb.com.

Synopsis For Story

The story is about a young girl named Emily Dulwich. Her life goes from living a pleasant dream with her mother and father to a nightmare after a terrible fire claims the lives of her parents. So distraught by this Emily enters into an almost Catatonic State by not moving, refusing to acknowledged the world around her and by not speaking a word to anyone. Doctors who examine her feel that she needs to be under constant supervision so they recommend she be sent to a Psychiatric hospital. Emily spends a lot of time at the Hospital in the same state as when she entered. Over the course of the time that she spends there she gradually looses grip with reality by indulging her desperate need to believe in things that aren’t real. She uses her creative mind to fantasise about a world where things were different. In this world of hers she never lost her parents in the fire and she imagine magical creatures. However one day she finds herself sitting on the floor in her room at the hospital as though she has snapped back into reality. The problem is that everything around her has changed. Her room is now dark and dirty as is the rest of the hospital. It looks completely abandoned to her but she notices things that don’t make sense. All the windows are blacked out completely from the outside. There’s a damp rotting smell all around. Confused she ventures out of her room; Still refusing to speak she examines what she see around her as she feels she might be dreaming or imagining it all. Things get worse as she encounter hideous monsters and learns that something terrible has happened. Her only hope of finding a way back to the real world is a mysterious stranger who appears. He offers her cryptic advice and gives her a companion to aid her along her way. She must hurry to find out what has happened and how to get back home.

I will be doing the drawing by hand then scanning them to do digital paintings to get better effects. I will use a graphics tablet on different software packages such as Adobe Photoshop, Flash, sketchbook express, and After Effects. Using these programs will allow me to create the gritty harsh look I am looking for that will complement the Story. The software programs will also allow me to use different textures as well as colour washes to highlight weight and form to induce a certain moods for the viewer, while reading the comic book. My main focus is to put the far-fetched fantasy side of the story into a realistic setting. I want the work to reflect the technical elements of cinematic angles, where dynamic perspectives are used to portray the same stylized dramatic shots as seen in films.

I plan of documenting by taking pictures and screen shots of my work as it progresses. I will use my sketchbook to write down thoughts, ideas as well as the issues and problems that may arise.

Graphic novels and comic books mainly influence my idea in general. I like the work of lee Bermejo and his style and choice of layout with the stories he makes. Other influences include films like seven, unbreakable, and console games like heavy rain and the walking dead episodes.

I will research my idea by looking on the internet, visiting comic artist events for example the MCM movies, comic and media expo where I can speak to artist producing there own comics.

The intended audience would be young adults 18 to 25, as the story will deal with adult themes that will depict violence and morbid scenes.

The final presentation of my work is to have it professional made into a comic book so it can read by anyone.

3. What skills do you need to acquire this semester that informs your project? (Technical, research, analytical, time-management, organisational)

Research into other comic artist such as Paul Duffield, Lee Bradley, Gary Erskine etc.

Time management. I need to make a time table to focus my work around.

4.Propose a timetable for your project

I plan on 5 to 8 hours a day on this project

13/12/12: continue research on artist and comic layouts.

15/12/12: write out story and scenes

20/12/12: begin sketching out panels for story and cover

27/12/12: begin doing digital painting of the panels and cover

05/01/13: use Blurb software to make a digital copy of the book with layouts for each page including cover.

13/01/13: show example of comic book to Martin and Lesley to get feed back on what can be improved or changed.

13/01/13: apply any changes to the comic book.

18/01/13: send book off to be made and await delivery.

the story i want to tell is a very gritty and dark centered about a girl called Emily who has been sent to a psychiatric hospital and remained there for many years. due to the traumatic circumstance that brought her to the hospital emily has been diagnosed with Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Dissociative disorder. Emily doesn't speak a word to anyone or even herself and doesn't respond to anything. It as if she is in a waking coma. After spending several years there Emily suddenly snaps back to reality or so she think. the problem she faces now is although she has come out of hypnotic state the world has changed around her violently. she is unaware if this is her imagination or something terrible has happened.

Story Synopsis

The story is about a young girl named Emily Dulwich. Her life

goes from living a pleasant dream with her mother and father

to a nightmare after a terrible fire claims the lives of her

parents. So distraught by this Emily enters into an almost

Catatonic State by not moving, refusing to acknowledged the

world around her and by not speaking a word to anyone.

Doctors who examine her feel that she needs to be under

constant supervision so they recommend she be sent to a

Psychiatric hospital. Emily spends a lot of time at the Hospital

in the same state as when she entered. Over the course of the

time that she spends there she gradually looses grip with

reality by indulging her desperate need to believe in things

that aren’t real. She uses her creative mind to fantasise about

a world where things were different. In this world of hers she

never lost her parents in the fire and she imagine magical

creatures. However one day she finds herself sitting on the

floor in her room at the hospital as though she has snapped

back into reality. The problem is that everything around her

has changed. Her room is now dark and dirty as is the rest of

the hospital. It looks completely abandon to her but she

notices things that don’t make sense. All the windows are

blacked out completely from the outside. There’s a damp

rotting smell all around. Confused she ventures out of her

room; Still refusing to speak she examines what she see

around her as she feels she might be dreaming or imagining

it all. Things get worse as she encounter hideous monsters

and learns that something terrible has happened. Her only

hope of finding a way back to the real world is a mysterious

stranger who appears randomly. He offers her cryptic advice

and gives her a companion to aid her along her way. She

must hurry to find out what has happened and how to get

back home.

Visual Research

visual research from pinterest for this project can be viewed here: personal project Comic book

Artist Research

For this project I decided to research artists who have approached the concept of making a comic book in unique ways such as Paul Duffiled who has very creatively made the layout of his illustrations a part of the story he wishes to convey.

Paul Duffield

Paul Duffield is an illustrator and Animator whose work deals with forming the structure of a story using an elaborate layout of scene in his comic art work. His work is mainly done by pencil, graphic tablet and then coloured in using adobe Photoshop. I find Duffield’s work very interesting due to the fact its like trying to decipher a code, somehting you have to look at and scan to understand the narrative in place. His illustrations sometimes are laid out with overlapping images sometimes blending into one another to convey the movement through the story. Often with out any text Duffield can illustrate a characters actions and motives with this overlapping and merging of images formula. Duffield’s work Sojourn (2008) shown below, which Duffield (2008, p. 165) explains “its a piece about a man trying to escape his life, but unintentionally dragging all his baggage and rubbish behind him.” I think the piece illustrates that well by exploring a unique route of story telling through the layout.

Duffield, P. (2008) Sojourn [pencil, coloured in Adobe Photoshop] spoonbard [online]. Available at: http://www.spoonbard.com/content/interiors.php(Accessed: 28 December 2012)

Duffield, P. (2008) Diamonds [pencil, coloured in Adobe Photoshop] spoonbard [online]. Available at: http://www.spoonbard.com/content/interiors.php(Accessed: 28 December 2012)

Using this format Duffield is also able to place the text of the story unconventional spaces around in his illustrations. For example the work below called Diamonds (2008). Duffield has created a passage for the story so the viewer can follow and slowly grasp how the illustration and text relate.

Duffield’s work also expanse to animation where his soft lined illustrations style is carried over to his animated work. Shown below is an animation called Rolighed, which was made in 2006 by Paul Duffield.

(spoonbard (2008) Rolighed. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZk9mGzfftY&feature=player_embedded#at=36 (Accessed: 28 December 2012)

The animation won the 2006 International Anime and Manga competition. It was directed and animated by Duffield. I personally like the way Duffield approached the animation with his style and still applying his use of unconventional layouts of the narrative to the angles shown in the animation and the progression of its storyline.

Another Artist I chose to look at was lee bermojo

I first encountered Lee Bermejo’s work, when reading a Graphic novel; The Joker where his work was the cover art as well as the accompanying art of the inside illustrations. His style of work, to me is gritty and sharp but retaining a more realistic look to his characters and the environments there are in. Much of the work reflects the techniques used in films, elements of cinematic angles, where dynamic perspectives are used to portray the same stylized dramatic shots seen in films. He uses techniques like blurred images to show the reaction of characters actions, for instances becoming drunk and unable to see straight. The reader can grasp the feel of these effects alongside the characters. Bermejo’s main focus was to put the far-fetched fantasy side of the story into a realistic setting. His work influences not only how I draw but also how the characters seen within his graphic novel are portrayed on the screen. The joker seen before Bermejo’s interpretation was, in general a cartoon caricature, whereas his changes, such as filling the character out and creating a human element, influenced the character in the film (The Dark Knight-2009). His use of different textures as well as colour washes to highlight weight and form induces a certain mood in the viewer, whilst reading this novel. Bermejo spreads his interest around the page; his focus was on the scene as a whole, including the backdrop, Gotham City.

He has expressed several times that he wants his versions of the backdrops to be as realistic as real-life cities but not too similar to any particular city such as New York and Chicago. Many images seen with in this novel have been influenced by Bermejo’s interpretation of architecture seen in Prague. Bermejo’s combination of old and new, alongside his influences from Prague, plays an important part within the scenery. The aged gothic stone buildings in the background, with modern run down bars which have a wash of browns and oranges, give the images a sleazed element over the top. I am interested in his use of hard hitting imagery, juxtaposing and the line art mixed with careful consideration, as well as colours to balance it, makes certain images stand out on the page. The detail reflects the effort and consideration gone into the creation of this book and the outcome of each character tells a different story, which coincides with the overall plot.

With my art, I try to incorporate the characters demeanour into each drawing I make, similar to Bermejo’s work. Characters like the Joker have sinister crooked smiles to exemplify something more about their personality. The character, Harley Quinn’s (featured on the upper left corner of the image to the left) Poses, expression and the outfit help give a deeper insight to her characters persona. Just by looking at the image you can see where Bermejo has taken textures of clothing and skin into account. Dynamic angles and panels are used to draw in the viewers’ attention.

The graphic novel, the joker is aimed at a more mature audience. The images are not child friendly. Adult themes are constantly seen through the novel, sex violence and themes that portray issues of mental instability.

Bibliography

The Dark Knight, (2008) Christopher Noland [Film] Warner Bros. Pictures: California/New York
Brian Azzarello/Will Denise (2008) Joker New York: DC Comics
Skinn, D. Comic Art Now( East Sussex: The Ilex press Limited, 2008)
Duffield, P. (2008) Sojourn [pencil, coloured in Adobe Photoshop] spoonbard [online]. Available at: http://www.spoonbard.com/content/interiors.php(Accessed: 28 December 2012)
Duffield, P. (2008) Diamonds [pencil, coloured in Adobe Photoshop] spoonbard [online]. Available at: http://www.spoonbard.com/content/interiors.php(Accessed: 28 December 2012)
Spoonbard (2008) Rolighed. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZk9mGzfftY&feature=player_embedded#at=36 (Accessed: 28 December 2012)
Joker_Spread_4 [Online] http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/RANDO/Joker_Spread_4.gif (Accessed 28/12/12)

Progression of work

I started the comic book by drawing out rough sketches of the first scenes and concepts of the characters in those scenes.

I first drew the monster design using a biropen and added rough details of what I would like the monster to look like

I then consider a different look shown in the image below in the upper left corner. I decided to keep the first design as I preferred the crazed look over the other one. I then took that design and drew the body concept.

I took the image in to photoshop after scanning it and began painting in the details using the brush tools. I tired to make an effort to keep the line quality often seen in comic book as i would like the book to have a graphic novel appearance.

Colour options

I decided to not do the whole comic in colour as it would save time and I feel the lack of colour helps to create a stronger look to it although i may decide to add a sepia look after i have finished all scenes of the book.

How to make the book

I considered making the book myself after seeing several handmade books by fellow students and artists at comic related expo called MCM expo Movies, comic and media expo. the hand made once tend to have a more artist touch quality to them but I think I preferred the professionally made books. they have a better finish and crisper quality.

I looked at possible ways I can get the book made professionally. By searching the internet and I came across a website called blurb.com which offer a way to get your books printed. The site allows you to download software that lets you create a digital version of the book that will be printed once the order is placed.

www.blurb.co.uk

Possible page layouts

I used a programme called comic life to make a comic panel page.

Mid Year Reviews.

After speaking to martin and lesley about my idea they made several points that I need to address in the comic book such as using primary image to base my background and images of the girl. I explained that I did base the girl character off image of a girl called Esme who I asked to pose to help for referencing. I have uploaded the pictures to show the image I used for reference.

as for background I have considered to taking photos of hallways and areas that I feel would help to create a more realistic environment for the comic.

other issues brought up was the use or black and white and not colour and the restrictiveness fo the brief I made. upon relfection of the brief I have decided to rework my idea so that the outcome is more free and allowed me to develop the work into.

Reevaluating and Restructuring the Brief

After reevaluating my idea for this project and the concerns about several issue the project has at this point, I have decided to approach the project again from the start using a different premiss for the idea behind the project. I feel the original idea was good but is something I would like to continue to work on past the deadline of this project so I have to take into consideration the time frame for this project. With that in mind I have been reviewing past projects that were successful

going over previous projects I have completed at UEL I really liked the idea of using the books from previous project to create a scene from the story 20, thousand leagues under the sea. another project I really liked was the transcription of a artistes work from my first year on the illustration course.

Altered Book Project work

Transcription Project 1st year work

NEW IDEA

I have decided to use elements from these projects to form a new idea that will acknowledge the concerns about colour, work size and restrictiveness to my original brief mentioned from my lecturers and implement ways in which to tackle such concerns into my new idea which will let me address them directly. My new Idea is that I would like to create several large illustrated paintings about the colossal creatures mentioned in fictional films and books, , mythological texts and biblical texts. I plan on finding several storys, like 20, 000 leagues under the sea that features a giant octopus, and other kinds of stories that have these large creature in them and create large depictions of them preferably using the story to create a scene that the giant creature in. scale wise I would like to go A2, A1 or higher if possible. These large painting could be used for different illustration outcome such as book cover art and movie posters

Artist Research

I have found some artist, Chris McMahon and Thryiza Segal who have added giant monsters to paintings shown in the link below.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/adding-monsters-to-landscape-paintings-169615

Other artist I have looked at in the past would include Francisco Goya with his works, The Colossus and Saturn Devouring His Son

visual research work on pinterest can be viewed here: Personal Project Reevaluated Large Illustrations

I also researched a vidoe game called shadow of the colossus made by Team ICO a game designing company. the game is based on a character of a young man trying to defeat several large monsters through out the story.

The designs for the large monsters and the concept art are very reminiscent of Goyas work and in tone what I would like to achive in my own work for this project.

I have considered using acrylic paints on a large canvas or stretched paper for a medium to create these large illustrations. i have taken many images from the natural history museum for the 1000 drawing project and can use them for reference in this project as well i plan to gather more visual images from other places too

I have been researching many different creatures from myths, legends and folklore to try and find good examples to base me painting on.

here is a video from youtube that goes into detail about different monsters from different cultures

Natural History Museum Primary Visual Research

Images I took at the natural history museum for the 1000 drawings project will help for the input for the designs for the monsters

I have also taken other images of animal in different places such london Zoo shown below.

London Zoo Primary Visual Research

Tropical wings zoo Primary visual research

I visited the Tropical wing zoo for some more visual research and to help with the design of the monsters

Safari Port Lympne Visual Research

These are images I took while at a Safari at port Lympne I plan on gathering visual information of the structures of different animals to incorporate into my creation for the colossal creature i choose to from different text sources such as books, mythological, and biblical.