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Wednesday, 2 April 2014

AD33 Task 2: I wish I'd done that

“Rabbit’s Christmas Party” "The departure" by Beatrix Potter

This is an image of Beatrix Potters that was created specifically as part of 4 pieces of art that were given to her aunt Lucy Roscoa, which is in contrast to her other work within the area of children's books. This image was found with the book  'Beatrix Potter Artist and illustrator' by Anne Stevenson Hobbs. The above image was created by Beatrix Potter as christmas time, which was also when she was creating some of her now famous children's books. This image was made using watercolour as a way for Beatrix Potter to entertain herself and was not for sale.

The work of Beatrix Potter has general inspired my way of working due to its strong links with the natural and wild world. I like that the image has strong links with the real world, with reference to the layout of the room etc. I also like the use of anthropomorphism in the rabbit characters and how a strong family link is being presented in this image.

iI like the way that the image has strong and blended use of water colour and colouring. This is similar to the way that I want my work to be presented. I also enjoy how the image presents a strong in its self, eg a visitor leaving the house and the sun light coming threw the door.

This image has strong similarities with the way that I like to work and hope to work in the future. even thought this image is similar to my work, there are many techniques and skills that need to be learnt, that tests me, to ensure that a good quality image is created.


 
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
This is an image of Beatrix Potters that was created as part of her 'The tale of Peter Rabbit' books. The book was made the be sold by her publishers (Frederick Warne & Co), with the first print being sold in 1902, with the target audience being children and today adults who are a fan of her work.
 
The reasons that I like this image is similar to the above image, in that the image has a strong link with nature and the natural world, whilst combining this with the use of anthropomorphism with add human characteristics to the animals.

When looking at the layout of the book, I specifically like how the books separates the text from the images. Through separating both I believe this not only make the book easier for the children to read but also facilitates the development of their imagination.

As with the above image, this work is within an area of illustration that I am interested in working in the future. Furthermore, the work of Beatrix Potter has strongly influences my style and ways of working.



Yummy Scrummy Day By Mandy Sutcliffe

Yummy Scrummy Day By Mandy Sutcliffe

The above images were created by Mandy Sutcliffe and are images from her famous 'Belle and Boo' books. These images specifically are from the book 'Yummy Scrummy day'. The books were created as part of her children's book business.

I like these images and book specifically due to the beautiful images that are both cute and sweet in their presentation. In addition, the combination of both cream backgrounds and reduced quantities of writing in a nice font create an inviting book to read. Furthermore, the cover of the book has reflective ink covering the writting which help to make the book inviting for children eg, baking, making dresses, etc

Additionally, I like how these stories teach and educate the reader in a friendly way about different activities and develop different skills that are useful and fun for the reader.

I believe that the target audience for this book world be for both adults who has children and children themselves. The book will be desirable for adults as they will be able to teach their children and entertain them at the same. similarly, children will be drawn in by the images and interesting story within the book. The work of Mandy is similar to that of Beatrix Potter due to the links with nature and rabbits as one of the main characters.

The designs, images and characters from within the book are also used on different products such as plates, children's teddy, toys, stickers etc. Furthermore, at the back of the books there are sometimes recipes etc that are linked to the story so that children are able to make the food that was part of the story

This has inspired my for the future to think not only about the children's book on its own but also the other products and designs that can be created in addition to this. In addition, the book has a clear and clean design where pages are not overloaded with images, information and words. I also like how the pages are off white, more cream in their colouring. When looking at the layout of the book they are mainly maid up of signle pages, which few double page spreads.



Rabbit Problem   By Emily Gravett 

Rabbit Problem   By Emily Gravett

The above images are pages from the book 'Rabbit Problem' by Emily Gravett. The reasons that I have picked this book particularly is due to the book being completely visually based, where the story is told with out words where the reader can make up their own version of the story following the general plot of the images.

Another aspect of the book that I like it how the images pop out of the book to entertain the reader. Through using pop up images the reader is engaged with the book.

The books target audience for the book are children aged between 6 - 8 years old which is an age group that I want to target my own children's books at. This age group is similar to that of Beatrix Potter which means that I am hoping to be influenced by both Emily Gravett and Beatrix Potters work when creating my own work.

Furthermore, after research Emily Gravett, I have learnt that she has won competitions such as the Macmillan Prize, which is a competition that I am entering. When researching how the image was created I have learnt that Emily used both pencil and watercolour to create her images and then later transfers then to Photoshop and used computer equipment to edit and transfer the images from location to location. I would like to further research the equipment that she uses to create her books, as this seemed to be a quicker and slicker process.




Wayside, winter , Linoprint By Annie Soudain
Seed-heads, Linoprint By Annie Soudain

Arcadia P&D Cards

The above image is taken from a printed greeting card which was designed by Annie Soudain and created using Lino print. I specifically like this card due to the different colours in the card and they way in which they have been combined.I really enjoy the look of Lino prints and find that the image and colours are extremely strong. I am currently trying to create my own cards using Lino print in a similar style Annie's work. Furthermore, another reason for liking her cards specifically is due to their strong link with the natural and wild world within her images.

Annie's cards were created both for her own business (to be sold online) and to be sold through various publishing companies. Her designs are also transferred to different products such as photos, large cards, tea towels etc. I believe that the target clients group for these cards would be adults who both appreciate intricate art and is interested in nature and gardening.

This image is similar to the below image, however, the work of Annie is more difficult and complicated work to create. I would personally like to create work that is similar to this and maybe at some point work with Annie or her publishers to sell my own work. This work has further inspired my current interest in the greetings card market yet still pushes me to try new things and push myself outside of my comfort zone.

Red Squirrel By Clare Melinsky


Classic P&D cards.

The above greeting cards was created BY Clare Melinksky. It is easy to observe that this work is similar to that of Annie (above greeting card image), however differences can be seen. This Lino print is both of a simpler design and also contains less detail and colouring in comparison.

One of the main reasons for picking this piece of work is due to the image looking 3d in its presentation with the way in which the trees have been designed and the squirrel has been drawn.

This card was made to be sold threw publishers such as that mentioned above. I believe that he target clients for these cards would be adults who have an interest in both nature and animals.

This work fits with my usual area of work within greetings cards but also pushes me to learn more about creating Lino prints and how to incorporate other images and objects into the image.

Fabric By The Metre - 'Cat" By Sophie Allport
Greeting Card - Cat By Sophie Allport

Greeting Card - Busy Butterflies By Sophie Allport

The above images are all images from greetings cards and materials created by Sophie Allport. All of her work focuses around the repetition of images of various different materials, such as greeting cards, material, tea cups, bags, tea towels etc.

The reason that I like this work is due to the links with a current competition that I am entering 'Cath Kidston'. As this competition has continued I have discovered how I like the look of my images repeated on different materials, such as phone covers, wellington boots, tea cups etc. They style of Sophie's work has strongly influence that way that I have created images and repeated them on objects but also allowed my own style to develop, e.g. the inclusion of other objects rather than a singular object. I also like how Sophie has used naturally images and focuses for her work which is similar to my preferred style.

I believe the target audience for this work will be female adults or these items will be sold for gifts on mothers day or as presents for females. However, due to the price of her work, the market will then be reduced further to people who have more money as some of the items are expensive.

Saturday, 25 January 2014

Lost and Found







Research Vinginia wolf illustration book







Guss How Much I love you


Description - Handade book (illustrations, layout, binding) It's a small book for children with really cute story about love between two Hares, made as a present for friend




The story behind the shadow

Shadows are magical things; they follow you around everywhere, they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, and when you're just a small rabbit they can be pretty scary! Philippa Leathers tells us about the inspiration for her gorgeous new picture book The Black Rabbit...

The main character in my picture book The Black Rabbit originated from an animation I made years ago at college. A small white rabbit only had a small supporting role, but I liked him so much I wanted to use him in a story of his own. The way he was drawn with short, stumpy little legs meant he moved in a certain way. I loved the way he ran, his short legs meaning he comically wiggled from side to side and had to put in a lot of effort. 
 


 
It can be such a long process to get the story right and sometimes I will go back again and again revisiting ideas. Ideas are all around us, but it can be hard to recognise them and after a long time spent looking for the plot idea for The Black Rabbit, one day it just popped into my head. I have my own two little house rabbits who are always together, following each other around. They are easily spooked and can jump at the smallest noises or movements. I had been drawing Rabbit running in different situations when the saying -scared of your own shadow popped up. I then wondered what would happen if there was real danger?


I find it easier to write and illustrate the book together and try to balance the words and pictures. If the pictures show something, this does not need to be repeated in the text, which I like to keep very minimal. There needs to be a good interaction between the two. If the story can be told in a better way with a picture then the text can be as minimal as possible.


Illustrating The Black Rabbit was a bit of a challenge at times as my baby daughter was only a few months old and I had to pick up my paintbrush whenever she napped. The illustrations are drawn with pencil and then painted mainly with watercolour but I use ink and coloured pencils too- anything I think will work best and then I tweak the final illustration a little digitally.


The story The Black Rabbit is about a rabbit who is afraid of his own shadow, seeing it as a large frightening creature who follows his every move.  Rabbit tries to escape this large black rabbit and eventually in the deep, dark wood, manages to do so, only to encounter something more dangerous…. I hope you like it.


Join in the fun and download your Black Rabbit activity sheet here.
Find 
The Black Rabbit at your local bookshop here.