Workshop Week

During the initial weeks of the Graphics pathway, we underwent several different workshops that consulted different artistic fields within graphic design. The first of these was motion graphics animation. During the workshop, we worked on several different short animated pieces, the first of which depicting the Moon orbiting the Earth as it spins on its axis.

The video above is the result of the former part of the workshop. I have never worked within motion graphics animation before, so this was a new and difficult experience for me in which I learned a lot in a short space of time. I used the program Adobe AfterEffects to export a Photoshop file which contained all of the graphics components for our animation, and worked on the file accordingly until the sequence was complete. The following image shows the work in progress as I was editing the AfterEffects file.

The following video is the second type of animation we worked on within the lesson; the brief was to make the balls repeatedly bounce and additionally to create the ripple effect on the surface. I found this to be the most difficult of the animation tasks as the method was fairly complex; one can see the result of my difficulty through the inconsistent speed of the second ball. 

For the following third video, which I consider to have been more successful than the former two, we were given videos of two separate people moving their arms in a similar fashion. I created the effects pictured by editing the brightness and contrast of the figures in order to create a silhouette-like image, and layered multiple versions of the figure. I then added the bright background, resulting in the stark contrast of the image, and the ripples. I consider the amalgamation of bright colours with the silhouette and ripple imagery to be very effective and I am happier with this animation than I am with the previous videos mentioned.

Somerset House exhibition

The class recently went on an excursion to the AOI: World Illustration Awards at Somerset House. The exhibition displayed winning illustrative works from the Association of Illustrators' recent competition, spanning several different fields of illustration, from books and advertising to self-initiated work. I took a significant interest in this exhibition due to the direct nature of the exhibited artwork.

The works above are by the artists João Fazenda and Nata Joh respectively, and are similar in that they depict scenes reminiscent of folk or fantasy tales. Fazenda's work is part of a series of similar illustrations using the same medium of red and black drawing ink; they accompany a book on traditional Japanese folk tales. The work on the right falls under the category of self-initiated work; it is the front cover of a book the artist wrote about the experience of moving to new places. The giant in the picture is a fantastical representation of new experience. I personally took interest in these works, as while they were different in style and subject, they were successful in their realisation of folk-tale imagery; they exemplify the level of diversity within the artistic field of illustration.

The work above is entitled Home Sweet Home by illustrator Nicholas Stevenson; it is part of a collection of two works that picture imaginary homes. I find the use of the suburban icon of the Henry Hoover quite effective in its abundant portrayal; it resonates with the general public as it is a recognisable and familiar image that represents the home.

The World Illustration Awards was conclusively an artistically enriching experience as it demonstrated the diversity between genres of illustration, as previously mentioned - even if they are depicting similar subject matter.