- a single A
2 piece of paper - containing some of the earlier pieces
- agreed universal font and size and layout between each of the artists in the group
Author: georgedotp
I AM A DEGREE STUDENT, EXPLORING MY WAY IN THE EVER CHANGING WORLD. FIND DELIGHT IN THE NEW AND SEEING THE OLD WITH NEW EYES.
Getting Connected- Crowd Funding
as part of getting connected i tried to set up a kickstarter account to better understand the process and the possibilities that this site offers. i was surprised to learn that the site currently does not permit the isle of man as a crown dependency from running on its site
following this i looked at creating a brand/ logo for each of my sites so that if a client had used one and discovered another that they would instantly identify it as mine and may be more inclined to look through the site, having seen my other work
since my initial focus when getting connected was animation i chose to show a selection of my animated characters and pieces in the banner. since my focus has now shifted to 2D art i will have to change my banner, and will do so when i have completed editing the into pieces for my YouTube
since Kickstarter does not work from the Isle Of Man i have opted to go for Etsy as the next viable and most appropriate site with which to sell my work whist i use Facebook to promote and link my pieces. since setting up the facebook account i have learned that this is one of the best ways to link my YouTube account through my blog. this facility was not possible without having each of the sites set up and linked. this ment that though i had produced earlier animation pieces they were not available to view on my blog till now
Facebook has since trebled the number of people viewing my work and has helped my update my understanding of my audience.
Getting Connected-Facebook as a promotion tool
Tanya Anderson from lovely greens gave a talk on her own experiences
she highlighted that she had two site,
her own
and Face book
she pointed out that the Facebook site led many of her new clients to her site and updated her existing clients on new products that she had available. she also pointed out the importance of the statistic of each site in following trends and being adaptable to keep her product relevant and salable.
this information has proved invaluable as following the statistics on my blog has highlighted the areas of my working practise that has produced the most interest.
it should allow me the opportunity to keep my work available and sellable.
Getting Connected- Emails
as part of getting connected we were asked to contact artists or creatives that had an interest in the same areas of production as we are interested in perusing ourselves.
i elected to focus on Animators as this is the main area i am interested in working in.
we discussed the importance not only getting connected. but the true value of staying connected. without which you can not hope to connect to or reach newer wide audiences. his emails was very positive and wished me every success.
Meathaus is a collective site, I am uncertain which of the collective i communicated with, they outlined the benefits of working in a collected and the fact you have the support and the intellect of the people in the group. the message did say that the one down side of the collective is that if one of the individuals in the group is not dedicated to the project theat they have the capacity to delay or even prevent the project from going ahead.
Chris McDonnell is a successful animator, whose site has a workshop option to support budding animators in the creation, generation and production of animation pieces. the workshop also allows Chris the opportunity to give feedback and in some cases he has employed people based on the work they have present there
unsurprisingly Richard Williams did not respond
Getting Connected- Initial Links
- my first point of contact to the wider world
- as a first point, it proved the value of a uniformed and simple to use format
- the menus vary from the construction stage
- so was not aware that it is difficult to see all the menus
- re editing has highlighted that some of the added blogs are not listed under the correct heading
- editing this has proven and issue as the site itself has had problems
- the new look contains a more generic logo which should be easy to identify with
- I may in cure difficulties when i try to band this logo to the you tube channel banner
Creative Identity- Research/Developing
once I had decided to focus my project on an illustrated book of Manx myths i began to accumulate a collection of both primary research and secondary. the primary consisted of illustration, line drawings of places and areas with connection to each of the poems.
in doing this i believe i have improved on the compositional elements of the illustrations. making each more readable and understandable from the audience perspective.
without the research the illustrations would not have strong enough links to the actual areas, location and places that give some of the pieces their impact.
Creative Identity- problems and reflections
when producing the final outcome for this brief I was struck by some of the issues that I have encountered. firstly is best practice. when compiling both research and development of the piece i had two main ares. the first is my log book. the second a working folder with which to take to the client when updating them on the project. though this addressed the issue of presenting the work to the client in a clean professional manner and see the piece at every stage it would mean that future assessment may not have a clear progression through the production and development stages. to address this and to avoid it in future projects i think it would be best to generate the pieces in only one format and only create a separate presentation folder if required.
other issues this project raised where the grammatical errors that occur within my work. to address this for future projects and to help improve the presentation of my literal work. I will be needed to re read text again and apply spell check more often whether the piece is formal or informal.
during the project for this brief and the getting connected I often worked on both briefs and inadvertently mixed elements of the two. this caused information that was valid in one, not to be available for the appropriate presentation. re reading the brief would have helped to clarify which brief required which elements, and would have addressed this issue.
Digital Environment-problems reflection
producing work for the digital environment is not an issue, publishing it and presenting it often is. an example of this is below. this large scale painting when viewed in person has more depth and is very representative of the actual horse and setting. when the image is photographed with an Iphone or Ipad it some details are lost and because unlike the studio setting the lighting is not even the image incurs shadow. then the image is processed though a program to be presented. at this stage the image may lose some of the resolution or require cropping to remove the shadow and so loose compositional elements of the piece. the repositioning may also affect the narrative or remove a vital component that adds to the visual impact or understanding of the final piece.
if possible the due to scale the image may require scanning in or photographed with a higher resolution camera and then up loaded with the best performing program where available
Reflective Statement – Developing Production Skills
DEVELOPING PRODUCTION SKILLS
When commencing this presentation I was immediate struck by the surprising variation of production skills we had covered since the begining of the course, not only that the probabilities and possibilities that they might present us with.
Our initial tasks were to create a blog, and then to begin researching both zines and Youtube production. Apprehensive about all three I decided to tackle each in turn allowing the development of each to e enforce each other.
Taking the issue of a blog I began looking at which programme presented me with the best medium to present my work. I have previously only worked on tumblr which though sufficient for a foundation year was limiting in the level of presentation that I wanted for this new challenge. After considering several blog sites I decided apron word press. Though it is not as flexible in adding video and gifs to their site its overall presentation possibilities were exciting and I knew that if I wished I could add videos by link. Still apprehensive about all the processes in using the site I looked into ted talks and reviews and learned that the site itself as a more than adequate steps learning programme. Following this I was able to quickly master the site and then link it to both my portfolio but also to my tumblr site creating scenery source material for prospective clients to consider and to allow me to access any reference material from previous projects that I might wish to re consider for use when generating or considering processes for producing new outcomes.
With my blog in place the next focus was the zine. After looking at the history of zines and their content I realised two avenues of exploration. The first being the most represented popular music promotion while the second was political or social activism. This seemed the more interesting of the two avenues. Having considered the area I began looking at different fields of social activism, considering animal welfare then human. Through amnesty international I came across free Tibet. Realising that I was incensed by the situation and passionate about its resolution I began first of all sources from current sites on the matter and then by email to several international sites I began collating my information. I wanted it to be both relevant and factual while its content could fully and accurately inform. To ratify all my facts I chose to confirm each source from both the Tibetan and Chinese authorities’ point of view.
Initial structuring of the zone was done on word and developed through Indesign. This seemed the strongest way to manipulate both word and illustration. Initial test pages were constructed in the fashion of photo journalist Dan Eldon, however proved that the volume of information and too many photographs made the pages appear to be more of a magazine article and lacked the distinction of characteristics that occurred in there earlier predecessors. To address this I reused not only my initial research but also the primary research I was able to source from Tibet and from the V&A in London. Simplify both the volume and content of the pages attempt to style the illustrations in a style akin to Sonham Yeshi, and so create a sound bite effect and holds the attention span of the intended audience more easily. Less being truly more.
The images have been adapted by vector tracing my own illustrations so that the entire content is of my own production and so no external risk of playgerisum can and will occur.
Whilst these were in development tests have begun into filming interview and an animation. The interviews are with several individuals who have travelled in the region and can give first hand accounts of there experience and so make the telling become more personal to those who hear and see them. As part of this experiment it became apparent that my current level of experience with the equipment though functional could be improved to do this I have experimented with several short clips which I have attempted to edit and alter to enhance the level at which I work.
This concern is also shared in my animation. I have produced my initial character designs and developed them into 3d sculptures in both Fimo and Sculply. Having generated them next is to experiment with the base material of the set. Through paper, card, foam moulding, print and finally clay. I have tried to match the creative style so as to unify the piece but will not know how successful I have been until initial filming has begun and a critical evaluation by me and my peers has taken place. At several stages I have used the critics to gage reaction and understanding of the project.
Time has been a concern however setting production targets each week has proven most effective to date.
Getting Connected- Reflective Statement
Reflective Statement
When considering this module it is hard to summarise the extent of its reach. The brief was to explore avenues and means of connecting ourselves and our work to the wider world. The initial point was the blog which presents the opportunity for us as creators to put some of our work, practices and processes out there for others to explore and relate to. The initial number was slow but as connections develop it acts as a central point and as an opportunity for people to discover our work by accident. By following the training programme within the site I was able to maximise the potential. Combining this with various search options allow potential clients the opportunity to review and search the site with ease. The one area that does need reinforcing is the main menu which has since had sub menus added to it to try to rectify this issue.
The next method was emailing other practitioners. Initially the response was varied, some supportive, some explanatory overall though they help to form a strong sense of the benefit of making, maintain such contacts. This combined with the lectures reaffirmed this fact. They also help to define which sites I would added to reinforce the blog I already had.
Following the completion of the intended YouTube, and Facebook pages the connections were made, each feeding into the other. An Etsy account finalised the set… each drawing potential clients into the blog or Etsy accounts respectively. From speaking to several artists it both wise and practical to have the sites branded so that a client will see instantly that the sites are related to the same source. Though followed the original idea and branded each the same. In viewing it’s possible to see that each site could also benefit from a individualising them to show the potential for different exploration. For instance the YouTube channel though branded with a banner relating to the blog which depicts some of my animation work, it does not relate directly to the puppets and there creation. Perhaps creating a banner depicting the puppets with the banner in a lower or upper corner will look more professional.
This level of manipulation though simple can help convert the site making them feel more professional and acceptable to a potential client and further research into other sites may help this further. The project I have produced for the client as part o our creative identity brief would also benefit from this process. By presenting the piece in a more business and professional manner may take the project more seriously and make any potential clients more inclined to choose this project over others they may be interested in.
This being auctioned even in part has increased the people viewing my work to treble in less than a week and shows the real benefit of casting such a broad net. In returning to the brief I realised that time constraints may make the fuller alteration difficult but not impossible. The best thing now to improve the likelihood of success will be to timetable the next few weeks tightly and keep to I. if I do not I will not be able to finalise each of the pieces prior to the exhibition. By prioritising the pieces as well I may be able to achieve each of my targets.
The internet also allows constant two way communication with client allowing the project to move freely forward without the constraint of time delays caused by attempting to match schedules and arrange meetings. This medium of communication has speed up the creative processes and allows the client to view the projects creation allowing them, the opportunity of feeling in control and part of the creative process. A feeling that strengthens there inclination to continue, and be part of the outcome.
Without the various sites such as the Facebook page and the blog I may not have been able to achieve the goals set in the brief. Because of them the foundations have been laid for me promotion and generating new clients. As with other briefs constant referrals to existing sites and practice can only enforce and improve my own practice. It has also help to show ways in which sites can be placed, layouts and presentation that can help make each relatable to a potential audience. For instance if your intended market is the youth of today, you would not use a protracted and formal introduction as it would cause the audience to look elsewhere rather than at your work. The sites need to be constantly manages and updated to keep the relevant and appropriate. Without research this may not be possible so maintain research into other sites in mandatory if my own sites are to remain approachable and applicable for potential clients.
georgedotp 