When going through my pile of magazines to make my sketchbook collage on pages 7 and 8, i uncovered the bellow colour chips from Farrow and Ball and another from Designers Guild. These chips are of their in house paint ranges which they produce. Although i have already decided on my colour pallet i will keep these on my desk in order to inspire any new colour combinations. These chips may also come in handy if i need to change any of the hues within my colour pallet to a slightly lighter or darker tone. There is something very satisfying about these chips with their solid block hues and rainbow of colours. Looking through the array of colours i find the selection of green to pink hues really inspiring within the Designers Guild pallet reinforcing that i have come up with the correct hues for my collection.
Before starting the drawing and mark making stage of my project i felt best to get my mood-boards sorted so my ideas can all be well informed. To create my mood boards i used the ideas i gathered from my research such as ideas from WGSN, shops and online. Now having finished my mood boards it is a lot clearer how all these ideas can merge together and also how my project will develop. Within the last project i had serious trouble with my mood-boards having to create them time and time again. However, i feel having to go through that process so many times within my previous project has really helped my skills to develop for the FMP as i am now a lot more confident in what i have produced. Although happy with my mood-boards at this stage i may decide to change minor elements dependant on feedback and how my ideas develop.
The first element of my mood-boards i will touch on is the font i have used as i have already spoke about this in depth within a previous blog post. Out of three fonts i tried on my mood-boards and the dozens of others i looked at throughout my research, i felt this best represented my theme and also related to my target demographic. I decided to keep the font in black so it would stand out as the line weight is very thin and this font does not come in bold. To help the font to stand out further (especially against the patterned backgrounds) i also added a scribble in a hue i picked out from one of the boards so the font would not blend into the backgrounds. To ensure this font looked consistent across my 5 boards i decided to use this scribble consistently, have the font in the same size and also the same position. By doing this i have at least one consistent element running throughout the boards which brings them together as a collection.
The idea to utilise these iridescent backgrounds came from my trend research where this effect was mentioned often in relation to my target demographic, market and season. As it was so key within my research i felt i should include it as i also want it to be present within some of my designs. Out of the five boards i selected three for it to be present on. I wanted to demonstrate that it was an idea related to my colour pallet, hence appearing on this board, a mixture of hues my customer would enjoy and also key within my theme. As i did not want it to totally overwhelm my mood-boards and felt it did not relate so much to my competitor and market i decided to keep these plain white. Overall i feel having some of my backgrounds with this pattern and others plain white really creates diversity and interest across the five boards.
I feel one reason i struggled with my previous mood-boards was because i was trying to include too much. So, learning from this i decided to strip my ideas and imagery right back so the board would clearly present the message i was trying to display without making this confusing. This idea really helped me when creating my market board. Wanting to design for a girls bedroom i simply entered different search terms related to this in Pintrest and found two images which i felt really related to my theme, demographic, current ideas and colour pallet. I initially experimented with three or four images; however, felt two side by side created the message i wanted to send without being overwhelming, so this is what i decided to stick to. Overall i think this sends a really clear and direct message without being overwhelming.
For my competitor board i once again wanted to keep things simple. Initially i gathered my key competitors from my research and started with five or six different companies; however, when trying to arrange these images onto my mood-board i felt less is more. I decided to select two images from two different companies and laid these out in an understandable and aesthetically pleasing way. These two companies i selected to be my main competitors as their designs retail for a similar price to what my own will and also attract the same mid to upper end cliental that my designs will. Now having completed my research and solidified my ideas i have decided M&S will be the most appropriate store to design for as i feel my collection will really fit in with their aesthetic and they will also be attracted to the ideas i propose. As well as this they attract a lot of families with a large children’s section where my designs will fit in nicely.
For my colour board i once again wanted to strip everything right back and only include key and essential imagery. Within this board i have included some images which have a whole variety of hues that represent my colour pallet and also others which represent which monotone colour ways i have been considering. From my trend research, and inspired by my target demographic i selected an informed colour pallet for which i will utilise during my initial drawing and mark making stage. Overall i wanted a diverse range of hues which all went together nicely; however, didn’t want too many as i want my collection to work cohesively. I feel working with this colour pallet i will be able to experiment with a range of harmonious and complementary hues so my designs can either create a very calming or bright and bold effect. Having included a coloured background i felt it was essential to include a white boarder to my colour chips so the tonal values would not be effected by the bright multicoloured background. Now having created my colour pallet i am a lot more confident going into the drawing and mark making stage as i know exactly which hues i should be experimenting with. Despite being happy with my colour pallet at this stage, i am still open to change depending on how my project develops. I feel it is important to keep an open mind to this rather than being fixed in my ideas so my project can develop in the most informed and organic way possible.
Having already written about my target customer i have a very good idea about their likes and dislikes; however, only wanted to include key imagery which i felt represented them. As i have considered creating some designs for boys i also included an image of my target customer and her twin brother to represent this idea. Despite being happy with this outcome, this is my least favourite board as i still feel there is something missing; however, am not quite sure what. Despite this, i will still continue with my drawing and mark making stage and refer back to this when i can gain feedback. Although i feel this board does need revisiting i still feel it is important i move forward with my project rather than waist time.
My final board is a small range of images which i really feel embodies my theme. Most of these are from Pintrest with one of some primary photography i took whilst out in Colombia or at Kew gardens. My Pintrest research really hit the nail on the head with the ideas i wanted to create within my own project so felt i best included as much of this imagery as i felt fit. Although my project will also be inspired by florals and aliens i feel this imagery from Pintrest wraps these two ideas together which is why i have decided not to include any of the aliens from my other research. Despite this research not being present on this board i did initially experiment with it. Overall i am really happy with my theme board and also really like the use of scale to represent the types of scale variation i will use within my own project. As well as the imagery i feel the colour pallet within my theme board is also pretty close to the hues within my colour board creating a cohesive look across my mood-boards.
Below shows an image of all the imagery i had considered for each board. Although my imagery is really refined across the five boards i did start with a broad range of imagery coming from all aspects of my research. I felt it was important to demonstrate this within this blog post as it shows the variety of imagery i was initially considering to include; however, massively refined down when constantly playing with placements, positions and also really considering what would best represent my project.
Overall now having completed my mood-boards i can really see how my skills and confidence have developed in this area since first year. Through each project i have learnt tips and tricks in order to create the most successful mood-boards i can and i feel this is probably one of the biggest skills i have learnt and developed over the three years. From my individual work experiences i have learnt how important mood-boards are and how much they are used within the industry so can see the importance for developing these skills as much as possible whilst at university. One thing which has also helped my mood-board skills to develop is my still growing passion, development and confidence on the Adobe software with programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator. Reflecting back on Digital Matters i am so glad i pushed so hard with developing these skills as they have carried me right the way through to third year and are another major skill i have learnt whilst studying for my degree.
When creating my mood-boards i did some initial research into which font i felt would best represent my ideas and also would draw these together. In the previous module i had great fun creating my own font once definitively deciding my theme and style, so this may be a possibility later within this project. Despite completing my research i felt it be best to decide on my fonts once finishing my mood-boards so i could accurately determine which font i felt best suited my ideas so far.
To select a font i went to an online website i use frequently called 1001 fonts which allows you to scroll through fonts and download them free of charge. By doing this i am allowing myself to engage with hundreds of different fonts, far more diverse than those already installed within my laptop. I feel downloading fonts and looking further than what is already installed gives me far more options and will allow my text to better represent my theme and connect with my project.
When searching for fonts i first searched for floral/ flower fonts then love, script, curly ect. I wanted to finds something that i felt really connected with my ideas so looked through all the relevant sections until i came up with the three within the image below. To see which would be the best match i used all three on different mood-boards and eventually settled on the bottom one.
As well as wanting my font to represent my theme and collection i also wanted something that would help my collection to stand out and be diverse from anything else on the market. Despite liking the two top fonts and feel they would still really engage my target demographic i feel i have seen them before and they do not stand out as new and innovative as much as the bottom font. As well as this, as there are florals within the font this directly relates with my theme.
Overall i feel this has given myself a really strong start and also given me a lot of research and ideas if i want to create my own font later in the project. I feel if i do create my own font this is something i could utilise within my designs by making items personable by having initials and names on the designs, which could be another selling point for my products. This is something i had not thought of previously; however, feel would really attract my target demographic and also suit my target market.
Within this post i have attached the presentation we were required to make in the studio in order to inform our ideas for our briefs. If i had prior knowledge about this exercise i may have chosen to postpone creating my brief. Despite this, having already written my brief made this exercise exceptionally easy and also allowed myself to reflect on the ideas i had already included within my brief.
As well as looking at the up to date magazines in the university library i also have a collection at home which i have used to collage over 4 pages. Where as the magazines at university are textile, fashion or art ect, the collection i have at home range from those i picked up at London design week last year, women’s gossip magazines, shop brochures, newspapers and pretty much anything in between. From this range of magazienes i selected a range of images which all relate to what i want to achieve within my project whether this relate to colour, texture, pattern or new ideas of things i could include.
Within many of the magazines there were pages with a small amount of text and a block coloured background which inspired me to make a little colour pallet at the bottom of my collage. These hues do not represent those within the collage, nor the exact collection of hues i will include within my colour pallet; however, just a range of hues i found inspiring and felt would be a good start to considering the direction of my colour pallet. To ensure these chips were the same size i used the same technique we practiced in first year and cut out a template square and then used this to cut out all the others. By doing this i could ensure all the chips would be exactly the same size. To ensure these hues stood out and didn’t blend into the background i then stuck them to some white card before sticking them on top of my collage. Not only does this help the chips stand out; however, also means the tonal values wont be effected by the hues present within the imagery and have a clear and accurate representation against the white background.
One of the images which really did strike me from this selection is of a young woman/ girl who is wearing pj’s which match her wallpaper. Previously i have only considered designing for interior items; however, i feel matching pj’s and bedding may sell well to my target demographic. As i explore ideas throughout my drawing and designing process i will ensure i consider this idea as i feel it would really be an asset to my final major project.
Overall this collage of imagery has come out a lot better than what i initially expected. I was concerned when starting this experiment that it may just look like images jumbled onto a page; however, as each image is full of textures, motifs and patterns i feel they all have this in common so come together quite well. From here i want to continue to work on my mood-boards and ensure my colour board is finished so i can start to experiment with the hues i have selected incase i need to make any further changes.
This session on our press packs was awfully beneficial as no one has been quite sure on what we are expected to achieve/ include within this part of the project. The most informative part of the session was definitely seeing the previous press packs and having time to pull them apart and properly engage with them. Now having seen examples of what needs to be included we can start to think about how we can develop our own ideas of exactly what to include and how to present them.
During the session i took some notes of key points that were mentioned that i felt were important:
Who’s the market/ who am I aiming at
Websites for ideas
Pintrest
Avoid single use plastics
Different to digital portfolio
Least important info at the bottom
My contact info
Lightspacetime.art
Size of the pack
Pricing/ budget
Print it off and personally sign it
How do the substrates feel
MOO- for business cards
Stickers
Ribbon
Blurb
As well as viewing the press packs in person i also took some images to refer back to incase i ever needed a reminder of previous designs and i am not on site at university to see them in person. I tried to photograph a diverse range of different sizes, shapes and substrates so i could kick off my own ideas with a broad range of research. What has already stuck me as being really important about our press packs is the size of the folders themselves. I feel A5 will be the best size as any smaller and i will not be able to fit much in; however, any bigger they become difficult to transport and fit into bags.
As well as creating notes throughout the session and photographing previous designs i also ensured i took photographs of Philippas information sheet to ensure i had all the information i could possibly need.
To build on my current research i have decided to look at a range of magazines in the university library. Whist still studying at Cardiff met i feel it is important to make use of this vital resource as if i had to complete this research outside of university it may have cost myself a vast amount of money. One benefit of magazines is that they are current and up to date unlike some other research methods such as books. As well as this, much like trend reports you can select a particular season you wish to look at thanks to them being released on a monthly basis. These magazines and images i selected as i find them inspiring in some form. I hope to later return to do some more research to see if i can find any particular articles on children’s bed room ideas, themes or trends as i feel this is lacking from this set of research
Aesthetica
Paik, J. (1974- 1977) TV Garden. Aesthica The Art and Culture Magazine, p.162, (91). Oct- Nov 2019.
This image above initially struck me because of the hues present within the image. This piece of art is instillation which will be different to what i will set out to achieve within my own project; however, i still feel i can take inspiration from the colours within this image.
As my project will focus on natural forms and florals green will play a rather large role within my colour pallet and motifs much like it does within this instillation piece. I really like how the photography of this piece has managed to create depth bringing in much darker tones between the leafs and emphasising the contrast between these and the tv screens. Aiming at a girls SS market i will need the majority of my designs to be much lighter in tone; however, this could still be an interesting idea to integrate into my project and initial colour experiments.
Selgas, J. and Cano, L. (n.d.) Second Home Serpentine Pavilion. Aesthica The Art and Culture Magazine, p.16, (90). Aug- Sep 2019.
This second image from Aesthica also caught my attention because of the colour scheme intergrated within the image. The mixture of brightly coloured hues very much reminded me of the iridescent colour way that will be on trend for the season i am designing for. This mixture of hues is something i am still very much interested in including within my experiments and hope i can find a company that can replicate this effect on fabric so it may be able to make an appearance within my final collection.
Although this piece is very different to what i will be doing within my own project it is refreshing to think i can gain inspiration from almost anywhere.
This iridescent sustainable sequin once again caught my attention because of its colour pallet. The gradation between the hues is something i would like to experiment with as i feel it would really attract my target demographic. As well as really liking the colour scheme of this item it is useful to note that if i did want to include sequins within my designs i can purchase some which are sustainable allowing my collection to still be eco- friendly. Despite this, this article was only published toward the end of last year meaning it is still a very new technology which will most likely retail for an exceptionally high price. When it comes to the substrates and materials i want to use within my designs i will have to consider both if my customer can afford it; however, also if i can afford to invest in them.
Donna Collezioni
Donna Collezioni, pp. 100- 106, (183), A/W 19-20
Donna Collezioni is a fashion magazine which i have not previously encountered. The entire magazine was a wash with different garments in a huge variety of shapes and colours with multitudes of different patterns. From this A/W’19/20 issue i selected these pages because of the vast amount of florals. My own designs will rely heavily on florals so i feel it is important to research them as much as i can for my collection in order to be informed and aware of other designs on the market.
As well as being inspired by the shape and form of florals themselves it is also interesting to see how they are portrayed for A/W as my collection will be for SS. To ensure my collection is directly reaching out to a SS market i can look at these designs and pair them with trend predictions for SS’21 in order to keep my initial drawings and subsequent experiments on trend.
Elle Decoration
Linnaean, (n.d.) Elle Decoration, p.162. (329) Jan 2020.
I selected this image from Elle Decoration as i really like the scale of the wallpaper. This is much larger than what i have encountered within previous research; however, is still very attractive. Within my collection i want to utilise a broad range of scale in order to make my collection as diverse as possible. As well as ensuring i am including a variety of scale within my repeating structures i also want to include a wide variety within my placement designs to add depth. I feel incorporating a very large scale will also make my designs appear more modern and individual which should help to attract my target market.
(n.d.) Elle Decoration, p.71. (322) June 2019
Osborne and Little. (n.d.) Elle Decoration, p.83. (322) June 2019
These two pages within Elle Decoration caught my eye because of the florals and natural imagery used. Although the first image is of an advert advertising a mattress, the large scale plant imagery caught my eye in the background. Within my own collection i want to include a diverse range of scale and also create some placement designs much like the imagery within this advert. However, this is from Elle Decorations June 2019 publication, so if i want to use this imagery as inspiration i will also have to refer to trend reports to update the imagery and colour pallet to better suit my season.
The second image from Osborne and Little featured at London Design week which is where it first caught my attention and it still does now. I really enjoy the placement design along with the florals in a variety of scales. However, i feel if i want a design such as this to really attract my target market i will have to change the background colour to a more appropriate shade which could be the iridescent/ pearlescent effect i have encountered throughout my trend research.
Embroidery
(n.d.) Embroidery, p.43. (70) July- Aug 2019.
King, J. (n.d.) Embroidery, pp.22- 23. (70) July- Aug 2019.
Considering utilising embroidery within some of my outcomes i found some inspiring floral pieces within Embroidery magaziene. Within the left image it is mainly the bottomleft design which caught my attention because of it’s floral imagery and smetrical design, Despire liking these two elements i feel the colour pallet could be developed further to really reach out to my target demographic.
I feel the image on the right much better in-captures the colour pallet my target demographic will be interested in as it looks a lot more feminine. However, despite really liking this design i am now starting to grow concerned that my target demographic might find embroidery more appropriate for their grandma as they may be interested in much more striking themes and mediums. Despite this, i would still like to experiment with embroidery and see if i can inject some youth into the process through glitter or metallic threads as well as different placements for the small embroidered sections.
Overall this research has provided myself with some new and essential ideas before moving onto creating my mood boards. Further into the project i still want to revisit magazines to see if i can find any that can inspire my designs and products in relation to a child’s bedroom market.
When visiting IKEA i thought this may be a good opportunity to do some more research for this current project. I was especially excited for this in store research as IKEA do bedroom set ups rather than simply stocking shelfs with their projects. Despite this initial excitement the range of children’s bedroom setups was quite limited compared to my previous visits to IKEA; however, this may be because the Cardiff branch is a lot smaller than the one i have previously visited in South London.
One thing i did notice within the bedding range was the difference between younger and older children in scale and colour. The first image above demonstrates the younger children’s range and the second image of the older children’s range. The younger children’s range is dramatically smaller in scale and utilises much softer and lighter tones. To connect to my older girl demographic i will utilise a slightly larger scale and brighter colour pallet. Despite this, throughout my collection i want to ensure i use a range of scales in order to demonstrate hero, secondary and blender designs.
The main design i felt related to my target market is the heart bedding with matching pillow and duvet case. Although this design is very simple the colours and scale work really well together and could provide some good inspiration for these two elements within my project. When creating my bedding i will have to create one design for the duvet case and one for the pillow slip and this example has given me some really good ideas of how i can use scale to create variation between the two products.
Overall IKEA has provided me some new ideas and also given me some ideas of what i can include within my show space. Although we will not be creating an installation piece like IKEA does, the items they use to create the feel of a girls bedroom i could utilise within my own space. To help myself to start to explore ideas of what i will include within my space i will start to create a mind map to help develop my ideas.
To broaden the amount of research i have from various sources i took to social media to see if any of these sites could offer myself any inspirational imagery or ideas. Initially i looked at Facebook; however, found this contained more business platforms and not necessarily the visual inspiration my project needed at this stage. However, business platforms such as these could come in handy during the professional practice part of our mogul. Eventually i started to look at Instagram where i found a broad range of artists and designers which could inspire my designs. Having an idea of what my designs would be since summer i had slowly started to follow accounts which i felt would be inspirational for my project.
What drew myself to this artist was his use of imagery and colour. Throughout his feed the themes of his designs juxtapose as they are both reminiscent of classical art and surrealism. The contemporary element to his work pushes the surrealism further as there are parts of the images which remind us of what the world of art use to be like; however, with a very sinister twist. It is the combination of these two juxtaposing elements which i hope to be inspired by for my own work. This artist has managed to combine these two elements so well that you may not question that it is not real; however, simply think of it as an alternate reality.
What i have also found really striking about this artists work is his use of colour and tone. By carefully considering the placement of highlights within his work he is able to draw the viewers eye directly to a specific place first. These bright highlights compared to the dull backgrounds also creates depth to the paintings. Within my own designs i will want there to be a slightly larger and more engaging array of hues than is present within these paintings; however, i can still take inspiration from these paintings when considering how to fully utilise colour within my work in terms of tone.
This painters instagram is a wash of dystopian paintings which i would highly recommend to view. When thinking about how to create my aliens i will definitely be referring back to some of the major themes within this artists work to continuously push and inform my own ideas; however, translate theme into a style which is more appropriate for my target demographic.
This illustrator definitely reminds me of that of the previous because of its mystical dystopian imagery. I have always found art which is not quite from our world interesting as it is taking the known and some how turning it into the unknown through a few minor but key changes. I selected the illustrations above because i felt they could inspire my alien imagery and also help me to weave my florals and aliens together. As well as these key ideas i also rather enjoy the style this illustrator has worked in; however, feel it may need to be adapted slightly for my target audience. I will want my illustrations to be interesting enough for the older girl to engage with; however, not so complex they become boring.
Within the three illustrations above it is interesting how much the use of colour has changed the central design. Despite the black line work of the central image appearing slightly sinister the addition of a bright yellow has made the overall image a lot less threatening and a lot more appropriate so a slightly younger demographic than the other two illustrations. This use of colour is something i will remember within my own designs. If i feel my imagery is appealing to a much younger or elder demographic than the one i am aiming for i can play with the hues to see if i can bring this closer to the age i am aiming for.
Overall this illustrator has given me lots of inspiration for the style i can use within my own work as i think the line work within these illustrations may work well with my current ideas. Despite thinking that this style is aimed at a more mature demographic than my own, i can play with hues and tone to see if i can refine the illustrations down toward my target demographic. Even if i feel this style will not work well for my collection and/ or my demographic it would still be a worthy experiment as give me lots of changes to play with line weight and texture.
This interior fabric company is diverse to the other two artists/ illustrators i have looked at as their style is completely different. Romo focuses on a more mature elegant colour scheme and patterns which fit nicely into a grown-ups home. Despite their designs being aimed at a much elder demographic than what i am specifically looking at, i still feel i can take some inspiration from their designs so my own have the youthful but sophisticated touch i am looking for.
One element of the designs above which really make these designs stand out for an elder demographic is the very refined and harmonious colour pallet. All three designs have a very calming feel with limited contrast. I actually feel these designs could work well in these colour ways for my demographic; however, just need one element of excitement added which could be my aliens. I could imagine aliens hiding behind the leaves which would bring the target market for these designs right down toward my own target demographic. I feel being able to visualise my ideas in this way is really important as it is really inspiring to see how my final designs could come together despite not having a vast amount of imagery for them yet.
Romo has given me some really strong ideas of how my aliens and florals could come together within a single design. It is starting to become clear that the use of these two juxtaposing elements could result in some very strong designs if i produce enough initial imagery to experiment with throughout my drawing process.
This artist is completely different to others i have looked at because of his loose drawing style and very bright and bold colour pallet. Although being able to visualise what my final collection may look like i find it awfully interesting that i am looking at such a diverse range of artists all employing a completely diverse range of styles. Although one designer may seem completely different from the next there is something about each and every designer which i find inspiring and has drawn me to their work.
For this artist i am really intrigued for how i can utilise this loose continuous line drawing style to create initial imagery for my aliens. This is something i experimented with within my field project in second year and actually produced some really interesting imagery. Wanting to create aliens i need to be thinking outside the box of how to create them and utilising a loose style such as this could be the way to do it.
Despite thinking this would be an interesting idea to work with within my initial drawing stages i feel the colour pallet utilised within this designers feed is a little too bold for my target demographic. I want my aliens to look real or believable in some respect so utilising bright and contrasting colours such as these will most likely not be the way forward. I feel the colour pallet used within Romos designs with only minor pops of colour added would appeal to my target audience a lot more as it will give off the sophisticated and youthful feel i am looking for.
This artist has given me lots of inspiration for how i can develop my initial alien imagery. Employing a very loose style may bring out of the box thinking and also allow myself to experiment with a greater array of drawing ideas. I am very excited to start drawing in such a loose style as i feel it could be a really inspiring way to kick off my illustrations before refining the imagery down.
Continuing on with my alien inspiration imagery this is an artist i have followed for years and always admired his sinister dystopian style. Throughout this artists feed there is a wash of imaegery all in a very cohesive style which i really admire. Although some of this designers imagery is a little too dark for my target demographic i still feel there are some key ideas i can take from his work in order to inspire my own.
I selected the first image because of the shape of the head and teeth. I felt these could be really inspiring for when i start to draw my own designs and think about how exactly i am going to present my aliens. Although the very sharp teeth may appear a little too sinister for my age demographic i believe through the correct use of colour and style i can really make these appear more appealing to my target demographic and much less threatening. Throughout my initial drawings i will utilise these two elements to see if i can transform them into something more appropriate. I like the challenge of having to recreate something as it requires in-depth thinking rather than just simply drawing a flower which will be easier as it is more appropriate for my demographic.
The second image i selected because i feel a mermaid type alien will really appeal to my target audience. I want to ensure i have a balance between masculine and feminine aliens as i want my designs to appeal to girls; however, want some of the designs within my collection to also appeal to boys as i found multiple trend reports for SS’21 saying how important gender neutral designs and collections will be. Despite finding the imagery within this design inspiring, i feel i will have to dramatically edit the colour pallet to better suit my target demographic, theme and season. Although this will be an essential element of development if i am to use this illustration as inspiration, i feel once i create my colour pallet my designs will naturally flow into it.
The final image i selected from this artist is an alien from the film ‘Alien’. This is an essential piece of inspiration for my collection as it has also appeared within my film research. This film is not appropriate for my age demographic; however, it is the shape of the alien which i feel will really help to develop my own imagery.
Overall this artist has given me lots of inspiration in terms of how i can utilise specific parts of each image in order to start to construct my own illustrations. I feel once i start drawing and combining these individual elements more ideas of my own will flow and i will be able to start to develop a wide array of aliens for my collection.
This next designer i selected as i thought i could take some inspiration from her style to inspire my own florals. This artist uses a minimal amount of detail and allows colour and shape to do most of the work when it comes to aesthetic appeal. Within my own designs i want to include some level of detail to ensure my designs are interesting; however, do not want to spend so much time fussing over minor strokes that it makes me fall behind with my project. Within my initial floral illustrations i will use this artists work as inspiration to see if i can create some florals any where near as elegant as these are here.
When i first saw these designs a few months ago they completely struck me as being perfect inspiration for this project. To create my aliens i will need inspiration from a range of different sources; however, i never thought of fruit as being one of them. I find it so intriguing how this artist has managed to pick out certain characteristics from these fruits and transform them into bodies/ clothing. This is definetly an idea i should experiment with within my initial drawings as i feel the images above are just stunning.
Not only do these images have a great aesthetic appeal but i also feel they would really appeal to my target demographic as they would really play on their imagination. I could really imagine my target demographic being drawn in by designs such as these as they take the ordinary and turn it into something quite unusual.
Overall this artist has given me lots of inspiration for my own aliens and also inspired me to start looking around to see if i can find objects that i can transform into a cohesive set of aliens. I feel for this idea to work within my own collection i would have to take inspiration from a set of similar elements much like this designer has taken all her inspiration from different fruits. I feel if i started picking out random elements which had no relation to each other this may produce a rather messy and disjointed outcomes.
This designer i selected from instagram because of her style and colour pallet. Much like Christinastewartdesigns she takes a very loose approach allowing the colour, shape and texture to do the work with limited added details. This limitation on fine details is starting to become a pattern within the floral designs i have looked at and something i will definitely experiment with within my own initial drawing stages. Although feeling these florals are along the lines of what i would like toe experiment with i do feel they are aimed at a much elder demographic than my own audience. To try and appeal to my target demographic i will stylise my florals in my own way which should help to appeal more directly to my target demographic.
The third image from this designer i selected because it is of business cards which i feel i could use as inspiration for my own later in this project. The variety of colours within these has inspired me to perhaps use the same design; however, in multiple different colour ways to appeal to a wider audience.
Overall this instagram research has proved really useful as inspired me to think in new ways about how i will approach creating my aliens and florals. It is really refreshing to see such a diverse range of styles and mediums all in one place. During my initial drawings i will definitely be exploring some of the ideas i have encountered here which will hopefully provide me with a strong start to my project.
After enjoying experimenting with my previous pink background i decided to do this again for my Pintrest research. Unlike my TV and film research the imagery from my Pintrest research was overall much lighter and diverse in colours so i felt a black textural background would help to balance this out. I did consider mixing the black with a yellow or green hue; however, felt there was already enough hues within the imagery and did not want to overwhelm the page.
To decide how i was going to apply the paint to the page i experimented with three different brushes. I really enjoyed the fluidity of using a sponge for my previous experiment; however, felt it be best i build and expand upon this tool. From left to right in the image above i experimented with a round, flat and fan brush. Out of the three i felt the flat head brush gave me the best coverage and textural values so this is what i decided to continue with for my double page spread. Once again i selected an acrylic paint as this is easy and quick to use as well as fast drying.
To attach page 5.5 to my sketchbook i once again selected a ribbon i felt related to my theme. Initially i was going to use a black ribbon; however, felt there was already enough black on the page and wanted to use something a little more diverse. In my ribbon box i came across this pink iridescent ribbon which i felt really related to my theme, research and demographic so selected this instead.
BA Hons Textiles Final Major Project Blog 