Putting my Illustration and Design skills into use in time for christmas

Here is a self set task, just in time for christmas. My sister required a black paper based photo album. After searching high and low for such a product that was suitable, I was not successful. I then thought I would produce my own personalized book for her as the photos with in were sensitive and there for this had to be reflected with in the design.
In terms of process, I initially began by finding a suitable shaped and sized book and covering it with this floral material. My sister really likes the home made feel of items at the moment, which seems to be a popular trend. After that I decided to illustrate a tea pot and sew it onto a variant material. I chose this design because she collects this particular item. I then decided to spruce it up further by adorning and embellishing the cover with jems and buttons, also adding a friendly bow. This added depth and intrigue to the cover. I was also sure to make sure the interior had a professional finish and so i recovered the inner cover with black paper to hide any tatty edges caused by the material covering.
The final product seemed to be a success, she said that it was beautifully designed and very much was what she was after.This self set brief made me learn the importance of being in touch with the clients tastes and sensitivity levels. It also made me use to extra precautions to make sure that a professional finish was gained.

All in the name of fashion

Today I was asked to take some photos in Ink Bar in Bournemouth town. It was in order to photograph a fashion students final garment. This photo-shoot was correctly arranged before hand. Unfortunately the model was unable to fit in to the dress properly and it zipped up and the side so it was a challenge to not reveal this with in the photographs. Considering I have never done anything like this before now, I think it went well. The staff were very accommodating to our needs and offered us changing facilities and props. We were also allowed to move the furniture about. While I was taking photographs, a woman approached me and asked for a copy of the photos. I believe I shall seek some guidance on how to email them across as I would not want them to be used with out my permission in the bar. However I would feel rather flattered. Anyway so here is an example of the results of photographs that were taken, unedited mind.

The catalyst to end all catastrophe

Today I have had a big of a revelation! whoever invented flash catalyst is an absolute genius, thanks adobe!I have been trying to tackle this website business for quite some time now with little to no success. Sometimes there are things in life that no matter how hard you try, u just can't seem to fathom, well Flash is kind of like that for me. Even after these booster sessions where I follow the procedures things do not seem to produce the same outcome. I now have faith in what I am doing after playing about on it and am now putting the final bits and pieces together so that I can sort out my photoshop document and jam it all into flash catalyst. I also feel as though I can be a bit more adventurous. Fingers crossed this could be the way forward for me.

2 crits, one post

Firstly today I had my critique for the animal farm project. It was far more casual than it was first made out to be. My idea was approved and I was given some good feedback. I also discovered that I would be able to execute my idea onto A3 paper.

In terms of my website, I was also given good feedback for my design. I was told that I had managed to capture my personality well within the imagery. In terms of progression, it was suggested a phone should be added to the room for my contact details and books for the about me section. The type for this would be integrated by a pop up of sorts containing the relevant information. It was also suggested to me that I may want to play with the idea of turning the light on in the room in order to enter the website. A really good suggestion is that I link to an external window in order to download my CV, therefore easy access to my information and hopefully the client will keep a copy for future referencing.
I also learnt some useful information about websites that is not currently relevant to the work that I am doing now but is good to retain for the future. I discovered that if you have a flicker account you can automatically upload/update you imagery through linking your account to your website and what ever you put on there will transfer across. Also if you place email address on you website you will constantly be attacked with spam messages. In order to resolve this the website name can be placed as a graphic.

Animal Farm

For our final major show we need to fundraise in order to make the whole thing happen in London. This would be a fantastic way to get known in this competitive industry. In order to do this we have been working towards putting a series of events on. Our first one will be held at sixty million postcards and will be an art auction with the theme of animal farm. It does not have to be related to the play but just an illustration or a screen print of an animal. I decided to do something quite random and in touch with my taste and sense of humor. here is the drawing I intend to take to the initial critique.

Update

Well I feel as though I have neglected my blog a bit lately. I think i was too wrapped up in the thought of a deadline I kind of froze, but I realise this is not the thing to do. Let me think what there is to catch up on. Well i suppose there is dreamweaver, was getting on really well with that until we had to stop that due to some unfortunate circumstances. But hopefully that shall be picked up on soon because I really want to gain the skill.

After having a positive critique the other day for my proposed website, I felt quite good about the whole project. However I was told to use a number of programs I am more than just a bit unfamiliar with. This left me feeling quite daunted by the whole prospect. But then a familiar face from foundation came into play. Lee I

believe his name is, came to give us some sessions on flash and such forth. I had a really nice chat with him about my ideas and he said he would guide me through the whole process of making a flash website. I was given the task of getting my imagery ready for next weeks session so he could start helping me to animate it and transfer my photoshop file. This is not quite finished but what I have come up with so far.

Because I am illustration based I thought it was only appropriate that my website reflected this. I wanted all my information to be on the one page, in terms of being convenient. In order to see my portfolio the client will click/hover over a smaller picture frame then it will appear in the larger central frame. When hovering over the light it will change and my contact details will appear in the central frame and so on and so forth. Today I'm going to continue to develop this idea and we shall see what is said in the critique tomorrow. Fingers crossed I'm on the right line.