Christmas themed workshop: Gif and pop up card - 15/12/2016

For the last workshop before Christmas we were put into groups and were tasked to produce an animated gif and a pop up card, based on a word we were given and to give our creations a Christmas theme.

CRUSH

A local juicing bar specialising in healthy fresh juices and mocktails. Contemporary typefaces, modern colours and simple bold imagery. No hearts.

With 5 of us in a group we split into 2 groups, one working on the gif and the other working on the pop-up card. With the current skills we each have, we each go to a group that we individually think our strengths lies in (in terms of practical skills). I decided to join the few who will be making the pop-up card, despite having the skills in digital painting I am not great in the technicality of producing an animated gif, though 2 other members will be working on it as one of them is keen in creating gifs.

For the group that are creating the pop-up card that I am taking part in, we first did some initial research of various pop-up card methods, ranging from the simple fold-ins and cuts outs to complex designs. Due to our lack of experience with pop-up cards, we decided to go for the most simple approach, as complex designs does confuse us with the amount difficulty it holds. Shapes and colours, particularly red and green for the theme of Christmas, are also important as they are something we are going to implement in our pop up card.

Initial research on some pop up cards based on the theme of Christmas. 

We had a little trouble along the way in how the pop up card is going to be produced and what was going to be in it, so we decided to do a simple pop up of a cocktail glass (an object that is relevant to the word and the description we were given) with a background. We have encountered some technical difficulties when it comes to print the illustrations as the intended plan was to print them on nice card for sturdiness though due to a slight problem with the printer we have to cut them out on regular paper instead and stick the individual parts onto the pop up card.

Shape templates to be cut out for the pop up card.

 Physical mock up of the pop up card to roughly plan out where things would be placed.

Digital mock up for the content inside the pop up card.

Illustrations created for the pop up card and the gif.

Final outcome for the pop up card.

The end result of our pop up card didn’t really live up to our expectations due to the lack of experience in paper crafting though in the end we have all enjoyed our team work together in bringing in our little creation together. Personally I think the gif is the more successful one as the two members who were working on it managed to get everything together for it. There are some areas that need tweaking to get it to run smoothly but due to the time we have as a one day workshop we couldn’t fix those small issues in time.

Websites for online portfolio - Exercise and thoughts

For this exercise we discussed about the possibility of getting a website for ourselves for online exposure and to showcase our online portfolio. Knowing the costs, benefits, pros and cons for getting an online portfolio site will help us to understand and to be aware of how things work, as each site are completely different. As groups we each research a given portfolio site and to answer questions in regards to whether the website is free, its monthly price range, etc.

The portfolio site my group was given to look into: Coroflot.com

Free Option?

There is an online application that you must submit and must be approved before allowing you to get an online portfolio on their network.

Dedicated portfolio site or general website builder?

It is dedicated and for professional use only.

Stylish clients? What people use it?

Professionals and specialists. Including established artists and creators.

Stylish templates? Professional look?

Simple, limited colour palette (white, black and orange tone).

How much per month for custom domain name? E.g. www.janessmith.com

No custom domain name. Unable to identify the monthly cost due to the online application that is preventing us to look into it further.

What is the default domain name? E.g. www.janesmith.carbonmade.com

Coroflot.com/”name of user”

Networking?

There is a choice for those who have an online portfolio on this site to follow each other, though outside of that the website is partnered with several other online companies as a shared network.

A graph revealing each group’s analyse on what they have discovered, as well as pointing out the differences each portfolio site offers.

I have not decided on what website I will use to showcase my original artworks, as I would need to do a little more research to find the right one that I personally think will be suitable, in terms of presentation and the aesthetics, as well as what each one will offer such as the monthly price, templates, etc. I would need to be sure on these things first before finally deciding what website i would want to use to showcase my online portfolio, otherwise it will cause some complications if I don't like it and wanting to switch which will be a hassle. 

PROMOTIONAL ITEM - Business cards Workshop and Creation - PART 1

Business cards are one of the key things I want to produce as one of the promotional items for this module. There will eventually be a time where I will hand out my very own business cards to customers or clients and this task will be the first step in creating my very own card that will identify me to the industry and community as a digital artist.

Before I begin the design ideas for my own business card I had a look at various types of cards from different fields of specialisms, ranging from freelance, graphic design, fashion, concept art and illustration. Looking into how each one is unique to one another it helps me to understand the personal touch that artists put into their business card to convey their style, world and professionalism.

Looking into various business cards for ideas on composition, size, type and colours.

What I want for my business card is to be simple, yet friendly and enchanting through the use of colours and font in combination with a simple illustration that will identify my art style and genre of my works. I would want to aim for a simple aesthetic, nothing too complicated or too fancy, yet, not too boring and plain. I would need to produce multiple rough designs to play around with the composition of text, colours and imagery. For the size of the business card it will just be in the traditional landscape format, as I personally don’t feel the need for it to be in any other sizes.

Initial design roughs for my business card.

After the first initial designs of my business cards, I am more conscious on how the back (the side with the contact details) would look, as there are many ways to play around with the text and icon placement for composition and I will continue the designs for it until I narrow down to a few that I am satisfied with. For the front of the card it will be just be a full illustration to showcase the kind of artworks I create, though I might need to create an exclusive image for it, or use a recent illustration I had produce. 

Had made some minor tweaks and adjustments to the text and their placements, as well as changing the logos of social media to simple colours (or black and white) to match with the text/colour scheme. 

After these tweaks I then narrowed down to a selected few which I think would look best to be the final design for my business card, although I will need to forward these to tutors to see if there are any final adjustments needed. Once that is done I will move forward to produce an illustration (front) of the business card, however I will need review what I have (personal works) that could possibly be used as the illustration, though making one exclusively for the business card is very likely.

"The Apprentice" Workshop - 1/12/2016

In this workshop we had learned to see how we can make money by creating and selling a product under a strict budget. This task helps us to inform our business and marketing experience/strategy, as we are creative people who would be looking to sell original products to the market, whether they will be prints, shirts, or illustrated items.

As a group of 6, we each donate £1 to our group budget, totalling £6. To begin the task we analysed the potential products that we think we could create that will enable us to ‘profit’ from the limited resources we have. T-shirts with printed illustrations was something we all kind of agreed towards, as the market for it is quite big and relevant in the industry. We begin by splitting into 2 groups: the research team and the product team. The research team, consisting of 2 people, will look online for prices and other potential products that we could go forward with. The other team, consisting of 4 people (including me), go out into town to seek out products that we could buy within our budget that will help us forge the final product we are aiming to make.

Researching

Myself and 3 other classmates, head out to stores such as Primark, Wilko and Poundland to seek out T-shirts that are relatively cheap within our budget range. It was not that difficult as we stumble a few good deals in t-shirts, some ranging from £2 per coloured shirt, while there are packs of shirts (mostly 3 shirts) for the price of £3.50 in Primark. While we are at the store we contacted the others who are back at the studio to see if they were to agree with buying them. They agreed although they also suggested into looking for materials for another potential product we could make and that is paper lamps. This is a backup plan, which I think is a good idea, just in case if we were to fail or to unsuccessfully produce the printed shirts, as that will be time consuming for the setup and the usage of the screen printing machinery.

We headed out to other stores such as Tiger and WHS Smith, as well as revisiting Wilko to seek out paper materials and electronic items that will aid with the construction of the paper lamps. We remained in contact with the other group while on the lookout and we regroup with the others to discuss further.

Looking into Wilko and Tiger for ideas on prices.

With the knowledge of what we have discovered from each of us, we decided that we are to create paper lamps as our final product, as we came to the conclusion that T-shirts will take a lot of time to produce, especially multi-coloured illustrations for printing. Plus, T-shirts are very common when it comes to creating items for the market/industry and we all feel that creating paper origami lamps are more innovative than shirts.

Production

We then proceed with buying the items that will forge our paper lamps. We discovered LED tea lights which only costs 50p at Wilko and bought 4, totalling £2 from our budget, which is pretty good for its price, however, the light it generates wasn’t strong enough for the light to shine through the paper. We return 1 back to the store (getting the 50p back to our budget) and use the remaining amount to purchase fairy lights (costing £2.50) and coloured sugar paper (£1).

With the materials gathered, we begin with the production of the paper lamp shaped origamis. We created multiple origamis to see which ones would fit in the best with the lights, all ranging from different sizes. There were some difficulty in terms of construction, as most turn out not as great due to the lack of experience in paper crafting. Most of my attempts failed due to some of the complex step by step tutorials which were kind of hard for me to follow. We tried to avoid the easier origamis as they tend to be flat, while the more harder ones are more blocky and 3D, which would fit nicely over the lights with its shapes/design.

Our Origami paper lamps. Prototypes ranging from various sizes.

Our business plan highlighting our target audience, production/material costs and selling prices for our products.

Other groups’ final products for the workshops task. Hand printed Christmas cards and custom sketchbook covers.

In conclusion to the overall experience, I was surprised with the amount of good group work we had put in. Personally, this is perhaps the best group work I have done and to be involved in, as there was actual progression. The task does help us to understand how we could work under a budget, especially for creative people like us in the industry, as we often promote our work/craftsmanship to the market.  

Product Comparison Workshop - 17/11/2016

The workshop task was to analyse and to dissect the key elements from 2 different packaging (whether it is from two different companies or one) of the same product. This is to inform our critical thinking and visual presentation skills as we will be promoting ourselves with our work to future clients and consumers.

Forming a group with 4 people including me we were given 2 packets of crisps, both made and manufactured from the same company, Walkers. The two packaging were distinctively designed differently and we are tasked to analyse each packaging and pinpointing key visual elements that makes the two entirely different despite being produced by the same company, as well as our thoughts of the potential reasons why the two are being made the way they are.

The two crisps packets side by side, made by Walkers.

Colours

Our first analysis of the two packets that we noted on first is the colours of the packaging. We believe that the red packaging of the crisps is more identifiable to the consumers, especially knowing that the colour red has always been associated with the flavour “Ready Salted” since the product’s debut. Another note to add is that consumers can identify the product and brand from a distance (if you were to put these two crisps together) due to the strong colour of red and identity.

Compared to the other crisp packet, the “Sunbites” one, the colours represent a more calm and positive nature. Of course, the regular red Walkers crisps will win in terms of identification due to its time in the market than the Sunbites one, however the colour scheme appears to attract a slightly older generation (18s-25s) while the red appeals more to children and parents.

Visual Imagery

The visual imagery between the two packaging has a lot of differences that may show signs that the two are aimed at specific consumers. The red Walkers packaging feels generic, combined with the imagery of the potatoes and the English flag imprint representing that this is a British product. It feels simple, however it lacks a lot of detail compared to the Sunbites packaging. As mentioned before, this may be aimed towards children and parents as the visuals only consists the large logo of the brand accompanied with the simple image of the crisps/potatoes. We think simplicity plays a large role as this package is aimed to be more direct to the consumer and they would care less what’s on the package, as long as they know the flavour of the crisps they are getting.

The sunbites have a lot more to it with its visual communication of illustrations consisting plants and wildlife, indicating the product is more of ‘healthy’ choice. It feels as if it is trying to build a relationship with the consumer with its choice of colours and visual imagery, making it feel more personal, as well as being less generic compared to the regular red packaging, which in turn could lead consumers to choose the Sunbites one as they would be unfamiliar with it.

Text and Composition

With a similar approach to its colour scheme and visual imagery, the text on the red Walkers package are very straightforward; Outlining the flavour of the crisps and the large Walkers logo taking the majority of the upper half of the packet with the visual image of the potato crisps at the centre. Compared to the Sunbites one, the text and the visual composition seem carefully placed with a different font choice. “(Lightly) sea-salted” and “Multigrain crispy snacks” on the Sunbites packet feels a lot more interesting than the regular “Ready Salted” and “Fresh taste guaranteed”. The flavour names are probably chosen to attract the consumers to try out this product over the generic one that everyone seems familiar with, to make them feel intrigued with the new taste/flavour.

Materials and size of the packets

In terms of the packaging material, we feel that the Sunbites may cost a little more for printing than the regular one, due to the amount of visual imagery and text on it. The packaging on the red regular one feels flimsy and light, though the reason for this is that they are to manufacture and mass produce large quantity at a low cost rate, compared to the Sunbites one, which uses a much better quality material. The sizes are the same and the only difference is the materials being used.

The exercise does help us to be critical in how we are to present our products, both visually and physically, if we were to show to our work to clients. These items that we have to analyse may not relate to illustration at all, though it does provide some insight that presentation is key for self-promotion, as well as the quality of the work/items/products. 

Thoughts and purpose on the module and PERSONAL PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

During the second year I was slightly aware of the things we will potentially do for Portfolio and Promotion during one of the Professional Practice tasks, where we review the promotional items from the current 3^rd years at the time. From that alone I had thought ahead of the things I would want to create for my promotional pieces to represent my portfolio, both digital and physical.

Knowing that this module is to prepare ourselves and to assemble a body of content that we will use to show clients the works that we have produced (as well as promotional items) to showcase our skills and identity as an artist, I feel confident than I was before with myself and my current skills, though some technical skills is probably needed, such as using other digital software like InDesign and Illustrator.

Since I began digital painting in early 2013, I wanted to reach a point where I feel confident with my digital painting skills before exposing myself as a digital artist. I was having doubts about myself and thought I would not reach a point in time where I would be confident with my skills during my journey, as most of the experience I gained was all self-taught. Since I had started this course I had approached most projects and workshops using digital mediums in order to get better at digital painting. Now, after a good few years in experiencing in working digitally, I feel I had finally reached the point where I think I am comfortable with my skills and ready for online exposure.

For my future, at the moment I am a little uncertain with where things can go from now. I initially had in my mind that I would want to go freelance and so far my mind has not changed since, though this could change as the module progresses with the things to know in the coming months.

What I want to achieve and gain in this module is to expand my online presence through social media and producing promotional items, particularly business cards, to expand my exposure for my online portfolio. Also, I hope to gain some extensive knowledge on making the optimal choices that will help me get the most out of this module, i.e. choosing the right websites, the type of content to produce for the near future, the process of getting into contact of companies or art directors, etc.

PERSONAL PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

The promotional items I am potentially seeking out to make for the module to promote myself will be of the following:

Business Cards – A crucial promotional item that is a must have for any artist who would want to give to potential clients and general exposure of my works to customers and target audience (those who are interested in my works).

Postcards – An item that can be handed out individually or as a set with images that represents my work (illustrations of characters or narrative based imagery). This can be also good for collection purposes for those who like to collect postcards as part of their collectables.

Posters – A2/A1 Posters of my narrative based illustrations and characters for display purposes. For those who want to decorate rooms with illustrations. Posters are prints which are items I would potentially like to sell at events and/or comic conventions, as well as for my future online store (if I pursue to open one later on).

Other choices in making promotional items I have in mind consists of the following:

Phone Covers

Cups

Book Markers

The decision is not yet final on which items I will make, though business cards is definitely the one I will produce, until we get further into the module and undertake several workshops that will get us to explore and research into other promotional materials, by then I should have a clear sense of what I want to make that will represent myself as an artist.