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SPENDING DAYS ON A SINGLE DRAWING IS ONE THING, BUT THEN FINDING THAT IT ISN'T SUITABLE TO BE USED DIGITALLY REALLY DOES ADD A BIT OF FRUSTRATION.  I WAS SURE TO SPEND AS MUCH TIME DIGITALLY ON THE PRINTS AS I HAD SPENT ON THE PHYSICAL DRAWINGS, TO BRING THEM TOGETHER EFFECTIVELY.  COLOURISING AND ALTERING THE IMAGES BECAME A MAJOR PART OF MIXING HAND DRAWN WORK WITH DIGITAL PROCESSES- AS I WANTED PRINTS THAT WEREN'T FLAT, BUT INSTEAD FULL OF DETAIL AND COLOUR. SOME OF THEM WERE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN OTHERS, BUT I FEEL THAT I HAVE CREATED A FEW DESIGNS THAT WORK WELL IN TERMS OF THE IMAGE, COMPOSITION AND COLOURING.  IT'S BEEN FRUSTRATING HAVING SO SHORT A TIME TO WORK ON THEM, BUT WITH A FEW WEEKS BETWEEN HAND IN AND THE ACTUAL DEGREE SHOW EXHIBITION IN WHICH THEY'RE BEING DISPLAYED, I HAVE TIME ENOUGH TO FINISH THE COLLECTION PROPERLY.

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I WANTED TO FOCUS ON REFLECTION. IT WAS SOMETHING LACKING IN MY PREVIOUS BODY OF WORK, SO I WANTED TO STEP BACK AND QUESTION WHY I WAS DOING THINGS. BY CREATING A JOURNAL OF MY TIME OF THE FINAL PROJECT, THE AIM WAS TO CHRONICLE MY THOUGHTS MORE EFFECTIVELY.  I DIDN'T HOWEVER CONTEMPLATE JUST HOW EXHAUSTING AND TIME CONSUMING IT CAN BE TO PUT A BOOK TOGETHER. IT WAS GOOD PRACTICE, I SUPPOSE, BUT THE WHOLE PROCESS DID TAKE MORE OF MY TIME THAN I WOULD AND SHOULD HAVE LIKED FOR IT TO. I'M PLEASED WITH THE OUTCOME (MOSTLY- THERE'S A FEW MINOR DETAILS I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO WORK FURTHER ON WITH MORE TIME) AS THERE'S SOME LITTLE DETAILS THAT I FEEL WORK QUITE NICELY. I'M PLEASED WITH SOME OF THE GRAPHIC ELEMENTS THAT I CREATED AND ALL IN ALL THE PROCESS OF PUTTING IT TOGETHER DID MAKE ME STEP BACK AND REALLY EVALUATE WHAT I WAS DOING, AS I WAS DOING IT.

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AS AN ASPIRING ILLUSTRATOR, DRAWING IS SOMETHING THAT I BOTH ENJOY, AND FEEL THAT I HAVE SOME SKILL AT.  OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS I'VE BEEN REFINING AND DEVELOPING MY TECHNIQUE- AND NOW, AT THE END OF MY TIME IN UNIVERSITY, I FEEL THAT I AM ABLE TO DRAW COMPETENTLY AND PROFICIENTLY.  MY DRAWINGS HAVE A LOT OF INTRICATE DETAIL TO THEM, AND TAKE MANY HOURS AND DAYS TO COMPLETE.  AS PART OF MY PORTOFLIO, I WILL BE DISPLAYING SOME OF MY STRONGER DRAWINGS, AS THESE OFTEN CATCH PEOPLE'S EYES AND RECEIVE INTEREST.  THIS PROJECT HAS SEEN A NUMBER OF DRAWINGS FALL BY THE WAYSIDE, DUE TO THEIR COMPOSITION NOT BEING CORRECT, THE DETAIL NOT BEING SUITABLE, OR SIMPLY THAT THEY WOULDN'T BE STRONG ENOUGH ONCE DIGITIZED.  CREATING INITIAL CONCEPT SKETCHES HAS ALLOWED FOR ME TO REALLY PLAN AND WORK AT MY PRINTS BEFORE INVESTING A LONG PERIOD OF TIME DRAWING ELEMENTS OF THEM. I SUPPOSE LEARNING THIS SKILL HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST INVALUABLE THAT I WILL TAKE WITH ME.

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LIKE THE CONCEPT FOR THIS PROJECT, THE RESEARCH CONTINUED ON FROM THE PREVIOUS. THE MAJORITY OF MY TIME SPENT IN THIS REGARD WAS TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS SUITABLE FOR ME TO DRAW FROM- THAT FITTED IN WITH CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT WORK THAT I HAD BEEN DOING. I ALSO WORKED MORE ON COLOUR AND COMPOSITION.  THE RESEARCH ELEMENT OF THIS PROJECT WAS FAIRLY CONCISE, REALLY ONLY NEEDING PHOTOGRAPHY WORK.  I MADE A DETERMINED EFFORT NOT TO GO OFF ON A TANGENT AND START EXPLORING COMPLETELY NEW THEMES, AS THIS WOULD HAVE TAKEN MY FOCUS AWAY FROM THE MAIN PROJECT.  I SUPPOSE THAT I MIGHT SAY THAT THIS ASPECT OF THE PROJECT WAS SUCCESSFUL- EVEN IF ONLY BECAUSE IT SERVED A PURPOSE AND DIDN'T NECESSARILY INSPIRE ANYTHING NEW. I DID SPEND A GOOD WHILE LOOKING MORE AT OTHER ARTISTS, SIMPLY FOR INSPIRATION FOR THINGS LIKE MY WEBSITE DESIGN, AS I WAS DETERMINED TO CREATE AN ONLINE PORTFOLIO THAT HAD A BIT OF SUBSTANCE BEHIND IT AND REFLECTED MY WORK WELL AND WHAT I DO.

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THE THEME THAT DROVE ME THROUGH THIS PROJECT, WAS ONE DEVELOPED FROM PREVIOUS WORK- AN INTENTION OF CREATING A GLIMPSE INTO A FUTURE WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY AND TOTAL SURVEILLANCE.  PREVIOUS WORK HAD BEGUN TO OFFER AN INSIGHT INTO THIS WORLD USING IMAGES THAT WERE BASED HEAVILY UPON SCIENCE FICTION.  I WANTED THE WORK THAT I CREATED FOR THIS PROJECT TO CONTINUE ON MUCH THE SAME THEME.  HAVING THIS CONCEPT ALREADY MAPPED OUT ALLOWED ME TO QUICKLY BEGIN TO CREATE WORK- AND I SUPPOSE WAS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FACTORS OF THIS PROJECT, BECAUSE I WAS ABLE TO MOVE CONFIDENTLY INTO DRAWING AND MAKING PRINTS AND DESIGNS.

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artist|study : COLWYN THOMAS

COLWYN THOMAS creates richly layered illustrations that are both imaginative and emotionally poignant. His work is created by hand, and then scanned and coloured digitally, making for sensitive colour stories with beautiful detail. The thing that entices me so much to his work is his sense of composition and fun that he incorporates. His work evokes feelings of memory and dreaming, making it captivating for audiences to behold.

artist|study : GABHRIELA SWANN

GABHRIELA SWANN was selected by D&AD as a recipient of their prestigious new blood award.  Her work is heavily focussed upon digital illustration with elements of hand drawn textures to give her work an extraordinary depth and tactility. Her subtle use of colour and tone create pieces that really jump off the page and catch the eye.  I'm a big fan of her use of detail, and of her typography skills which add a lovely finish to her work.

artist|study : SIMON PRADES

SIMON PRADES is an illustrator who uses traditional analogue mediums such as pencil and watercolour to create work that is abstract and thought provoking.  He inspires themes and concepts such as memory and dreams within his work, and creates narrative through abstract composition.  I'm draw to his use of texture within his work, and aim to capture this within my own, as a means of blending the hand drawn with digital.

artist|study : 'THE SAND STORM' // JASON WISHNOW

A dystopian vision of a future without water, the production of this film itself was somewhat of an act of rebellion.  Staring Ai Wiewei; an artist heavily under Chinese government surveillance since 2011, the film struggled through a production completely under the radar.  An exciting concept, this film is currently in it's final stages of editing, while the world awaits the potentially revolutionary piece of independent cinema.

artist|study : 'HER' // SPIKE JONZE

'Sometimes I think I have felt everything I'm ever gonna feel. And from here on out, I'm not gonna feel anything new. Just lesser versions of what I've already felt.'  HER is an unconventional love story, playing upon ideas of loneliness, interaction and our perceptions of what love is.  An overarching feeling of melancholy sets the backdrop for a film bursting with moments of powerful emotion and cutting social commentary.  There is a strong sense of social disconnection within the film, revolving around the nature of technology and its dominance over our lives.  Joaquin Phoenix gives a flawless performance as a man suffering through the loneliness of living a life alone within this world.  The styling throughout the film is also a thing of perfection.

artist|study : GEZ FRY

GEZ FRY is a digital illustrator, who combines hand drawn processes alongside digitally generated imagery.  His work has a strong sense of narrative and composition.  The thing that draws me to his work the most is the seamless way in which he mixes different processes to create work that is visually stunning.  I'm aiming to create work that uses the same processes, and have realised that I need to really think about my use of colour and texture, in order to bring things together more successfully.  Also, detail will remain important as ever.

P H A S E - S U M M A R Y | # 5

So this is it.  The never-ending project has indeed come to an end.  It's been such a long stretch, and yet it's flown by.  Overall, I'd say that I'm happy with some elements of the work that I've achieved, but I feel honestly (as it's an on-going project) that nothing is resolved.  It's a strange feeling, but an exciting one all the same.  All of the work that I have done so far has given me the foundations to produce my final collection.  My technical skills, particularly in regards to Adobe Illustrator have come on leaps and bounds, and I feel now that I can simply get on with things.  No more experimentation.  No more wasting time hammering out small details.  My entire focus now is going to be on creating the final work.  I'm honestly very excited to get on with creating it.