Updates is a tumblelog.

Memories of Home update

Finished the last room illustration yesterday (at last!)- Have still got to do the cover (which I reckon’d be best as a small illustrative things too), and get the paper for that.

I want to use a soft cover so as to keep it reminiscent to a faded Beano/Dandy. Ideally, for the same reason, I’d also like to saddle stitch using a couple of staples. Which means it’s looking like I can’t use that old paper I liked so much, and will have to use sugar paper instead.

At least sugar paper still changes a lot in the sun, which is still in-keeping. Just need the right colour.

Not long to go!

Illustrating my last few pages for the Memories of Home project this morning!- will be good to tick that off the list. Have been thinking about paper stock and print methods of course. As I want it to feel reminsicent of the yellowed books or comics from my shelf, I was thinking of using sugar paper (as it fades quite well), and made the following to test:

Had previously used a really cheap old sun-stained plan notepad from my room, but I have only 13 sheets of that left.

If I’m MEGA careful, maybe I could print onto those remaining sheets — but I think I have to prepare myself for the printer to churn one of the pages or something! If so, I reckon I need a lighter and possibly thinner sugar paper than the one above.

Easter progress so far

Slow Website:
“Explore how a piece of writing could take form on the internet; slow a reader down somehow, and contrast the click-happy nature of most of our use of the web”

-> Have very nearly finished the text, which is my own piece of writing about humans eventually rejecting technology and knowledge, regressing to a more primal way of life. This is something I’d wanted to explore for a while, but it seemed relevant to the technologically-current medium of a web-page.

-> Being that interactivity is one of the web’s main advantages over a book, I wanted my website to feel tactile… I’m planning on making use of mouse-over states, where an image will change when the cursor is hovered above it. I’m also wanting to get far away from defaults of any kind, like navigational menus for example. The experiments mentioned in earlier posts were concerned with stranger, less obvious methods of navigation.

-> Design-wise, I was intrigued by the metaphor I’d used in my writing of systems of knowledge and technology becoming ‘crystalised’, which offers quite a vivid mental picture. Echoing how the text develops, I want the visual to be modular first of all, and crystalised, to then be broken apart and replaced by far more organic forms. I did experiment with paint, but at the time it felt quite flat. Photography and video seem more viable I think, and I’ll be trying those next.

-> Will soon be posting my experiments with pixellation, which I think is a good way of representing the systematic side of things.

—-

Aeroplane Model Instructions:
“Somehow improve the model construction process by producing revised instructions”

-> I decided that the best place to start here was to look at what was wrong with my two iterations for this project last term: Mainly, I think the problem was that I hadn’t spent long enough on the final pieces… I’d also decided from the start that I’d produce a piece of printed matter, when the instructions didn’t necessarily have to be.

-> I’d been quite pleased with my Hawker Hurricane model, and felt that where I’d succeeded was in having patience, and putting time and effort in. Especially with young teenagers (the target audience of my instructions), this would be a real issue—so I’ve decided that my instructions should keep them interested.

-> For this, I’ve decided for the instructions to be web-based, as I feel that’d have more likelihood of holding a 12-year-old’s attention. I’m hoping to include a discussion board for each step of the build process, as one of the main things I found when making my model was that I invented my own methods that were in some cases better than those recommended in the original instructions.

-> I’d also been looking at home for things that used to hold my interest at that age, and came across my old PlayStation magazines. I remember that at the time, any mention or hint of a game (like a screenshot for example, or a TV programme…) would instantly have my attention. Consequently, I’ve decided to make some sort of link to videogames with my instructions, if only subtly. As part of this, designing a number of components that can be re-used (similar to ‘sprites’ in games) seems like a good idea. As mentioned before, I like the idea of presenting a miniature world…

-> The idea I’ve developed… In-keeping with the videogame feel, I’m using an isometric view of an aircraft hangar, in which engineers are seen to build the plane in stages, alongside text instructions. The stages can then be scrolled through. I still like the idea of blueprints, so am currently experimenting with ways of mimicking blueprints on-screen.

—-

Memories of Home:
“Give a personal piece of writing a relevant and engaging form”

-> The writing and illustrations need to be finished, for the ten or so rooms I’ve not yet done. I then want to bind the sheets into a booklet.

—-

NUDE Magazine:
“Produce magazine spreads for an article on the ‘Primitive London’ soundtrack. Also: LIVE BRIEF… Collaborate with Will Biggs to produce spreads for an article about cassette tapes, for NUDE minimag”

-> Have finished the ‘Primitive London’ spreads to a level I’m happy with. Meeting up with Will when we get back after Easter, to design the live brief spreads (Val reckons it should take less than a week to do; she feels it shouldn’t be over-worked).

—-

Awe of the Everyday:
“Share an epic view of the world. Inspire awe from everyday objects and experiences” 

-> Have so far produced 5 or so experiments, but I now want to produce a final outcome of some sort.

—-

Blog Writings/Things I’ve Learnt/Advice:
“Chart the journey of the creative process + progression”

-> Still need to decide what I’m doing here, but I’m favouring the idea of making more of a collection of things I’ve learnt. I suppose I could treat my journey over the past 3 years as a story, which I then somehow present.

-> I did have the thought that this could be the framework of my portfolio…