So, today I have been seriously finishing things off. I also have so many sketch books that I even weighted them all... 10 sketch books weighing in at 10 kg.......Mental.


So I went back and had a look at my shop, now if you were to click the shop tab on my website, it will actually take you to another website called "Red Bubble". This site is basically where I upload my images and I can apply the images not only as images them selves, like posters and things. You can buy my designs on mugs, t-shirts, bedding, pillows, scarves, leggings, phone covers. The list goes on! So today I went through and decided to put up an image of my cupcakes. I decided to actually put up the mixed image.


The image is all of the elements of all the suits as well as their symbols. I wasn't happy with the original image so I changed the colour of the back ground to blue, pink and grey. 

So the top 3 images are of what I uploaded. the single image above is the original.

This is just a screen shot from the website after I uploaded the pink image, you can see all the different products I can apply my work to. So yea, it's pretty interesting. I also have my final done for my main project. the final for the magazine cover:

Im actually so happy with this, and just to really scare you here are all of the finals from all the projects I did this year:

So yea, I have done a fair bit of work this year, and although it was by no means an easy year, I have actually enjoyed it. I want to keep experimenting and doing art. This is just a stepping stone for where I want to be, and yea I'm freaking out about leaving uni and being a real adult. So that's it from me today, Tomorrow will possibly be my last blog on university work for at least a week. 

I am hoping to keep my blog up, however I feel my life is very boring. We'll see though.

So  today I have been researching how to turn a gift bag into a book, for my dissertation cover. I bought a gift bag yesterday, it was the only one that would fit A4 pages inside, was pretty and didn't look cheap, my only problem is that it only fits A4 pages in horizontally rather than vertically.  I made a  makette yesterday  to try and figure out what to do with my  bag, and how I could make it work. The bag it's self is pretty big. I found a few different tutorials :

http://stephaniemakes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/glitz-design-gift-bag-mini-book-tutorial.html

Stephanie Bryan's was the first tutorial I found on how to do this, the only thing that really concerns me about  going ahead with this, is that she made her book into a scrap book/ photo album. I the most pages I will have will be around 50. So I won't need as much of the room  fro m the page as she has used.

This is the bag I bought from ASDA, it is a similar shape to Bryan's.  I have a slight problem with the position of the handles, as this will determine how the book will be seen and opened, as you can see with Bryan, she has put her label on the side of the cover so that it will be opened the correct way, I don't want to lose the style of the bag and how the bag looks, by which way I place my thesis. I also plan to put tissue paper around the opening of the bag, so it gives the  illusion  that its luxury. The tissue paper would be positioned around the side of the thesis, rather than on top,  This makes me think should I continue with this bag or buy another one that will be taller, rather than wider.

I also found this video tutorial on You Tube, it shows how Mary Peterson, makes a lot of books from gift bags.  Her tutorial seems a lot  easier than Bryan's and even the layout makes a lot more sense. However, I feel slightly torn due to really liking the bag I got from ASDA. I think my best option is to go out and try and find a new gift bag, even just as a back up. Or even print my dissertation out Landscape rather than in the standard portrait. 

I also went back and did a wee bit more designing of my deck of cards. I have amended my little mistake with getting the queen of hearts and queen of diamonds mixed up. 

I also went back in a re-vamped the Queen of diamonds.  Here is the image based on my queen of hearts

This is Lady Anne Neville. She became Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward Of Westminster and then later she became Queen of England, husband King Richard iii  (1472–1485) This completes the first suit of cards, within this series of experiments.

So I realized I didn't mention much of what I did yesterday, Or should I say  I left a bit unsaid. So basically we had an external examiner come in to have a look at the interim show and  ask us a few questions. He even put us into small groups, and gave us a task. We were asked to  go over to the show and see the other peoples  work within our groups. Read their statements and look at their work, we then had to write them questions that had to be answered by midnight last night. So just in case you've forgotten, this is  my work and my statement together:

I was then given 3 questions , so here is what I asked and what I replied:

• Would you say you have a “Style” of illustration or our you still trying to keep this diversified?
  
  

I wouldn't say I have a style, I have been told I do. But I don't really see it, perhaps because I am too close to it. I still feel like I need to discover mine, however I do like the idea of keeping myself diversified for future jobs.

• When you say “Working with others”- do you plan on taking a collaborative project?
  
• What kind?
  
  

When I say working with others, I more meant within photo shoots. Such as working with make-up artists, hair stylists, models. However I wouldn't say no to a collaborative project. I am currently not planning on taking any due to the amount of projects I already have. If I was to take a collaborative project I would like it to be a mix of photography and illustration. As long as it's fun, although I know that you can't always have that, but if I could choose.

• When you say illustration can be anything – so can photography. How do you plan to explore both – together/ separate? 
  
  

What I more meant with photography being different. It takes a bit more effort to create a really crazy scene, to simply just pen and paper. I understand even this statement could even be argued. 
I plan to use both photography and Illustration. I am unsure how this will look. But I am planning on exploring this path within my main project. I want to merge both illustration and photography together. This could even be as simple as drawing on a photograph. I will also be exploring these separately

  So yes, these were my incredibly long answers. Today!
I went to my meeting with my tutor, I got a lot of great advise, I have to admit it is rather nerve racking when speaking of my project and everyone around me is so interested in it and really love what I'm doing..... A little more than me. Maybe this is due to being too close to my project at the moment. 

But I am so pumped for my dissertation now, I got a great confidence boost today. My only worry is really getting everything together. 

 I also heard today which sort of brought me down, I understand it, I do just think it's B.S. I heard that even if you get over a C  grade for the dissertation work. this grade doesn't effect my studio work grade. If I get below a C grade for my dissertation, it actually drags my studio work grade down. Not happy about this. Feel like packing it in. 

Planning on working my wee butt off tomorrow on this dissertation.  Possibly going into uni to do this, I have to admit though I'm having my valentines day early and having a fatty night with my flat mate. So watching Walking Dead, eating pizza, chicken wings,  ice cream, a lorry load of chocolate, and  having a few bottles of wine.....  hoping I wont be hungover tomorrow .. eeeek!

So, I finally got into uni today. Running around like a headless chicken. I recently have been assessed and found to have  dyslexia and also dyscalculia.  So uni have given my lots of new toys to help me with my work. I also  went and got my dissertation   draft, so I can now  write all over it and everything to hopefully help me with my dissertation.  I also went in and seen the interim show.  I have to say my book covers looked very smart and I really think my little blurb about my work made everything very  professional   looking.

Here is a few people's work from my class, I really hope none of them mind me taking a little snap shot of their work and putting them up on my blog. I just wanted to show a variety of the work that was up for the interim show. 

So as you can see there is a huge variety, and some people's work looking more professional than others. Although this was a mock "exam" for the end of year show, I am already starting to think of what I can do differently, and what sort of work I want to have done and shown for that. I was honestly very surprised how much work does go into a show.  I think it was very much to do with the planning and about 60 art students running round and slightly freaking out about what they were doing and getting the space to have their work put up.

That's all really from me today. Tomorrow I will be getting stuck into dissertation work. Hopefully I wont hate myself.

So, today  I mainly  got my pieces placed for the interim show. 

I also looked up a for more things on the theory of happiness.  Confirming some of my  own thoughts. I also spoke to a few fellow students on different courses to get their opinions. I was surprised to discover that.  This graph by  Mihaly Csikszentmihaly

Depicts that over the past 50 years. Although pay has gone up. Levels on happiness and well being  have went down.  I was surprised to find out that actually, this hasn't been something that has gone on in the past 50 years. But very early on in the 10th century economy this was a similar thing. So yea an interesting thing I learnt today. Also just to warn, I may not be able to blog tomorrow as  I will be travelling home for the weekend.  Hopefully the only disruption will be tomorrow and blogs will go back to normal by Friday. 

I have been running round like a headless chicken all day today. But I am not totally ready for the interim show. I got my finals printed and mounted on foam board. They look so much more professional. So I am very happy with how today went. I even did a little bit more research with my dissertation work. I have also made a start on my dissertation, so today was incredibly productive. I am just so tired at the moment after all the running around. But I'm happy :)  

Not the best photo I know, but I did try my best.  I know it's hard to figure out but on Thursday I will be able to  show you how it will look mounted on the  wall.

With my dissertation I have not only started looking at photoshoot ideas, but also poster ideas. 

I think this image in it's self is very true and I think a lot of people can relate to it, whether it be themselves or people they know. Tomorrow I plan to look up the survey I gave out after the festive rush. If you haven't already I would really appreciate you take just one minute of your time to tick a few boxes. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CFZ7G9T 

I started to look back into my main project. I  went back  a little bit and created another info graphic. I decided to make it a little more cartoon like and interesting to look at , as the others I feel lacked that. They are very boring images just hovering on a page.

I then went and looked back at my previous ideas. I decided to then make a mind map of some of the ideas I have that I want to maybe have as my finals for the end of  the year. 

Still not totally finished, but you get the point.  There is still more I want to add to this. As well as a lot more work I need to start looking into. I am in a way going right back to the start. With help from my tutors, we have made a sort of list  that will help me, with what way I can write my dissertation. As I am not the best writer in the world.

Tomorrow I will hopefully get my final book covers printed and mounted. Have to admit I am a  little worried as I have never spray mounted any of my work myself. I even worried myself so much I looked up a few You Tube video demonstration videos. There was one where a guy had a brick to keep everything in place. But he was making sure there was no dirt on it and I'm not going to lie, I had a little bit of Father Jack stuck in my head: 

Yep, my immaturity levels sometimes scare me too ;)

So I started looking at my dissertation today..... then I thought the dishes needed done, Have to get my finals ready for the interim show. So may as well add the blurb to the book covers.  Had to then  change some of my elements within the book covers around so the blurb would fit.... And about two hours spent arguing with myself on which fonts to use.... so yea..... em, didn't get much of anything to do with my dissertation  done today. Whoops!

I have to admit though, I really under estimated how much time it would take to not only tweak one of the covers to look semi finished,  as the others do. But to then get the elements to change about and try to make them identical to the other. Such a pain in the arse!
I did get it done though, in between cleaning my flat and any other distraction that I let take me away from my laptop. I got it done!

So this was the first font that I really liked. Also just to let you know, the colours are a little funny due to me being lazy about putting the images into RGB mode. I have uploaded too many so look through past blogs to get an idea of colour. I want you to look at the font anyways. So as I was saying. This was the first font I liked. I then tested a few others and finally landed on this one:

Now this is actually the font called "Chaparral Pro", this is it in bold. So I realized I  had to move all the elements on the back page. I was determined not to move my guide lines though. The gun, smoke, bullet holes. ALL had to be moved to have room for the blurb. Took me a good few hours for each of the book cover, to try and get the placement exact on each one.  So, eventually I got this working for me. I then decided to still have the font "Chaparral Pro" in regular.

So these are my finals ready for print and hopefully mounting on Monday. 

Ok, so I got my final done today and sent off.  Very proud wee moment. I actually put so much work into the  cover, as my previous book covers for the other project I was working on were just horrible. They we re far too dark and I did have a really had time with them. So with these book covers, I tried so hard to make them bright and easily seen when printed out. I learnt a lot more techniques than I had first anticipated. So now comes the  doom and gloom, from this day forth.... Interim show and dissertation work..... Yep, lots, and lots and lots of fun. Then 6th of March things should get a lot more interesting. If I haven't thrown my dissertation out the window by then. 

So for my interim show these are  the three book cover I have decided to show.  Not totally sure on the 3rd of the book covers as I really don't think it is to the standard as the others.  But I am still proud of the image, a lot of work still went into it.

This weekend I plan to go back to my dissertation and  see how things are going with it, and look at what I need to fix as well as what I want to take out and put in. I will try to make my blogs a little bit more interesting than...... So I was working on my dissertation today.... Like I did last semester.

So,  again really wasn't feeling well today. Spent another day in bed wrapped around my laptop doing more work. So I did soooo much today. A lot more  book cover stuff for Kelpies. I did majority just variation work. 

So these are all different variations of the spy  and the child work.  I decided to play about with gradients . As I had said yesterday my relatives who are the age range that the book is aimed at. They preferred this image as apposed to my blue boy. So this was really me, trying to make myself like the image more, as I do think it looks very simple.
I even did a few variations with my other preferred book cover, to see how it would look. 

So I added gradients to  the image that I preferred most.  I realized that  actually still preferred my original of all of these with the boy and the submarine. 

So, the more I think about it the more I keep thinking, this right here. This is going to be  my final for the Kelpies book cover. I know my relatives really preferred the other. But I don't know, I keep being brought back to this cover.  Also with the added, "Your  also selling to the parents as well as the child". Keeps coming back to me and I think this really work. As within the story once you read it. The cover will suddenly make a lot more sense. Which should be how a book cover is made anyways, with clues and symbolism.

I also started to go back and have a look at my Main Project.  I have a fair wee bit to catch up on before I start to analyze the new data that I've collected. So I did a few more sort of little illustrations with some of the questions from old data. As I wanted to make it a little bit more fun to look at and more interesting than a pie chart. 

These are outrageously simple looking, but these are just little designs really. I'm more experimenting with how and in how many different ways I can show data. So these we're more little quick designs that I came up with. Tomorrow there should be more. 

I also have an interim show next week. So I have been having to get myself sorted for that. So I will try and get a few images of what my space looks like. Here is just a little quick design peek of what I am planning on putting up. 

So as you can see I am planning on putting up 3 of my book cover designs. The interim show, is more or less a mock exam, to get me ready for my final end of year show. So yea,  I will report back tomorrow.