So I went into uni today due to my Photoshop and Illustrator prescription being out of date and as I am a poor student, soon to be just poor. I couldn't really afford to keep my subscription. Not going to lie, pretty heart broken about it.  So anyways, I had to re-do my portrait of the eyes open bar-code image. I have 10 different versions of the same image and some really funky looking edits from making the image. So here are my 10 different versions:

Some are very similar and there are little changes, but I am glad to say I have my final, although I know things aren't spelt right, I will make this right tomorrow when I go back to uni. here is my final though with all of the incorrect spellings:

I also want to do a little more detail with the type and make it more glossy and even 3D looking, as I want to give it the effect of it being a glossy gold. 

The rest of my day I have been writing up sketch books and making sure everything is in order, I am sure that tomorrow will be no different with getting my work to a standard that I am happy with.

Today has been a beyond stressful day. I have had problems with my phone not charging as well as stress just with trying to get all my work handed in on time. I had to go get my phone sorted out, which was a joke as I have to get it sent away and I now have a phone that I'm pretty sure is from the stone-age. Although at least it has colour I guess.

So I didn't get as much work done today as I wanted, I have been just more or less writing up things on and off and sorting out my website. As you can see the website is now a little different. As it didn't originally have a little bit about me in the side bar or the categories. So I ended up having to change theme within weebly, but because my logo is a little awkward with being a GIF. I had to edit a bit of the code so it was continue to show up as it is currently. I have to admit I am actually pretty proud of myself, as if someone had asked me six months ago to try and edit some html code, I think I would have cried.  

I am starting to think that I am getting the hang of things. I definitely wouldn't say I'm a coding genius or anything at all like that. But code is starting to be come less like hieroglyphics.

Also I know as I had said yesterday I was continuing to edit my magazine cover, I ended up coming up with this:

So I come up with this, I actually really like this, there are just a few minor things I still need to sort out within the image. But I'm pretty happy with this, I purposely chose the gold writing to symbolize money, as of course I am getting at consumerism and corporations screwing over not only their workers but even the people consuming their goods. 

Tomorrow, I am hoping to get a lot more done and have a lot more to show, however thats all from me today

Today I got a hell of a lot done, everything for the end of year show that I wanted to put up is now up. I had to re-cut some new vinyl for my wall. And now everything is beautiful! 

I now get to just concentrate on finishing off my sketch books and writing everything up that needs to be done before hand in. I feel like I'm in a very good position, I even feel that I could hand in all of my stuff on Monday. Everyone else in my class is currently panicking and therefore this makes me also panick a little more due to myself feeling calm. Don't you just hate that.

Although speaking of things that you hate most coming up to hand in, one of my class mates mentioned to me today was he "can't wait for this to be over, so he can stop feeling guilty about wasting time" Shit just got real!
Deadlines can be really good for people or you can crash and burn, I do have that feeling of panic and worry, trying to get things done. It is a little weird when you stop just to breathe and then feel guilty. 

So anyways on to a more productive and positive note. I have done what feels like a million different magazine covers:

As you can see I have been experimenting with a variety of different colours as well as text. I also went a step further with this I knew I wanted  to have a bit of colour within the black and white image. However I think the lips actually make it more sexulised. This could however be a poster or even a magazine cover for human trafficking or something within that sort of topic.

I however want a more generalized kind of image. So, I took the image from the above, went through all my photos I had taken from  this project, and photoshopped eyes in from a different photograph. This was unbelievably weird I can tell you that, straight off.   

I have to admit this I think worked out pretty well, I however think that this looks like me, but a little different..... I know it sounds weird but, yea a different version of me. Although when it really comes down to it, as long as it looks like a person, and gets the point across. That is the whole point. 

So my idea here is a little more self explanatory. I want the eyes to try and look into your soul!, no I just want to eyes to grab peoples attention, although I still want them to look along the lines as realistic, however the more I photoshop this the more and more unrealistic it looks. especially as the eyes are very much a small part of the image, the colour doesn't really pierce through very well, even with the lines of the bar code coming down the face. I however really like the 1st image on the 2nd row, as I think this does grab your attention. I am just currently a little unsure on how to take it further. I am also really unsure on what colours to have my text and I seem to be continuing the same argument with myself on which fonts look the best. I am continuing to work on this even as I write this blog, I have a feeling however I may need to sleep on things and see how I feel about it tomorrow. So yea, that's it from me today.

So Today I have been just sort of tying up loose ends. I have designed a few more bits and pieces and I finally got my work up :D Big smiles all round. However I'm not quiet finished. As the vinyl I cut yesterday has a few issues, so I need to re do this tomorrow and then I will be able to say I'm finished. 

I also went back again and re-did my awareness posters:

I still need to do a few more bits and pieces to these and again more touch ups for my magazine cover. I have a few ideas I want experiment with. So hopefully get all this done tomorrow.

Short Blog today, that's all from me for today, im sure plenty more to show tomorrow.

Just a little sneak peek of what I plan to show off for the end of year show.

Today has been such a tiring day. So today I was to put up my work for the end of year show. 

I went to put my work up and then after speaking with tutors. They thought I should go back to my plan and edit it a little further, such a blow. I was hoping to have all of this done by today. So I went back to he drawing board and came up with these very similar ideas to show:

I decided to in the end go with the second image. So I then had to go and get my vinyl done. I have to admit I was very nervous about getting it done. I have never used the vinyl cutter, but thankfully I had another class mate who was just as clueless and we, I mean she. Figured most of it out. I have to admit I have been working so hard and trying to get all of my work done for hand in and then some. I was a total zombie most of today. 

So with my vinyl I had originally wanted to have under my facebook image, "If you're not paying for the product, the product is you." Under the Coca-Cola portrait "Open Happiness?" I wanted to plat on words for that. Then finally for my bar-code image "Just another price tag."

Due to my Coca-Cola and Bar-code slogans being one line, after a little bit of debate, and discussion. My self and the tutors all agreed on simply shortening down the slogan. "The product is you." The plan is to finally get all of these up tomorrow for the end of year show. I have to admit after all the running about I have done today, I definitely feel more prepared for putting all the portraits and everything up tomorrow. Also excited to see how the vinyl will look. 

Just a little miffed that I have left playing with the vinyl to literally the last week of university. Although I have to also admit I found that the process with vinyl is unbelievably tedious. Tomorrow will tell more however.

I also decided it was best to go a head and get another sketch book. As I plan to do a lot more editing and just in general more work. So that now brings me to having 10 sketch books to hand in next week. I am just hoping that tomorrow I will be able to really start in getting things done. I have also done a lot more of my sketch book write ups today. So I plan to finish it off hopefully tonight and then the rest of tonight I will be stuffing my face with chocolate and watching Netflix.

That's all from me today.

I got a good bit done today. I went back and started to add more to the portraits, as though they were magazine covers:

I am aware there is an other magazine called "Mental", however there magazine is more based on mental health issues and in new techniques to treat mental illnesses. The reason I choose "Mental" was due to how we were asked by the labeling guys in our class, to pick 1-3 words to describe our work. A lot of the words others chose within my course were really funny and laid back words. I randomly chose mental, due to how the portraits I will be displaying and the whole back story to them is very heavy going stuff.  Or in layman's terms "Mental". Also with how  I am also displaying my playing cards. So as one of my friends suggested, it's also another symbolism of how corporations play games.

I really didn't like my Coca-Cola magazine cover. I don't think any of the colours work. I have to admit I really under estimated this task. I really wanted to have the idea of a magazine that basically tells of all the things going on in the world, a bit like The Sun, but not as terrible. So I found that the Facebook Magazine and the bar-code, worked really well. I think this was mainly due to how the Coca-Cola image it's self already plays on the opposite of colours with the red portrait and the blue background. I also did a few more versions of sort of awareness posters. Within this campaign. 

I am still figuring out what to say with each image. I have a lot of information of each. I just don't really know how to put it all. Especially with how I want all of my images to have very bold and hard hitting statements. To really make you think and of course to try and get a shock factor involved. 

I also turned backed to the end of year show with my piggy bank idea. I decided to start designing them today to finally figure out whether or not I need to build my shelf tomorrow for them. Here are the designs I came up with:

This is my piggy bank that I am thinking about buying to decorate for the end of year show. I took this image into illustrator and began to design over the top of it.

I firstly thought about designing the pigs to go along with the pieces I am putting on. So I firstly created the first three images. I personally don't find these very interesting. Also because the when all the issues I am bringing up really boil down to. Is money, So I thought about why not be simple and have gold pigs. one for every image, then I of course thought about silver and decided to just have a little look at the idea of having a silver pig with pound symbols all over. I decided I really didn't like this. I even began to look into spray paint I would be able to get:

I then started to look further into other piggy bank designs that others have done:

I came across the crystal covered piggy bank and the cartoon piggy bank. (two very big images above)I have to admit I got really excited to do something like the cartoon piggy bank. Although I realized within my time limit it just really wasn't going to happen. I have to admit most of my concern comes with the piggy bank I am thinking of getting. Because I am getting that particular one, I am not too sure on how to completely cover it minus spray painting it. So the idea of self adhesive crystals on the piggy bank, really makes sense. So I began to research this idea further:

Found these crystals online. I also found the gold and silver studs. I think the studs would be amazing. Almost like a blow fish or a hedgehog. The idea of something being covered in spikes makes it a little harder to hold. So this I think would really work for the piggy  bank. I also went on to looking at how I want to display all my work for the end of year show, again.

So above are again more mock ups of the end of year show. 1st image is of my first idea of having a piggy bank for each portrait. 2nd looking into having just three gold piggy banks, 3rd I had previously mentioned about having vinyl coins around the wall, with again three gold piggy banks. Then of course I started to look at possibly not having any piggy banks or even vinyl coins. I have to admit I am strongly thinking about not having anything, but just my art work, and the slogans underneath the portraits.  

This idea of just having the slogans under the portraits and no piggy banks, would really help me out with getting to concentrate with other work, true. But I think it's a little bit distracting too, for the public, in what too look at. The portraits them selves are very striking, with the added piggy banks and vinyl coins in the background. It may be too buys and not really knowing where to place your eyes on. I will have to ask around possibly and see what tutors say about this. Although, as it currently stands, I am thinking of not having the piggy banks or vinyl coins. 

This was a very long blog today. I clearly had an incredibly productive day.

So, I have been pretty bad and not blogged over the past few days... I decided to give myself a little bit of a pre-hand in holiday. So today and Thursday I have been trying to get all of my sketchbooks in order, due to having the blog I decided to go through all of my blog posts and make little QR codes to put into my sketch books. To match up the timeline as well as hopefully making it easier for my tutors to read through my brain mess of work.

so yes I have to admit I really underestimated this task, I have nine different sketch books, and 5 different projects. 4 hours later.... Glad its done now however. I also went back and noticed I never actually finished my website for the student finance part of my project.  So I went back and completely finished it off. Here are some screen shots from the site:

the website if you do want to check it out is:
craicindesigns.wix.com/studentmoneyadvice
I have to admit I am not too impressed with the website myself. I really under estimated it. I just had so much information, I think, I might actually go back and get rid of a page or change it. Not too sure, as I have decided not to continue with the website or even the student advice idea. As my ideas have developed further into more sort of how corporations treat their consumers and even their workers. Infact, as I have said that, I have actually gone backward looking at my original research, on corporation companies. 


I have also been experimenting again with what I will have at my degree show, as I am determined to have a shelf for my piggy banks, although I am now unsure of even having my piggy banks.

this is just looking at what kind of slogans I can put beneath my images, as I am pretty much struggling with that.

I am not too sure if the piggy banks are a bit too much or not enough. I am not too sure, I also have to still try and figure out how to design my piggy banks if I do decide to show them..... SO MUCH TO DO!

Today was very productive, I got my finals done! YAY!!!! and I started to paint my wall for the show:

I have to admit I think I got one of the worst walls in the hall, simply because it had the most masking tape on it as well as holes poked through it. 

My wall had the random bar above the wall is directly above my space. We were told that the hall is in the best condition it has ever been in. The hall above is actually the First year hall, so it's a little poetic that our end of year show is being held were in our first year studio.

So the wall was stripped, sanded down,  gum strip ripped off and re-applied and painted. 

So this is how my wall looks now. I am hoping to have the wall finished tomorrow. I can only imagine I will have to polyfill most of the wall too. So this is all very exciting, then next week we get to hang our work. Then it will be final hand in. The rest of my day I have been spending making QR Codes for my sketch books so my tutors will be able to link what I say in my sketch books to what I write on my blog. 

Short blog today, just a little up date on my final weeks of being at university. That's all from me. 

So I got a hell of a lot done today, I am almost there to having everything finished up, it's just a case of getting things printed and mounted for the degree show. Today I spent mainly drawing up my jokers for the Monster deck and the cup cake deck. I also went back and fixed my traditional deck of cards. I have now gone online and have managed to find a quote to get them printed. I am just not too sure at the moment whether or not to get multiples printed off to sell, as I am a poor student. At the moment I have worked out that I am able to at least get 3 of the cupcakes and 3 of the monster decks printed. I have looked at my traditional deck of cards and although I do like it. I have realized that they more than likely will not be very interesting to others. I would prefer to get all of the one deck of cards, So I am going to ask around and see what others suggest. I have basically until Sunday to decide. As I had hoped to get them printed out for my hand in. But looks like it's going to take roughly 3 weeks to get them sent here, so yea. Anyways here are my jokers I designed:

I have also decided on which backs I want to have on my cards:

I am not too sure about the cupcake backing, I am hoping to use the jumble of cupcakes, although I am unsure. I have however decided to go with these blue and red backs for the Monsters and Traditional decks of cards. The red for the Traditional and the Blue for the Monsters. 

I am hoping to do more research into the photography portraits I previously done and get them all prepared as well as my cards above for print for the degree show, I am currently thinking of having the below as my exhibition:

obviously With the Cup Cakes I am planning on just choosing one of the suits and I will do the same with the other two suits, then on the fourth line of the cards I am planning to show the jokers choose one of the backings. to display. I was also thinking about even having some vinyl gold coins around the portraits. I also want to experiment again with words at the bottom or along the top of the portraits with facts. Although I already have a feeling that these may be stronger on their own. However I am still planning on experimenting further. 

Even as I look at these now, I have realized I haven't yet bought the piggy banks, I am hoping to also go to hobby craft. Maybe find some cheaper Piggy Banks.... Anyways, to get to the point, I may even experiment and see if I might be able to write facts about how companies exploit people out of money or even just the facts of how money in big businesses are corrupted. I knew my dissertation research would come in handy now!

That's it for me today, hopefully more to show tomorrow. 

Today has been a productive day! So I got talking to my tutors and I was surprised to find, that actually they preferred my first design that I gave them. They also looked at my coca-cola image and we all agreed, to take out the writing at the top as the image is stronger in it's self the way it is. I also let them have a look at the bar-code images, they didn't even know it was me! We also came up with more ideas for two other designs. So Because the ViewBug challenge is due. I will have to just add one of the bar-code images for my second image. 

Although, I am very glad that my tutors really liked what I had done and want me to expand on it. So much so that they want me to use projectors and project images onto the face. So I now have the loan of a projector. Very excited! I have wanted to experiment with using a projector for ages, so I am really looking forward to this.

I also got started on my illustrations. I now have a completed suit, although there are still some changes I want to make to them. Here is where I have gotten up to so far with them, this being the Clubb suit:

I have to admit, I don't think they all look like they belong to each other. As with the ghost, she is very detailed and there is a lot to her. The Robot and Alien, not so much. So I printed these two images out and drew directly on top of them as an experiment:

I think doing this has defiantly improved how they look and the changes I will make later on. I think that this also makes them look more gruesome. ore monster like and even possibly more graphic. 

Short blog today, so that's all from me.