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. 

Today I pretty much wasted it by going from website to website, trying to find a company that would print my cupcake deck of cards, for cheap. It was unbelievably tedious  as I had to make very quick designs of just the numbered symbols for each suit, Most websites were very slow with the uploads, they wouldn't let me edit the images to the way I wanted them displayed on the cards, Some websites stopped uploading my designs after a particular number. I was pretty much like 4 hrs of trying to get the right company to print these. I finally got it sorted. Although for one pack of cards it'll cost me roughly £15. Which sucks, although I think it will be worth it. 

I also have been trying to write my blurb, which will be the little bit of information that will go beside my work at the end of year show. To be honest, this week has been a complete nightmare. Just so much stuff to do and next thing I know a week has past, and the work I have done is not as much as I had hoped to have done. 

I have been looking at the whole planner for the end of year show, even looking at people from the past years, and I hate this feeling I have. I honestly don't feel like any of my work is good enough, the work I have done in my side projects I feel more confident to show than my main project. Even looking through it all, I can see exactly where I have gotten lost. I had originally wanted to do really mad, in your face posters showing consumerism. I am now doing student financial advice. Making a video, I honestly don't feel that comfortable about. I just really really lost.

So looking at the wall planners and everyone else's displays from the past years, I have decided to continue on with the video, and see how it is at the end, maybe Ill surprise myself and it'll be the most amazing thing. Although I have also decided to create posters, which was my original idea in the first place, many tutors have more or less talked me out of it. Saying in the usual nicest possible way, that they didn't think that it was the best Idea. I just feel like I'm drowning. So screw this, I am going to do what I want to do. If it ends up looking shit, at least it'll be my colourful shit and stuff I feel comfortable showing.

I also went back and re-edited my Coca-Cola portrait. I am actually really happy with it and have decided it will be my piece for submitted to the ViewBug unique portrait challenge. 

This is very simple, although I find it very effective and I think it really stands out. I am happy to upload this for the ViewBug Challenge, I plan to do a few more tweaks to this image, such as having a fact about Coca-Cola on the image, and even fixing the hair a little bit. I also finally got round to testing my line drawing skills, to make a ghost in Illustrator:

I am actually so happy with this, I want to fix the eyes a little more. But minus that I am really happy with this. One down, 11 more to go. 

That's all from me today, I am going to do a few sketches for posters for students on financial advice. But the way that I want them to be. I am even slightly playing with 

I got a hell of a lot done today, very happy. I have started to make my video, I have even cut a few scenes from it, as when looking back at my story board I actually noticed I would have two title frames and then my information, which doesn't make any sense. So far it is going very well. I expect I should have the whole thing done in roughly a week. Hopefully less, just currently trying to balance all my projects.

I have also started to plan for my ViewBug Challenge and have decided to make awareness of consumerism, in my portraits. I have pretty much one really good idea at the moment, So hopefully I will get around to doing that either tomorrow or even Thursday.

I have started to sketch out new characters for my monsters deck of card series, not too sure how they are going to work out, I can see me just going full blown in your face colours. But I still really want to experiment with this style first.

I have also been looking more into how to design my business cards I now have four different options. 3 of the options are to go for the square business card. Here are the scene shots of them below.

I'm not too sure about adding the landscape image. although I have to admit I really like the bottom two scene shots. I asked my boyfriend and my flat mate which they preferred. Which I do with most of my work, and they are usually pretty spot on and say the same thing. I got two completely different answers.... feeling a little stuck however I do plan on asking others, so this isn't the end of the world. I will let you know what I decide in the end. Or please leave a comment below on which you think I should go for. That's all from me today. 

Well it has been forever since I last blogged. I have been  a busy bee as well as going home for the Easter holidays.  I have been designing a logo for  this website so I can get my business cards printed and what not. There will be even more work added to the website. I am now into my final 2 months of university, which is a very scary thought.  Here is some of my characters for my student help guide, these are not finished yet, but they are a work in progress:

from the top left, we have the hungover student, Hipster student, Sport student, Geeky student, Protester student, and Ghost student.

I have also been researching the most expensive cities to be a student, in within the UK. I have already gotten 125 responses to my survey. Which is fantastic! I have a lot of information from current and past students. A lot of students have found to have the same problems and have solved them in the same ways.  I have a lot more research to do, but I don't want to get so caught up with research that I am not really doing a lot of work. Which to be honest, is pretty much why I haven't blogged in a really long time, no pretty pictures to show and what not.

On another notes with my logo project I have  been experimenting with different colours for my logo. See below logos:

I also really like the idea of having my logo be a gif that goes through all of these different colours. I am not too sure if I should continue with that idea, but I think Ill do it anyways and see how it looks.  I have also been thinking about how to have this website. As I do love the amount of colours within it, I may keep this, but I would like to change the layout a little more, so the plan is to hopefully do Code Academy. I will also be able to create a website for my main project also.

I haven't managed to get much of my playing card project done, however I plan to get really stuck into all of my projects and knuckle down in  my last few weeks of being a student. That's all from me today

So today was horrendous, the weather was one word. shite. I really didn't think I was going to manage to get photos. So I opted for a slightly different option. I took photos within my parents small pond in their back garden. There is already frogs spawn in the pond, so i hoped to photograph some frogs too. 

As you can see the water was really murky and rather creepy looking. I also experimented a little bit  with the flash on. It didn't really do much and I ended up preferring the images without the flash. I then decided to run the garden hose into the pond, in hope that it may make the water clearer to see through and even just healthier for the frogs.  My parents also own two dogs, so the garden was filled with "land mines" So taking photos of the pond was a little bit like an obstacle course.

This really worked! YAY!, I also saw I frog, however it was too quick for me to photograph, it's head bobbing above the water looking at me.....  made me jump to be honest.  Also  algae  got absolutely everywhere, so many images taken where the algae  had stuck to my camera lens.  As  you can see the image of my boots has algae firmly stuck to the lens.  I plan to take more images of the pond tomorrow, as I have spent the rest of today cleaning dead leaves, little toy boats  and even pipes that have fallen in to the pond over the years. Really got my work cut out for me I think. 

I have also been thinking about my main project, however, because I am home this week I haven't  been able to do the research I want. As I would like to see what is available at my university for students and then start to really develop an angle to what I will start to create, also not going to lie, the project has started to bore me a bit. So I really feel I need to find a way to make it more interesting to me

I also got an email today about the Belfast Photo Festival. They want a range of images from  the same body of work. The deadline is the 17th of March, which is just short of next week. I am also hoping tomorrow to go through all of my images and possibly even re-edit old photos. I am currently thinking of uploading the paint images I took roughly five years ago. I am still not too happy with how I have edited them since. So I am hoping to go back and re-visit them. If I had of known about the festival a little earlier I would have started a new body of work for it. As I have recently gotten a new shipment in of powder paints. So I am starting to plan what I want to do with them. 

This is my main image from the paint photoshoot. "Model Envy" there are other images from this series. 

"The theme has been left open to remove any restrictions; submissions must be photographic or lens-based but can include incorporations of other art forms with the photographic medium (i.e. performance, painting, sculpture, music, literature etc).
Individuals and collectives are welcome to apply; individuals should select and enter between two and six photographs from a particular series or body of work AND/OR submit their Photo-book for exhibition by uploading a single PDF (no image limit).

(Note: You can submit both a photo-book and photographs of the same project, but a fee will need to be paid for both. If submitting only a Photo-book and not photographs, it will be your photo-book that will be selected for presentation and not photographic prints for exhibition)

Collectives are also welcome to apply; as a collective, you can submit up to 10 photographs (a £15 submission fee will apply for every 10 images submitted)"




This is just a little  snippet from the rules and requirements of the festival.  I have to admit I am not happy about having to pay the fee of £15, again I would have loved to have photographed something specially for this festival. Although there is always next year. Just excited that this is festival is coming from home.
That's all from me today, here's hoping I will have something more interesting show tomorrow.

Today I got back to designing my deck of cards, I have now finished one suit of cards in this style. However this is just an experiment at the moment, as there is still lots I am unhappy with.  I firstly designed  these  in a darker red, I wasn't too sure how the colour would look, So I also brightened the  red.... it's very in your face though, so yea, don't like it much.  I tried to make these all  very minimalist looking. So keeping them simple and sticking to one colour. I chose to reference my  King of Heart on King Richard Lion Heart  of England he ruled in 1189, then died a few months later. As I spoke  yesterday, Queen Wilhelmina. Although as I write this I have actually drawn her as the Queen of Hearts when , I have actually put her down as my queen of diamonds... whoops, not a biggy though, it can be easily changed.  My Jack is referenced  on Prince Louis Fredinerd of Pruissa.  So, yes hopefully more designs tomorrow, I am thinking of giving myself a different subject every week to do for this project. So now that my dissertation is ending, you will hear more about my deck of cards, view bug and  my main project. That's all from me today!

Today I have been  doing more of my dissertation, mainly looking back over my draft and looking at notes. I am still slightly  struggling with a lot of the language. But I am getting there, I feel this is a very slow process though.  Not much really to report on today. Although, I have started to do a bit more research  into the theory of  happiness.  I feel like my  dissertation is already starting to come together more.

Tomorrow I will be hanging my pieces  for the interim show. I am actually rather excited to see how the will look for the show. So I will be able to show  it looking all pretty.

For my main project I have been looking at  possibly doing some  performance art. Similar to a flash mob. I have been toying with the idea of consumerism and how there are seven kinds of ways we shop. One of them being is we copy each other.  You see someone with a new phone that can do everything but it's primary use, of being a phone. We want it  as we see so many others with it. We  feel a need to  be kept in the loop. So! I thought it would be very entertaining if I managed to get everyday people to do their shopping in a sheep costume.

Even as I write this I then remember the term "Copy Cat". Again this would be the same thing, just different animals.  Not too sure if I would be able to   get enough people for this and I do realize timing should have been more towards Christmas. But  this doesn't mean  I can't do this  during the year. This again is just one of my crazy ideas. 

So yea, I will be able to  show how my place will look for the interim show.

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.