Scene 2 Character - Secret Agent/Spy

I had a lot of fun with this image. Usually, I am influenced by the subjects I like which means I gravitate to the same sort of character. With this image, I was mostly influenced by the stories people described in the survey responses.

Character Roughs - Scene 2

Responding to the ideas from the survey responses to scene 2, I started outlining features and clothing around a character based on this. One of the answers described a female character with an occupation like a secretary, or something with a uniform. 
From this, to make a good outline for a story, I decided to play around with the idea of her being a spy or secret agent.

Scene 1 Character - Woodcutter

This is the first finalised character design. I enjoyed thinking about the context of who he would be in relation to Scene 1. I tried to keep to the colour scheme and tone of the corresponding scenes. Also, making the image digitally, with the input of painted textures, was a very efficient. I feel that my digital skills have improved drastically over the course of this project. I think this was partly helped by including painted elements as well as digitally produced shapes. I am a lot less cautious when painting with a wacom now, and find that I can visualise how I want the final image to look.

*Reflective Summary - Survey Stories, Words & Images*

One of the most interesting aspects of my project so far has been the origin of images and the relationship they have with text. I feel like I have learned a lot about the subtlety of image making and how this relates to perception. As I proceed with the practical outcome, I want to compile stories from the survey responses. Therefore, my final outcome will be a story book, the written element of which came from the images themselves. Flipping the role of words and image changes the importance of them, but when sat side-by-side in a book, does a viewer know the difference? Arguably, an image is more striking and immediate when establishing a tone or sense of the narrative.

Including a red item of 'mis-placed' clothing seems to have been a catalyst for some of the interpretations I received, and therefore served its purpose as a symbol. When writing the short stories, these will certainly be emphasised in order to enhance the content of the narrative.

Character Roughs - Scene 1

After looking at the stories from my survey, I noted down the most popular characteristics listed for each image - in order to design a character for each scene. Hopefully giving a potential viewer even more of a context to what could be going on.

For the first image, the most common answer for what character could be present in the frame was that of a woodcutter. My favourite description mentioned a medieval-looking man with a beard. I took these ideas as a starting point for the character design.

Survey Results Stories

I took the results from my survey and documented the answers as individual case studies from the people who answered the questions. Each one is a brief story. Here are their answers -

 Images 1, 2 & 3

1. 18-24 year old.
Image 1.
What just happened? Someone's been taken.
What intrigues you? The hat on the twig.
Character - 16 year old school girl. Carefree and mysterious.
What happens next? Something weird inside the house.

2. 18-24 year old.
Image 2.
What just happened? A young woman has ran away, in to the night. In her haste, she's fumbled with her gloves as she got them out of her pockets and dropped one. She was more concerned with getting away than retrieving the lost item.
What intrigues you? The contrast of the bright red glove to the rest of the setting.
Character - Early 20's female, non de-script occupation, like a secretary or office worker. Demure, often overshadowed, vulnerable.
Other.. The red gloves were a gift, something she would not have normally bought for herself because of their bright colour.
What happens next? The person chasing the woman finds her glove, but the woman is long gone, having caught a night bus to a mysterious location.

3. 18-24 year old.
Image 3.
What just happened? The character fell down the hill by slipping after investigating the house.
What intrigues you? The steep hills.
Character - 20 year old female. Unknown occupation. Adventurous and curious.
What happens next? She treks down the stream to see what else she can find.

4. 25-34 year old.
Image 1.
What just happened? Perhaps a child was playing and a storm came so they rushed inside and forgot the hat.
What intrigues you? The possible narrative.
Character - 6-11 year old girl.
Other.. Perhaps has a dog or something.
What happens next? Shows an image of the family by the fire.

5. 45-54 year old.
Image 3.
What just happened? Someone climbing to or away from something. Looks scary/challenging.
What intrigues you? Where is the person going?
Character - Man in his 20's. Hunter, prince or expedition-er. Brave, daring, has perseverance.
Other.. Magical, intriguing.
What happens next? Not sure, which is why it's exciting. Can't see all of the figure so want to know more.

6. 18-24 year old.
Image 3.
What just happened? I feel that it's a picture that has a journey more than a destination. Seeking to explore and looking for adventure.
What intrigues you? The ropes that look part of a swing leading to a cave.
Character - 8 year old female child adventurer. Wilful, curious and adventurous.
What happens next? Will probably end up on adventure through cave, discovering new things as she goes, probably ends up getting lost during the adventure.

7. 45-54 year old.
Image 2.
What just happened? I get to see the lightening strike the ground for the first time ever.
What intrigues you? Why it's so dark.
Character - Man over 40. Strong.
What happens next? It starts to get light.

8. 18-24 year old.
Image 1.
What just happened? Somebody found a red hat on the floor and put it on a tree that fell during a storm just in case the owner came back looking for it later.
What intrigues you? The owner of the hat.
Character - Old man. Woodcutter who lives in a cabin. Sort of medieval-looking, has a beard.
Other.. Seems like a nice guy.
What happens next? The owner of the hat COMES BACK.

9. 55-64 year old.
Image 1.
What just happened? I am the woodcutter's wife and he had felled the tree outside our house. He got hot and took his hat off. Leaving it on the tree. He came in for tea and we are having a beautiful evening in front of the fire.
What intrigues you? The footprints in front of the house.
Character - 35 year old woodcutter. Strong, self sufficient, hard-working.
What happens next? Relaxing evening and then in the morning he gets up and finds his wet hat.

10. 55-64 year old.
Image 2.
What just happened? A loud electrical storm rolled through the countryside, and little Sophia was running to the house and dropped a glove. She dare not go retrieve it, for fear of the Thunder Gods choosing her as their bride.
What intrigues you? Besides the artist? Lightning, I've always loved it.
Character - 14 year old female student. Loves the outdoors, has a vivid imagination, can't wait to grow up, has a cat.
What happens next? An elderly man in a yellow raincoat and hat stumbles across the lost glove. He recognizes it as the girl's glove who was at the library at the same time he was. He follows the path to her door, and returns it. She offers him refuge from the storm, but he says 'Naw. Thanks, but the thunder and lightning is just Mother Nature with a cold. She'll get over it.' And, he rambles upon his way.

Survey

Blank Survey

Q1. How old are you?

• Under 12 years old
• 12-17 years old
• 18-24 years old
• 25-34 years old
• 35-44 years old
• 45-54 years old
• 55-64 years old
• 65-74 years old

Q2. Choose an Image

Q3. What just happened in the story you chose? (This could relate to an action or brief story attached to the image)

Q4. Name one thing that intrigues you about this image.

Q5. If there was a character/figure present in the scene, what would they be like?

Q6. What (if anything) happens next?

Q7. In relation to the story behind the image, in which category would you place it? (You may select more than one option)

• Fantasy
• Action/Adventure
• Horror
• Mystery
• Fiction
• Non-Fiction
• Aimed at Children
• Aimed at Adults
• Supernatural
• Romance
• Comedy
• Sci-fi
• Historical
• Travel
• Educational
• Futuristic
• Present-day
• Other (please specify)

Strange Disturbances Scene 3

'the sound came from the back of a building standing alone in a solitary place'

Francesca Sanna Interview

1. What is your favourite type of brief to work on? 

(Any particular topics/themes you like working with?)

It is very difficult to find a "type". Anything I feel a connection with, anything I know I can bring into my world (if not entirely at least some elements of it). 

Of course there are themes I immediately feel connected and interested with, like anything that has to do with diversity, feminism, storytelling in general.

2. I am particularly interested in your book 'The Journey', it's so beautiful! What was your process for coming up with ideas? 

What research did you do?

The research behind The Journey was a long process. I spent sometime listening to stories of people from different countries that had undertaken very difficult journeys. 

I also did some research on historical document of Italian immigrants in America, for instance, and on current newspaper and social journals, because I wanted to think about the topic in a more "universa" way, rather than just focus on a particular experience. 

3. Do you think images can be just as important as words when telling a narrative?

Absolutely, and even more interesting is the relationship between text and images in a visual narrative. Playing with this you can show different points of view in a single page, or underline metaphorical aspects of the story. 

4. How do you find a balance between personal and professional projects?

This is a great question. Many of the projects I started as "personal" found a "commercial" use after I made them. On the other hand even with a brief that has nothing personal I always try to put something from my "experience" or from "my obsessions", something I like or I can relate to. And when I don't feel very connected with a project I am working on, I usually try to start with a much more personal one, that I keep on a side.

5. Where did you grow up in Italy? And do you think this influenced your work in any way? 

(I have worked in Bergamo and Desenzano and have a soft spot for Italian culture)

I grew up in Cagliari, Sardinia. The window in my bedroom was directly in front of the sea, I used to follow the ferries as they entered in the harbour as one of my main hobby when I was a child! 

Of course growing up on a (quite big) island influenced many aspects of who I am, included my work. The sea is a very important element in my illustrations and my stories, and its dual aspect – the fact that it can be a very positive but also a very scary, dangerous element, always fascinates me. 

6. Is there any advice you would give to someone just starting out in the industry? (Like me) and are there any people you can recommend that I talk to? (About how the industry works, etc.)

Maybe the main one is to share your experience with other people that do the same job, or that have similar professions. Friends and colleagues for me are the main source of help during very stressful periods of time. 

I think that if you are interested in picture books a very different point of view could be the one of a publisher, or someone who has more an overview on how "the market" works. 

I always find interesting to hear that side of the process of making and selling books, so I would suggest you to look for these kinds of insights.

Scene 3 Paintings

Creating the Images

Painting textured elements that I may want to use, scanning them in, and then playing around with placement and scale has been a good way of testing compositions. Adding detail afterwards also meant that I could get the same sense of tone, charm and quality into the work, without hindering the potential narrative which is hidden in the composition and meaning behind motifs included. This way of creating imagery seems to be working well for me at the moment, enabling me to experiment and play in my sketchbook, whilst utilising my digital skills.

Scene 3 Roughs

Layers & Depth

Another aspect I looked at when composing scenes was scale. This, and the layering of the landscape to create depth, meant that the image could be viewed as a setting for a potential story. Creating a sense of height was important for this image in particular, as I wanted to convey the ideas of adventure and risk.

Strange Disturbances Scene 2

'every rut and gutter a flowing river after the deluge of rain that had fallen'

Scene 2 Roughs

Symbolism - Weather

Something I want to consider throughout all the scene images is the role of the weather in relation to the tone set in the overall image. After looking at the symbols and hidden meanings found in renaissance and surrealist paintings, atmosphere is often described through specific elements, such as; rain, clouds, sun, moon, stars. Encompassing one or more of these elements in each image is a way of highlighting the overall feel of the image - whilst providing a visual cue to a viewer.

Strange Disturbances Scene 1

'The cock he flew, away then flew'

When asking people about the image I think I will leave out the quote I used as inspiration - so it's a singular image without any written clues as to what might be happening. I loosely based the image around phrases I found in the Victorian Ghost Stories book but not so much on the actual plot of the storyline, just in case someone might be familiar with the story already.

*Reflective Summary & Practical Outcome Proposal*

Discovering the case study of 'The Mysteries of Harris Burdick' was a real turning point for my project. Until recently, I was unsure of where my investigation was going and what my final practical outcome would be. However, as audience perceptions are crucial to my overall investigation, looking at the different stories written from Burdick's images made me think about ways in which I could do the same with my own work. 

I intend to create three of my own scenes, gaining first-hand research around the stories within them through the means of a survey. Within this survey I want to ask open ended questions, leaving room for the viewer's creativity. I also want to ask about characters. Although initially I will keep the scenes free of people, I will ask about who could be present in the scene, and what will happen next. Hopefully from this I will have enough information to create three character designs, responding to the answers I get.

I also want to include some kind of emblem in all three images, which could elude to something happening in the potential stories. This will coincide with the theme of mystery and situations with a twist (something that shouldn't be there).

Scene 1 Paintings

The process I am using for the images is a mixture between analog and digital media. This seems to be working for me at the moment as an attempt to get more texture and charm back into my work.

Some Strange Disturbances & Scene 1 Roughs

The Story
At this point, I am still using Victorian ghost stories for the starting point of my scene images. However, I don't think sticking to the details within these stories necessarily relevant to what I want to get out of the final outcomes. Because of this, I am composing the scenes in a way that I feel appropriate to provoke the best response from a viewer. I aim to print the images and give them out to people, getting them to write an individual short story around what could be happening. I might also make some kind of questionnaire alongside this.

Roughs

For the first scene, I used the setting of a farmhouse in the countryside to begin my ideas. The roughs are based around mystery and things in the wrong place. I am thinking about the different themes I could use as a base across all three images - maybe a bit of clothing? Or small object in the same colour?

The Blue Lady

Temple Newsam Ghost - The Blue Lady

I chose to keep this image quite mysterious and ambiguous. I love frames and victorian elements included in my work, and for this subject matter it made sense to include them. Especially as there is said to be a portrait of 'Mary' still hanging in the house at Temple Newsam.