Design Boards

*Summative Statement*

I enjoyed the COP module a lot more this year. I think having the freedom to plan my project around what I wanted to investigate helped with the momentum and kept me interested in the relationship between theory and practical work. 

Overall, I have learned a lot during this module. Not just in regards to the contextual background of images, but how this can be applied and used to enhance the effectiveness of my work. Before this year, I hadn't thought about my work in terms of composition and scenes. This seems obvious now, as much of my work looks at an entire frame and what could be outside of it. Especially in relation to the argument of words vs images, finding a balance between the information provided by the text on the page and the illustrations helped me to understand the power of subtlety in regards to the use of symbols and a viewer’s association with a visual cue. I also enjoyed looking at tone and atmosphere in more depth, which is an important aspect of my practice, as well as art forms outside of illustration, such as film and photography. The way in which I produce images has a direct correlation with the tone and impact of a narrative. Researching a variety of examples helped me to define where my work sits in the creative industries. As a result, I feel much more informed about my own practice. I am excited about how I can apply the things I have learned during COP3 to future projects.

Final Book

The final book consists of the original 3 scene illustrations, each with a corresponding character design, and a short story based on the ideas put forward in the survey I put out.
The idea behind this was to demonstrate that words can come from images. Although in usual circumstances, an image is based upon an existing written narrative, this is not a rule that needs to be followed.

The final printed book took me a while to put together. Although the double-sided printer always prints the colours slightly darker than I want, the quality is good. It took me a couple of attempts when binding, as the pages weren't lined up properly when they came out - so I had to measure them again, then fold and staple. Overall I am happy with the outcome, after the hand in I might print a few more copies in order to sell - when I have some time to spare.

Scene 3 Character - Explorer

I particularly enjoyed making this character, the ideas kept flowing as I started drawing the final image. This one started out as a very rough sketch on a scrap bit of paper, following the answers for image 3 in the survey.

Because this image is a whole setting encompassing character as well, it will probably be the cover design of my book, as it links elements explored within the book.

Throughout, I want to put the character designs after the written stories, with the scene images put before the text - to round off.

The Lost Melody - Short Story 3

Page 1
The height of the hills are what intrigued her the most. She always had an inquisitive spirit, and was looking for a new adventure.

She prepared for her escapade well, taking a bindle full of useful items, including; a compass, climbing ropes, matches, and a hand drawn map, amongst other things. Wrapping up in a woolly scarf, and pulling on her red boots, she thought about what she would discover when climbing those hills. The night was drawing in, but the sky was bright, and the stars flickered through the rolling clouds. She left the house confidently, feeling the cold air hit her face and throwing her hood over her head, she  followed the winding path towards the mountains, which were visible on the horizon.

Looking up at the walls of nature either side of her, with a rope thrown over her shoulder, she searched for an adequate climbing spot. After much deliberation, she decided on a particularly steep part of the hill, and started to climb, wondering what could be over the other side.

Reaching the top she looked over the moonlit landscape, swinging fearlessly from a rope in the air. The clouds continued to tumble gently across the night sky, now hiding the mountains from view. After jumping down, she was surprised to find a wood, with an aged wooden sign that read ‘no trespassing’. In her curiosity, she ignored the sign and carried on through the trees. Twigs snapped and leaves crunched beneath her feet, she quickly discovered how big the wood was. 

Page 2
In what felt like the most secluded part of the forest, she began to hear a distance melody playing. The tune was eerie, and simple. She followed the sound, carefully weaving in and out of the trees. Just as she was beginning to doubt her decision to carry on exploring, she noticed a dim light shining through some leaves. Getting closer she realised where it was coming from. At the highest point of the hill stood a quaint little house with a red roof, about the size of a garden shed. There were no windows, just a door, which was ajar. This was where the music was coming from. 

Stepping closer to the solitary house, she saw a long trail of smoke coming from the chimney. ‘Someone must be in’, she thought. Time had passed, the music grew louder, but the same tune continued to blare out of the house. Abruptly, it stopped, just as she reached the edge of the house. Her eyes were darting around the place where she stood, ‘how do they know I'm here?’, she whispered under her breath. She was so certain she hadn't made a sound.

Placing her bindle on the ground, she stood up against the wall, feeling the rough texture of the bricks beneath her fingers. She peered around the corner. The door swung open and light poured out on to the patchy turf. Building up the courage and thinking she could reason with whoever lived there, she peered inside. It was just one room, which was 
empty. Aside from a large oil lamp burning in the corner. There was nothing to suggest that music had been playing at all. No one was there. Just the sense that she was being
watched.

Haste - Short Story 2

Page 1
An electrical storm rolled through the countryside. Amongst the rumbling that echoed through the forest, a faint tapping of footsteps could be heard. Getting faster and faster, the taps resounded in time with the heavy patter of rain. 

She was running. This was the place. Looking to her right she remembered the pointed tops of the fir trees in the distance, the familiar iron railings which spanned for miles. For a moment, she forgot why she was back there. The croaky voice in her ear made her jump, ‘You’re nearly there, carry on’, it commanded. She had been dreading this mission since the very start. ‘Why is it always me?’, she thought to herself, when the case was put forward. Her stealthiness was her best quality and the reason for her new position, but so far this had been nothing but a hindrance.

The deluge continued to fall, dripping off of the rim of her black trilby hat. A stream of murky water ran down the hill beside her. As much as she tried to avoid it, every third step she would feel it seeping into her shoe. Still running, even beneath the red gloves she wore, she could feel her palms sweating. ‘How much longer?’, she muttered to herself, obviously disgruntled with the situation. To her surprise, the croaky voice replied, this time much louder, frantically shouting ‘LEFT! LEFT! NOW’.

She spun on her heel and there she saw it, although she could just make out a figure in the distance, she knew it was him. If she was quiet, she would be able to catch him. He didn't seem to realise he was being followed.

Page 2
She would have to slow down, but the wailing of the storm would drown out some of the noise of her feet splashing in the puddles. Zig-zagging across the pathway, she hid behind the biggest tree trunks, planning her next move every time she stopped. Just once the figure turned around, but as she had hoped, he blamed the mysterious splashing noises on the roaring thunder, growling wind and barrage of rain that fell around him. She carried on, stalking him like a bird of prey.

Again, the voice hissed in her ear ‘Be careful’, it said, and at that point she realised. He was right there, next to her, with a hood covering his face. Still standing behind the trunk, she pulled her scarf over her face, just below her eyes, with the thought, ‘I don’t wan’t him to recognise me’.

She stood hesitantly for what seemed like an age, thinking about what the next stage of her plan could be. In the corner of her eye she could see a flash of headlights. ‘That must be his accomplice’, she thought. Fumbling with her gloves, she began to take one off, palms still sweaty. She thought she had more time. Suddenly, the figure turned, coming face-to-face with his pursuer. Despite her vague attempt at a disguise, he recognised her immediately. The glove dropped to the ground and ignoring the inaudible murmurs coming from her earpiece, she lowered her scarf.

Another low rumble gently erupted across the forest. In response, he pointed at the sky. ‘Just Mother Nature with a cold, she’ll get over it’. He knew why she was there.

The Woodcutter's Wife - Short Story 1

Page 1
The stove kettle whistled as the woodcutter’s wife waited patiently by the window, watching her husband fell the tree outside their cottage. She was glad. 

‘Nothing but old wives tales’, was her typical response whenever anyone brought up the subject. This often happened when someone from the village came to visit the house. However, even on a summer’s day, she felt uncomfortable every time she her eyes fell on the tree for more than a couple of seconds. Not once did a leaf grow from its dark heavy branches, which would frequently fall to the ground with a thud, sending ripples through the floorboards. Too close, it towered intimidatingly over the house, casting a spidery shadow over the brickwork and through the window, blocking any natural light from entering the kitchen. On evenings like this, the log fire would be crackling, and the curtains drawn. They were used to the stormy weather in the valley. 

Visibility outside wasn't always good and admittedly, she thought she was going mad every time she saw it, but every now and then she’d blink and for a split second, a red hat would appear, swinging gently on the lowest branch, then vanish.

Blowing off the steam from her hot tea, she thought about all the times people from the village had asked her about the monstrosity residing in her back garden, and all the times she had assured them that the stories didn't bother her. But in this moment, the realisation that it would no longer be a part of their lives gave her an overwhelming sense of relief.

Page 2
The hat, the hat. Every day she would dread seeing it, dread noticing. But once she had noticed, she couldn't stop thinking about it. Who did it belong to? Why was it there?

All the while the woodcutter, to his dismay, continued to swing his axe against the base of the tree trunk. He felt ashamed. ‘What will people say when they know I destroyed the tree? Surely they will think that I actually believe these ridiculous rumours’, he thought to himself. The wood shavings whipped across his face as the force of the gale became stronger. Through squinted eyes, he could still see the silhouette of his wife watching from the window. Secretly he hoped she would change her mind and invite him back in.

It was dark by the time he finished felling the tree. The woodcutter’s wife had been standing in the same place, waiting, watching, listening. Still holding the cup, her tea had been cold for a while. Although the fire burned low, the embers flickered in the shadows, illuminating the floor where she stood.

The hat, the hat. It was there, swaying back and forth on the branch of the fallen tree, but it was not a figment of her imagination, it did not disappear. 

She blinked and blinked, and there it was. But where was he?
Where was the woodcutter?

Character 3 Development

I decided to make this character the subject for a book cover. I want to try and make a publication which ties all the final imagery together - the scenes, characters and stories. At the moment I am playing around digitally with character and scene together, which will change as I go along. I am happy with the progress so far!

Character Roughs - Scene 3

Scene 3 was probably the image that had the most similar responses throughout the survey. Most people described a young female adventurer, I drew out some quick sketches linking to this idea but most of the character development will happen on screen. 

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.