Kirsty Wells0806502

EGRD 3015FMP Portfolio

FMP Proposal

After much debate I have decided to focus on shadows, projections and silhouettes as a theme for my FMP. Unlike most people, my plan for post graduation life involves moving to another country in order to teach English as a foreign language to young children. While studying for my qualification to do this, it was apparent to me that not every school I may teach at would have the funds or resources available that might be needed.

With this in mind I want to focus my studies within this project on creating a piece of work that can be used within the classroom as well as being easy to make or transport.

Something that is always of use when teaching small children is the idea of the story or fairytale. Since I plan to teach children in other countries I am aiming to tell fairytales or stories as I have been taught them here in England.

Planning to teach in Asia, I am aware of the use of shadow puppets to tell stories within many countries in this part of the world. Using this as a base idea, I want to take inspiration and create some form of learning tool for the children which is somewhat familiar as well as being a fun way to educate.

I would like to start by researching art forms such as shadow puppetry and their places within society and culture. Looking into and understanding the stories that are told and the significance within the cultures of the past as well as modern day.

Using my previous project and learning from my mistakes I can make an informed start on the exploration of different projection ideas and outcomes.

It is important to me to spend some time during the FMP exploring and developing my ideas and creative processes in order to arrive at a final outcome and idea. I want to do this by experimenting with many projection and shadow ideas before I arrive at my final result.

Although uploaded as a pdf I would prefer my FMP to be viewed via ISSUU, my portfolio can be found here.

Shadow Puppetry

Shadow puppetry is an old and ancient way of story telling and providing entertainment. Puppets used in these plays are usually articulated to create movement and are moved by using attaching sticks.

These figures are made of different materials but are generally transparent, so when held in-between a light source and translucent screen the shadows of the puppets are projected onto the screen for the audience to view.

Still popular in countries today such as Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia, China and India they can be a very effective way to tell a story and entertain an audience.

As well as being popular with the masses, shadow puppetry is especially popular with children, bringing enjoyment into a way of being told information.

Chinese shadow puppetry can be traced back to the Han Dynasty, when Emperor Wu of Han suffered the loss of one of his beloved concubines. He ordered his court to return her from the dead, in a bid to appease the emperor, his court staff created a likeness of the concubine out of donkey leather. Holding this puppet before an oil lamp, a shadow of the concubine was created.

Each country across Asia has developed its own stance, history and style of shadow puppetry. Although each country may have differing ideas of how this form of puppetry came to be, it is obvious that each demonstrate its use as a popular leisure activity and choice of entertainment for all viewers.

Using this an inspiration I feel would be beneficial to my project as although not creating shadow puppets myself, I can use the idea of the silhouette and story telling to my advantage within my chosen plan of action.

Saelee Oh DamYeong Yoo-Hartlaub

Artist Research and Inspiration

Bovey Lee Su Blackwell

Visual Research

Upon starting this project I felt it was important to spend time on visual research. I wanted to browse the internet and books to find references to shadow puppets, the use of projections or simply silhouette artistry.

Original Plans

My initial idea was to take inspiration from shadow puppetry and the theatres to create a small box which could be held by children and used to view a selection of slides portraying a fairytale. Each slide would have a scene from the story cut out in order to show a silhouette when held up to a light source.

I began with sketching out ideas for the theatre shape and size, also sketching plans and cutting out initial ideas for the slides. The size I had planned for the theatre originally meant that the slides must be quite small which in turn had an effect on the original plans for character style and development within the designs.

Case DesignsThe idea of this theatre led me to look into and create a few designs for a container within which the small light box and acompanying slides can be stored.

Mock Ups

Using my sketches of the light box/ theatre I had to make a few mock ups to find out if the idea would work and what changes, if any, would need to be made to the initial ideas and templates. By doing so I could also learn how the box would react to light and in what way the light would be channelled through one end and out the other.

Using the small mock slides I had made I could obtain an idea of whether this could work within the confines of my FMP and if it would be able to fulfil its intended future use.

Box Designs

Not wanting to create a box which would be plain and unattractive to children I decided to sketch up a few ideas of designs for the outer shell.

Due to the fact that this box is meant to tell traditional stories the way I had been taught them in England I wanted the design to reflect a traditional theatre.

After making this conclusion I decided research traditional theatres as well as Punch and Judy theatres, taking inspiration from these I began to draw up some possible designs.

Using these drawings as inspiration I would later be able to come up with a final design when making the box.

Little Red Riding Hood Design

Starting with the most important character of the story I began to sketch images of Little Red Riding Hood. Since the size of slide I had to work with was so small I originally opted for a simple design with no face.

As well as being simple I felt perhaps this would be the easiest way for children in other countries to connect to her easily.

Due to the fact that I was working in silhouette I chose to use very simple and clean lines when cutting out sections of the Red Riding hood shape.

After thinking about a few designs I wanted to create a mock up slide with this image, so I cut out the image of Little Red Riding Hood from card to see how the idea would work in silhouette.

I started to feel that perhaps a faceless character was not the best direction to go in. Even across the world a little girl has certain chracteristics which can be recognised in every country.

After coming to this realisation I spent time observing and drawing different characteristics which would relate to the character of Little Red Riding Hood. Concentrating mostly upon the hair, I felt it was important to come across the right style which would fit the character perfectly.

As well as the change to character design, in order to fit in with the newly thought of detail, the slide size had to be increased to almost the same size as the box. By doing this I was able to incorporate my ideas about extra detail within the character images.

Initial Sketches

To begin the character design process , I started to sketch different ideas for each person within the story.

After sketching the next step was to cut out the final idea to find out how the silhouette will look when held up to a light source.

Grandma

The designing of Grandma was quite a difficult task for me as I found it hard to focus on characteristics which would be simple to cut into a slide.

After deliberating over various sketches and drawings I came to the conclusion that a bun and a pleated skirt would be the best way to incorporate some appropriate characteristics into my design.

Grandma silhouette cut into a slide shape.

The Wolf

From a design point of view the wolf is an extremely fun and important character to think about. I firstly set out by researching wolf drawings by other artists to gain some knowledge and inspiration for my own drawings.

Once I felt I had undertaken enough research I began to think about my own images and ideas of the character of the wolf. It was significant to start with exploring the initial shape which I intended the wolf to be; whether he was to be standing on two legs or four. I decided upon two legs to give him a more menacing and overpowering feel.

Upon deciding that the wolf should be standing upright on two legs, I moved onto building ideas about other parts of the character. The parts I felt were especially important were the tail and the mouth.

I sought to create the mouth with a simple design idea that although easy to draw and cut out would look slightly scary in order to suit the wolf’s role within the storyline. As well as the mouth, I felt the tail was quite a central feature of this character. This led me to sketch many different ideas of the tail shape in conjunction with different ideas of the cut out patterns for the slides.

Final wolf idea drawn into scenes from the story.

Final Wolf Cut Outs

Instead of cutting fur details into the wolf, to make him look more menacing and scary I decided to only cut out his eyes and ears to make them glow when put before a light source.

The Wood Cutter

Initial sketches of the wood cutter. After many sketches I found that my first ideas were the best in order to complete the wood cutter design.

Cut outs of the Wood Cutter when held up to the light.

Scene Sketches

To come up with an idea for my final scenes for the backing slides, I decided to sketch out my thoughts for each scene before choosing which sketch would be finally picked.

Final Scene Sketches

First Change in Idea

After creating the box mock ups as well as designing bigger slides in order to fit more detail into the scenes it came to my attention that the square design of the box was no longer a working idea. Due to the size of the new slides the length of the box had become incorrect, in order for the slides to be viewed in optimum detail the box would have to be lengthened to irradiate any blurriness. This new length of box would allow the viewers eyes to focus easily on the slide without effort or discomfort.

As an added bonus the increase in box length would allow for an extra slot to placed into the top, creating more freedom when choosing which slides would be placed into the viewer. It would now be possible to use a background as well as to have two characters interacting.

New Slide Cut Outs and Designs

This change in box design led me to create new slides and with it a new design for the slides. In order for the slide to sit neatly on the box without falling through the openings I created a design within which the top of the slide can be folded multiple times making a cube shaped ridge. This ridge allows the slide to sit flush across the top of the box as well as stopping it from falling through the slots.

After cutting out the slides I held them up to a lamp to get a feel for how the silhouette would look when placed inside the box and held up to the light. I feel like these two images in particular work very well.

Grandma’s House

Finished slide cut out of Grandma’s house.

Wood Cutter Scene

FInal cut out idea for the wood cutter’s scene.

Village Scene

Village scene cut out after experimentation.

Forest Scene

Final forest scene cut out.

Laminated Slides

After the problem with the slides being very fragile I decided the best idea would be to laminate them in order to create a more stable picture. Although this gave the slides more stability it affected the quality of the cut out as well as making it harder to fold the section at the top.

Final box mock up

Although I think the slide cut outs themselves look good when held up, I felt that the box and laminating problems detracted from the skill and effort put into creating these slides. On top of this, I was unable to find a way to properly transform the look of the outer shell of the box. Both of these problems lead to a change in idea once again.

Final Change of Idea

As a final plan I decided to draw upon my book making skills and use the slide idea in creating a book which would feature all the silhouettes of the scenes I had previously designed. After debating and drawing out many types of book, I settled on the thought of making a concertina style book which would be able to showcase each image separately as well as a whole story.Following on from this I drew out many different thoughts about how I could incorporate each image and the story within one concertina book.

Initial Book Sketches

Assorted book mock up ideas for shape and page layout designs.

Book Sketch Mock UpsAfter sketching up a few ideas of the concertina style book, I felt it was important to make mock ups of the pages so I could find out how each page would look before drawing up ideas for the final book.

Final Book Idea 1

As a first final idea for the concertina book I had thought about having the pages divided into two parts. The top section dedicated to each cut out image and the bottom section containing the accompany-ing text for that image.

I felt that although this would be pleasing to the eye, the idea of making the space for the image smaller was too reminiscent of an earlier problem I had with the original slide and light box idea.

Final Book Idea 2

Moving on from the previous final idea but still keeping the themes of the book, I had opted to choose this as my book design. I have dedicated whole pages to my final images, in doing so I will be able to fit in small details to the characters and backgrounds without worrying about it being too complex.

Due to the fact each page will have a full picture; I will be keeping two pages blank for the story to be written. A page at the front and back of the book will have the beginning and end sections of the story written on them.

Although keeping the original ideas of my slide, due to the change in final product creating a bigger margin for detail, I had to redesign some of the images to incorporate the whole image as one in conjunction with adding extra detail. With this in mind I roughly sketched out a ideas for each book page.

Book Making Process

After folding my selected card into concertina sections, the next step was to draw on my image ideas to the back of the card in order to cut out the correct sections. Leaving a thick border around each image ensured more stability and structure for the finalised silhouette.

Cover Making Process

Upon completing the cutting out of the main book, the next step was to make the two covers for each end of the concertina. This enabled the book to be more stable as well as to be pulled out and stood up against a light source.

Using grey board and covering it when specially selected paper to fit the Little Red Riding Hood story, I created two square book covers to attach to the concertina ends.

After finishing each cover end, I then wrote down the story as I remembered it, checking afterward with online and library sources to make sure I had accounted for the entirety of the fairytale.

Book Title Designs

Subsequent to exploring many different font and lettering ideas for the title of this book I settled upon three main designs which I felt fitted with the themes of the story. Each idea had a fairytale quality to it without being too confusing or difficult for children to be able to read.

After much debate I chose the design of the letters growing out of flower stems. In keeping with the section of the fairytale within which Little Red Riding Hood stops in the woods to pick flowers for her Grandmother.

Final title font idea for the book.

When producing the main text of the book I chose to handwrite the story in order to maintain an interesting and handmade feel to the overall project. With the target audience in mind, there were many restrictions place on the text style and font.

The writing had to remain simple and legible in order for children to able to read it and understand with ease.

Final Book Photography

When photographing the final book, it was important to me to make sure that I had managed to capture each important angle of the book and well as showing a large selection of the scenes and images contained

Various Scenes

Various Scenes

Side of the concertina pages and images within the book.

View of the final book covers. I had chosen to cover them in wood effect paper to tie in with the theme of Little Red Riding Hood and the forest.

Evaluation

Throughout the course of this project, I feel I have learnt a great deal about my own skills and creative abilities. Although I started out with an initial idea which was to turn out to be something entirely dif-ferent, I feel that with perseverance and patience I was able to follow my project through to the end even when I felt like giving up.

During my Final Major Project I have experienced immense amounts of stress and trouble, despite this fact I have been able to continue working with my plans and ideas. This is something I am extremely proud of doing, as somebody who often gives up at the first bump in the road; I have been able to push myself further in order to complete this project to the best of my current ability.

Due to the dramatic change in plan half way through the allotted time for this project I was unable to complete further research and exploration into other fairytales which could be presented in the same way. As a possible project for the future I would like to continue this idea, perhaps creating a collection of fairytale books in silhouette.

Despite being impressed by my ability to work through all the problems that had arisen throughout this project, there are many things I would have changed about my way of working. Perhaps more experi-mentation in the beginning stages could have prevented the switch in ideas so late into my timescale also allowing for development of designs for other future story books.

Something I also had many problems with was selecting the correct and important pieces of work to include within my portfolio and leaving out many pieces which would be insignificant to the final portfolio layout. I was worried about containing too much or too little evidence of my work as well as documenting my final outcomes, although I think I managed to do both successfully.

Although perhaps not the best candidate for progressing further within the graphic design world, I believe that my portfolio aesthetic has dramatically improved from previous work. As much as I would prefer for my portfolio to improve even further, I am impressed with my current rate of progression and am pleased with the expansion I have made with my limited skill set. It is obvious that creating a portfolio is not the strongest of my skills which is something I worry about although I try hard to improve. Considering my future career choice I am happy to develop my portfolio making skills further after graduation, however I currently feel that it is not currently a top priority.

I have enjoyed this course throughout which I have discovered many skills I thought were not possible for me to gain. I am both excited and sad to be evaluating my final project. Although this is my last project for this course I am fairly certain I will continue to enjoy making and creating work with the skills I have gained over the past three years.

Bibliography

Gregory, Danny. (2008). An Illustrated Life. USA: HOW Books

Gregory, Danny. (2006). The Creative License. USA: Hyperion

Perry, Michael. (2007). Hand Job. New York: Princeton Architectural Press

Stein, Jeannine. (2009). Re-bound – creating handmade books from recycled and repurposed materials. Massachusetts: Quarry Books

Umoto, Sachiko. (2008). Illustration School: Let’s draw cute animals. Massachusetts: Quarry Books

Umoto, Sachiko. (2008). Illustration School: Let’s draw happy people. Massachusetts: Quarry Books

Inspiring Artists

Saelee OhWebsite: http://www.saeleeoh.com/

Damyeoung Yoo-HartlaubWebsite: http://www.damyeong.de/

Bovey LeeWebsite: http://www.boveylee.com/

Su BlackwellWebsite: http://www.sublackwell.co.uk/

Kirsty Wells0806502EGRD 3015FMP Portfolio