A candid thought process of development options going on from Week 3.

I think I need to push my work output. I am capable of producing much more work and developing the refinement of my processes much further. In creating my multiple illustrative outcomes I think I will start working on design software (possibly inDesign) to get a clean outcome that can be printed cleanly.

Media experimentation into the designs of the Michael Distortion, the Buried, and the architecture of Smirke. Part of what makes the project of the Magnus archives so appealing is being able to entirely determine the aesthetic of the show, whether to determine each horror’s aesthetic separately, or to create an overall aesthetic for each illustration etc. since there’s no determined visuals for the show as is.

I think my visual explorations became progressively more interesting with the buried- Michael is interesting but still lies in clichéd uses of media. I like the way that it was created using a similar work flow to my digital style but using traditional media and plan to develop the ideas digitally too. However, the buried I find is much more unique- having a monotone base with almost oily accents created by the coffee and degrading prints. Having the paper corrode too brings an element of 3-dimensionality to the paper, cleaning up gradients and adding areas of rest/ flat colour digitally would make it potentially read better as an illustration.

I created these illustrations, more inspired by the idea of the horrors than final designs, as I had made limited attempts at researching a background for them to remain open to new ideas. This means these illustrations can be used as a basis for designing and creating more refined versions. I will continue to experiment further with media and paint some new artworks. I find the composition of these especially lacking in comparison to their textural elements- Michael is very central and flat as a stencil. To solve this when making new stencils I might use 3D models to create more interesting and foreshortened poses. The buried is a purely textural study so is even less satisfying, although more interesting; I placed the focal points low to attempt to convey a sense of pressure but this could definitely be executed more competently. As a step forward in fixing this I have started on my studies of magazines and created a few thumbnails for The Desolation.

These work as standalone representations of desolation but could also be incorporated into larger compositions due to the available negative space. I am tempted to use screen printing for these outcomes for a stark outcome but the process takes a long time and is much quicker to fake digitally. To use the process I will try to consider its limitations when creating the digital and influence how I apply the techniques (order of application, transparency, break in ink, texture, bleed, impasto).