I attended another glut event on the 4th of may as i have been enjoying being active in the community of design and i find that it is a good way of making contacts with designers within the industry.
Whilst at this event and got talking to John from Kilogramme and was able to show him some of the work i have been making and he gave me his business card to send over more of my work and this is a clear example of how attending these events can break the ice and make connections. He also told me about some of the work he was working on and showed me some new pieces which is good for me keeping up to date on what people within the industry are working on.
There were 3 talks on at this event as well which i found very interesting.
Callum Peters is a UX Designer for BBC Children’s, working across responsive web, games and interactive experiences.After graduating with a Graphic Design degree, he worked agency-side as an interaction designer and in 2013 joined BBC User Experience & Design.Working on BBC iWonder, Callum helped to create a new way to discover amazing factual content, and co-lead the design of the BBC Bitesize App which supports children and adults with their education. In Children’s, he is helping to shape the next generation of experiences for the BBC’s younger audience.He is exploring what conversational UI can offer and is curious about the future of automotive UX. He is passionate about creating opportunities to bring young talent through, both at the BBC and through his role as a youth work volunteer.
Designing for children at the BBC
Callum from the BBC was the first to talk. He explained that he has work for BBC for 3 years and that he has been working on website and games design for the BBC for children.
I found his talk very interesting and inspiring as he was discussing how when considering an audience for your work it is important to actually try and gather feedback from them as it can be inspiring and make you approach and view your own outlook in a different way.
He went on to explain how when they were designing games for children that using the children's imaginative drawings for their ideas of characters gave a better and more appropriate to the audience form of inspiration to create the characters from. This is a good example of how as a designer you can not expect to know everything even the audience you are creating the work for and doing research and gathering information and recourses for an accurate and appropriate way of reaching out to the audience is a really good way to break these creative boundaries.
He explained that he was working on a game for the bitesize app on re designing subtitles in the game and approach a school for deaf children in lancaster to see how they interacted with and viewed the subtitles. He called tho eco creation.
I thought that this is a really important thing to consider my self as i would like to continue with my growth with regards to my creative idea development on my work and seeing things from another persons point of view is always a great way to look at things in new ways.
The next talk was by a freelance designer Jane Bowyer - Designer & Illustrator working at islington mill.
She spoke about how working on personal projects is important for self development and fuelling passion for work which is defiantly something i will do especially now that i am on the verge of finishing my degree as my major project was incredibly and enjoyable for me and important i think in my finding of self as a designer as it was something i was passionate about and so a delved into new areas of style and design and skills and i think it was a very rewarding and important part of my development as a designer, so i agree with her ideas on this.
She explained how as a freelancer it can become lonely and un inspiring by working as a freelancer as you are not able to have the option to communicate with other designers as much and said that it is important to stay active with other creatives still, even if its just meeting up for lunch to still have that creative flow and communication with other which could inspire ideas for work.
She said that perfection is a monster that is never full and is scared to fail and will not take risks. This is something i should consider with my self as well as taking risks is how to grow and expand.
She said that passion isn't scared of failure and drives the creator forwards and will push the work approach to new limits.
I liked how she was talking about love of work and evolving forward doing things you like as feel like i have found a big appreciation in my self and my work whilst studying this courses and feel that i have more respect for myself to not just take whatever comes my way but to grow as a designer doing what i love and i am passionate about. I also have more confidence about pulling my weight within the industry because of this.
She also spoke about amen in print which is personal project she explained she had been working on and getting other female designers involved with as she was passionate about addressing the social issues of women in society and celebrating women as artists and representing them more.
I found this and the way she spoke about it very inspiring and will start my own personal projects my self and expand my own passion for work.
18/04/17
For this brief I had to contact someone within the industry to set a brief for me to work on and treat this a live brief as though working for a client. When i met up with Matt Geiling from fuzzy Duck i requested if he could give me the live brief for this project and this is what he sent me:
Brief:
Create a 30-60 second motion graphic based on the following theme:
"visualise the state of mind of a man who will do anything to keep his family legacy together, but by keeping it will destroy it. Or should he give it away, to no longer own it but to allow it to be preserved for others to enjoy.
This is the fate of the last squire of Eddrig Hall in Wrexham, Wales. Feel free to take any direction you like with this, and most importantly have fun with it.
It was in 1973, that Philip Yorke, the last Squire of Erddig gave the house and estate to the National Trust as neither Philip or his brother Simon married there were no direct heirs.
Philip Yorke was born in 1905 the second son of Philip Yorke and his second wife, Louisa. His brother Simon born in 1903 was the heir. His father Philip was born in 1849, the son of Simon and Victoria Yorke. Philip was Mayor of Wrexham in 1896-7. When their father Philip Senior died in 1922 the estate began to decline. Income from the estate never high began to decline and staff were laid off and the house began to decay. Problems from mining at Bersham colliery caused the house to sink more one end than the other. Simon became a reclusive and visitors particularly officialdom were not welcome. However it did mean that the house although decayed was not altered. Philip inherited the estate in 1966. Before that he had lived a rather hand to mouth existence. He had been an actor/manager; holiday tour operator. He is remembered for riding his penny farthing around the district. The gift to the National Trust was worth 3 million but negotiations were protracted. Philip Yorke died in 1978.
The other prominent member of the family was the first Philip Yorke. 1743-1804. He inherited the estate from his uncle John Meller in 1767. He took part in the social life and local government particularly the Militia and sat in Parliament twice for pocket boroughs. He was the author of the Royal Tribes of Wales which brought together his genealogical and antiquarian research. There is a room in Erddig which features the coats of arms of the chief North Wales families. He set about improving the estate and house and dining room where his portrait was one of his improvements.
A Lovespoon is a wooden spoon decoratively carved that was traditionally presented as a gift of romantic intent. The lovespoon was given to a young woman by her suitor. It was important for the girl's father to see that the young man was capable of providing for the family and woodworking.
Sailors would often carve lovespoons during their long journeys, which is why anchors would often be incorporated into the carvings.
Certain symbols came to have specific meanings: a horseshoe for luck, a cross for faith, bells for marriage, hearts for love, a wheel supporting a loved one and a lock for security, among others. Caged balls indicated the number of children hoped for. Other difficult carvings, such as chains, were as much a demonstration of the carver's skill as a symbolic meaning.
I decided that this could be an interesting way to tell the tale of how Philipe York of eroding hall has no offspring to inherit the hall and how this effected his keeping of the hall as well as the coal mines crumbling beneath it.
The building was sold to the master of the Chancery, John Meller in 1714. John Meller refurbished and enlarged the house (including adding two wings in the 1720s), and, on his death in 1733 unmarried and childless, passed it to his nephew, Simon Yorke (d. 1767) (first cousin of Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke). The house was passed down through the Yorke family until March 1973, when it was given to the National Trust. This followed the collapse several years earlier of a shaft from the nearby coal mine (Bersham colliery) under the house, causing subsidence of 5 feet (1.5 m), which seriously affected the structural security of the house to the extent that, without suitable underpinning, it would have become a ruin. It was strengthened using the compensation of £120,000 the National Trust was able to extract from the National Coal Board.
welsh mythology and symbolisms`:
Birds are usually used to represent prophetic knowledge, (Davidson, 91) bloodshed, and skill. In an omen, birds can be either the message or the messenger. For example, Morrígan came in the shape of a bird to warn the Brown Bull (Kinsella, 98). The interpretation of their calls and movements can lead to knowledge of future events. Birds, especially ravens and crows, usually presage bloodshed and battle, when they are associated with it, sticking with the theme of prophesy. Deirdre's dream of three birds drawing blood foreshadowed death and Lleu Llaw Gyffes was shedding rotting flesh and maggots while in the form of an eagle. The Irish war goddesses were said to call the ravens down to battle fields to feast on the flesh of the slain (Davidson, 98). Even normal, modern crows and ravens descend to feed on corpses along the road.
Serpents and dragons symbolize trouble. Whenever they appear, strife and infertility follow. King Arthur's troubles with the future of his kingdom are presaged by dreams of dragons and serpents at the time of Sir Mordred's conception. King Arthur drives them out, but is wounded (Baines, 36). King Arthur is finally devoured by them in his last dream, subsequently his next battle is when Sir Mordred kills him. It is interesting to note that it is the appearance of a snake that initiates the battle. The swine herders before the Tain, Friuch and Rucht, ruin each other's land with snow during their magical fight, while in the forms of dragons (Ford, 48). Dragons should be particularly troubling to a king, because the king is the symbol of the fertility of the tribe and its land and the dragons are the counter symbol, laying waste to the land and preventing new growth.
I like how this video encompasses al the elements of what defines leonardo and his work but in a college format and in a way that is also visual entertaining without going into too much detail so as for it to become drawn out or boring.
This is something i would like to incorporate into my pice.
I like the style of this video and the cut out sillhoueette shapes and transitions and flow between scenes and aspects of the video and again i like how it is visually entertaining and symbolic. which is a quality that is reflected in welch culture, again making this style relevant as inspiration for my own work. The Sacrifice from Grasshorse on Vimeo.
I also chose to use this video as a means of inspiration for my piece as it is a showing a narrative for historical events in an entertaining and creative way and looking at the mind set and emotions of the characters as well which relates to what i am trying to do for my work.
Coal mines under the Hall is an important factor of the story i am trying to express and narrative the emotions of as it was one of the reasons that Philipe Yorke had to give up his legacy.
to tie my piece together i have decided to use a welsh song for the duration of my animation as the theme and events of erdig hall and philipe yorke are based in whales:
Looking at snake movements for when i animate my snake:
modeling:
cell shading for stylised effect:
I chose to use the cloudy circle to frame the majority of this piece to symbolise the mind set and the story of philpie yorke in a dream like manner.
The animation starts of showing him starting at Erdig hall to represent the stem of th problems that he is encountering. It then show a love spoon that i have animated with a snake weaving round it. The love spoon then breaks and disappears. The love spoon is to symbolise love and family and as it breaks this shows how these dreams were shattered or never happened at Philip did not have an children to inherit his legacy. The snake that i have made weave around the love spoon is to symbolise misfortune or a bad omen with this aspect of his life and to bring in some welsh cultural mythology references.
My piece then goes on to show the lamp which is a symbol of miners and the coal mines and the falling rock represent how the mining cavern beneath the house started to cause the house to become too difficult for him to upkeep and was one of the reasons that lead him to have to sacrifice it.
The chair with the cloak over it is a welsh symbol of sacrifice and shows him giving up what he thought to be his legacy.
i used a welsh song to bind my piece together and tie in the cultural historical placing of the events as this was all in wales. The song also has a tone of sadness to it which amplifies the emotions of the tale.
My Idea Development:
Subject Area:
This
is a personal project based on a client driven brief that was set for me by
Fuzzy Duck Studios in media city after I contacted them regarding the brief.
This
is the brief I was give:
Create a 30-60
second motion graphic based on the following theme:
"visualise
the state of mind of a man who will do anything to keep his family legacy
together, but by keeping it will destroy it. Or should he give it away, to no
longer own it but to allow it to be preserved for others to enjoy.
This is the
fate of the last squire of Eddrig Hall in Wrexham, Wales. Feel free to take any
direction you like with this, and most importantly have fun with it.
How i investigate the subject:
I
have done research on Erig Hall and Philip York who owned the property and had
to give it away due to coal mines making the building crumble and no children
to inherit his legacy.
I
have done research on welsh culture and mythology of symbolisms and iconography
that I can use in my piece to make it relevant to the cultural setting and the
historical time zone of the events.
Nature Of Inquiry:
The
fact that the brief mentioned to imagine the mind set of Philip made me want to
take a slightly more abstract approach to creating my animation and displaying
this story to the audience and I have decided to create quite a dream ;like
representation of Philips troubles.
Outcomes:
This
will be taking the format of a short film and story. I want it to be
interesting and intriguing and potentially interest people in research more
about Philip however it will not be intended to be informative I will just be
using the research of the events to fuel my ideas and my inspiration.
Medium/Media:
I
plan to be using cinema 4D to model and animate my ideas as I have been
enjoying this process a lot and would like to explore this process further as
this will be my last project i would like to have the opportunity to utilize
this again. Based on my research I would like to create potentially a mostly
black and white piece with cell shading visualize to create a stylized and
visually interesting piece that make the mind wander.
Rationale :
I decided to take the path of creating a more abstract story piece as I wanted the chance to be creative with my creations for this last piece and even to add a bit of my own personal style into my creation and taking the symbolic abstract route was a good way for me to do this as opposed to trying to inform people on the events. I also wanted the option to delve into 3D animation again but with the new process of using 3D program to create a 2D animation using cell shading so that I had a new skill set to explore and experiment with.
Client Feedback:
I explained my idea to matt at the alumni night for my animation and he told me that the idea of creating an abstract and imaginative piece was a good idea and a nice creative approach to the brief. He said that the idea of having silhouette style elements for my piece and bringing in welsh cultural references was a good idea and he liked that fact that i was taking a 3D approach with the use of cell shading as well as he has seen my previous 3D work and said that he was defiantly interested in seeing more.
He mentioned that It is a good idea to use the idea of going inside the mind set of Philip york and said it would be a good idea to think of how to communicate this realm i am trying to display to the audience which is where i came up with the idea of using the smokey cloud effect to frame my animation.
My finished piece:
Erdig Hall2 from rachel on Vimeo.
I feel like i do really like the flow of this piece and how i have connected each of the scenes and ideas to that opt the symbolic reference of my ideas connections to the events of erdig hall. I do think that this piece might be a little bit confusing with regards to content for a viewer who did not know about the events of philip and erdig hall however that was not my intention for this brief, my intention was to utilise the freedom that fuzzy duck gave me for the brief to creatively create a piece that was fun and intriguing and maybe getting people asking for more.
On the 20th of April stockport college arranged an event in which designers and artists who are now active and working within the industry were invited to come and network with student still studying at the campus. A selection of these artists gave presentations in a petite cute format on their journey from studying at stockport college and insight into where they have progressed to within the industry.
The event was held at the mint lounge in manchester so it was had a more casual feel towards it and created a more comfortable and sociable environment which was good for the networking side of the event after the presentations and gave chance to ask for portfolio presentations to the designers and get feedback from professionals on the work i had done so far without it feeling too formal and there fore gives more options to engage on a social level as well and connect more with these people and build up a reputation and connections with people.
Presentations:
Andrew Mosely
Gallery Educator, Lecturer and Atelierista at Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester College and co organiser for FORMAT Photography Festival.
he explained that he worked for the guardian newspaper for 10 years as a photojournalist and then became passionate about working on projects to help people and bring people together, he also worked on FACT which is a Foundation for Art and Creative Technology which dressed issues such as mental health.
Some of the key factors of inspiration and advice that i picked up on through out his speech was that he mentioned that it is important to have broad idea of what it is you want to do with regards to what area of the industry you will end up in as there is such a broad cross over within the creative industry that it is too hard to try and pin yourself down to one area so soon before seeing where you interests or preferences take you and you will have a more fulfilling time working if you go towards areas that make you passionate even if that isn't what the initial plan after education was intended.
He also explained that networking is key and is a big part of this industry and very important to get yourself out to events and to create contacts.
Textbook Studio:
Textbook is a design studio based in Manchester / Salford. Our work focuses on printed materials, especially editorial and publication design, for arts and culture sector clients. Physically making things is really important to us, so our studio often functions as a workshop and print room.
Vik and Chris who are designers and co founders of textbook studios did their petite ketch presentation together.
they explained that they graduated stockport college in 2010 studying graphic design. And that they did a lot of broad experimentation work whilst on the course which got them to start creating and thinking in broader ways. They explained that they were taught to think crazy as well as to not be afraid to be commercial.
They said that it is very good to do your own personal projects where ever you can as this design process and active mindset within the creative area of your own inspirations feeds into and can influence and help with projects that are being paid for as well.
They explained that they decided to start a business together as when they were studying the did a lot of collaborative projects together and realised that they worked well and understood each other way of thinking creatively and so explained that it felt natural to continue this after their study.
They said that they got talking to some people at an event they attended who have them the idea to get funding to start their business and explained that it was the right place at the right time for them and they were able to get the connections.
To start their business off and to gain recognition they said that they made books which they left around manchester in train station coffee shops and cafes for people to find and explained that this is what gained them recognition and that they still have people to this day asking them about the books. Natalie Wood: Natalie wood is another inspirational designer who gave a presentation about her work and her journey and who began her journey at stockport college. She explained that she studied illustration when she was a stockport college but was able to be flexible with her approach to working methods and was able to have some experience using after effects to animate her illustrations to some degree whilst she was studying. She is now an animator at Fuzzy Duck studios in media city and her talk gave an insight into how designers are not tied down to one specific category and metholgy of practise as she applied for the job whilst she was technically defining herself as an illustrator and is now skilful in the world of animation and motion design. She explained that it is good to be flexible across numerous pathways of techniques so that you as a designer can mould to the shape of what creative outcome you are aiming for without the restrictions of ability to do so.
It was very interesting because of this to she how her work had evolved and progressed through out her career.
By day she is a full time Illustrator and Animator at Fuzzy Duck in Stockport. By night she is a Freelance Illustrator, which is something I have been doing since graduating in 2010. Before the world of Facebook she ran my own clothing company, Livid Thorn, which took up the majority of her time while studying for her first degree, and gave a brilliant grounding in working for herself. The first time round she's explained that she studied Design & Art Direction at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2008. Not feeling completely fulfilled after one course, she opted to study Illustration and graduated for the second time from Stockport College in 2010 which really highlights the quality and standards of the college that i have experienced myself whilst studying her and the appreciation i have built whilst studying here.
She also mentioned that she is influenced by a lot of different styles, with the main runners being Shepard Fairey, David Weidman and Jim Flora.”
Gemma Roe:
Another presentation given at this event was by Gemma Roe who is an interior designer who studied at stockport college as she explained a very inspiring and aspirational journey of bravery in taking risks and being true to yourself and finding happiness for yourself and doing somthing that you love and are passionate about and working hard for it.
She explained that she was stuck in an unrewarding job working as an accountant, and decided to take the risk to do something she would enjoy and took an interior design course at stockport college at the night school courses that stockport offers.
She explained how she was able to help out on site of the launch of a project for the building of eco homes in which she presented models that she made of the pods to the creator and was given the opportunities although for free, to help out with this project on something that she was very interested and passionate about. From here she explained dhow this eventually lead her to become a co owner of the company Rotunda which was initially created in 2011 to create a sustainable modular eco building which would enhance wellbeing and encourage togetherness. She drew inspiration
from the curves in nature and the neolithic and iron age roundhouses. And the first prototype was tested in 2012.
I found it inspirational how passionately she spoke about what it is that she is doing now and how your self love and belief in yourself shone through and i think that this kind of speech and the honsety in what she was talking about i felt really does rub off onto those that hear as it did so for me. I have since had a further look at the rotundas that she creates and they are so beautiful and breath taking and i love the natural and spiritual quality that she has managed to weave into these creations which is clear to see has come from the heart and has been based on something she believes in. It was really amazing to hear about when she was explaining about why she chose to make the pods circular, taking design back to our historical roots, less disconnected from nature and how the flow of energy can be effected by design and therefore how important design is in everyday! somthing that i think we as a society have become slightly disconnected from in everyday life, but work like hers is drip feeding this connection back which i find very inspiring as a thought for when i am creating my own work!Although i have always admired and appreciated architecture and interior design i have never been so inspired and touched by it until Gemmas presentation and this has opened my eyes even further in the world of design as i think its very rewarding to find admiration and qualitys in all aspects of the creative industry to enrich my approach of thinking about creatively.
Over View:
Overall from the presentations at this event the themes of advice i found that i have taken from this is self love and passion for what it is i am doing and to work hard towards achieving my goals but enjoy what i am doing as well.
On top of this i also think especially after how great this event was for inspiring my approach to work and admiration for all corners of the design and creative industry, would be to stay active within the industry with regards to attending events such as these and hearing other people as this can be really great for opening up my mind to design approaches and new ideas, as well as creating nd forming great connections with others within the industry.
I went to visit fix 8 a company based in stockport that does visual productions and event management. and create complex live environments incorporating projection and LED mapping, 3D interactive Design, immersive presentations, production lighting, video design, programming and operation and content creation.
They have different sector within the studio that specialise with the different technicality that they approach such as the lighting and electronics team and the digital creative team, which is who i went to meet up with for my work feedback, and then events organisers and managers.
I met with Directing manager Neil and head of 3D design filipe.
Some of the projects they have worked on:
FIX8 were asked by Iain Whitehead of Production North to come on board as lighting and video programmers for LD Peter Barnes, for the Girls Aloud 10th anniversary tour.
They explained that for this project they built a 3D model of the visuals in 3ds Max which allowed them to build lots of looks and basic cue structure for the show. Matching lighting colours to the graphics on the LED screens gave them a head start in creating a more polished look so that when the girls arrived for rehearsals on the second day after load in, they already had a good first draft of all the lighting. Of course things changed and a few late nights were required but the hard work was worth it and a dynamic pop performance was created.
They also worked of the sett up and lightings for Eurovision and Michael Buble concerts:
I brought some of my work to them to get some feedback and advice for improvement and showed them my show reel and some of the clips from my most recent project at the time that i had finished.
i was told that my show reel was interesting and kept a good pass with keeps it interesting and that the song that i have put with it works well as it is upbeat and lively and the lyrics relate to the desired effect of the message for a show reel.
They said that some making off clips inside my show reel could be effective.
I also showed my silhouette animation which i was told was very aesthetically pleasing however would have been nice to have more of a narrative in it and some kind of climax which is the kind of feedback i have been receiving on this piece from a lot of designers that i have shown so far. One thing they did mention for this piece was to maybe cut it shorter or add a spoken narrative story to give it more depth and have the voice lead the story, so that it is still enthralling but does not take too much time to add too as i have already moved on from this project.
After having this meet up i was also offered the chance to start going in for some work experience with them which i agreed to go in for two days a week there.
I started off by being given tasks such as modelling practise in which i would be given a physical object in front of me to model with filipe helping me if i needed it or got stuck.
some of the first tasks i was given to work on was to try modelling certain objects that i was given, such as a light box, and i would model it digital from looking at it in real life. I also had a ruler that i took measurements with to try and create an accurately sized model.
This is another object i was given to model that was a bit different to give me experience with all types of shapes:
I also did some lighting and materials exercises:
This is another model i was given to create focusing on the helix shaped mesh on the from of the speakers as being one of the things to work on. I used alpha channels in the texture to do this.
I made this texture on photoshop and used it to make the helix mesh for the speaker using the alpha channel option so that on the part of the model that i placed it onto, only the black shapes were present:
I also had a go at experimenting with dynamics and some animation and made this dripping paint style shaped animation which the string falls from the top of the frame then folds and overpass itself once it hits the ground.
This was based on one of the centre pieces they made for a previous job they had done to give me some understanding and testing with uv mapping. I had to create the helix shape for what would have been the centre piece at a show they were working for and then there would be lighting animations running down the sides of this helix shape, meaning that the uc mapping layout had to be correct in order to do so. Doing this gave me a good practise and understanding with the uv mapping tools and techniques indie cinema 4d:
I worked on my own project work quite a lot while here as well which they would help me with if i got stuck or needed advice with anything.
