Image and Text

I didn't quite grasp the nature of this Itap lecture and the purpose of this blog because....well i didn't go, I was sick and even worse, my computer has been dead for 2 weeks rendering me incapable of contact with the outside world, unless I *shudder* go outside.
I have read some other blogs and it seems to be about image and text in photography and how they compliment each other. In a lot of the blogs I read, people seem to know about a lot of photographers that do this.....I don't know any. To be honest photography doesn't interest me so I suppose I'm in a bit of a pickle....unless I do this blog on the one thing I do know that combines images and text.
                                    
                                        DE-MOTIVATIONAL POSTERS


                                  ...And random internet 'meme' pictures...


Now this is probably totally wrong, but...maybe if the tutors actually read this, they'll let me off because I'll probably find some funny ones.
Right I'm off to find some....

This one seemed relevant to me, especially since it took me 2 hours to start looking for pictures. (I hope you didn't think i meant the masturbation bit.)

Am I seriously going to try and analyse these? I guess so.
The purpose of de-motivational posters is to find images that are strange or slightly amusing and add text to make them funnier or ironic, this type of image usually uses text in a narrative way, as opposed to other images like the famous 'I can has cheezburger?' cats, where the text is  used to personify what the cat is thinking;

As you can see, internet jargon along with made up or phonetically spelt words are used in this example and in most other cases, with words like 'Noes,' 'Cheezburger,' and;

De-motivational posters usually have correct spelling and grammer as it suits the more narrative style.
Looking at the above de-motivational poster, without the text its just weird, but add in the text and its hilarious or at least to me it is. The thing about these posters is the internet jargon, slang and use of 'memes' that are usually relevant, they originated from an internet forum called 4chan, where the craziest, weirdest, stupidest and freakiest images are created, also 98% of them are un-politically correct so i'm trying to steer clear of those for this blog. Some of these images are simple and humorous to anyone, but there are types that are only relevant to people that go on sites like these and are familiar with 'memes', to anyone else they don't really make sense...

This meme is the 'forever alone' face, depicting an extremely depressed face usually along with some humorous text, in this case its been 'shopped' onto a game cover, 'Duke Nukem - Forever'  and the 'Alone' has been added. Quite a creative and funny idea..

These posters are for comedic purposes the majority of the time and shouldn't be taken seriously, they make fun of any and all subjects, because after all it's the internet and everything is anonymous, for good or bad.

The first European Book and 'Experts'

The first book to be created in Europe is the Gutenberg Bible, by johannes Gutenberg. It was the first book to be printed by moveable type, there are 21 known copies left in the world and they are considered by many to be the most valuable books in the world, because of the impact their creation had on the way books would be printed from then onwards. The first book was printed in 1445. Gutenberg had been experimenting with moveable type for years before the first book was complete, but it is unknown how long it took for the book to be finished once he began printing it.

The most important aspect of the Gutenberg Bible is not the content (especially to athiests...) but the way it was printed, the technique involving moveable type. Moveable type means that you can move letters and marks and rearrange them into different orders to create different words, easily and quickly. This was revolutionary compared with the printing process that preceded it where whole blocks of text would be carved out and could only be used to print one thing repeatedly. This was extremely time consuming compared to moveable type. In moveable type each letter would be formed by carving letters and stamping them into iron plates, the impression that remained would have molten metal alloy poured into it, once this was cooled and removed you would have a replica of the original letter, or a stamp of that character.

The stamps where pressed into a frame in a mirror image of how they should be read, once the whole page was placed in the correct mirror image order, the stamps would be inked and because the letters were raised, once this frame was pushed against a piece of paper only the letters would leave an inked mark and in the correct order to be read. This became the standard for printing after the Gutenberg Bible was created, from the 15th century up until the 20th.


'Experts.' Its hard to choose one person who influences and inspires me as there are so many to choose from but if i must.... 
One of my favourite illustrators at the moment would be Kubo Tite. He is a japanese manga-ka who's most famous work is a comic called 'Bleach.' The reason why i think he is most suitable for me to write about is that he doesn't make comics really, thats just his medium, he tries to be as creative as possible with every aspect of a weekly comic, from the illustrations to even the title. He uses poems he creates, as a way of telling backstories, and experiments with words (more impressively he always uses english words even though he doesnt speak it, and changes them round in clever ways, for example, some chapter titles;' 'beLIEve', 'Deicide 8, End of the Chrysalis Age' and

'Quiet Chamber, Noisy Heart.' Most comics just put a name at the bottom or top of a page for the title but alot of the time, Tite tries to place the titles in the comic in some interesting fashion, often incorporating it into a background in some way.
He is quite controversial in the manga world, in the fact that he values art more than his story whereas, the majority of comics are story driven with the art secondary. Another reason is that he places alot more emphasis on the characters than backgrounds, some chapters do not contain even one background, this again is rare but as he views the comic as art there are no conventions he has to abide by.

Again unlike the majority of other comics these days, he uses alot of black and white to interesting effects as opposed to use tone which adds shades of grey elements to represent dark or light colours. Another aspect which is fantastic is that the sound effects he uses are all done by brush and calligraphy, it compliments his style well and its the only comic i have seen that does this.
These are a few of the reasons why Kubo Tite has an influence on my work, the best compliment i can give is that i don't even like his story but i read it each week because the art is always interesting and changes frequently. 

Development of Ideas and Structure in moving image and Character Design

Development of ideas and structure in moving image, what this means is simply; the stages a movie goes through to tell a story. There are usually 3 key stages in movies, the beginning, the middle and the end. The beginning sets the story, introduces characters and it's purpose is to grab an audiences attention. If the average length of a film is 2 hours, this section will be roughly 30mins. The middle is used for development, of the story, characters and usually lasts an hour. Finally the end, ties all aspects of the plot to a conclusion and this lasts for the final 30 mins.
Of course there are films that do not adhere to this structure, the few that come to mind are 'Pulp Fiction,' 'Memento,' and my favourite film of all time 'Mr Nobody.' It is becoming more popular nowadays to structure films in radical orders and then reveal how it all comes together at the end. Some refer to this as 'Tarantino-ing it' Because in Pulp Fiction and a few other films by Quentin Tarantino, the plot seems to be split into many different, seemingly unrelated events, that are all tied in to one long chain of knock on effects. I would love to do this analysis on 'Mr Nobody' but this film is so complex, even after watching it numerous times, i still have no idea what is going on half the time....
The film i will be analysing is slightly easier, a Korean film called 'Oldboy.'

Act 1 - The Beginning
The main character is introduced, Oh Dae-su
He is drunk and has been arrested, it's his daughters birthday
His friend comes to pick him up and take him home, they stop at a phone booth so he can ring his daughter.
His friend takes the phone, whilst apologizing to Oh dae-su's wife, Oh dae-su is kidnapped.
Oh dae-su is locked in a room, similar to a hotel room, it has a TV, meals come 3 times a day, he has not been spoken to by his captors.
Months go by, he has no idea why he has been imprisoned, only the TV keeps him company.
He slowly starts to lose his mind and attempts suicide, his captors, tend to his wounds each time.
16 years go by, he is knocked unconscious and when he wakes he has been released.


In the first act, we meet the main character and the setting for the story is introduced, the audiences attention is held by the mystery of why he was imprisoned and the pyscological effect that staying in one room, with no one to talk to and eating the exact same meal 3 times a day for 16 years might have on a person.


Act 2 - The middle
He is obsessed with finding out why he was imprisoned, this is the key aspect of act 2 and this question is the key point of the movie, although I do love the quote from his captor by telephone once he is released; 'The questions is not 'Why was I imprisoned,' Oh Dae-su, but 'Why was I released?'
Oh Dae-su goes to a restaurant and meets a young chef, he passes out and she takes him home to look after him.
They begin to search for his captors.
Eventually they find the building where he was imprisoned, it is a business where they kidnap people for clients and hold them for the length of time that has been paid for.
He exacts his revenge upon his captors.
Oh Dae-su and the young chef fall in love
They meet the man that paid for Oh dae-su to be imprisoned for 16 years, they went to high school together.
Oh Dae-su thinks he remembers why this man hates him, he finds out where he lives and meets him there.


The second act shows development of Oh Dae-su's character and how he interacts with other people, it also creates the sub plot of his relationship with the young chef and how they fall in love. After he remembers the man who imprisoned him, the question changes to, 'What could Oh Dae-su have done to this man?' This point drives the film into the final act.


Act 3 -
Flashbacks occur showing the time the two men spent together at high school and the reason for Oh Dae-su's 16 year imprisonment. The twist of the film is revealed and the film ends. the ending is left on a cliffhanger where there are 2 possible scenarios, a last question to keep audiences intrigued and continue to think about the movie even after it ends.
I really don't want to spoil the ending for anyone that hasn't watched it, becuase i think it is one of the best twists in a movie, ever!


To analyse character design, I will move away from Oldboy because it's set in the real world and it'll be more fun to do something more fantasy and creative. I think I will look at...Star Wars?


Luke Skywalker, the hero of the franchise, Luke's design changes throughout the first film, his first design is plain and kind of boring, this represents his life upto that point. There is nothing flashy or cool, he's just a normal person, he's not particulary exciting, this is echoed through his dialogue. Always doing as he's told and even when asked to go with Obi-wan on the adventure of a lifetime, he's too reluctant to try it. His hair is normal and flat. and his clothing is just as plain.

In the latter half of the first film, he wears the evil storm trooper armor as camoflage, we can take this to show that he's becoming more daring but still has yet to find his own true identity. The next time we see him, with the rebels he has their uniform on, it represents his real self, he's now officially part of the alliance and his character is alot more confident, this also shows the development of his character and how the trials of the movie have changed in not just in appearance but his personality too.

The Medium and Methodology.

Most professional illustrators will probably always face the dilemma of working through client orientated briefs so that they can fund their own private projects. Some may hate having guidelines and deadlines, i'm sure the majority would rather work on their own ideas where they have complete creative freedom, but there are pros and cons to both types of work. I can relate easily, I imagine its similar to university, getting projects and trying to create my own graphic novel at the same time, however I quite enjoy getting briefs because the type of work is usually completely different to what i would be usually doing. In the professional world, continuously receiving different briefs with different goals and styles would definitely expand your skills and experience, not to mention you get paid. On the flip side, personal projects can go on for a lot longer and, in my own experience, they are much more satisfying to complete. You created the idea from nothing and developed it into something real.




The first piece is from  my comic that i have been working on for almost 3 years, reworking and changing because it's been developing in my mind for so long. The second piece is from our current uni project, a collaboration with 3 other students, I am much more proud of my comic page because it's my own creation, even though i like the second one more.
One of my favourite artists Hu Jingxuan, uses deviantart.com to promote her work, she puts her own projects online to accept critiques and show her work to a wider audience. She is not allowed to put her published work on the site, so she promotes her comic through similar art. This is an example of how using different mediums can affect your work and your target audience.

One of her pieces on deviantart, because i found this and was impressed it lead me to her page where i found out more about her work. Just by putting one piece on a website she got one more fan and over 150,000 people have viewed her page...

Every piece of work, the way it is created is unique to the artist, but everyone has a design process, this is called methodology. I have a very basic system that's not very effective if i'm honest, hopefully learning from others will give more structure to my own. This is a key part of improving. I begin with an idea, then i start to sketch and give structure to the idea, because i don't spend a lot of time planning, i look at the piece midway and decide if i like where it is heading, I can usually tell half way if the piece is going well or not, half the time while i am drawing i get better ideas and incorporate them into the piece or stop there and work on the next, better idea. There have been projects of mine that i have repeated 4 or 5 times, maybe more because each time i get a better idea or view of the design in my mind. This style suits me because ideas flow better for me when i'm actually hands on drawing, but i know if i did more research i could probably come up with a better idea straight away. There is no right or wrong way to do this but it's a given that the more information you have about your subject the easier it will be to create. When i go about doing pages for my comic the process is quite straightforward, supposing i have already thought about whats going to happen, i'll write bullet points marking the important actions in a scene, then i visualize in my head how many actions i can fit into a panel. Then work out how many panels to fit on the page. The next step is to draw a little thumbnail version of the page, and then finally draw the illustrations.

 

The final version changes slightly but sticks to the thumbnails generally, if i'm not happy with the page i'll redo a thumbnail and try to visualize how it would look completed.

Researching the Practise and Visual Heirachy

Any style of practise we want to develop, has to be researched if we want to be successful, we need to analyse the audience, the style, pretty much every aspect of it, and the best way to do that is to look at existing works of similar type. As an aspiring illustrator, more specifically in comics / graphic novels, I know the style and work of most of the successful artists, because I have read their work and i continue to read new issues every week. This is essential for me because I can see how comics have developed over the years, and what direction they are taking and why. For instance, Osamu Tezuka, called the godfather of japanese manga, started the boom of manga at the end of the second world war almost 70 years ago, one of his most popular pieces is called Astro Boy. It was remade a few years ago by a very famous artist called Urasawa Naoki, and even though the target audience is still the same, (children and teens ranging from 10-18) I find it interesting to analyse how the art has developed so much over the years and why?

It could just be a natural progression of art in the same genre because of the technology we now have access to, all Tezuka had were the bare essentials, dip pen, paper, white out ink and very few variations of tone. I have a program on my computer specifically for making comics which has all of those tools built in and hundreds of other features. This doesn't necessarily mean i could produce better work, but i could do it alot faster and easier. This is why the majority of professionals in comics nowadays use computers for about 50% of the time and because audiences are so used to special effects and photoshop on nearly everything they see, it's expected for comics nowadays to have amazing art and effects;

This artist Hiroya Oku has gone through his process and listed the way in which the comic is created;

1 - Hiroya Oku draws up a rough draft known as the "name".
2 - His assistants create 3-D models on the computer based on the sketches.
3 - He then uses that as a backdrop to draw the actual art on top of.
4 - Once all the character art is penned, it is scanned into the computer. This caused the lines to thicken and mess up the balance of edges and contrast, so the 3-D computer created backgrounds are reduced to simple lines.
5 - Character and background art is complete, and tone is added.
6 - Then the sound effects and text bubbles are added.
7 - The image is printed out and they discuss the finishing touches.


The majority of the work is done on the computer, not that that is a bad thing, each artist has their own ways and techniques; Another artist i admire is Takehiko Inoue, who does all his work by hand;

 

Both artists are amazing in my opinion, yet they use completely different styles. Because i have researched how the various styles of comics are made I can hopefully incorporate these different aspects and techniques into my own work, and hopefully this should allow my work to grow.


In our current project, a large portion of how we set layouts and page designs is dictated by a visual hierachy. This basically means, when we go about putting anything on a page we have to think about what the audience is going to look at first, or more importantly what we want them to look at first. If there is no clear hierachy, the page won't make much sense or the information won't be conveyed in the correct order and in worst cases that could make the information completely ineligable. Most basic examples of this is in a newspaper, the headline is what you read first, it's big, bold and instantly its the first thing your cognitive brain looks at, or maybe we've been conditioned to read it first because we want to know if what we're going to read has any appeal to us personally.

There are a number of ways we can dictate where a reader will look first, we have alot more freedom with a magazine than with a newspaper because we can use color and organise the layout with alot more options than a paper. The simplest way would be, just have the one thing we want to convey on the page, completely blank otherwise. It would definately grab attention because you would wonder why it's the only thing there, what makes it so important? This wouldn't be very effective if we had alot of information to get accross. Another technique would be using colour;

Because of the contrast your eye is drawn directly to the bright yellow dress, then either the magazines name, or the woman's name. I think that after that you would read the small headers, but again there laid out so that you go to the color first, so that you read the articles that seem more interesting than the ones in the black font. In order for our magazine to be successful we have to analyse what is the most important information and how can we make it stand out more.

'Where do we get Inspiration' and 'The Development of our own Unique Visual Vocabulary'

How do we get inspired? Obviously the answer differs from person to person, but there is something we can all do to 'invite' inspiration. Something Picasso said that i quite liked; 'Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.' We have to sketch, write, collect, observe... anything and everything can inspire us and help us create new ideas. The more we are doing, the more likely it is for inspiration to strike us. I believe that the majority of our ideas come from personal experience, so it goes without saying that the more we experience, the more chances we have of something connecting and inspiring us in some way. Music is a very large source for me, there are certain songs that just give me a passion to start drawing. An example would be;

This song has a very 'fantasy' feel to me, but probably not to everyone else. Its all personal preference, but we should all be trying to immerse ourselves in as much as we can, then the chances of finding another form of inspiration increases. Another way for me to be inspired, or maybe more accurately, 'motivated,' is by looking at other people's work, if i see a piece of work that is similar to my own, because i'm so competitive, I automatically want to make a piece thats better.....that might be quite shallow, but i think it does help me to improve. I analyse the work and see what i like about it and how i can incorporate those aspects into my own. 


                                   'I get inspiration from anything and everything.'


Even if we don't particularly like something, there will still be aspects of it we can learn from and use to develop our own work. Being open minded is crucial to an artist and we have to be able to analyse the things we like and especially, what we don't. If we know what aspects we want to keep and what to take away, through doing so our work will begin to form its own unique style. Nobody starts creating and instantly turns into Picasso, we begin by imitating what we like. The more we start to develop naturally, our tastes will inevitably expand and change. Our influences grow, and we start to take bits and pieces from many different artists, and this is how our style begins to emerge and develop. I can analyse how my style grew through listing the artists i admired, I can even remember clearly, looking at a comic and thinking 'I want my art to resemble this.'

Our visual vocabulary is not completely dominated by the works of others though, it is also developed through our purpose. Or maybe this just applies to me but, If i'm drawing a comic, the style i'll attempt to draw in has to reflect the contents of the story. A horror wouldn't suit illustrations done like Pokemon. If i was to attempt this, i would seek out horror style graphic novels and other sources and take influence from those, and i'm sure there would be aspects of these styles I would love and try to incorporate them into my own style permanently. This is a natural progression of visual vocabulary.

Notions of Originality and Re-contextualised Concepts in Contemporary Culture

The idea of 'originality' within art is difficult to find, or maybe it no longer exists. I believe that the majority of all work has been based upon something else that the artist has already seen. They may see something and create a piece that uses the same techniques so that the style is similar, or the form, or any aspect for that matter. Things we like or dislike will inevitably influence the way that we work. Is this wrong? Some people would say it is, but I believe that using references to improve our work is crucial to developing our own unique art styles. No one can start drawing from scratch and instantly become Da Vinci, we learn by looking and analysing other work and  by being influenced by it. Even if we believe an idea to be completely original, i think that, subconsciously we have taken it from something else, or from multiple subjects.
An example of taking influence;

 

Obama's poster used during his election campaign, bears resemblance to the iconic Che Guevara poster from 1967. Even the headline 'HOPE' can be connected. Che was the 'hope' of oppressed people in Cuba and Argentina, and i'm sure the poster was to subtly give the message that Obama was a similar saviour. The use of colors is also evidence of the similarities. I believe that this was a very clever poster because of how people associate certain qualities with Che, and the artist or team hoped they would be crossed over to Obama as well. The poster was probably targeted towards younger voters, because of how the image of Che is associated with being 'cool,' as it is used in so many different mediums, graffiti, posters, t-shirts etc
These are symbols used through visual communication to convey a message, but the message can change as time goes on. A strong symbol can stand for something at one point, and at a different point in time can stand for something else entirely. That is why referencing work from the past can give more meaning to a current piece. If it has a history there can be multiple levels of information given at the same time. For example;

 

The Esquire cover depicting Mohammed Ali shot with arrows references heavily from the The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian. On it's own, it depicts Ali as a victim or a target for disdain as he was portrayed through the media at that time, or it could be taken a completely different way, suggesting that he deserves to be hated. But if you can make the connection to The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, you realize the true purpose of the cover is to show Ali as a martyr, someone taking all the blame and hate even though they do not deserve it. This is a prime example of how using ideas to recreate previous work can give more depth to what might first appear to be a simple image.