Crocodile

The animal I selected to research and illustrate for the research methodology unit was the Crocodile. This was an easy choice because of my love for reptiles, in particular the Nile Crocodile. 

The opportunity to hold a 'living dinosaur' during my research was an absolute thrill and provided me with an unexpected direction in which I took my project. 

I produced a series of illustrations giving facts and information, with a touch of humour, for children and adults alike. I hoped for these to be used at the Crocodiles Of The World Centre I visited. 

The images were made into six A1 display sheets and also formed a hand printed and bound book. 

The centre has been in contact to express an interest in using the work at their new site. I am in the process of following this up.

The Chameleon

I chose the chameleon primarily because I knew little about this animal and have always been intrigued by its ability to change colour.  My research led me to African and Madagascan proverbs.

The chameleon represents wisdom, caution and adaptation; I have used this to highlight environmental awareness.  Maybe we could learn from the chameleon's ability to adapt and change in order to live more harmoniously on the planet?

I decided to create some illustrated proverbs and print them on T-shirts.  I spent a few hours making a linocut for the text below.  The result was not so much disappointing as exciting.  It was my first attempt at a linocut for typo.  I am looking forward to doing many more.

 

Komodo Dragon

For this project I studied the Komodo Dragon. What interested me about Komodo Dragons were their size, I looked into why they were so big which lead me to the movie 'King Kong' which was inspired by the expedition of W. Douglas Burden to Komodo Island and his account of the trip to find out about the giant lizards.

The Emperor Dragonfly

I chose to look at the emperor dragonfly. Dragonflies are such a beautiful animal, what I found particularly interesting about them was the process of metamorphosis they go through and it was this idea that inspired my final pieces, I chose to explore the idea of the transformation of a person into a dragonfly as I felt it would really make people engage with the process of metamorphosis.

Eagle Owl

I studied the Eagle Owl for this project, focusing mainly on their (and owls in general) role in ancient mythologies. I especially looked at the Roman Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, who had a companion owl perched on her shoulder who would reveal unseen truths to her. The Eagle Owl is normally the top predator and has been know to take down foxes and small deer. These are some of the drawings and prints I did for this project.

Orangutan

I chose Orangutans for my research as they are my favourite animal, it gave me opportunity to explore them both academically and visually. I concentrated on their endangerment for my final piece in the form of a children's book encouraging conservation. 

The Humble Chicken

For this project I chose to look at the humble Chicken. In my opinion the Chicken has some amazing qualities, to name a few - it lays delicious eggs, it tastes great and has a surprising amount of personality. It also has a number or irritating habits but they don't need to be mentioned. I looked into cockfighting - a courageous sport, and a number of other areas too including farming and food. However, I ended up envisioning a world run by chickens, which I feel added an element of humour to my work. Below are some of the illustrations I came out with.

Polar Bear

I decided to study the Polar bear, this is because it is one of many endangered species caused by climate change. As researched and experimentation developed, I felt that illustrating climate change through the Polar Bear was extremely important and I feel it's a subject that needs to be addressed more than it currently is due to the seriousness of the matter.

The African Lion

From a very young age the Lion has been my all time favourite animal, I loved watching the Disney film 'The Lion King', so when this project came around it was the obvious choice. When it came to reasearching this animal, its Power and Strength were defining features of the animal, making it such a popular symbol for royalty and United Kingdom. I wanted explore this and more in my research which lead me to Lion anatomy. The Lion is built to hunt and kill its prey very effectively, from its eyes, to its jaws and  its deadly claws which all became the main focuses of my final outcome.

The Robin

I chose to study the Robin because it's one of my favourite birds and I always feel an inner happiness when I see one. I eventually ended up looking into its territorial behaviour and expressing this through geometric shapes. This progressed into an outfit covered with triangles to reflect both territory and the personality of a Robin.

Sheep

I decided to study sheep as I live on the doorstep of a Country Park and Farm and the sheep graze in the fields at the top of my road. I don't eat sheep but value our quintessential British countryside which wouldn't be so pleasing without sheep. My research revealed that sheep are extensively entwined with our history, culture, wealth and even the shape and look of our landscape.