Bears - Elizabeth Moore

For the Research Methodology Unit I decided to look at a bears as they have always been an animal that I have found appealing and intriguing. I wanted to explore the more playful side to the bear as opposed to their wild nature, so I looked into children's stories and media that featured them. I looked at different Disney films including Brother Bear and Brave, but ended up focusing a lot on Winnie the Pooh. What interested me the most about Winnie the Pooh was how the whole story was based upon A.A.Milne's son's childhood toys; so I started to collect images from friend's and family's own childhood toys to create my own characters.

To do this I firstly did some character designs and developed them a little before drawing them up for my final piece. To make my images I used watercolour as a base and drew on top in fine liner, and then using a scalpel I cut out the bear shapes. I did this in several layers as experimentation but ended up liking the effect enough to use the bears as my final image. Lastly I scanned them in together to photoshop to adjust the colours a little and to edit the background; I ended up using several plain pastel coloured backgrounds as a small series for my final piece to complement the child-like theme I was going for.

Pine Marten

For my research methodology project I decided to look at the Pine Marten. Pine Martens are shy, nocturnal animals that have been extinct from England since the 18th century due to hunting and deforestation. They are still found in Scotland and Ireland and in recent years have been reintroduced to Wales. My research started off with looking at the conservation of these animals and the efforts that are being taken into reintroducing them to Wales and possibly England.

During my research I looked at if the Pine Marten had any myths or legends behind it and found very few, but I did find some Native American creation stories that involved the Pine Marten. Pine Martens are seen within Native American beliefs as a brave warrior and protector especially with the Ojibwe/ Ojibway who had a clan named after it, which had their warriors, builders and strategists in.

One of the stories really stood out to me, Pine Marten's quest for Moon's Daughter, in the story different animals are trying to become Moon's daughters suitors, but to do this they have to pass Moon's challenges. Pine Marten is the only one who completes the first challenge and goes on to the others. The part of the story that caught my attention was the ending were Moon is sent into the sky by Pine Marten were he becomes the Moon. As the original story is a direct translation of  a spoken tale there are quite a few sentences that don't make sense in English. After having a tutorial with Karen Anne we discussed about transfiguring and rewriting the story to fit Irish animals and making it into a children's story book.

My new version of the story went through lots of changes and versions. I made it so Pine Marten is the protagonist of the story whilst Moon is the antagonist, as in the original both of them seemed to be as bad as each other with no messages of good. I made it so the story showed how much Pine Marten loved moon's daughter (Kyna), and how he would do any number of challenges to be able to marry her. In the end during a challenge pine marten is exhausted and fed up and sends Moon into the sky.

For the double page spreads I made thumbnails of every scene and picked three to illustrate along with a map for the index papers. When designing the characters for the story I got a bit carried away and did roughs of all the characters involved, so I used them and made them into a page introducing the characters to go at the start of the book. I did all of my drawings in black fine liner and scanned them into Photoshop were I then coloured them and added in the text.

Frogs

For my Research Methodology project, I chose to study frogs. I found them intriguing in the sense that they were considered either cute pets or horrible creatures - there is no in-between. Aside from their reputation, they are very interesting animals and have so many variations. This post shows a sample of my project and my exploration of frogs.

In my research I investigated the things most commonly associated with frogs. I looked at their patterns, their movements and their noises in an attempt to understand them better to find a way to represent them. First, I looked at the distinctive markings of the common frog, the kind you're likely to find in your garden. I experimented with different mediums to find the best way to represent the texture and patterning of a frogs skin. I found watercolour to work particularly well as it had a softer effect that suited the subject.




I also experimented with etching to create the patterns of frog skin. I tried the standard form of etching and found that the pattern edges were too harsh and bold. In the example shown, I used diluted watercolour paint over the dried ink to add a green tint to the etch, adding a little colour. Despite this, the darker patches of the pattern still look harsh. My second etching attempt was much more successful and had a more natural-looking finish. For this plate, I removed the ground for the patterning with a pencil eraser which removed it unevenly and gave the faded outline to the marks. I then treated and inked up the plate as normal and found that the ink collected in the uneven patterns, then forming darker areas on the print which looked great. The print shown is my favourite of those taken from the second plate as it showcases the pattern brilliantly but still maintains as an overall image of a frog.

This next image is of my piece from the mechanical animals workshop. In this session, we were encouraged to create a representation of our chosen animal created out of mechanical elements. In my piece I really wanted to convey the frogs hopping movement in the springs under its feet and the powerful legs crammed with gears and other machinery. The springs might look comical, but they communicate my message well.

In the last image, you can see my piece from the workshop led by guest lecturer My Dog Sighs, inspired by his Free Art Friday initiative. The workshop encouraged students to find a piece of litter and to rework it as a piece of art. Students used cans, bottle caps and scraps of paper for their work. I found a seed from a sycamore tree and thought it looked a lot like a tadpole. I then used acrylic paints to paint the seed as a tadpole, with the markings and a little eye. I think this piece is very effective, and is a good representation of a tadpole.

Llama - Emma West

Creating my own Peruvian style patterns

My chosen animal for Research Methodology was the llama! I chose it because of its characteristically quirky and humorous nature and appearance. I was also given the nickname 'llama' a few years ago by my friends (to this day I still don't know why!) - so I figured it would be fun to work with an animal that I had some association with. My initial thoughts on how to approach this project would be gaining more information about them and the environment that they live in, which led me on to researching about Peru and its culture. This also prompted some historical research in the 'Incas' - in which I learnt about the multicolour llama deity 'Urcuchillay' and the importance of textiles in their culture and traditions. From here I experimented with creating my own Peruvian style patterns, and incorporated a lot of vibrant colours into llama drawings - inspired by both Peruvian culture, Andy Warhol's pop art work and the Fauvist movement. 

Through my experiments and cultural research influence I decided to take a textile based route, thinking about how I could use sewing, knitting and other wool based crafts. The five words I chose allowed me to have some real fun with experimentation and idea development, from the beginning of the project I knew that I wanted to create something fun and colourful. The five words I chose were Quirky, Goofy, Proud, Rugged and Colourful, all of which relate to their appearance and characters, as well as cultural roots. 

Embroidery experiments

Using textiles was a really good choice, it allowed me to re-familiarise myself with machine sewing and I got to revisit experimenting with embroidery which I enjoy doing in my spare time. The final pieces turned out exactly how I wanted them to! Together they encompass the five words and summarise the colourful, quirky nature of llamas. The two embroideries feature colourful patterns inspired by Peruvian textiles, displayed within the llamas coats to reflect on their home country and the culture of it. The weave is a physical representation of the llamas rugged coats combined with Peruvian inspired colours, Tulunpi ear decorations and pom poms they are adorned with during festivals. The three googly eye prints are a response to Andy Warhol's 'Marilyn Monroe' print, duplicating and varying colour palettes to create individual characters whilst adding some extra fun and humour to the llamas. 

Final pieces on the wall together!

Samantha-Jo Carter - Dragonflies

Chalk and Charcoal.

For my Research Methodology Project, i chose to research into Dragonflies because of the many miscommunicated ideas about them. Through my research i found that depending on where in the world you are, and what culture you lean towards, Dragonflies can be seen as either an evil creature or on the other hand a creature of peace and tranquility.

Wire Sculpture.

For the first half of this project i experimented into different ways in which i can portray the dragonfly with numerous materials. When it came to experimenting with different materials i wanted to keep the out come of the image somewhat relative to the research into culture i was working on at the time. For example the image below was made rather dark, with thick colours to show how in European culture the Dragonfly was considered to be the Devils insect, and as a rather evil creature.

Acrylic paints.

This image is of my final image, a piece of wallpaper sample that i decided to create after researching about Japanese cultures and their relations with the tranquility of Dragonflies. After researching into how the Dragonfly is often used within him Decor, i thought i would try and incorporate both decor and Japanese culture into one image in order to create my final piece.

My final piece was created with a mixture of drawing inks, charcoal and chalks.

Pigeon

These images are from my Research Methodology project,  where I explored the pigeon as my chosen animal. By using pencil, ink and water colour, I have attempted to communicate aspects of the pigeon which interest me such as colour, form and movement. I tried to put a positive and humorous spin on my work to change people preconception of the pigeon, which is often negative.
Alice Carter

Traditional Chinese Drawing

Stop motion butterfly

Stop motion animation drawing.

Bhavisha Vadgama

To see the actual stop motion movie; http://www.facebook.com/Bhavi.Illustrations 

Cara Powell - Owls, Research Methodology

Dan Pease peregrine falcon

Elephants - Natasha Felman

Research into Elephants, a few outcomes in Fineliner.

Natasha Felman

Butterflies