I was looking at some fashion illustration books in the library while thinking about what Allison said to me about the difference between what an illustration and photo can do. I looked through several books showing illustrations that have appeared in vogue, paying special attention to any illustrations that appear in issues after photography was becoming the norm. I came to the conclusion that due to being able to stylise drawings more than photos (especially in the early days of photography) means that illustrations were used less to give an accurate representation of what clothing looked like and are more about presenting an attitude, lifestyle or idea. The complete freedom of illustration (as compared to photography, especially back then) allows certain amounts of abstraction, stylisation and freedom of background to suggest more abstract concepts or attitudes that the magazine wants to convey.
Another reason why Vogue specifically used to include so much illustration in there magazine and had a tradition of illustrated covers for a while even after photography became a valid option is initially Vogue wanted to present fashion more as an art than anything else, to bring a sense of sophistication or class to itself and the merchandise it was presenting. Illustration more easily provoked these ideas in people than photos.

I had a conversation  with Alison about my work. At the time my work was very aimless and more for its own sake then anything else. This was pretty much Alison's view as well, the work I was doing was good but it didn't really have a point.
The majority of my work was being drawn from fashion magazines and one of Alison's main issues with my work was that it doesn't do anything that photos couldn't do instead. I see what she means but I disagree. Simply put I think my drawings look better than photos. Obviously this excuse is kind of lame, Alison was not pleased with it. Essentially it comes down to anyone can take a photo and given a similar subject every photo will look relatively the same. Photography is so ubiquitous these days that it almost has no effect anymore beyond just recording an image.
Drawing and illustration however are more reflective of the person creating the image and will constantly look different every time. Especially when you play around with style and materials. These are aspects of my work which will develop with the more I make and create more of a gap between my work and photography. I spoke to Gill and she pretty much agrees with me and says I just need to keep making work and my issues will iron themselves out.

Fashion magazines

I meant to post this a while back but kept forgetting to get photos. Something that has been a great help for the style side of my project is realising what a great resource fashion magazines can be. They are full of high quality photos of a range of clothes and hairstyles but more than that the many of the photos, like my drawings seem to be very about the person as well, using poses and facial expression getting across an attitude and personality. The main issue is there's a lot of styles that I don't care about are included and there actually very few clothing/hair styles that i like (kind of alternative, androgynous look), I guess it will broaden my horizons when it comes to working in this are. An actual problem is an overeliance on photos, especially in these books where the photos already have all the visual information. I've talked more about this predicament throughout my blog already though.

Fiona Staples

 Fiona is a comic book artist primarily known for her work on the comic series Saga with writer Brian K Vaughan. She is also one of my all time favourite artists. Comics are one of my favourite art forms so this should be no surprise except I actually dislike most comic book artists. Broadly speaking I can divide most comic illustrators into two groups: one is an overly cartoony simple style and the other is a weird not quite realistic style (think most modern superhero comics). I find Staples' work a happy medium between something that is overly simple (boring even) and aims for realism in a medium where it is unattainable and just results in a grotesque unnatural look- all this is talking broadly of course.
Staples' work avoids being put into either of these categories by embracing the flatness which is inherent in comics while drawing skillful and detailed images. She does this by holding back on the variety of tones used and leaving her work relatively unrendered.
Linking to the other side of my project I would also say her characters have a strong sense of style which will always make something look visually better.
Another stand out thing about Staples' work that is particularly on show in Saga is just how imaginative she is. Saga is an epic space opera so literally nothing is off limits. The books are literally full of unique creatures and settings even when something normal could do. A simple way to put it is that she is a master of world (universe even) building. This is just as important as skill and style in my opinion when it comes to illustrating comics.

Image sources http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2012/03/12/check-out-this-preview-of-brian-k-vaughans-saga-1/2012-03-10-saga01_04
http://comicsalliance.com/josie-pussycats-life-with-archie-fiona-staples-variant-cover-24/
 

Her blog: http://fionastaples.tumblr.com/
It is mostly filled with sketches and work she likes as well as links to things that concern her like interviews and such.

David Downton

 To get my blog running I'm going to start by posting about some artists that link to my ideas for my project.
For the style side of my project David Downton was a pretty obvious choice. David Downton is predominantly a fashion illustrator who's been active for over 30 years,
Due to his focus on fashion he deals with many of the same things I currently am; predominantly clothing and hair. The thing about Downton's illustrations though which I believe is true for mine as well though is it isn't all about the fashion elements, you also get a strong sense of the person as well. This is the main reason I don't refer to this part of my project as 'fashion' because I feel the main focus is still the person.

I love how Downton uses suggestion in his work.You get the whole picture despite him missing out quite a lot of detail. He misses out large parts of outline and often uses large swathes of ink with little or no detail. Despite this the images look and are fully formed. This all adds to his strong sense of style which is important in fashion illustration. It also sets his work apart from numerous fashion photos which is something I'm struggling with in my practice at the moment. It seems I need to develop a stronger art style that will reflect the style of those I'm drawing.
The people I draw have a different but still just as strong sense of style as those Downton draws; this means I need a style just as strong as his but not like his as everything needs to fit together aesthetically. I'm finding aesthetic is very important for this half of my project.



Sources: http://www.daviddownton.com/couture/
http://www.daviddownton.com/portraiture/

Initial ideas/ Proposal

From the work that I did last year I have realised that there are two main strands to my practice.

One strand is work around a narrative like the work I did for my final project last year. This is usually comic based work although most work with a narrative or part of a series interests me for example I've been into story boarding a bit lately. 

The other strand is figurative based. More like the subculture project I did last year where the work is able to stand on its own and there is more freedom to how you make the work. As hair and clothes are my favourite things to draw I tend to end up drawing people with a strong or unique sense of style. This adds a strange fashion element to much of my work

I don't have any clear plans at the moment just vague kind of starting points that will hopefully lead to a more solid foundation soon.

Year 4, Final Year stuff

From here on out