Tuesday 30 November 2010

Print Pathway Aesops' Fables


Paul Hickey/ For lesson 23/11/2010

How many prints did you make this week?

I made quite a few. The image above is of a lino cut (the town image) and an etching (wolves) which I have put together in Photoshop. my aim was to complete this image, so I made lots of alternatives.

How many of these taught you something new?

The only new thing I learnt was that if I printed my lino print and then moved it slightly and printed again and so on, it gradually fades out and gives the image more depth.

How many hours did you spend in the Print making workshop?

I was in there all day. 

Competence in the practical printmaking technique 70-79 - I now think I am very confident in my techniques, and I'm creating successful pieces much quicker. 

Thoughtful and imaginative use of printmaking 60-69 - Recently I have been really considering composition, which I'm trying to keep up and Photoshop is making this much easier. 

Visual sensibility; understanding and expressing ideas 60-69 - During printing I am trying to express ideas in ways I have been using in previous weeks, but it is Photoshop which is making the difference. 

Using research to expand knowledge, enrich thinking and affect your work 0 - I haven't done any research this week. Now I am coming to the last few weeks of the project I just really need to concentrate on creating prints for the final images.   

Monday 22 November 2010

Print Pathway Aesop's Fables


Paul Hickey/ For lesson 16/11/2010

How many prints did you make this week?

This week was more about putting my prints together to create compositions, and making more mock ups of the final book.

How many of these taught you something new?

With each mock book I made I came up with alternative ideas of compositions, and ways of neatening the book so that all of the pages are of the same thickness once all has been folded.

How many hours did you spend in the Print making workshop?

Not many this week. I didn't really need to be in there to do these things.

Competence in the practical printmaking technique 0 - I didn't do any printmaking this week, but I concentrated on what I had already done, so I am more focussed on what I need to do in the remaining lessons I have in the workshop.

Thoughtful and imaginative use of printmaking 60-69 - I feel I was quite imaginative with what I was doing. I began layering my prints on Photoshop, and adjusting the effects and colourful to further suit the mood and atmosphere in the story.

Visual sensibility; understanding and expressing ideas 60-69 - I think I showed this in using photoshop, where I could further increase the prints' relevance.

Using research to expand knowledge, enrich thinking and affect your work 50-59 - As can be seen from a previous blog entry I visited the Tate modern to see the Chapman Brothers' etchings as well as having a talk from Katherina Manolessou, made me realise that for print to be effective, it doesn't necessarily need to be heavily detailed or full of colour, but just a few appropriately selected. So this is what I am aiming for.

Wednesday 17 November 2010

Print Artist Research - The Chapman Brothers



I saw these in the Tate Modern and thought they were great! They are etchings which have been kept simple in terms of there method of working. I seem to have been over complicating my ideas for my Aesop's Fables book, wanting to do more than just etch, but as you can see from these, etching is very effective on its own. Its been really useful studying these and interesting as they're so weird!.

Monday 15 November 2010

Reinventing Illustration T-Shirt Designs





These are some of my T-Shirt designs on the human impact of nature. I have layered my drawings on photoshop, something I have not done before and something I am still learning. I am really pleased with the results though.  

Thursday 11 November 2010

Print Pathway Aesops' Fables




Paul Hickey / for lesson on 09/11/2010

How many prints did you make this week? 

I made eight prints this week of two different images which will almost certainly be used in the final book. 

How many of these taught you something new?

None of them. I've learnt what works for me in terms of printing so I continued to work in that successful way. 

How many hours did you spend in the Printmaking workshop?

I was in there all day. 

Competence in the practical printmaking technique 60-69 - This is getting much better with every week. Especially with etching, I feel very pleased with what I can now achieve. 

Thoughtful and imaginative use of printmaking 50-59 - I already had planned what I wanted to create in that print lesson, but the way I used the ink in and around the images changed with each print to get as many different outcomes as possible. This meant using different things to 'clean' areas of the etching plate to create tone, such as different textured cloths, a knife, pencils etc. 

Visual sensibility; understanding and expressing ideas 60-69 - When I was using the ink in different ways I was thinking of what mood I wanted to create. 

Using research to expand knowledge, enrich thinking and affect your work - 30-39 - I haven't used any new research for my work from the last time. I feel I am focussed on an idea, and I am quite far into the project, so I don't need any more research, unless something really does capture my attention or I get stuck.       

Reinventing Illustration Artist Research - Bast


An artist I found recently. I really like the way he has layered his work. A different way to Conor Harrington, but still as interesting. I need to learn from artists such as Bast and Harrington to create more interesting work - try something new.  

Reinventing Illustration Artist Research - Conor Harrington



One of my favourite artists. He started off as a graffiti artists and then adapted it to a more fine art look. Its so heavily layered and it doesn't matter how many times you look at a piece of his work, it is always fascinating, and you always find new bits you missed before. 

Monday 8 November 2010

Print Pathway Aesops' Fables



Paul Hickey / for lesson 02/10/2010

How many prints did you make this week? 

Not too many. The prints I was planning to work on top of were still wet, so I began to create new etching plates, as well as speaking to my group and Caroline about each others work which took a large amount of the day up.

How many of these taught you something new?

The one etching I did work on did make me realise that my ideas need to be tweaked a bit. Maybe less detail is needed. The important aspects of the image began to get lost. 

How many hours did you spend in the printmaking workshop?

I spent the whole day in there. 

Competence in the practical printmaking techniques - 50-59 - This could have been better. I could have worked faster and achieved a little bit more. 

Thoughtful and imaginative use of printmaking - 50-59 - I have been working with etching again, and still seeing what is achievable with it, attempting to layer my etchings. 

Visual sensibility; understanding and expressing ideas - 60-69 - I have been working on one particular image over the week, changing how I am creating it, to try and get the best result possible. 

Using research to expand knowledge, enrich thinking and affect your work -  50-59 - I do keep referring to my sketchbook for research, trying to work out how they have achieved their images.