Workshop

Letter Press

I think that the whole process is really interesting quality to it and my favourite part of it is setting up the chase for the letterpress although it can become a stressful task when things don't fit or just go wrong. But once I practiced it a few times it starts becoming easier to do, still time consuming as anything though. For my test pieces I created some handmade card to give out to friends for Christmas. I had to set the chase up in multiple different ways when I first started to try and get them to stay in place.

I even tried my hand with some embossing using the press but it came out better on blue card rather than white but all in all they both lacked definition so ir was hard to see. I think for me, its hard for me not to smudge or mark the paper with ink so this is definitely a technique I need to work on more.

Why am I here and what do I want to to learn

Reasons for choosing this course:

• How successful this course is with it reputation and the reviews past students gave there experience with the course
• The location
• Success Rate
• City
• The Course Structure

What I want to Learn:

• Further my knowledge in web design and motion graphics skills
• Learn Traditional print methods such as Screen printing and Letter Pressing
• Gain more confidence in talking about my ideas/concepts for a project
• Gain Industry standard skills
• Editorial design and book binding

My strengths:

• Digital skills in programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
• Video Editing with programs like Adobe Premier and Final Cut Pro
• Pixel Art
• Cartoon illustrations/doodles
• Web Design
• Maths

What I want to improve on:

• Overall confidence when in groups
• Further Knowledge of Digital Software
• Practical based skills
• Analytical skills
• Blogging/Documentation online

What inspires me:

• Science // Technology
• Animation
• Movies Post production and its Practical/Special effects
• Comics
• Anything and all things Fantasy // Sci-fi

Some Design Examples:

A piece of fan art for one of my favourite games, Dark Souls. I love how complex this is and the fact the more you look the more you see. The guy who created this was a graphic design student and it got bought by the company to use it in their game

On the other end of the spectrum to the previous image. I really like the way that something so simple can look so good. This is one of many pieces out there of pixel art.

An example of Motion Graphics similar to that used in Comedy Central

One of my favourite Graphic designers turned Illustrators Pablo Lobato. His abstract approach to his celebrity illustrations makes it have a unique and recognisable style.

Hey Studio's illustrations that remind me of some examples of pixel art that look great http://heystudio.es/projects/every-hey/

whats on:

Thought bubble comic festival 
Details

This year’s Thought Bubble will be taking place from 9th – 15th November at venues across Leeds (and beyond!) and will see legions of comics creators and fans travel from around the world to visit Yorkshire. I'm gutted that I'm not here for this one.

Monday 9 - Sunday 15 November 2015

http://www.visitleeds.co.uk/whats-on/thedms.aspx?dms=3&venue=2198306&feature=1047

29th Leeds international Film festival

Looking forward for this one. One of the films on is one I've been meaning to see for a long time, its a cheesy 80's flick called 'They Live'. its  a satirical look at the excesses of consumerism and the control of the rich and powerful over the poor through television and advertising. Nada comes across a box of special sunglasses that allow him to see the world as it really is, overrun by capitalist aliens who keep the middle classes docile through subliminal messages on advertising billboards and TV. 

theres also a free Cinehacking LIFF event which is all about the items people have used for DIY low budget films which i'm looking forward to going its on the 14th November at Leeds Town hall at 13:00pm. On top of that, North bar is hosting a exhibition of John Carpenter's film posters on both the 5th and 19th of November.

Thursday 5th - Thursday 19th November 2015

http://www.leedsfilm.com

The Warehouse (gaming and grill) (sat 7th Nov)

Gutted I'm not here for this one. Its a social festival at the Warehouse, hosted by Manchester's IPlayGaming. It looks great, competing in friendly tournaments while having some free burgers.

http://leeds-list.com/culture/preview-leeds-gaming-and-grill-festival-at-the-warehouse/
Bellgrave Feast

Some really good events on here, plus free burgers/pizza so who can argue with that!

Belgrave music hall leeds best free party
Bellgrave feast & Art Market 
HeyStac

The Graphic art of Harry Potter series (London) 

This exhibition showcases graphic designs from the Harry Potter films by Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, reproduced as limited edition art prints which they produce from their London studio, MinaLima. Its on at the
Coningsby Gallery at the following dates:Monday 30th November - 10 to 5PM 
Tuesday 1st Dec - 10 to 6PM
Wednesday 2nd December - 10 to 6PM
Thursday 3rd December - 10 to 9PM
Friday 4th December - 10 to 9PM
Saturday 5th December - 10 to 6PM
Sunday 6th December - 12 to 6PM
Monday 7th December - 10 to 6PM
Tuesday 8th December - 10 to 6PM
Wednesday 9th December - 10 to 6PM
Thursday 10th December - 10 to 9PM
Friday 11th December - 10 to 8PM
Saturday 12th December - 9 to 5PM

https://www.coningsbygallery.com/exhibition/the-graphic-art-of-the-harry-potter-films-november-2015Leeds Christmas light switch on

Get into the festive spirit at the Leeds Christmas light switch on! Still no word on who is switching on the lights yet but I've heard it might just be the mayor of Leeds.

Thu 12 Nov 2015

http://www.visitleeds.co.uk/whats-on/thedms.aspx?dms=3&venue=2198306&feature=1055

Leeds Thought Bubble comic arts festival

Can't wait for this one, I love anything with comics. I've always been fasinated with them and now I'll be able to talk to some really cool comic creators.

http://thoughtbubblefestival.com/festival-programme-2015/

Inspirations

http://heystudio.es/

Inspirations

IFLS

https://www.facebook.com/IFeakingLoveScience

A Facebook page and a website that talks about the latest news in the science community. I've always been keen on any aspect of science and this allows me to keep up to date with it. The latest story that they posted was about the new Dyson sphere that's been discovered which is amazing.

AMC podcast

I'm a huge movie nut and this daily podcast is great for me when they talk about everything behind making the movies and what their views on the subject are. It's brill to listen to this when doing work.

https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-news

The Verge

Being up to date with the latest technology trends and whats about to come out. Makes you wish you could afford most of it.

http://www.theverge.com/

Wired

Another website for technology but this one has a monthly magazine that I read regularly. It's also got Adam Savage on it and I love the work he does with movie props.


http://www.wired.co.uk/

Music (70s-80s)

Love this kind of music. Great to get into the mood to do work and I'd listen to this any day of the week rather than some of today's pop music. Can't go wrong with some Elvis or Beatles

Food and cooking channels (sorted foods)

Great YouTube channel that teaches about how to cook great foods no matter what skill level you are. Been a huge help for cooking foods at Liberty Park and a good way to kill time.

TYT (The Young Turks)

A online news channel on YouTube that talks about proper news. They even question the larger news networks and cover a range of topics and have been following the refugee crisis in Syria at the moment

Blogs

Pablo Lobato (https://lobaton.wordpress.com/)

A-Ha Studio ()

Hey Studio (http://heystudio.es/)

Blogs from illustrators and studios that have really inspired me in the past with the way they work and how their work looks. I especially like Pablo Lobato due to his graphic design background and because his celebrity illustrations are different but look fab.

Podcasts

John Peel lecture

This is actuality the first time I've listened to a podacast and now that I have, I already want to listen to some more. It was a really interesting talk from Brian Eno on the creative industry and it aimed to answer two questions:

1. Is art a luxury?
2. Is there a way where arts can flourish?

Whilst he was talking more about music, it brought up alot of points that included the rest of the creative industry as well. One of the first things he 

mentioned was that there is no culture without the creative arts and he made a quote that I didn't really understand until he fully explained what he meant. The quote was "Art is something you don't have to do".  What he meant by this is that tasks like eating, walking, working is that we have to do, whilst

creating art is something we choose to do. To further this he said that when we where young, we all used to imagine and create worlds but as we grow up, we become less imaginative and that's where creative arts differ.  We don't let go of that creative spark, we use it to address problems in the world. It really opened my eyes on what Creative Arts are and the effects the people creating it can have on others. After listening to this I want to listen to more podcasts so I'm going look out on BBC Radio for more podcast like this one.  I've also began listening to podcasts from The Verge on the latest technological trends and what it means for everyone.

Podcast link

Light night

Light Night

Went out into Leeds for its annual light night with most of my flat mates; one of which studies fashion so she took us to the Spotlight on Fashion Fusion East Meets West at Leeds Civic Hall. I have to be honest, I'm not that into fashion but I have to say that seeing the different cultural styles from both the UK and China being combined in this catwalk was very interesting and it reminded me of how even graphic design is used in both regions. I did however feel out of place in there, felt like everyone knew I wasn't a fashion student.

Afterwards, we tried to find a brochure to see what was on but we had no luck in finding one. So, we decided to have a wander round to see what we could find. It might just be the fact that we didn't have an idea where to go but we were pretty disappointed in the night that it lacked a 'festival' feeling to it. I guess we just expected more from it after hearing how great last years one was. There was however a light projection show on drawing with light that intrigued 

me that had people draw on an tablet and it was projected onto the College of Art building. It reminded me of a light festival I went to when the Three Queens came into Liverpool only I feel like this one was better that the drawing with light show because it was on a much grander scale (plus it was able to teach people about the history of Liverpool and the culture around it in an extremely

positive way). Its great to see how something like this can be used to 

communicate through forms of mixed media, I'll have to remember this for future projects.

We happened to stumble upon some fire dancing Fire Dancers that look like a boy band plucked from the 90's. They where fun to watch but the amount of people trying to see them took away from it and we left before they finished to go back to the flat to watch Pulp Fiction on the projector (keeping with the spirit of Light Night).

Liverpool's Light festival

    

Found the brochure online whilst typing this up

LIGHT NIGHT BROCHURE

Made you Look film screening

Film screening and Q&A with the director

Recently, I attended a screening of a graphic design documentary at one of the country's oldest cinemas in Leeds, Hyde Park Picture House. The documentary was entitled 'Made You Look' and it focused on the UK's DIY graphics art scene and interviewed some well known artists and creative businesses. Throughout the film, everyone interviewed expressed their views and thoughts on how the impact of the digital age has affected both Illustration and Graphic Design by making creatives dependent on using computers now more than ever in the 21st century. It's made me think if I have become too reliant on using computers to create work. Looking back, I have never actually created a Screen-print or used a letter press and that's made me realise I haven't explored what graphic design has to offer and the diverse ways of creating art just by using back to basic techniques.

I think a part of this is due to how I've acquired my knowledge of graphic design throughout the course of my education prior to studying at LCA. In view of this I want to gain an understanding about the more hands on approaches of creating work and experiment with them while at Leeds College of Art. This excited me more after the Q&A with the director of the film and a few independent artists, who spoke highly of the various techniques whilst still acknowledging the power of working on a computer.  Anthony Peters said something that stuck with me after the event.  He said "Work that's been made with a computer will always look nice but work created with screen prints and techniques like it have more character to them, there may be some little mistakes or smudges on it and it might even have finger prints of the artist who made it all over the back, but that's what makes the work special.  Its a one of a kind.   You don't get that with computer printed work."