The Book

Above is a picture of the books front cover in its finished state. I am quite happy with the outcome and the styles i have used. I would like to have used more memories and more photographs to make a thicker book and provide more to look at because i think it lacks a bit where i haven't used a lot of illustration or detail. I feel like in some ways it doesn't look like a lot of work, but the whole process of researching toy makers and book making, making my own toys, coming up with my own childhood memories to use and how to communicate them, taking photographs both digitally and with a 120film camera, developing the photographs, experimenting with materials and book making, and using of typography and collage - it has all been a lengthy but enjoyable process and i have learnt a lot from all the different elements i have used to make the book. I had never make a sock monster before or a book and i got to experiment with collage and using a camera i had never used before. I would like to take some of the things i have learnt further and use them in the future for other projects and develop my skills further. If i had more time i would try making more books and using different styles of binding and maybe experiment with using different materials to do this.

The Holga (120 Film) Versions

Here are the developments of my 120 film and i will list which photographs i am going to use in the final book.

^ Yes

^ Yes

^ No

^ Yes

^ Yes

^ Yes

^ Yes

^ Yes

^ No

^ Yes

With some of these photographs i wish i had a few more options, i should have used two films and experimented a bit more so that i had plenty to choose from when developed, but because of time and money i couldn't do this. I am really happy with some of the outcomes, especially some of the double exposure photographs and the use of the coloured flash, and it has encouraged me and given me the confidence to be a bit more playful with my Holga. I have started to put together my book now and its really coming along. I'm using mainly cardboard and brown parcel paper and i have tried out using ink and acrylic although i feel at this point its not really the right direction for this piece, i want to keep it quite simple and let the images, textures and text speak for themselves.

The Digital Photographs

I can't believe I've managed to create a photo slide show for my blog, and use the scary Html box!

Here are all of my digital image versions of the photographs i took with my Holga. I decided to use a slide show because there's 36 photographs all together and that's quite a lot! By using my digital camera, i was able to experiment with different angles and close ups before deciding which to imitate for the Holga shots. I have now received my prints back and some of the photos have come out really well for my first attempt, others were quite blurry and some didn't come out at all (i think i may have left the lens cap on by mistake). As the majority of my developed photographs worked well, i am going to use them for the final book. There are one or two missing memories but i don't want to spoil the look of the photography by mixing in digital photographs. All that's left to do now is make my book.

The Back Up Plan

I have now taken my photographs with my Holga and sent them off to the lab to be processed. I decided to use some small props in some of the photographs, but generally used what i could find at home because i want the book to have a homely, childlike feel. I decided to use the following memories:

• Dressing up as a snowman for the year 6 disco
• When my brother flush my head down the loo
• Crying at play group because i had to sit next to a smelly boy
• Wearing my mums high heels and walking up and down the stairs
• The hours of fun i used to have, pretending to be a cat
• When i got head butted by a goat at the Miniature Pony Centre
• My fear of planes after learning about World War 2 in primary school.

The Back Up Plan

The back up plan is basically that i have backed up the photographs i have taken with my Holga with digital versions of the photographs, as i am a pretty unexperienced Holga user and i have no idea how the photos will turn out. It's making me nervous! So after this post i will upload a few of these digital images, and then my Holga photographs (I've been told i will get a free CD!) and compare the two.

Some Book Making Research

Well after 4 attempts at trying to rotate the two bottom images i have given up! so you may have to tilt your head for those two but anyway, i thought i would upload some photos i took in one of the book making sessions of books that caught my eye and that i really like.

Shawn Wilder Sheehy - Welcome to the Neighborwood: A Pop-Up Book.

I love the colour's used in this book and the cut outs of the pop up. The actual pages are quite simple but the pop up is very beautiful and intricately done so there doesn't need to be a lot going on with the actual page itself.

Marc Goman - Exhale

I was drawn to this book because i really like the style he uses and it reminds me of the materials and colour's i like to use in my own work. Its got a really 'recycled' feel and i love that about it.

Frances Watson - How We Lost The Mermaid's Song

(Tilt your head to see the image!)

This books a great example of how black on white illustration and type can be really effective. I wanted to show this book because in my own book i plan to use just black pen, along with the photographs and its quite inspiring.

Patricia T. Hetzler - Woman of Substance

(Again, please tilt your head to see the image!)

I like the idea of making a book thats interactive with the viewer, and the pull outs in pockets in this book gives it more texture and goes outside of the edges of the pages and book cover which makes it feel more three dimensional and a slightly scrap book feel, but a very well done scrap book!

Sock Monsters - The Making of... (continued)

The Spotty Legless Monster

Again, with this monster i used what i had learnt from making the previous monsters and created it without designing it first. I like the idea of seeing something in its simplest form - a sock - and visualizing what it could become. I knew straight away with this sock that i wanted it to have really long arms or legs (and later on stuck with arms).

• For this monster i used two socks instead of one. Below is the sock cut into the pieces i needed for each body part. The 'toe' part of the sock was not needed for this monster. I then folded the two longer pieces inside out and in half.

• I then sewed up the edge of the long piece of sock and left a gap for the stuffing and repeated with the other long piece. I then stuffed both arms and put them aside. I wanted this monster to have a plump mouth so i turned the main body of the other sock inside out and placed some stuffing where the heel is. I sewed around the lips and through the middle to keep it tight and to keep all the stuffing in place.

• I used buttons for eyes again and sewed 2 above the mouth. To try and get a tidy finish with sewing the arms on, i turned the body inside out and made two holes for the arms to poke through. I sewed around the edges of the top of the arms and into the body. When i turned it back the right way round it worked fairly well but i had to touch it up a bit and get the arms to attach tighter.

• After attaching the arms, i had to sew up the top of the head, which i did inside out and sewed in a half moon shape to make a rounded clean stitch head. I then stuffed the body with cushion stuffing.

• I then sewed up the bottom and tried to make sure there wasn't a lot of fabric sticking out so that the monster is able to sit up alone (this sort of worked...)

And here is the finished Spotty Legless Monster!

Sock Monsters - The Making of...

I have now finished making my sock monsters, below is a picture of the 5 finished toys. I made the first monster for the last project. The next two monsters i made in reading week (green and black stripes and purple ladybird) with a little help from a handy friend with a sewing machine! However, this means that the quality of these two is a lot better than the others. For the first 3 sock monsters i used the same basic design found on both the Blue Peter website and, quite randomly, the Monster Munch website - (see bottom of post for links)

The Fish Sock Monster...

For this sock monster i didn't really use any of the templates from the previous sock monsters, but the basis of the templates aided me to visualize what type of monster the sock would become. It wasn't really designed before hand but came to me as i went through the process of making it.

• Take one sock and place it flat down with the heel at the side. Cut upwards from the opening of the sock to about half way between the end and the heel. These will become the tail fins. Then turn the sock inside out and sew up the end of one of the halves but leave a gap at the bottom for the stuffing. Do the same for the other half.

• This is optional but here i have sewn a small circle of fabric for the eyes, just to add a bit more character. It can be quite tricky to sew on to one side of the sock without going through both sides so use your other hand to hold the inside of the sock wide open. I have also stuffed the end of the sock (where the toes go) to make plumped lips, and then sewn through the middle and around the outside.

• Here i have just sewn the buttons on over the small fabric circles to create the eyes.

• Now stuff the fish (i used cheap pillow stuffing) as fat as you like, i think i slightly over stuffed my fish because you can see the material stretching. Sew up the remaining gap and add any last touch ups if necessary. For example i used a simple stitch in the heel (top fin) of the fish to make it more defined.

Blue Peter Website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/bluepeter/thingstodo/makeit/sockmonster

Monster Munch Sock Monsters:

http://www.monster-munch.com/how-to-make-a-sock-monster/

Little Big Planet

I found this video on YouTube, its a tutorial for the game Little Big Planet on how to customize your character. I thought it showed a good example of all the different styles and textures featured on the game. Its also interesting how the basic sack character can be turned into something completely different with a few adjustments. It reminds me a bit of the sock monsters i have made, purely because they all use the same kind of template but each one has its own style. The link for this YouTube video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J5uLT-3CWc

Getting there...

I think i might, just about, be getting used to this blogging thing! Although getting the post layouts right with photographs has been very stressful! For some reason its easier using Blogger on the Mac computers at college than my laptop at home, so I'm trying to get as much done at college as i can so i don't have to spend an hour trying to move an image next to some text. My project is getting there, i have finished making all 5 sock monsters now so will upload the making of very soon, and i have also whittled down which childhood memories to use and taken photographs with both my digital camera and Holga. I have found a photographic studio in Plymouth that will develop my 120 film which is good and i get 10% discount for being a student. Here's the link: http://www.spectrumphotolabs.co.uk/


Tutorial with Ben

Today I've had a tutorial with Ben and he suggested a few more artists to look at and some advice for the book its self. I'm a bit unsure of the colour scheme of the book at the moment, i want to use a collage sort of style but i don't want to go too over the top. It all really depends on how well the photographs develop in the end because if they don't come out very well i will have to use the digital images instead and they could have a whole different effect on the way the final outcome looks. Ben suggested using re-occurring colours in the materials of all the sock monsters to come up with the colours to use in the book, a bit like packaging. He also suggested going and having a look/ photographing some children's books and looking at the way the text is used and presented to get ideas for the captions i will use for the photographs.

Here are some other things he suggested i look at:

• Little Big Planet
• Megan Baehr
• The Vauxhall Corsa 'C'mon' Dolls
• 'Hand Job' Typography book.

RESEARCH: Donna Wilson

Donna Wilson is probably my favourite of all the artists i have researched so far. She is great with textiles and makes these really likeable plush toy creatures, each with a name and a kind of personality to it. On the left is a picture of one of her creations named 'Rill'. I found this image on her website where she sells the things she makes, which are often quite pricey. The plush toy creatures are almost like designer toys, maybe not intended for children but to amuse and entertain adults. Some of her designs are quite simple but you can see that the end products are well made with lovely organic and local materials, and understand why people enjoy them and are willing to pay quite a bit of money for them. Each creature comes with its own sort of tag line to give you an insight into the kind of personality that the creature has. For example on 'Rill's page it says;

'Rill is very lively, never stops running around, likes caterpillars and worms.

He is Rudie Racoon and Cyril Squirrel-fox's first child.

20cm tall'

All of Wilson's work has a very natural, organic feel to it, whether it be a tea towl, a toy creature, a saucer or home furnishings, all of them share the same sort of influence of nature and the natural materials around us. To the left is a picture of another creature named 'Berty' it says that;

'Loves mustard on all of his food. Dislikes cream of mushroom soup.

60cm tall (not including his lovely legs)'

The added characteristics of each creature really makes a big difference and its quite inspiring to see how a short caption with a photograph can change the way you feel about the image, and with the images on her website this definitely works.

RESEARCH: Liselotte Watkins

The above is an album cover designed by Liselotte Watkins for the band 'The Concretes'. She does a lot of interesting fashion illustration but i am more drawn to her 3D/ Set design work. Her use of colour and the objects she uses are really effective. I don't know if some of the objects may have been painted specifically to be allocated to a coloured box . There are re-occurring themes to each section of the piece, for instance she uses mustaches and clocks more than once and there is some kind of face whether it be blatant or a suggestion of a face in each box. I think she uses a great collection of colours in this piece and in some of her other set design work (see below).

Each of the examples below give an individual suggestion of feeling, using the selected props and colour schemes. These are a few things that come to mind when i see each image...

This image reminds me of warmth, summer, sunflowers, gardening, sunbathing

Tea party, girls birthday party, cupcakes, sweet, sugary, ribbons, bows

Fun, happiness, playful, child-like, toys, growing up

Money, wealth, gambling, arcades, extravagance, handkerchief's

Elegance, party, posh, wealth, Monopoly man, poker

I don't know much about these pieces but viewing them as someone who is new to Watkins work, those were the first words or interpretations that came into my mind. I think it's very clever to use everyday objects that we often use and may disregard, not really seeing them properly. To collect them, arrange, set up and photograph them in the way that Watkins does turns, them in to something out of the ordinary and suddenly these everyday objects are not so mundane.

Images from: http://www.art-dept.com/illustration/watkins/

RESEARCH: Chrissie Macdonald

Chrissie Macdonald is a part of the Peepshow Collective - a group of illustrators, designers and animators based in the UK. She uses a range of materials to create props, sets and characters in her design and then they are photographed. She often uses paper in her design work and everyday objects. One of her most recognisable piece is the album art work she produced for Kate Nash's - 'Made of Bricks' (top image below). I really like this piece, how it all seems quite normal until you start to notice the different props included in the scene, 3 black cats, a skeleton and a bathroom. Its quite random but it works well and adds humour and lightness to the piece which i think reflects Kate Nash's music quite well. I wonder if the clothes belong to Kate Nash or if they were just chosen for the colours. I a also really like the use of shadows as some fit the scene well and others just don't seem quite right.

The bottom image is part of her work for Orange, the mobile telephone network. I think the use of objects for the characters is really clever, i especially like the peg people. She uses the colour orange to put across the fact that it's an advertisement for the company Orange, but it isn't overwhelming as i find orange can be quite a distracting colour. The orange coloured characters very quickly become the focus of the piece, but then you eye travels to looking at the smaller characters too. I have found that she uses a lot of black and white geometric shapes and classic patterns like spots and stripes in her work. It gives quite a retro/ 80's feel to it but feels new because of the way the illustrations are put together.

Chrissie Macdonald website: http://www.chrissiemacdonald.co.uk/

A Tutorial with Phil

I had a tutorial with Phil and told him about the plans for my project, he suggested some research to do and some other possibilities for the development of my project. Here are some of the notes from the tutorial:

Have a look at:

• Chrissie Macdonald,
• Liselotti Watkins,
• Polly Becker,
• Donna Wilson - fabric/ designer toys.

Think about:

• Using relief or pop-ups in the book,
• Using proper lighting for photographing my sock monsters,
• Various locations for the photographs, outdoors, insides, set making?
• Narrow down which childhood memories to use and decide whether its going to be a certain number of memories or a combination of them to tell a short story,
• Use of props for the photographs,
• Taking digital photographs as well as 'retro' photographs on Holga camera, as back up if it all goes a bit pear shaped!

A bit of research into Childhood Memories...

I found some really interesting information about memory on the BBC RADIO4 website and a section on 'Childhood Amnesia'. The science bit wasn't really relevant to my project but when you scroll down the page there's loads of comments where people have posted their own childhood memories. Some of them were really interesting to read and great for sparking some of my on memories from childhood.

I also found an article on the Telegraph website that included memories of celebrities. Both of these resources aided me in writing many of my own memories.

BBC Radio4: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/memory/understand/childhood_amnesia.shtml

Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3356260/Celebrities-childhood-memories.htmlamnesia.shtml

Self Initiated Assignment Brief: The Adventures of Leroy (and friends)

In this assignment I would like to produce a book using and developing the skills I have learnt from the previous project, including 3D work and book making. I would like to continue making 3D versions of monsters I design and use them as characters for my book and additionally use childhood memories I have had to keep with the ‘Me, Myself and I’ theme, and create a short story.

I hope to experiment with making different types of books, layouts, collage, illustration and photographing the outcomes from my 3D work. I have just bought a Holga 120 GCFN and plan to photograph my 3D models with it, although it is new to me and the camera can make for some quite experimental photography. I will back this up by taking photographs on a regular digital camera, in case the outcomes of my developments are unusable.

I then want to use these photographs in a book/ story telling format and also experiment with layering materials such as different textures and types of paper, card, buttons, fabric, wool, cotton, foil, paint, ink etc. And create a style that is consistent throughout the work

'Leroy'

It's all new!

Well this is all very new to me so thought i would start with a experimental post to see how this all works, hope to upload some research and development work if i can get the hang of this, if not it's back to the good old sketch book - I'm really not very tech savvy.

hmm here's a picture...