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Throughout this week, I have had the enriching experience of acquiring new knowledge. Moreover, I discovered a plethora of available facilities and workshops that I can readily book to further enhance my skills.

Tuesday marked the commencement of our inaugural group project—a captivating endeavor focused on crafting a magazine. Our collective efforts efficiently culminated in the completion of intricate mind maps, setting the stage for a creative and collaborative journey ahead.

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This week, we're embarking on a new project dubbed "Hand and Eye." It is very similar to the Elephant and Castle project, demanding extensive painting from us. Nonetheless, I find myself favoring this project. I have a penchant for depicting natural subjects, and I reckon that painting amidst such surroundings can foster a sense of tranquility, enabling my thoughts to roam more freely. Our instructor has furnished us with a booklet outlining the tasks for the week ahead. My next step involves selecting a locale and dedicating ample time to observe and sketch.

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We delved into the crucial matter of naming our magazine. The brainstorming session yielded a plethora of creative ideas, and we even enlisted the assistance of artificial intelligence to generate additional suggestions. After careful consideration and evaluation, we collectively settled on the simple yet impactful name "escape" for our magazine. which is a very pure name that allows people to easily understand the content we want to express. Additionally, we also conducted experiments on font design.

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I think this way of carrying out a project is very interesting. Our tutor asked us to conduct a collage experiment using five randomly found photos from the library. Initially uncertain about the magazine's direction, the evolving collage content broadened our perspective.

Our central collage features a vast world map encircled by a progression from black and white to vibrant color, forming a visual narrative. The black and white photos evoke seriousness, sadness, and loneliness, portraying elements linked to war. In contrast, the colorful photos exude vibrancy, showcasing hopeful elements such as animals and children.

Culminating in the theme "escape," our magazine unfolds the tale of an adult yearning to break free from the pressures and constraints of reality, and she seeks refuge in a beautiful, positive fantasy world of personal creation.

Through our magazine, we aspire to encourage self-discovery and the pursuit of genuine passions, urging individuals to embrace their inner selves.

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In our one-on-one tutorial, a significant insight emerged during our discussion about my artwork. VJ suggested a shift from excessive reliance on iPad drawing to embracing traditional mediums like real pens for enhanced image quality. While iPad drawing offers convenience and meticulous error correction, it inadvertently fosters a sense of complacency. Over time, this convenience hinders the development of my artistic skills and fosters a lax attitude. Recognizing this, I am committed to transitioning towards more tangible media such as lead, watercolor, and acrylic, fostering a more deliberate and skillful approach to my art.

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This marked the initiation of our first week in London, with our inaugural class introducing an engaging activity. Our teacher distributed a form outlining specific criteria and tasked us with a unique assignment—to venture into the library and curate a selection of five photos that met the stipulated requirements. This departure from my usual practice, where I tend to choose photos based on personal preferences, injected a delightful element of randomness into the process. The shift in approach not only broadened the scope of the selection but also infused an unexpected and fascinating dynamic into the entire experience.

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In this class, we designed the cover of a magazine. What made this experience particularly enjoyable was the collaborative nature of the task, where each participant contributed to the cover's design. One person drew it for five minutes and then passed it on to the next person to continue drawing. Our toolkit expanded to include a variety of artistic media, including colored lead, crayons, collages, and more, enabling us to explore different textures, colors, and forms in our collective artistic expression.

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This is our favorite cover, with bright colors and a clear title.

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On Thursday, during my self-study day, I designed a cover with a huge hand tightly holding a heart.

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I tried different color experiments. I think this one conveys the strongest emotions, with the black hand holding the black heart. The contrast between black and color depicts some ideological struggles. The colored background represents a free world, symbolizing a world full of possibilities. The black hand tightly grips the black heart, representing a desire to escape monotony and experience a rich life, implying a desire to escape from the dull or restricted existence.​

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In our class, the teacher introduced us to a highly practical website called It's Nice That and guided us through the analysis of five photo sets featured on the platform. I find this website to be an invaluable resource, offering an abundance of materials and content and also includes detailed introductions to various artists. This wealth of information is poised to significantly enhance my future learning experiences, providing me with diverse perspectives and insights from the artistic community.

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We did a lot of things in this class. We delved deeper into refining the cover we initially designed on Tuesday, such as reassembling and fine-tuning the color schemes of several images. Additionally, each members shared their vision for the magazine, contributing ideas and preferences for the overall content.

The two pages I crafted constitute the pivotal middle segment of the entire magazine, marking a significant transition from a monochromatic palette to a vibrant burst of colors. This juncture serves as the narrative turning point, where the magazine's thematic essence takes a transformative leap.​

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I drew inspiration from the classic fairy tale "Little Mermaid" for my first draft. The thematic resonance of the "Little Mermaid" story aligns seamlessly with the overarching motif of our magazine. The narrative essence of the fairy tale beautifully mirrors the core theme we aim to convey—an inherent yearning for freedom, a relentless pursuit of escape from the confines of societal constraints and pressures.

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Júlia Sardà is an illustrator from Barcelona. After her studies, Júlia started working as colorist in a studio which made the editorial merchandising for Disney/Pixar and then moved on to freelancing two years later.
Ranging from concept art for video games, to children’s illustration, Júlia has had the chance to illustrate some everlasting classics such as: 'Old Possums Book of Practical Cats', 'Alice in Wonderland', 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' and 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'.
Her debut author-illustrated picture book 'The Queen in the Cave' published in 2021 with Walker Books UK and Candlewick Press in the US.
Júlia has worked for a wide range publishers including Penguin Random House UK, Orchard Books, Faber & Faber, Walker, Chicken House, Egmont, Tundra and Andersen Press.

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Júlia Sardà is one of my favored illustrator, exudes a unique and retro-inspired aesthetic in both composition and color.

Character Analysis: Marked by a round head shape, sharp triangular eyes and nose, and a minimalist, single-line mouth expression, the characters sport slender limbs.​

Style Analysis: The image predominantly features a vintage color scheme with subdued tones, particularly in the background. Contrasting this, vivid colors adorn the protagonist, strategically capturing the reader's focus and establishing a compelling visual impact, emphasizing a focused composition.​

Her distinctive touch lies in the retention of brushstrokes, akin to those crafted with colored lead. This design choice enhances the picture's vibrancy. Each piece unfolds like a narrative, conveying not just characters' emotions but also intricately designed surroundings, speaking volumes to the readers.​

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I learned her painting style and used watercolor and colored lead to draw some small animals as an attempt.

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This is the PowerPoint for our presentation.

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During speeches, I experience nervousness primarily due to English not being my native language, affecting my confidence. Additionally, unfamiliarity with my team members' work hinders my ability to connect with their speeches in real-time. To address this, I plan to prepare a scripted speech with key points to ensure clarity and smooth delivery. Improved communication with team members is essential to understanding their perspectives and building connections.

The teacher pointed out that there is too much text in our PPT, which will make it difficult for the audience to listen to what the speaker is saying while watching the content on the screen. What we need to improve is to reduce the number of words on the PPT and only leave important content.

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We have a new project: Elephant & Castle.

We need to use A4 paper to quickly sketch the architecture, scenery, and life in Elephant & Castle. I think this is a very interesting project. We don't need to draw it in great detail and perfection, what's more important is the quantity and speed. I can hold my notebook and stand by the roadside to complete a sketch in 5 minutes, which greatly exercises my sketching ability.

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Today marks our group's visit to the British Museum for research. Among the myriad exhibition areas, my personal favorites are the China Pavilion and the Greece Pavilion. The Greek Pavilion, with its expansive array of architecture and sculptures, leaves an indelible and breathtaking impression. I have painted many sculptures in the Greek Pavilion, and a large area of architecture and sculptures gives people a stunning impression at first glance. Upon closer inspection, I am more shocked, since the textures and proportions on the sculptures are like those on a real person's replica, and it is not apparent that they are carved from hard stones. My exploration extends to the captivating narrative of the goddess Athena, delving into the rich tapestry of ancient Greek mythology and the venerable Parthenon temple.

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This is my favorite sculpture, its texture is clear, and it is portrayed by the creator like real silk. The second reason is that its design gives people a lazy feeling, completely exceeding the connotation that a stone can express.

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When I saw the things in the China Pavilion, I was very sad, not only because these works could not return to their place of belonging, but also because many items were damaged to varying degrees during transportation. These indelible damages have caused a regrettable impact on their aesthetic, artistic, historical value, and so on. It is undeniable that for five thousand years, every dynasty in China has its own story, we can clearly distinguish their characteristics and culture from these works.

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Famous Chinese porcelain not only includes blue and white porcelain, but also many types, such as the ones shown in the picture, which include the differences between overglaze color, underglaze color, and underglaze color.

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Today's class is about using text to make collages. The teacher has prepared 26 letters for us. At the beginning, we need to collage based on the words given on the screen, and later on, we need to think of the content ourselves to collage. My understanding of this lesson is that even the simplest letters can be presented in different artistic ways, such as overlapping several letters together, standing letters on paper, tearing letters in half, and so on, to create a different visual effect.

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I went to the workshop today for a printing class, and I really enjoyed the content of this workshop class. This photo is of a printing machine that I took, and I think it is very exquisite. It looks like it was used in ancient times and has an atmosphere that does not belong to this era.

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This is a piece of artwork we use to practice our hands. We use different knives to carve thick and thin lines, varying depths of lines, interlaced lines on the board. This exercise helps us become more familiar with these tools and better operate them to complete the next work. Although it is a template for practice, I think it looks very good after printing colors.

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This is my first time drawing a sketch related to architecture. The place I drew was the scenery in front of my dormitory, with a tall house and train tracks. I think drawing architecture is a challenging task, and I have decided to watch more videos and materials about architectural design.

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This is the final image I carved, with many elements related to Elephant Castle carved on it in the form of a nine palace grid, including the UAL emblem, student cards, hot cocoa in coffee shops, Halloween decorations, and so on. But after I finished engraving, I found a problem that I didn't reverse the direction of the font, which would result in the printed font being reversed. I will change this error in the next experiment.

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On Friday during the tutorial, I showed my tutor the house I had painted in different shapes. She suggested that I could further refine the painting, such as trying different colors and materials, or combining letters with the house in a design. I think these proposals are very helpful to me.

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This is my attempt to combine text and house together, and I find the process very difficult because many letter shapes and houses cannot be designed well together, resulting in problems of disharmony and imbalanced proportions.

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This week we started our third new project, and I am very interested in the concepts of utopia and dystopia, so I am looking forward to this project. But this project requires us to complete it independently during the Christmas holiday. I think the most important thing is time management. I will arrange my time according to the time table provided by the teacher, and strive to balance work and rest.

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As the deadline for our magazine project looms this Friday, reflecting on the two months dedicated to production, I've garnered a wealth of knowledge encompassing magazine fundamentals, layout intricacies, and drawing techniques. The project's theme has prompted profound contemplation, leading me to believe in the importance of transcending comfort zones and courageously breaking free from self-imposed limitations and the constraints of reality to pursue our dreams. In hindsight, I envision a more polished outcome with additional time—printing out all our group's pages to materialize a tangible magazine and delving deeper into gathering information while refining the handling of intricate details.

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This Tuesday was a very enjoyable class. Desserts and drinks were prepared in class, allowing us to enjoy everyone's works in a relaxed environment. When all the works are put together, I feel very shocked, like a huge puzzle depicting the life of Elephant Fortress. As the saying goes, a thousand people have a thousand Hamlets in their hearts. Although the themes of our paintings are all elephant castles, each person's style is unique and their way of seeing things is also different.

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The initial concept diverges slightly from the return to the fairy tale world, instead focusing on a return to nature from the real world. The illustration portrays natural creatures emerging from a phone, with powerful deer bursting out of the screen. In our increasingly technologically driven world, people, including children, are tethered to electronic devices, diverting their attention from the beauty of the world around them. My intention is to encourage everyone to set aside electronics, invest more energy in nature, and revel in the simplicity of life.​

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This draft encapsulates the tale of the protagonist unlocking the door to a whimsical fairy tale realm, encountering three charming elves while seeking an escape from the ordinary world.​

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I finally choose this layout as my final outcome.

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This is the last tutorial before submitting the first project. I showed my PDF to the teacher and she pointed out a few small issues that need to be corrected by me. The first one is the understanding of the subheadings in the table of contents. The classification of each title is important, which can make the content in the PDF more organized, so that readers can roughly understand the content of the page when they see the subheadings; The second one is the corner markers on each page of the PDF, such small details can enhance the overall completeness.

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The teacher led us to visit a huge 3D screen and explained a lot of knowledge about 3D to us.

I think these images are very stunning and attractive.

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Qige Zheng_22009219_Exploration & Play_Final outcomes 1

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Jeronimus Bosch was a prolific Dutch painter from the 15th to 16th centuries. Most of his paintings depict sin and the decline of human morality. Bos portrays human evil through images of demons, half humans, half beasts, and even machines. His paintings are complex, highly original, imaginative, and extensively use various symbols and symbols, some of which are even very obscure and difficult to understand in his time, so Bosch is considered one of the inspirations of surrealism in the 20th century.

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My artistic exploration at Elephant & Castle involves capturing life's subtleties through photography and sketching. Beyond buildings and schools, I focus on small elements that collectively define this place's unique character.

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This is my favourite sketch, located in front of the subway station. This photo contains many elements. The uniqueness of this photo lies in the layered houses, which introduce a clear sense of hierarchy into the composition. In addition, the architectural tripod, which is often overlooked in our daily lives, has become a very unique element. Its prominence prompts the audience to reconsider the significance of seemingly ordinary structures in the overall context.

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I selected this photo for two reasons. Firstly, this subway station holds immense significance in Elephant & Castle, serving as a vital link connecting different parts of London. Secondly, the substantial crowd present adds richness to the screen's content, which is also a personal favorite aspect.

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This painting comes from the development of sketching. I depicted this subway station using color block splicing, which is a very interesting coloring process and can also present a clean and comfortable visual effect.

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Process 1

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Process 2

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HajimeSorayama is hailed as one of the most visionary avant-garde artists, dedicated to exploring profound issues arising from the constantly evolving interaction between humans and artificial intelligence. HajimeSorayama defies the robotic stereotype by infusing metal with human skin textures, creating a distinctive, sensuous mechanical aesthetic. This unique style has notably impacted fashion, film, and TV.

In his view, depicting a naked female body is merely a loyalty to nature, a loyalty to what he is interested in. He expresses radicalism in his works in response to various inherent biases of society towards human nature—rather than silence and obedience, it is better to confront it with childlike sincerity. His works boldly challenge social taboos and controversial erotic themes.

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I plan to draw a layered building.

I divided the screen into five to six parts and designed some simple shapes.

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1. Add more processes and details, such as using collages to integrate these buildings.

2. Write project brief and statement.

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My friends and I went to see a glass exhibition at two sample places.

The venue is a Gothic style building that showcases over a hundred exquisite glass crafts with a hundred years of history. There are many dreamy and unique shaped glass products, such as hearts.

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This week we started a new project where we need to design the packaging of a product, which makes me feel very novel and excited.

But the duration of this project is very short, only three weeks, so I must arrange the daily workload to ensure that the project is completed before the deadline.

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My first idea is to design a water cup, which is in the shape of a cute little lion.

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1. Collect various sounds.

2. Write a blog. Writing a little reflection after class every day is very helpful for the progress of the project.

3. The teacher introduced a website called linked in, and I have registered it.

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Login to LinkedIn to keep in touch with people you know, share ideas, and build your career.

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Q1: How do you create your characters?

A1: I often sketch various small figures when I'm bored, combining elements and characters I've been thinking about and drawing recently. For example, after studying European knight armor and making numerous sketches, I used this material to create a human king character.

Q2: What factors do you consider when making a children's picture book?

A2: The story's content is my primary focus. Since children think differently from adults, I try to write in a simple and straightforward manner that they can easily understand. I also use bright colors and simple shapes to capture their attention.

Q3: Could you recommend a picture book?

A3: ”Wolf Erlbruch's 'Duck, Death and the Tulip'" is a thoughtful book about life and death, where death gently helps a duck accept its fate. While some may think this theme is too negative for children, I believe it's important. The author portrays death calmly and soothingly, teaching children to cherish life and not fear death. This book conveys a valuable message about appreciating each day and facing life's end without regret.

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Today's course mainly explains the process of creating project PDFs, which includes five parts: enquiry, knowledge, communication, process, and realization. In addition, we have also carried out painting for story versions. We need to first clarify what type of animation we want to draw, what kind of story animation we want to create, and the skills we want to learn during the animation production process.

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Today I went to nunhead cemetery and took many photos. This is a very natural and mysterious cemetery, with many sculptures and tombstones inside. During the visit, I took many photos and spent a lot of time sketching to capture the scenery here.

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We showcased the works we drew while sketching this week. The teacher gave me two suggestions. The first was for me to continue drawing more, and the second was to simplify the lines in the painting, such as using a complete line instead of some fine lines when drafting.

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Today's class was incredibly enjoyable. We visited a movie museum and showcased our animated creations. Exploring various painting styles and narrative perspectives has been enlightening. This experience feels refreshingly novel and has left me pleasantly surprised.

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A growth mushrooms

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Mushrooms gradually turn into eyes