# data[].attributes.body
In this character design workshop I learnt vital parts of exaggerating anatomy and how to accentuate features and characteristics to make a unique character.

# data[].attributes.body
I used the LCC library facilities to research various artist's styles in order to inspire my work and gain influence from their techniques to adapt into my own work.

# data[].attributes.body
Here I research several unique bookbinding and folding with various materials to help inspire my following development of my project.

# data[].attributes.body
Using my Fujifilm T30-11 I photographed each page of the book from several angles and environments to fully capture the sculptural integrity and contents of the book. These professional photographs will benefit my practice showing clients and industry professionals my portfolio of this work. This helped me understand the process of marketing and keeping each stage to the highest quality possible to appeal to a wider audience and potential clients.

# data[].attributes.body
Using the photography studio I professionally captured my final publication. The book is 40cm x 20cm with a front and back red acrylic cover and 9 illustrations with a clay, hand-made heart in the centre. This motif of the heart is core to the book as it represents how our emotions, memories and connections with others are linked back to the heart and are permanently tied to our lives. This depicts the great impact and experience we as humans feel from grief and heartbreak.

# data[].attributes.body
Using laser cutting, bookbinding and digital printing facilities I created the building blocks of my final publication realisation. After many trials and errors from measurements, printing and sewing on various mock-ups I achieved my desired product. I learnt that it is key to allow myself enough time to trial these techniques when creating a unique product as I was not only not used to the process of making and software, but it is something I had to figure out in the process of making. When thinking of client-based projects in the future I learnt that I need to give myself more time to factor in these processes.

# data[].attributes.body
I wanted to make a final mock-up of my book before I decided to make my final version to test the printing quality, formatting and any errors that needed correcting. Due to the lack of availability of quality printers, I used alternative printers to test how the illustrations would look folded in the book. I glued each side together and proceeded to bind the book. I learnt that my pages didn’t match up when putting them together, so in the final printing, I had to section each page differently. I also learnt that I have to use a limited use of thread than my previous mock-ups as the wax thread is stronger but much thicker, thus I will have less surface area to create a sturdy spine. Additionally, from the feedback I received from my tutors, they suggested that I craft all elements of the publication myself. Thus, I decided to experiment with making my own ‘heart’ from the centre of the book using air-dry clay and paper models. I found that the air-dry clay was most successful as I could easily control the size, shape and colour. Finally, I attended a Coptic binding workshop which enabled me to understand how to sew an intricate book with several sections. I learnt that this was vital to my project as I needed a spine that was flexible and could pivot around one point.

# data[].attributes.body
In this series of illustrations, I first drew inspiration for the initial concept art I displayed in the Copeland Gallery, my work-in-progress show. These illustrations made good use of space to denote distance. My experiments with the broken mirror cover inspired me and incorporated this motif into my design. I also added several mark-making and textured brushes with each illustration which I adopted from my previous trial and error with both analogue and digital paintings.

# data[].attributes.body
With these illustrations, I wanted to focus on connection and disconnection within my characters. The joy and happiness from memories and spending time with a loved one to the pain and heartache of the absence once they are gone. I kept a similar colour palette with each of these illustrations to heighten the connection between each illustration.

# data[].attributes.body
These illustrations are my spreads from the front cover to the middle pages of the book. I decided to make the illustration colour palette darker to reflect the theme of grief and to fit the illustration as a series rather than individual illustrations collated into one book. During my making process, I decided that digital print would fit my illustration style and the publication best compared to other methods such as printmaking and analogue.

# data[].attributes.body
Developing my front cover from the feedback I received, I wanted to create a matte-finished illustrated cover that reflected the essence of the book. I initially created this illustration for the cover with various colour ways but decided to use a different illustration to suit the theme better. What I can carry forward in my illustrations from this test trial is the texture brushes.

# data[].attributes.body
During my show-up and show-off feedback session with peers, I received many positive remarks about my illustration quality and the concept of the book. The constructive feedback I received included that I could make a more coherent colour palette across my illustrations to make a clear flow in the book. Furthermore, I could adjust the front cover to make it professional quality and experiment with illustrations on the front to make it apparent what kind of publication it is. Furthermore, peers suggested using more textured brushes to achieve a more analogue feel to my work, such as pencil and oil pastel brushes instead of blending paint and smooth brushes.

# data[].attributes.body
For the first mock-up of my book, I used recycled and scrap materials I had at home. After planning out measurements I carefully folded the pages and measured what I needed for my hardback cover. I used cardboard as the substitute greyboard and painted the interior black to contrast with the heart. I learnt that because the plastic heart is too big to close the book, in my final product I would need to cut this section out. I also learnt from this mock-up that I would like to change the book into a square to allow more room for my illustrations. The front cover would also need to be changed, and though the back cover is effective, the front cover felt like it could be developed further.

# data[].attributes.body
In this bookbinding workshop I learnt several techniques in folding covers including gate fold, french fold and hardback covers. I learnt the way to properly make and glue a book and the different ways to make covers including screen-printing, embossing and foiling. This inspired my progress to make a hardback cover for my final project from the skills I learnt.

# data[].attributes.body
After my previous experiments, I decided that I wanted to create a hardback cover for my final publication. Thus, at home, I created several hardback mock-up books using paper and cardboard. Though my most successful mock-up was the light blue concertina folded book, to depict scattered feelings and distorted memories, I wanted to create a more traditional page-by-page book.

# data[].attributes.body
Continuing with my experiments I created more exploratory folds with paper from inspiration I found from other bookmakers. I also created a zine to explore how my illustrations would look visually with typography.

# data[].attributes.body
From my research of various bookbinding methods, I wanted to experiment with making my own to see what would work best with my project. I folded various cards, papers and cardboard to create different silhouettes and pages that popped out as an added feature, to make it more visually engaging.

# data[].attributes.body
In this experiment, I wanted to see what the book cover could look like if I printed with just transparent paper. I experimented with several techniques such as illustrating on acetate and tracing paper, using a backlight to see through each page. I went to laser cutting to further experiment in this layering technique. I learnt that layering on the book cover would be difficult as the more layers I added the less visible the words became. Though the transparency enhanced the message of fading memories of loved ones, it wasn’t the most effective for my project. I was inspired by this, however, to look more into reflective surfaces such as mirrors and other coloured acrylic covers.

# data[].attributes.body
In my bookbinding 1-2-1 consultation, I learnt various methods of producing a book including folding techniques, the facilities available to me and the importance of paper and grain direction. This helped me later in my final project to be selective in my planning to factor in the time to draw, print, and make the book.

# data[].attributes.body
I then continued to storyboard several fantasy illustrations, looking at colour palettes and compositions that would work well together within a series. Though there is not one particular narrative within my work, I wanted to instead capture the weight of emotions and the experience of heartbreak and grief. I did this by using the same characters I developed previously.

# data[].attributes.body
Experimenting with the influence of James Jean who painted characters and comics, I observed and adopted his techniques to push my analogue techniques further to experimenting with different ways of mark-making and the use of selective colour to tell a story. I carried forward various floral and meteor motifs from my work-in-progress show illustrations.

# data[].attributes.body
Again, focusing on different ways of working I experimented with watercolours, pens and coloured pencils. This time I focused more on my visual language and storytelling techniques to depict my characters within the themes of love, loss and grief.

# data[].attributes.body
Exploring a more analogue way of working I created a short booklet using a highly saturated colour palette, to experiment with different ways of working. In this process, I enjoyed mark-making and creating different textures with the quality of lines through felt-tip pens and pencils.

# data[].attributes.body
In my work-in-progress exhibition, I learnt many useful things including learning Adobe InDesign for printing, selling my products for the shop, networking and speaking to industry professionals. This allowed me to experience the professional process of setting up for an exhibition and the tight deadlines and requirements it entails. The feedback was useful and at this point it made me realise I did not want to continue my progress with a screen-based project as it was not something I wanted to continue doing after graduation. The process of creating these stills or concept art, however, was much more exciting for me. I found that the feedback received from visitors was also useful for me to understand how I can visually story-tell to an audience without the use of typography or words to explain the project.

# data[].attributes.body
After establishing a narrative and visual language I wanted to develop my character designs. I began to create several variations of portraits. This not only helped me understand how I wanted my characters and style to look but also helped me practice my anatomy and analogue skills.

# data[].attributes.body
Moving forward I made some animation experiments, creating analogue art and GIFs from etching techniques using acrylic of several frames of a scene. I also experimented with fragmenting CDs to create a deeper meaning and audience impact. This became a big influence on my broken mirror cover seen in the later experimental stages of my project.

# data[].attributes.body
To inspire my visual narrative development, I created several mood boards to inspire my character designs, colour palettes and the style of animation I wanted to create. Furthermore, from the feedback from my tutor, I created a storyboard on sticky notes so that at any time I could adjust the order to my liking.

# data[].attributes.body
I attended several workshops including Alumni stories, comic book journeys, the comic museum workshop and the character design workshop. From each workshop, I learnt various ways to develop my project including different print making and finishing techniques and drawing on varied surfaces and materials to get different effects. Furthermore, I learnt how to market myself as a practitioner. This helped me keep in mind how to focus my project on professionally developing it to sell and market it after I graduate to an audience/client.

# data[].attributes.body
In my disseminating research response, I decided to make a video documentation of my research as at this point in my project I wanted to develop my screen-based skillset and knowledge. In my disseminating research video, I learnt and utilised Adobe Premiere Pro for the editing process. The video first begins with my visual research and inspiration from other practitioners and goes on to my visual responses, development of my research and progression of my project on the themes of grief and heartbreak. The feedback I received was to continue to focus and develop colour palettes and suitable character designs.

Link to video: https://vimeo.com/913441184

# data[].attributes.body
During the spring break, I had the chance to visit Japan in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. I found that Japan was a highly saturated consumerist culture with its vivid colours, fashion culture and beautiful illustrations. Visiting many shrines across the country gave me great insight into how Japanese people grieve and remember their loved ones and history. The consumerist side of Japan I also noted. I found it fascinating how saturated illustration was used on products here, mostly in a similar anime-like style. It is a visual culture, and I was observant of products of this country to inspire my work, including products like drinks, magazines, CDs, books as well as independent Japanese artists.

# data[].attributes.body
I wanted to gather further understanding of my audience, thus I created a TikTok to observe my target audience’s interactions. I created a poem and illustrated several scenes. The audience appeared to respond well with several comments of acknowledging loved ones that had passed away, or personal circumstances. I learnt that this type of content is good for social media but may not be suited to the project I had in mind. Though poetry helps connect the narrative to the audience, I find that the illustrations alone tell a story through visual language more effectively. I did however learn more about my audience, such as the most engagement from a particular age group and gender. From this I have learnt to direct my focus on visual narrative and the quality of my illustrations.

# data[].attributes.body
To gather further insight into my audience on grief and heartbreak I sent out a survey, which 15+ individuals of my target audience answered in the age group of 19-25. I was inspired by their responses and created visual responses to some of them. This helped me generate new ideas and perspectives on the subject matter and understand my audience better.

# data[].attributes.body
Here I looked at other artists’ work online, observing their techniques and learning how I can adapt it to my style of work. Combining and experimenting with mark making, I practised many forms of mediums including oil pastels, coloured pencils and pen.

# data[].attributes.body
In this workshop, I went about how I can construct my project through my visual language, methodologies/critical thinking, materials and planning process. This helped me to identify specific themes and messages I wanted to include within my narrative such as diversity and queer representation. Furthermore, it enabled me to understand the steps in my development and experimentation processes I needed to take to arrive at my desired outcome. When I was uncertain, I came back to this workshop and analysed missing elements I still needed to explore to make a successful project, like sound effects, music etc.

# data[].attributes.body
To gather further insight into my audience on grief and heartbreak I sent out a survey, which 15+ individuals of my target audience answered in the age group of 19-25. I was inspired by their responses and created visual responses to some of them. This helped me generate new ideas and perspectives on the subject matter and understand my audience better.

# data[].attributes.body
After my visual research, I found several animations that inspired me to choose the animation medium and further developed and deepened my knowledge of the human experience of grief and heartbreak. The Window Shield Wiper by Alberto Mielgo and Kororon by Eve explore the brutal reality of love in modern society, the realistic expectations from online dating apps, and the harsh but intimate and real sides. Love is an experience we go through, it is not what movies perceive it to be. I wanted to capture emotions, and human experiences and normalise them; moments together, building relationships, memories, dreams and the pain and grief that comes after the loss.

# data[].attributes.body
For my research trip, I went to the Stolen Space galley to see Audrey Kawasaki’s work and the Saatchi Gallery to see Andrew Salgado’s work. Kawasaki’s ‘ghost stories’ work helped me establish my theme early on in the project. She also inspired the style of work and character design I wanted to produce in my illustrations. Salgado’s work heavily looked at self-reflection as an artist. It inspired me to use more vivid and abstract colours and look internally at my own experience of grief and heartbreak.

# data[].attributes.body
In my brief for my final major project, I describe my early goals and ambitions of making an animation to depict the experience of grief and heartbreak. As I developed my project, I decided a publication would better suit my style of work and career goals. I used this brainstorming session to evaluate the direction of my project and align it with career goals, and target audience and plan out timelines and costs to get the most out of my final project.

# data[].attributes.body
In the early development of my research, I completed several workshops and suggested tasks to help me establish a clear goal and methodology for my project. This included mapping themes and mediums of my research idea/question, peer feedback on my concept and audience considerations. The most helpful task was the senses workshop as it helped me visualise how I wanted my project to look and how an audience would experience it.

# data[].attributes.body
In my disseminating research response, I decided to make a video documentation of my research. This is because I initially wanted to create an animation for my final project. After this documentation I decided to change directions into a publication as after much discussion with lecturers, industry professionals and evaluating my own path after graduation, I concluded that focusing on illustration would further my practice and skillset more. In my disseminating research video, I used Adobe Premiere Pro for editing the together pairing with the music. The video first begins with my visual research and inspiration from other practitioners and goes on to my visual responses and development of my research and progression of my project on the themes of grief and heartbreak.

# data[].attributes.body
During the spring break, I had the chance to visit Japan in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. I found that Japan was a highly saturated consumerist culture with its vivid fashion culture and beautiful illustrations. What I found most intriguing about the country was its futuristic elements paralleled with the traditional routes of its culture. During my stay, I wanted to capture these elements (practising my digital photography along the way). Visiting many shrines across the country gave me great insight into how Japanese people grieve and remember their loved ones. They have many traditions and practices such as cleaning a loved one’s grave, bringing fresh flowers and lighting incense. In shrines, you must wash your hands before entering and many figures and statues would have drinks and money offered to them with red clothing also being placed on them as an offering and sign of respect to Buddhist Gods. The way they connect with their spirituality is carried forward throughout their way of life and toward others. The sense of connection to these shrines and the past was overwhelmingly felt when visiting these sites. The consumerist side of Japan I also noted. I found it fascinating how saturated illustration was used on products here, mostly in a similar anime-like style. It is a very visual culture, and I was observant of products here to inspire my own work, including drinks, magazines, CDs, books and even small artists and illustrates selling their work.