Wednesday 17 December 2014

Locating- Week 2

This week I continued doing research on my Pinterest board and finding more visual imagery to inspire me to create my own work. I decided to create some drawings that were more landscape based, as apposed to looking at the animal side of the wilderness. I think that these worked really well. I mainly used sticks and ink to create these drawings instead of brushes to create a more rugged and unique look, I preferred using this technique because I think it gave my drawings a more rural kind of feel. In this image below i really like the contrast between the black and white drawings and the colourful painting. I think that i may use this technique within more of my work.





I found after looking at the landscapes such as trees and mountain ranges, more visually interesting and inspirational to draw from as apposed to the animals. So I carried on running with this idea and created some more of these landscape type drawings using different techniques and media. 




Wednesday 10 December 2014

Locating- Week 1


This week I started my new project ‘Locations’. For my ‘self driven’ part of this project I started with the initial themes of the outdoors and the wild. I started my project by first creating a Pinterest board to inspire me and help me get my ideas flowing. Collecting so much visual imagery on this board helped me see clearly the types of things that I was inspired by more than others. Here is a link to my Pinterest board for this project Into The Wild

After looking at all of my visual imagery I started to create some drawings of my own based on what I was looking at. At first I started creating watercolour drawings of animals, which I found interesting and portrayed the wilderness theme that I started looking at. Here are some of my initial drawings






I am thinking about taking this project in the direction based on interior textiles and not fashion so that I have had a chance to experiment in both fields to see which way I prefer working in. Using the visual imagery i have collected on my Pinterest board i created these 2 visual mood boards.



Monday 8 December 2014

Locating Brief

For this my self initiated brief for this ‘Locating’ unit I will think of a concept so that I can collect a body of research and initial drawings to then develop into a range of prints designed for an interior setting. I will also develop my print designs to adapt them and make them suitable for a fashion context so that I can enter them into the Bradford textiles competition. I also would like to enter the combined processes section of the Bradford textiles competition. I would like to experiment with different processes in this unit to develop my overall skills and experiences. I am aiming this project towards interiors, as I have not previously designed for an interior setting. I think this project will be a good opportunity for me to try designing for something other than fashion.

What I would like to achieve from this unit is:
·      To create a range of prints for an interior setting
·      To create a range of possible fashion outcomes 
·      To network with the textile community
·      To experiment with different processes 
·      To enter the Bradford textiles competition- Combined processes 
·      To enter the Bradford textiles competition- Printed Textiles Fashion
·      To create a range of fabric samples 





Sunday 23 November 2014

Intentions Evaluation

Throughout my project I feel that I have tried lots of different techniques in my work, experimenting and taking risks to create a variety of different outcomes. Within my drawing work I used a range of different media to try and create different textures and compositions. Initially I feel like I played it a bit safe creating drawings using ink and paint and pencil, as I was unsure what would work best for me. However after my first tutorial I received feedback from my tutor and peers and realised that I needed to be more risky with my ways of working. After this I tried things like collaging, printing with inks and found objects, using colour in my work and different drawing styles. I feel that although I had a good starting point with a wide variety of drawings, I think that if I were to do this again I would try and incorporate more adventurous uses of found materials such as different papers to try and create more textures. I feel that within my fabric samples I could have tried out more techniques in the print room but I only tried things that I thought would be relative to my work. I really liked using the lead foiling on top of my digitally printed fabric combining hand and digital techniques. I thought that this was a really successful technique and created exactly the look that I wanted.

I think that throughout this project I have successfully managed to deliver a clear and concise concept throughout. My initial concept was the idea of creating patterns using the shapes found within the mundane parts of the urban landscape. Also using contrasting bright colours that you wouldn’t find in the cityscape. I created a concept board and a colour board that sit together to clearly display the concept and the theme that I am going for. I hope that these will clearly show my concept to someone who is new to my practice. Within this project I feel that I have gathered and recorded a lot of research that links in well with my concept and the contextual element of my outcomes. I feel that in my sketchbook I have showed clear links within my research and the work that I have produced. I am pleased with this element of my project. I think that I have been inspired by the research that I collected and from gathering it I feel it helped me design my own prints.

For this project I feel that I have been more experimental in my way of working and this reflects, especially from the work that I created last year. I feel that I have naturally progressed a lot since the work that I created in Level 4. I have put a lot more thought into the way I have been working this year. When I was in the print room I made sure that I had a clear plan of exactly what I wanted to create with my prints before I went in. Where as last year I just printed what came to mind when I was in there. I feel that I have been much more prepared as a whole throughout this project, especially when going into the print room. I also feel that I have been much more reflective about my own work in this project. In my tutorials I have really listened to the feedback that I have been receiving and this has helped me clearly see my strengths and weaknesses within my work. From this I knew what work to create more of to develop my work as a whole into a more successful direction.

From the start of my project I knew that I wanted my work to go down a women’s fashion route. So this was the starting point for my contextual research. I started researching designers like Basso & Brooke, French connection and Chanel because these designers all had existing collections including garments and prints that related to the ones I had been designing. Having a very strict consumer profile meant that it was a very direct and precise example of research that I was looking for. Initially I thought that this would make it easier to find relatable research, although the more I researched the harder I found it to find examples of exactly what I wanted. Although I think that I have managed to find good examples of contextual research that link well with the work that I have produced. From this I gathered enough research and information to put together a consumer profile board, which clearly shows to other people who exactly my consumer is. My consumer profile is of a 25-30 year old, independent, professional women. With a lot of disposable income who is interested in Art, Music, Fashion and culture who would read an unusual magazine such as Dazed & Confused. I feel that I have contextualized my work well by showing it in a variety of different scenarios. I think that the work I have created is well suited to my target audience.


I think that throughout this project I have developed the way in which I work a lot. I especially think I have developed since level 4. I am much more organised and prepared for what I need to achieve. I feel that I have gotten the most out of this project that I could and have tried my best in all elements of my work. I think making myself a strict plan with my own personal deadlines has helped me a lot to create a high quality and a large volume of work.

Tuesday 18 November 2014

Week 8- Final week

After my final tutorial this week I was pretty pleased with were I am at with my project. I have completed all of my fabric samples, which I was worried, was going to take the longest amount of time. This week I am focusing on finishing and refining my final boards, choosing and mounting my final collection, finishing of my sketchbook and creating some example boards. I have finished my final boards and displayed them in a display folder because I thought that this was the most professional looking way to display them.


I have chosen these prints as my final collection because I feel that they are the most successful prints that I have done throughout the project. I also think that they sit well with each other as a collection.




























After my tutorial Rianna advised me on creating new boards which displayed my designs on design flats, garment visualizations, some fabric details and some fabric samples. I created the boards on Photoshop and then by hand added the fabric samples. I am quite pleased with the way that these boards have turned out as I have never created anything like this before and at first I was quite unsure how to display them. Here are some examples of my boards


























Overall I think that I have finished everything that I have needed to this week and I am on track for my deadline on Monday. I think that I have been quite organised throughout this project and I am really pleased with my time management. To help me sort out all of my work for the last week of this project I created my own personal day by day time plan to help me meet my deadline.