This post is going to be the start of where I got my basic ideas from for my previous Negotiated Project which was focused on famous characters and reinterpreting them...
I felt like keeping the hand drawn element in each piece of work, showing that I had actually drawn each character, but the more and more I looked at it... the less and less I liked the idea, now don't get me wrong, the hand drawn quality looks great in the screen prints...
Anyway, only recently have I managed to return to these characters... First things first, I remade Bugs (here on the left) as a vector... the crisp black outline gives the feeling that the drawing is actually finished and that it is an actual cartoon drawing or like an animation cell. I then decided to change the tones I added for shading as the werent clear enough on my first few attempts, in fact they look like I was half arsed and begrudgingly added a 50% grey to them. On the new Bugs, I took a pre-made digital screentone sheet and cut out clear selections this time and again, i feel it makes the character appear "finished"... I'm only using one colour on each design as if I had restrictions enforced by printing, but I know when it comes to print what I have in mind.. I'm not limited... though I want each character to feel like part of a set. Finally, as I mentioned that I don't like printing too large.. I now want to print each character as a sticker and so I have mocked up what the finished design would look like, including authentic sticker curling with drop shadow and sticker edge.
I had a lot of fun with this project when I eventually got into it... The 7x7 project left me behind schedule as I was busy picking up what other people hadn't done, but it then meant the time I spent figuring out what the project was actually about (when I changed the basic theme) left me with even less time to actual create/produce all the work I wanted to.
Now could this have been avoided? I feel some of it could have been, if I had made the project title a litter clearer for myself and not got so hung up on the research aspect of it...
I started with sketching out characters such as Ronald McDonald and the Michelin Man with the intention of trying to say something (almost political) about the companies in which these mascots represent. Originally, branding mascots adorned product packaging and advertisements as a way of establishing a connection between their product and some of the values these characters represent... wealth, success, strength to name but a few.. but eventually the characters just became a quick visual reference - like the colouring of a wrapper or packet - so consumers could blindly shop and not need to think too much about what they were picking up.. they would recognise the characters and this familiarity would mean they stay loyal and return to a particular brand.
Starting with a simple sketch, jotted down as one of many on a larger sheet of creations, I then drew out a basic design, sketched out my alterations over the top, refined the design using tracing paper and then added colour digitally...
I felt like keeping the hand drawn element in each piece of work, showing that I had actually drawn each character, but the more and more I looked at it... the less and less I liked the idea, now don't get me wrong, the hand drawn quality looks great in the screen prints...
(i even tested a few different coloured papers to see what affect it had on the colours and outline)
...but not so much in the print outs I had done for handing in.
If I had finished all 6 characters in time, I would've screen printed each of them in hopes that the effect would enhance them all with faded/distressed and traditional aesthetic.. (i'm trying not to say retro or vintage!). Like with most things designed on screen, you cant truly appreciate how they will look until you have printed them out.. sadly mine didn't come out as I had planned. Originally they were meant to be posters, as it gave me an excuse to screen print, but I often sketch small scale and I never really visualise my work going any larger than A5 for some reason.. maybe because I find it hard to draw by hand at a larger scale...
Anyway, only recently have I managed to return to these characters... First things first, I remade Bugs (here on the left) as a vector... the crisp black outline gives the feeling that the drawing is actually finished and that it is an actual cartoon drawing or like an animation cell. I then decided to change the tones I added for shading as the werent clear enough on my first few attempts, in fact they look like I was half arsed and begrudgingly added a 50% grey to them. On the new Bugs, I took a pre-made digital screentone sheet and cut out clear selections this time and again, i feel it makes the character appear "finished"... I'm only using one colour on each design as if I had restrictions enforced by printing, but I know when it comes to print what I have in mind.. I'm not limited... though I want each character to feel like part of a set. Finally, as I mentioned that I don't like printing too large.. I now want to print each character as a sticker and so I have mocked up what the finished design would look like, including authentic sticker curling with drop shadow and sticker edge.
I had a lot of fun with this project when I eventually got into it... The 7x7 project left me behind schedule as I was busy picking up what other people hadn't done, but it then meant the time I spent figuring out what the project was actually about (when I changed the basic theme) left me with even less time to actual create/produce all the work I wanted to.
Now could this have been avoided? I feel some of it could have been, if I had made the project title a litter clearer for myself and not got so hung up on the research aspect of it...
I started with sketching out characters such as Ronald McDonald and the Michelin Man with the intention of trying to say something (almost political) about the companies in which these mascots represent. Originally, branding mascots adorned product packaging and advertisements as a way of establishing a connection between their product and some of the values these characters represent... wealth, success, strength to name but a few.. but eventually the characters just became a quick visual reference - like the colouring of a wrapper or packet - so consumers could blindly shop and not need to think too much about what they were picking up.. they would recognise the characters and this familiarity would mean they stay loyal and return to a particular brand.
Ronnie:
Bib:
Bib:
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