Nobrow Colour Research

I thought I would research nobrow's popular colour palette, since it is very much relevant to me.

Extract from Nobrow brief.

Colour is very important in illustrations, and whether they be black and white, or full colour, each tonal route makes a massive difference to the image.

Nobrow uses a limited colour palette in a lot of their prints and publications.  This can be seen in many illustrations by artists, who use Nobrow for their printing.

http://www.nobrow.net/13008 < Image reference at this link.

The print above is a good example of a restricted Nobrow colour palette. This illustration uses the colours red and blue, and when overlapped, give other colours, such as burgundy. This is a very smart way of enabling a large amount of tones, from such a small range of colours. It is also a very good way of cost efficiency. Nobrow use a lot of silkscreen printing processes, as well as spot colour printing.

http://payload231.cargocollective.com/1/3/100949/6937678/TomsNobrow.jpg < image reference at this link.

Above is another example of a restricted colour palette. The illustration is by the artist Tom Clohosy Cole, for Nobrow 6, which was entitled "The Doppelgangers".

In my own opinion, this limited colour palette, still looks as vivid as a full colour one, and very interesting, due to its unique visual style.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaXFBC8bOACDb_PXi8xmtHX4RQRH5pzOcO-9IoXcRR8ssw6Tik0kcdb_S-qK5y9BmcG3cMrvx3Wf3Ll5nVHCQfJAYyr9-aYSYNhtNutP2EV6XGnyFaVRx0NEB3u3rVBF7m-Mpttr_AjUze/s1600/nobrow3.jpg < image reference at this link.

Another example of the use of overlapping limited colours.

This image is an example of my own Nobrow inspired piece, this is one of the illustrations that I will be using in the final.

Thomas.

Draft Narrative (With illustrations)

Narrative Draft: 2 (With illustrations, to be updated as each new one is completed).

Once upon a time, there was a rodent named Kiwi who lived in a place called smokey creek.

Kiwi was a carefree little hamster, who enjoyed playing in the vast golden meadows, and frolicking in the shallow streams that surrounded the area.

Kiwi Loved the outdoors, and he spent all of his time to himself. He was different to all the other animals.
He wasn't the strongest, nor was he the the fastest, or smartest. However he was the tiniest.
In fact the tiniest around, he could sneak around wherever he wanted to and nobody would notice him  . Some of his favourite past times involve playing hide and seek alone but this never worked well most of the time. After finishing playing tag with his tail he began to trot off to his woodland home.
Along the way he encountered a group of two large dogs, one a smart wolf, and one a tall dumb greyhound, each had a huge grin on their faces.

"Hello" said the small hamster.
"Oh my how small are you?" asked the red hound of the group.
"Well two foot, to be correct why might you ask"said the little rodent with a smile.
"You must be the smallest animal I have ever seen" exclaimed the greyhound.
"Some would say cute" said the little hamster, wagging whilst wagging his tiny tail.
"Some would say useless, how can you be of any contribution to the pack?"
"But..." Said the little hamster in a confused and upset tone.

Off the two dogs went, laughing, and casting longs shadows on the little hamster, as he wept.
"What's wrong?" said a large majestic wolf, with a bow in her hair.
"Go away exclaimed the little rodent with tears in his eyes.
The she wolf looked away, and then told the small hamster all about her own life in the valley. She went into depth about how she enjoyed lying in the sun day after day, watching the clouds go by. She loved trying to figure out what shapes they were in.

The little one began to open up, telling the large wolf of his love for playing in the meadows. The larger wolf offered to play with him for a bit, and suggested they try hide and seek. The little rodent got excited and agreed.
The large wolf counted to 10, and yelled "Ready or not here I come!"  After an hour of searching, she gave up. "Here I am!" yelled the little rodent. "You are quite good at this"said the wolf with a cheeky grin.

After the game, the two sat next to each other, and talked about their wishes. "I wish I was taller" said the small rodent. "Hmmmmmmm" hummed the wolf. Out she whipped a pair of talllllllllll boots  , and strapped them to the fragile, little hamsters paws. However, when standing up, the rocent tumbled over into a patch of thorny roses.

"Nope" whimpered the little hamster, as he sat pulling out thorns from his small paws.
The large wolf scratched her chin, and she let out a loud whistling sound.
Suddenly a large flock of birds appeared, and the picked the little hamster up high into the sky.
"DOES THAT WORK?!" shouted the wolf
"NOPE, PUT ME DOWN!" screamed the little rodent.
Again, the wolf scratched her chin. She noticed two sticks lying beside her, and let out a large smile. She crafted a crude pair of stilts, and handed them to him. "Try these on for size, she said".

The little rodent slotted his feet into the crudely crafted sticks, and stood up.
"Why, I feel 10 foot tall!" the dog said with a huge grin.
The she-wolf smiled, as she peered upwards toward this huge, happy hamster.

"Why you are the largest animal I have ever seen!" Exclaimed the wolf.

Out of the corner of the hamsters eyes, he spotted the group of wolves from earlier, and began venturing toward them.

"Roar!" Yelled the little hamster.

"Agghhhhhhhh look! It's a monster!" Screamed the two in unison.

The two bullies ran as fast as their legs could carry them, leaving a trail of prints behind them.

The next day, the whole valley looking in awe at the tall rodent, and he looked done with a huge smile.

The end.








Thomas.

Draft Narrative

This blog will feature my draft story, as of 15th Feb, 2014.

  : Indicates the placement of a possible illustration, after which the tally will be counted up, giving me a rough idea of how many illustrations I need.

  : Indicates illustration completed.
Narrative Draft: 1

Once upon a time, there was a rodent   named Kiwi who lived in a place called smokey creek.
Kiwi was a carefree little hamster, who enjoyed playing in the vast golden meadows  , and frolicking in the shallow streams that surrounded the area.

Kiwi Loved the outdoors, and he spent all of his time to himself. He was different to all the other animals.
He wasn't the strongest, nor was he the the fastest, or smartest. However he was the tiniest.  
In fact the tiniest around, he could sneak around wherever he wanted to and nobody would notice him  . Some of his favourite past times involve playing hide and seek alone but this never worked well most of the time. After finishing playing tag with his tail he began to trot off to his woodland home.
Along the way he encountered a group of two large dogs, one a smart wolf, and one a tall dumb greyhound, each had a huge grin on their faces. 

"Hello" said the small hamster.
"Oh my how small are you?" asked the red hound of the group.
"Well two foot, to be correct why might you ask"said the little rodent with a smile.  
"You must be the smallest animal I have ever seen" exclaimed the greyhound.  
"Some would say cute" said the little hamster, wagging whilst wagging his tiny tail.
"Some would say useless, how can you be of any contribution to the pack?"
"But..." Said the little hamster in a confused and upset tone.  

Off the two dogs went, laughing, and casting longs shadows on the little hamster, as he wept.  
"What's wrong?" said a large majestic wolf, with a bow in her hair.  
"Go away exclaimed the little rodent with tears in his eyes.
The she wolf looked away, and then told the small hamster all about her own life in the valley. She went into depth about how she enjoyed lying in the sun day after day, watching the clouds go by. She loved trying to figure out what shapes they were in.  

The little one began to open up, telling the large wolf of his love for playing in the meadows. The larger wolf offered to play with him for a bit, and suggested they try hide and seek. The little rodent got excited and agreed.
The large wolf counted to 10, and yelled "Ready or not here I come!"  After an hour of searching, she gave up. "Here I am!" yelled the little rodent. "You are quite good at this"said the wolf with a cheeky grin.

After the game, the two sat next to each other, and talked about their wishes. "I wish I was taller" said the small rodent. "Hmmmmmmm" hummed the wolf. Out she whipped a pair of talllllllllll boots  , and strapped them to the fragile, little hamsters paws. However, when standing up, the rocent tumbled over into a patch of thorny roses.  

"Nope" whimpered the little hamster, as he sat pulling out thorns from his small paws.
The large wolf scratched her chin, and she let out a loud whistling sound.
Suddenly a large flock of birds appeared, and the picked the little hamster up high into the sky.
"DOES THAT WORK?!" shouted the wolf  
"NOPE, PUT ME DOWN!" screamed the little rodent.
Again, the wolf scratched her chin. She noticed two sticks lying beside her, and let out a large smile. She crafted a crude pair of stilts, and handed them to him. "Try these on for size, she said".  

The little rodent slotted his feet into the crudely crafted sticks, and stood up.
"Why, I feel 10 foot tall!" the dog said with a huge grin.
The she-wolf smiled, as she peered upwards toward this huge, happy hamster.

"Why you are the largest animal I have ever seen!" Exclaimed the wolf.

Out of the corner of the hamsters eyes, he spotted the group of wolves from earlier, and began venturing toward them.

"Roar!" Yelled the little hamster.

"Agghhhhhhhh look! It's a monster!" Screamed the two in unison.  

The two bullies ran as fast as their legs could carry them, leaving a trail of prints behind them.  

The next day, the whole valley stared in awe at the tall rodent, and he looked down with a huge smile.  

The end.

Estimated number of illustrations: 18







Thomas.

Starting mass of illustrations

Now that story and character development is done, I am turning toward developing all of my illustrations for my completed narrative.

I have marked in my draft narrative where a possible illustration could be placed, and I will use this as a reference point.

After I finish work on them, I will upload all the finals to my blog, where I will also analyse and explain them in detail.

Thomas.

Drew Millward

The other day the illustration class had a visit from the artist, Drew Millward. Drew is an illustrator who has produced very abstract work for such clients as bands, one of the bands being Phish.

http://411posters.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/millward-Phish-Burgettstown-PA-2012.jpg < image reference at this link.

His style is very unique, it's different to what I've seen from most artists, and his prints are very bright and vivid, I was very impressed by them all.

http://img.shockblast.net/2012/06/ShockBlast-Drew-Millward-25.jpg < image reference at this link.

http://robotmafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/drew_millward1.jpg < image reference at this link.

In the image above, he stated that he took inspiration from the famous wood block piece, entitled 'The great wave off Kanagawa' by Hokusi.

Really enjoyed his talk as well, very interesting as he discussed his upbringing as well as how he evolved his style.

Thomas.

Name of the book?

Now that the narrative has been written, and expanded upon, I must now turn my attention to working out what the title of the books will be.

I will look at some existing examples of different children's books, to give me an idea of what name would work. I would like it to perhaps revolve around my protagonist, which will be a small hamster.

http://img.dooyoo.co.uk/GB_EN/orig/0/1/6/7/4/167469.jpg < image reference at this link.

http://blog.giftgenies.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/kids-books2-1024x640.jpg < image reference at this link.

Children's books seem to have titles that are short and easy to read, and remember. Of course the title must not include any words that are difficult to read.

First off I will think about elements that my book is related to. I will list these below.

• Hamster
• Nature
• Story
• Tale
• Colour
• Rodent
• Canine
• Dog
• Fluff
• Fur
• Wild
• Valley
• Bright
• Children's
• Kids
• Tail
• Paw
• Nose
• Ear
• Small
• Tall
• Short
• Long

Here are some thought up, spontaneous names that could be used:

- Little hamster

- Small and furry

- A tall tail

- A short tail

- Kiwi

- Tale of a Hamster

I do like the last two names above, as I like the pun on the word tail. This word replaces the traditional word, tale.

I have decided to either go with using the following names:

- A Tall Tail

- A Short Tail

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Update:
I have decided to go with calling my book, "A Short Tail".

Thomas.

Illustrations for group presentation

A collection of illustrations I have made so far for my book. I presented here on the 26/2/14 to he group.

This was a presentation and group crit, and I used a handful of drawings that I was happy with, that I had already done as part of assembly of the book.

The presentation went well, my work was seemed to be liked by people, however, I did take some helpful constructive criticism.

Thomas

Scholastic Books

http://brightgroupinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/scholastic_logo.jpg < image reference at this link.

Scholastic is an American based book publisher, that has been in operation since 1920.

They publish such items as children's books, among other things.
The company works with over 50 different publishers. They also publish best selling, as well as award-winning books and authors, including Stick Man by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, Horrible Histories and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

The company also notably supports educational institutes such as schools, and operate their own 'book fair', which is a mobile library, that goes around to many schools all over the UK, giving those who don't normally have access to books/libraries, full access.

http://www.scholastic.co.uk/aboutus < research referenced at this link.




Thomas.

Illustration Example

I have been thinking of either drawing simple sketchy backgrounds, using simple block colours, or to make things a bit different, use an assortment of illustrated patterns as my backgrounds.

Here is an example of a vignette block colour using watercolour.

Vignette styling is a popular style in many books, and children's books are one of the areas where this theme can be seen often. (See below image)

This style offers for easy weaving of text, and in some cases, can make the story more visually appealing. Having g the text close to images may also help encourage young children to read, which is a bonus.

Thomas.

Illustration #1

Even though the development of my characters is still underway, I have decided to create my first illustration, to be placed on the introduction page.

A meadow using watercolour paint.

It is an illustration highlighting my opening text for the narrative, which describes a meadow and valley.
For the piece I used fine pencil and watercolour paint, which I personally enjoy using.

I will be enhancing this image in photoshop later, to alter the colour tones and shades.


Thomas.

My Character Finals

After drafting each one of my characters that will be included in my book, I have finalised how my characters will appear. I have taken is inspiration from all my draft pieces, as well as my developments, that you can find in my a4 sketchpad.

Protagonist:

My protagonist is taking on the form of a Syrian hamster, and will be the odd character out in the narrative, as every other character will be a canine. Her name will be Kiwi, which I have taken inspiration of my own pet hamster, who is a Syrian like the character. I believe having an animal so close to me, is really handy for the development of the story, and this is what I will pursue.

Major/secondary character:

My major/secondary character is far larger than my protagonist, and has a scratchy style. The character in question will be of a female wolf, I want her personality to be calm, patient, silly and somewhat ditzy, as well as almost parental like in terms of her role. In the story, she will help the protagonist to become taller, eventually in the form of strapping stilts to his legs. This character will bond with the protagonist, through her deep wish to be a rodent. She will have fake whiskers, and will be a loveable character.

Antagonist:

For this role, there will be a few elements.
In terms of characters, there will be two who fit the role, as well as the situation that the protagonist has to overcome, which will also act as part of the antagonistic role. The first character in the role, that I have decided to call sub-character 1, is a canine who is a relatively quick witted, and is the main bully character. He is quite smart, and is very critical of others, in my story, it will be toward the protagonist.

Sub Character 1:

My sub character will be a quick witted wolf, around the same height as the secondary character. The character will have a few notable scars, this will make the character seem more 'rough'. The character will also have red eyes.

Sub Character 2:
My second sub character making up the role of antagonist, will be different in appearance to the first sub character. This character will be taller than sub character 1, with stick thin legs, almost in the same visual stance as a greyhound's. This character will be based on a greyhound. This wolf will be more of a 'yes man' character to sub character 1.

Situation:

Overcoming height issues.







Thomas.

Animal images for Reference

For reference into which breeds would be ideal to use for my characters, I purchased a book the other day that contains 100's of different dog breeds, very helpfully categorised into the likes of size, type and shape.

The book is called "The ultimate encyclopedia of dog breeds & dog care"

As well as using the book for initial reference, and to give me ideas of certain breeds, I also used the internet. This book will help with every character except the protagonist, who is a rodent.
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Greyhound:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Italian_Greyhound_standing_gray.jpg < image reference at this link.

http://www.groomers-online.com/shopimages/articles/extra/greyhound_dog.jpg < image reference at this link.

http://www.mousematuk.co.uk/Mouse%20Mats/Dogs/Italian%20Greyhound/slides/Italian%20Greyhound%209R031D-014.JPG < image reference at this link.

http://www.ourgreyhounds.co.uk/large-2012-01-06/2012_11june_rose_fawn_greyhound_0016339_800.jpg < image reference at this link.

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Wolf: 

http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article8703916.ece/BINARY/original/wolf-alamy.jpg < image reference for this link.

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/7/27/1311796703035/European-gray-wolf--007.jpg < image reference at this link.

http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/20130127_wolfspark_werner_freund/pic_002.jpg < image reference at this link.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02623/wolf_2623989b.jpg < image reference at this link.

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/32700000/Winter-Wolf-wolves-32724301-1024-768.jpg < image reference at this link.

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Finnish Spritz:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Finnish_Spitz_600.jpg < image reference at this link.

http://www.dogwallpapers.net/wallpapers/funny-finnish-spitz-dog-photo.jpg < image reference at this link.

http://images.champdogs.net/breeds/finnish-spitz.jpg < image reference at this link.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3358/4636529248_f24617c3fa_m.jpg < image reference at this link.

Hamster:

(I have taken these photos from my own home, these photos are of my Syrian hamster, Kiwi)

http://www.mrjohnsons.co.uk/uploads/small/hamster1.jpg < image reference at this link.